2019 Halloween Merchandise Review: Michael’s

It’s my favorite time of year again, and that means the Halloween merchandise is coming out at all my favorite stores. I’ll be posting a short rundown of the Halloween merchandise at each of the major stores I go to in the coming weeks.

First up: Michael’s.

If you don’t have a Michael’s near you, I definitely feel bad for you. The closest one to me is about an hour away, but fortunately, it’s close to family, so I get to go to it a few times a year. I’m a fan of both Hobby Lobby and Joann, as well, for my craft supplies, but Michael’s just seems better to me in a lot of ways. Maybe it’s just because I dont’ have one close.

Anyway, when Halloween comes around, I’m especially excited to get to take a trip to Michael’s because they really do have some cool Halloween stuff. And they seem to be the first store to really put their items on the shelves. Check it out.

One thing I’ve noticed so far this year during my Halloween shopping trips is the new types of skeletons being offered. We’ve had a huge variety of animals to choose from, and now it seems that the mermaid and unicorn crazes have leeched into the Halloween world. Dragons are also making some appearances. Yep, we’ve got magical skeletons now. We saw some last year, but they’re now widely available.

I never really caught on to the whole mermaid/unicorn thing, but I can appreciate the effort. Michael’s doesn’t have a unicorn, but you can catch a pic of a unicorn skeleton in my upcoming post about the merchandise at Big Lots.

One of my favorite things about the selection at Michael’s is they have the type of Halloween decor that is most likely to make it into my year-round decorating. I mean, check out these awesome pillows and skeleton ceramics. I freaking love them (not counting the selfie skeletons and the one on the toilet – not my cup of tea).

Favorite Finds at Michael’s

  1. Halloween Miniatures: If you’ve seen my dollhouse posts (start here), you know I love miniatures. So Halloween miniatures are, of course, going to be a big deal to me. Michael’s had a really good selection when I first arrived, but it looks like everyone else thought so, too, because most of them were gone when I went back. Sadness.
  2. Skull Moon & Raven: I just thought this guy looked really cool. They had a few moon-themed items, and this was probably my favorite.
  3. Vintage Decor: I don’t know what it is, but vintage Halloween stuff has really started to jump out at me when I see it. It just looks cool. Cute, but not too cute.
  4. Rubber Boa Constrictor: Who doesn’t love a huge fake snake?
  5. Rubber Spider: I almost got him, but I didn’t because I’m looking for a spider that spins a web. I go for realism when possible. Now, I regret not going ahead and buying him.
  6. Animated Witch: She was the only big animated prop at Michael’s, and I thought she was really cool.
  7. Skulls: I love the variety of skulls Michael’s has to offer. Giant ones, little ones, normal ones – just great.
  8. Yoga Skeleton Pillow: I love the yoga skeleton thing, and I really want to get this pillow for my living room.

If you have a chance to go to Michael’s, I highly recommend it. The prices are pretty reasonable, and if you can catch a sale or use a coupon, you can get a really great deal. They also have a fun variety of animal props. I bought a zombie squirrel here last year and a huge frog the year before that.

Have you had a chance to go to Michael’s this season and take a look at their Halloween merchandise? Let me know about your favorite find in the comments.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

The first official teaser trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is finally here, and if you know me, you know I’m excited! Seriously, I’m a 35-year-old woman, and this is currently the lock screen on my phone:

Such a sweet face.

So, yeah. I’m kind of a big fan.

It looks like we’ve got quite a few of the classic stories to look forward to with the flair or Stephen Gammell’s illustrations come to life. I’m geeking out so hard right now. If you haven’t watched it, please go to the link below and let me know what you think in the comments.

Http://youtu.be/yibyKNNow3M

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark comes to the big screen August 9, 2019. I’ll be getting my tickets as soon as they let me.

How to Make Scary Valentine’s day TREATS

Halloween is, of course, the holiday of holidays to me, so most other holidays just don’t receive my attention quite as much. Valentine’s Day, for one, has always been very blah. It was kind of fun when my husband and I started dating, but after being married for over a decade, it loses its punch. I mean, we don’t need a random day in February to say we love each other. It’s more of a day we use as an excuse to eat steak (we use that excuse for a lot of days – President’s Day, our anniversary, doctor’s visits, Sundays, etc.) and have a special dessert.

