Spooky TIme- Halloween's around the corner!

Halloween- a holiday that has progressively become one of my absolute favorite days. Basically, anyone who really knows me, knows that I LOVE TO GET INTO COSTUME! Perhaps it is my days of acting in the school musicals and local community theater, but if there is a chance to get dressed up, I will be! This year I am going make my PIN UP GIRL costume, but the real fun is decorating for the party.

Pottery Barn ad - inspiration. Love the cadleabras, not the runner.

Thankfully, my sister and her fiance have decided to host a halloween party and have enlisted my help as the designer extraordinaire. The budget is super small, but that's ok- keeps my creativity flowing. She wants it to be chic and spooky- and I was thinking a little GOTH. Sexy Goth though :) Her house already has a lot of ivory, black and orange; replace all the light bulbs with black lights and accented with many candles, and we've got a nice little backdrop to start off with.

My creative process is as follows:

1. choose a theme
2. think of hundred of ideas to execute it (large, small, ridiulous, expensive, cheap)
   
3. elminitate ideas, add more ideas
   
4. search the net for many images that could inspire ("sexy halloween," "chic Halloween Decor," "chic decorations," skulls, feathers, lights, etc.)
   
5. then start walking the vendors to see what "is" workable and in the budget for the most effect.
   
6. create the budget by getting everything we will use for the event
   
7. PURCHASE !!!!

At this point I am in between 3, 4, and 5, and was feeling a little frustrated. So I hit the streets for a little inspiration on Saturday and sunday. Here are things I saw on my walk that I thought could somehow be used for the party.

ABC Carpet & Home window display. This is like a spooky enchanted garden. I absolutely LOVE this. Birch branches, the tattered canopy, the leaves, and eery lighting are perfect materials for a chic halloween party.

My sister wants to have a wall of fabric. This type of application could be easy- just cut, cut, cut, cut, and affix to the wall. It think it would look great hanging on the wall and slightly (in the corners of the room) hanging on the ceiling, so you get the spider web effect.

I really, really, really, want to do something on the ceiling (but don't know if I'll win this battle) and thought this idea of ripped scraps of fabric tied to wire would be really fab!

Glitter skull found at Pottery Barn. It is $20 (a bit steep for a foam skull with glitter.) I am hoping to find a skull somewhere for super cheap and will then glitter it up for massive GLAM factor!

This ribbon treatment was on the eave/ awning of a little store in NoLita. I have seen this done often. It would look great in a door way long to the floor.

In the window of a hair salon in SOHO- Black roses in hanging bud vases with black water. I saw this all the way across the street and was instantly struck by how gorgeous and innovative this is- super easy to achieve.

Black Feathers, Ravens, Branches, fabric, rhinestones, roses............ so many materials that could work in this design.

Stay tuned for more on the Halloween design.

Cheers!

The Designista