How to Halloween like a pro

Halloween is just around the corner and we are READY.  You could say things got a bit out of hand…

If there is one thing I hate it is a shop bought costume.  Maybe it has something to do with years of art school Halloween parties (boy, those were epic) followed by years of Bluebellgray Halloween parties where not one attendee would be caught dead (yeah, even at Halloween, baboom-ch) in anything other than a homemade costume, usually painstakingly made over many an evening the month prior.  So, you get it, plastic fangs ain’t my thing.

If you are anything like me and you love that personal, handcrafted feel but are lacking in the time department then Etsy has your (and my) back.  I have long been a fan, picking up some gems over the years like the macrame wall-hanging in our bedroom and my fringed clip earrings but, I have to say, working on this project I really got carried away.

As soon as I found the most perfect baby lion bonnet my heart was set on this theme and honestly the rest flowed from there.  There was faux fur for the bald dog’s mane and a flower crown for my own.  You know I am such a sucker for a bit of driftwood so when I found these personalised, hand lettered beauties I had to go all out with a ‘Beware of the lions’ sign and honestly it is so beautiful.  Hessian pumpkins and boolloons (see what I did there?) as well as a selection of dried floral decorations quickly followed…

Then the hunt for an apple dooking solution began.  Let’s just face it, a plastic bucket was not going to cut it.  I think I initially searched for brass cauldrons and, as often happens to me on the www, my journey evolved somewhat with the discovery of vintage sellers on Etsy.  This incredible, one of a kind, brass coal scuttle popped up (there are a bunch on there) and I knew it would be ideal – imminently for the apples and later, fireside for our kindling.

As the orders started to arrive in the mail, each one was such a lovely treat to open.  Because Etsy is a marketplace full of independent sellers, so many of them really went the extra mile with the packaging – hand scripted addresses, wax sealed envelopes and carefully written notes.  I really get the feeling that heart and soul has been poured into these products and I love that.

I feel like I hacked Halloween honestly.  The mother I always wanted to be, who has heaps of time to create all these beautiful things, is a little out of my grasp at the moment (working mama and all that) but with a little clever shopping, at least I can pretend.  And Halloween is nothing if not all about pretending right?

With thanks to Etsy for sponsoring this post.

 

OUTFIT DETAILS

baby lion hat (I order size 1-3 yrs)
baby cord dungarees
flower crown headband
faux fur

 

 

ROOM DETAILS

BOO balloons
hand dipped taper candles
phalaris orange dried flowers
broom dried grass
dried flower & pumpkin wreath
hessian pumpkins
hand lettered pumpkin
vintage brass coal scuttle
BOO toppers
custom hand lettered driftwood sign