When it comes to Halloween, there’s nothing more fun than carving a few pumpkins, dressing up the kiddies and creating the perfect scarecrow to grace our front yard. While we dish out so much dough for all those bewitching home additions and store bought costumes for the kiddies, when it comes to dressing up our adorable “fourth child“, aka our charming Chihuahua or our dashing Dalmatian, often times the cash just isn’t there.

If you’re thinking of dressing up your fuzzy one, you don’t have to break the bank. With a few simple add-ons and items that you may already have lying around the house, you can have your pup sporting the most spook-tacular look in the family in no time flat.

The Sweetly Spooky Spider

This costume idea is super simple. Requiring only a small amount of simple sewing our sweetly spooky spider design will turn your little pooch into an adorable arachnid quicker than you can say “Abra Cadabra!”

Start out with a simple doggie t-shirt that you already have in pup’s closet, a yard to two yards of fabric (according to the size of your dog. Large dogs will require two yards. Small lap dogs will require only one) and a small amount of pillow stuffing. Measure your pup from the middle of his back down to his feet. Subtract one inch from this measurement. This will be the length of your “spider legs”.

To create your spider legs, simply cut out 8 “legs” according to the measurements you just took. For a smaller dog, create skinny legs to avoid “puppy overload.” (You don’t want any toppling mini-poodles!) For larger dogs, you can create heftier legs.

When cutting, just keep in mind that you will want to create enough width in your legs to sew and stuff each one. If you aren’t sure what width to use don’t worry. The charm of homemade costumes is that they do have flaws which make them even more kitschy and adorable.

Once you get the right length and width, fold the “leg” strips in half length wise and begin to sew the edges shut. If you aren’t one for sewing and plan this as a one-time use costume, you can simply use a small strip of hot glue instead. Once you get about one inch to the top, begin to stuff the legs. You can use a pencil or ruler to help you get the stuffing into the longer areas. Then sew or hot glue the “leg” shut. Once you complete all eight legs, attach four legs to the both sides of the tee shirt. Make sure to leave enough room on the very top for your spider’s eyes and mouth.

Finish with your choice number of eyes created with simple felt and a cute smile made from ribbon or fabric paint. And wah-la! A sweet spider costume for your little sweetie in less than thirty minutes!

Last Minute Looks

No time for sewing, prepping and buying? Here are several looks that are as simple as pie and still every bit as adorable as the real deal.

“Last Minute Moo”

Got a black or white doggie tee and a few fabric scraps or spare pieces of felt in the craft box? Then you have all the makings of the cutest moo cow in town! Simply cut out a few “spots” from those white or black fabric scraps. Hot glue the spots to the back of the shirt for an instant moo-moo in the making.
*Hot Howl-o-ween Tip: Got a little bell lying around the house? Slip it on your pup’s collar. Have some pink fabric either in the sewing room or from an old t-shirt? Cut out an “utter” shape, hot glue the sides together, stuff with fluff, toilet paper or cotton balls and attach to the underside of pup’s shirt.

“Hairy Pupper”

Got an old solid color t-shirt and scissors? Then you’ve got the beginnings of Hairy Pupper, the great doggie wizard! Simply cut a “cape” shape from the t-shirt leaving “strings” on either side at the top of the cape. This will be the cape’s tie. Use other old scraps to create stars for the back of the cape. If you have fabric paint or glitter this works even better. Attach the stars to the cape and you have conjured up the perfect “spell” for cuteness!”

From spooky spiders to marvelous moo cows and everything in between, with just a little creativity you can dream up the perfect bewitching looks for your four legged friend sure to “charm” the socks off everyone they meet. From our family to yours, we wish you a very happy and oh, so spooky safe Howl-o-ween!

Filed in dogs halloween costumes on Saturday, October 30, 2010 · Abra Cadabra, Arachnid, Costume Idea, costumes, Costumes For Dogs, Dalmatian, Dogs, Front Yard, Happy, Home Additions, Homemade Costumes, Howloween, Kiddies, Mini Poodles, Pooch, Poodles, Scarecrow, Skinny Legs, Small Lap Dogs, Spider Design, Spider Legs, Spooky Spider, Ween, Ween Costumes · No Comments »

Creative Ideas For Hauntingly Halloween Night Outside Decor

Every October the children anticipate what they are going to turn themselves into on Halloween night, but we adults start our designing for this years outdoor Halloween decorations at least 3-6 months in advance. Turning our normal looking suburban homes into spooky houses of creepiness is an all time favorite for the neighbors as well as the children all around. After all frights and fun is what Halloween is all about.

Use pumpkins in a variety of sizes and colors, the white ones make excellent ghoulish ghost faces. Carve Halloween graveyard scenes and more on them and of course the tried and true expressive faces of horror on them. Use hay bales to make them in stacks and levels. Put glowing candles inside to set off the dramatic looks or use vibrant eerie glow sticks in greens, reds and purples to add to the scare factor.