Since we made the smart decision to get an Amazon fire stick for all of our TVs, I also have gotten crazy into watching those addictive YouTube videos on cake and cookie decorating. They’re big montages of talented people making beautiful art that you can eat, and they always get me in the mood to make…

SUGAR COOKIES!

And I say “make” as in my husband makes the dough, and I just do the part of rolling them out, cutting them into shapes, and icing them. Typing that out makes it seem like I have the harder job, but I am not a fan of actually cooking/baking things. I’ll do the pretty part, but the first step just ain’t my cup of tea.

For those of you that don’t already have a favorite sugar cookie recipe, let me recommend this one from allrecipes.com. We’ve used other sugar cookie recipes before, but this one rolls out and cuts just right. Make sure you follow the instructions for chilling the dough. It really keeps the dough firm so it cuts clean and doesn’t stick to your roller or cookie cutters.

One change I would make to the recipe concerns flouring the surface. I don’t like the taste of unmixed flour on my baked cookie, so I use powdered sugar instead. I’ve found it works just as well, and it doesn’t leave that chalky flavor on your finished cookie.

For this batch of cookies, I used this heart-shaped set of Wilton cookie cutters. I really prefer the metal cookie cutters like this as opposed to the plastic variety. The metal really cuts cleanly and seems to stick less than the plastic. Also, NEVER use those weird cookie cutters that stamp cookies with patterns – or just any kind that aren’t open on top – unless your dough is extremely chilled. It is a headache if your dough is the slightest bit sticky.

Anyway, after I had them all cut out and baked, it was time for the fun part. DECORATING! I use this sugar cookie icing recipe for all my sugar cookies, but feel free to use any that you love. Just make sure it’s the kind that will harden.

I used both Wilton piping bags and ziplock food bags (because I ran out of piping bags) for each color of icing. I also used round Wilton decorating tips to pipe the icing onto the cookie, but you can use any tips you have or just cut a small hole in the corner of the bag you use. You can also just spoon the icing onto the cookie, but it’s harder to achieve a good line that way.

Valentine’s Day is a cutesy holiday, and my soul starts to die if I do cutesy things too long. I made a few cute candy heart cookies, some pretty ones with swirls, and some with other cute patterns…and then I did my thang.

That’s a lot of cookies.

The only cookie cutters I had for Valentine’s Day were hearts, so bloody hearts were a no-brainer. But I didn’t want to be one note, so I switched them up a little.

I started with these fully-iced bloody hearts. I used a small round icing tip to pipe a red sugar cookie icing outline in an appropriate drippy shape and then flooded it with the same color. Then, I filled in the bottom of the cookie with pink, first using the round icing tip to outline the remainder of the heart and then flooding it with the same color.

I did these next, only doing the first step with the drips and then adding an extra blood drop.

These were my favorite. I iced the cookie with white icing, again using a small round tip to outline my cookie and then flood with the same color. Then, I mixed red food gel with a small bit of almond extract and used a food paintbrush and toothpick to spatter the colored extract on the cookie. To get the best effect, I first soaked my brush and let it drip a little on the cookie before using the toothpick to fan the bristles and create that cool spatter look. I was very happy with the effect. There might have been some maniacal laughter involved. I was that pleased.

So that’s how I celebrated Valentine’s in my own way. I think they turned out really well. Maybe next year I can branch out with some different types of cookie cutters. Zombie cupids? Anatomical hearts?

Yeah. That sounds real nice.

Let me now what you think in the comments!

Remember Monster Vision? Joe Bob Returns!

Happy Friday the 13th! Remember to follow your horror rules to stay safe on this murderous of days.

So I’ve been MIA for a little while.  From my last post, you can see that I expected to be posting a little more often, but with a new baby, plans don’t always work out. You’ll have to forgive me.

But I can’t just not post anything on Friday the 13th…especially when a momentous event is about to happen!!!

JOE BOB IS BACK!

Joe Bob Briggs was a staple of my childhood.  His Saturday night Monster Vision horror movie marathons were the highlight of my week, and I got introduced to so many cheesy fun horror movies that I normally would have skipped.   Motel Hell, anyone?

