15 Scare Your Pants Off Halloween Decorations Ideas

Forget cutesy…these Halloween decorations are downright freaky!  So for those of you who love Halloween and appreciate a good scare, here are 15 super scary Halloween decorations guaranteed to scare your pants off!

 Scary and Gruesome Halloween Decoration Ideas

1. Face in Jar

(Psst…it’s a Halloween mask!)

2. Realistic ghosts

Oh my heck, these are giving me nightmares already!  Mannequin heads covered in cheesecloth…see how to do it here!

3. Bloody handprints

Washable red paint looks pretty creepy when smeared on your glass window like some poor victim was trying to get out.

4. Head on display

If you have apothecary jars, this is a creepy way to fill them for Halloween.

5. Bloody candles

Just light a red candle and let the melted wax drip down the sides of your white candle!

6. Finger left on the doorbell

This will make your guests think twice about ringing your doorbell!

7. Is that a real ghost?

The secret is chicken wire!  Add some glow in the dark spray paint for a real ghost encounter!

8. Body bag

This is about as scary as it gets.  Create a corpse for less than $3.

9. Snakes on a wreath

10. Smoking pumpkin

Just add some dry ice to your Jack O’ Lantern.

11. Cockroach infestation!

Apply magnets to creepy-crawly bugs to make them stick to any lamp shade or curtain.

12. Skeleton spider

13. Ravens

These blackbirds always add a creepy and foreboding touch to your Halloween decorations.

14. Witch crash landing

Add striped tights to mannequin legs, large tree branches, or pool noodles!  Then set up your witch’s legs wherever you want to have her crash landing.

15. Specimens in jar

My kids would be all sorts of creeped out by these yucky science experiments.

Creepy and Scary Halloween Decoration Ideas

Do you have a creative way to really make a scare this Halloween?  Feel free to share!  Happy haunting!

You might also like:

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by Nicolette via Home And Garden

When cool weather arrives, there’s nothing we love better than to snuggle up with blanket and a bowl of popcorn to a good movie. Here are some of the greatest movies of ever made, so whether you’re watching them for the first time or rewatching them, these are the movies that will withstand the test of time.

30 of the Greatest Movies of All Time To Add to Your Watch List

1.Les Misérables (2012) PG-13

The musical adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic novel Les Misérables brings to life some of literature’s most beloved characters in an experience that will completely transport you.

2. The Crucible (1996) PG-13

During a time in American history where paranoia ruled and witchcraft was punished by death, this film adaptation of Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible is spot-on and will leave you applauding the ending.

3. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) R

Starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins as two prisoners with a unique friendship and an eye for freedom, The Shawshank Redemption is a must-see.

4. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) G

This 1962 movie of Harper Lee’s classic To Kill a Mockingbird is the only one that’s been made, and for good reason. It’s quite possible that no actor will ever top Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch and no director will honor the plot and the spirit of the book as well as this film will.

5. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (2017) PG

Adults who grew up loving Disney’s animated Beauty and the Beast will revisit childhood with their favorite songs (plus some new ones) and characters. Emma Watson makes a delicate and charming Belle.

6. The Princess Bride (1987) PG

“Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line!” The Princess Bride is one of the most quoted films of all time and no matter how many times you watch, it you always come away loving it more.

7. Life is Beautiful (1997) PG-13

Don’t let the subtitles of this incredible film deter you. Life is Beautiful is the story of a sweet Jewish father and his son trying to survive a concentration camp with optimism and a little imagination. This film will leave you a changed person.

8. Tootsie (1982) PG

Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) successfully becomes a woman in order to land a spot on a popular daytime soap opera. This clean comedy adds a touching note to make it one of the greatest films of al time.

9. Forest Gump (1994) PG-13

The story of an Alabama man with a low IQ stars Tom Hanks in one of his best roles. Forest Gump is three parts funny and all parts feel-good.

10. Citizen Kane (1941) PG

This black and white film is an oldie but a goodie. It’s a mystery/drama about a dying man’s last words. Charles Foster Kane, on his death bead, holds a snow globe and utters the words “Rosebud.” The news world desperately tries to decipher its meaning.

11. Inception (2010) PG-13

Talk about mind-benders, this one takes the psyche to a whole new “level.” Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page star in this intense film that will make you think differently about dreams.

12. Gone with the Wind (1939) G

Apple pie, The Star Spangled Banner…nothing gets more American than Gone with the Wind. Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Buttler have a rocky and epic romance in the American Civil War era with roots deep in the South.

