My Creative Blog [Search results for Halloween] 

Vintage Halloween postcards
....turned into unique jewelry

Pendant necklaces made from vintage Halloween postcards

Pendant necklace made from vintage Halloween postcard

I love the change in season from summer to fall. It's early September and already our local grocery store has Halloween candy on display! Is it a bit too early for that? Maybe, but the lure of Halloween is one that I' ve always found charming. I'm especially fond of vintage Halloween items. Decorations, masks, costumes and postcards from years past have quite a different charm than those we see today.

The nostalgia of yesteryear is apparent in these vintage collectibles, and for many, brings back memories of childhood fun and games, costumes and trick-or-treating.

Halloween truly is a timeless holiday. What other time of year allows us to be something we are not, to fully use our imagination and allow reality to slip away, even if just for one night?

Halloween Postcards

Pendant necklace made from vintage Halloween postcard
It's amazing to think that at one time (around the late 1800's and on) Halloween postcards were once as popular as Christmas cards!

Pendant necklace made from vintage Halloween postcard
Be sure to check out my Halloween Postcard Jewelry. Each of my postcard pendant necklaces is reversible, with a different vintage Halloween image on each side.

Pendant necklace made from vintage Halloween postcard
I' ve been making jewelry from antique and vintage postcards for a number of years now, and in my opinion, the Halloween images are the most intriguing than those of any other holiday. (Aside from Halloween I also make them with Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day and St. Patrick's Day postcards) 'And don't worry, no original postcards are harmed in the process!

Pendant necklace made from vintage Halloween postcard

Pendant necklaces made from vintage Halloween postcards
What do you think?

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group ™ and Sharpie, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #NeonSharpie http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.

So, occasionally I have those,"You Know You're a Blogger When…" moments. They're the moments when you step back and realize that yes, you are taking pictures of Chili outside and decorating it with wooden pallets and leaves… or like this week when I was checking out at the grocery store and this is what it looked like…

(Want more of our crazy lives? Follow us on Instagram! @Eastcoastcreativeblog @Jess_EC2blog)

The boy at the checkout counter was giving me some seriously weird looks!
Anyhow… I scored the crazy realistic skull for $3.99!

We have a bit of a"Not Too Scary" Halloween rule at the Mangin house. We're all for having fun and dressing up, but we're not into the darker, creepo side of the holiday. So, while I loved how authentic the skull looked, I knew I needed to pretty him up and my new Sharpie Neon markers that I bought at Target were just the thing I needed!
I couldn't resist playing around a bit before he got his makeover!

After playing around, I got down to work. I used the Sharpies to add a pop of color to all the fissures on the skull and then I got to work on his grill!

He be all up in my grill… and I love it!

Isn't he looking a lot more cheerful and less scary?!?

Then came the moment I was most excited about! Seeing this bad boy GLOW!!

Ahhh! I was jumping for joy over this for some reason! I can't believe how vibrant the colors are when you put them under a black light.

Look at the difference with the black light!

After seeing how simple it was to kick the skull up a notch, I decided that I'd use my Neon Sharpies to do a little more decorating. I used newspaper wrapping paper I had on hand (although real newspaper would work too) and made a Halloween themed table runner!

I had just watched the movie A Beautiful Mind and I thought making the plain paper look like it had hidden messages would be fun! It was amazing how easy it was to find Halloween-like words! And once again the Sharpie Neon under the black light added just the right pop to make it seem totally legit!

So, if you're looking for some simple ways to decorate this Halloween, instead of dishing out big bucks, just grab a pack of Neon Sharpie markers at Target using this $1.00 off coupon (while supplies last in select stores) and add a POP to some items you already have around the house. You could add some style to plain, dollar store mugs, make a glowing pennant banner, and so much more! One added bonus… my kids thought I was the coolest ever when I showed them how the black light worked! For more ideas using Sharpies for Halloween check them out on Pinterest and Facebook.
If you love our Neon Sharpie Halloween decor ideas, then check out the other bloggers who linked up with Sharpie as well!

Hmm… does this look like halloween to you???

This will be quite a memorable halloween on the east coast. My kids will be out trick or treating with this backdrop…

Yup, those are really pics from my cell phone of our yard! Insanity!
Before I get into a little halloween fun, let me just tell you what a crazy weekend Jess and I had. You might have heard that a certain Mr. Berkus gave us another challenge that we taped this weekend. I can't say much, but let me just tell you that snow and power outtages were just the beginning of the craziness! I can't wait until we can tell you all about it!
Now, get ready for some randomness…

Every year Jess hosts a halloween party for trick or treating and then dessert. It's always a fun time and the last few years the adults have gotten into the costume fun too! Last year, I wore Kenzie's old batgirl outfit and Jess whipped up a Sherlock Holmes costume. This year we're actually going as Nate Berkus DIYers complete with the Gold hard hats from the show. Slightly cheesy, but really fun, and we didn't need to buy anything for it! Score!! (We'll post some embarassing, goofy pictures on Facebook)

I warned you that this was a random post… here's one of our favorite fall mantles from Pottery Barn. I love the sticks just wrapped up without even needing a vase. How simple!!

Source: theinspiredroom.net via Shara on Pinterest

Okay, and just to really finish this off randomly… Tomorrow is the beginning of theThanksgiving season (not sure that's even a real thing, but let's pretend it is okay?) and I think this coat is a perfect Thanksgiving Season must-have. If anyone sews and would like to knock this off, well I'd really love that!

Source: anthropologie.com via Janenifer on Pinterest

Happy Halloween!

P.S. We have some fun posts in store for you this week… Design it Forward recap, Jess' final bathroom reveal, and an awesome giveaway on Friday!

