Chic Black and White Halloween Mantel + Traditional Fall Hutch Decor

I think I've proven in the past that I'm not always the most enthusiastic decorator for holidays. But it's a lot more fun when your kids act excited about decorating, which was a big motivator for my Halloween decor this year.

Since I already had quite a bit of black and white happening on my mantel between the clock and vases (not to mention the fireplace box itself and the white mantel), I decided to go with a monochromatic black and white scheme. I wanted to keep it looking chic and sophisticated, but still fun for the kids, and this is what I came up with.

I started by gathering up books from my collection that have black spines/covers, and stacking them up. I always like using my books as decor, since I already have lots of them and it's fun for me to put them on display.

These two lanterns usually have blue and green candles inside. I didn't want to buy black and white candles just for this display, especially since I knew I wouldn't be burning them. So I just took a sheet each of black and white paper, wrapped them around the candles I already owned, and taped them into place. Easy, free fix to keep my black and white look going.

I made the 'spook' banner and the bats using my Silhouette Portrait. Super easy and quick to pump out, and I love the swarm of bats escaping from the fireplace. I think I'll leave them up all year, and just accessorize them for every other holiday. They can each wear a Santa hat for Christmas, bunny ears for Easter, etc. It'll totally work, right?

We have a cute hutch in our kitchen that I used to display our more traditional fall decor.

The little 'apple cider' sign was another quick Silhouette project from last year, made from a piece of scrap wood I found in the garage. I used those removable photo hanging strips to attach it to the back of the hutch. Hopefully it'll come down okay!

And I was happy to rediscover this little painting in a box in my garage. I bought it at a thrift store years and years ago, but never found a good spot for it in our last house. I think it looks perfect tucked into this display.

Do you like decorating for fall, or Halloween, or both?

Bring on the pumpkins, corn pits, and boots

Now that we've made our annual pumpkin patch visit, we can say that fall has been officially kicked off (even though we are just starting to see some color change in the leaves and the weather is barely beginning to cool down).

We visited Jaker's in Springville and had a great time. I'll admit, we were a bit worried when we pulled into the parking lot--it was absolutely packed and there was even a bit of a line waiting to get in. But we were happy to find that there were enough attractions to keep the crowd spread out fairly evenly, so it didn't feel as crazy as it looked.

Forrest was really excited about the 'pumpkin rocket!' until we realized it was a pumpkin drop that charged per drop. It sure looked cool, though!

But the petting zoo was a huge hit. You guys, that piglet. THAT PIGLET!!! Forget taking a pumpkin home at the end of the night. I wanted that little guy to come home with me. He was so adorable. His little twirly tail was in constant motion, spinning nonstop as long as we watched him. Cutest thing ever.
 

By far, the kids' favorite part of the night was playing in a humongous corn pit. And we smuggled a good deal of it home with us by accident--we kept pulling kernels out of pockets, socks, underpants, and diapers. I found a handful of them in my purse later--not sure if they dropped in on their own, or if a little someone thought a handful of corn would make a great souvenir?

There is literally not a single thing about fall that I don't love, except I guess the knowledge that winter comes after. We have the scientific know-how to send people into space--I vote that we apply that knowledge and energy to creating a perpetual fall.

One of my favorite things about fall is switching from summer clothes to some warmer fall style. I know there are states out there that bring the heat in a far more serious way than Utah does, but still . . . I could do without 100+ degree days, and it is glorious--glorious!--when I can put a jacket and boots on.

And this year, I wanted to try out the ankle boots that have been so trendy lately. I got these ankle boots from Famous Footwear and have been loving them. I'm so accustomed to wearing knee-high boots that this height took a little getting used to. They are such a fun change from boots I've worn in the past, though, and I feel like they really go with just about everything, which is nice.

If you're like me and can always use a little help and inspiration when it comes to style, make sure to check out the #ohsofamous style gallery. It's a great way to find new style ideas for the season and see how others are styling their Famous Footwear shoes. I've been scrolling through and I have to say, it is really helpful to see other ladies wearing these exact boots, and the outfits they've put together around them. I'm making mental notes of what I like best, so I can try some new things with my boots. 

(And little fashionista Darcy is sporting these sweet little boots.)

Even Jeff got in on the action with the first pair of boots he has ever owned in his life (can you believe that?! my dad and brothers always wore boots so it kind of blew my mind that Jeff has never worn them before). And he promptly filled them up with corn kernels from the big corn pit. A hazard of pumpkin patching. You can see the pair he chose HERE.

What's your favorite thing about fall?

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

10-Minute ‘Boo’ Sign + My Fall Decorating

I can almost hear my mom and sister laughing at the post title already—10 minute ‘boo’ sign!!! We got together last week to do some Halloween crafting, and I’ll just give you a quick run-down of our day . . .

Number of hours we spent together: 5
Number of projects Bekah planned to make: 4
Number of projects I planned to make: 0
Number of false starts and do-overs on just 1 single project: 50382
Number of pumpkin scones consumed: 6
Total number of projects Bekah completed: 0
Total number of projects I completed: 1

As a reminder, peek back up at the project plans—Bekah wanted to make 4 things, and I wasn’t going to make any. Yet somehow I ended up with the only project of the day, even though we spent 4 or 5 hours together. We are slow, easily distracted, very hungry crafters who take frequent snack breaks.