13. Field of Dreams (1989) PG

Baseball fans will love this Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones flick. When a corn farmer hears a voice saying, “If you build it, they will come...” he decides to plow down his field and build a baseball diamond. What happens after you can choose to believe or not.

14. E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982) PG

One of the greatest family films of all time, E.T. has captured our hearts for decades. No matter how old or young you are, you will fall in love with that sweet, quirky extra terrestrial.

15. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) G

This is one of the highest ranked movies of all time on Rotten Tomatoes. If you like musicals, you’ll love Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds in this fun and infectious film.

16. Toy Story (1995) G

It’s hard to believe it’s been over twenty years since Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios teamed up to bring us one of the greatest animated films of all time. Toy Story is an essential in every household.

17. Avatar (2009) PG-13

Futuristic and fantastical, Avatar comes from director James Cameron (Titanic) and was rumored to cost over $500 Million. Even if you don’t like science fiction, you’ll love the beautiful cinematics and interesting plot of Avatar.

18. Rain Man (1988) R

Rain Man features two estranged brothers, Charlie (Tom Cruise) and Raymond (Dustin Hoffman). When their father dies and leaves his $3 Million fortune to Raymond, an autistic savant, Charlie kidnaps Raymond and takes him on a cross-country road trip which brings plenty of drama.

19. The Truman Show (1998) PG

This film’s high ratings and critical acclaim are no surprise. When Truman (Jim Carey) finds out his entire life has been a TV show, his whole is blown wide open.

20. Groundhog Day (1993) PG

When weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) is assigned to cover the annual Groundhog Day event in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, he finds himself trapped in some odd time loop. Connors is forced to live the same day over and over again until he gets it right!

21. The Lion King (1994) G

Fun, significant, and a film that will survive the test of time, The Lion King is superb.

22. The Prestige (2006) PG-13

When magician Robert Angier’s wife accidentally dies during a magic performance, Robert blames his best friend Alfred Borden and the two magicians become the fiercest enemies. Each attempts to create the most successful and fatal illusion ever.

23. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) R

Like nothing you’ve ever seen before, Mad Max: Fury Road will put your practical expectations to the test. It’s a post-apocalyptic world where the psychopathic bad guys ride killer motor bikes and monster trucks through the dessert. This movie is one wild ride!

24. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) PG

This movie has been around for awhile, but some argue it’s the best film portrayal ever made of the classic Robin Hood story.

25. The Green Mile (1999) R

When prisoner John Coffey, a giant black man with a mental disability enters Cold Mountain Penitentiary on a charge of rape and murder, strange things start to happen that have everyone questioning Coffey’s innocence.

26. The Sound of Music (1965) G

Julie Andrews will forever be Maria, the governess who comes to the Austrian Von Trapp family and brings happiness and a lot of singing with her.

27. The Sixth Sense (1999) PG-13

“I see dead people.” Kids who see ghosts are creepy enough, but this film packs a few twists that you never saw coming.

28. Ghostbusters (1984) PG

The original Gostbusters will always hold its iconic place in film history. They’re cool, funny, and fearless against the craziest looking ghosts we’ve ever seen!

29. Dumb and Dumber (1994) PG-13

If you can’t quote at least ten lines from Dumb and Dumber, it’s time to watch this hilariously stupid film again…and again, and again.

30. The Theory of Everything (2014) PG-13

Stephen Hawking is the famous and brilliant physicist who’s early onset of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) affected his marriage in this remarkably human film.

 

You can find more great films here on this top 100 list. Did we include all of your favorites? Feel free to comment below with your top picks!

 

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by Nicolette via Home And Garden

What's Inside Your Power tools - We Gutted a Makita 18v cordless drill to find out -Tool deathmatch by Stanley "Dirt Monkey" Genadek

What's Inside Your Power tools - We Gutted a Makita 18v cordless drill to find out -Tool deathmatch
We Tear apart a Makita drill & were SHOCKED by what we found inside. Is Makita, Dewalt & Milwaukee all like this? Is this another Tool deathmatch? What the hell does watts, volts and amps mean? Can Stan somehow work another fox into one of his videos? All this and more answered by WHATS INSIDE! Dum, dum dum (dramatic music)

View on YouTube

My grandpa had this saying that goes: “When you’ve got kids, that’s what you’ve got.”

