5 Easy DIY Halloween Projects For You To Try This Year!

Hey guys! So, today I thought it would be fun to share with you some of my favorite DIY Halloween Projects from around the Internet. I don't know for you, but I personally love making my own decorations, may it be for Halloween or for other holidays like Christmas. Since I'm currently living in small dorm room, I don't think I'll actually be able to do a lot of DIY this year, which makes me a bit sad. However, if you decide to try any of these, do let me know 'cause I'd love to see your creations! You can message them to me on Instagram if you want. You'll find the link to my account among my other social media on the right. 

If you want to learn more about how to do any of these projects, just click on the links that I've included in the descriptions and they'll take you straight to each project's original tutorial post. 

1. Decorated Witch Hat 

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This fun project by Cheryl over at TidyMom is very easy. All you need is a witch hat and some extra tidbits to decorate it. Whether you want to use it to decorate your room or as a centrepiece for your party table, this project is not only super easy to make but it's also very pretty. Click here for the full tutorial. 

2. Decorated Witch Broom

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I love, love this one and I really wish I was at home so that I could do it to! This tutorial is from Trisha at MomDot and it's perfect both as a costume accessory and as a decorative piece. I'm a sucker for pretty tulle in Halloween decorations myself so this one is definitely a project I'll do at some point. Click here for the full tutorial.

3. Witch Shoe 

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This tutorial is from the blog Dale Detalles and it's another favorite of mine. For this one you'll need some regular heel shoes along with some paint and other little embellishments. It's not very hard to do and would make for a really pretty addition to your Halloween decor. Click here for the full tutorial. 

4. Witch tutu dress

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This tutorial by Rececca from the blog Simple As That is a real lifesaver if you are on a budget or don't have much time to come up with a fancy Halloween costume. I personally also want to try this one out myself. Since this year I don't think I'll be able to dress up, I'm bookmarking this one for next Halloween! Click here for the full tutorial.

5. Halloween Door Sign

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This tutorial from The Ladybird Blog is perfect if you're looking for something to decorate your front door. The tutorial even comes with a template for you to easily recreate the one from the picture. It's easily customizable and while the tutorial is for a chalkboard sign, this could just as easily be adapted for a cardboard sign instead. Click here for the full tutorial. 

So that's it for this post guys. Did you like these DIY projects? Are you going to be trying some of them out? If you are, do let me know! You can also message me the pictures of your creations on Instagram. Take care and have fun with your Halloween preparations! 

5 Awesome Places to Visit for Halloween

Book your plane tickets, grab your travel guides and pack your bags, 'cause we're off for a celebration of Halloween across the globe!

Hey guys! I'm here today with another Halloween special for you. But first, in case you missed my last few posts, I'm actually currently hosting a special Halloween event on the blog this month. So if you missed my latest Halloween themed posts, you can click here to read about the movies that I'll be watching throughout the month. You can also click here to see the books that I'll be reading this month. 

So for today's post, I thought I would do something a bit different and share with you a list of the places that I'd love to one day visit for Halloween. These are well-loved travel destinations that every year undergo a magical transformation to become extra spooky around Halloween time. So whether you're just hoping to add new locations to your travel bucket list or you're planning your next Halloween holiday trip, I hope you'll enjoy this post! As always, if you have other recommendations for me, feel free to let me know in the comments. 

Disney World during Halloween time (Florida, US)

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Disney Parks are always places of magic and wonder, regardless of the time of the year. However, during the Halloween season, the theme park undergoes one of its most magical makeovers of the year to enchant visitors even more with a deliciously spooky wonderland that would make Jack Skellington and the folks over at Halloweentown feel right at home. 

