Are you excited for Halloween? I feel Halloween is a holiday that a lot of people really get into. For me Halloween always seemed a little too spooky and intimidating. I do enjoy dressing my kids up and as a kid I’ve always enjoyed dressing up myself. I remember as a kid though.I would always avoid the spooky houses. We had this one house around the block where I grew up, that terrified me. It had a siren when you stepped onto it’s first step that would go off every few people. My cousins and I would be shaking going up to the house and most of the time I would just run back to the car. I think as I got older I ended up just hanging out in the car waiting for them to return. I have always been that way with haunted houses and suspenseful movies too, I’d rather laugh then be scared. I just like everything bright and cheery and my Halloween decor is usually the same. I keep all the decorations classy and maybe one jack o-lantern we carve as a family.
This year my son has been begging me to do some Halloween decorations, and to be honest what’s not classy or scary is usually just tacky to me. So since my son was really wanting to see some Halloween decor I thought I could possibly pull one part of the house off in Halloween and leave it at that. So I thought how about a Vintage Halloween Mantel. Fortunately, my DIY mantel already has a vintage look. Unfortunately, it’s in my room, but hey it’s somethin’….he enjoyed seeing the spider webs when he got home from school last week.
The spider web that I found was a gold-ish color and knew it would give it more of an authentic or vintage look (like it’s been sitting there for decades) rather than the bright white ones. I have to say it was fun getting this set up. I remember when I was a kid one year I begged my mom as well to put up Halloween decorations and that one year she let me put spider webs all over the front porch and I thought for once I had the cool Halloween house on the block too! So maybe I should just cave in and let my son do something to our front porch ( a week before Halloween and then tear it down) to make him happy.
The spider webs really came out neat. I really love how they look paired with my candles here.
The look of the rest of the mantel was simple with just a few touches. I picked up this candelabra from Hobby Lobby and tea-stained the candles to give the ordinary white ones an aged look.
Instructions here:
Boil 4 cups of water
Add 3 tea bags to water
Let water cool a bit letting candles melt slightly in water but not too much
Keep candles in over night and instantly a few shades darker.
(I had photos of this and my poor SD card broke so no visual here)
Next, I took a broken mirror and added to the frame. I love the way the broken mirror looks even more in person.
And last, an old black and white photo of my dad, grandparents, and uncles to add more vintage flare. I don’t know about you all, but black and white photos are instantly spooky right? It was a fun little project to do, dress up the mantel differently then I’m use to yet not too spooky for my liking. A perfect combo of Vintage meets Halloween.
And just to make it a little more creepy I added this Vampire effect from Picmonkey. How fun would that be for party photos!
Do you all go spooky with your decor, or do you prefer Fall decorations?
. 
Linking with: http://savvysouthernstyle.net
PLEASE STAY A WHILE
12 Responses
Your mantel looks amazing! I love the idea of the broken mirror, and of course, you are right, a black and white photo always adds a spooky touch. Your missing photo is a great reminder to pick up a spare SD card to keep in my camera case! I love how the picture looks with the Vampire effect from picMonkey. Their holiday offerings are so much fun, aren’t they? If you have a few minutes, I would love it if you would stop by and share this over at Celebrate it Sunday. The party stays open until Friday. Meanwhile, I am pinning this to a couple of boards and sharing over at FB and Twitter! Hugs, Chloe
Chloe Crabtree recently posted…The Wayfair Heart Home Conference
Thanks so much Chloe! You are too sweet and always leave such fabulous comments : )
You’re right Deb, that tan colored spider web is much more authentic looking than the stark white ones. For a gal who doesn’t like to decorate spooky, you sure went all the way with that broken mirror! I’m way too superstitious (thanks to my grandma) to pull that one off. I think we all had that one house growing up that gave us the willies. We swore a “real” witch lived in a house around the corner. LOL When my son was a teenager he turned our front yard into THAT house. Spooky music, fog machine, spider webs, graveyard, etc. He would sit perfectly still in a chair on our front porch wearing a scarecrow costume and after the kids got their candy and would ask us, “is that scarecrow real” he would move. Even the parents would run down our driveway screaming!
Marie from The Interior Frugalista recently posted…Delightful Moroccan Stenciled Coffee Table Makeover
Hi Marie! That’s too funny that your son pulled that off. My husband said when he was a kid he would do the same, but I just can’t go all out like that. Yes, I guess I’m lucky I’m not superstitious I think the mirror is my favorite part!
I really love this! It’s spooky but in a real spooky way, like something you would actually see in an old haunted house. Great job Deb!
Sydney @ Tastefully Frugal recently posted…Muslin Mummy Candle Holders
Hi Sydney! That’s exactly what u was going for! Thank you so much ?
This is amazing! I love the broken mirror, it makes it feel perfect for Halloween. You have such a talent for making a space feel elegant and perfect.
Emily, Our house now a home recently posted…One room challenge- Week 1
Aw thank you Emily! That made my day ?
Love your mantel. Thank you for sharing with us at #HomeMattersParty . We would love to have you again next week.
Sahana recently posted…Home Matters Linky Party #58
Thanks so much!
I love how this turned out! Just the right amount of spooky while still beautiful and classy! Thanks for linking up at the Handmade Hangout- I’ll be featuring you on my blog (www.occasionallycrafty.com) today when the new linky goes live. I hope you’ll stop by to check out your feature and link up again!
Valerie@Occasionally Crafty recently posted…Kitchen Makeover- Progress So Far
Oh wow! Thanks Valerie…so sweet of you to feature my mantel thanks so much!