Antlers: A Budding Romance

I have a new crush: Antlers.

Good looking, useful in so many settings, unique, natural.  What's not to love!?!

Halloween I add them to displays and mobiles, their twists and points seemingly sinister.  For Fall, they add some sculpture and nature to a wreath.  And for Christmas, stockings get a new place to hang.

They're so universal!  If you're antler-crazy like me, bookmark this post.  I expect this post to grow as I discover new ways to integrate these stunners into holiday decor for EVERY season.   I walk around my house holding antlers now, looking for places to add points.

Get started with your own antler obsession by picking some up on eBay.  There are lots of sellers - antlers make great chew toys for dogs - so there's options at nearly every price points.  Here's my favorite seller - they'll accommodate your needs quantity and quality wise.  Just let them know what you'll be using them for and they'll hook you up.

Can't wait to dress this up for
Halloween next year.

Antler Candle Holder goes from Halloween...

...to Thanksgiving...

...and right into Christmas.

Nefarious by Nature

If you suffer from Trypophobia, turn back now...

The aversion to the sight of irregular patterns or cluster of small holes, as seen in lotus pods, was recently in the news again providing me a nice knock up the head reminder of our wonderfully creepy natural world.  

Mother Earth offers up her unearthly treasures through Twisted twigs, gnarly burls, driftwood, black bamboo, Spanish moss, stone moss, shells, feathers, antler sheds, bones, fossils, raffia, sponge mushrooms, grapewood branches and more.  

Grape vines can be twisted into baskets, cages, or wrapped like vines around shepherd's hooks.  

Did you know you can buy tumbleweeds?  Or even grow your own? If you can't find your own, that is, but what a fun thing to add to a Wild West Mortician haunt.  Dried lavender, flowers, fruit & herbs can quickly stock an Apothecary - just pick & dry throughout the year to build up a supply.  

Dried pomegranates and artichokes are particularly devilish looking and dried quince slices might trigger a trypophobe.  

Palm fronds in an Egyptian tomb would help fill out space and is visually dynamic.  They can be expensive to buy so if you're lucky enough to live in an area with palm trees, keep an eye out for fallen fronds or if you see trimmers working on a tree, offer to take some off their hands.

Gather up dried leaves and spread around to create a forrest floor for a Cabin in the Woods or Priestess Shack.  Trick-or-treaters will delight in hearing the crunch under their feet.

My daughter loves to collect treasures on our hikes and I have found the little bags we gather to be a treasure trove of props for the haunt.  So while you can pick up many items at the craft store, you can also stock your haunt gratis if you keep your eyes peeled on your journeys when out enjoying nature.  This is also a fun excuse to stop at those roadside rock, fossil and souvenir shops that look so intriguing.  Look for fossilized coral, Ammonite, trilobites... whatever catches your eye.

    

This lovely old twisted root has been sitting out front

since I bought my house 15 years ago.  This year I realized it looks like a petrified heart

Sweet magnolia pistil turned ominous spiky bulb

Raffia wrapped Apothecary jars

Healing aloe puts on it's scary face & gets in on
the action

Feathers, White Tail Deer bones, shells and beads make for
hair-raising mobiles (hanging prop!!!)

A couple pieces of driftwood, sea glass, bones
and feathers form a macabre sun catcher/mobile

Spanish moss drifting in the breeze creates a nice swamp effect

Corn stalks speak for themselves

Lotus pods, I swoon

Share your frightening finds in the comments below.

23 days till Halloween...