A Halloween Banquet Table - Pin It Do It

by Bex

Inspired by yet more Pinterest images, I've been beavering away making more things for our fabulous Halloween party in a couple of weeks.  I'd seen some Halloween fangs sprayed silver and used as place name or napkin holders.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/250794272972437631/

http://pinterest.com/pin/515591857309226551/

I decided to make some for food labels on the Halloween banquet table but wanted to make them glittery!  I bought some plastic fangs in Asda for 10p each and some spray adhesive (£2.99).  I sprayed one side and sprinkled them with various Halloweeny colours of glitter and left to dry before doing the other half.

I did also use some old pewter spray paint on a couple but wasn't thrilled with how they turned out - it was a bit watery and despite 3 coats they weren't amazing.  (Does spray paint go off?)  I was super chuffed with my glittery ones though.



When telling Roz about the pewter ones she suggested using some red nail varnish on the tips to look like blood - a fantastic idea and I think they look fab now!

For the labels themselves I used the die-cutter Mum bought me for Christmas last year and cut out various colours of card which I'd printed using the same fonts as I used on the invitations.  Speaking of which - I've framed the ones I kept to use as decor on the night...

After sticking the labels on and setting them up for a photo, I wasn't overly happy with them.  Then I remembered a trick Mum showed me using an ink pad around the edge of the paper to give it an old, spooky look.  I took the labels off, added some smudges and re-stuck them and now I'm much happier with how they look!

I used the same technique to make a teenie label for my Potion Ingredients...

I also printed a piece of card with the words 'Banquet of the Dead' to go in this fab orange frame from Ikea (the same as we used for our table numbers at our wedding but they now do them in colours as well as cream) for just 99p.  I also stamped my fabulous camp skeleton again as used in the invites.  I think this needs the same treatment with the smudged edges though...

There are obviously other things to go on the table - a tablecloth, various gory foods and Halloween tableware - but my favourite is this fantastic candelabra which I found in a rather horrid but fantastic trade shop near us called Flowerscene.

It was a bit damaged on the stem so I asked for a discount.  I ended up getting it for a tenner!  Yay!  I also got a 4 pack of black candles for just 99p.  (This is also where I got the spray adhesive from but I had to return the next day in my lunch hour to swap it as the nozzle was missing, very annoying!  The customer service is shocking - I didn't even get an apology and when I came back to the till with my replacement the guy had his back to me, I asked if it was OK just to take it and he just grunted and nodded without even turning round!)

I got the gorgeous little pumpkins (or "Decorative Gourds - Inedible") from Whole Foods Market.  I'm hoping they'll last until Halloween but these 3 cost about £3.20 in total so I will buy some more if they don't.  In the meantime they make for lovely Autumn decor instead of a vase of flowers.

I also have a brilliant ceramic Halloween bowl on witches feet which my Mum bought me a few years ago!  It's so cute, it's probably what I'll put the 'caramelised rat brains' in ;)

Ooooh I can't wait to put it all together and see how it looks on the night!