After our move to a new home in April I had pretty much decided that a Halloween party was NOT going to be happening this year.  The move took a lot out out of me, not to mention our cash flow has taken a beating with an increased mortgage payment.  

Where do I stand now?  The thought of not having a party is killing me - Halloween is my holiday! So while I jump back and forth between the should I or shouldn't I have a party question one thing has been decided...

party or not - the yard and house will be decorated!

Hence my reason for this post.  I know that I sometimes get all caught up in the decor that I forget some of the other aspects of a party/event that can help create the mood like lighting, music, scents, etc.

Lighting and music/sound are especially helpful when creating a Halloween atmosphere and the folks over at Skull and Bone have what has become my favorite Halloween lighting tutorial.

You really need to take a minute and go HERE to check out the info and look at their diagrams to see what lighting can do for your Halloween haunt.  

Halloween not your thing?  Think about how these lighting ideas can improve your next party.  

another grandin road gotta have

How fun is this? I can picture it hidden inside a cauldron - talk about "bubble, bubble, toil and trouble.

what every haunted house needs

Love Grandin Road's Halloween selection. This broom is on my must haves for Halloween.

spooky strawberries

How about sharing these sweet little spooks with your guests on Halloween.

thanks for the love

Today I spotted my back to school centerpieces (or variations of them) on a few blogs - thanks for sharing!

The Celebration Shoppe

Tip Junkie

Party Planning Mom

I love that she took my idea and made it her own.

I also found some of my other ideas while wasting time on the computer today

Mix Mingle and Glow

Apartment Therapy - umm, hello - how did I not know I had been mentioned on one of my favorite design blogs?

I appreciate all the creativity that is floating about on the world wide web - I love seeing and using ideas from other folks so I am glad that my ideas can be shared with others as well.

peppers ghost

I'm a fan of Disney's Haunted Mansion - I especially love the ballroom scene of the ride. The effect used in that scene is referred to as The Peppers Ghost Illusion.

This video shows a simple way to add this effect to your own home for Halloween.

why must you be sold out?

I love One Cool Pick - I always find great stuff.  

I ran across this today and want it so desperately for the Twilight movie release party I'm planning but alas, it's sold out!  You can find Edward and other great decals HERE.

I think I'd put him in the bathroom - too inappropriate?!  Perhaps I don't do Edward justice by confining him to the bathroom.  Maybe he would be better on a currently empty wall in my family room.  I can see it now...woman will gather around him while taking pictures and giggling.  What is it with this vampire?

8 weeks of halloween inspiration

If you are looking for some Halloween inspiration then get over and visit Martha and sign up for her 8 week Halloween Party Workshop.  I'm signed  up and can't wait for the ideas.

let the halloween ideas begin

Every year at this time I get it...the Halloween Itch.  There doesn't seem to be a cure for it and the onslaught of black and orange that is hitting all the stores makes it worse.  I love this time of year!

I am a lover of details so I love these simple stickers that can turn even the simplest get together into a party.  Instead of having a full blown Halloween party this year just invite some friends over for some scary movies with a dinner consisting of pizza and drinks.  Throw these labels on the bottles and you have instantly made your dinner and a movie into more of a party.

You can find the labels HERE.

More Halloween to come over the next weeks and months!

a diy dinner party table

I just saw this great DIY table today and now want to do the same thing for my own home. Kate over at Mi Piace Kate Design found this plain table cheap on Craigslist.

With some sanding (read her post to find out how she got her hands on a sander - brilliant!) and a few coats of primer and chalkboard paint...

She created this great table - love it!

It's perfect for daily use or for some fun, interactive dinner parties.  I know my party guests would love sitting around this table.

recovering

We have been gone quite a bit on various vacations for family reunions and weddings - had a great time but am now bogged down with the realities of life like laundry, laundry and  more laundry (not to mention school starting up in a few weeks)

I am in the middle of party planning - September 6th my daughter is having a  farewell to Summer party...Extreme Kickball Showdown.  It should be a lot of fun.  I'll post some of our ideas here soon, along with pictures.

free, free, free

fonts!  

Check out the ultra cool free fonts at Font Squirrel.  I'm definitely adding this to my list of free font sites that I love.  

The others I frequent...

DaFont

Font Space

note to self

kick ball party - yea, it would be a ton of fun!