The Halloween Spider Hunt Game
23 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in HALLOWEEN (Thanksgiving & Fall too!) Tags: craft project, family activity, game, Halloween, spider
Are the kids in your house get cranky waiting for the BIG night… Halloween? Then, here’s a new tradition you can start that will help pass the time. It’s a fun game that will not only keep them entertained, but will also make them wish Halloween wasn’t coming up so soon. What? Did you read that right? Yes!
Here’s why and also, how it works - First, you’ll have to decide how many days (prior to Halloween) you want the kids to play your game. Once that is determined, you will need to multiply that number (of days) “times” how many children are playing. 
Once you have that total, purchase a bag of fake spiders (even spider rings would be fine because the rings can help you hang them in odd places) with at least that many inside.
As an example, let’s say you have decided to play THE HALLOWEEN SPIDER HUNT game the entire week leading up to Halloween night and you have 3 children in the house. So, you will need at least 21 spiders and more if you decide to hide several for each child to find, each day. Why not get a gross (144) and let them really have some fun! Then each day, after the kids are at school or have gone to bed, hide a few of the spiders in odd places. Think Easter Egg Hunt for Halloween 
. A few suggestions would be: inside the toilet paper roll, peeking out of a pillowcase or in the silverware drawer, etc.
Explain to the kids that you have spotted plastic Halloween Spiders hanging around the house and you need their help getting rid of them. Ask them to help you capture the plastic spiders and place them in their own jar. 
As a fun, side project, decorating their jar could be a great craft project… personalizing each of them, with your help and a little paint. The winner of the HALLOWEEN SPIDER HUNT game
is the person who collects the most spiders by Halloween night. And the prize could be something like a cool flashlight (to use during Trick-or-treating) or a Halloween-themed Pez dispenser or Coloring Book, etc. And a great way to get them to eat dinner (on Halloween night) might be to tell them you’re going to count each person’s spiders and award the prize (to the one who captured the most spiders) after dinner (lol). Of course, you could give the other spider hunters a little “something” too, as a thank you for helping you rid the house of plastic spiders.
I think you’ll find that the kids will look forward to their new tradition every year!
Enjoy the Creativity!
Eileen
Fall has Fell (in the front yard)
06 Oct 2011 4 Comments
in HALLOWEEN (Thanksgiving & Fall too!) Tags: Decorating Idea, Decorations, Fall, Garland, Halloween, Hay bale, hay cart, Jack-o-lantern, Pumpkin, Scarecrow, sign, yard
[Click on any photo for a larger view]
This is the first Fall season I’ve had a goat cart to decorate. It’s so much larger than my wagon (now holding herbs in the back yard), so I was challenged to fill it on a budget, which of course, is The Seasonal Home’s motto!
New purchases included 2 new scarecrows (the Florida sun is brutal on these, so 1 year is all you get! lol) and a fresh bale of hay, spending around $15, using 40% off coupons. I already had a fall leaf garland and some pumpkins, but as you can see in this first (test) photo, my pumpkins had faded more to the color of oranges in comparison to the one brand new one, shown in the back of the cart. 
I know I live in Florida, but it’s Fall and pumpkins are what’s in season. 
The thought of purchasing all new pumpkins (even real ones!) made me cringe over the cost. But luckily, I found a new, no-prep super bond spray paint product (FUSION by 
Krylon) that doesn’t require sanding or priming, bonds to plastic and dries in 15 minutes AND it comes in a Pumpkin Orange color…..100% yay! So, for the price of 1 can of paint ($4), I renewed all of my faux pumpkins. HINT: Don’t spray the pumpkin too heavily. In nature, pumpkins have different shades in the surface of their skin, so a light spray coat looks more natural. 
The other idea I had for my fall yard vignette was a “HAY RIDE” sign, but do you think I could find one? Nope! I’m not a true crafter either, so making one myself (from scratch) wasn’t a good option. But, I didn’t give up and found a Halloween theme sign (see the spooky eyes) that was blank in the center. It was only $6.99 and I got it for 40% off at Hobby Lobby. 
I used a stencil, with a cool font, and some black stencil paint to slightly change the sign to have it read “HAY RIDE 25 cents”.
Below is the finished product…. my front yard Fall vignette.
Enjoy the Creativity!
Eileen
Easy Decorating… a Halloween Wreath
06 Oct 2011 3 Comments
in HALLOWEEN (Thanksgiving & Fall too!) Tags: black, bow, Decoration, eyes, Halloween, spider, spooky, Witch, Wreath
[Click on any photo for a larger view]
In October, you may have noticed these very open, spiky, textured wreaths in the boutiques and craft stores (I found mine at www.terrysvillage.com). They look great displayed on their own, for Halloween, but I also want to show you a few more easy decorating ideas to try:
First, you could simply add a bow (check out my SHOP! and holiday decorating DVD for super simple, designer bow-making instructions, like those shown in this post… using a lasagna box). And before you hang it up, suspend a Halloween decoration first, to line-up with the wreath’s center.
