OOOH! Creepy!

  Creepy Cloth is the new name given to old-fashioned cheesecloth.  Any of you that are near my age will remember the stuff that was a staple in the kitchens of folks who made a lot of cheese or jelly.  People nowadays have long since forgotten that the fabric was ever used in the kitchen during food processing.  This miracle cloth was also a staple in sheds and workshops at the same time.  It was great to use as a cleaning rag or in applying stains on woodworking projects.  The stuff was just all around useful.  Now, it has seen a rebirth as Creepy Cloth.  Creepy Cloth (aka cheesecloth with a little dye) fills the department stores this time of year.  Halloween decorations just would not be the same without the fabric. I know that my decorations would be lacking if I ever stop using it!

  My whole point of this is to tell of a new use I have found for cheesecloth.  Yep, it is still using it as a Halloween decoration but this time not as curtains or tablecloths.  Elizabeth and I have discovered the stuff is best used as wigs! We had a skeleton that needed dressing for her debut so she now has beautifully coiffed hair...err cheesecloth!  It is amazing how wonderfully this worked!  Elizabeth styled the cloth into an elegant updo for the skeleton and I think the bony lady approved!

  Then I was in dire need of a bit of Spanish moss for an arbor.  The moss I had was old and starting to shed a bit so I used a bit of ingenuity. Cheesecloth!  I dyed cheesecloth in a weird mixture of black paint and stale coffee.  The result was a delightful shade of "old gray".  The panels of cloth were stripped to about three inches wide, looped over the arbor and tied.  Once in place, the cloth was again stripped.  This created long, flowing "moss" trails.  I was pleased with the results but need to dye a bit more to complete the arbor.  A few lights and the walk-through arbor shall be "hauntified"! 

  Cheesecloth still remains a lot cheaper than the same stuff marketed as Creepy Cloth.  With a few things most of us have on hand, the cheaper version can be made look just like the more expensive type.  This will save you a ton of money if you use as much as I do each year.  Even though I carefully recycle the cloth from year to year, I still find the need to have more.  I keep a ready supply of the stuff on hand for decorating but, also, for jelly-making!  Imagine that?  I can use my "creepy cloth" in the kitchen!

Pumpkin Time!

I was browsing around the internet the other day and saw something that I thought was just so cute!  It was at a home decor website which was showing Halloween decorating tips.  They wanted you to purchase a set of black dishes to be arranged in a china hutch.  Mixed in with the dishes, they had placed a bunch of Jack-o-lanterns! This was adorable!  I was hooked!  Not wanting to copy exactly and not wanting to go out and purchase an entire set of black dishes..I improvised!  I scrounged through the cabinets and found just enough odds and ends to put together a rather pleasing grouping. I found a small cappuccino set of four tiny cups and saucers, a black pitcher, four large mugs (from my son's college days), three odd shaped candy dishes and a single black candlestick!  These would work! Mark had bought me about a dozen of the tiny pumpkins back a few weeks ago and I finally knew just how I was going to use them..the problem was..where? Since I had already decorated my china cabinet and had no hutch available in the dining room, I improvised there as well!  Down one wall around the fireplace, there are built-in bookshelves.  These shelves were entirely too large to house my small collection so I pondered the fact.  A small knickknack shelf was pulled from the kitchen and placed on one bookshelf.  Pumpkins were stacked on cups, in candy dishes filled with moss and on the candlestick!  A bit of homemade "creepy cloth" (also known as dyed cheesecloth), a few fall leaves, some Spanish moss and the look was complete!  I was pleased!  Whoever came up with the original idea was ingenious!  My take on their idea may not be as elaborate but then again, nothing in the Little Bayou House is elaborate!  Simple, down-to-earth and inexpensive is my motto!

