Torn.

Mr. Spouse came home from a quick trip to good ol’ Wal Mart on Halloween and he was beside himself.  “Did you know that Wal Mart ALREADY has their Christmas decorations out??  And they’re ALREADY decorating for the holidays??”  It’s clear he doesn’t get out much.  I was all, “Well, Hobby Lobby has ‘em beat because their Christmas stuff started rolling out in June.”   His jaw dropped.  Bless him. 

I’m always torn this time of year because I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Halloween, but I get pretty stinkin’ excited to decorate for Christmas.  So, I had to get a little creative with my decorating schedule.  I start decorating for Halloween between mid-late September, and then Christmas throws up in our house the first weekend of November.  Sadly, that’s not a lie.  We’re not home to decorate during the Thanksgiving holidays and we can’t enjoy our décor during the Christmas holidays because we’re always up north.  I get to enjoy my very minimal Halloween decorations for another few days and then the boxes come out of the attic this weekend.  Just thought I’d share a few pictures before I deck the halls :)

This little space in our foyer gets changed A LOT.  It’s home to my card shutters during the holidays.  I REALLY wanted to hang this little window instead of propping it against the wall, but Mr. Spouse REFUSES to let me put anymore jankity holes in the wall.

I *might* have a small obsession with skulls.  Just sayin’.  But seriously, how can you resist when you find ‘em at the Dollar Tree?! 

I made the little BOO banner using vintage music sheets, black cardstock, ribbon, and the Circus font.  I just printed, cut, and glued.  It’s definitely NOTHING fancy, but I loved the way it looked with the rest of the black and white accents.

Here’s the itty wall opposite the black/white/skull vignette.  I should mention that this is a very sad space.  I wanted to add small bats to the branches and then drape cheesecloth over the table.  And I wanted to add a couple of framed silhouettes, too.  As you can see, none of my plans transpired.  This is the part of the house that’s visited the least {by us, anway}, so we were practicing the whole, “out of sight, out of mind”, idea.

My favorite addition to the house this year are these shelves!!  I fell in love with them on on The House of Smiths.  And score for Mr. Spouse because he built them himself {following this tutorial}.  Oh, how I LOVE them.  PERFECT for decorating. 

I love having a little focal point that I can change out with the seasons/holidays. 

I used to have this great little jack-o-lantern/cat garland that I’d hang up on our entertainment center every year.  Well, we moved that unit upstairs so I planned on hanging it where  you see the “Fright” banner.  As soon as I pulled it out of the box, it broke.  Dangit.  SO, I took one of the little jack-o-lanterns and decided to repurpose it.  I spray painted this frame black and the mat a fun little rust color.  I took some of my vintage sheet music and adhered it to the mat.  Then I hot glued the jack-o-lantern on top.  I LOVE the way it turned out….even though I wish the sheet music weren’t going sideways!  Darn details!!

I made this little Fright banner using sheet music and kraft paper and distressed the edges with a distress ink pad.

It’s fun.  It’s festive.  And it’s comin’ down in just a few days :(

Now maybe this will help me remember how to put it all out next year!  HA!!! 

I’ll be back in a few days with a couple of new tutorials.  I’ve been a wreath makin’ fool these last few weeks.  Here’s a little sneak peek…