Halloween Rocks!

My fall decor is morphing into Halloween decor.

It might have something to do with the giant spider hanging from my next door neighbor’s porch.

Or the pleas of my littlest decorating helper:  ”Put out the spooky stuff!”

So, that’s what I’ve been doing.

So much for my plans to decorate my porch for fall, then do it all over again in a week for Halloween. I’m doing a fall/Halloween hybrid decorating scheme on my front porch. Bad, bad blogger!

I’m still working on the spooky fallish scene — gotta get some mums, for one thing — but I wanted to show you a few tidbits leading up to the big reveal.

Like these handpainted Halloween rocks.

I don’t have a tutorial for how to make these because I didn’t make them. My mom did, so I’m going to have to guess at the steps.

1. Sneak over to neighbor’s yard under cover of night and snatch river rocks from his ditch.
2. Stuff rocks in pockets and walk back home with an air of innocence.
3. Concoct cover story about needing some late-night fresh air, just in case you run into said neighbor or others during nighttime covert ops.
4. Paint festive, but not too spooky, Halloween scenes on rocks, using acrylic craft paint.
5. Seal painted rocks with spray acrylic.
6. Stash the evidence at your 6-year-old grandson’s house.

Trick or Treat? Or a box of rocks?

Don’t even think about busting this pumpkin.

A spooky cemetery scene.

I think rocks are an unexpected decor element. And I’m all about the unexpected, especially when it comes to decorating for Halloween. In fact, I used rocks in my holiday decor last year, too. I sprayed some river rocks with chalkboard paint and wrote spooky messages on them:

Then, I lined the steps with them, warning trespassers and Trick-or-Treaters.

And in case you’re wondering, I did not steal these rocks from my neighbor. Or my mom’s neighbor.

Nope, I filched them from my son’s collection. He was not happy to see that I’d painted some of the souvenirs he brought home from our family trip to the river! Does that make me a bad mommy? Or a creative crafter?

Be sure to check out my fall mantel and my fall dining room tablescape. And check back later this week as I reveal more of my Halloween front porch decor.

And I really do think Halloween rocks. It’s one of my favorite holidays!