Since I was taking a break from chores anyway, I might as well decorate another area!  In a corner of the dining room, there is a small round table.  This table sits in front of a closet which is rarely used so I can decorate to my heart's content without worrying about ever moving the stuff!  A large jug of dried grasses wrapped with a twining fall leaf branch set the theme here.  A bit of creepy cloth and some more little pumpkins and the table was decorated!  This was simple yet effective!  I had purchased one bundle of the dried grasses at the local Dollar Tree.  To that, I added whatever twigs, grasses and seed pods I could scavenge from the hillside and marsh.  It was like a treasure hunt!

Now that I had avoided work for the morning, I decided that duty called.  Chores must be done!  All the while, my mind rambled to what I could decorate next!  Aha!  Several buffet tops and mantles were in need of some festive decor!  The creepy "old house" look was soon to be achieved!  If I hurry through the chores today, tomorrow will see me clambering around hunting for the perfect old and dusty items!  I am quite sure more creepy cloth will come into play with this theme! Just as a note...if you check back a few years, I explained in detail how to create your own creepy cloth!  http://msbayoulady.blogspot.com/search?q=creepy+cloth 

"Creepy Cloth"

Ok, so maybe I am jumping the gun a bit here with Halloween decorations, but for me it is never to early to decorate for any holiday. My dear daughter-in-law sent me the Martha Stewart Halloween Guide magazine and that was enough to make me turn all of my Fall decorations into Halloween themed decorations. The magazine is so full of fun things to make that it seemed a shame to let it just sit on the coffee table collecting dust (everything in my house collects dust faster than you can shake a stick). I perused the magazine from cover to cover and wild ideas started flowing in the brain! One thing led to another and I just had to get started. First room to be "Halloweenized" would be the entryway as that is the first room anyone sees when they visit my house. The usual cutesy little signs and ghosties would have to find a new place to dwell, I had a vision! This room is small..very small..area-wise but it is huge in possibilities. My entryway was to become a haunted parlor! Everything had to go! And it did! Now that it is almost a blank canvas, the fun begins! First for the windows. Three sides of this tiny room has windows (and they all needed washing). Aha!..this is to be a haunted parlor..no washing windows. Dust is your friend when creating creepy, old parlors! I had found some stuff called creepy cloth in catalogs but it is so expensive. It is about $6 for 4 yards..I know, I know that is not terribly expensive, but when you consider it is just dyed cheesecloth, it seems outrageous! I could do better! I hit a sale in the paint department where their cheesecloth was only fifty cents a package..ooohh!..there are 4 yards to the pack..big difference! Personally , I did not want my curtains to look like new dyed cloth..I wanted it to look old and faded. Dyes are too even so I "invented" my own. This is the point of this whole post..how to make really old looking cheesecloth curtains! Buy the cheapest cheesecloth you can find..and while you are about it..by a bunch! It is so versatile and I will show how to use it in several ways over this next month. Now to make it appear old. Rip open as many of the packs of cloth as will cover your windows or however you plan to use the "old" cloth. Unfold and sort of fluff it out a bit. Now go make a pot of good strong coffee as you are going to need it! Make it really, really strong! When the coffee is ready, pour yourself a cup and pour the rest in a large heat resistant bowl. To this hot coffee add about 3 tablespoons of black acrylic paint and stir it around to mix it well. Here comes the fun part..plop all of your cloth into this concoction and with a large spoon start poking it around, all the while pretending you are a witch stirring some brew in a cauldron! Hey! You might as well get into the spirit of things! "Double, double toil and trouble! Fire burn, cauldron bubble.." Ok, enough of that..now leave the fabric to soak in the "dye" while you drink your coffee. After about thirty minutes, the coffee/paint should be cool enough for you to squeeze out the excess from your cloth. Once this is done..hang the cloth outside being careful not to smooth out all the wrinkles..leave folds and pleats here and there. This will add variations in color and makes a "natural" faded look. It will only take a short while before it is dry and then you can hang your curtains. Add a few rips by gently tugging at the cloth in different areas if you want to go that route. There is no need to hem or sew these at all. You can either drape them over curtain rods or use tiny nails to secure them.