Turn your dreary everyday front yard into a tombstone filled yard of death. You can buy plastic or foam tombstones with eerily funny epitaphs already on them. Place them strategically around the yard and then use skeletons and bloody zombies to finish off the entire look you are going for. Play creepy soundtracks also to give the visiting goblins and ghouls a fright-mare.

Create a mummy’s tomb out of your yard and front porch. This is made easier with the use of life size mummies you can buy as well as everything else you will need to pull off the perfect mummy tomb. You can use spooky lit twigs and tree branches placed in faux stone urns to give even more dramatic effects to your whole Halloween settings. Use cardboard boxes of large appliances to spray paint gold and stencil Egyptian symbols on for even more additions.

Animated and lighted ghoulish creatures for outdoor use are available in many forms to add to your haunted graveyards or musky, terrifying mausoleums of horror. Some of the most popular include the cackling witch stirring her pot, the headless horseman, grim reaper, rattling and talking skeletons, zombies and mummies. These can be used inside as well as outside in dark corners or passage ways to scare those who dare to enter within.

Hide a zombie in the dark only to have him come to life when someone crosses his path, just let your imagination guide you. Halloween is a time when we can all be a kid at heart and scare those we love. You can find thousands of different types of outdoor decorations for Halloween frights online that require very little to set them up.

Using props of thrashing creatures, rattling skeletons and more is even easier and the assortment to choose from greater online in the specialty stores which carry them. They have things to decorate your outdoors with that would make a professional haunted house look tame. Many are inflatable and easy to set up all you do is plug them in and watch them pop up to life just be sure they are staked to the ground securely.

There are also easy inflatable and lighted outdoor Halloween decorations. These are immaculate in their detailing from hearses with coffins and pop up skeleton’s, witches with their cauldrons brewing, monster’s dancing around and so much more. These are set up by simply plugging into an outdoor electrical outlet and staking to the ground. In minutes it will inflate and be ready to scare.

Filed in Pumpkin Carving Designs on · Creative, Decor, halloween, Hauntingly, ideas, Night, Outside · No Comments »

Halloween Around the World: A Glimpse on Different Celebrations

Halloween is said as one of the oldest event around the world.   Commonly commemorated on October 31, today it is discerned in some nations, but it is in North America and Canada that it sustains its largest grade of popularity. Now let’s take a glimpse on distinct nations and take a look on how they remember the infamous holiday.

In Austria, some people will leave bread, water and a lighted lamp on the table before retiring on Halloween night. The reason for this is because it was once believed such items would welcome the dead souls back to earth on a night which for the Austrians was considered to be brimming with strong cosmic energies. The Belgians believe that it is unlucky for a black cat to cross one’s path and also unlucky if it should enter a home or travel on a ship. The custom in Belgium on Halloween night is to light candles in memory of dead relatives. In China, the Halloween festival is known as Teng Chieh. Food and water are placed in front of photographs of family members who have departed while bonfires and lanterns are lit in order to light the paths of the spirits as they travel the earth on Haloween night. In Czechoslovakia, chairs are placed by the fireside on Halloween night. There is one chair for each living family member and one for each family member’s spirit. At one time, English children made “punkies” out of large beetroots, upon which they carved a design of their choice. Then, they would carry their “punkies” through the streets while singing the “Punkie Night Song” as they knocked on doors and asked for money. In Germany, the people put away their knives on Halloween night. The reason for this is because they do not want to risk harm befalling the returning spirits. In Ireland,  the tradition is still celebrated as much as it is in the United States. The Japanese celebrate the “Obon Festival” (also known as “Matsuri” or “Urabon”) which is similar to Halloween festivities in that it is dedicated to the spirits of ancestors. In Korea, the festival similar to Halloween is known as “Chusok.” It is at this time that families thank their ancestors for the fruits of their labor. The family pays respect to these ancestors by visiting their tombs and making offerings of rice and fruits. The “Chusok” festival takes place in the month of August. Among Spanish-speaking nations, Halloween is known as “El Dia de los Muertos.” It is a joyous and happy holiday, a time to remember friends and family who have died. In Sweden, Halloween is known as “Alla Helgons Dag” and is celebrated from October 31 until November 6.

I know it’s fairly a lot but these are numerous ways other places celebrate Halloween. So If your youngsters think that Halloween is strictly carving pumpkins and balancing for apples, tell them that there’s much more to it. A global commemoration, Halloween and its variations are full of history and tradition.

Filed in Pumpkin Carving Designs on · Around, Celebrations, Different, Glimpse, halloween, World · No Comments »

Celebrating Halloween While Trying to Sell Your House

Sometimes selling your house comes at an inconvenient time, like your favorite holiday. In the case of Halloween, there are some easy and fun ways to decorate and celebrate without detracting from your home’s appearance during showings. If you are planning to dress up your place for Halloween night or for a Halloween parties, this article can give you some hints and tips.

