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Summit Daily News Link
The season of spooktacular has arrived. Spiced apple cider, falling autumn leaves and cooler temperatures are here. It’s time to bundle your home in warmth, and add some ghostly fright to your fall décor. Here are some quick and easy ideas to get your home fearfully festive.
PUMPKIN MANIA
Start with the classics — pumpkins. They’re an easy and versatile decorating object. Pumpkin carving is a fun activity for the whole family, from easy basic shapes to intricate stencils. If carving pumpkins gets too messy, try painting them instead. You can go with scary faces, black cats, flying witches, anything spooky. Or, take a chic approach — paint graphic designs like stripes, a chevron pattern or an ombre effect — starting with black at the bottom and working your way up through shades of gray, ending with white at the top.
Spooky Twist: For a bit of Victorian drama, paint half of your pumpkins black and add white lace with a craft glue like modge podge. For the other half, paint them white, then add black sparrows with a thin art brush.
WRAP YOUR WALLS
If the trees that surround your home aren’t enough, bring their beauty inside. Wallpaper like The Lumberjack by Andrew Martin is both beautiful and quirky. It could be charming in an entryway or serve as an impactful accent wall in a guestroom.
Spooky Twist: If you’re ready to go bolder, try a removable wallpaper with a skull motif. This blue-and-white hibiscus-and-skull print is full of mystery and intrigue. Place it on an entry wall to greet trick-or-treaters, then simply remove after Halloween. The sheets of wall stickers go on easily with no extra adhesive, and peel off easily with no damage to the walls. Hibiscus and Skull Wallpaper, $38 per sheet, by WallfloraShop, etsy.com
PILE ON THE BLANKETS
Add some extra warmth to your home with a wool plaid blanket or classic Pendleton throw. We love the fall hues in the Pendleton National Parks Motor Robe blanket in Arcadia Black. Pendleton National Parks Motor Robe blanket in Arcadia Black, $99.50 pendleton-usa.com
FLOWER VASE ALTERNATIVE
Skip regular flower vases in favor of these fun do-it-yourself options. For your dining table centerpiece, carve out a pumpkin, then paint the outside white and fill with dried leaves, white hydrangeas and cranberry branches. For your front porch, pick up a couple plastic trick-or-treat buckets and spray paint them gold. Then fill with orange or red mums.
Spooky Twist: Spray paint the plastic pumpkins black, then fill with plastic rats crawling up and over the edges and onto the sidewalk.
GO NATURAL
Decorate your mantle or credenza with natural objects like Indian corn or multicolored gourds. Get a bit crafty by using dried corn husks to create a garland. Collect thin tree branches and twigs from your backyard, then dip them in silver, black or gold paint.
Spooky Twist: Use black ribbon to create a shiny spiderweb from a chandelier or any large light fixture.
PLUSH PILLOWS
Swap out your summer linen pillows for richer textures and colors. Velvet, corduroy and faux furs not only look great, but feel luxurious. Or go for black and white stripes for a crisp, October-worthy option.
Spooky Twist: Purchase inexpensive plain white pillows, and use black fabric paint to add a black cat to each pillow.
MAKE A GREAT FIRST IMPRESSION
Gather the kids and head outside to pick up pinecones. Back inside, create a large wreath for the front door and smaller wreaths for each kid’s bedroom door. Start with a circular floral wreath form, then attach each pinecone with floral wire. Leave the pinecones their natural color, or paint in red, orange and yellow hues. Throw in feathers for an extra bit of flair.
Spooky Twist: Place plastic spiders and synthetic cobwebs onto the wreaths.