I added a row of "family portraits" and will add a "diary". The portraits are simply old horror movie pictures that I found on the computer and printed in sepia tones. A bunch of old frames were haphazardly painted with the same paint we used earlier. Up lights will add a creepy ambiance to the room at night. A few more doodads from around the house and my parlor will be ready to receive visitors! Doing full blown decorations like this need not be expensive. You can incorporate things that you already have in your home. Sometimes, you just have to look at things a bit differently to see the possibilities. Granted, I already had some of the "props" for this room..the woodburning stove being stored there until it is reinstalled in the dining room and a few other things that I swiped from other parts of my house. Overall, my cost has been minimal. This entire room has been decorated for under $3! Not bad, not bad at all! A "finished" picture will come soon!

Wishing I was fishing....

Oh..this weather is delightful! I am so loving the fall-like days and the almost downright cold nights! Weather like this so makes me wish I could spend all day out and about the Bayou and spend the evenings with a cup of cocoa! Today, however, I knew that I really had to get all the decorating finished if I was going to get it done before company arrived this weekend. So, I made creepy cloth curtains. Creepy cloth being the dyed cheesecloth. Being the lazy person that I am..I was not about to make a trip to the store to buy fabric dye so again this year, I used the "old coffee/paint method"! After drinking my fill of coffee this morning, I poured the grounds into the pot and let the stuff brew until it was what my husband calls "tar". Once it was good and strong, I poured that into a plastic dishpan, added about a tablespoon of black acrylic paint and another two quarts of hot water. Once this was stirred well, I added the unfolded cheesecloth, smished it around a bit and took the whole shebang out to the clothesline!

I shook out and hung my...ahem...beautiful, new curtains. I draped them this way and that just to create odd stretches and wrinkles. No nice smooth curtains would do for my creepy parlor! A couple of times a curtain would drop to the ground but, again, that was fine! A little dirt..a few twigs..a couple of snags..all add to the creepiness of the cloth.

While outside, my eyes were constantly being drawn to the Bay. From the clothesline, I have a wonderful view of the back of the Bayou and I could see fish breaking along the shoreline. Maybe if I hurried, I could possibly have time to do a little fishing! As I was climbing the back steps, I spied a fish! There on the steps was a fish! Now that is just a bit too much of wishful thinking! My brain was playing tricks on me..but there on the steps was a fish..or at least the image of one! A leaf from the Black Gum Tree had fallen on the steps and the way it was twisted formed the body of a fish. This was odd enough but a seed from a Red Maple Tree was plastered to the side just where the pectoral fin should be. Odd..yes..odder was the exact place on the steps where the leaf had fallen. When I had carried the pan of dyed cloth down the steps, a few droplets of water had fallen on the wooden steps. Sometime after I went down the steps, the leaf had fallen from the tree and landed right on the water splotch. The wet spot was in the perfect position to be the dorsal fin of the imaginary fish! Oh, my goodness! I really need to go to the pier! The leaf fish was like an omen that I would catch a huge fish today! I hurried in to finish my projects of the day! The creepy cloth curtains were hung and about half of the decorations were in place when my sister-in-law came to visit. No fishing..but more coffee! We downed several mugs while I continued to put out decorations. I was making good progress! She left..I hurried...my brother came..no fishing. He stayed until after dark, so my fishing omen had passed with the daylight hours...drats...oh, well, I might as well have another cup of coffee......

Orange Dogs

Orange Dogs! No.. my dog, Ezzy, is not being dressed up as a pumpkin for Halloween. I am not even one that dresses her up as anything as I am quite sure she would probably eat any costume that I put on her! As matter of fact, I am not even talking about Ezzy or any other dog. I am referring to a caterpillar. My citrus trees were under attack by some unknown assailant that was chewing off some of the leaves. It seemed to prefer the new, tender leaves so I figured that I would not have a difficult time finding the culprit. I looked and looked. I peered under and atop the leaves. Finally..there it was! Staring me in the face (as much as a caterpillar can stare) was an orange dog! I understand the reasoning behind the "orange" part of the name even though they are not orange. They are particularly fond of citrus leaves..lemons, limes and..get this..oranges! But to be honest, it beats me as to why they are called "dogs". They do not resemble a dog at all. Rather, they bear a strong resemblance to bird poop! I mean a really strong resemblance! They even smell bad! The strange thing about the Orange Dogs is that they will eventually turn into a beautiful Giant Swallowtail butterfly! How does something so ugly make the change into such a beautiful creature as a butterfly is beyond me. You talk about your "Ugly Duckling" fairy tale!