St. Helens, Oregon (US)

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If you're a fan of the classic Disney Channel Halloweentown movies, you probably already know this but St. Helens actually served as the shooting location of the first movie. Every year, the small town goes all out for Halloween and puts together an amazing month-long celebration of Halloween. This year the festivities will be extra special as the cast members of the movie are coming together to celebrate with the fans and also to pay tribute to Debbie Reynolds, who passed away in 2016 and who played the role of Marnie's grandma Aggie in the movies. The town's Halloween celebrations went viral in 2015 when Marnie's actress Kimberly J. Brown made an appearance to light a giant pumpkin in the spirit of a similar scene at the end of the first movie. If you are in the area and want to find out more about this year's celebrations, click here for full details of the event. 

Transylvania, Romania 

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What better than a visit to the birthplace of legendary vampire Dracula to celebrate Halloween? Once home to Vlad the Impaler, the cruel prince who inspired the story of Dracula, the historically rich country of Romania is the perfect travel location for lovers of Gothic art and architure. Indeed, apart from its association with vampires, Romania is also full of equally entrancing historical sites. Oh and the best part? If you're thinking of visiting Transylvania, you can actually visit Dracula's Castle! The castle, whose real name is the Bran Castle, even opened its doors in 2016 to visitors who were given the exclusive chance to actually spend the night there! If you want to find out more about how to make a visit to Dracula's Castle, you can click here for additional information. 

Sleepy Hollow, New York (US)

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Yes, Sleepy Hollow is a very real place and while many of us might be more familiar with its fictional counterpart, which features in Washington Irving's famous short story and its multiple screen adaptations, the real location is not without its own ghostly charms. The town organizes multiple events for visitors to celebrate Halloween in all its spooky glory, from haunted hayrides to a walk-in mansion decked up in full house of horrors fashion with the legendary Headless Horseman himself as the evening's host! The town also serves as Washington Irving's final resting place and visitors can visit his grave during cemetery tours, along with those of other public figures. You can click here to plan your trip to Sleepy Hollow if you're thinking of dropping by this Halloween. 

Salem, Massachusetts (US)

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This list would be incomplete without the town that held of the famous 17th century witch trials. Whether you just want to explore the town's tragic history or make your Halloween more interesting by visiting some haunting places, the town of Salem is a great place to visit during this time of the year. Much like Sleepy Hollow, the town has embraced its haunted legacy and now puts together amazing events each year for its Halloween visitors. If you feel like visiting Salem this Halloween, you can click here for full details on how to plan your spooky trip, including lodging, food places and cool events happening in the town. 

So that's it for this post guys! I hope you enjoyed my recommendations. If you've been to any of those places or you're planning to, whether for Halloween or otherwise, do share your travel stories with us in the comments ^^ As always, if you have other recommendations of awesome Halloween travel locations for me, do let me know also.

Special Halloween Event Announcement!

Hey guys! Today I have a super exciting announcement post for you. Those of you who've been reading my blog for a while now already know this, but Halloween is actually my favorite time of the year. So, this year, I thought I would go all out and have exclusive Halloween themed posts throughout the month of October.

There are three main reasons why I wanted to hold this event

Reason #1: Lately I haven't been blogging as much as I used to partly because I've been caught up with my Masters. I've also kinda been in a blogging slump these last couple of months. I thought that rather than force myself to post articles that I didn't have the heart to write, it would be better to get back into blogging when it began to feel fun again. And so, to ease back into  blogging, I thought it would be fun to write about Halloween. Which brings me to the next reason...

Reason #2: I LOVE Halloween! Like big time! However, in my home country, Mauritius, Halloween isn't really a thing. Right now, I'm currently living in Malaysia because I'm attending university here, and Halloween isn't a big deal here either! So, to make things interesting anyway, I thought I would do fun stuff throughout the month such as have movie nights, do DIY projects (if I find the time), read spooky stories and, yes, write Halloween posts for the blog.

Reason #3: I want to celebrate with you guys! Yup, since I'm away from my family and don't have that many friends with whom I can celebrate, Halloween can feel a bit lonely. So, I thought Halloween would be a lot more fun if I was to celebrate and interact with you guys!

