I was pretty surprised that I ended up with so many ideas to share that I needed to split them up. More things you can do now to get your Halloween "fix":
Get crafty. Make some decorations or props now for October. I plan on making another skull pillow soon (the one I made for myself a few years ago (right) was damaged). Of course, in our house, something like this would be out on the couch all of the time!- Whenever I'm in the Halloween mood, I grab a stack of books from my Halloween shelf in our home library and flip through them for inspiration. If you don't have a shelf like this, it's probably a great time to check books out of the public library (not a lot of competition) or order a few to start your own collection. (I'm a big fan of Amazon's used book options, but read the descriptions carefully.) I've started cataloging my own library, but it's not completely up-to-date.
- Read some spooky classics:
- Edgar Allen Poe
- Dracula
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party
- During a recent thrift store haul, we found an illustrated Sherlock Holmes and an Alfred Hitchcock mystery book, which I plan to look through during the next thunderstorm.
- Visit some old cemeteries. I don't know if I'll ever actually have a graveyard display, but I do love wandering around old cemeteries and taking pictures for future inspiration. (I've also been meaning to get my gravestone-rubbing kit back together!) When we were in New Hampshire last week, I spotted a strange, old cemetery with an iron gate at the bottom of a hill and some stones visible up on the hill. What a steep climb! I didn't get many pictures because, as old as the place was, there was a graveside-service going on and I didn't want to seem disrespectful. (Pics are on Flickr.)
- While you're out shopping, keep an eye out for things that might work for Halloween. At Michaels (a craft store) the other day, I found some monster-themed party favors and grabbed several to add to my cauldron of treats.
- Along the same lines, hit up some thrift stores! My husband and I like browsing in them. He has fabulous luck (our amazing vacuum and crazy-expensive (if we'd bought it new) recumbent exercise bike both came from thrift stores after he declared his intentions while on the road. (Sorry to digress, neither of us believe it was anything other than a coincidence, but still, he has the lucky gene.)) I search for plain white sheets to drape over the furniture come Halloween, and one store actually has a Halloween section all the time. Most of the stuff is lame, but I get lucky, too, every once in a while. Beware, though: some of the prices are just nuts. I can get a set of new white sheets at Wal-mart for less than the one store was charging for a beat-up old set. I mean, they're old sheets, not some classic/vintage stuff!
- Be just a little patient. I read that Martha Stewart's Halloween special (magazine) is coming out in mid-August.
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