Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Welcome to the Witch Party! 2014



We had a wonderful time at this year's Witch Party! I think this was our best party yet in all the years we've been doing this. This year's theme (on top of the standard witch theme) was skeletons. These were the invitations. You might remember the chandelier envelopes and snippets of the cards from last year's After Halloween Target and Michaels Haul. You're going to see several things from that haul!


I loved that chandelier so I had to keep it. I cut apart the cards themselves and reassembled them as a sort of skeleton club scene. Then I drew some little skeletons and colored them in/glittered them.


The new toad was looking very dapper in his party attire:


You can see the back of him in the mirror. That cape was actually part of a (very small) dog outfit!


Me and my toad in our matching purple and black outfits:

 
I painted a bunch of little plastic skeletons with metallic paint. I was really happy with how these turned out.


As you can see with this little platinum skeleton, they're super poseable. The guests all ended up having fun making the skeletons do yoga poses. I wish I could do the stuff these little guys can do! They're very flexible.


The skeleton is sitting with the vintage bottle collection you might remember from past years.


The little skellies also became part of the flower arrangement: 



Thanks to Old Fashion Halloween, I found out about these awesome blinking skulls! The lights in their eyes change to all different colors. Blue to green to red to purple. They really light up in the dark! Believe it or not, these cool skulls can be found at Dollar Tree.


You might remember these little skulls from the package I was sent from HalloweenCostumes.com. I poked holes in them and stuck some heavy duty straws in them. The straws were probably intended for cake pops. These look like skull lollipops to me.


My mom and me:


A hat I put together from the package of supplies I got from the Target Haul last year.


This paper fan decoration's placement was another idea from Old Fashion Halloween:


Black and orange chips from Aldi:


The table was set with the skeleton decorations. I was inspired color-wise by those bright napkins. My little painted skeletons are holding the place cards.

 
This witch was a gift from a friend. Isn't she perfect?


I decided to try making some bone buns by cutting with a cookie cutter from a Pillsbury Dough Sheet. The sheets are probably made for pizzas but they worked fine for this too!


All cooked:


Skeletal salad tossers:


Baked Ziti:


The piratey little cupcakes! These were triple chocolate with the chocolate chips melted inside. Pretty addictive stuff. I like how that spider photobombed the picture.


The treat baggies with a black skull pattern:


I had a lot of fun decorating outside using some of the gifts I was sent, like the luminaries. The skulls on the luminaries were a perfect match with what I wanted to do. I lit a candle and placed it in the cauldron. The bones fit with the cauldron somehow.


Some of the skull illustrations are courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.


I was pretty proud of myself for what I did with this freestanding skull. I printed it out, cut it out and taped it to a small picture frame.


Remember this skeleton from my gift package? It got a little girly with the help of some cupcake wrappers and some duct tape.


The same glass candle holder I used with a bat last year but now with a skeletal hand.


Some really neat vintage looking garland from Dollar Tree:


Here's what the decorations looked like at night:




Dollar Tree helped once more with the fake candles inside these luminaries. What a brilliant blue glow they created!


I love all the contrast of this soft orange light with the bright blue.

 

Remember these two?




I love this photo! It's kind of blurry but it's one of my favorites from the night. Spooky and mysterious. This is actually the spider skull you see in my candy bowl each year for the trick-or-treaters.


To show you some details of my costume:


My hat had a veil that can be pulled down:


 My skull and crossbones earrings:


 That locket I pieced together from ebay pieces:


 Skull socks!


Our guests brought some really neat gifts for us! Those black, glittery candles are so cool. You just twist them and they light up.


I thought these would be those kind of gnarly tasting candies but they actually tasted like orange!


A cute picture frame and a festive farmers' market pumpkin:


I hope you enjoyed looking through these photos! I always look forward to sharing them. If you'd like to see pictures from parties past, here are some links to those posts:

Witch Party 2013

Witch Party 2012

Witch Party 2011


I'm planning the Halloween Blog Party for this Sunday! I'd love to have some more costumed photos from you guys so you can join in the fun!