Welcome to my spooktacular Halloween foyer! I can't even type that without laughing. My kids adore Halloween- I have no idea how it happened, but it's one of their favorite days of the whole year. I usually only decorate my mantle for the holiday, but this year I thought I'd take it up a notch with a mini foyer makeover.

Just for comparison's sake, here's my foyer most days…

Jess and I were asked to review a new product called Scrapbook Attitude. Neither of us do paper scrapbooking anymore, but their printable scrapbooking film is really versatile. It makes image transfers a breeze. No more printing on paper and then killing myself to perfectly cut out my image. The film is clear, so only what you want to be seen will. Score!

We worked together on a little image transfer accent pillow and the whole process took us about 15 minutes. I love a quick and easy DIY!

The process for getting the image transfer onto the pillow was really simple. Actually slip covering the pillow…not so much (we really need to take a sewing class!)
I went to one of my favorite graphics websites The Graphics Fairy to find a vintage Halloween image. As soon as I saw this skull with all the anatomical labels, I knew I'd found a winner. I'm not into all the scary creepo stuff of Halloween, but something about the juxtaposition of this skull and my fun orange polka dot fabric just worked for me.
Once I had my image, I added a black background in Picmonkey and then printed it onto the Scrapbook Attitude paper (print on the shiny side). If you're printing words, like I did, make sure you set your printer to Mirror Image.

I had this small bird pillow that no longer works with my daughter's bedroom, but I don't think the bird-skull thing was working out. Ha! I needed a slip cover.

While the fabric was still flat, I adhered the image using good old Elmer's Glue.

I used a dry towel to help flatten out the image and rub out any clumps of glue.

To set the image more permanently, I used my iron on medium heat (with no steam) and ironed through a towel. It sealed it really well.

At first you will notice some unevenness like this, but don't worry, as the glue dries and the image cools, it all smooths out. Man, I was relieved!

Then it was time to wrap my pillow. Yes, I totally know sewing this would have been so much easier, and looked better, but A. My sewing skills stink and B. I had done the wrap trick before on one of our Nate Show episodes and it worked like a charm that time.

I basically just wrapped it like a present and used some hot glue to attach the orange fabric to itself. I'm not going to show you the back of my pillow (blush) but Jess may or may not have posted an embarrassing picture on our Facebook page. Check it out if you want the real, behind the scenes look!
I'm pretty jazzed up about my little foyer makeover and my kids actually think It's pretty cool to have a blogger for a mom (for once!)

What do you think of my Spooktacular Foyer?
(Ha! There's the cheese again!)
And, any interest in giving us sewing lessons!?!

To learn more about Scrapbooking Attitude check them out here:

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Can it be that it was a whole year ago that we were Nate's Favorite DIYers for Halloween?!

We've had a crazy couple of days here on the East Coast as a result of Hurricane Sandy (as I write this Monica is still without power!), and so our Halloween may not take place as usual. We feel fortunate that we experienced only mild damage and inconvenience, and send our prayers to all of our friends and family in New Jersey (so sad about the Jersey shore!) and New York. We hope that, wherever you are, you have a Happy Halloween! Stay safe! 

We're on a roll here with our Fall-Lovers Series. I'm ready to curl up with a good book, under a warm blanket, drinking a Pumpkin Spice Chai from Starbucks. You? If you missed the first 3 days in our series, click here, here, and here to catch yourself up!

I'm definitely a mums and pumpkins kind of gal. Keep it simple and keep it totally fallish. I'll be honest, though. Today it was a mere 90 degrees here in Bucks County, so decking out my front porch for Fall was the last thing on my mind. Even though I've seen a few places put out mums already, I'm not quite ready to get mine. I did manage to find a few pictures of my front porch from years past:

My house just naturally lends itself to Fall colors since our front door and shutters are a chocolate brown color.

I painted plain old fake terracotta planters a bright, fallish, cheerful yellow which popped beautifully against the mums. You won't find that little cutie on the step in stores, though. She's all mine.

This is the view looking out from our foyer on a rainy Fall day. I just love the big trees all over our property that whose leaves turn such lovely colors.
I have bigger plans this year for my front porch, which I hope will actually happen sometime before Halloween (we host a Halloween/Trick-or-Treating party every year). But who knows?! Anyway, since I'm not offering much in the way of inspiration from my own home, how about these beauties?

Front Porch Decor

Source: bing.com via Jessica on Pinterest
Pottery Barn just does it best, don't they? This look is a little over the top in my humble opinion, but there's no doubt as to which season they're celebrating in this house.

Source: iheartmygluegun.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: midwestliving.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: uncommondesignsonline.com via Jessica on Pinterest
If you ever browse Pinterest, then you've probably seen this picture of these painted/carved pumpkin topiaries. People are so dang creative, aren't they?
But, don't you dare think you have to buy a million pumpkins, paint your front door and put a table on your porch to make it look fabulous and fall-y. No way. Just look:

Source: bhg.com via Jessica on Pinterest
Now, this is more like it! I love the simplicity of this front porch. Something about it is just so homey. And I'm totally digging that blue door and light fixture, but that's another post for another day.

Source: bhg.com via Jessica on Pinterest
What is with all these non-traditional painted front doors? Do you love it or hate it? I'm lovin' it and have already started brainstorming about attacking my front door with paint!

It’s in the Details …

Source: google.com via Jessica on Pinterest
If you do have a big porch with room for an old table and chairs, a vignette of pumpkins and foliage is absolutely adorable!

Source: bhg.com via Jessica on Pinterest
Another great trick for adding Fall elements into the outdoor design of your home, is by adding pumpkins, gourds, and dried cornstalks into your existing flower beds and window boxes. Instant fallification (yes, it is now a word. Boom.) without screaming It's Fall! in everyone's faces and annoying your neighbors.

