Halloween in the Baker’s Rack

Happy Halloween from my collection of jack-o-lanterns, ghosts and black crows!  I wish I could warn you that they are all quite terrifying…but actually, they are just a fun, cheerful little group!

Take, for example, this charming fella, Mr. Ghost, welcoming with you with arms wide open and a very happy, un-ghost-like smile!  Courtesy of one of my favorite thrift shops, it’s not Halloween until he comes out. 

Much like Mr. Ghost, many of these little characters are thrifted.  If they did not come from a thrift shop, they came from a craft fair.  Some from as many as over 20 years ago

Mr. Ghost is sharing the bottom shelf with a wooden jack-o-lantern, a ‘harlequin’ jack-o-lantern, and a sign warning of frost soon. 

So far, we have already had two frosts, and more are certain to come!  All 3 of these pieces are from a craft fair. 

The middle shelf is back-dropped with a couple of carved wooden pumpkins.  I found them in Menards last August (2021), and I was so antsy for fall, I just had to have them. 

Even if our new house (the Dupont house) was torn up, dusty, and chaotic, I was going to celebrate fall, one way or another!  All during the renovation work last fall (2021), they sat on the kitchen stove.  If the construction guys moved them off the stove, I put them right back on there.(You can read about our 7 month journey moving from San Diego, CA to Fort Wayne, IN here under “Our Story”.)

On the left is another happy, smiling ghost, accompanied by his sidekick, a happy smiling jack-o-lantern.  I checked the backside because I could not remember where I found them!  Target!  And the price tag reads $1.99.  That alone tells you how old they are. 

The little metal pumpkin on a stand next to them is thrift store find. You can hardly see it, but there is a tiny shelf behind the pumpkin, just big enough for a candle.  Once again, battery-operated tea light candles to the rescue!

On the right, a couple of wood-cut leaves, courtesy of a craft fair.  And then, my happy, smiling black cat.   This cat was a gift from my friend, Diane.  We worked together at the company I just retired from for 25 years, and shared a love for cats (among other things).  There are many friends I left in San Diego that I truly miss. She is most certainly one of them. 

This little cross-stitched star is new, but has found a permanent spot on my ‘favorites’ list. 

Apparently, it got tired of waiting for me to notice it, so it “jumped” into my basket as a friend and I were finishing up at a local thrift shop.  And thank goodness.   I find it utterly charming.  The sampler stitching; the felt pumpkin with leaves and vines; the little plaid ‘patch’ topped off with a button; the little black crow.  I could go on and on (pretty sure I just did).  All this to say, this sampler piece is unique and special to me.

And now for the top shelf. The “Welcome Autumn” sign came from Michael’s several years back. But both the flanking pumpkins came from…yup.  Craft fairs!   

This was the first time that I combined the metal sign with the jack-o-lantern topped with a crow…yet they were apparently made for each other. 

The double pumpkins are always a favorite.  They’re a little bit of a ‘country’ vibe with their leaves, checks and raffia bows. 

That winds up our little tour of Halloween in the Bakers Rack.  Here are a few before and after pictures showing some of the changes we made to the Dupont house.  In a nutshell, we repainted the interior of the house, and add crown molding and baseboards. We also removed most of the flooring, except for the kitchen and breakfast nook.  We liked the existing engineered wood, so we extended it into the family room, living room, and hallway.  The 3 bedrooms got all new carpeting. 

I took this picture standing in the back corner of the breakfast nook. From her you can see past the kitchen and into the family room and the fireplace. The flooring was already in place in the kitchen and breakfast nook; we extended it out to most of the rest of the house.

This listing photo is taken from the same position, and shows a bit of the kitchen, and into the family room and fireplace. The doors in the short hallway house the washer and dryer. You can also see where the family room originally had carpeting.

I took this picture standing in the family room, in front of the fireplace, which you can just barely see in the first picture. I am looking back towards the breakfast nook. You can see how we extended the flooring into the family room.

This is the listing photo, standing in the family room in front of the fireplace, looking out towards the breakfast nook.

One of my favorite things about Halloween is the trick-or-treaters!  At Red Shutter Cottage, we hung ghosts from the tree, monsters from the roofline, played a spooky music tape, and had a strobe set up on the ghost tree.  It was fun!  And I always bought way more candy than I could ever give away.  But sadly, it won’t be like that in our new home.  We live on a gravel road with 3 other houses, that dead ends at the end of our property.  I practically bribed our neighbors across the ‘road’ to bring over their little ones so I can hand out SOME candy!  Still, I have great memories of Halloween; here are a couple of Halloween posts from years back.    A Fun Halloween Mantel; 2016 Halloween on the Front Porch; 2016 Fall & Halloween Kitchen Tour. 

Happy Halloween from the Dupont house!

Kristine

I am sharing at these link parties:

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia  Inspire Me Monday  //    Between Naps on the Porch Monday Metamorphosis  //   A Stroll Thru Life Inspire Me Tuesday  //   Follow the Yellow Brick Home  All About Home   //    My Family Thyme Tuesday Turn About   //   Eclectic Red Barn Wonderful Wednesday   //    Karin’s Cottage Linky Party  //   Our Hopeful Home Vintage Charm Party   //   French Ethereal Share Your Style   //   Vintage Home Designs Fabulous Friday   //    Country Road 407  Farmhouse Friday  //