{"id":19329,"date":"2014-10-15T20:33:22","date_gmt":"2014-10-16T01:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.loraleelewis.com\/blog\/?p=19329"},"modified":"2017-10-29T09:52:04","modified_gmt":"2017-10-29T14:52:04","slug":"bhg-halloween-magazine-loralee-lewis-feature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.loraleelewis.com\/blog\/bhg-halloween-magazine-loralee-lewis-feature\/","title":{"rendered":"BHG Halloween Magazine Loralee Lewis Feature & Top 10 Decorating Tips for Your Halloween Party"},"content":{"rendered":"

When\u00a0Ann Blevins of\u00a0\u00a0Better Homes and Gardens<\/strong> <\/a>\u00a0asked me to create a Halloween Party for their 2014 Halloween Tricks and Treats Magazine<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, I quickly agreed and gave myself two goals\u00a0for the shoot.\u00a0 1) Give readers do-able inspiration.<\/strong>\u00a0 Have you ever saw a DIY project in a magazine and instantly knew you could never do it.\u00a0 \u00a0I wanted the spread I put together to be something that readers would enjoy and could pull off at home easily<\/em>. \u00a02) Have fun.\u00a0<\/strong>This goal was a little too easy to keep. I\u00a0flew in my BFF (the fabulous Alison Daines), we ate a ton of Halloween candy, had our makeup done, and decorated until midnight!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In addition, unlike the stereotype one would think a high powered editor-in-chief,\u00a0 Ann Blevins and her\u00a0team were\u00a0not only\u00a0sweet\u00a0(they pretended not to notice my loads of laundry\u00a0and four children dangling from the banisters), but hilariously down to earth\u00a0as well.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0If I had been nervous, the moment they rang the\u00a0doorbell all stress fell away.\u00a0 <\/em>But going back to having fun and keeping things simple, one of my company<\/a> (and personal) beliefs is that entertaining should be easy…and enjoyed.\u00a0 This is why I try to create products that bring events together beautifully and simply.\u00a0\u00a0With each event I do for my company (or my personal life), I try to live this principle.\u00a0\u00a0I do believe in being thoughtful to create a special experience for guests, but I truly DO NOT believe that general family events (birthdays,\u00a0children’s\u00a0parties, etc.) should\u00a0take\u00a0months to plan…and they should definitely\u00a0NOT end in\u00a0the hostess\u00a0losing her hair, bank account, and\/or desire to ever entertain again.\u00a0\u00a0Complimentary to this goal, you can download all of\u00a0the designs I created for the shoot at www.bhg.com\/bewitching<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here is a peek into the shoot, along with my 10 top tips and resources\u00a0to creating a memorable Halloween Party.\u00a0 Again, you can download all of\u00a0the designs I created for the shoot at www.bhg.com\/bewitching<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0If you haven’t already purchased the magazine, you really should.\u00a0 The other designers\u00a0featured in the magazine, specifically John Coulter<\/a>, AndersRuff<\/a>, and Andrea Hanki<\/a>, will blow you away with their creativity.\u00a0\u00a0 You can find it at almost all supermarkets and bookstores.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Loralee<\/a>

Loralee Lewis for Better Homes and Gardens Halloween Magazine. Download all the FREE printables at www.bhg.com\/bewitching<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Loralee<\/a>1) Don’t be afraid to dress up<\/strong>.\u00a0 “Groan-ups” like to have fun too!\u00a0 Don’t be afraid to ask your guests to come in costume.\u00a0 Costumes are an instant conversation-starter.\u00a0 The costumes featured in this shoot, were provided by the amazing Mandy and Chris of\u00a0Koko Blush and\u00a0Company <\/a>and Victorian Choice<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