So what can you expect from me this month?

I'll be posting my Halloween TBR, my movie recommendations, DIY projects, tips for those of you who are also celebrating at home or alone, along with a bunch of other fun stuff. So if these sound like things you might enjoy, keep an eye out for my upcoming posts!

Are you also blogging about Halloween this month?

If you are, whether it's about recipes, DIY projects, lookbooks, TBRs or any other kind of post, feel free to drop by and leave me a link to your posts. I'd love to read them ^^

Will you be sharing Halloween pictures on Instagram? Let's follow each other!

Throughout the month I'll also be sharing my Halloween themed pictures on Instagram. So if that's sounds interesting, you can follow me there by clicking on the link below ^^ I'll be very happy to follow you back as well. 

Upcoming next...

My first Halloween post is coming out on the 5th and in that post I'll be sharing my Halloween movie recommendations with you. So look forward to that!

Let's have a great Halloween together this month! 

6 Halloween Movie Recommendations

Hi guys! Halloween is only a few days away and so, today, I thought I would share with you some of the movies I love to watch at this time of the year. Halloween is my second favorite holiday, right after Christmas, but while the day itself is one of my favorite things in the year, anticipating Halloween is also part of the fun. And what better way to count the days till Halloween than to watch some spooky movies? 

I need to preface this though by pointing out that none of my recommendations are actual horror movies. I don't watch horror stuff. I'm too much of a scaredy cat for that. And the darker movies in this list lean more towards gothic than actual horror, so if like me you also don't really dig horror movies, these should suit you just fine. 

And now, onto the movies. Enjoy!

Practical Magic

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Sally and Gillian Owens, played by Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman, come from a family of witches. As if that wasn’t crazy enough, for years the women of their family have been plagued by a curse, whereby all the men they fall in love with come to eventually meet an untimely death. Despite growing up to lead completely different lives, the sisters are as close as ever and when supernatural forces start wreaking havoc in their lives, they decide to join their powers and rid their family of the curse. This movie is perfect for Halloween because not only does it have witches and magic, but it also has at its heart a lot of humor. And for me, fantasy-comedies are the best Halloween movies ^^

Watch the trailer here.

Hocus Pocus

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Starring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker as a trio of evil witches, the movie follows their adventures as they are accidentally resurrected by a young boy after they were put to death in Salem centuries ago. This movie is hilarious and still great fun to watch now despite having been released in 1993. 

Watch the trailer here.

Halloweentown

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Marnie, played by Kimberly J. Brown, loves everything about Halloween and the supernatural, despite her mother disapproving of it all. When her grandmother Aggie, who is in fact a real witch, shows up on the night of Halloween, she tells Marnie and her siblings the story of a magical place called Halloweentown, where all sorts of fantastical creatures live together in peace. When the children secretly follow Aggie back home after she leaves their house, they stumble right into Halloweentown, which turns out to be very real. If you enjoy the movie - and you probably will - be sure to also check out the sequels!

Watch the trailer here.

The Phantom of the Opera

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Starring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum in the lead roles, this is the movie adaptation of a musical which was itself based on a French novel. It is 19th century Paris and the story takes place at an opera house rumored to be haunted by a mysterious masked Phantom. After he takes an interest in a young performer, Christine Daaé, the Phantom begins to scheme to give her the lead role in the opera, hoping to also win her love in the process. When Christine instead falls in love with someone else, the Phantom decides to do whatever it takes to make Christine his. The movie retains most songs from the musical, which is one of my favorite musicals by the way, and has the right amount of mystery mixed in with romance and gorgeous visuals to make this a delightful movie to watch in October. Plus Gerard Butler is in it. Enough said...

Watch the trailer here.

