Category: Halloween

11 Unique Things to Do in Ohio in the Fall

9/26/2020

I am a true Ohio-an. Born and raised in Northern Ohio!
While true that I have left it a lot to go explore, and at times live in different places around this incredible world, I always end up back here.
There is just some kind of a pull, an invisible almost magnetic draw, that ensures I will always return to Ohio.
My family is definitely a huge part of it! My immediate family, as well as my huge extended family that I seem to run into anytime I leave the house.
But there is something else, something I have only begun to realize as I got older and spent more time away. Ohio is a very special place, and now that I am back for good, I want to share with everyone why Ohio is so amazing, and tell you all the great places and experiences that can be found here!

Today I will be talking about Ohio in the Fall, because having spent the last 3 falls in the South, I am even more excited about being back in Ohio during my favorite season!
I personally think that Ohio is the absolute perfect place to spend your Fall, whether visiting for a short time, or if you live here!
There is something just perfect about Ohio in the Fall, a combination of the leaves changing, the absolutely perfect Fall weather, the abundance of Fall activities, and a feeling in the air that you just can't describe.
So here are the 11 coolest most unique things you can do in Ohio in the Fall!

1. Get scared shi*less at the Mansfield Reformatory.
The Mansfield Reformatory is so freakin' cool I don't even know where to start! It is a historic prison that you can take a tour of, or just wander around at your own pace. And Shawshank Redemption was filmed here, so it's a must-visit just because of this! Because of how haunted it is, they also have a haunted house here, paranormal explorations, and you can even spend the night locked in a cell! Read about my time at The Reformatory.
Where it's located; Mansfield, Ohio

2. Experience the craziest little bookstore you will ever see.
A1 bookstore is a tiny, crowded, insane little bookstore located inside A1 Towing, on the little backstreets of Navarre, Ohio. It is definitely an experience! Spend hours digging through towering piles of books and crammed bookshelves, to find that perfect book to cuddle up with in front of a roaring fireplace, cup of hot chocolate in hand (am I the only one who just got super excited thinking about this?!).
This little place is so off the grid, they do not have a website, so just plug the address in your GPS and have a fun little road trip!
6067 Navarre Rd, SW, Canton, OH 44706
(330)477-0908
Where it's located at; Navarre, Ohio (I know the address says Canton, but I consider it Navarre :P).

3. Visit Mohican State Park.
With it being the "Canoe capital of Ohio" Mohican State Park is most popular during the summer months, but it definitely has a lot to offer during the Fall months as well! Zip lining, horse back riding, camping, and cabin rentals, just to name a few! The gorge is also an amazingly beautiful thing to see! Or just go for a drive, and witness the splendor of an entire forest's leaves changing color.
Where it's located at; Loudonville, Ohio.

4. Get lost in a corn maze/Get scared in a corn maze.
With Ohio being a very agricultural place, not only is it gorgeous in the Fall, but all those corn fields make for some excellent corn mazes! We have an abundance of family friendly corn mazes, and also haunted corn mazes! Let me tell you, if you've never been to a haunted corn maze, it is a Fall Bucket List must!
Since we have such a large plethora of corn mazes, here is a site that you can search by location for corn mazes, both haunted and not.
Where it's located; All over Ohio.

5. Eat a cinnamon roll the size of your face at the Cinnamon Face Place.
Ok, it's not really called the Cinnamon Face Place, but that's what we used to call it back in the day! I didn't even know the actual name of this place and had to look it up today for this article hahaha.
Simply Cinnamon prides itself on having huge cinnamon rolls, and at only $3.25 a pop, these face-sized babies complete with a flavored latte will not disappoint your basic Fall instincts.
Where it's located; Bolivar, Ohio.

6. Visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
While not a football fan, I do know that football and Fall go hand in hand, and what better way to celebrate Fall than to visit the Football Hall of Fame!
I've only visited here once. I helped set up the event space for when Dan Marino came, and that was super cool, because I am not a football fan, but I am an Ace Ventura fan! It was a very cool space, and I definitely recommend it for football fans. Book your tour at the Football Hall of Fame.
Where it's located; Canton, Ohio.

7. Visit the Wayne County Fair.
Since the Wayne County Fair is Ohio's foremost agricultural fair, it makes for a really cool Fall activity. Fair food and 4-H projects, what can be better?! Check out all the scheduled events happening at the Wayne County Fair.
Where it's located; Wooster, Ohio.

8. Take a lantern ghost tour of Zoar.
Zoar is a small community of less than 200 people, founded over 200 years ago. It is rumored to be quite haunted, and having worked at a restaurant there, I can confirm such rumors are true! Although I wanted to, I never went on the lantern ghost tour because I would get out of work too late, but am looking forward to joining this year! While you're there, be sure to eat at The Firehouse Grille, where I used to work at. It is super haunted! And while you're there, ask if the hotel in the same building is open to the public. It wasn't when I worked there, but I got to crash there on Halloween night after our Halloween party, and had quite the haunted experience!