After the caterpillar incident, it was time for some more Halloween fun! I put up some more garland of Fall leaves and then headed for the entryway. This room is far becoming my favorite "theme" room. The parlor look was coming along right well after hanging the creepy cloth curtains and arranging the shelf of "family portraits" but I still wanted to add some more "special effects". The old cast iron parlor stove looked bland sitting there vacant and unused. To build a real fire in it would be a tad stupid since there are no stove pipes to vent the smoke. Fake fire! I wanted a dark and gloomy "parlor" to greet guests on Halloween night and a grate full of smoldering embers would be perfect. To create this look, I first placed a crumpled piece of aluminum foil on top of the grating in the stove. Next, an unobtrusive wire basket from the kitchen shelf would hold my "embers". Two (twenty count) strings of white lights, a piece of orange glass and some clear glass marbles became my fire. This was topped with enough tiny (two inch) pine cones to cover most of the marbles. The wires from the lights were strung up through the back of the stove where the piping should go and plugged into an extension cord. Now the moment of truth.Would it appear to be hot coals? Yes!! It worked! The "blinkers" on the

lights added the look of "burning" coals. I now have a fiery wood stove that won't heat up this tiny room on Halloween night! No need to cook my guests! Little by little, my creepy parlor is coming to fruition! Maybe a few ghosts should be enjoying this cozy little nook..we shall see!!!

The Mansion and the Family!

Sometimes I worry about the mentality of some folks.   Not that I am the brightest crayon in the box or as Michael would mix it up and say.."You are not the brightest chicken in the tool shed!", but I can at most times use a bit of commonsense.  In keeping with the season, the Halloween decorations are sort of scattered haphazardly about the living room as I decorate.  There is one metal votive candle holder in the shape of a haunted mansion that my daughter ordered from Yankee Candle Company.  This decoration was sitting atop a box on the table as I had not decided where to put it as of yet.  This evening when I turned on one of the lights, the mansion cast a rather vivid shadow on the window blind.   A mere chance of lighting created a very unique shadow on my window blind.  Ooooh!  That is a bit creepy!  Being a tad camera-happy, I photographed the shadow..which, by the way, is not as easy as you would think!  Anyway, this all reminded me of something similar that happened just about this time last year.  Same window..same light but that time, a different shadow appeared on the window blind.  It was a shadow of the hanging light fixture..nothing as interesting as the mansion (complete with bats!)  Out came that camera and a few pictures later, I had one clear enough to post on the computer.  Not long afterward, someone asked me "How did you do that?"  Huh?  Do what?  Take a picture?  Nah, they wanted to know how I created the shadow....duh!  In all fairness, I suppose that relative assumed that the picture was another of my creative attempts at decorating for Halloween but...how do you make a shadow?  Hmmmm...darkness....light...some sort of screen (window blind in this case)..object in between light and screen...magic words...abracadabra!  Shadows!!!!  Hmmmmm...do you think anyone would believe that one?  So my shadow tonight brought a few giggles about something from a year ago.  Shadows area always amusing!

The decorating is taking a bit longer this year merely because I am trying to do about a zillion things at one time.  I only get to decorate when I am taking a break from the everyday chores, the creating of a special craft room (for me!), doing yard work and refinishing a piece of furniture.  I am also gathering together mountains of stuff for the Senior Citizens' garage sale that my sister is helping organize!  Well, ok, not a zillion but enough to fill my day!  The "Family Portraits" came out of the boxes today! I arranged them on the mantel in the living room and gave each "family member" their place of honor!  A bit of creepy cloth and a few knickknacks added a bit of eerie "antiqueness" to my vignette!  This mantel now has the monster crew on showcase!  I am sure if you look closely enough, you might recognize a few of these "family members" as we grew up knowing most of them from the movies or television shows!  These movie monsters add a quirky bit of creep to the decorations!

