Halloween-ing the House: Part 1

So begins a series of posts on how I will attempt to add some Halloween flair to my humble abode.  I don't go all out decorating for Halloween and would normally place a few fall-ish items around the house with the changing season - that way I'm good for all Fall holidays.  This year, I will decorate following a few rules.  Keep it simple, and keep it cheap. 

It should be no secret that I admire Martha Stewart despite her time in the slammer.  The woman is a genius and she always offers a ton of inspiration for decorating...especially on a budget.

I remember her decorating lamp shades with some halloweenish animals (crows, bats, owls...) and thought I could do this too.  I used just bats and it took me less than 10 minutes from start to finish.  And well, because I have other plans for crows later.  Here is how my lampshade turned out:

This is a very quick project that you can complete in a matter of minutes.  Especially if you happen to have black paper (or black paint so you can paint the paper, but it would add some paint and dry time), scissors and tape:

I just so happened to have 3 sheets of plain black paper that I purchased from Michael's a few weeks ago for a different project, but I should have enough for both.  The paper was $0.29 each - which means this project cost less than a buck.

I did a quick search on Google for "bats" and used the images as a quick reference for drawing.  Then, I drew a quick outline of a bat on the paper in pencil then folded the paper in half so I would get two bats from each drawing (I made two very rough drawings and they turned out pretty well).  

I didn't know how Martha Stewart originally affixed these to the shade, but I figured tape would probably work.  So I just placed two plain pieces of scotch tape on each bat, then I placed the sticky side on the inside of the shade.  You can't see the tape at all.   

 The greatest part is that when the lamp is turned off you can't see the halloween effect.  All you need to do is turn on the lamp for a little flair!

Now that was probably the easiest (and cheapest) holiday project yet.  I also have 1 1/2 sheets of black paper left so I should have plenty for my other halloween project.

I considered using the same idea but with crows and placing them randomly around the house and on the front door.  Thankfully I didn't take the time or energy considering my drawing skills and scissor skills aren't that great.  I ran into Michael's to grab supplies for the earlier project and for a super secret wedding gift and came across these guys and they were 50% off - 12 crows for $2.50.  Woo hoo!  I may have only had to spend another $1.00 for more black paper but the energy it saved me was worth it.

 

I only used 5 of the crows to place around the house and I really like the little halloween flair it added to the everyday decor.

 If I'm careful removing all tape, I can easily pack these away and use them again next year.

In case you're wondering, Joe got in on the Halloweenie fun:

 Would you have expected anything else?

How do you decorate for Halloween?  What have you done to make your space spookier?

Mary