So when I heard that Joe Bob would be hosting another horror movie marathon, I was ecstatic.  Yes, Joe Bob returns for a 24-hour-ish horror marathon titled, The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs at 8  PM CST tonight only on Shudder!!!

I. Am. Thrilled.

Only 3 movies have been announced out of the approximately 13 movies that will be shown: Basket Case, Tourist Trap, and Sleepaway Camp (always a classic).  You can expect Joe Bob to bring his flavorful comments and drive-in totals just like he used to, and I can’t wait. Nostalgia is calling me.

Shudder, of course, requires a subscription, but for only $5 for the whole month, you can delight in this marathon as well as all of the horror goodies the rest of the service provides.  I highly recommend.

That’s it for me today.  I have some posts planned for the upcoming months because I think there might be an important holiday coming up. (*wink wink*)

Halloween planning is in full swing, so I hope to bring a few new monster tutorials and other fun DIYs along with my usual Halloween merchandise reviews.  See you soon!  And enjoy the marathon!

I’m Back (Also, Happy National Save a Spider Day!)

Well, it’s been awhile, folks, but I’m back.  Who knew that taking care of a baby would take up so much of my time?  The little monster is now almost 3 months old (wow, time flies), so since we’ve got almost a quarter of a year under our belts as parents, I felt like maybe I have enough of a handle on things to make time to post again.

We’re celebrating not one, but two holidays today!  First, it’s National Pi Day.   A lot of people celebrate National Pi Day by having  – you guessed it – pie, which is a great idea.  Since this is a horror blog, I’ll try to keep in the theme.  A slightly scary way to celebrate this day is to take whatever pie you’re eating and just call it a creepy cobbler or a petrifying pie.  That’s the easy way out.  If you’re feeling like going all crazy with it, you could make some sort of skull shape out of crust for the top of the pie, or just eat a cherry pie and pretend it’s oozing blood.  That’s probably my favorite.

It’s also National Save a Spider Day!  Spiders are our friends.  They kill annoying bugs and only bite us on special occasions, like when we accidentally threaten them or whatevs.  So in honor of today, if you see a spider in your house, catch it and let it go.  Don’t stomp on the little guy.  Check out the video below:

Isn’t that cute?  And a little creepy?  We should try to help out our little eight-legged friends however we can.  They just want to live in harmony with us, so let them.

Now, if you see a scorpion, screw that guy. Smash it and send it back to hell from where it came.

Happy Friday the 13th!

It’s a big day, everyone.  We have a Friday the 13th in October, and I’d hate for anyone to waste it.  It’s been 11 years since we’ve been able to celebrate one of these bad boys in the month of Halloween, and we won’t have another one until 2023.  Let’s make the most of it.

So what should you do?  Let me give you some options:

1. Carve a jack o’ lantern (or at least buy your pumpkin if you haven’t already).

2. Go to a haunted house.  Yes, the lines might be long tonight, but they’re only going to get longer the closer you get to THE BIG DAY, so why not go on Friday the 13th.

3. Watch a scary movie.  Happy Death Day is in theaters today, and it’s getting pretty good reviews,  I might go tonight to see this one myself.  Or if you don’t want to go out to watch a movie, just watch the original Friday the 13th in the comfort of your own home. You own it, right?  Of course, you do.

4. Have fun with some Halloween crafts.  Check out some tutorials on YouTube, or check out some of my past posts about corpsing a skeleton, making your own hanging reaper, making a giant spiderweb for your front yard, or playing around with some cheap Dollar Tree skulls.

5.  Take a walk around a dark cemetery.  Or a forest.  Or a dark road.  Just do something creepy.

There you have it.  No matter what you do, just make sure it’s fun.  Have a Happy Friday the 13th!!!

2017 Halloween Merchandise Review: Walmart

I’ve gone over the fun Halloween merchandise to be found at Home Depot and Lowe’s this year, so let’s move on to the next store on my list: Walmart.

Love it or hate it, I’m sure you have a Walmart near you, and I’m pretty sure you spend a buck or two here each week.  I, myself, spend many bucks, but that’s beside the point.

I might not love the place, but it still makes me happy to walk in and see their display.

No. It’s not spectacular or anything, but just look!  There are costumes, big bags of candy, decorations, orange, and black everywhere!  Really, anything Halloween gives me the warm fuzzies.

