Pumpkins with a "Boo" message provide a subtle tone for Halloween decor.

It seems like we were just discussing summer barbecues and yet here it is almost Halloween! One of the services we offer at Style on a Shoestring is holiday decorating — even Halloween. We will come in and use your existing decorations or bring along some of our own (or both) to give your home a festive flair.

If you want to spook up your own home for Halloween, here are a few tips on how to make it boo-tiful.

An inexpensive and easy way to dress your house for ghosts and goblins is with “creepy cloth”—that stretchy gauze you can place around furniture, lamps or most anywhere. Be creative and put it on unexpected places such as candlesticks, picture frames and mirrors.

Speaking of candles, swap them out for orange or black versions. Also replace some light bulbs for flicker lights with an orange tint. If you have a filled bowl as an accent—such as a bowl of shells—stow those away and substitute plastic eyeballs or spiders. For a haunting gathering, place a punch bowl filled with dry ice and water in the corner of the room so the fog lilts into the space.

"Creepy cloth" turns any home into a haunted mansion.

The best tip I can give you on decorating for Halloween or any holiday is not to fall short. It’s better to really dress up one room than to try to extend the theme lightly throughout the house. Since Halloween decorations tend toward over-the-top, perhaps limiting it to a main living area and/or powder room is sufficient.

Also, don’t feel you need to always use black and orange for Halloween. As you can see from these pictures, white can also play a major role. And if the ghoulish side of the season isn’t your cup of tea, go for a harvest theme with pumpkins, corn stalks and autumn leaves. The point is to have fun and give your home a change of pace, whatever that might mean for you and your family. Pottery Barn is carrying some really tasteful Halloween/fall accessories right now. For that super-spooky look, check out inexpensive retailers such as Party City or your local dollar store.

And don’t forget to include a few decorations along your front walkway for trick-or-treaters!

Please contact us at Style on a Shoestring if we can help with any of your decorating or remodeling needs.

Decorating center pieces for the fall season can be fun and easy to do. Just look around your kitchen. You may have everything you need for a new look for your dining room table. Having one container to use will make the process less challenging. We’ve used a clear glass footed bowl, but you can use anything you have. A silver punch bowl, a brass bowl, or an interesting pottery bowl will work just fine. Square or round, deep or shallow, footed or flat- almost anything can work.

Look around your home and find a container for your fall centerpiece. Then see if any of these fall centerpiece arrangements will work for your table.

It’s as simple as piling fresh fruit or decorative pieces in a bowl, adding local greens or fall flowers, and putting it on the table.

Most of our fall centerpiece arrangements are made from grocery store ingredients. They’re inexpensive and will last a long time. And most of them use just a few flowers.

 

You can find colorful assortments of Christmas tree balls at almost every home center, hobby shop, discount store, or drug store. Collect lots of one color or use a rainbow of colors for the easiest, simplest Christmas centerpiece ever.Gather different sizes of or ornaments or buy a box of all one size, whatever you need to fit your clear bowl, candle hurricane lamp, ceramic vase, or seasonal basket.Mix different size balls to fit any bowl, glass hurricane, basket, or vase.

There is no need to spend lots of money decorating your house for Halloween. These quick and easy decorations use items you may well have around the home.

Large hanging ghosts that will sway spookily in the breeze outside can be made easily by draping a white sheet, tablecloth or pillowcase over a balloon and tying below the head. Small ones for indoors can be made from white paper napkins or kitchen paper tied over any small ball or crumpled tissue paper or stuffed sock then secured with string or thread and a face drawn on with marker pens.

Scarecrows to decorate the party room, trees, patio or porch can be put together cheaply by stuffing old clothes with rags or rolled up newspapers tied at elbow and knee to look jointed. Faces can be made from the back of old shirts or tee shirts tied over a ball or balloon and hair can be stuck on made from straw from a pet supplies shop, raffia, yarn or strips of fabric poking out from beneath an old hat.

Creepy looking headstones can be fashioned from painted cardboard or wood and joke shop spiders and flies can be stuck on to windows and doors with sticky tack. Spiders and flies are also good for decorating sandwiches and the table, but not if there are very young children around who may actually try to eat them!

Children will enjoy cutting cats from black paper and sticking on large eyes made from kitchen foil or making bats to hang from the ceiling by folding an oblong of black paper in half, drawing half of a bat shape and cutting away the excess.

Even very young children can paint or colour in huge orange paper pumpkins using bright yellow to represent the light shining through the eyes and mouth.

