The Haunting of Fort Guthrie Continues… Outside

I am back (Finally! Yes, I know!) with more Halloween decor from Fort Guthrie. 

Here, Papa, this is for you, in case you haven’t been outside at your house lately. ;)

Today I will reveal the front porch decor for our Halloween party!  This year, I wanted to do something different from what we always do.  We spend so much time decorating the inside of the house that the outside sometimes gets left for last.  But not so anymore!  Here’s what we came up with this year:

We started with our “bundles of branches” trees that Mama made for Hannah’s wedding three years ago and strung them with white lights.  Then I hung skeletons (from the Dollar Store) among the branches. 

And this year I finally found pumpkins large enough for the pumpkin topiaries I have always wanted!  I found them at Michael’s and luckily I got them on sale, because they were pricey!  The middle pumpkins are real heirloom pumpkins and the top ones are fake, also from Michael’s.  Maybe someday I will stumble upon a fake pumpkin just the right size for the center of the topiary.  The middle one wasn’t quite as shiny as the two fake ones, so we rubbed it down with vaseline to give it some shimmer!  You can’t even tell the difference!  I wrapped the topiaries with black and orange tinsel and orange lights.  These cuties will be coming with me after the party at Fort Guthrie to live out the season on MY porch! Whoo!

I hung this festive orange and black wreath on the door.  I found it at Sam’s Club and I just love it!

This cute little doormat was a $5 find at a local thrift store.  Perfect!

And this silver candelabra is on loan from an antique dealer friend of the family.  It’s awesome.  It is so massive that I deemed the only safe place for it was on the porch.  And, of course, we won’t be burning the candles since they would probably just blow out.  But it looks super cool, anyway!

Last, but certainly not least, is the “garbage bag garland” that I made to wrap the railings.   I basically cut a million strips of black garbage bags and tied them onto a string of twine.  A million times.  Literally.  It took forever.  I made enough to wrap the entire porch.  I hope it lasts forever, because I am not eager to make more. :)  It remind me of a feather boa… only plastic.  Here’s the other side:

The entire garland is wrapped with orange lights.  It looks amazing at night.  But you will have to wait to see that after the party (or at the party if you are a guest!).  I’m not spoiling all the fun… there are a few more surprises in store for the porch.  However, they won’t be added until right before the party.   You’ll have to come back to see the rest of the spooky details!

The outdoor decor continues in the nearby graveyard… stick around, there is more to come! :)