Happy Halloween 1950's Style

I decided to dress as a 1950's housewife this year for Halloween. That is my alter-ego after all! I've been searching thrift stores and antique shops for something vintage to wear. I found the dress at an estate sale. It isn't exactly what I visualized, but in the end I think it turned out perfect. It fit comfortably too, which is tricky with vintage clothing because everything was cut smaller back then. I only paid a dollar for the dress so it was a no-brainer. The apron is one from my personal stash. 

When I posted this picture on Facebook I received the most wonderful responses. Some people said they thought they were looking at an ad from the past and only when they looked at it more closely did they realize it was me. Yes, that is really my kitchen. I pride myself on having all of my favorite vintage kitchen things out on display. Others said that I reminded them of their mother. I take that as a compliment. 

I work at a school and most of the kids there didn't understand the outfit. When I referenced June Clever from Leave It To Beaver they really looked at me with blank faces. Ah youth! 

All in all it was a lot of fun. I'm going to be on the lookout for more vintage clothes in my travels and may even wear a few pieces on days other than Halloween. 

Happy 1950's Halloween!

KayteeJane

Vintage Halloween Blow Molds

This summer we found a few vintage Halloween items while out junking. I decided to sell these blow molds. I think they are really cool but figured I didn't need them and would rather have the money. So off they went to ebay. I'm happy to say that they are now on their way to new homes.

Witch with a Pumpkin

Vintage trick or treat pumpkin bucket. This is a really tiny one - but very cute. The bottom makes it even neater in my opinion.

KayteeJane

Linking up with Sir Thrift A Lot - go visit!

Polka Dot Pumpkin

This weekend our family carved pumpkins. Because "Sandy" is headed into Pennsylvania tonight we decided it would be best if we did our pumpkins a few days early. Trick or Treat has already been postponed from Wednesday to Saturday in our town as everyone anticipates the worst.

As you can see in this picture my husband is in on the act too. One of the things that I love about this man is that he is creative and he can build things. So, instead of using a knife or pumpkin carving tools for his pumpkin - he brought out a drill and Sawzall to do the job!

(Meanwhile my oldest daughter decided to wear her Batgirl costume - that she just purchased at Goodwill earlier in the day - to carve pumpkins.) Gotta love my family.

This actually is a much easier way to carve a pumpkin in my opinion. I've always struggled cutting them with a household knife - or with the little saws that come in those pumpkin carving kits.

"Curly" pumpkin guts are made from the drill. These would be cool to use some how. I could see a fake hand coming up from a bowl of these.

A Sawzall was used to cut a hole in the bottom for a candle. This particular pumpkin was so hard that only a power tool would do the job.

Here is the finished result. A Polka Dot Pumpkin! I love it!

Hope your Halloween is a fun one. May you stay safe from Sandy's path.

KayteeJane

Spooky Photos

Here is how I decorated my mantle for Halloween. I wish I could show the entire mantle (which is as wide as the room) in one picture - but with my low-budget camera this isn't possible unless I stand very far away - and then what would be the point? :)

Last year I decided to alter some antique cabinet card photos to make them part of my Halloween display.

These are not pictures of any of my relatives or ancestors. I just happen to like antique photos and have collected several over the years. I decided to repurpose some of the more "creepy" looking ones to use for a fun, vintage-looking Halloween display. Here are a few that I altered.

Some old children's shoes and a clock set to midnight are out with the photos.

A page from a old book about birds.

A vintage seed packet.

A great vintage book.

I'm really enjoying decorating this season!

KayteeJane

More Autumn Decorations

As usual my pottery collection plays a big part in my holiday decorations (mostly because I would have to find a place to store it all if I didn't display it along with the seasonal stuff :). A corner-cupboard in my dining room displays some yellow pottery. I kept my yellow pottery out because I think it compliments the fall colors.

These pottery squirrels come out every autumn. The pink & gray ones are McCoy. I love these. I found the pink one at a church rummage sale for 10 cents. Actually my super hubby spotted it. Can you believe that luck? - 10 cents! The gray squirrel was bought at a yard sale. I paid a little more for it but I'm glad I did. Our town is known for it's gray squirrels every where. I love to put him out on display every fall. The salt & pepper shakers also came from a yard sale somewhere. A candy tin for Bowers Old Fashioned Peanut Brittle is in the back. I didn't even think about the connection between nuts and squirrels when I put that there...only later did I get it.

I like to add vintage paper ephemera to my displays too. I added some vintage game cards here and a moth ball tin - think Silence of the Lambs!

This Anchor Hocking milk glass apple always comes out in the fall as well along with some plastic apple coasters.

