{Halloween} Hitchcock Inspired Mantel

I've found out the hard way I can't buy Halloween candy even one day before October 31st! But it has been raining cats and dogs here for two days, and all I want to do is curl up on the couch with a bowl of fun-sized candy bars! The gloomy days do add to the Hitchcocky feeling of our Halloween mantel, though.

Hi Sugarplum | Halloween Hitchcock Mantel

The front porch and mantel are pretty much the only areas that change with the holidays around here...mostly because they are my favorite spaces to decorate. (Next to coffee tables, of course.) My method is to pull out any decor I have for the holiday, then stare at it until inspiration strikes.

And again, since Halloween season is so short-lived, I either craft the decor, or pick up creepy accents at the Dollar Store. This year I shopped my house and Mother Nature.

Last year's mantel was Black & White minimalist...this year is kind of more-is-more. And I'm kind of cuckoo for it.

The felt spider garland is the only new addition, found at Target.

We take a lot more walks now that we have Maggie, so the kids and I gathered quite a few sticks, and I gave them a light dusting of matte black spraypaint. Then we stuck them in glass vases, and clipped crows to the branches. Funny thing is, I have a severe aversion to birds en masse.

I've had the skeleton heads from the Dollar Store for a few years, but we added googly-eyes to them. For no reason other than I have a thing for googly-eyes.

Last year we used yarn to spell out 'Boo' on the craft store foam pumpkins, and this year I made stripes with thumbtacks. I try not to permanently alter them so I can use them year-after-year.