Thrifty Thrills: Oddities & Curiosities

As large as the Halloween stores are, what they actually offer is limited and rarely varies year after year.  You can quickly either accumulate, or determine you don't want, every mass produced prop out there.  Frankly, much of it isn't that great.  You can invest in a quality prop such as the one's from Grandin Road, but even they only release a handful of new things each year.  If none of those new items suit your haunt, you may be wondering where to find your next, great prop.

In addition to all the wicked options found in the aisles of your Home Improvement store, thrift stores can offer up a bounty of blood-curdling boo.  After years of being a "go to" place for costumes, many actually set up a whole Halloween section.  There are obvious finds - store bought props often find their way to the donation bin.  The real gems though are hiding in the kitchen/housewares aisles, often overlooked for their petrifying potential.

Candle holders, glass bottles, trinkets & figurines, candelabras & lamps, vases, wall sconces, mirrors, food serving items, old photographs & postcards, doilies, lace, jewelry boxes, old tools... who knows what you'll find.   The item doesn't need to be inherently frightening.  Look for things that are unique, that catch the light and eye, that cause you to just pause for a moment and wonder what it's story is, can make one feel uneasy or unsure of their environment and being uneasy is the gateway to frights.

Goodwill, Out of the Closet and Salvation Army are usually well stocked but I really like visiting the smaller, mom and pop shops, for serious treasure hunting.  If you're lucky, you've got one that's been there since the dawn of time and is run by someone who loves garage sales and flea markets.  Their shelves tend to be filled with as much dust as items but oh, the glory that awaits.  If you're in LA, you simply must check out All Things and More in Sun Valley.  I try to make an annual trip if not more and it's always fruitful.   Give yourself lots of time to dig deep and open your mind up to the possibilities.

If you're really, REALLY lucky, you've got a Habitat for Humanity Store nearby.  Pick up chandeliers, large mirrors, highboys, wine barrels, metal gates and more to benefit a purposeful cause at a more than reasonable price.

Best part, this is a great activity for the boring non-Halloween months when you're Jonesing for a fix.  Check out my post about haggling for tips on saving even more on your treasures.

Here's some of my favorites...

        

I got a bee in my bonnet and wanted a birdcage.  Found this beauty on Craigslist and still can't believe how lucky I got. I noticed it had been up for 2 weeks, the price dropping every few days so I offered him $20 and he bit...

Little figurines like this monkey adds a moment of curiosity and that bunny bottle opener is downright off-putting....

An octopus coat hook?  Why not...

Some colored bottles from Goodwill and metal candle taper holder from All Things and More...

Phrenology head off eBay, candle holder from the Dollar Store and Glass Cloche from All Things and More.  Still not sure what will go under the cloche, a heart perhaps?

Jewelry box and Dragon stand with stone ball from Goodwill, tassel from All Things and More, Hear/Speak/See No Evil from eBay.  Total: $10

This guy I found at Home Depot

Replace the wine bottles with a crystal ball and fortunes await.  Wine caddies like these are often on the shelves of thrift stores, mostly overlooked as they aren't easily identifiable.

Just got back from a new favorite Thrift Store with locations around the US, Red, White & Blue Thrift Stores.  They are jam packed with finds - silver for Pirate Haunts & Haunted Houses, crystal and brass for Haunted Houses, baskets & boxes for Swamp Shacks, Pirate Haunts, Tombs and more.  I even found a boomerang!  A boomerang!  Egyptians were buried with throwing sticks that resembled what we know as boomerangs.  So while not even the same continent, what an absolute find!  And how weird would it be to add to a "wall of weapons" for a Cabin in the Woods?  A boomerang!!

Check out some of my finds from today...

Crystal Candle holders for $1-$3 and some spider webs fill a
Haunted House cabinet or set a table for two skeletons.

Different haunts call for different styles & the Thrift Store always
delivers

Silver pieces ranging in price from $2-5.  Aquire a pirates booty
for $20 or less

I have yet to find a thrift store lacking in silver, see if you can make
an offer by buying 5 or more pieces.

$4 for a brass jack-o-lantern?  Yup, I own this now.

Take your time, never know what
you'll find

 

A boomerang!!! And this hefty candle
holder is weighty enough for dungeon
decor

Less than $8 total for real wood & metal props

Baskets & a box for Haunted Houses, Shacks, Lairs, Tombs, Ships
and more, all for less than $10

Halloween time again and another trip to Goodwill yielded yet again some amazing finds.  Check it out!

$8 for this extra wide pillar candle holder...