The fall-like weather that we have had for the past few days has made me more excited about the coming holiday.  Mark, Joanna, Elizabeth and Robbie have been decorating their houses as well.  Since we cannot easily just drop in to inspect each other's works, we have been sharing pictures and ideas.  It is not the same as being there, but at least we can share our efforts with each other.

Creatures from Inky Waters and Creatures made from Ink!

There was a lovely sunrise this morning!

I was up early this morning!  Too early!  At just about three o'clock, I was wide awake and ready for a cup of coffee!  So...out of bed and into the kitchen I went!  After downing the first mug, I thought that I might head to the pier.  Ms. Ez thought that I was a tad loco but she tagged along anyway.  She probably thought that she had better keep an eye on me as I was acting a bit out of the norm!  On the pier, it was dark!  The only light was from the three-quarter moon that was still directly overhead.  It was peaceful in an eerie sort of way!  Then..I got the bright idea that I should be fishing if I was on the pier so I started looking for minnows to use as bait.  This proved a bit difficult because the water was inky black..well, everything was inky black! Then I heard a little splash! Aha! Bait!  I tossed the net in the general direction of the splish-splash sound and to my surprise instead of minnows, something large..very large dove away from the net!  What was that!  The net was being tugged this way and that!  Then whatever it was, broke free. The wake from the critter moved quickly to the east for about ten feet.  Then..a head popped up out of the water!  An otter stared at me in disbelief and then had the nerve to start barking at me!  I guess he did not like being nearly entrapped in the netting!  (And, I hate to tell Mark this but there is a rather..ummm...large hole in the net!)  It seems that otters are quite adept at ripping out of a net!  I had to start giggling at the critter as he fussed and fussed at me!  All the while, Ms. Ez merely stood and watched!  Crazy dog!  I could have been pulled into the water by the "Fierce Creature of Inky Bayou Waters" and she would have not cared!  Instead of leaping into action and protecting me from all evil, she was eyeing the torn net as if there were minnows for her to eat!  Oh, my goodness!

After the encounter with the otter, I was not able to catch any fish.  My day was not starting off too well!  But at least I still had lots of day left to change all of that!  It was only five o'clock when I ventured back into the Little Bayou House.  I thought of the morning's event and decided that I needed to train Ezzy to be a more aggressive watchdog!  She should be strong..she should be valiant..she should be ferocious!  I turned to see her on her bed with her paw over her nose.  Nah...no use.  That dog will never be anything but a big, overgrown puppy!

Now for a bit of Halloween!  The mantel in the dining room is decorated in what I call "Implied Creep".  None of that gore stuff is in my house!  Again..I do not mind skeletons, skulls, ghosts and goblins but keep that blood and guts stuff away from me!  The "Implied Creep" gives the insinuation that something dire is about the place but is not sickening!  With a few black candle sticks, some creepy cloth, a string purple lights, bits of antique jewelry and a couple of old books and the mantel was starting to take shape!  The old, haunted house feel was starting to come about!  Think Abbot and Costello here...one of their escapades might take place in the Little Bayou House by the time it is fully decorated!

I did place one piece of whimsy on the mantel as the "unexpected piece".   Using the program "Paint" on the computer, I drew a spider and web.  Superimposed over this I typed "Along came a spider..".  This was another idea that I got while searching for decorating hints.  I thought "I can do this!" and I did!  This cute little picture was printed, framed and stuck on an easel atop some old books. Amazing what a little ink can do!  The mantel is finished!  October is fun!

A Weird Day and Store Eight!