Scooby-Doo

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Back to comedy with this movie starring Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Linda Cardellini, Matthew Lillard and Rowan Atkinson. The story follows Mystery Incorporated, a group of four young detectives who solve mysteries with their dog Scooby-Doo. After going separate ways two years ago, the group reunites after they are called to a horror resort to solve a mystery there. This movie was a staple of my childhood growing up and one of those movies that I watched all the time with my sister. It’s a guilty pleasure and one of those goofy, fun movies that totally lives up to the spirit of Halloween.

Watch the trailer here.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

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Set in Victorian times, this is the story of Sweeney Todd, a barber turned serial killer who returns to the city after being wrongfully arrested and exiled many years ago. On a quest of vengeance, he takes his old job as a barber back and begins killing off his customers with a razor while his new accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, helps him get rid of the corpses by baking them into the meat pies she sells in her shop. It has Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in the lead roles and while it’s much more violent than the other movies on this list, it’s more a gothic story than a horror one. Plus, it has the songs that featured in the musical it was adapted from and is overall quite a stunning film. 

Watch the trailer here.

So those were some of my Halloween movie recommendations. I know there are a lot of classics I haven't mentioned, like Beetlejuice and the Addams Family, but that's because I haven't watched those yet. I do have a list of Halloween movies I still need to watch so expect a second part to this post at some point!

Until next time guys, have fun counting the days till Halloween ^^

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My Little Halloween Party!

Happy Halloween! 

Hi guys! Today I thought I would show you some pictures from my little Halloween party. Here in Mauritius, we don't actually celebrate Halloween, which is a pity 'cause I do really love Halloween. So, I figured I would do my own little celebration by putting up some decorations and baking some cookies. I thought it would be also fun to make some DIY stuff and so, some of the decorations I'm about to show you are things I actually made myself throughout the month of October. 

We didn't have that many people over, so we celebrated by having a cozy little tea party. Since people don't dress up for Halloween here, I didn't go for an actual costume. I did want to wear something festive though, so I got this little hat from eBay. If we actually did costumed parties here, I would have probably gone as a gender-bent Mad Hatter. I'm holding on to that costume idea for when I'll be able to do a real Halloween costumed party ^^

You can't have a party, even a little one, without things to munch on, right? I'm actually bordering hopeless when it comes to the kitchen but I was able to find a super easy biscuit recipe and made a bunch of these cute Halloween cookies. Can you spot the little bats and pumpkins? 

                                                             

We also had some cute cupcakes to go with our biscuits and tea. Nope, those I didn't make myself, haha. What I did make though were paper lollipops to decorate the table. They came out so cute I'm thinking I might make some for Christmas too. 

I made this cute little garland thing for my bed and used a mix of printables and picture cutouts for the TRICK OR TREAT decoration.

Next, there's my pumpkin paper lantern which I bought from a local shop. I thought it looked a bit simple so prior to wearing my little hat, I used it to dress up the lantern with it. The masquerade mask is something I had bought for my first Halloween party, back in 2014. Last year I had gone for a Gothic spooky theme, hence the mask. The BOO decoration was very easy to make. I just printed some large letters and tied them with some ribbon.

Here's my little witch corner, with my Witch Ball invitation poster and two vintage Halloween greeting cards I found online. I also wanted a wreath for my bedroom door and since I couldn't find any neither on eBay nor in the local store I mentioned above, I decided to make my own. Now, it was my first time putting together a wreath, hence the amateurish look, but I'm quite happy with the finish.

I bought a tiny broom from a shop that sells home and garden supplies. I then dressed it up with some ribbon and tulle and voila: a cutesy Halloween broom ^^ 

Follow me on Instagram for more Halloween pictures!

There are a bunch of pictures that I took but couldn't include here because I didn't want this post to be overly long. You can find these pictures on my Instagram by clicking here. If you've also taken some Halloween pictures, feel free to share links to your blog and Instagram down in the comments ^^

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you want links to the items I bought on eBay or the various printables I referred to, feel free to let me know in the comments. Happy Halloween everyone! 

Source here.

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Halloween Giveaway 2: Win a Bundle of E.A. Poe Goodies!