Walmart’s decorations are pretty run-of-the-mill, but they’d still be enough to really spookify your house inside and out.  Hanging ghosts, skeletons, tombstones, lighting, cobwebs – you’ve got all you need right here.

And they did have these two little skeletal garden gnomes that I was quite taken with.  I haven’t seen these anywhere else, so Walmart definitely wins the Halloween garden gnome race.  That should be a thing if it isn’t already.  Just look at these cool, little things.

They have a small selection of skeletons and skeleton animals.  Because who doesn’t these days?

Walmart also has a great selection of Halloween-themed hats to keep your ears warm when you’re trick-or-treating.  You know.  If you’re lucky, and it’s not still 80 degrees by the end of the month.  Cross your fingers, folks.

And Walmart also has a nice selection of non-costume Halloween makeup and nail art.  Here’s some of my favorites.

So, no, Walmart might not be crazy innovative in the Halloween department, but if you’re looking for crazy animatronics, go to Spirit Halloween or Halloween Express.

Next up on my review is Target, so check back soon.

2017 Halloween Merchandise Review: Lowe’s

Home improvement stores have really stepped up their game in the Halloween area these past few years.  I’ve been pretty impressed, and Lowe’s has a really nice assortment of yard decorations and lighting to choose from.  Let’s check out their offerings.

Just check out all the pretty things.

They’ve changed this display since they first started putting out Halloween items, but I really enjoyed the skeleton’s setup.  It’s like he’s saying, “Finally, it’s my time of year.”  Love it.

They have a few animatronics to choose from.  I especially like the American Gothic skeleton couple.

I actually got a video of the vamp lady doing her thang:

They also have some pretty awesome inflatables:

 

2017 Halloween Merchandise Review: Home Depot

I had the pleasure today to go to the clear front-runner in this year’s Halloween merchandise race.

Home Depot is just killing it again this year with their stuff.  Just look at this spread:

See that?  I couldn’t even get it all in one pic.

Of course they had your normal stuff: pumpkins, silly dancing toys, skeleton dogs, cats, and dinosaurs.

*Record Scratch*  Dinosaurs, you say?

How cool is that?  You can also see from the pic that they have a skeletal pony.  What you can’t see (because they didn’t have it in the store) is that they are also selling an 8-foot-tall T-Rex to go with the babies.  Yes, you can see them in museums, but now you can have one in your home.  That’s pretty sweet.

They also had this cool gargoyle:

These hanging ghouls:

And this creepy, thin, animatronic werewolf:

For value, I think this 3-pack of skulls for $9.98 is a steal.  Less than 4 dollars for a realistic-looking, good-sized skull is too good to pass up.

And this full-sized poseable skeleton for $29.98 is an excellent deal, too.

 

I also have to give Home Depot props (no pun intended) for bringing back the peeper decorations.  There were a few angry, easily-offended people that called from these to be removed from the shelf this year, and Home Depot decided to bring back – not only the original – but a few different versions.

They also had quite a few great animatronics.  Just check out the videos below:

Pretty cool, huh?

So there’s my rundown of what Home Depot has to offer this year.  I feel like it’s got a definite lead over the other home improvement store this year, which I’ll go over tomorrow.  Be sure to check back then!

October Is Here!

It’s here, guys!  My favorite month and yours: OCTOBER!!!

My celebratory breakfast this morning consisted of a pumpkin walnut crunch bagel from Einstein Brothers’ Bagels and an iced pumpkin spice coffee, leftovers from Dunkin‘ Donuts.

Delicious.

Then, I followed that up with my yearly tradition of creating my haunted cemetery.  It was a little tougher this year because I’m currently about 7 months into growing a little monster of my own.  Needless to say, my growing belly didn’t help with all the bending and lifting I needed to do, so I got a little creative with my decor.  Some old monsters didn’t make the cut, and some new ones were created with what I could find in my most easily accessible tubs.  It might not be as much as I usually do, but I’m pretty happy with the results.

The rest of the day was spent watching some horror movies.  All in all it was a pretty excellent day.

Since we’re getting close to the big day (that’s Halloween if you weren’t sure), I’ll be posting my reviews of the Halloween merchandise I’ve played with this year so far, and I also hope to post some new project updates.  Check back soon!

And Happy October, everyone!!!