Any old Ghostbuster toys that you have around can be fun decorations for the table and an inexpensive centerpiece can be made by using a dollar store/pound shop black plant cauldron with a large bowl inside it, or just a large bowl covered with black tissue paper and filled with cola or blackcurrant cordial plus a few grapes, cubes of pineapple or pieces of apple floating around for a gruesome looking witches brew.
 

Check all your equipment (ladders etc.) for needed repairs, safety and stability. When you place your ladder against the house, check for stability each time before you climb.

Use a tool belt or apron with pockets to store all your supplies (clips, hooks etc.) while you are working. Do not lean when you are working on the ladder. Work at arms length.

Be sure your lights are UL or ETL safety approved. There should be a label on the package. If the Christmas lights have been opened there should also be a tag near the plug with a safety rating on it.

Check all your Christmas light sets for damage. Plug them in before stringing them up. Replace all broken or non-working bulbs with new bulbs of the same type and wattage.

Check to see that wires are not frayed or damaged. This could cause electric shock or fire. Dispose of any strands with damaged wiring. Do not attempt to repair them.

Make sure that all your lights are approved for outdoor use. This should be noted on the box or near the plug on a tag, just like the safety rating.

Your extension cords must also be safe for outdoor use. Once again this will be noted on the box or on a tag near the plug.

Check to see that you have a ground-fault circuit interrupter to plug all your outdoor lights into by way of your outdoor extension cords. These are professionally installed by an electrician. You can also buy a portable GFCI unit.

Keep Christmas lights away from electric, phone and cable lines. This is an obvious shock and fire hazard. The lines can also become entangled, which would require professional assistance.

Always use holders or hooks for lights. Staples, nails and tacks can pierce the wiring and cause an electrical short.

Put up your hooks, clips or holders first. Then string your lights. This way you are not juggling everything at once.

Do not pull on the Christmas light cords. It may cause wear or cause the wires to fray. This can cause an invisible short in the wiring.

1. Look for healthy plants. Choose a poinsettia with colorful bracts (which you might think of as petals) and rich green leaves. Pass by plants that have yellowed or wilting leaves; these plants don’t last as long.
2. Avoid plants in sleeves. Poinsettias are sometimes sold in paper or plastic sleeves to help protect the plants during shipping. Sleeved plants usually age faster than plants that aren’t grown in sleeves.
3. Select plants with fully colored bracts. Make sure the colorful leaf-like bracts don’t have green edges; a lot of green in the bracts usually means the poinsettia was shipped too early.
4. See how mature the poinsettia is by looking at the tiny yellow flowers at the center of the bracts. If the flowers have opened and you can see yellow, powdery pollen, the plant is past its prime. Look for a plant with tight yellow buds.
5. Protect your plant when you bring it home by wrapping it in a shopping bag if temperatures are below 50 degrees outside.
6. Keep your poinsettia away from heat. Warm temperatures can damage the plant just as much as cold temperatures. Avoid placing your poinsettia near heat registers, fireplaces, or in rooms where the temperature stays above 80 degrees.
7. Display your poinsettia in a spot with bright light. Your poinsettia will do best if you keep it a spot with bright but indirect light. A north- or east-facing window is usually ideal.
8. Water your poinsettia when the potting mix feels dry to the touch. It should happen before the poinsettia starts to wilt. Avoid overwatering and don’t let your plant sit in water for more than 30 minutes.
9. Let the poinsettia’s roots breathe. Poinsettias are often sold in plastic or foil pot covers. These decorative covers trap excess water. Cut off the very bottom of the pot cover or make several holes in it and set the plant on a plate or saucer to catch excess water.
10. Feed your poinsettia with a general-purpose houseplant food after the bracts fade if you want to keep the plant for the following year. Keep feeding through spring and summer, then in late September place your poinsettia where it will get bright light during the day but no extra light at night. After an 8-week period without light at night, your poinsettia should develop bracts and blooms.

 

At this time of year, most people don’t have a lot of extra time to spruce of their house for the holidays. Below is a quick tip to help get into the holiday spirit without spending a lot of time or money.  The  idea listed below is very easy, low in cost, and  takes minimal effort to create a  Christmas  atmosphere to your home.

Decorate Everything With Bows

• Tie generous ribbons to chair backs, candlesticks, picks in plants, wreaths, garlands, basket handles, drapery tie-backs, stair railings, and doorknobs.
• Bows look festive and the ribbons you choose should tie together with the rest of your decorating. Choose ribbons in colors and patterns that coordinate with your decorating scheme.
• You don’t have to stick with red and green. Choose plaids or florals that tie in. If you can’t find anything that looks quite right, then choose metallic silver, gold, green, or red.
• Choose a ribbon that you can untie and re-tie each year. This will save money in the long run, and you’ll end up with a good collection.
• When the holidays are over, untie the ribbons and press them lightly. The bows won’t get crushed and the ribbons will be ready when you want to take them out the next year.