Source: bhg.com via Jessica on Pinterest
I think this is so clever- place a few branches from your yard into a planter, add white lights, or specialty Halloween lights onto them and throw in a few pumpkins while you're at it. This is the perfect Halloween/trick or treating touch. Can't you see these lining your walkway as the little ghosts and goblins (or scantily-clad Britney Spears, or wierdly-clad Lady Gaga's, which I may or may not have seen in my neighborhood last year) come to get their candy? Ahhh…too awesome!

Source: thepaintedhome.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest
Denise, from The Painted Home, decked out a tree in her yard and included the numbers of her house on painted pumpkins. As she says, you want Fall to know where you live.
It doesn’t hurt a girl to dream.

Source: room-galleries.myhomeideas.com via Jessica on Pinterest

Source: southernliving.com via Jessica on Pinterest
Yes, please.
(If you own one of these, please invite me over for some hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire. I'll be the best friend you never really wanted.)

What’s your front porch style? Over-the-top or Understated? Happy Thursday!

Yesterday we had a super fun time going pumpkin picking with our kids and a bunch of other families. Fall is just such a fun time and we're super thankful for the awesome people in our lives that we get to share all the fun with!
Since I've had some weeks off from filming, I've actually been decorating my own house (GASP!). It's actually shocking because until now, I hadn't done a blessed thing since we started filming Knock It Off back in March! I wanted to do our front porch for kind of fall and halloween, but I didn't want to spend any money (or very little!) So, this is my porch using 99% items I already had! Check it out…

The only thing I had to buy was the burlap- I loved the pattern and it only cost me about $7.00! I painted the 31 directly onto the burlap… well, okay, tiny confession… I actually painted all over my granite too!! (Don't worry, it came off!)

I tweaked by tiered planters by adding mini pumpkins around the first tier.

And guess what… we actually grew these pumpkins and gourds! We didn't get as many from our crop as we have in the past, but it was enough to decorate with!

Then, I found a bag of leftover painted pallet wood from an episode of Knock It Off (check out the episode HERE) and decided to add a little pop of color to the porch.

I used some random things from around the house to add some halloween-ish flair!

This was one of those cardboard ring hands for jewelry displays- I painted it with a glossy black and hung a little chalkboard from it.

It's a wee bit non-traditional, but I love the pop of color and how it's halloween, yet still kinda fallish too!

This is an indoor pillow from IKEA, but our porch doesn't get too wet and it has been sitting around my house for a while.

The kids (and Eric) really wanted me to re-do our Frankenstein door from last year (check it out HERE), but I wanted to try something new… I went with a mummy!

I used some leftover thin white fabric and just wrapped it around the door and used some 3M tape to secure it to the back. Yeah, the back is a bit ugly, but the front is awesome!
So, for under 10 bucks, our house is all set for October 31st!

So, What do you think of my almost free front porch decor?

Only becaused we promised… Here's a Halloween Snapshot…

What were you or your kiddos for Halloween?? Do share!!

This was our first snow fall. It happened a couple of weeks ago and I'm happy to say that it hasn't been back — it will be a long enough winter as it is!
If this photo looks familiar, you may have seen it over at Tara Dillard's blog — she's doing our landscape design!! She sent me the beautiful landscape plans a few days ago and it'svery exciting....I'll post on that soon!

This is the extent of my Halloween costume. I'll wear it when we carve our pumpkins tonight — and when I toast the fresh yummy pumpkins seeds!
Have a Happy Halloween!

We might have come up with a way to ensure that your house is the coolest on the block this Halloween… At least it would get my kids' vote!

The Monster Mash Candy"Bowl" is SO NOT your Mama's Candy Bowl! It's a fun way for trick or treaters to choose their own candy or a treat- If they can get past our silly monsters!
Monster Mash Candy"Bowl" Tutorial
We were quick to respond YES when Martha Stewart Crafts asked if we wanted to be part of a creative Halloween Team. We love Martha and her products, so it was a no-brainer. Then we had to come up with a creative idea and honestly this one just popped into my head. I was at dinner, so I ran the idea by my board of trustees (AKA my 4 kids) and got their seal of approval.

The fun thing about this project is that you can totally customize it any way you'd like to, but I'll give you the 411 on how I did things.
I started on the chalkboard wooden labels first since they'd need to dry.

I used Martha's Multi-Surface Pearl paint on the wooden plaques that I picked up at Michael's for 79 cents. I'm not making this up, I really was amazed at how smooth the paint was. It probably was a combo of a good brush and good paint, but I actually begged the hubs to come look at how smooth this paint is! Shockingly, he wasn't nearly as excited as I was.
I then used chalkboard paint on the mini wood tags that I also grabbed at Michael's for 29 cents. Score!

Once everything was dry, I used hot glue to attach the two together. I planned to use chalk to label the plaques, but for pictures a paint pen worked better.
Next, it was time to make my monster mouths on the presentation board.

I bought a foam core presentation board because I think it's easier to work with than the cardboard ones. I traced my circles with a bowl and then cut them out using a utility knife (that manly hand is not mine, the hubs was my helper on this project- just FYI!)
Once we had holes, it was time to bring my monsters to life.

I went with really big googly eyes so that Mr.Monster looked fun and silly and not creepo for little kids. I bought a sheet of foam for the teeth and varied between pointy fangs and chunky square teeth. (The teeth were Jess' brilliant idea when I was brainstorming my project with her! It's awesome to have such a creative BFF.) I used hot glue to adhere the eyes and the teeth were also hot glued, but to the backside of the board.
Martha has an awesome collection of cardboard stencils and as soon as I saw the triangle, I knew we needed a pennant banner.

