One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season (or, let's face it, ANY season) is entertain. I love filling my house with the best people I know. Halloween allows me to go bananas...and trust me. I do. So, for those of you with your own spooky plans, I thought I'd share one of my favorite festive ideas. Again, please excuse the photos (house is a lighting nightmare).
You'll need:
paper treat bags
pencil
assorted tissue or construction paper
x-acto knife
double sided tape
cardboard (for cutting)
1. Lay out treat bag. The bottom of the bag should be facing down. With your pencil, plot out your design. If you need some help, the internet is full of amazing templates.
2. Slide a piece of cardboard inside the bag. This will protect the rest of the bag from being cut. Trace the pencil outline with the x-acto knife and remove the cuttings.
3. Cut your tissue paper to size and apply adhesive. Slip the paper into the bag position it below the holes and use your cardboard to help stick it in place. Make sure the adhesive dries completely before you fill the bag.
4. Enjoy!
Try slipping a flameless candle into your bags for a little extra light during those dark and stormy evenings. The warm glow may even keep the ghouls away.
Welcome to the second half of our tribute to terror. Yesterday, we began with FXX, AMC and the SyFy Channel. Today, there's more festive fun is store.
AMC’s much anticipated Fear Fest is back again this year,
running from October 17-31. Frankly, there’s a little too much Tremors,
Child’s Play and Friday the 13th (Sure, I’ve seem ‘em all, I just wish I hadn’t.) for my taste, but
Stephen King fans (a group to which I stalwartly belong) should be
pleased. They haven’t released the entire schedule yet, so I’m hoping
more classic titles are still to come. Right now, though, the highlights
lie in rarely shown titles and a few new (to me) pictures. Highlights:
The Omen Trilogy (1976, 1978, 1981), Firestarter (1984-Really, it’s Sci-Fi, but
amazing, nonetheless), Pumpkinhead (1989-cult classic, for sure!), The Howling (1981,
often regarded at the best werewolf movie ever made), House on Haunted Hill,
The Fog (1980),An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)
New Titles: Creation of the Humanoids (1962, it’s Sci-Fi, so not really horror,
but still fun), War of the Colossal Beast (1958, again Sci-Fi), Violent
Midnight (1963, Super excited!!), Slaughter of the Vampires (1962, originally
released as Curse of the Blood Ghouls, a sweet young couple moves in with a
vampire…violence ensues!!), Corridors of Blood (1958, a Boris Karloff B-Movie)
TCM gets in on the fun again this year with Ghost Stories, the 2014 incarnation
of their classic horror film fest.This
year, viewers will be treated to the best the golden age of Hollywood has to
offer Thursdays in October. As the name implies, it will be ghost themed and
will span horror, romance and suspense.Brilliant.Rest assured,
Thursdays won’t be the only fun you have with TCM. Several gems will be nestled
comfortably among their regularly scheduled programming.Personally, I’ll be setting my DVR to catch
1972 blacksploitation film Blacula and its 1973 sequel, Scream, Blacula,
Scream! Here's the trailer for the controversial film:
Finally, for the family oriented: ABC Family will be dishing
out G-rated fright with their annual 13 Nights of Halloween.Expect classics (well, edited versions of
them, anyway) like Hocus Pocus, The Addams Family, Addams Family Values, Beetlejuice and Tim Burton’s playful Batman and
Batman Returns.If you’re a Burton fan,
you’ll get plenty of him including some of the movies that put him on the map.I’ve owned The Nightmare Before Christmas in
every format since it’s release.It’s
THAT enchanting.The Corpse Bride (I.
love.) and Coraline will not be absent from the lineup.Don’t despair parents, ABC Family didn’t
forget about the littles.You’ll find
tons geared toward them, as well. The full schedule can be found here.
That concludes our trip through cable. I hope this gets your creative juices flowing!
Kisses,
Erin
Welcome to another installment of my month long celebration of fright! This year, as always we begin with rounding up the best television has to offer and hopefully, you will find the inspiration you need to throw an amazing film festival of your own. Settle in for part one of the hunt for fright.
The first slot on our tour is easily the most terrifying.On October 8th, FX’s own wicked
offering American Horror Story returns with season four, entitled Freak
Show.I have been a HUGE fan of this
series since its inception (although, I’ll admit, I wasn’t a giant fan of
Asylum) and Freak show looks to be the best yet!This is my favorite of the haunting teasers
for the show.Enjoy!