You might also consider looking for super-sized wiggle eyes, in a craft store, and hot gluing them (individually or in pairs) to a few of the wreath branches, spaced evenly apart.
From year to year, you can change the ribbon combinations and maybe add a painted die-cut wood ghost or clip-on accessories like these glitzy spiders, and possibly add a theme-coordinated saying in the center…. wherever your mood takes your creativity! (see below)
Enjoy the Creativity!
Eileen
Fall has Fell (on the front porch)
05 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in HALLOWEEN (Thanksgiving & Fall too!) Tags: apple, basket, country, Fall, front door, gourds, Halloween, leaves, porch idea, Pumpkin, skeleton, squash, Tree
[Click on any photo for a larger view]
This fall, The Seasonal Home’s front porch has leaves and harvest a plenty! Oh, and a little spooky touch too, in the form of a door greeter…
What took you so loooooooooooong?
“WELCOME FALL” Picnic
25 Sep 2011 1 Comment
in FAMILY, HALLOWEEN (Thanksgiving & Fall too!) Tags: Activity, Apples, Bobbing, Fall, family, Fun, Gathering, Halloween, Idea, Neighborhood, Picnic, Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin, Popcorn, Pumpkin, Scarecrow, spider
This idea has been a tradition at THE SEASONAL HOME for the past 4 years. Having 4 sons, I spent many years doing “boy” things for Fall and Halloween. So, when they grew up and moved away, I switched things up and started something new… a gathering for the neighborhood “girls” (on my street) to enjoy each others company in a “WELCOME FALL” picnic! Because it’s still so warm, during the first few weeks of Fall – in Florida – we all secretly hope this tradition works (along the lines of a rain dance) and brings us some cooler weather (lol) soon!
Do I see ghosts floating in this photo? EEK!
The first order of Fall business is a menu for the picnic. We keep it simple, inexpensive and anyone who wants to make something to bring does. Because the oldest in our group (Emmeline) can now bake, she made our frosted brownies that accompanied pumpkin-shaped PB&J sandwiches, watermelon and popcorn. 
The girls also had the awesome idea of bringing sparkly water and food color so we could make our drinks any color we chose -
Funny how food coloring turned the drinks into spooky potions!
I found some fun, Fall-theme headbands in the Target’s $1.00 bins (front of the store) for the girls to wear. And a couple of coupons (I had) guided our “activity” choices: a $1.00 off fresh produce coupon from Target made a small bag of apples less than $2.00 so the girls could enjoy the traditional Fall game of bobbing for apples.
And at Michael’s craft store, I scooped up a “Pin the Nose on the Pumpkin” game for only $1.80 (using a 40% off coupon) for the girls to enjoy -
During our picnic, we had an unexpected, multi-legged visitor show up, on the arm of Stella… EEK again!!
In the end, I kept within my budget so well, I hit the Target “dollar” bins again as well as their Halloween Dept. where I found multi-party-packs of fun toys and writing pads. For a few dollars, I created some sweet, take-home gifts for the girls to remember our “WELCOME FALL” picnic by. I hope you like our annual Fall tradition idea well enough to try it yourself.
HAPPY FALL and…
Enjoy the Creativity,
Eileen
Halloween 2011
19 Sep 2011 3 Comments
in HALLOWEEN (Thanksgiving & Fall too!) Tags: apothecary jar, bird, Candy, candy corn, crow, Decorating Idea, Decoration, Decorations, fangs, fireplace, Ghosts, Halloween, hat, kitchen, licorice, mantel, Mantle, Pumpkins, rat, raven, Scary, spooky, test tubes, trick-or-treat, Witch
[Click on any photo for a larger view]
The Seasonal Home is decked out in it’s Halloween best and this year, it’s a little S-P-O-O-K-Y!
In my previous post, I showed you an inexpensive fireplace idea. I was inspired by the Crow (on the mantel), so I spread a few more around the room, beginning with my french doors. I f
ound a generous package of 15 die-cut paper Crows at The Dollar Tree and with a little double-sided tape, I used them to create the old design trick of bringing the outside in. 
This would also be a fun idea to use in front door sidelights or window. 
And below, in The Seasonal Home’s built-in cabinet, I purchased a few Dollar Tree crows and dressed them up, for Halloween, in little witches hats…
If this look is too plain for you, consider what I tried next… also from the Dollar Tree! 
Inspired by this idea (I found on the net), I decided to add a background to THE SEASONAL HOME’s built-in cabinet. Using newspaper to create a pattern 
, I drew a tree and used it as a pattern to create a spooky tree on 2 pieces of black poster board.