  It was a weird day.  Not weird in creepy (well, one part was creepy) but weird in me not knowing what emotion should be applied to each incident that occurred.  Mark and I decided to go shopping for our Christmas gifts.  We have narrowed the gift list tremendously but still needed to get the job done.  To me, shopping of any kind is a chore.  I braved up and climbed into the truck.  I was going to do this!  Mark knows that I am not much on a lot of the department stores so he took me to the lumber yard! Whoa!  Good move!  I could live in that place and be perfectly happy!  There are so many neat little things there that start the wheels of a crafter's brain to whirring.  I could have filled the truck with doodads had I not remembered that I was supposed to be buying for other folks.  I did find a "freebie" bin and loaded up on scrap lumber!  Projects were mounding up in the brain!  Oh, and we did buy our son-in-law's gift!  He had mentioned something and I made a mental note.  A miter saw and jig saw were purchased.  The beginning of the shopping trip seemed to be a success....I was in hopes that the rest would follow suit.

  It did not.  We drove all the way to a store that I adore in the next town over.  One problem...the store was no where to be found.  My store was gone!  Lock, stock and barrel!  It had disappeared!  I did not know what to make of this!  Just the night before, I had been looking at their ad and, now, poof!  GONE!!!  Befuddled, we went set out to find another store.  As we meandered about the huge parking lot, I spied a sporting goods store. OK!  This may work!  We wanted to buy roller skates for the grandlittles.  Surely a sporting goods store should have roller skates.  Perhaps all would not be lost.  As soon as I entered the store, I knew this was a mistake.  Huge sign..."Sporting Goods"....nary a thing in stock that had to do with sports.  They had shirts.  Lots of shirts.  No skates...nor balls, bats, weights, fishing gear...nothing to do with sports. Shirts....they had shirts.  I went outside and checked the sign again...Sporting Goods...not Shirts.  We drove away shaking our heads. 

  On to Store Three...I bought a bake pan....for me.  This was turning out to be the most disappointing shopping trip in history.  Store Four...(another sporting goods place)....one pair of children's skates but these were far too big for the grandlittles.  We bought a camera.  Hmmm...I am not having fun.  Store Five....(the third sporting goods place)....there sure are a lot of sporting goods places.  When I entered, I could hear people talking.  I never saw a single soul in the place.  I think it was haunted.  No sales folks ever approached me.   No one was at the cash registers (and there were 14 of those).  Nary a person was seen walking the aisles...customers nor sales people.  Mark and I wandered around a bit until it started feeling a bit creepy.  I called out..."Hello!"  My voice echoed in the vast emptiness of the huge store.  No response.  Ok, so if the ghosts haunting this place did not want my money, I would just go elsewhere.  Fifteen minutes in a store without seeing a single person was sort of....ummm...weird.  Store Six...this store was a huge department store.  I was intimidated.  As I was wandering about the place, I noticed a price tag on a robe....$176....for a terry cloth robe!  And it was not even pretty.  They did, however, have men's sports jackets with Santa Claus embroidered on the front!  I started to get one for Mark.  He and I laughed until we saw the price...$322!  Surely, they jest!  Finally, a lady came up to me an asked "Are you looking for anything in particular?"  When I said kids' roller skates, she looked aghast and shortly replied "We do NOT carry such!"  Oops!  I guess this was a mistake. I sort of slunk out of the store hoping that I would not knock something off the rack.  I probably would have been chastised to no end!  Store Seven...we are still looking for skates.  By this time, we have forgotten all other folks on our list.  The grandlittles were the only ones who mattered!  It was skates or bust.  This place told us that we had to order them online.  They did not carry them in the store. I could have done that to start with had I known what size.  Skates are sized totally different than shoes.  There are things like Y-8 or J-10 which do not correlate with kids shoe sizes at all. I had the good sense to ask my daughter-in-law what size the kids wore AND how long their feet were in inches!  My small stroke of brilliance saw me with a premeasured piece of string in my pocket!  Store Eight....SKATES!!!!  We found skates!!  Well, we found one pair of skates that closely resembled the correct size. I whipped out my handy-dandy six inch long string and started measuring! They were close.  I grabbed them and dared anyone to get near me! These were MINE!!!   Good news was...they were Disney "Frozen" skates.  Our little granddaughter would love them!  Bad news was...there was none for our little grandson. As I was literally crawling on the floor, pushing boxes of men's skates to the side, I found some small adjustable skates. These would have to do.  I am thinking the little fellow will be just as happy with his "Paw Patrol" skates as he would with any others.  Store Eight also had knee pads, elbow pads and helmets!  Grab, grab, grab!  Whew!  Also, Store Eight had sales people!  Lots of them and they were of the helpful sort and not ghostlike voices.  I was really beginning to like Store Eight!  Ok, now what else were we supposed to get?  I could not remember.  Eight stores just to find skates blew my mind.  Six hours and eight stores just to find skates also wore me to a frazzle.  It was time to go home.  I will, however, make another trip to Store Eight  to finish my shopping if I ever regain the courage to attempt another trip.  I wonder if everyone else on my list would like something made from freebie scrap lumber...hmmm?  Maybe?