2)\u00a0It’s\u00a0all in the\u00a0details.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Details are important.\u00a0 We’ve all seen pumpkins\u00a0on doorsteps.\u00a0 To give it a new twist,\u00a0 I chose mismatching multi-colored pumpkins and stacked them on top of a nest of sticks.\u00a0 I took paint buckets covered with burlap and filled them with sticks\u00a0to give my porch a non-formal spooky feel.\u00a0 I glued hand calligraphy notes by the talented Holly Owens of Owens Quill<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0with\u00a0eerie addresses (Zelda Wolf from Skeleton Creek, anyone?!) onto a dozen crows to give the illusion they were bringing the\u00a0RSVPs and other correspondence to our Witch’s wicked gathering.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Loralee3)\u00a0Amuse your guests.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0I like to keep my clients and guests interested in the party with small details.\u00a0 The favor box I designed (photographed above) reads: Sugar Cookies\u00a0to Lure and Capture\u00a0– Witches Catering Co. – Hansel and Gretel Original Recipe.” \u00a0You can download the box here<\/a>.\u00a0 I filled the favor boxes with tiny cookies decorated with wickedly adorable wafer papers from The Cookie Pixie<\/a>.\u00a0 \u00a0The Cookie Pixie <\/a>offers an array of rats, skulls, bats, and spiders.\u00a0 These small details keep your guests chuckling to themselves and make the atmosphere light and fun.\u00a0 My popcorn boxes (a few photographs below) read: “Wickedly Fresh – Witches Catering Co. – Straight from the Cauldron – Popcorn – Hansel and Gretel Original Recipe –\u00a0 No Preservatives – Beware! May contain nuts and Bones.” <\/em><\/p>\n

\"Loralee<\/a>

Loralee Lewis for Better Homes and Gardens Halloween Magazine. Download all the FREE printables at www.bhg.com\/bewitching<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Loralee
\n4)\u00a0Don’t be scared of a budget.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0I am a firm believer that decorating and entertaining doesn’t have to be expensive.\u00a0 To keep costs low, I have a few tricks.\u00a0 Apothecary jars are extremely popular right now.\u00a0 Especially, the large ones.\u00a0 I choose one or two specialty\u00a0treats that are more pricey (for example, French macarons or the old-fashion licorice twists photographed above) and place them in the smallest jars.\u00a0 In my largest jars, I fill with less expensive items such as: popcorn, flavored marshmallows, candy corn. You still will get the full specialty candy-buffet look without spending 400 dollars at a\u00a0specialty bakery.\u00a0 Another trick I have is to keep guests\u00a0favors in check.\u00a0 (A general rule: The smaller the party the bigger the favor you can give your guests.\u00a0 The larger the party, the smaller the favor.) \u00a0 I purposely have designed all my favor boxes not to be too large.\u00a0 The favor box photographed above holds two truffles to not break your budget\u00a0…\u00a0or your guests diet!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If you are serving dinner to your guests\u00a0this holiday,\u00a0think about soup.\u00a0 Even the most luxurious soups are rarely as expensive as\u00a0main courses. \u00a0You can download the menu I designed at: www.bhg.com\/bewitching<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\"Loralee<\/a>
\n5)\u00a0Upcyle.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Old Halloween costumes often make the best d\u00e9cor.\u00a0 Below I took four sets of black angel wings, I had from years before and used them as chair backers for my dinner table.\u00a0\u00a0 Does your\u00a0daughter no longer fit into her toddler witch boots?\u00a0 Hang them up and\u00a0make them your new favorite Halloween decoration.\u00a0 This works for\u00a0children’s rooms d\u00e9cor as well.\u00a0\u00a0Your daughter’s Halloween costume tiara or glass slipper may be a perfect book end.<\/em>
\n\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Loralee<\/a>
\n6) Have a memorable centerpiece.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0Whether it is on the table or up above (as shown in the photo\u00a0below), it’s always fun to have a memorable centerpiece that will get your guests talking.\u00a0 I decked out my chandelier with sticks from my garden,\u00a0 feathers, and ravens to create a crow’s nest above my guests heads. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"Loralee<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Loralee<\/a>