You can email them here:

contactartgirl@gmail.com

16 comments:

  1. Wow, so much great stuff as always! That locket is very cool.

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    1. Thanks! I bought the metal locket a year or so ago on ebay but it had some funky pink jewel thing with a rabbit on it. I was happy to find a skeleton cameo on ebay that was just the size to replace it! So I chipped off the rabbit and glued on the skeleton. I'm pretty happy with the result and it happened to fit with this year's party theme!

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  2. Looks great as usual Justine, lots of work and detail. You have created a very inviting "witch" atmosphere! Hope you all had a great time, happy Halloween!

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    1. The October Boy ~ Thank you! :) We did have a great time! I'm glad to see you back in the blogosphere! A Happy Halloween to you too! Do you have any Halloween plans this year?

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  3. Yes, we have put a stop to the 100 plus guest Halloween party, (much to others disappointment) and are keeping it simple this year.
    Just neighbors over for a Gothic Cocktail party this Saturday. No pressure so it feels good!

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    1. The October Boy ~ I can definitely understand feeling overwhelmed by 100 guests! We often feel overwhelmed with just 10 guests! I know how much effort you guys went to, then there's the cost of all that food and drinks, etc. It's a lot! I bet you're relieved to relax and have some time to enjoy yourself. The Gothic Cocktail party should be fun! What kind of drinks are you planning to make? I ran into a Halloween drink pin board on Pinterest the other day that you might be interested in:

      Halloween Drink Recipes

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  4. Those Witch Hats are a great value, huh? Looks great! Ohh...those chips look good, I must have missed those! The lady witches aren't drinking any witches brew are they? (I shouldn't ask.) I love the Pillsbury Dough Bones. The baked Ziti sure looks good, better than my floured and fried potatoes, celery, carrots, and onions :)

    Halloween is very atmospheric at home, it captures the feel of Trick-or-Treat night. There is something about autumn leaves and asphalt that goes together - especially with front porches decorated like yours! I see your Target pumpkin has become an old friend :)

    Well, the witches are looking good, say hi to mom for me!

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    1. Matt ~ They sure are! I got an extra deal on that purple hat because it was part of last year's After Halloween Target Haul. It's amazing how much of that haul got used for this year's party. Witches' Brew? Nah, just Sangria. :) The Pillsbury Bones turned out pretty well. That was a total experiment. I was just looking for something quick that could be baked up right before dinner. I'd never used the dough sheets before. I think they were probably designed to be used as a pizza crust. The Ziti was good! Lots of melted cheese.

      I agree about Halloween being atmospheric at home! There's a warmth about it. The trick-or-treaters are going to be out in the evening around here on Sunday, which is nice. Trick-or-treat used to only happen in the afternoon around here. Everything will have more of a warm glow this way. Yes, the Target pumpkin has become an old friend! Some neighbors got a very similar one - the same size but with the pointy teeth. Theirs sits out and looks across the street at this one. :) I'll pass along your "hi"!

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    1. Marvin ~ Thank you! I love it too. It's my favorite of the things I was sent in that package, but I doubt I would have ever picked it out for myself. The toad is lots of fun to dress up!

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  6. Awesome, all the way from the decorations, fun food, to your costume. It looks like a blast!

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    1. Julie ~ Thank you! :) It was a blast! This year's party was the most fun ever! Do you have anything fun planned for Halloween?

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  7. What a Delightfully Wicked Celebration! Happy Halloween from the Arizona Desert... come join our Soiree in progress now for a Halloween Blog Hop of Epic Proportions! Dawn... The Bohemian

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    1. Bohemian ~ Thank you! :) A Happy Halloween back to you from Wisconsin! I'll be sure to take a look at your blog hop. Thanks for letting me know about it!

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  8. Back tracking through entries and finally got a good look at your party! So many cute skulls. My frog like that sits on my desk wearing a tiny witch hat!

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    1. Old Fashion Halloween ~ I know you were super busy this year! I know how it is. Halloween is the time when I most want to see what everyone is up to, but I'm usually too busy to be able to look through the blogs.

      Aren't those frogs fun to dress up? I'd like to think up a way to work him into other holidays, but I haven't thought of anything yet. After all, there are dog costumes for every holiday. Santa frog, perhaps? ;)

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