Season of Screams & Scares

Here at Joy’s Flowers, we are big fans of Halloween … and as the season of screams and scares creeps closer, you might be ‘toiling’ over ideas for a spooky night of fun…With so many houses and gardens decked out with spooktacular decorations, Caoimhe has some wonderful  tips that will make yours a ghostly nightmare….

I have found that the best way to get into the spirit of Halloween is to take a walk up to the spooky surroundings of Dublin’s Hellfire Club.  Built in 1725 as a hunting lodge, this ruined building is perched high on a mountain top overlooking Dublin City. So with my iPod set to Talking Heads ‘Psycho Killer’ myself and Rod head off on our Sunday morning walk.

As we reach the top, Rod continues to sniff every autumnal coloured leaf & tree in sight so I take a seat & start to think about Halloween.  Although there is nothing to compare to the real horror stories from the scary building I am sitting in front of, there are a few things that you can do to create a spooky atmosphere…

Talking Pumpkin

Materials

• Pumpkin
• Solanum Plant
• Florist Knife
• Baby Talking Monitor
• Chinese Lanterns (Physalis) available to buy in Joy’s Flowers

Step 1 

• Carefully carve scary faces or if you’re really adventurous carve a witch or ghost  into the pumpkin  using a florist knife
• For the hair - Cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin, wide enough to fit the Solanum plant container

Step 2

• Place an old baby monitor into the pumpkin

Step 3

• Scatter a few lose Chinese lanterns (Physalis) around the pumpkin to finish off  

Step 4

• Keep an eye out for trick-or-treaters, when you see them approaching speak/scream into the transmitter

Halloween Tree

Materials (All available to buy in Joy’s Flowers)

• Tall birch branches
• Tall clear vase
• Red oak leaf
• Chinese Lanterns (Physalis)
• Skeltons & Spiders (Avaialble from local euro shops)
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors

Step 1

• Plug in your hot glue gun

Step 2

• Carefully arrange a bunch of branches in the vase

Step 3

• Start gluing Chinese lanterns, Red Oak leafs, Skeletons & Spiders to the branches

Step 4

• Display in your window or front porch
• For night time, you can add orange fairy lights to the branches

 

Halloween Ghost

Materials

• 11’’ White Latex Balloons (Available from Joy’s Flowers)
• Glow Sticks
• Old bed sheets/Baby Muslin cloth
• Cat gut/String
• Scissors           

Step 1

• Lay your material out on the table
• Find the centre and cut a little hole to fit the string

Step 2

• Crack the glow sticks to light
• Inflate balloons & place glow stick in before tying
• Tie string around the neck of the balloon

Step 3

• With the balloon attached, pull the string through the hole in the material
• Hang from your front door, window or gates

Have a frightful, delightful and exciteful Halloween…