PopBetty

A Love Letter to Pop Culture

Halloween Week 2011: Arachnophobia Party Concept

by

The Concept

When I saw this cocooned man (also below), I knew I had to do a spider-themed Halloween post. I’ve titled it the Arachnophobia party concept, in honor of the Jeff Daniels movie (I’ll never forget those pulsing larval sacs), but it could easily be a Black Widow party, or for the nerdy, a Shelob’s Lair or Aragog’s Nest party. Repetition is key here: you need a volume of webs, fake spiders, and ensnared victims to get visitors’ skin tingling.

The Host

Spider Party

Simple costumes are better if you’re hosting. Just dress in all black and add some of the following spidery touches:

Other ideas include drawing a spider on your mouth to go with the eye webs, gluing fake spiders onto your face and neck with eyelash glue, and creating a black widow-infested beehive per the urban legend. Martha Stewart also has a spiderweb shawl, a sock spider costume for babies, and a black widow spider costume for Fido.

[Read more…]

Halloween Week 2011: Autumnal Options

by

Not everyone wants spooky, Halloween-specific decorations. People who consider Halloween a one-day holiday and people with conflicting religious beliefs may prefer more neutral seasonal options. The following decoration ideas are dual purpose: suitable for Halloween without being restricted to it. They’re also not scary, a bonus for households with small children and easily unnerved adults (ghastlier options will follow, of course).

Note: Almost of all of these are D.I.Y., and if you click on the link you’ll get a recipe or tutorial.

Bronze & Gold Decorations

Bronze gold autumnal

My favorite type of autumnal decoration uses and mixes warmer metallics, like bronze, gold, deep orange, even purple. It’s a rich and elegant look. Credits row by row, from left:

[Read more…]

Welcome to Halloween Week 2011!

by

Vintage Halloween Witch by Gil ElvgrenWelcome to Halloween Week 2011! For the next five days, expect 2+ posts a day featuring Halloween party concepts, D.I.Y. tutorials and ideas, vintage and budget Halloween inspiration, costume ideas, and scary book recommendations. After that, it’ll be back to normal M-W-F, non-Halloween posting.

Some of you may not be too excited about Halloween, and I’ll admit to not being much of a Halloween person myself. But even I had a blast pulling together these posts. In terms of variety and creativity, you can’t beat Halloween crafts & concepts: you have your pick of cute, gross, gothic, and even glam options.

A quick list of my top Halloween resources:

Next up: Halloween Week 2011: Autumnal Options.

Vintage witch pin-up “Riding High” by Gil Elvgren.

Fall Frame of Mind: 4 to 6

by

Just as Miss Moss had to psyche herself up for summer, I’ve decided to do a series of posts to get myself and readers psyched for fall. Think of it as a to-do/photo inspiration list. Here are items 4 to 6:

PopBetty Fall Inspiration - Warm Knits
From left: Toast’s cable knit socks (sold out; link is to a similar item); Yokoo’s The Snow Leopard Scarf.

4. Break out the knits: No more trying to mentally suck in your back fat. Time to don your favorite sweaters, cable knit socks, hats, and warm scarves. You’ll be snuggled and warm, and as far as anybody can tell, shaped like Miss World.

Oktoberfest Inspiration from Joy the Baker, Epicurious, and Design Sponge
Row by row: soft seasoned pretzels with mustard by Joy the Baker; beer stein from Amazon; bratwurst with apples, onion, & sauerkraut from Epicurious (photo by Lisa Hubbard); German chocolate cake from Design*Sponge (photos by Kristina Gill). 

5. Oktoberfest: Getting drunk off beer while wearing a dirndl & surrounded by strangers? No thanks. But a mini-homemade Oktoberfest, with friends & hearty foods (and no lederhosen) sounds like fun. Typical Oktoberfest foods include brats with apples and cabbage, soft pretzels with mustard, German chocolate cake, potato dumplings (knödel), and apple strudel; the beer I’ll leave up to you.

PopBetty Fall Inspiration - Bonfires and Smores
Row by row: Bonfire from Tereasa & David’s wedding, via Martha Stewart Weddings; cooking marshmallow photo from What’s Cooking America; fireplace from Country Living; Pillsbury double-stack s’more recipe.

6. Open fires (fireplaces, bonfires, candles): We made s’mores over the grill this summer, and let me say: cooking over an open flame in July is like standing in the mouth of hell. Never again! But open fires in the crisp fall breeze? Pure bliss. Add s’mores (preferably made with Petit Ecolier biscuits) for maximum effect.

Fall Frame of Mind: 1 to 3

by

I know I said in this post that I was excited for fall. It’s true, and yet…I’m dreading the season too. Not for it’s own sake, but for the cold winter it promises. While I tend to throw myself into fall and winter festivities, it’s largely an act of willful resistance–to the cold, the darkness, and the sense of another year gone.

So, just as Miss Moss had to psyche herself up for summer, I’ve decided to do a series of posts to get myself (and readers) psyched for fall. Think of it as a to-do/photo inspiration list. Here are 1-3:

PopBetty Fall Inspiration - Pumpkin Foods
Row by row: Starbucks pumpkin spice latte copycat recipe by Angie McGowan; pumpkin shake by Martha Stewart; pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and pumpkin spice pancakes by Joy the Baker.  

1. Pumpkin-based foods: Something about pumpkin and its attendant spices says fall in the coziest way possible. I’ve only ever had sweet pumpkin dishes like the ones above; this year, I’ll also try branching out into savory pumpkin dishes like this pasta with pumpkin, pancetta, and broccoli rabe.

PopBetty Fall Inspiration - Pile of Books
2. Reading books under a blanket: Thanks to the Borders’ liquidation sales, and as a former bookseller & a frequent thrift store shopper, I have hundreds of unread books in my house. While I believe personal libraries should have lots of “to-read” books (that way you can shop your own shelves, a wonderful feeling), it’s getting ridiculous. My current goal is to get rid of 50 books by the end of October (donated, posted on PBS, or sold on Amazon). Which means lots of reading to figure out what goes.

PopBetty Fall Inspiration - Halloween
From left: Luella Bartley AW2008 witch from Vogue.co.uk (love the orange tights!), vintage Betty Grable Halloween photo, and Grandin Road synthetic pumpkins (no longer available, but good D.I.Y. inspiration).  

3. Halloween/Día de los Muertos: It’s time to announce it: next week is Halloween Week on She’s A Betty. From Monday to Friday, it will be all Halloween, all the time. I know some of you might not find that exciting, and I hear you–I’m personally not so into Halloween. But even I’ve had a blast assembling Halloween party concepts, costume ideas, vintage Halloween inspiration, scary book lists, and a few original D.I.Y. projects for the occasion. Can’t wait to show you everything!

What about you guys? How are you dealing with the new season?