9. Drink a hot coffee and eat an adorable Fall themed homemade pastry at McB Cafe-Cup of Joy.
I am writing this post from my comfortable corner table, and as I'm lazily watching the locals sit and relax in this absolutely adorable and cozy little cafe, I have no trouble believing their motto that "It is all about community." I am imploring you this Fall to ditch the 'Bucks, and spend your coffee money at local owned cafes that have ten times the character, and are supporting other local small businesses, and the community. Like McB Cafe.
Where it's located; Brewster, Ohio.

10. Catch a once in a lifetime interactive performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Watching a live performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show should be on your Bucket List anyways, so while you are living it up in Ohio for Fall, you must see it at The Canton Palace Theatre! The Historic Canton Palace Theatre is completely breathtaking-it's worth a trip there just to see the gorgeous interior! The annual Rocky Horror Picture Show showings occur every October for Halloween, and includes live actors on stage acting along with the movie being projected on the screen, complete with prop bags and lots of interaction! It is a can't miss! Get your tickets now!
Where it's located; Canton, Ohio.

11. Visit the Factory of Terror Haunted House.
While I may be a bit biased (I worked here for several years), saying that the Factory of Terror is a three time world record winner speaks for itself! This one of a kind Haunted House is more than a mile long, and consists of five crazy unique attractions. These include an insane mirror maze, multiple completely different themed houses, and even a bar! You can't miss the Factory of Terror during Fall time in Ohio. Read my article I wrote about working at the Factory of Terror.
Where it's located; Canton, Ohio.

So be sure to plan some fun activities in Ohio this Fall!

Peace Love and Ohio in the Fall
Jess <3

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The Munsters Halloween Costumes

10/31/2016

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Happy Halloween to all!
I hope you all had a fun, and a safe Halloween weekend, and a great actual Halloween today! If you're looking for more Halloween fun, you can check out all of my Halloween posts today, since you probably won't for another year!
So who's dressed up for work today? Well I'm not, because my Monday job is this blog, and I'm sitting at home in my pajamas :)
If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you'll probably have seen me and the husband's Halloween costumes this year, they were a huge hit! Here's some pictures of us...

We dressed up as Lily and Herman Munster, from the 1960's tv show, The Munsters.
If you've never watched it, we highly recommend it! It is now on Netflix, so there's no excuse to not watch it!

Here are some more pictures, just for fun's sake!

We went with the black and white version, since that's the version you see on the show, since it is in black and white!

Here's how I made my dress! I bought this dress (I think it was an old wedding dress) from Salvation Army, and this sheer blouse also from Salvation Army. I cut the sleeves from the blouse and attached them to the dress, then cut up the rest of the blouse, to make the "wings" that you see hanging from the sleeves. I had some black fabric laying around (any self respecting crafty lady does!), so I cut it up and sewed it to the dress, and voila! This gorgeous Lily Munster dress! I already had the bat necklace (because why wouldn't I).
Nick's costume was pretty easy. He already had the black pants, and we bought the sweater and jacket from Salvation Army (of course!). His head is a plastic piece that we bought from a local Halloween store, that he attached with latex.

Happy Halloween loves!!!

Peace Love and The Munsters
Jess <3

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DIY Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett Couples Halloween Costume

10/3/2016

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DIY Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett Couples Halloween Costume

Happy Halloween you guys! I hope you've been enjoying the Halloween theme going on here, all over my Instagram, and over at my Etsy Shop also! Just in case you missed it, last week I posted a guest post from The Haunted Housewife about how to make your own Halloween inspired hair candies. Likewise, she featured my post, 7 ways to make your home Halloween ready on her blog!
I will be continuing the Halloween madness today, with this post about how to do Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett hair, makeup, and outfits, for your couples Halloween costume this year!

Makeup
We're going to start with the makeup! Here is a tutorial I did, about how to do both Sweeney Todd, and Mrs. Lovett makeup.

The finished makeup for Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett!
And now on to the hair, because let's face it, the hair basically makes Sweeney Todd!

Sweeney Todd Hair
We were lucky, because Nick's hair was just perfect for Sweeney Todd hair. And yes, that is his real hair! His hair is super thick and wavy naturally, so we didn't have to do a lot to it. Just teased it a bit, until it sat exactly so. We pinned the top part back, so it wouldn't fall over. If your man's hair isn't thick and wavy enough, curl it, and do some serious teasing. We also bleached a section of his hair, so he actually had the blonde strip in his hair. He loved it and actually kept it for almost a year!

Mrs. Lovett Hair
My hair also worked pretty good for Mrs. Lovett hair. It was a little bit longer than hers, but I didn't sweat it.
The night before, I put my hair in really tight curlers. You want tight curls. The next morning after taking the curlers out, I positioned my hair into two high ponytails. Position them a little lower than the height I have them. Once both ponytails are in place, get a large hair clip, and flip the ponytail over the top of your head, then clip it at the base and over a bit, so the ponytail will fall over the clip, and it will cover the ponytail holder, and looks like the above hair. Then you are going to tease your ponytails like crazy. Mrs. Lovett has crazy curly hair. Once it's teased to perfection, hairspray to hold. If you have red hair, lucky you! You're done. If not, you need a red spray in color. These are very easy to find during Halloween.