Meaning that when you’ve got kids, you’ve always got some surprise, some mess, or some instance that has you scratching your head and realizing that kids will be kids.

But as a mom of four all under eight years old, I find I’m happier when everyone listens and obeys. And when I’m happy, the mood of the entire house brightens—it is something you can tangibly feel. I don’t want to have to beg, yell, threaten, or bribe to get that kind of euphoria.

I discovered this incredible trick about a year ago when at my wits end trying to get my kids to listen, I saw the kitchen timer, set it for 15 minutes, and by golly if those kids didn’t hop to!

“But there are no cute charts, no glittering incentives, no clever punishments involved,” I said to myself. “How can this possibly work?”

It can and it does. If you want your kids to obey the first time, if you want them to listen to the words coming out of your mouth without yelling them, try the amazing timer trick.

The Amazing Timer Trick: How I Get My Kids To Obey the First Time

What You Need:

A timer. That’s it. No elaborate chart system, no 10-step program. That’s the beauty of the timer trick—it is easy, convenient, and any timer works. I use my phone timer, the microwave timer, or a small kitchen timer. As long as it counts down the time and kids can see it working, any timer is perfect.

How the Timer Trick Works:

Take any task you’d like your child to do: chores, cleaning up a mess they made, getting dressed, etc. Historically it might have taken me an average of ten attempts to get my kids to finally kick into gear and obey. This is called nagging and I don’t know anyone in the world who likes that.

Instead of nagging, I ask once and then announce I am setting the timer. It might sound something like this:

“Hey guys, it’s time to clean up those blocks you got out. I am setting the timer for 15 minutes and let’s see if you can beat it! Whoever beats the timer gets to come with me on a bike ride.”

It is incredible how they jump into action when a timer is involved. 

Why it Works:

Why do we react to a timer? Because it gives us a sense of urgency. It’s the same marketing trick used on consumers. Place a timer on a sale or a survey and even grown adults will jump into action.

For example, I recently got an email advertising concert tickets I was interested in. I clicked the link and was met with a timer widget saying something like, “Only 30 tickets left…” and as the clock ticked down the seconds, my heart rate rose and I bought the tickets right then instead of mulling it over for days.

Timer psychology is a fascinating concept that all humans are more productive when we have a countdown. It gives us less time to over-analyze (or dread the task) and helps us spend our time more wisely.

That’s why the timer trick works for kids! When you give them a task and then start a timer that they can visually see counting down, their sense of urgency rises. They have less time for complaining and procrastinating and the task now becomes a game.

And kids love games.

How You Can Use the Timer Trick:

You can use the timer trick in any situation really, but I find it’s best when an incentive is attached. This could be a positive incentive or a negative incentive, you’re call.

Positive Incentives: If they beat the timer

-Staying up an extra 10 minutes before bedtime

-A special treat

-Mom or dad will read a story

-An extra amount toward their chore money, etc.

Negative Incentives: If they don’t beat the timer

-Go to bed 10 minutes early

-Lose screen time

-Won’t get to play with friends

-Don’t get dessert after dinner, etc.

The thing I love about the timer trick is that it removes the parent as the “bad guy.” Instead of battling mom or dad, kids are now battling the timer. There is competition involved, which is a positive motivator because kids aren’t competing with each other, but rather themselves. It’s you versus the timer and no one else. If the timer goes off and you didn’t make your bed, you only have yourself to blame.

As long as you start the timer with a reasonable amount of time to complete a task, the timer trick will work. Keep it fair and keep it consistent and get your kids to obey the first time.

Getting kids to help around the house doesn’t have to be a fight. Check out these other great tips:

Household Chore Ideas for Kids – 9 Creative Ways to Put Your Kids to Work

How to Teach Your Child to Clean ANY Bedroom in Ten Minutes (Without Using a Blowtorch)

Spring Cleaning? 6 Tips on Encouraging your Child to Help

The post The Amazing Timer Trick! How I Get My Kids To Obey the First Time appeared first on How Does She.

by Nicolette via Home And Garden

Marshmallow Ghosts

Marshmallow Ghosts  Marshmallow Ghosts are so perfectly delicious for Halloween, it’s scary! Kids of all ages can help prepare these easy-to-make Halloween treats. With just three simple ingredients, they can be made at a moment’s notice. These perfect little marshmallow ghosts would be perfect for a class party or just a little after school treat. They […]

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by Kelly via Home And Garden

Secretary Hutch Make-Over And Barn Sale!

