Halloween Decor

I feel like Autumn, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are all thrown at me at once and I'm changing up my decor a lot over 3-4 months time.  Then there is a huge dead-spot for decor on the calendar that stretches from Easter to Autumn.  It seems that things could have been spaced out a little better. Haha.

I like to add new things to my decor and switch things up so that there is some variety from year to year.  This year's addition is the canvas print.  I designed a similar sign last year and framed it.  And I really liked it... except, I kept thinking about how much more I'd like it if it was a canvas.

The original sign was created with my Silhouette Studio software, so I needed to recreate it in Photoshop for printing and sizing.  I ordered here and waited forever. I was anxious to see it and they also had a computer glitch on their end - the combo made it seem like forever.

I added some potion jars I created last year and some decorative pumpkins from a few years back.  I also suspended a spider from a little web that I stuck to the ceiling with clear thumbtacks.  He's on clear, elastic thread, but the photo caught the shadow, so it looks like it's dark thread.

Unfortunately, I was waiting on the canvas to decorate for Halloween so I won't get to enjoy this decor for very long. Soon enough, I'll be switching things up for Thanksgiving.  I'm also kind of obsessed with canvas prints now and want to order all the signs I've created on raised canvas!  They're more than I'd pay at the store, but I somehow justify it in my mind because I did the design work and made exactly what I wanted.  Haha!

Pinspiration: Gravestone

I posted this on my old blog, but I have long since neglected that one and I'm going to close it down, so I thought I'd post it here now.

I saw this idea on Pinterest and loved it. So clever. Also, I knew I could make it with stuff I already had on hand, so it wouldn't cost me anything.  Awesome! I love projects that don't cost any additional money.  

The wood is a 1x8 scrap. I traced the shape of a headstone on the board and then went after it with my jig saw. I also cut a piece 1 3/4 x 8 1/4 for the base and glued them together. 

I sanded any rough spots along the cut areas and painted with some grey acrylic paint I had on hand. Once the paint was dry, I sanded it again to distress the finish and used an ink pad to darken and further distress it.    

I cut Vacancy and the arrow from black vinyl with my Silhouette. This was a simple project. Very quick to throw together. And I smile every time I walk past it. 

I decorated the pumpkins a couple years ago. The bigger one has tissue paper mod podged on it (inspiration found here) and the smaller one has simple rhinestones placed along the grooves.