I find heirloom pumpkins to be so striking, they deserve their own display stand. Here I have used some silver plated casserole stands to show off my favorite variety - the Long Island Cheese Pumpkin.
Casserole stands are lovely, but I never use them for their intended purpose.
Other than my friend, Ken – who is a gourmet soup chef, not many of us even know what a soup sock is. A soup sock is a loosely woven cotton bag that is used to hold poultry and beef parts when boiling for soup stock. A package of 3 costs less than $4.00 and can be found in the soup section of your supermarket. This provided me with an ideal web-like cover for my glass globes. Simply open the soup sock and slip it around your glass vessel and cut to size. Make sure the soup sock doesn’t hang over the top of the flame.
The loose weave of a cotton soup sock resembles a spiderweb - and fits easily around a glass vessel that holds a candle.
The top of our china closet - decorated with pumpkins, gourds, branches, newspaper garland and silver.
Skulls on a silver compote.
Triangles cut from newspaper and stapled together, make an easy garland.
Miniature white pumpkins gathered around the base of a statue create a simple fall centerpiece for our coffee table.
Inspired by Dutch still life paintings, I created my own tableaux with a monochromatic palette perfect for Halloween.
I spray painted the tray, candlestick and even my miniature pumpkins with a flat black paint.
I used silver plated pieces that were heavily scratched and of lesser quality. Each piece was cleaned and fully dried before painted with several coats.
Another thrift store find.
Blue Gatorade in stylish goblets that are sugared with green cake crystals are a huge hit with kids.
This candy tray was made from an egg carton. I cut off the top and the side flap and spray painted it black. Each compartment holds a surprise of candy or a small toy. I filled paper cupcake liners with M&M's and stuck lollipops in the holes of the peaks. This candy tray makes a great centerpiece for a child's party, but can also serve as a lighthearted hostess gift.
The perfect lollipop holder!
Kids love this!
An unpainted egg carton filled with Ghost Dots, eyeball gumballs and topped off with a skeleton finger puppet.
At this time of year, I keep an eye out for decorative objects that help me visually capture the drama of Halloween. I look for anything that can hold pumpkins, fall flowers, candy, found objects that grab my eye, etc.. I like pewter, tarnished silver, wrought iron, colorful glassware, interesting baskets and animal figurines. Decorating like this is fun for both me and my children!
When I picked up this ceramic owl figurine at the Salvation Army it had a gold finish. I spray painted it with a black matte color to bring out the details and make it more dramatic for the season. I prefer a flat matte rather than glossy paint finish with this type of design.
This red glass footed-bowl holds apples and a rubber snake. I like to add surprising touches to my usual decorating style - my kids love to find these little tricks around the house.
A basket, spray painted black and decorated with a rubber black mouse, serves as our Halloween candy basket. My kids love to greet trick-or-treaters at our door with this.
A rubber mouse, purchased at a Halloween supply store, is hot-glued onto the edge of the basket.
From my backyard - a clipping of Virginia Creeper complements the curves of this thrift store vase. Sometimes, the easiest arrangements are the most striking.
I love feathering my nest in unique ways. I hope my ideas inspire you!