If there's a time of the year that's perfect for some horror classics, then it's definitely October. To celebrate one of my favorite classic horror authors and also in anticipation of Halloween, today I'm hosting an Edgar Allan Poe themed giveaway! The winner gets to win not one product but a bundle of beautiful products offered by the Etsy store Novel Reveries.

Below you'll find the giveaway which you can enter to win these awesome products, followed by my interview with Denée, the owner of Novel Reveries. 

The Giveaway

The winner will get all four products featured in the picture including:

• A pumpkin metal bookmark
• A book charm necklace
• A soap aptly called 'Eau de Poe'
• A cuff bracelet with a quote from Poe that says 'All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream'.

 A Rafflecopter Giveaway

Denée's giveaway note: "As sole owner and operator of NovelReveries.com and Etsy shop, I have always loved the power of books, and thought others would like to display their love as well. My shop began with book charms in 2013, and have since expanded to quote bracelets, book inspired fine jewelry, music boxes, upcycled book fashions, and much more!"

This giveaway is open to the US/Canada only and will end on the 31st of October. The winner will be announced in the first week of November. 

Interview with Denée

Here's an interview I had with Denée, the creator of all these awesome bookish products.

Tell us about your craft. 

I love books, so I gear towards making literature related items, whether it be jewelry, e-reader pillows or upcycling books into e-reader cases and purses.

How did you start?

I started off making book charms for authors and book lovers and expanded from there. Growing up I’ve always loved making things, so I guess my passion for crafting just grew into better looking, and more useful items.

What was the first thing you ever crafted? 

Book charm necklaces and bracelets, and yes they can still be found in my shop, although due to listing fees, I’ve decreased the variety of them and just added Custom Listings for books not found in the shop. The experience from my first year on Etsy was great, as I had a lot of interest from people who already followed me on Tumblr, and each purchase use to come with an original drawing (by me) of the authors.

Find this cool Jane Eyre purse here

What is the favorite craft you’ve ever made? Can it still be found in your store?

So far, anything that I can sew up, so my favs are my book purses and quilted bookshelf pillow. I also really love sculpting my literature themed music boxes, although they haven’t sold yet. Everything can still be found in my store, and I do custom work as well :)

What is your next art/craft project?

I’ve been pretty busy with my book purses, but I would love to create more Lit Soaps, sculptures, music boxes, and e-reader pillows before Christmas time :)

Do you have other interests/passions/hobbies?

I started off college as a music composition major (I play the French horn,) and I ended college majoring and graduating with a degree in Interior Design. I also enjoy writing, drawing and cooking. I LOVE books (obviously, lol!) and my favorite genres are Mystery, Thrillers/horror and Sci-Fi.

Find this Harry Potter book charm bracelet here

What would you say to an aspiring artist or crafter who wishes to commercialize his or her creations?  

Do it for the fun of it! That’s the most important thing :) Don’t let your passion become a stressful burden. Also don’t sell yourself short, you know how much you’ve spent on materials, shipping, and how much love and work you’ve put into your projects, so your prices should definitely reflect that.

Discover more about Denée and her fandom inspired products at her Etsy store by clicking here.

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E.A. Poe quote art found here 

Halloween Giveaway 1 (Open Internationally) + Last Month's Giveaway Winners

Hey guys! Halloween will soon be upon us and to celebrate with you guys, this month I'm hosting a couple of Halloween-themed giveaways for you. In today's giveaway, you have a chance to win pumpkin spice scented soap and body lotion inspired by Sleepy Hollow. Awesome, right? ^^

These products are being offered by Amber and Wendy, the lovely ladies from the Etsy store Elliott's Closet and its subsidiary store, Amber's Hallow. They sell a wide range of products including candles, bath products and perfume inspired from your favorite books and characters. I mean, they actually have a Herondale lotion! 

Below you'll find the giveaway which you can enter to win these awesome pumpkin scented products, followed by my interview with the Elliott sisters. 