Here’s how this look turned out -
The foyer in THE SEASONAL HOME has been transformed into a Magic Potion and Spell conjuring laboratory…. 
And in the Living Room… some Fall and just a bit ‘o spooky -
THE SEASONAL HOME’s kitchen is ready for guests….
and the best part is…. I created a CANDY BAR this year! I thought this would be a fun treat for the adult guests, I’m entertaining this season, to once again enjoy a little (retro) Trick or Treating fun. I looked for the most inexpensive candies I could find (avoid a lot of chocolate to stay on budget) and used every jar I could find in my house and anyone elses (lol). I purchased one (1) package of “blank” Halloween labels at Michaels Craft Store for under $4 (with coupon), and using my computer – typed my label wording in a spooky font, lined things up and ran a test print. When I held the label up behind the piece of printer paper, I saw that my estimated font size was good & lined up perfectly, so I taped the label to the corner of my paper (using double-sided tape) and ran them through the printer, one at a time. Once I finished printing them all, I grabbed some twine from the garage, punched 2 holes in the top of each label, fed the twine through and knotted one end. Next, I pulled it tight around the neck of each jar, fed it through the 2nd hole, knotted it, cut off any excess and in no time, my jars were labeled for very little cost. Check out the finished product and help yourself!
Enjoy the Creativity!
Eileen
Grab a bag to fill!
Huh? Uh oh!
A Thrifty Decorating Theme for Halloween
14 Sep 2011 7 Comments
in HALLOWEEN (Thanksgiving & Fall too!) Tags: budget, Candles, crow, Decorating Idea, Decoration, Garland, grave, grave stone, Halloween, headstone, mantel, Mantle, planter, skeleton, skull, spider, spooky, thrifty, Web, Wreath
[As always, click on any photo for a larger view.... enjoy!]
It’s so much fun when a Halloween theme comes together… inexpensively! Normally, I decorate The Seasonal Home’s fireplace and mantle with a “cute spook” or “fall” theme. But, check out how I decorated my fireplace this year. It was mostly inspired by Dollar Tree finds as well as 4 sets of black, glittered and lit branches I found on the www.terrysvillage.com website, at a bargain basement price, which gave The Seasonal Home a slightly haunted look.
Originally, these branches were meant to line a front walkway, but as always, I saw a different use for them…. in planters, to flank each side of my fireplace hearth. So, I began the hunt for 2 planters to hold my bargain branches. My first stop was Wal-Mart where I found 2 beautiful and large, footed, gray stone planters on clearance for $35 each. Definitely a good price and I could justify the purchase by recycling them as outdoor planters afterwards. But, I didn’t really “need” planters and I spent so little on the branches that it seemed silly to spend more on the planters, so I kept looking. I ended up at Big Lots and found these $3 bargains in white and grabbed some gray spray paint also, for $2. 
Once they were painted and dry, I filled the planters, half-way with (recycled packing materials) styrofoam. 
On top of that, I poured about 5 cups of inexpensive sand (for stability & weight). 
Now, they were ready to hold my glittered branches! To finish the look, I placed moss on top of the sand, which also hid the base of the branches. A few faux eyeballs and that part of my theme design was complete! 
[Consider using this idea at Christmas, i.e. snowy-white branches in a silver planter, etc.]
My Dollar Tree finds included a spider web, spooky rat, 1 pkg. of black Creepy Cloth, a few skulls and headstones.
I also added in a couple of decorations I already had: a fall leaf garland and wreath and used my existing candlesticks to display the skulls. I painted a pumpkin to coordinate with the color scheme and added in a few candles and a crow I found at Old Time Pottery for under $5 each. So, for very little expense, I created a “not-too-creepy” theme… I hope it inspires you too!
Enjoy the Creativity!
Eileen
Early, Easy Holiday Idea and… my invitation from Hallmark
11 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment
in CHRISTMAS!, HALLOWEEN (Thanksgiving & Fall too!) Tags: Christmas decorating idea, Christmas decoration, Christmas wall, CHRISTMAS!, Halloween, Halloween Decorating Idea, Halloween decoration, Halloween wall
August is always my summertime reminder of Christmas because clients start checking in early, making sure they are scheduled to be sprinkled with holiday happiness in November. Also in the middle of this Summer heat, Christmas goodies are beginning to fill the shelves of hobby & craft stores and Hallmark ornaments are premiering in their card stores. For crafters, collectors, decorators and their clients, this early arrival is actually a blessing because it provides all of us with extra time to spread out purchases, in these tough economic times.
Hallmark Cards Headquarters
Me with Mr. Hall, Pres. of Hallmark
My Seminar Room
My personal focus this month was on a little “extra” Christmas because I was invited to teach a seminar of my holiday decorating techniques by Hallmark Cards and their Keepsake Ornament Division at their 2011 convention in Kansas City, Missouri.