I traced and hand cut the pennants onto cardstock. I used our Silhouette to cut out my letters and just used some good old Elmer's to put it together. I knew from the start that I wanted to have fun, white lights illuminating my Monsters! I was talking to my hubs about a time (a long time ago) when I used a display board with lights to write him a love message and he totally was like,"Umm that must have been some other husband. I don't remember it at all!" Ha! Glad it made such an impact on him. In his defense, I do think it was about 10 years ago.

To add lights, we just predrilled holes for each light bulb. We had to try a few bit sizes before getting one that was just right. You want it big enough to fit the light, but tight enough to hold it in place. Once your holes are ready, just pop the lights through the back side.
Then we were ready to fancy it up a bit…

I used more of Martha's stencils and paint to add a skinny chevron at the bottom. I also added some fun details to my monsters accessories. The neon green paint is such a fun color and my kids told me it was cool. (Cool mom points for me!)
And what would a candy"bowl" be without candy??

I divided up my candy and hot glued the bags to the back of each monster mouth. In retrospect, I might swap them out for larger, brown bags so I don't have to refill it 24-7, but this let you see what was in the bags. I've had my kids try this out and it's really simple to get your hand in and out with your loot. The glue is holding up well too. I made sure we banged it around a bit as a trial.
While I was planning this project I started thinking about what choices to give kiddos. I went with 3 traditional candies and then added glow stick bracelets and one mystery choice, which is actually little plastic spiders (from Target dollar bin. $2.50 for 250).
My kids don't have allergies, but so many children do, so I thought this was a thoughtful alternative.

I hope our Monster Mash Candy"Bowl" inspires you to try something new this year. We had so much fun working with Martha Stewart Crafts to make this and we're counting down the days until we can use it!

I'd love to know what you think of our idea? Would your kiddos think it's cool?

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It's been a while since we showed you what's been gracing the walls of our Pinterest boards (if you don't follow us, you should!) these days. Well, that's about to change! There are so many incredibly talented, creative people out there who do some amazing projects, so prepare to be wowed!

DIY Acorn Wreath
This one's a little bit traditional since it's a wreath form, but a whole lot modern with it's repeating pattern and funky green color. Monica is wreath-hater, but I think we might be able agree that it's super fab!

Baker's Twine Apple Art I think this apple art is so stinkin' cute. Wouldn't it be fun to make an apple with red twine, a pear with green twine and a plum with blue twine? So sweet!

This Jute Table Runner is made with floral jute webbing and I think it's simple and pretty. With Thanksgiving coming, this is th perfect way to dress up your table and wow your guests,

Halloween Styrofoam Eyes Monica's kids love Halloween, and I can see them totally falling in love with these cute pairs of eyes.

Birch Bark Candles Kim figured out a way to recreate the expensive birch barch candles from Pottery Barn.,,,but for a whole lot cheaper using real birch bark.! The finished product is rustic and beautiful. If you want to see more of what we're loving on Pinterest, click the button below. Have a great weekend, everyone, and while you're at it, do a Fall craft!: ) 

So far it's been an amazing fall, filled with lots of fun activities. My family is actually headed to New England this weekend to pick some apples and enjoy the incredible foliage. Here on EC2, we've shared our pumpkin ideas…

We've given you mantle inspiration (2 different ways)

Decked out a spooky foyer

We shared our pumpkin picking fun

And now, we're bringing you some fun Halloween decor for the outside of your home!

I want to be clear that I am not the creative genius behind this cute idea. I was inspired by Mel Designs when I found her idea on Pinterest. I knew right away that my door was the perfect color to become Frankenstein! I used felt for everything except for the white eyes and teeth. They're just card stock. We have a covered porch, so I didn't need to worry about rain. This was totally a kid-friendly project and my 5yr old helped me with the whole thing. We used chalk on the felt to design the hair

Our measuring cups worked well for eyeballs

And mixing bowls for the eyes We used Command strips to adhere the felt and paper to the door, so it wouldn't damage the paint.

We think he's pretty awesome and cute, not scary or creepy. (Actually, he's lost a tooth recently, adding to his goofiness!)

As my kids get older (10,8,5,3) they like to play more and more of a role in decorating etc. Kenzie (10) and I decided that this dead tree from our property would make a nice addition to the porch. She added the faux spiderwebs on her own. The designer in me, wants to tweak thing, but I'm leaving it as is, so she's knows I'm confident in her abilities and value her creativity.

I also made a little adjustment to my tiered planters. I took out the old petunias and added some winter pansies. I'm a little doubtful about them lasting, but for now I like the pop of color.

If you want to see how I made the tiered planters, you can check out the tutorial here.

I love fall decorating and I'm pretty happy with how these few simple projects make our house feel just right for us!
Have you decorated the outside of your house for fall? I'd love to hear what you did!
**I also just want to say thank you so much for all of your faithful voting. Today is the last day to vote and tomorrow we'll know the results! So thank you- we really appreciate it! **

What's the one room that every single person that comes to my house will go in at least once? The powder room. Guess what? It's ugly. ugly. ugly. Like really awful. You seriously would think I need to go to Design 101 if you ever saw this room. People might actually send me a bill for the damage the paint color has done to their eyes. It's pathetic.
Wait? Is she just whining and complaining on a public blog? Yup I am. The worst part is that I honestly have NO INSPIRATION for this room. Okay, okay, I'll just show you how bad it is…

I do adore these pics… but the scale of this frame is all wrong. Also, the paint is a weird color, but not the color in these pics… I think it was called Pear something… (and yes, my amazing hubs was willing to be a pumpkin for halloween at the request of the kids!)