Even if you love it, avoid all really scary, gruesome decorations, or ones designed to give an unsuspecting person a shock. Keep things light and removable. Despite the urge to decorate for the season, avoid cobwebs, spiders, rats and other “haunted house” paraphernalia. Try for more of a “harvest” theme and smiling ghosts, pumpkins, etc. This promotes a positive atmosphere instead of one that might turn some buyers off.

If you are setting up your house for a party or trick-or-treating, do it the day of the event, if at all possible, and try to avoid having a showing that day. If your Realtor can’t negotiate a different time, try to keep the decorations to a minimum until after the showing. Ideally, your decorations will be able to be set up and taken down in a short period of time.

Stick to decorations that can be quickly taken down, or that can blend in with a fall themed staging. Some ideas are removable window decals, orange and purple lights wrapped around a railing, fall flowers such as mums, Halloween-themed signs or posters (no thumbtacks, please!), and decorative lanterns that can double as guides to your front door.

Jack-o-lanterns should have candle substitutes burning in them and be watched carefully for signs of rot if you carve them some time before the Halloween holiday. You don’t need potential buyers being turned off by a “dead” pumpkin! Bowls of apples and nuts are also great fall accents.

If you have the time and inclination, attaching a small card that says “Home for Sale!” and gives the name and address of your Realtor to bags of Halloween candy can be a great way of getting information about your home out in the neighborhood. Who knows – people in the neighborhood could have friends looking for a place!

Decorating for Halloween when you have a home to sell can be somewhat harder if you’re accustomed to going “all out”, but with a little flexibility, you can decorate in a way that both acknowledges the season and doesn’t turn off any buyers!

Filed in Pumpkin Carving Designs on · Celebrating, halloween, House, Sell, Trying · No Comments »

Halloween The Traditional Celebration And Fun

The traditional Halloween celebrations come round every October 31st, and these days those who enjoy the festivities the most are the children. Halloween is a time to dress up in fancy dress and take to the streets trick or treating. Some families go to a lot of trouble decorating their homes and front yards in a ghostly and eerie Halloween theme.

Halloween is a traditional Celtic festival, and has survived through the ages most strongly in the Celtic communities in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. From there, with emigration, Halloween has spread around the world, most notably to America. In recent years, the spread of popular American culture has introduced a further expansion of interest in Halloween to fresh places, such as Asia and Western Europe.

The original Celtic celebrations were pagan festivities related to the changing seasons as winter approached. Traditionally it was a time when the living could communicate with the dead, and magic was abroad. The early Christian church, as with many pagan festivals, absorbed these celebrations into the Christian calendar. All Saints Day, also known as All Hallows Day, was set down for November 1st. All Hallows Evening, the night of October 31st, became known as Hallow E\’en, later just Halloween, and the time for the traditional celebrations.

Halloween celebrations were a community event, and there was usually a bonfire and fun games. The apple harvest was in full swing, and games such as trying to eat an apple on a string or floating in a barrel of water without using your hands, were popular. Children would go from door to door to gather fruit, nuts and other goodies for the festivities, which was the origin of the “treating” visits of today. In most places, especially in Scotland, the children would sing or put on a performance in return for the treats they collected. Today the treats collected are more likely to be candies and sweets, and sometimes money.

Halloween “tricks” were originally secret and often witty pranks played on some adults by children, with the blame being placed on the mischievous spirits that were said to be abroad on Halloween. This practice was especially popular in Ireland. At some stage long in the past, tricks and treating merged into a choice: give a treat or become the victim of a trick. This unfortunate development led to such practices as throwing eggs at houses and soaping windows, and worse. Today these excesses are rare.

Halloween parties are often held with a haunted house theme decoration. To the delight of children, Halloween menu items often include tomato soup renamed as vampire soup, spaghetti dishes renamed with cemetery humor as worms, and the ever-popular breadsticks tipped with sliced almonds and known as witches’ fingers. With so many pumpkins being made into carved jack-o-lanterns, pumpkin dishes such as pumpkin pie are often a feature of Halloween menus.

Over the last few years, the magical themes of the popular Harry Potter books have added fresh fun to costumes and decorations for children\’s Halloween parties.

Halloween costume parties have also become popular events for adults as well in recent years. They are a great excuse to dress up and have fun. It seems the trend today is for any costume to be acceptable, not necessarily just the traditional witches, vampires and ghosts of Halloween. Costume design inspirations are now drawn from many sources, such as recent movies and television series. Some costumes are just witty, such as the seasonally appropriate theme of a leaf blower, consisting just of a leaf suspended from the brim of a cap where it can be blown.

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Filed in Pumpkin Carving Designs on Friday, October 29, 2010 · Celebration, halloween, Traditional · No Comments »