Several weeks ago Ash and her friend The Mostess came up with a little friendly Welcome Fall competition. Once I saw that there was to be a Halloween Decorating competition, I BEGGED Ash to open it up to the public. I knew that I had this thing in the bag.
But before we get to my Spooktacular Entry, I feel the need to air my opinions about WHAT is and isn't good Halloween decor (feel free to write this down).
1.) A couple of strategically placed pumkins, does NOT a display make. Displays are multi-faceted. They are meant to bring people in. Not scare them away. Which brings me to...
2.) Gory, Ghoulish creepy displays belong in a trailer park. We do not trick-or-treat to people's houses to have the pee scared out of us. If we wanted to be freaked out, we would go to the Haunted House. So keep your bloody phantoms to yourself. No one wants to see them.
3.) The thing that I hate most of all...SCARECROWS! I do not know WHY people feel the need to put these on their doorsteps. Folks...they are HIDEOUS. 1994 called and wants it's scarecrow back. PUT THEM AWAY. They have NO place in Halloween decor.
And now I give you BEDAZZLED BEWITCHING SPOOKTACULAR SPECTACULAR (also known as...How Halloween should be Decorated)
It doesn't look like much from a distance...but upon closer review...
Halloween should invite you in.
This walkway says, "Come and enjoy this Halloween season!" Not "I'm going to chop you up into 3 million pieces and use your bones to brick my house."
PDR #1 - Glittery Bat Wreath
It should have SEVERAL Pieces de Resistance. One is adequate...yea even expected. Two...three...now that is spectacular.
PDR #2 Spooky Halloween Garland
Close up #1
#2...a delightful mix of creepy and cute!
Close up #3...featuring PDR #3...the glitter spiders!
PDR #3 Giant Spiderweb and the Glitter Spiders
They are precious. And deserve a place of honor in this entry.
If you don't think that these are the cutest, then you do not really love Halloween.
Other components of the Very Glittery Bedazzled Barlow Porch include (but are not limted to):
These PBK inspired Ghosts.
PBK's Version ($59.00 for three)
It should include homemade knock offs of something that is absurdly overpriced. My versions...total cost $14. And Emilie helped make them. Yep...that should be double bonus points!
And it should have a divine welcome mat. Because nothing says Welcome Halloween like a Spooky doormat!
And there you have it people. Let the praises begin!
Ha ha ha. . . nice hail mary at the end there! Very very cute and inviting in a classy, non-gory way! Ok, so I think you need to show a picture of the whole scene--door, spider-webs, ghosts all together because while I adore all of them individually I feel it would be more grandiose as a cohesive whole.
Your glitter-bell spiders take the cake for me. Did you make those? The wreath is my second-fave part. And I envy your classy house/porch. My raw elements suck.
Also I agree with all three of your rules. However, while the Mostess does use Scarecrows and gore, I must say she of all people goes beyond a few strategically placed pumpkins!
Posted by: Ashley C. | October 17, 2011 at 05:11 PM
LOVE your rules - agree entirely!! LOVE your display - well done, the way I would have done it - if I had done one! And LOVE your post - well written, so fun to read!
So I guess it's love,love,love!
Posted by: Linda | October 17, 2011 at 07:14 PM
Of course it's adorable. Love the rules. People may hate on the rules but they are still the rules...so true.
Posted by: Brooke | October 17, 2011 at 07:27 PM
Love the rules---so true, so true. And I agree about scarecrows; they are harvest, not Halloween! Boo-tiful decor, Lo....the glitter spiders are over the top. I agree with Ashley; let's see the whole. It's hard to see the ghosties; I think they turned out really cute. Nice work!!
Posted by: Pat | October 17, 2011 at 08:29 PM
LOVE the decor. LOVE the invites. Wish we were there to party with you!
Posted by: allesha | October 17, 2011 at 11:12 PM
Whoa, whoa...your rules are half wrong!
1. Scarecrows are fine for Fall--September and November. I don't think they belong in October displays, though. The only thing that went out in 1994 was high-waisted jeans and grunge.
2. I agree that a bunch of pumpkins does not a display make.
3. There are three kinds of Halloween displays: cutesy, spooky, and gory. I do spooky, not gory. The creeper in the ground is as scary as I get, and I think that my display is eerie, spooky, and magical. Kids love it!
4. I HATE glitter Halloween objects. Hate, hate, hate. This trend needs to die.
5. I deduct points for vinyl anything.
6. The garland, web, and spiders are all cute. I also like the mat!
7. I'm all about doing expensive things cuter and better. The ghosts are adorable.
Posted by: Kaari | October 18, 2011 at 12:45 AM
Agreed on the scarecrow thing. Sorry, Kaari. Scarecrows below in the Wizard of Oz and that's it. Although you can dress your kid as a scarecrow for Halloween. I'm down with that. And I agree on the gore, too. I'm not a fan of gore. I'm all about the pumpkins. If you have an awesome display that involves really cool looking pumpkins, you're miles above the rest. I think I'm biased, though.
Posted by: Molly | October 18, 2011 at 11:19 AM
I LUV your rules. I hate scarecrows (sorry Kaari but since we haven't met then I am not to sorry). I also can't do gory or anything close to it. I think the ghosts are cute. I thought about making those but opted for the easy route of bats from MS instead. Maybe I will get around to the ghosts next year.
Posted by: Jolynn | October 18, 2011 at 02:56 PM