Halloween

Blessings, Tracy

Creepy Hanging Spiders & Fading Ghosts....OH, MY!

Here is a quick video showing the Creepy Hanging Spiders that we hang on our front porch each Halloween.  I have not put out the rest of the porch decor yet, but this will give you an idea of how these guys look while they are swaying in the wind.  I have also added a close up our Fading Ghost Silhouettes at the end of the video.  

Excuse the video quality, this is subject I know (less than) nothing about putting together. 

P.S. - The first section is pretty narrow, but give it a second, it will expand with the next shot.

**Update - Ok, Ok!  From what I am hearing, some people can see the video, but most say they can not.  Not sure what the hang up is, maybe it's a Mac vs. PC issue.  If you can't see the above video, try this link.  There is no music in the youtube version, but you will be able to see the video.

The music in the video is called "Dr. Sayer".  It is from the Awakenings soundtrack, which was written by the Randy Newman.  Yes, the same Randy Newman that wrote the song "Short People".  Come on now...he really is a very talent composer.  Although I have many "favorite" movie soundtracks, this really is in the top ten for me.  The music is beautiful and has haunted me since I first saw the movie.  I have many favorites on this soundtrack, but another track that I am quite fond of is a piano piece called "Dexter's Tune".  Last time I checked, it is nearly impossible to find the CD, but I think it is available on ITunes.  

Blessings, Tracy

Assorted Halloween Candles and Votives

Blessings, Tracy

Creepy Hanging Spiders

Are you lucky enough to have a front porch? Yeah…we are!

Do you have vinyl siding, including a vinyl corrugated soffit? Ugh…unfortunately we do!
BUT, it just so happens that this type of soffit comes in handy for one of our Halloween decorating ideas. I made creepy spiders that hang from our soffits.

In these pictue you can see a few of our spiders hanging from our soffits.

**Update - You can see a short video of these guys swaying on our porch in this post.  The video seems temperamental, some times it appears & other times it is MIA.  Try again later if you don't see it.

These spiders were made in a variety of styles and sizes. They don’t have to be perfect, ours are rough. They move (spin & sway) so much that you rarely get a close look at them, so don't worry.

For storing purposes, I wrap the fishing line around the bodies & fasten the earring wire to a leg (as you can faintly see in this picture). This prevents them from getting tangled while they are stored. These were just pulled out of their storage bag (for this picture)...so they are looking a little smooshed.

Here's a brief how to -

1. For the spider’s bodies, we either wrapped and sewed black shiny fabric around Styrofoam balls or used different sizes of black fuzzy pom poms.
2. For the spider’s legs, we just sewed/secured different sizes and widths of pipe cleaners on the bottom of the body section and bent them to look like spider’s legs.
3. We then added a length of fishing line to each spider, by looping and knotting the line through the top or back of each spider’s body. By attaching the fishing line in different spots on your spiders, some will hang a little askew. We also used several different lengths of line, so the spiders would vary in heights.  I think both of these add interest.
4. We used a pierced earring wires & knotted the top of the fishing line to the notched area of the earring wire. Your spiders are done.

To hang –

1. Open each wire earring clasp and gently feed the straight end of it through one of the corrugated loops of the soffit. Our loops are tiny, so there are times I have to pull my little bag of patience out while I'm attaching these buggers. You may also run into one or two of these loops that does not go all the way through, just move on to a different loop. Once the wire has poked through, close the wire clasp and let the spider hang. The pierced earring wires are so fine that you don't even notice them. 
2. Adjust any spider legs that may have been smooshed while in storage.
3. Depending on the lengths of the hanging spiders, make sure you don’t hang them too close together, since they will get tangled when the wind blow them around.

Close up of our soffit.

Blessings, Tracy