The Non-Halloween Decorating

Usually by this time, the Little Bayou House is decked out in its fall and Halloween finery.  This is the first year in many, many that I have not pulled down the tons of decorations to adorn the entire house and yard.  It is hard..very hard..for me to resist but, alas, I must.  You see, we are hosting a Clue Hunt Party for my young niece and her friends come the last week in October.  One would think that I would still decorate (and I am) but the theme for the party is not in keeping with the holiday.  Sort of..maybe..who knows?  Anyway, for the past few weeks, I have been slowly turning the Little Bayou House into an abandoned house.  The theme of the clue hunt is set back in the mid 1800's and supposedly the house has set empty (save for one old woman) for many years.  One room especially is still being used by an old "Bayou Woman" (me!) and is relatively in good shape.  That room is the Apothecary Room..the room where she creates her herbal potions, elixirs and tisanes!  Actually, this room makes me happy!  It is filled with herbs, oddities of nature and specimens of natural science.  Michael and I have worked hard to create what we imagine to be the perfect Apothecary Room from the late 1800's.

Lots of old bottles, some books and, of course a skull are needed accessories in any apothecary room!

Lanterns, a birdcage, old traps and keys flanked by "creepy cloth" curtains!

Some old spindles, a "Crucifix" from a catfish and some coral decorate a small shelf.

I was really fortunate to start with a blank slate here.  This is one of the rooms that was being munched by termites and had to be totally gutted. The entryway was ripped apart and rebuilt from the inside out.  I was able to put in assorted little shelves and add many odd, wood curly-cues that I had salvaged from recent hurricanes.  With nothing at all in the room, Michael and I got creative with the decor!  A snakeskin was draped across a piece of driftwood and hung from the ceiling, assorted antique bottles were placed upon homemade shelves and artifacts from the Bayou were framed.  A stack of old books, owl feathers and a magnifying glass lend a bit of mystique.  Then there are the herbs!  Those unidentifiable potions, and elixirs that all good apothecary shops must have to be authentic!  Actually, my herbs are authentic!  I merely rummaged around in my stockpile of herbs to rebottle and relabel a whole shelf full of things.  Michael printed out some labels which I dyed in coffee and smeared with soot.  This aging added to the realism.  Now all that needs to be done is add a bit of eerie lighting and drape some Spanish Moss about the room.  My apothecary room is almost ready to hold a couple of well-hidden clues!  I will be showing how to do some of these things in later posts.  My methods are extremely budget friendly and simple!  Cheap and easy are two great traits when it comes to decorating for Halloween or even clue hunts!

Assorted herbs with aged bottles and labels.

A snakeskin draped on driftwood and hung from ceiling!

A lizard has made itself quite at home in the dried arrangement!

