how do you deco for halloween? spooky, or not so?

a halloween hallway
Originally uploaded by lakbdesign/fergusandme
i have been thinking about this issue all day, i think ever since hgtv.ca used a pic of teddy hanging halloween letter garland as the lead-in for a similar post. around here, we tend to go the no-so-spooky route -- although teddy asked me yesterday if we could have 'a graveyard with skeletons poking out' (thanks neighbors two streets over!) -- just using pumpkins and cut out black paper bats and that sort of thing.

pretty much like this, actually ~

happy almost halloween!

x lynn-anne

HGTV Canada - Decorating, Entertaining, Real Estate and Renovation Advice, and teddy, on the homepage!

http://www.hgtv.ca/default.aspx

teddy is on the hgtv canada style page, and homepage today . . . and he learned to spell 'halloween', too!

he was quite tickled to see it (and so was i!)

x lynn-anne

the decorated cookie: attack of the zombie marshmallows!!!

the decorated cookie: attack of the zombie marshmallows!!!

these are seriously a hoot. now i know what to do with the giant packet of positively ginormous marshmallows that i bought at walmart yesterday . . . (if you know me personally, you'll probably know that walmart makes me nuts . . . too overwhelming, and too much temptation to over buy giant things we don't need -- see above!)  but i'd never seen such marshmallows.  they could be described as epic.  and i did have a vaguely hatched plan to make some sort of ghost-y thing with them . . . but now i have a real plan: the decorated cookie's too-too-cute zombie marshmallows.  can't wait to make them for teds' halloween party saturday.

don't hold your breath on pics -- it will be a super busy weekend, for you as well as me, i'm sure!

nighty-night!

x lynn-anne

a vintage lite brite light moves from esther's sun porch to my downstairs bathroom

a vintage lite brite light
Originally uploaded by lakbdesign/fergusandme
for weeks and weeks, our downstairs bathroom has been making me crazy every time i'm in it -- besides the fact that it always seems in need of a good scrub, or at least a lick and a promise, -- i had come to hate the chandelier (plain drippy crystal, you get the drift) quite passionately. and, bored, bored, bored, i had also removed all art in a fit of bored annoyance.. . . . result: even more boredom and annoyance.
SO . . . . -- what to do? -- well . . . today, i decided to go with the jeu de paume, seriously silly approach. my darling husband rewired this pendant for me -- i adore it, and i think it may even be unique; i call it the lite brite (you know, "lite brite, makin' things with li--ii--ii-ght") light. caroline and i found it a few weeks ago at an estate sale, and it's been sitting around ever since, waiting for a new home. have you ever been to an estate sale where you really get a sense of the person, even maybe relate to her? that's what happened here. esther fishel was a charlotte artist and department store art director who died last year at age 92. she's not well known, but her work is lovely -- c. and i scooped up piles of her fashion advertising drawings (so Mad Men!) and a few of her oils . . . she was obviously making and creating well into her eighties. i love that she made this pendant from a plastic plant pot and those little translucent beads that little ones make necklaces from . . . at any rate, i'm glad that this piece has moved from esther's sun porch to my family's downstairs bath. i like to think that esther would approve, especially as when teddy saw it (and he'd completely ignored it for weeks when it was sitting cold and dark and quiet on the work room floor) he pronounced it "MAGIC" -- thank you esther, and thank you all for reading :)

x lynn-anne

oh, and ps -- those pretty yellow birds and flower pieces are naturalcuriosities.com's spectacular renditions of paule marot's work -- . . . more to come on her . . . she's amazing and suddenly, everywhere.

halloween crafty faves - clever flickr contacts

halloween crafty faves - clever flickr contacts
Originally uploaded by lakbdesign/fergusandme

we're planning a crafty halloween party for teddy and his five year old friends, and while we've got a lot of old favorites and crafty stand-bys, i went looking tonight in my favorite crafty flickr pools for some new ideas. i found these beauties, by some very clever people. you'll find the where, which will lead you to the how and the why and most importantly, the who, if you follow the links below ~ happy not-so-creepy crafting!

x lynn-anne

1. owl, 2. Oh, Hello Dere, 3. Wild Max, 4. VICTORIAN GOTHIC HALLOWEEN TAGS Hang Tags Gift Tags PLUS BOOKMARK Digital Collage Sheet - 0083, 5. Halloween matryoshka dolls, 6. Happy Halloween from TADA*s Revolution, 7. Googly eye Halloween wreath, 8. Halloween Friends, 9. halloween broom treat bags

wythe blue room in autumn

wythe blue room in autumn
Originally uploaded by lakbdesign/fergusandme
no school today, so we stayed home -- apart from a trip to the pumpkin patch, which was quite entertaining -- and dragged out the halloween things. i'm not a big fan of skeletons and stuff, and today, i managed to keep it to warm fall color and witches. oh, and a few faux crows.

when i'm trying to create a mood in a room, i tend to pull things from other spaces that have the right colors, the right textures, and the right shapes. that way, you get a fresh feel without spending much money -- here, i pulled this sort of heavy console from the living room, left the ballard designs stella mirror that's been there for ages, and popped in a pair of vintage 1970s brown knight chess piece lamps (i bought these at a flea market in cincinnati in september; the burlap shades from target were an easy, wheaty, kind of harvest-feel option). the curve of the horse's neck echoes the arc of the mirror . . . charming. and that tweedy orange grandpa chair is a tag sale find (scrubbed to within an inch of its life!!) . ....

pretty, individual decorating is fairly easy and achievable. almost like paint by numbers.

more to follow on this!

wishing you the happiest of fall days ~

x lynn-anne

Having trouble uploading treasure hunt finds to the blog today -- this is an experiment;)

an october moment

colder weather has finally happened here in north carolina, and, predictably, caroline and teddy have been busy this week after school rummaging recklessly under-the-eaves for our gigantic stash of halloween stuff, as well as debating the relative attributes of pirate, ghost, and viking costumes . . . . and every day, they've begged for me to get everything out to decorate the house for halloween . .  . .  but i just haven't been able to do it.  it's madness, really, boxes and boxes of faux crows and black candles, and all that sort of thing -- and i will get there, but not till this weekend, at the very earliest.  so, in the end, i relented a bit, bought a pumpkin or two, and found a couple of stone ones from africa in my work room.  so this is it so far for fall; more to come, i guess.

so where are you on the big halloween deco question?  all the boxes, or just a few?  i'm not sure yet.  stay tuned . . . :)


ps: what do you think of that bright, bright blue chair?  i brought it home from the shop  -- it's one of a pair.  i really like it.  some brave soul 'redid' it around 1970, i think -- painted it, and upholstered it in white-ish pleather with brass tacks.  let me know!

x lynn-anne