• Keep Your Tree Fresh and Green
  Cut the stump of the tree with a fresh cut and set it in water immediately. A fresh-cut tree will absorb several quarts of water right from the start. So it’s important to check and refill the water level several times a day for the first week. You can cut down on frequency later. Be sure to place you Christmas tree in a stand that has a large water reservoir and keep it filled.
• Christmas Tree Preservative
  You can prolong the life of your Christmas tree by mixing up a concoction of 1 quart water, 1/2 cup light corn syrup, and 1 teaspoon liquid bleach.
• Putting Lights and Decorations on the Tree
  When decorating your Christmas tree, put lights on first, then garlands, then the ornaments.
• Work From the Inside Out
  Start arranging Christmas tree lights on the branches near the base of the tree. Weave strings of lights along the branches “inside,” then move to the outer edges of the branches.
• Placement of Ornaments
  Don’t hang all your ornament on the tips of the branches. Place ornaments and other decorations ‘inside’ your tree to add depth and interest.
• Basic Ornaments for Fill
  Start by arranging the “filler ornaments” evenly spaced around the tree. This would include basic solid color balls that are easily found at discount stores in a wide range of colors to coordinate and enhance your decorating scheme. You’ll need about 20 “filler ornaments” for every 2 feet of Christmas tree.
• Special Themed, Collectible Ornaments
  Mix one-of-a-kind special ornaments between the basic ornaments. Plan to use at least 10 special themed ornaments for every 2 feet of tree. As your collection grows, put the special ornaments closer together.
• 

You have the whole Thanksgiving feast planned, but now what in the world are you going to do for a centerpiece? Do you want a centerpiece that is creative, inexpensive, and most importantly, easy? Here are some ideas to help add that pizazz to your table that will have your family and friends admiring your creativity.

One of the easiest, is the Cornucopia Centerpiece. Go to your local craft store to purchase a simple wicker basket. With this you can do a variety of displays. You can overfill it with real fruits and gourds, or you can use plastic. Just fill your basket to overflow and let them spill out onto the table.

Also, a great way to decorate with your cornucopia is to use silk flowers and leaves. While at the craft store purchase a Styrofoam block or ball and silk flowers and leaves in fall colors with long stems. Push the Styrofoam in the wicker cornucopia basket so that it is firmly wedged inside. You may want to trim down the foam or add more as needed. Simply push the stems of the flowers and leaves into the foam so that they emerge in a decorative arrangement at the opening of the cornucopia.

Another creative way to use your cornucopia is to overflow it with different breads, such as, rolls and muffins, or whatever bread you may prefer. You can also add some silk leaves around the cornucopia and bread. This creates a marvelous edible centerpiece.

You can also use a beautiful wicker basket that you might have at home, instead of the cornucopia. Maybe add some ribbon in fall colors. It can still look just as beautiful with the three previous ideas.

If you want centerpiece that is a little different, then try using a large, hollowed-out pumpkin instead of a vase to display a fall floral arrangement. Scatter clusters of berries, nuts, and autumn leaves around the base of the pumpkin. Adding a couple of mini pumpkins to the table would also look nice.

Instead of hanging a wreath on your door, use it as the base of a centerpiece for your Christmas table. Use simple decorations to coordinate it with your home decor or tablesetting theme. You’ll see how simple it is to create this beautiful and traditional Christmas Wreath Centerpiece.Find a large tray or platter, or cut a piece of heavy plastic to place under the wreath. This will make it much easier to move the wreath centerpiece to change the tablecloth or rearrange the place settings. You’ll be protecting the finish on your table at the same time.

Materials for Christmas Wreath Centerpiece

• fresh pine wreath
• decorations                           
• bow

Follow these simple steps to make your wreath centerpiece:

• Place the wreath down on the table, tray, or platter.
• Decorate the wreath by sticking ornaments, pinecones, or floral picks into the wreath.
• Arrange ribbons or garlands around the wreath.
• Place one or several colorful bows around the wreath for added color.

Special tips for fine-tuning:

• Use decorations that have wires attached. They can easily be stuck into the greens of the wreath.
• When arranging the decorations on the wreath, be careful not to scratch your wood table. 
• For a different look, place several large pillar candles into the center of the wreath.
• Pile large pine cones neatly into the center of the wreath.
• Form a pyramid of colorful Christmas balls in the center of the wreath.