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Posts Tagged ‘Halloween’

Saturday Sampler: Spooky Decor on a Budget

Posted in Saturday Sampler, tagged , , , on October 20, 2012| Leave a Comment »

If you’re like me, when you look in a magazine or catalog and see an amazing holiday display you think, ‘I could never afford to do that’. While I have always liked my Halloween decorations, I never had exactly what I wanted. There are two reasons for that: 1)While I am a fairly creative person, sometimes I need inspiration to get me on my way. 2)I have very expensive taste but not so much in the budget department.

Enter Pinterest. I got hooked on this little app several months ago, pinning away to my heart’s content. When I started searching for holiday decor, I was bombarded with amazing Halloween displays and problem number 1 was solved. I had more inspiration than I knew what to do with. As I started visiting some of the links, I was amazed to find that most of these people shopped for items at the same place. Pottery Barn, you ask? Nope. The Dollar Store. Finally, a solution to problem number 2!

So off we went to our local Big Bear Dollar Tree. We grabbed a basket and started tossing in everything that we thought we could do something with. Crows, plastic and foam pumpkins, silk flowers, vases, frames, spiders, skulls, eyeballs and every other creepy thing we saw. The cart was pretty full by the end and we were a bit nervous about the total. The big number? $46. Score!

Okay, so we had a bunch of cheap, plastic stuff. Now what? Spray paint. We painted all those not-so-great looking pumpkins, skeletons  and skulls either black or chrome. Wow, what an improvement! I also made spooky trees from paper lunch bags (idea:Pinterest) and we painted those as well. The hubby printed off some spooky, ghost pictures and we framed those (idea:Pinterest), and he also found a picture of a Ouija Board and some hand-drawn Tarot Cards that he printed and mounted on some thin wood. We filled bottles with food-colored water, rubber eyeballs, plastic spiders and flies and more. Many of these bottles were ones I had saved and washed after use. Throw in some treasures we already had (the amazing clock-my Grandmothers, the Edgar Allen Poe Book of Poems-from my Mom-in-Law), a little spanish moss and bam!: A cheap but beautiful series of Halloween vignettes that I absolutely love.

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Wild Wednesday: Halloween Spooktacular Deal!

Posted in Big Bear Lake, Deals, RS Vacation Rentals, Wild Wednesday, tagged , , , , , on October 17, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Come to Big Bear this October and join us for our spooky Halloween festivities. Hurry and take advantage of this ‘killer’ deal at RS Vacations today!

 

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Monday Musings: Goblins, Ghouls and Ghosties

Posted in Big Bear Activities, Big Bear Lake, Monday Musings, tagged , , , , , on October 15, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I Love Halloween. Its not all about the candy like it was when I was a kid. Now its about the decorating. And pumpkin carving. And costumes. Okay, I basically love everything about it. 🙂 Even before my husband and I had our son, we carved pumpkins, decorated inside and out and basically just enjoyed this silly, gruesome holiday. Every year I look forward to October 1st, when it becomes ‘politically correct’ for me to decorate for Halloween. Over the years, our decorating style has evolved from gory and gruesome to fall-like cutesy and finally this year thanks to Pinterest and the dollar store, classic and subtly creepy.

Pumpkin carving is a serious business in our house. Every year on October 30th, My husband, son and I along with 8-10 of our closest family members get together for a pumpkin carving party. We have a potluck of creepy food and drinks, everyone has a cleaned-out pumpkin and the artistry begins. There are no triangle eyes or big square teeth allowed here. We end up with a fabulous collection of intricately carved masterpieces that when finished are lit, and we ohh and ahh over our mad skills. It is a wonderful, fun evening spent with family. A tradition now for 18 years.

The thing about Halloween in Big Bear is this: Its cold. Sometimes freezing! I remember as a kid trick or treating through our neighborhood with a coat, hat, mittens and snow boots over my carefully planned Rageddy-Ann costume. It was also very dark due to lack of street lights and so many weekend homes. These days though, most people trick-or-treat in Big Bear Lake Village. It is nicely lit with streetlamps, the Village merchants hand out candy, and there are even hot chocolate and coffee stands around to warm you up. It is fun to take your kids with a group of friends and spend the evening socializing while they fill their pillowcases.

Decorating your home and celebrating holidays (even the silly ones) with family and friends brings joy and happiness. It helps to take our minds off everyday stresses and invites those who visit your home to do the same. I hope you have a fun and creepy Halloween this year! BOO!!

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