Our halloween party is this Saturday and we have been in turbo drive trying to get a few things done around here. Of course, nothing goes as planned and there are always hiccups–like, maybe you didn’t order enough wallpaper or something. #thelook  So while there are, no less, than 4 house projects going on around here, I also took it upon myself to transform the reading room shelves into something a little more festive.

Every year we have a “photo booth” set up with lights, camera, action and a backdrop. Last year we actually painted this room green for the backdrop–and it stuck! Haha. The room worked so well last year because it is the first room off of the front door making it really convenient, so we knew we wanted to use it again for pictures. We debated moving the piano and using that wall, but in the end, the shelves–creepified won as the backdrop (we’ll probably still move the piano for the party).

I worried I wouldn’t have enough stuff to fill the shelves, but decorating for Halloween doesn’t really have to be done with “Halloween” stuff, you know? Filling some bud vases with water and dark food coloring, gathering red and black spined books and turning them backward. Truthfully, a lot of the stuff here was already on the shelves–spider webbing and little crows and rats from the dollar store go a long way.

There were a few other easy things I did. I clipped some red branches off of the bush in our front yard and stuck them in a mason jar. That wire basket that housed magazines previously, I filled with dark cheese cloth (from the dollar store!) and a slew of gourds.

I held onto this dead plant for a month knowing it would work well for Halloween. Not that I killed it on purpose. Not that I ever do. Meh.

I printed off a couple images  I found on vintageprintable.com.  This portrait is creepy and perfect. They have a lot of portraits that are straight up scary, but I didn’t want Greta to have any bad dreams. I also found a good bat printable (bottom shelf) that felt just right for these shelves. It’s such a great source for free art to fill frames, especially for Halloween!

This candelabra from was one of the only new things I got from Wayfair for these shelves–and something that I can definitely use not just for Halloween. I dripped some red crayon wax onto a few pillar candles (watch the video here) to add a pop of color (sorry to use that term. so very sorry.) and gore; sticking with only three candles, so I don’t have to replace them all for everyday use. Plus, that would kind of be overkill, right?

These shelves and outside will probably be the main areas decorated for Halloween. I have hung bats from the ceiling for the past few years but they are looking tired now. I did get a few more things from Wayfair’s Halloween sale last week to use elsewhere that aren’t fussy, but festive.

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Although all of it will definitely set the Halloween mood, everything (with the exception of that spider web tablecloth–which is so so chic, I’ll have to instagram it) can be used throughout the year, too. Maybe I’ll swap out a pillow or two, as well. It is a party.

I’ll leave you with a night shot so you can get a better vibe. Do you decorate for Halloween? We have 17 pumpkins outside and a couple huge spiders that Greta couldn’t live without–we’ll have to save those pictures for a different post.