Grrr for cracked pedestal sinks that aren't even a year old!

We definitely need some kind of magazine and t.p. storage…

See… told ya it was gross…
Ok, here's the problem… I need some inspiration… From you… from your Great Aunt… from someone… I don't care who! Powder rooms are weird, let's admit it… Mine is like an octagon, or is it a pentagon? Well, one of those weird shapes. The only thing it has going for it are floors and a high ceiling. After that it's all downhill.
I was going to Pin some rooms, but I didn't even like the ones I saw. Geesh. Ok, so enough blog complaining. I'm going to end this post with a simple PLEA… help! @ mention us on Pinterest if you find anything cool and get me out of this potty funk.

P.S. Have you read our Design it Forward post? How about sharing the link? We've gotten some volunteers and donations and we want to keep it going!
P.S.S. Sorry for no post yesterday! We were doing some work in NYC… more to come on that in a few weeks!: )

Ladies-and the approximately 1% of readers who are dudes-, we have awesome sponsors. They are the ones who make the rest of our posts and projects possible. Not only do they support us, but they have some pretty cool stuff in their stores. We've rounded up some of favorite items for a cozy Fall season. Make sure you don't miss the discount codes and special promotions!

1. We are digging on this Antique Thread Display Drawer from Nachokitty. It could serve so many different purposes: jewelry organizer, craft supply organizer, or pretty display for your tiny treasures. Don't stop there, though. You should definitely take a look at their Etsy shop- I could browse their finds for hours!

2. I love this Industrial Table Lamp from Lucent Lampworks! I can see it snuggled up to some pretty Fall decor on a mantel or side table. Love. it. To get 10% off your purchase use the code EC2TENOFF.

3. We're heading into the holiday season, and it's always good to have small gifts on hand for teachers, neighbors etc. Stock up on these Premium Soy Candles from CJS Eco Chic in the mini 4 oz. and you won't ever have to worry! And oh man, the holiday scents are to die for!

4. We love using non-traditional materials for headboards! How about this fireplace mantel headboard? Not bad, right? Architectural Antiques is hands-down our favorite place for incredible salvaged materials to repurpose.

5. Did you see Mandi's Epic Room Makeover. She used the Nova Trellis, from Royal Design Studio in the bathroom and well, it is fabulous. As a thank you to their 10,000 FB fans, RDS is offering 25% of all orders through Sunday with the code WELOVEU.

6. You've all been waiting for Monica's big patio reveal, and tomorrow, the wait is over! They couldn't have done it without Stone Depot, and their super helpful staff. Now's the time to build an outdoor fireplace or firepit, and they guys at Stone Depot have everything you need to make that happen!

7. We can't seem to control our love for photo canvases from Canvas People! Right now you can buy a 11 x 14 Canvas for only $15 from Canvas People and $1 of every order will be donated to help fight Breast Cancer! If you need some inspiration for what to put on a canvas, check out this post! 8. Not gonna lie, once the holiday season starts (right after Halloween, in my opinion), I often need a reminder to stop and be thankful for all that I have. This 1 Thessalonians 5:16 Print from Red Letter Words makes a perfect visual reminder of that very thing…and it looks cool, too. Check out the fun new turquoise color, too! They also have a really fun, very sweet Print of the Month focused on the value we women have, and you will receive 20% off this entire section through the end of this month. 9. We love Moo & Puppy digital paper so much, we even wrote a post about all of it's many uses! I'm really liking the fall-ish colors of the Retro Digital Scrapbook Paper. Use the discount code EC2blog20 for 20% off your order!

10. We all know that Thirty-One Gifts has cute and affordable bags, but the one item I've had my eye for over a year is this small Magazine Basket. I love it's shape and versatility! Plus, you can personalize all baskets for only a few dollars more. Right now, mention EC2Blog when you order any basket and get any second item in the catalog 31% off. To place your order, click here and shoot an email to Amanda with your order.

11.Liberty Thrift Store is hands-down our go-to thrift store. Did you know that we found the chair we reupholstered for the Nate Show there? You never know what you'll find thrifting, but it's always fun! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wait, one more thing! We're happy to announce that we're accepting new sponsors! We have a few openings that we would love to fill, so if you have a business that you think we'll love and can help you promote, send us an email at eastcoastcreativeblog@gmail.com! Seriously, what better way to sell your stuff than to have two loud, passionate, crazy women on your side?! For all the nitty-gritty info about our sponsorship opportunities, click here. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Have a great day, and be sure to stop over and say hi to our wonderful sponsors!

You probably remember (or at least we hope you do) our pallet wall room for my son Callen… If you missed that post, you can check it out HERE, but today I wanted to focus on the Wooden memo board we made.

We had the room about 95% done and we realized that there wasn't anything over the bed… The original plan for the room was to put the bed on the pallet wall and then use pallet wood to create a platform-style base with all kinds of cool built-ins. It sounded amazing in theory, and looked great when we arranged it that way… BUT I had terrible thoughts of Cal falling out of the window (and it's way up high- Yikes!).

So, safety over design! We switched the layout and now needed something on the left wall… Hmm… Jess and I had this piece of barnwood sitting in my garage for a while, just waiting for some inspiration… I don't know that either of us really had visions of it being in a toddler's bedroom, but for CWTS, it was totally worth it.

The first step was to give it the same sort of whitewash we used on the wall, so that the wood tones matched. As you can see, I made about a 50% attempt to cover up my granite countertop… (the hubs wasn't around to see! hehe) See how much a simple whitewash can change the look of the wood?

Since this was an afterthought project, I used all supplies I already had on hand. This one quart has done so many projects. This one, this one, and this one! I decided one half would be a chalk board for the little man.

