sitting in a tree...

spider tree

i've always been a huge. we're talking big. fan of halloween trees. i love their spookiness. their sparseness. overall, they're just rad.

so i did a version of my own tree. i've unintentionally accumulated a huge amount of spider-y things. (maybe it's because they seem to be the cheapest...hmmm) so naturally, i decided to make a spider tree. it's actually pretty creepy.

 since the spiders don't show up well in photos (they do in real life, believe me...creepy...), i took a closeup of them in another room-green seems to show off their figures...

i had a really hard time taking a pic in front of the mirror (see below) so i thought i'd give you another view of the vignette...

 

 

and since we're doing closeups. here's another one. i loooovvveeee this...a lot.

here's a quick breakdown:
i bough the cool black urn-ish pot at a yardsale for .50. it needed a little paint touch up and some de-spidering (ironically)-but that was it.
i didn't have any floral foam in the house and i wasn't about to start a plaster project late at night (i have to get up ssuuuuppper early) --most of the halloween tree tutorials online mention using one of the two above. instead, the boss suggested that i cut up an old pool noodle and stick it in the bottom of the pot. which i did. brilliant.
i covered the base with used tissue paper (eww.no, the wrapping paper kind...), and then used moss (dollar tree) to fill in the gaps and hide the tissue.
i picked up a small multi-colored pack of those little spider rings (the kind that already have some black ones).  i pulled out a decent handful and spray painted them white. i cut off the little ring part and wrapped black thread around their tummies. and voila...an ornament.
the larger spiders are from halloweens past.
the decor in my living room is b/w so i already had this white skull (from michaels) that was waiting for a home. the cool black frame was similarly hanging out..waiting to be of use. i typed up "eek", using my favorite font, american typewriter,
and
holy freaking craft, people, a halloween vignette.


things i've learned:
1. i *might be a little nervous for christmas. lady m is more than intrigued with the dangling spiders. she takes them off-and occasionally puts them back on. i put a christmas tree in every room. i'm not sure if they're all going to survive the holidays.
2. halloween trees are tricky, i think. they're so bleak that you feel the need to over decorate them. i know i had this problem when i started out. there was practically everything but my freaking kitchen sink on the tree. ultimately, i'm glad i simplified.
3. taking a pic with a mirror in the scene...holy cow. ridiculously challenging. how do you guys do it? i wanted a front on pic but didn't want to show up in the mirror...