The Walking Dead is the first of two AMC offerings I have for you this
year.For many, the solid little show
has strayed somewhat, but I will keep giving this show another chance.I still love the idea and I’m still ride or
die for Daryl Dixon.With last season’s
return to the brutality that made it famous and the rumblings of the Interwebs, I am genuinely interested to see
what season five will bring.So, sit
back, turn out the lights and get ready for October 12th…
Rounding out the first half of our tribute to terror is Syfy’s 31 Days of Halloween. I love SyFy, I really do and while I’m not a fan
of their reality programs for the most part, I never fail to make SyFy a
stop on my Halloween patrol. This year's highlights are: Wrong Turn 5: Bloodlines (a SyFy original, so it's chock full of blood. Despite the production value, it's a pretty decent little flick), My Soul to Take (the 2008 supernatural thriller didn't do well critically speaking, but I thought it was a fun return to slasher films), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974, baby. For me, no other version exists. It's a classic, so catch it if you can), Chernobyl Diaries, Let Me In (the blander, Americanized remake of the Swedish hit, but still good). Of course, check the lineup for some original SyFy titles and some festive, if not frightening titles (Dracula 2000, I'm lookin' at you)
Join me tomorrow as we continue our search for fear!
So, this has been sitting in my draft bin for a woefully absurd amount of time (more on that later, I promise), but this shoot was just so cute, I can't NOT share it...after all this time. Let's watch..
This was a collabo between Allison and I. She had just released her
Business and Leisure collection for Modern Yardage, and I was dying to
whip up a little recipe bridal shower. We decided to join forces and
this was the ultra-cute, totally-chic result!
Well, kids...that was a loooong time away. Boy howdy, do I have stories to tell. I'm happy to report that I'll be back tomorrow with brand spankin' new material and a new lease on life! I can't wait to catch up!
2014 is well underway and my inbox is filled with your happy news. I usually like to get this post out within the first week of January, but as you can see, I am paying dearly for the unexpected break I took. Whoopsie. I promise, I'll get back to you soon. Bear with me.
You little darlings have been badgering sweetly asking me to repost a 'You Asked For It' post I did at the beginning of 2012. Ask and you shall receive! I've posted my quick and easy tips for making sense of the wedding planning labyrinth. This week, I'll answer more of your questions in roundup form! Congratulations, dolls, on your engagements! Kisses, E So, here goes! Hey Goldiluxe! I’m engaged! It happened on New Year’s Eve, it wasn’t cheesy and I am so super happy I can’t stand it. So…what do we do now? Is there something I should be doing?-I feel like there’s something I should be doing. I could just pee-Help us! No need to pee. I promise. It does terrible things to rugs. First of all, calm it on down, sugar! You got engaged, what, like ten minutes ago? You should be enjoying this, basking in the delicious glow that is being engaged. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not a fan of “should’s” and “must’s” when it comes to weddings, but I think there are a few things worth doing in the very early stages of wedding planning. 1. Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate! Throw a party, take a vacation, or shout it from the mountaintops, if you want. Just get out there with your sweetie and make a joyous ruckus! My favorite part about being engaged (besides the obvi) was getting to prance about; all dewy and doe-eyed; talking about my man and our super awesome lurve. Having that extra special, one on one time made the daunting task of planning our wedding much less overwhelming. 2. Set a date. If you ask 100 couples when it’s best to get married, I guarantee you’ll get 100 different answers. So, I’m not going to try to sway you one way or the other (for now, winky face). I will say that the two of you should talk it through a little bit, see what works best for you. I wouldn’t worry too terribly much about everyone else, because no matter what you do, people will have opinions (ask me about having a Friday wedding!). 3. Set a budget. Seriously. Before you look at flowers or venues or any of the 150 billion other things, set that budget. Money talk can be uncomfortable and it can be tedious, but it is a hell of a lot less uncomfortable and tedious than what will happen if you run around like a drunken sailor on shore leave buying everything that’s not nailed down. Whether you are paying for it solo or getting help from the parentals, everyone should be clear on what’s being contributed. This is not to say unforeseen overages won't occur (a subject for another post), but you do need to work out a reasonable number (again, another post) and make it your best friend. 4. Decide on a style. A grand affair with a guest list 0f 300? An intimate soiree with close friends and family? Something in-between? Only you two can answer that. More importantly, only you two should be answering that (or, you two and your friendly neighborhood wedding designer, of course). The style of your wedding really shouldn’t be up for public debate. Remember, the best weddings are not necessarily the big, flashy ones. The best weddings let guests get a peek into the awesome couple and their awesome lurve. Above all, have fun! Slow down, be gracious and enjoy the ride. Everything will fall into place. I promise. I keep meaning to write a new post for each year, but honestly, the truth don't age, honey.