I really lightly sanded down the inside wood and then just slapped it on. It wasn't perfectly smooth, but chalkboard paint is pretty thick and covers a multitude of sins!

Then I had to come up with something for the other side… I had a leftover roll of cork in the basement, and thankfully it was JUST long enough! Phew!

I did this the lazy blogger way… I pressed the cork in, made a crease at the sides and then roughly cut it. I DON'T recommend doing it that way… it was really wobbly and way far from perfect. I used my staple gun to attach the cork to the wood. to

See, you end up with yucky, uneven sides. Now I had to cover the edges up.

I had this leftover Halloween ribbon, but clearly orange polka-dot wasn't going to match. Have no fear, I'm willing to spraypaint anything and everything! I grabbed some metalic silver paint and went to town (sorry, no pic of that process… I really thought I took one??)

Originally, I planned on being finished once the ribbon was added, but just before we brought it into the room, we walked past the Anthro knock off dresser and thought adding some stenciling to this piece would be the perfect finishing touch!

I got these simple stencils at Lowes for under $4! Sweet!!

Of course I didn't plan out how far in the alphabet I'd get, so we just started and ended where it ended. My hubs thought that was weird, but Jess and I had no problem with it.

Isn't it super cool? Seriously, I hope this kid understands how awesome his room is. A 2 year old has my favorite pallet wall, our Anthro dresser, AND this wooden memo board! Ah, to be a toddler again…(actually, there is zero part of me that wants to be two, but it just kind of finished the paragraph)

So there you have it! I think it was the perfect accent for over the bed, and now I don't have nightmares of little children falling from windows! Creepy!

I wanted to mention, that if you didn't happen to have this exact piece of barnwood floating around (which I'm kind of thinking most of you don't…) you could use some plywood and pallets to trim around the edges and make the divider. It would be easy peasy and then totally match the wall.
So, how many of you have awesome kids' bedrooms, and blah master bedrooms? (I know my master is still builder white with no furniture!)

P.S. Jess and I both had family pictures taken last night by the Amazing Stacy Salvatori and we're so stinkin' excited to see all the pics! Here's a sneak peek that we got last night! My oldest (and yes, she's only 9!)

And Jess' insanely adorable little family. Love those kiddos!

Did you know we have some amazing sponsors that help make our little old blog possible? Yup, they're amazing and I (Monica) wanted to tell you why…
********************************* Stuff See that funky, fun header at the top of our blog? Well, that takes you to the website of one rockin' furniture and accessory store. One of our blog readers checked it out this month and thought it was pretty awesome too! With the holidays approaching, head over and get something fun for your house before company comes! (My personal favorites are the farm house tables and cool accent chairs)

RT. 309 | 927 Bethlehem Pike (3 Miles North of Montgomery Mall) Colmar, PA 18915 Tel: 215.716.3325Fax: 215.716.3431 Email: info@stuffcloseouts.comstuff Open Friday, Saturday & Sunday
********************************* Jet Upholstery So one DIY that I pretty much don't ever plan to attempt is reupholstering furniture. Way outta my league! Thankfully, I have Jet Upholstery right around the corner in Bucks County. Their work is amazing. Today, I hit a thrift store on the hunt for a cool chair to have Jet refinish for me! I'm still looking, but I know that when I find it, they're going to make it amazing! They also have an amazing selection of designer fabrics and can get just about anything you want. I just found this chair on Craigslist… and I've been drooling over this fabric…

So, give Jet Upholsty a call or check out their website. Go find an ugly chair for pennies and let them make it fabulous for you! JET Upholstery3102 Bedminster Road Bedminster, PA 18910 215-795-0881 215-220-3443 fax Store Hours: Mon-Thurs. 9-5 Friday 9-4 / Sat 9-12
********************************* Mandy Hajel, 31 Gifts

So, you probably know about 31 Gifts and how it's taking the world by storm. If not, stop right now and go check out Mandy's site. Really… GO! There are so many reasons to love 31… adorable fabric options, super cute bags, really fun parties, and it's a business that is based off of the Proverbs 31 woman. Rather than going on about the products, let me tell you a bit about Mandy (she's one of my bffs!). You see, Mandy and I used to teach English together… that is before she joined 31. She's been with the company for 1 year and in that time has made enough money to replace (and more) her teacher's salary, she's earned a family vacation to Disney World, a romantic trip for two to Mexico, a Dell laptop, an Ipad 2, a huge Best Buy giftcard, an XBox, and more. Do you think I earned all that as a teacher?? Umm, Nope. So, if you're looking to make a little side money before the holidays, give Mandy a call, she'll hook you up and teach you her secrets to success! Amanda Hajel Phone: (301) 791-3579 Email: hajelfamily@yahoo.com Website: http://www.mythirtyone.com/hajel/ ********************************* Blossom Bands So, what are your kids wearing for Thanksgiving and Christmas? Ok, maybe it's a tad early to know 100%, but you need to get thinking! The only thing you need to be sure of is to include a Blossom Band for your little ladies. I bought a Halloween one this month for Kira and she loved it! Bethany has tons of ready to sell items as well as custom pieces to match whatever outfits you're planning. You know how in decorating it's all in the details?? Well, a Blossom Band is the perfect detail to make your holiday outfits fabulous!

