Halloween has never been my favorite holiday as far as decor is concerned. I love the candy and the costumes, but my giant-wuss-self can’t take the straight scary stuff. Someday we’ll string up the skull lights with the demonic red eyes that Brian bought a few years ago… but I’m just not there yet.
So I decided to get creative and re-purpose some things we already had and am really happy with how effortlessly it all came together. We lucked out being able to re-use a lot of our black + white-striped wedding decor. Together with a few easy DIY art projects, some mini pumpkins and gourds we picked on our annual pumpkin-picking trip, with a few new items sprinkled in, were able to style our place without breaking the bank.
Here is a peek at what we did:
The b+w striped and solid paper lanterns I bought here for our wedding and the banner was a freebie printable. I loved the design so much I opted to print on some leftover heavy-weight card stock so we can re-use it year-to-year. I strung it together using some leftover wedding ribbon. Total cost: Free!
Added some spiders I found on clearance last year to this flower wreath my mom made us for the wedding. I debated adding a bow but loved the spooky simplicty so I left it as is.
Found a couple of quality black glitter skulls at CVS for about $4/each earlier this month. Yes please! Nestled in with some very old books I’ve picked up over the years, it’s creepy without being over the top.
A little spider web over a stretched canvas photo a friend gifted us for our wedding.
Used a Wilton Armetale serving tray (a wedding gift) to corral some coffee table items, like coasters (from my bridal shower), candy corn and this scorpion votive candle holder (set of 4) that I found at TJ Maxx last year after Halloween for $5!
I have a bit of a gourd obsession. The variety of textures, shapes, and colors is incredible and their small scale makes them perfect for popping into random spots for a pop of festive color anywhere you need it. Eventually I’d like to swap in some faux ones for the real thing so I don’t have to buy them year after year, but for $1/each, they’re hardly investment pieces. We bought them late enough in the season that with proper care, they should last through Thanksgiving too. Bonus!
It’s not Halloween without candy, right? I love how pretty candy corn or wrapped caramels look in some vintage Ball Ideal jars. Plus, the wire closures are just tricky enough to open that I’m usually not tempted to sneak any — they’re for guests!
I’d been reading up on Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) when I saw this awesome graphic Sugar Skull on the cover of a Paper Source catalog. I just ripped off the cover, trimmed it to fit an 8.5 x 11″ frame and popped it in before adding it to our wine bar. Cost: Free!
Above the bar I strung up one of the b+w fabric banners my mom sewed for our wedding. I debated adding another printable sign, but I thought it’d be overkill so I kept it simple.
We took this centerpiece home from a wedding we attended on October 4th! Thanks to long-lasting greens, faux leaves, and careful watering of the floral foam base, I only had to replace just 2 of the red roses with fresh ones to keep it looking fresh, before popping it into a nicely tarnished silver champagne bucket. (I was temped to polish it up but actually really liked the look just for Halloween.)
Another freebie online printable banner I strung up on a silver tray we keep on a picture ledge in the kitchen.
This “Autumn Essentials” print is one of my favorites; I love watercolor illustration! It’s a freebie download from Jones Design Company. (Also pictured is my “2013 De-clutter calendar” which I’m obsessed with.)
Found this little skull picture holder at Kohl’s for less than $5. Eventually when I print some Halloween photos, I’ll display them here. (BTW: The irony of this placement isn’t lost on me since Brian is convinced that Truvia is bad!)
Space is at a premium in our teeny tiny bathroom, but a couple more macabre votive holders and a mini pumpkin are festive and simple and about as heavy as I want to go in terms of testing the weight capacity of these shelves!
A grapevine wreath with some pretty vintage ribbon and rosettes (made by my mom) is just inside our high-traffic doorway so we’ll see it often. 
Free printable Halloween subway art in a simple clip frame. I wanted to keep it sleep and simple so I skipped a traditional picture frame. Eventually I may try transferring the print to a large-scale canvas more impact. The table runner pictured here is another wedding item my mom made for us that we use all the time.
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So that’s a rundown of how I re-purposed a lot of our wedding decor for Halloween. I’m really happy with how it all turned out particularly because I’m trying to be more mindful of waste. Decorations are a fun addition to our home, but I want them to be multifunctional when possible (like the white wreath) or small and easy to store if they’re not, like the votive candle holder set. By keeping this in mind, I was able to eliminate waste and also save a few bucks. But most important of all, I love how fun and festive our place looks for Halloween this year.
Married with Style 