Earlier this evening, I mentioned to Mark that it seemed this was becoming more a room of  Natural Science than an Apothecary Room.  Little did I know that I was speaking such a truth!  As I was out taking a few photographs of the room,  a bit of nature decided to be included in the picture-taking session.  In a bowl of dried weeds, seed pods and lichens, a tiny green anole peered at me with bright eyes!  The little lizard had evidently made its way inside and took up residence.  When I showed my son, Michael, he asked if I wanted him to remove the lizard.  After pondering a bit, I shook my head.  Nope..leave him be.  We will just add a plant with and a bit of water to the room.  The lizard looked right at home and since I have no qualms about his visit, he might as well be comfortable.  That small piece of nature will now be able to observe a group of teenagers fumble around for clues in their quest for answers to weird and wonderful mysteries of the Little Bayou House.

Halloween on a budget!

Yesterday, I was asked how to decorate for Halloween while on a budget. The decorations had to be "really cool" and not the ordinary, run-of-the-mill sort of things that you could buy at the local department store. At first,I said "Turn down the lights! Use flicker candles! Pull out the strings of white lights!" Anything to add ambiance..then I referred them to past posts of the blog. Last year, I had posted things like..using cheesecloth as curtains and printing and framing old movie monster portraits. These things were accepted heartily but the request for more ideas still stood. I thought and thought. Things are just so expensive nowadays and most of us (especially young parents) just do not have the funds to splurge on $80 centerpieces for one party. Time to be a bit creative!

I scrounged around the cabinets until I found an old (by old..antique) silver centerpiece vase/candelabra. It had seen better days as the (frog) insert that holds the flowers was bent and broken but it was still too good to toss. This was a good start..now to make it creepy. I used some water-based paint to cover the entire vase/candelabra. No sooner had I finished painting, I pulled some paper towels and rubbed off most of the paint. Yep..looks old now! (The water-based paint will not harm the silver as it can merely be washed off after Halloween. In my stash of goodies, I have an assortment of candles. None of these looked particularly spooky, so the black paint was needed again. I painted the candles with the black water-based paint. (I do not light these candles so I am not worried about the longevity of the paint. I have not tried burning them to see if the paint has any effect on the flame or not..so if you do this..try it first in a place that will not be a danger in case something does not go well! We wouldn't want to burn down the house!) Hmmm...flowers were not called for at this party, so a small pumpkin was placed on some moss in the vase! Voila'...instant creepy centerpiece for free! A bit if dyed cheesecloth for a table runner and a few fall leaves round out this look! If you do not have the silver piece..any candleholders and a black-painted bowl will work..even an old plastic margarine tub will do in a pinch. (Just paint solid black and do not wipe off any of the paint!) I really like this centerpiece since it is still elegant enough to use at any late fall party.

Dead branches are always available..just go clean your yard a bit and you should have an abundance! Gather up a bunch of these since they can be used everywhere! They go great just shoved in any container and placed on the shelf or they can be added to garlands under windows. I used a large glass container and added a few dried weeds and fall leaves. This was placed in the entryway with some gourds and a coach lamp. The gourds were free as they were from the garden, the weeds..well..there are far too many of them everywhere!..and the coach lamp was moved from another part of the house. Again..this is more of a fall decoration but an old sheet dyed black as a table cloth lends itself to Halloween.

Mice! Mice! Everywhere! Every good haunted house definitely needs rodents lurking in the shadows. I actually got this idea from Martha Stewart! She has the most amazing website that is so full of good ideas! The template for these mice is a free download from her site. Just print and cut out a whole slew of the little rascals. Put double-sided tape (or role scotch tape) on the back side of each mouse and stick them to stairs like Martha did or in the shadows of shelves, behind furniture or anywhere that a mouse might wander! Turn down the lights and they appear almost real! Of course, if you have mice..you have to have the black cat! Ms. Put fits right in with the decorations!

For the next week, as time permits, I will add more "freebie" or "near-freebie" decorations. Parties of any kind do not require expensive decorations if you are willing to use a little ingenuity and apply a little bit of elbow grease! Darling daughter, Elizabeth, will be here this weekend so between the two of us, we will transform the house into a party-ready area!