Secretary Hutch Make-Over

First things first….

if you live anywhere near Boise Idaho, be marking your calendars for October 13th -14th  for the bi-annual Fancy Farmgirls Sale!
Why?
Because if you love beautiful home decor on a budget, you are going to want to be there!

Hi! We’re Marg and Liz, the “Fancy Farmgirls“

We grew up farm girls and both continue to love farmhouse style.

Our favorite thing about farmhouse style?  Timeless and AFFORDABLE!

We also grew up with a mom who LOVED thrifting and taught us to find beauty in the “ugly”.  Honestly, we see it everywhere and can’t help but drag it home and love it back to new life, usually through the remedy of paint!

We have both decorated our homes for pennies on the dollar by thrifting, yard sales, craigslist, and even curbside finds.

This cute secretary hutch we found on Craigslist.

It was love at first sight!

 Wood lovers avert your eyes!

 We updated it to our style by painting it a custom blend of 2/3 part SW Seaworthy and 1/3 part BM Hale Navy.

We mixed paint with some BBFrosch chalk paint powder and avoided the priming step.  This is a powder that turns any paint into chalk paint!

We love the pop of color against the backdrop of an all-white kitchen.

We started with a light sanding.  You can avoid this step with Chalk Paint but it just takes minutes and only adds to the durability of the finish.

Our favorite painting supplies we use, can be found HERE

We’re loving the white dishes against the dark wood backdrop.

Wanting white dishes?  Thrift stores are FULL of them.  We’ll even paint dishes white if we like the shape but not the color (for display purposes only).

Add in cute little pumpkins and some sprigs of berries from the yard and it’s immediately “fall-ified”

This piece will be heading to our Fancy Farmgirls Barn Sale!

We love to mix and change things in our homes and when you know you’ve only invested $20 dollars in your coffee table, etc.  along with paint and elbow grease, it’s guilt-free re-decorating at it’s best!  It’s all about the transforming power of paint!

Don’t like your furniture, but feel like you can’t upgrade?  Upgrade it with paint!  Farmhouse style is a perfect style that can be achieved affordably.

Case in point:  This $8 dollar buffet.  Eight dollars!  I strapped myself to that one till the sold sign was on.

See scary “before” pics. HERE

Dressers:  who doesn’t have dressers?!  Give them the farmhouse treatment with a chippy paint finish.

Or go a little more modern farmhouse and bring a fun punch of navy into your decor.

If you can afford a can of paint, you can afford to add some farmhouse flair to your home.

For a piece by piece price breakdown of the farmhouse decor in our own past farmhouse see THIS post.

Live near the Boise, Idaho area?

We’d love to see you at our bi-annual Fancy Farmgirls Sale!

 Were loaded to the rafters with farmhouse goodness, vintage treasures, signs, furniture, along with multiple vendors!  You don’t wanna miss it!

Follow our projects HERE

And our day to day projects on Instagram HERE

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by Bobbi via Home And Garden

Flamingo Vultures

How to Make Flamingo Vultures Get excited for Halloween making flamingo vultures for your lawn! What do you think of this creepy DIY Halloween decor idea? Turn pink lawn flamingos into vultures using some spray paint and a white boa around the neck. The buzzards are an unexpected surprise to any of your outdoor decorations for […]

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by Kelly via Home And Garden

5 Women History Says Were “Crazy”

All women are a little crazy and can you blame us? We’re dealing with kids that don’t listen, husbands that don’t hear, equality in the workplace, and bodies that are hormonal amusement parks.

“Crazy women” are most likely:

a. over-stressed

b. over-tired

c. under-appreciated

d. all of the above

Today with a better understanding of mental health and psychology, a person with erratic or uncharacteristic behaviors might be diagnosed as bipolar or depressed. But decades ago they were considered downright crazy.

Meet these five fascinating women in history that were deemed insane and see what you really think.

5 “Crazy” Women in History

1. Zelda Fitzgerald

Who was she? Zelda Fitzgerald was the wife of famous American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald who once coined her as the “first American flapper.” Born in Montgomery, Alabama in 1900 as Zelda Sayer, Zelda was vibrant, exciting and the epitome of a 1920s flapper girl. Her life and marriage, however, were rocky and heavily laden with alcoholism. It is known that Fitzgerald used Zelda’s own writing, her journal, and her stories to make up key elements in his own works. There is no F. Scott Fitzgerald without Zelda.