Bethany Lander Etsy: Bands Etsy Store Email: Bethany@BlossomBands.com Website: http://www.blossombands.com/
********************************* Jennifer Black, The Pampered Chef

If you read Jess' post on her amazing Apple dessert, then you know that we LOVE Pampered Chef products. Did you know that I only use stoneware to do all my cooking? Really, I have almost every stone they sell. It's definitely one of my favorite things. With thanksgiving coming, you should peruse their catalog and see what you need before cooking for the masses. I actually never buy something without hosting a party because the benefits are insane. I'm a huge fan of the catalog show because # 1- I don't have to find a date in my crazy schedule and # 2 Did I mention the amazing incentives and FREE products? So, call Jane, host a catalog party, and get a bunch of free stuff! Ok, even if you don't do the party thing, you must own at least one piece of stoneware and Jess recommends the apple corer slicer! Jennifer BlackPhone: (410) 952-1179
Email: Janeniferjblack@comcast.net
Website: http://www.pamperedchef.biz/jenniferblack
********************************* The Land of Nod I've loved Crate & Barrel forever (we actually registered there for our wedding) so of course I LOVE their sister store, The Land of Nod! You'll definitely want to check them out for holiday decor and Christmas presents.

Here is one Must Have item if you have elementary aged kids.

It's the BEST doodle book ever! Taro Gomi draws the coolest Japanese doodles to get your kiddos thinking. Each page usually has a picture and a prompting question. Ex: An empty plate and the question… The Queen's coming for dinner, what do we feed her? My kids ADORE this book and fought over the pages enough that I finally bought a few more! The Land of Nod has offered our readers FREE shipping on most Holiday Toys, so click the pic below to take advantage of it! LMK if you buy a fun doodle book!

*********************************

Did Jess and I mention that life has been a wee bit crazy lately? Each week we keep saying that"it should slow down next week", but so far it just keeps on being awesome and crazy! Dream Dinners has been a total savior in this area! The other night I was over and asked Jess what they were going to do for dinner (because I had nothing planned for my family) and she just pointed to an amazing looking Dream Dinner thawing and ready to pop in the oven. Even if you love to cook, it's so wonderful to have some DDs on hand for the unexpected busy day. Give Kris a call and bring your friends- it's so fun to make meals together!
Kris Petrich, Owner 309 at Advance Ln 262 Bethlehem Pike, Ste 101 Colmar, PA 18915 Tel: 215-822-4055 Email: 309advanceLNPA@dreamdinners.com Website: http://www.dreamdinners.com/
A BIG Thanks to all of our sponsors! Thanks for taking this crazy journey with us! Now, go show them some RHBC love!
If you have a business or a product that you think our readers would love, contact us to talk about becoming a blog sponsor. Thanks!

When the winds are howling and darkness falls remember this....the Celtics called this day Samhain which is old Irish and means "summers end".

It marks the end of the "lighter half" of the year and starts the "darker half" of the year.

The Celts believed that the border between this world and the otherworld became thin on Samhain, allowing spirits, both harmless and harmful, to pass through.

It is believed that the wearing of costumes and masks could ward off the harmful spirits.

So don your best costume to keep the spooks at bay!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!
All tomb pictures are mine taken in New Orleans, the bunny is courtesy of Anne Geddes.

We're so sad to see this Fall-lover's series come to an end already. It feels like we're just getting started! You can catch up on Days 1-4 here, here, here and here. But because we just can't get enough of this season, we're going ahead and giving you our
Fab Find: Top Fall Finds 1. Create a Bucket List. Fall is chock full of fun things to do with your family. Print out a must-do list like this one…
Update: We found out who created this adorable printable: Katie at Loves of Life! Go on over to her super cute, super fun blog to get your own printable! Thanks, Katie.: )

Source: i1101.photobucket.com via Jessica on Pinterest
…or create a custom one using Picnik for your family and hang it up. I'm putting mine in a frame (with the glass still in it) in the kitchen and will use a dry erase marker to place check marks in the boxes of the ones we did! That way we can use it year after year…let the traditions begin!
2. Fill your home with the Scents of Fall. Mmmmm…pumpkin pie and spiced apple cider. I don't know anyone who doesn't love those smells. Load up on candles in scents that remind you of the season (my fav is Autumn Wreath from Yankee Candle. Get a $10 off coupon here).

1. Yankee Candle 2. Jack-O-Lantern Pomander 3. Fragrances of Fall
3. Traditions. Every year we go on the same hayride that takes us to the same pumpkin patch to pick our pumpkins and we usually run into friends while we're there. (Bob White Acres, for those of you who are local. It's the best!) And we always host a Halloween party before all of our kids go out trick-or-treating together. Monica and Eric usually host at least one firepit and smores night during the Fall, too. It doesn't matter what it is- just do something this year that you'll want to do again next and the year after that. Traditions make the season something to look forward to!

4. Wear a Dressed-up Sweatshirt
You know you want to wear sweatshirts all the time in the Fall, but you also don't want to be that frumpy mom. Mix that comfy sweatshirt with some style with this DIY old sweatshirt makeover.

Source: etsy.com via Jessica on Pinterest
5. Get Saucy Maybe one of your new traditions will be apple picking?? I'm from New England and we take our apple picking very seriously. We go back up north every fall to pick in Massachusetts.

You already know that I love making pies, but apple sauce is a family favorite too! It tastes amazing and makes my house smell even better. This site has some awesome recipies for all kinds of different sauces. 

Source: familyfeedbag.com via Kay on Pinterest

So, there you have it, our Fab Finds for Fall…
Now, we want your help… Leave us a comment letting us know what else needs to be on a Fall Fab Find List. Just to give you a little incentive, we're giving away another Starbucks giftcard to a randomly chosen commenter. Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte would totally be my number 6 on this list.

Leave a comment by Sunday night at 10pm and we'll announce the winner on Monday morning. Have an awesome weekend and make sure those DVRs are set to see us on The Nate show Thursday, September 22nd! (Check your local listing for time and channel)

Let's face it, with Halloween on one end and Christmas on the other, Thanksgiving often gets a raw deal. I know that when the holiday season is in full force, being intentional with projects and decor gets really hard. I find it so easy to scoot right by Thanksgiving, without a second thought, and dive right into Christmas stuff, so I decided to tackle a project that would keep my family centered and focused on being grateful throughout November. A Thankful Tree that can be reused every year!

