a spooky mantel

20 October 2011

These 3 boys love spooky and scary and spiders,october 2011 050 1

so we decided to make the downstairs mantel just for them, on a budget of course.october 2011 073 1
Downstairs is obviously where the fun is…october 2011 072 1
The pumpkin topiaries are just some old flower urns I spray painted black and stacked some $1.29 pie pumkins from the grocery store.october 2011 079 1
The silhouette spiders are Martha Stewart from Michaels big Halloween clearance last year: a dad, a mom, and 5 little ones, just like our family Smileoctober 2011 080 1
The ghosts were super fun to make:october 2011 085 1
Get some liquid starch (in the laundry aisle) and pour it into a bucket,
starch
drench some cheesecloth in the starch, and then put it over your ghost form. My “forms” are one of those bed risers with a moss ball on top, and I used a paint can for a taller one as well. But… I wish I would have covered the balls in plastic or foil, because my ghosts have little tiny green moss hairs~you can see them if you look closely in the next picture down. Oh well.october 2011 020 1
Just let them dry and then use black paper or felt for eyes. They are super stiff and just sit there~don’t they look like they have a mysterious spell cast on them?october 2011 086 1
The branches are courtesy of some backyard bushes:free! and the stretchable web was also from clearance last year~we put some lights underneath to give it more of an eerie feel.october 2011 093 1
The boys made the faces on the pumpkins and they are ready to be carved. Do the spiders just freak you out? We think they are very creepy & cool, but I know from a few of the comments on my front porch spiders that some of you are just hating this post. I’m linking up to Beth’s Mantel Party:
Home Stories A2Z
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this originally was a guest post over at 3 Sun Kissed Boys, but I wanted to share it here as well~

18 comments

  1. Sorry if you get multiple comments from me....having trouble with the commenting system. I LOVE THE GHOSTS! The reflection in the fireplace door is awesome!!! Visiting from Home Stories A to Z! Jessica
    www.nucheysmommy.blogspot.com

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  2. melissa*320 sycamore1/8/14, 1:14 PM

    Yes! We thought it was the coolest thing ever. Now, with blogs and Pinterest it seems so plain, but I still love it :)

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  3. I love the ghosts!!  Might need to try that.

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  4. I love all your spiders!  Very spooky, scary and FUN!

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  5. LOVE those ghosts, my 3 boys would love them too!

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  6. I like it! Very Cool! I'm going to make me some of those ghost. So cute. My kids would love them.
    Are yours from a previous year? How do you keep them till next year? I mean, wouldn't they squish, collapse easily in storage?
    Thanks!

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  7. edwards_athome1/8/14, 1:15 PM

    I love it all!....so when will you post pics of your dining room table redo??? I remember you mentioning that you had been working on it. We have the same table and I've been itching to redo it, but I would love to see yours first so I can feel inspired! I love your blog and am so impressed with all you accomplish! We have five kids running around our house and most of the time I feel like I am barely keeping my head above water. It's busy!

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  8. melissa*320 sycamore1/8/14, 1:15 PM

    Soon! Hopefully... :)

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  9. I LOVE THE GHOSTS!!!!!! The reflection in the fireplace doors is awesome!!!! Saw at homestories :)

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  10. Absolutely adorable!!  I am in love with the ghosts!  I bet your kids are just head over heels over "their" mantel.

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  11. Trail Blazer1/8/14, 1:15 PM

    Melissa, thanks a lot for the cute ghost tutorial! They look so "real" (as real as ghosts can look ;), they are a bit unnerving!
    I posted the ghost tutorial as my Net find of the week tutorial on my Blog http://steffi-cottoncandycastle.blogspot.com/ , I hope thats ok with you :)
    Spooky Halloween greetings from Holland.

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  12. Kassi @ Truly Lovely1/8/14, 1:16 PM

    Saw your feature on A to Z! LOVE those little ghosts!!! Definitely pinning that idea for next year! :)

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  13. Spiders are no biggie for me, but those ghosts  are cute!

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  14. melissa*320 sycamore1/18/14, 9:33 AM

    No, we just made them this year! I may just throw them in the attic so they don't get squised and write myself a note in Halloween bins that they are up there...

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  15. Jfamilyofeight1/18/14, 4:24 PM

    I love those ghosts...I might have to try making some.  Thanks for sharing how it's done :)

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  16. I love your cheesecloth ghosts--those are adorable!  Reminds me of when my boys were little and we would make ghost pops--we'd tie a white Kleenex around a tootsie pop and color on eyes with a black Sharpie.  Do y'all do that?  

    I'm not much of spider person, but I really like your Mama, Daddy, and five little ones.  And I'm sure the boys love them!

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  17. love this! you amaze me all the time. 

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