the goblins were hung by the chimney with care

Have you ever thought about the serious lack of Halloween carols?  I have, because that's how my brain works - spending inappropriate amounts of time thinking about nonsense things.  

But anyway...

I have had to decorate here a little there a little because of my busy October schedule.  Here are a few pictures of my fireplace mantle (I'll follow up in the next day or two with other Halloween hot spots in my home as I get them all done)

The pictures don't provide a ton of detail but you can get the idea.  The decor is rather simple. Here's what I used...

black cheesecloth - dye your own or buy it.  It is often referred to as spooky cloth when you buy it packaged at the store.  I have found mine at Michael's and Big Lots.  I am sure any craft store will have it.  Take some scissors to it and shred that baby up.  I used tape to keep mine situated on the mantle.

black twig-like garland - I tried to find a picture of the stuff online but no such luck.  This is garland that I found at Michael's that looks like thin black twigs with a little touch of purple glitter.

black Christmas garland - yes, I said Christmas.  This garland is from Michael's as well and it looks exactly like the super inexpensive green Christmas garland they sell it's just black instead of green.

a strand of flicker lights - I have a abnormal fascination with flicker lights in case you wanted to know some of my issues :)

Once that is all set up go to town with your creativity and with all the junk lying around your house.  What?  You don't have junk?  I can't be the only pack rack.  Look around your house and see what you've got.  
I used this glass pedestal bowl that normally holds our initials in it.  I threw some skulls in it and it works for Halloween
I added some candlesticks and lots of bottles.  The bottles are the easy part.  Spice bottles, salsa bottles, oil bottles, etc - do NOT throw them away.  I hold on to mine, add random things to them and slap a label on them to give them a creepy Halloween vibe.  you can always pick up great bottles at Goodwill and garage sales.

The labels aren't too hard to make on a computer especially if you keep them simple.  The ones I have made are a simple box outline with the ingredient written in a cool font.  To find a font that is right for you try Dafont or Font Space (both are font sites that I love and use frequently)

If you aren't feeling especially crafty and don't want to take the time to make your own labels then you must go here right now.  Seriously, go right now!  Johnny over at love Manor has created the most amazing labels - perfect for your Halloween decor AND they are free for you to download and use.

Amazing, right?  There are a ton more so if you still haven't gone here go there now.

Do you decorate your mantle for Halloween or are you a Christmas only kind of person?  I'd love to see your Halloween decor - leave a comment with a link to your Halloween hauntings.