Preparing for this was a ton of hard work, but so worthwhile because I love sharing my creativity, especially with people who understand the JOY of seasonal & holiday decorating, like Hallmark ornament collectors. If you’d like to view my Hallmark presentation, click on the HOLIDAY SLIDESHOW tab, located at the top of my blog. And I’d like to suggest that you turn down the A/C, make a cup of cocoa and pop in a Christmas CD to enjoy it even more.
Also, in this post, I’m going to share one of the projects I demonstrated at the Hallmark convention. This budget-friendly display idea is the perfect way to highlight a single ornament or keepsake during the holidays. And because it is a 17″ (long) spray, which is smaller than the typical 24-36″ swag, it is much more versatile.
It’s compact size makes it the perfect decoration for smaller areas, like a narrow wall, cabinet door, tabletop decoration, above a cabinet or on a kitchen back splash (using removable Command™ picture hangers), but it would even be fabulous as an over-sized gift package topper if you want to BONUS-gift someone with a keepsake ornament and decoration.
Enjoy the Creativity!
Eileen
You will need:
- One greenery spray (think artificial Christmas tree branch), apx. 17″ long
- One or two snow-flocked Christmas picks
- Wired Ribbon (apx. 2-1/2″ wide)
- 3 Snowflakes
- 3 ornament balls (1 medium & 2 small)
- 1 Pipe Cleaner
- Hot glue gun & glue sticks
click to enlarge
DIRECTIONS: Begin by fluffing out the branches of your greenery pick. Cut off any excess stem from your snow-flocked Christmas picks and lay 1 of them on top of the greenery spray (in the center). Twist 2 of the greenery branches over it to secure it in place. Cut the 2nd frosted pick apart & hot glue those pieces among the remainder of the green spray to blend the green & white throughout. Hot glue the 3 snowflakes among the spray (as shown by the red triangle). Next, hot glue the 3 ornaments among the spray (as shown by the green triangle).
Make a small, 6-loop bow (see my DVD for easy directions), tying it closed with a pipe cleaner. Insert the pipe cleaner ends through the spray front (near the top of the greenery) and twist the ends together at the back of the spray. Using the remaining pipe cleaner ends, create a loop to hang the spray with. Here’s the finished product…
You might also want to (spray) paint your greenery black to create a Halloween version…
Thanksgiving Tablecloth “makes memories!”
20 Nov 2010 3 Comments
in FAMILY, HALLOWEEN (Thanksgiving & Fall too!), THANKSGIVING Tags: Family Tradition, Memories, Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Family Tradition, Thanksgiving Meal, Thanksgiving Tradition, Tradition
This idea, for a new family tradition at Thanksgiving, will bring tons of memories rushing back each year that it’s brought out. And even better… it’s very simple to do.
To begin: purchase a new, light-colored tablecloth and some permanent markers, in Fall colors. After you set your table, for Thanksgiving dinner, scatter the pens across the length (of the table) so everyone can reach them. Encourage your family and guests to write a personal note, which they should also sign and date. Suggest that they write something like:
- something for which they are thankful
- something they accomplished during the year
- someONE they are grateful for
- something (like a special event) they would like to remember
As the messages accumulate, from year-to-year, your family and invited guests will thoroughly enjoy re-visiting their own past notes, and those of everyone else, as they each add a new one for the current year. Your inexpensive Thanksgiving tablecloth will become a true time capsule and a treasured keepsake to pass down through the family for years!
Personally…. I’m grateful for all of my wonderful readers and for the overwhelming response I received to my DVD release… thank you all for your support!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Eileen
Last Minute, Quick-Change Serving Dishes
31 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
in HALLOWEEN (Thanksgiving & Fall too!) Tags: bowls, CHRISTMAS!, EASTER, Fall decorating, Halloween, holiday serving dishes, platters
In today’s economy, it can get quite expensive to buy “special” serving bowls & platters for major holidays (Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Christmas, etc.), when families gather to share a meal together OR for a themed party situation. This is an inexpensive way to create themed serve ware without the expense OR the eventual need to store them!
Head to the scrapbook section of any store and look through the self-adhesive stickers that are 3-D. Once you find something you like, temporarily adhere them to any dish, bowl or platter to create a similar look (like the one below), without the need to purchase themed serving dishes. Below is an example where I used 3-D spider stickers to dress up a plain white serving bowl for my Halloween block party. When today’s party is over, I will simply remove the stickers, wash my bowl and put it away. Although the stickers made a great accent to my spider salad tongs and cake plate riser, my favorite part is that I’ll have no need to make MORE room in my cabinets for a new dish because I used one I already had!
P.S. Do you recognize these stickers? I also used them to dress up my everyday clock for Halloween….