But—but! If we had actually had a plan for this sign, and known what we wanted it to turn out like, and just made the dang thing instead of fiddling around, changing our minds over and over about how it should look, messing things up and trying them again a different way, I bet it would have honestly been about a 10 minute project. So I’m just going to call it that. It’s just too embarrassing to title this post ‘My 4 hour ‘boo’ sign.’

At any rate, it was a very fun 4 hours (although there was minimal crafting involved), and I love how my little sign turned out. I used my brand spankin’ new Silhouette Portrait, and guys. This thing is fun. I have so many things I want to use it for, and so many ideas I’ve been hoarding and imagining for, quite honestly, a few years now. This is an exciting moment. But I figured I’d better start small while I get to know the machine and learn what it can do, and this sign was a great little intro. It’s a simple, fast, very basic project that turned out so sweet.

All I did was lightly paint a store-bought plaque (purchased from JoAnn with a 50% off coupon, so it came to about $4), then used spray adhesive to mount the letters on it (which I typed up and resized for my sign, then cut from cute paper with my Silhouette Portrait). I added two of these little spiderwebs in the corners, resized to fit perfectly behind my letters without too much overlap. A thick layer of mod podge over the whole thing, plus a little watered-down black paint sponged around the edges and flicked with a toothbrush over the front, and it was good to go!

For the little pumpkins, I just grabbed some cheap plastic pumpkins from a dollar store and slapped a few layers of white chalk paint on, then added some black dots with the non-bristled end of a paintbrush (for the small dots) and my fingertip (for the bigger dots). Makes for a cute little Halloween display, if I may say so myself.

Elsewhere in the house, I’ve stuck more to a fall theme instead of Halloween.

The window, lamp, Scentsy warmer, and wreath are always in this spot, so I just added a few little things to make it look a little more ‘autumn.’ I made the Halloween paper garland a few years ago, and am sort of amazed at how well it’s still holding up. I added candy corn to my DIY hurricanes (made with this tutorial), and tossed some moss and pumpkins (which I already had) into a planter that migrates throughout my house all year. A little burlap as a table runner and a leftover wood slice from my sister’s wedding this summer, and it looks all sorts of autumnal.

Outside, I got rid of my summer flowers in my planters (they were well past health anyway) and added some mums. I’m hoping they’ll fill out soon and look a little more lush. I think a fall wreath would look a little more appropriate on the door, but I haven’t seen any I’ve fallen in love with yet. The search continues.

If budget allowed, I’d have like 4 times as many pumpkins as you see here . . . but dang, those puppies add up fast! I’m now doubly impressed by porches that have dozens of pumpkins set out. Impressed once because they look so cheery, and again because they must have taken out a second mortgage to pay for them. Between the mums and the pumpkins, I spent about $20 out here. Inside, all I purchased was the plaque for the Boo sign, so my total money spent to decorate for fall is about $24. Not bad, I’d say.

How do you like to decorate for fall?

Scentsy Giveaway!

I'm pretty sure everyone has something relating to their home that they're a little paranoid about. I have some friends who hate the idea of guests arriving to find a family room littered with toys, or others who despise the idea of someone spotting dirty dishes in the sink or bikes and toys left in the front yard. Mine is smell. I just cringe at the thought of someone coming into my home and thinking it smells like old garbage or yesterday's dinner or a certain someone's dirty diapers (hint: not mine). And the fact that the previous owners of our home let their pets do their business anywhere and everywhere--which obviously led to a house reeking of pet stink--just added fuel to the fire. Needless to say, I'm a big fan of candles, wax warmers, air fresheners, etc.

If you're a tad worried about how your place smells, too, and hope for a home that smells warm and fresh and inviting, then you've come to the right place today.

I was sent a nice big box of Scentsy bars to try out, as well as a cute little warmer to test them out in. Scentsy's signature scent for the year is Pink Pepper, a spicy, deep smell that can be mixed with any other scents to create a warmer, richer scent for the fall and winter months. (I feel utterly uncreative now, as it has literally never occurred to me to mix scents before to come up with something new. I'm a clever one!)

I tried out combo after combo and, although many bloggers also participating in this promotion are far more fancy and creative than I and loved mixing 3 or 4 different scents together, I am a simple girl. My favorite combination was just 2 blocks of Amber Road (a masculine, cologne-y type scent) mixed with 1 block of Pink Pepper. I loved these two together--deep and outdoorsy and a bit manly, with a good kick of spice from the Pink Pepper to really make it feel like autumn. Mmmmm.

And the Whoot warmer looks adorable in my fall decor:

I love that it lights up as it warms the bars--like another little lamp on my table--and looks cute even when it's turned off.

So, would you like to win a Whoot warmer just like mine from Scentsy, as well as the bars I used to come up with my favorite fall scent? Just help me come up with a name for my signature scent using the Rafflecopter tool below (if you're reading this in a reader or email, you'll have to pop over to this post to enter), and you're on your way.
a Rafflecopter giveaway