Halloween Deco: Are You Into It?

Halloween is just one of those holidays I don't get super excited about.  I like to decorate.  I like to dress up. I like to eat candy.  But I can do those things any day of the year (although I do get funny looks when I wear my cat ears grocery shopping).  I was having a particularly tough time feeling spooky until my Mom sent me a big box of decorations.  These mostly consist of Annalee dolls.  If you're not familiar with them, they are wool felt dolls with handpainted faces, created for a variety of holidays.  My Mom has been a collector for many years, and these dolls featured heavily in decorating for all the major holidays at our house.

When I opened that box, inspiration struck, and I got to work clearing off the buffet table.

I came up with this first:

But it was a little bare in the middle.  I knew I wanted to use the big frame I had left over from breaking the bathroom mirror, but wasn't sure how to make it less empty.  Pinterest to the rescue!  I found a tutorial for making a cute "Spooky" banner, and 2 hours later, it was hung.  Most appropriately, I made the accordion folds from paper out of a Frankenstein book.  

Much better!

PS: I love that bat garland from Martha Stewart.  I bought it on clearance after last Halloween & have been waiting for a chance to open that box.

PPS: I used Command strips to hang the frame.  Those are genius!