...turned fancy pumpkin stand

A spittoon!!  I've been looking for
a spittoon for a Undertaker theme.
Too shiny tho....

Little vinegar + salt + 3" Hydrogen Peroxide...

20 Days till Halloween...

Chalk Ghosts

This is hands down one of the most commented on aspects of Little Pearl Haunt.  It's simplicity is appealing across generations and it's surprisingly effective.

Project needs list:

- White sidewalk chalk (dollar store purchase)
- A rag or two
- Apparition inspiration

Outline the ghost and fill it in with chalk.  Choose whatever design you want, there's possibilities are endless.  Nubby cartoonish hands or long spindly fingers, who knows what shape phantasms manifest themselves.

Using your fingers, blend the chalk together, creating a solid white look.  I like to go around the edges and create a whispy effect.  Use the rag to "erase" any mistakes.  You may need water to do this but usually some rubbing with the rag works.

And there you go, chalk ghosts!  Draw them leading out of the cemetery and into your house, or reverse it and have them fleeing out your front door.  I have dreams of the night before Halloween, going around the neighborhood and creating a trail of ghosts from various streets all leading to my house.  As if I'm not swamped enough already carving pumpkins but one day...one day...

21 days till Halloween...

Early nubby handed ghosts.  I think this was their debut year

Morning after picture, ghost took a beating

Still into the nubs...

So cute er I mean spooky!

New style alert: creepy fingered ghosts

One of those long, ghostly fingers tickling your neck?  Eek!

Creeping out the cemetery and into the house

The spirits from the graveyard would like to have a word with the lady of the house

Boo

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...

Hanging Pumpkins: An homage to Rhonda

Life goals...

The beloved and quintessential Halloween movie Trick 'r Treat inspires and excites me about as much as burlap and a good hanging prop.  It should come as no surprise then that the first time I saw Rhonda's pumpkin bonanza my head literally started spinning.

I was already doing the "abundance of pumpkins" thing but OMG hanging pumpkins?!?!  HANGING PUMPKINS?!?!?  Now THIS I had to do.

It only took me about 5 or 6 years of solid porch swing brainstorming before I finally got it.  Commercially made metal plant hangers were either too expensive, not large enough or covered a lot of the gourd.  I picked up a couple  Kitchen Cooling Racks at my favorite kitchen supply store and then ordered some Metal Planter Chain of Amazon.  A couple coats of black matte spray paint on the racks and add the chain, making sure to space them out to keep the rack level.  The racks usually have feet - you can either have them hang down like feet or, flip the rack over and bend them out slightly and create a sort of cradle for the pumpkin.  This helps keep some of the smaller pumpkins in place.

It works out to just a few bucks per hanger and I like that they work with a variety of different sized and shaped pumpkins.  Obviously, the larger the cooling rack, the larger the pumpkin but I kept mine on the 8" size taking into account the weight of the pumpkin and what I would be hanging them from.

The pumpkin at the far right is hanging from the Camellia bush

Sinister Souvenirs

Sometimes a prop is right under your nose for years before you see it.

I love Tulum, Mexico and back in my pre-toddler, single days, I would escape for solo trips every May to lay on the beach and never get to half-assed plans.  If you've ever been to the Yucatan, you've likely seen the gorgeous Jellyfish lamps, crafted locally.  Regional gourds and jicaras are combined with seeds, seashells, stained glass and blown glass to make these stunning lamps.

They are works of art and you can't help but feel a sense of dreamy, ocean side bliss sitting under them as they sway in the salty air, projecting their designs on the walls and ceiling.  I picked up a few on one of my trips many years ago and had them hanging on a back patio in an effort to bring that same peace to my backyard.  A house renovation retired them to the garage where they hung, unappreciated for years.

Fast forward to last year when I had picked up 2x 2-hook Shepherd's hooks on the cheap during OSH's blowout sale.  I had hooks and little to hang.  I hit the garage to see what I could find, looked up and bam, there they were.  The Jellyfish lamps.

Now these things are happy, summer vibe inducing wonders.  They're also made out of natural materials, have hanging tentacles of shells and wood, and it's a hanging (points!) light (points!)

With the help of an orange light bulb the warm ocean breezes were quickly replaced with a crisp fall wind and I had myself a bewitching new prop.

I found some online if you can't make it to Mexico.  There's a wide price range and some are not as budget friendly as the one's you can pick up from the many vendors all over the Yucatan but I suppose it's far cheaper than a trip.  Perhaps we all just can dream of a best case scenario: a trip AND lamps.

27 days till Halloween...