Loralee Lewis for Better Homes and Gardens Halloween Magazine. Download all the FREE printables at www.bhg.com\/bewitching<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Loralee<\/a>7) Do spend on high sensory items.\u00a0 <\/strong> I\u00a0believe that a well-planned event will touch all your guests senses – touch, taste, smell, hear, see.\u00a0\u00a0 An event is just not about how the table looks.\u00a0 It’s how the food tastes, the\u00a0ambiance and aroma the guests\u00a0experience when they walk in and throughout the night.\u00a0\u00a0 Items that\u00a0heighten these experiences are worth spending money on.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Well-designed paper is obviously one of the items I feel\u00a0is a high-sensory item that brings a lot of fun to an event.\u00a0 Beautifully made specialty cookies and\u00a0dessert items\u00a0also make it on my list.\u00a0\u00a0I had specialty Ruffle Cakes made by the talented Betheny Whitman-Tomseth of The Apothecakery<\/a>. She makes the most gorgeous cakes. \u00a0\u00a0Potion Label cookies made by Lizy B’s Bake Shop <\/a>.\u00a0 They were stunning.\u00a0\u00a0 As well as the breath-taking beautiful goodies above,\u00a0skeleton and witch cookies\u00a0and\u00a0decorated apples created\u00a0by My Little Bakery.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

8) Make non-permanent changes to your home d\u00e9cor.\u00a0 <\/strong>Most of your guests will be family and friends.\u00a0 They have been to your home before.\u00a0 Capture their interest and add surprise to your event by adding little non-permanent changes to your original furniture and\/or d\u00e9cor.\u00a0 With the help of my dear talented friend, Rebecca Heinrich<\/a>\u00a0(if you are not following her already on Pinterest, you may want to start now), we created temporary seat covers using burlap and an iron on transfer.\u00a0 You can find the iron on transfer at www.bhg.com\/bewitching<\/a>\u00a0 Another non-permanent change I did was to my\u00a0 hutch that we utilized as the Wickedly Sweet Witches Sweet Shoppe (aka\u00a0the candy buffet).\u00a0 Originally,\u00a0the hutch\u00a0is plain\u00a0cream.\u00a0 To add dimension (and as a\u00a0surprise for my guests who know my home all to well), I painted a board with chalkboard paint and placed it inside.\u00a0 This made all the candy and desserts pop and was better suited for the season than an all white hutch. <\/em><\/p>\n

\"Loralee<\/a>
\n9) Say No to Gore and Yes to D\u00e9cor.\u00a0 <\/strong>Above all else, a hostess’ job is to make her guests feel comfortable.\u00a0 You never want to make your guest’s stomach squirm or make them feel\u00a0a chill – which can be\u00a0especially daunting when throwing a Halloween party.\u00a0 (We have all seen those\u00a0all-too-real Halloween\u00a0foods on Pinterest.\u00a0 Let’s be honest, just because you pinned it doesn’t mean your girlfriends\u00a0would actually\u00a0eat it at a Halloween party.)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Be careful about your d\u00e9cor.\u00a0 You don’t want to literally scare your guests, especially if you are inviting small ones.\u00a0 I love to decorate for Halloween with whimsical details, but nothing gory.\u00a0 These pillows <\/a>I designed with the amazingly talented Monmell\u00a0Designs <\/a>are perfect.\u00a0\u00a0 Monmell<\/a>\u00a0truly has the best selection of burlap and cotton to hand-craft the pillows Check out their entire line of one-of-a-kind pillows here<\/a>.\u00a0 I am also happy to announce that I will be debuting more Loralee Lewis for Monmell Design pillows<\/a> early next\u00a0year. \u00a0Working with these two talented ladies is beyond a privilege.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Loralee<\/a>
\n10)\u00a0Tricks and\u00a0Treats are just not\u00a0for\u00a0kids.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0I know everyone hates a baby shower game, but there is a reason why we all end up playing them.\u00a0 Guests need things to do besides talk and eat.\u00a0 A Pumpkin Carving contest\u00a0(above) or\u00a0Cackling Contest (below) are a perfect solution at a Halloween event.\u00a0\u00a0 Again, I utilized the talents of my favorite Calligrapher and dear friend, Holly Owens of Owens Quill <\/a>to\u00a0decorate my chalkboard for\u00a0“The Salem Witch County’s Pumpkin Carving Contest”.\u00a0\u00a0 To peak guests interests, I threw a large pumpkin in the middle of the table, raided my knife drawer, and designed a sign instructing guests to “Choose a Weapon.”\u00a0 (You can find the download here<\/a>.) <\/em><\/p>\n