By the late 1920s, Zelda started to show signs of serious disturbance. In a letter to Dr. Slocum Fitzgerald suggests that his wife Zelda was schizophrenic.

What was really going on? (1)Heavy alcohol abuse: Both Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald were known to consume heavy amounts of toxic industrial alcohol during prohibition. (2) Infidelity: In 1927, Scott had a public affair with Lois Moran, a young actress whom he based his character Rosemary on in “Tender is the Night.” There were many affairs before and after Moran. (3) A tempestuous social life: Scott and Zelda were the “It” couple in the public eye, attending parties at eccentric hours.

Some historians suggest that Zelda likely experienced depression, bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Zelda was ultimately committed to Highland Mental Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina where she died in a facility fire eight years after her husband’s death.

Find out more: Watch ‘Z: the Beginning of Everything’ on Amazon or read this Huffington Post article,

2. Sylvia Plath

 Who was she? Sylvia Plath was an American poet and author of the novel The Bell Jar which was closely based on her struggle with mental illness. She is the first person to win a posthumous Pulitzer Prize.

What was really going on? Severe depression and insomnia-plagued Plath for years and led her to attempt suicide several times. On February 11, 1963, a year after her husband Ted Hughes left her for another woman, and at the age of 30 and with small children, Sylvia Plath stuck her head in the oven, turned on the gas, and died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Find out more: Read Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar to get a closer look into her madness or watch the movie Sylvia.

3. Mary Todd Lincoln

Who was she? First lady and wife of President Abraham Lincoln. Mary Todd Lincoln was a smart, outgoing woman from a wealthy background. Her Lexington, Kentucky family disapproved of her match to Abraham Lincoln because he had little formal education and came from a poor background. On April 14, 1865, Mary Todd Lincoln was sitting next to her husband at Ford’s Theater when he was shot by John Wilkes Booth.

What was really going on? Mary Todd Lincoln never recovered from her husband’s assassination and she sank into a deep depression. Six years later her youngest son Thomas died and her only surviving son Robert took her to court on charges of insanity. The court sided with Robert and committed Mary to an insane asylum near Chicago. Although she was released several months later, the public now saw here as a crazy woman.

Find out more: You can read more about Mary Todd Lincoln here or watch the acclaimed movie Lincoln.

4. Joan of Arc

Who was she? A French teenage girl with tremendous valor who dressed as a male and helped lead the French army to benchmark victories during the Hundred Years’ War. Joan claimed that at the age of 13 she saw visions of angels and saints who told her to drive out the English. History reports that Joan was a woman with “courage in her heart and voices in her head.”

What was really going on? Modern scholars explain the voices and visions by asserting that Joan of Arc possibly had schizophrenia, epilepsy, or a neurological disorder that triggered hallucinations. The strangest theory of all predicts that Joan contracted bovine tuberculosis from drinking unpasteurized milk as a kid. Because a woman who sees angles is crazy.

Find out more: Watch the Smithsonian Channel’s documentary on Joan of Arc or read Mark Twain’s Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc.

5. Rosemary Kennedy

Who was she? Rosemary Kennedy was the third of Joseph and Rose Kennedy’s nine children and President John F. Kennedy’s sister. Rosemary was born with a mental impairment in a time when having a child with special needs was considered shameful. Rosemary was the Kennedy that no one talked about.

What was really going on? At 18, Rosemary was functioning at a 4th-grade level. She would run away in the middle of the night and be found in bars. When she was 23, Rosemary’s father scheduled her for a lobotomy without telling his wife. Slicing into her brain left Rosemary unable to walk or talk. She lived the last 60 years of her life in an institution where her father never visited again.

Find out more: Read this Marie Claire article  (you’ll be shocked at her traumatic birth!), watch the upcoming movie Letters from Rosemary with Emma Stone, or watch the PBS documentary The Lobotomist.

 

 

We all have our Britney Spears moments. If Britney can come out on top after a shaved head, partying without panties, and attacking paparazzi with an umbrella, then maybe it’s not so crazy to have a breakdown or two. Besides, history is even more full of men who are off their rocker. But that’s another story for another time.

 

Image sources: Featured image: Unsplash.com, (1) Zelda Fitzgerald: Wikimedia Commons public domain, (2) Sylvia Plath: Wikimedia Commons public domain, (3) Mary Todd Lincoln: By not listed – Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC USZ 62 15325), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=970791, (4) Joan of Arc: Wikimedia Commons public domain.

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by Nicolette via Home And Garden