This awesome vintage Brach's Candy advertisement was given to me by my friend Cindy last year. She put it in a gold frame. I am displaying it on my Life Savers rack - also in my dining room.

And there is more to show - which I hope to do within the next few days. Thanks for looking!

KayteeJane

Spider Webs

I finally got my Halloween/Fall decorations out. I saw this cool idea on Pinterest using a crocheted doily as a spider web. Since I have many crocheted doilys that I don't use  - but can't seem to part with - I thought this would be great. I added some fake spider web and plastic spider rings.

 

I put another doily at the top of my corner cabinet.

 

 

I also did this over a mirror on my mantle.

 

I really like how this looks!

More Halloween in the next few posts.

KayteeJane

Autumn Chex Mix

Serve this yummy snack at your Halloween or Harvest party - or make some just to snack on :).

Autumn Chex Mix

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups Corn Chex
4 1/2 cups Rice Chex
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 bags of candy corn
5 cups of bite-size pretzels
Non-stick cooking spray

Directions:
In a large bowl place cereals. In a seperate bowl melt butter in microwave. Add brown sugar & corn syrup to melted butter and stir. Add baking soda and stir until dissolved. Pour this over the cereal and stir until cereal is coated with butter/sugar mixture.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Cover a baking sheet with foil and then spray with non-stick cooking spray. Pour cereal mixture onto sheet in a thin layer. Bake for 10 minutes or until brown and crispy. Remove from the oven and cool.

Once cereal is cool remove it from the baking tray and put it back into a large bowl. Some pieces may be stuck together. Just break these up with your hands. Add the pretzels and candy corn. Mix it up. Done!

I made some for party favors. I put the mix in canning jars, topped the jars with fabric and gave them away.

Enjoy!
KayteeJane

Spooky Cabinet Cards

Halloween Decorations continue...

I saw this idea in an antique store last year and just had to copy it. Take antique cabinet card photos and embellish them. You can usually find these for sale in antique stores for around $1 - $2 each. I'm sure some people would scoff that I use the original photograph and not a copy - but I feel like I am giving these "orphans" new life! Now each year they will have a place of honor as part of my display. Otherwise they would be sitting unnoticed in someone's attic or store gathering dust.

If you don't have any old photos to use search online for digital copies to print.

A family is transformed into "wicked" witches.

I really like this one. I cut a ghost out of vellum and placed it behind his back. Look for photos with black mats - these are great for Halloween.

This photo was already stained and faded when I bought it. Look for ones that are already browned & rough around the edges - they make the best "spooky" looks. To give your copies or better condition photos that effect use a dark brown ink pad to add staining.

How fun would this idea be if you copied pictures of your actual ancestors and embellished them? I might try that in the future.

On a side note...yesterday I posted a pic of a children's book called "The Crows of Pearblossom". Colleen asked what year it was published. The year was 1967. Thank you Colleen for calling attention to this book and the author Aldous Huxley - who also wrote Brave New World. I didn't realize that until you mentioned it. How cool!

Have a great day!
KayteeJane
  

Halloween Decorations

I finally got my Halloween/Fall decorations out. I'm embarassed to admit this but it took me an entire day to put this stuff out. Shuffling items from one shelf to another to make room for holiday decorations can be time consuming! Makes me question the point of it all...but that subject is not one for a blog about collecting!

For Halloween this year I gathered from around the house several things that are black to use as the backdrop for my holiday items. Today I am showing off what is on my living room mantle. Look around your house and use items that you already have. Things liks old cameras, suit cases, old bottles, black shoes, typewriters, old letters, black & white photos and interesting books with spooky titles would make great decorations. 

Here is what I came up with. 

I have been collecting these dime store plastic pumpkins for a few years. I don't know how old they are but something about them makes me smile. The one with the hat was bought this past weekend at an auction along with some other junk in a box for $2.

To make the Jack O Lantern sign I spray painted 2 Scrabble Game letter holders black and then added Anagram & Scrabble letters to form the word. Keep an eye out at garage sales & rummage sales for old games. They have awesome graphics that look cool on display.

An old pair of children's shoes & a black typewriter add to the "black" theme.

This little owl wears a witches hat - both items found for pennies while junk hunting.

Old clocks set to Midnight!

I like how my collection of old cameras looks. I'm thinking this display needs some fake spider webs draped over it.

I found this cute children's book about crows at our library's book sale some time ago and thought it would look nice as part of a Halloween theme. When decorating for holidays use unexpected things - like a kid's book - as part of your display.

More to show tomorrow. It is great to be back to the blog!

KayteeJane