\"Loralee<\/a>
\nBonus Tip:\u00a0\u00a0Bring home a Memory.\u00a0 <\/strong>Make sure your guests do not leave without something to remember the night by.\u00a0 A photo or memento is perfect.\u00a0 I placed a dressed-up skeleton behind a vintage camera (complete with\u00a0a “Smile for the Birdie”\u00a0sign\u00a0in his hand and a crow on his shoulder), and placed a large “Photo BOO-th” to the side.\u00a0 For the photo backdrop, I printed\u00a0skeleton cameos in black and white and\u00a0placed them in old frames I spray painted black.\u00a0 I then took a vintage settee and an array of beautiful props provided by the ever talented Darla Reber and placed it in the center.\u00a0 (A very dressed-up\u00a0diva skeleton kicking up her heels completed the look. \u00a0\u00a0See below.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Loralee<\/a>The above adorable dresses and accessories worn by Vienna and Lily can be found at Koko Blush and Co<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 They always have the cutest stuff.<\/em>
\n\"Loralee<\/a>
\n\u00a0Three dear\u00a0(and physically beautifully) friends, Alyssa Stevens, Colleen Riggs\u00a0and Alison Daines\u00a0volunteered to model for the shoot.\u00a0 They were fabulous!\u00a0 See Alyssa and Colleen below!\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Loralee<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Loralee<\/a>

Loralee Lewis for Better Homes and Gardens Halloween Magazine. Download all the FREE printables at www.bhg.com\/bewitching<\/p><\/div>\n

These beautiful handmade leather masks are available at Sundries and Plunder<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n

Below is my almost-all happy family (it was a long day for these little ones)!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Loralee<\/a><\/p>\n

A special thanks to Ann for the opportunity. Jay for making me look good in print. Mom for being “my girl Friday.” Lee, Darla, and Alison for everything. Rebecca for her time and talents and support. Colleen and Alyssa for being willing and beautiful (inside and out). Holly for writing beautiful things on paper and on hearts. Monmell Designs for being so willing to work with me and the inspirations phone calls. Mandy of Koko Blush and Co. for being fabulous every time.\u00a0 Betheny for always doing the most beautiful cakes. \u00a0Lisa of Blush and Beauty \u00a0for doing our makeup and letting us “old ladies” have fun!\u00a0 Linda for watching my kids.\u00a0 Nadia, Lizy B’s and The Cookie Pixie for the beautiful cookies.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When\u00a0Ann Blevins of\u00a0\u00a0Better Homes and Gardens \u00a0asked me to create a Halloween Party for their 2014 Halloween Tricks and Treats Magazine, I quickly agreed and gave myself two goals\u00a0for the shoot.\u00a0 1) Give readers do-able inspiration.\u00a0 Have you ever saw a DIY project in a magazine and instantly knew you could never do it.\u00a0 \u00a0I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":21006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,1051,1035,1052],"tags":[2028,2029,1743,2043,2045,1887,2044],"class_list":["post-19329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-halloween","category-holidays-parties","category-invitation-collections","category-tutorialsrecipes","tag-betterhomesandgardens","tag-bhg","tag-halloween-2","tag-halloweenparty","tag-magazinefeature-magazine","tag-party","tag-witchestea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loraleelewis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loraleelewis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loraleelewis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loraleelewis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loraleelewis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.loraleelewis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loraleelewis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.loraleelewis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loraleelewis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.loraleelewis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}