Here's what you'll need to make your own:

• Canvas (mine is 18in x 24in)
• 1/2 yard-3/4 yard of fabric
• Spray Adhesive
• Spraypaint
• Mod podge (not pictured)
• Baby clothespins (not pictured)

Step 2: Locate your tree image (there are tons of free clipart images listed in Google images) and enlarge it to fit your canvas. We love the engineer prints from Staples and use them all the time. Step 3: Use a sharp-edge razor to cut the tree out. Don't worry about all the little limbs, and focus on the larger ones. This seemed super daunting, but surprisingly went quickly and smoothly. I accidentally cut a branch that I wanted to keep on (doh!) but was easily able to use tape to fix it.  

Step 4: Lay your image down on the backside of the fabric and trace it with a pen.

Step 5: Spray the fabric tree with spray starch and iron it to make it stiff. This makes cutting it out with scissors a piece of cake. Step 6: Center the tree on the canvas. Starting at the trunk, lift small sections and lightly spray with adhesive. Smooth out all of the bubbles from the center out to the edges. A little spray adhesive may get on the canvas where you don't need it, but that's ok. We'll be taking care of that later.

Step 7: Place stencils on your canvas and stencil away! I used Martha Stewart's self-adhering stencils which are awesome because you don't have to worry about them moving around while you stencil. (Insider secret: This project was originally posted on U-Create, so there was a deadline involved. I was actually stenciling this bad boy in the car in between a shift at work and tennis practice. Pure craziness, I tell you #cantwasteevenoneminute.) 

Step 8: Mod Podge the entire canvas starting at the center of the tree and working out to the edges. This will seal the tree and make it more resistant to wear and fading. And remember that spray adhesive I mentioned before? The Mod Podge takes care of hiding that, too. Score! 

It's scary at first, but dries clear! 

Step 9: Spraypaint the clothespins and adhere them to the tree with hot glue. 

Step 10: Print out our fun"thankful" labels on card stock (download them here) and cut them out using scissors. Have your family write what they're thankful on each of the tags and then clip them to the canvas.

Voila! You're done and are left with an adorable, re-useable canvas that will help your family focus on what's really important in the next two weeks. Plus, it's super cute, so it's a win-win! 

 So, that's it! I love that I can use this every year. I plan on writing the year on the back of each tag and keeping them to look through each year. I'm hoping my son won't say that he's most thankful for Cinnamon Toast Crunch every year. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aannnnnd since we've officially welcomed the holiday season here on the blog, we wanted to share something exciting with you! When we were looking around for cool Christmas vinyl options to share with you, we found very few that were modern and stylish. So, since we had several requests for the vinyl phrase we used on the front door last week, we decided to create a few just for you! A limited number of Be Merry Christmas decals are now for sale in our Etsy shop at a very reasonable price- only $8!! That's a whole lot cheaper than buying a new wreath, people. And we have a couple more coming this week, so be on the lookout. Get yours now!

Let the holiday craziness begin!  

Sorry guys, no DIY project today, but I thought I'd share a little bit of what's going on in my world. We know you guys love project inspiration here on the blog, but we're always hearing from many of you that you like the real life stuff too!
So, the big news in my world is that I've Retired!! Yup, 31 and Retired!

As of last Friday I'm no longer working in education- it feels strange even to type that! I gave my notice that I wouldn't be returning to the cyber school where I've worked for the last 5 years. Let me tell you that it wasn't an easy decision…

Here's how it all went down… starting in February, Jess and I began working for Knock It Off and the network was super awesome about my commitment to finishing out my school year. We worked almost every weekend from Feb.-June and we worked really long hours. I knew I was falling head over heels in love with our show and wanted to make it my full-time job! Who wouldn't want to work with their BFF, doing what they love, and getting paid to do it! Here's the catch… do you know how many people think it's totally legit to talk about how many shows fail?? A LOT. So, I was torn, take a risk and pursue this once in a lifetime opportunity or play it safe and just keep teaching. It sounds like a no brainer, but when you have 4 kids to think about, it wasn't easy.

Thankfully, the shows' producers were giving us nothing but positive feedback and finally Eric and I decided it was time to take a leap of faith and give 100% to this crazy new venture of Knock It Off! Can I tell you how relieved I was once I made the decision?? It was like about 2000 lbs off my shoulders.

Being a TV show host was never in a million years something I thought I'd do, but life doesn't always work out as we think it will. God has some crazy, whacked out plans. I have no idea where we'll be in 5 years, but I'm secretly hoping Jess and I will be in a 5th Season of Knock It Off!: )
Making a major life change can be scary, but we only have one shot at this life and I feel like with the support of my awesome family and friends this new venture is going to be awesome.

For now, I'm just so relieved to not be working two full-time jobs! Major props to my amazing husband and kids because the last three months took busy insanity to a whole new level. We're enjoying the simplicity of one job and spending a whole lot of family time together.
So, that's what's new in my world. Have you ever had to make a crazy, life-changing decision? Do tell!

PS- Oh, I also bough a MAC this weekend- I'm loving it! Thanks to all of you that gave me input on Facebook!
PSS- One of our favorite Sponsors, Moo&Puppy is having an amazing sale starting this weekend. She's where we get all of our awesome digital papers from! Make sure you check it out- start thinking of patterns you might want in the fall for back to school, Halloween, and then Christmas of course! Click HERE to check it out! Sale starts this weekend!