At the end of the interview, you'll also find the winners of September's Magic & Wonder giveaways.

The Giveaway

Evade the Headless Horseman with his captivating fragrance! Both the soap and lotion are handmade with fragrance oils. Experience the sweet smell of Autumn with this rich scent, brought to you in a travel size lotion and a hard bar of soap! The spicy scent of pumpkin spice is woven into the warm scent of vanilla and layered into a base of sweet Myrrh.

This giveaway is open internationally and will end on the 31st of October. The winner will be announced in the first week of November. 

A Rafflecopter Giveaway

Both products are made in the U.S.A. and have never been tested on animals.

Interview with the Elliott sisters

Here's an interview I had with Amber and Wendy Elliot, in which they tell us more about the bookish inspirations behind their products.

Tell us about your craft. 

We make geek, historical, literary and pop culture bath, body and home items with themed scents. We make a wide variety of sundry and scented home products and strive for the highest quality for a reasonable price.

How did you start?

Amber: I started about ten years ago when I worked for a Native American woman's organization. One of the ladies we worked with taught me how to blend scents and got me started on that. Then two years ago, Wendy suggested we make a commercial line based on simple, lively scents themed around geek and literary ideas, and Amber's Hallow was born.

Peeta Mellark's Fresh Baked Cupcake bath salts

What was the first thing you ever crafted? How was the experience like?

We started with soap, our bar glycerin, after blending some starting scents. It wasn't too hard, the biggest stumbling block was figuring out the branding and how we wanted to market them. We found the pumpkin mold and the soap ended up so cute we called it a success!

What is the favorite craft you’ve ever made? Can it still be found in your store?

Wendy: My favorite craft is the Columbia Inn candle, because it reminds me of my favorite movie, and favorite time of year, Christmas! And yes, it can still be found in our shop.

Amber: It's hard to pin down what's my favorite. I love our perfume, I wear one of the scents every day, and my favorite scent is probably Percy, though I love Katniss and Clary and wear them a lot as well. All three scents can be found in our shop in both liquid and solid perfume.

Clary perfume inspired by The Mortal Instruments 

What is your next project? Are you working on something in particular at the moment?

Currently we're developing a line of natural hair care products ranging from Sea Salt Spray to Beard Oil for the gents. We're planning and hopefully launching that very soon!

Do you have other passions apart from crafting?

Amber: We actually have several other crafting businesses, so for the most part we pretty much do crafting all the time. I'm also an artist and graphic designer as well as a writer, so if I'm not making something for one of the shops I'm usually drawing or writing something.

Wendy: I enjoy photographing nature and architecture, which we also sell as prints in our other Etsy store.

Percy Jackson's Blue Candy & Sea inspired candle

What are your favorite artists?

Amber: Well my favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh, and I am really inspired by his bold use of straight color and that tends to influence my artwork a lot. For my writing, there isn't just one author that inspires me, but I love Rick Riordan, JK Rowling, Alexandre Dumas and William Shakespeare.

Wendy: My favorite Photographer is Nigel Barker, the famous fashion photographer. I love his use of light when it comes to portraying the clothes. He focuses on the composition as a whole and really brings out the beauty in the fashion designs rather than focusing on the model.

What would you say to an aspiring artist or crafter who wishes to commercialize his or her creations?  

There is nothing more satisfying then selling a piece of your own artwork, but be prepared to put every single hour of the day into your business. It's a true commitment if you want to be success. Don't give up and always keep expanding your horizons to touch others with what you do.

Discover more about the Elliott sisters and their fandom inspired products at their Etsy store by clicking here.

Winners of September's Magic & Wonder Giveaways

The Steampunk Necklace 'Into the Mine' won by Mary Vantil

The Beautiful Mermaid Doll won by Petra Kos

Congrats to the winners! 

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Cover Art by Of Stacks and Cups via Pagemodo

Pumpkin Spice gif