I used this stuff from Hot Topic for my hair, and i would never use it again, and never recommend anyone to use it! Ever! The color turned out fine, as spray in colors go, but this stuff was a complete disaster. It got onto everything. I washed my hair three times and it still wouldn't come out, so I had to wash it a couple times with dish soap! Then, my shower had a red tint to it for weeks, until I finally had to bleach it to get it off! It stained the seat in my car, my bathroom counter, and the shirt my husband wore! Disaster! *Ok, end rant!*

The clothing
I admit it, I thought the clothing would be very hard to find, but it turned out to be so simple! It really just takes some imagination. I took some time studying various outfits worn by both Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett, and formulated what I thought would be great costumes for us. We used a couple things we already owned, and found the rest at the Salvation Army during their 50% off Wednesday. You can't get cheaper Halloween costumes!

Sweeney Todd Outfit
Nick's Sweeney Todd outfit was beyond simple. He started with a white t-shirt he already owned, that looks like it has blood splatters all over the neck (I believe he got it at Hot Topic a long time ago), it was perfect. Over that, he wore this long sleeve, collared, white button-up that we got at Salvation Army for a couple dollars. You want it to be a little baggier, especially over the arms. Over that, he wore a really good-looking brownish/greyish vest that we also found at Salvation army for a couple dollars. He still has this vest because it's so nice! Finishing up his look, he wore a pair of black pin-striped dress pants that we got at (you guessed it) Salvation Army, for (you guessed it) a couple dollars!

Mrs. Lovett Outfit
Mrs. Lovett's costume is a bit trickier, but just as do-able as Sweeney Todd's. In the movie she has a couple different outfits, so I kept those in my mind when we went to the Salvation Army and found exactly what I needed to make my own version of all her outfits. The skirt and the corset are the focal points of her outfit, so I was so glad to find this perfect skirt at the Salvation Army. It was the perfect color, design, and length.

I found this great top, complete with ruffles, at the Salvation Army, and cut the top off, because I didn't want the bottom part to bunch under the corset.

I then layered a black corset I already owned (and an extreme push-up bra!) over top of the long sleeved shirt.

And to complete my look, I couldn't believe my luck when I found these shoes at The Salvation Army! How perfect are they?!

Oh, and we found this straight razor at Sally's Beauty Supply. It added a little something don't ya think!

What are you going to be for Halloween this year?!

Peace Love and Sweeney Todd
Jess <3

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Guest Post; DIY Haunted Hair Candy

9/26/2016

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"Behold, DIY haunted hair candy for those of us that adore that spooky-chic look all year round."
Hello everyone! Today I am very excited to be teaming up with my blogging friend Samberlina Rodriguez, over at The Haunted Housewife! She's super cool, and I absolutely love her blog, which is full of Halloween inspiration all year round! You can find out more about her at the bottom of the post, but for now, let's get to crafting!

"As much as I love Halloween, the hair goodies and jewelry that you find during peak season are plastic, and not meant to last more than one night. I’m also not a fan of the color orange, especially right next to purple and black. Am I the only one? Anyway, moving on."

What You'll Need
Affiliate links, please view the disclosure policy!

-hot glue gun (or soldering iron if you like to live on the edge. We’re playing with metals on metals today, so I think it could work. Solder at your own risk!)

For the bat headband:

-headband blanks, $4 for 12 of them.
-bat charm, $2.85 each.

For the spider pin:

-bobby pin blanks, $5.58 for 10 of them
-spider charm"

What You'll Do

"This tutorial is incredibly simple, and is as easy as gluing your charm onto your blanks. Take your headband blank (or blanks), the ones I’ve chosen came in a pack of 12 from amazon. For the bat ornament, you’ll need to curve it to match the headband’s curvature. If it’s not curved enough, it will likely pop off after you glue it in place. Soldering ensures it’s there to stay forever, but solder at your own risk! Today, I prefer to glue it and see how that works out for the long haul. Glue your headband to the bat, you’re done! It took me a couple tries to get it right. Be patient! When you’ve succeeded, you’ve got a beautiful bat headband (or several bat headbands) to wear all year round!"

"How epic is this headband? Comes out to $3.18 each!!!"

"Now for the spider pin, you need to pick up some bobby pin blanks that have an area for you to glue your spider on to. These I found on amazon as well and were an add-on to my order and super cheap."

"Then, I picked my favorite spider charm from a seller on Etsy, and that’s when the magic happened. Simply glue and go! The spider pins come out to an awesome $4.51 each. They cost more than the headband, but this spider is my favorite and worth the extra cost, in my opinion."

"THESE ARE SERIOUSLY SO EASY AND AWESOME. YOU COULD MAKE THESE TO GIVE OUT TO YOUR FRIENDS WITH THE SAME STYLE, OR EVEN SELL THEM. I’VE SEEN THESE HEADBANDS GO TO $25 ON ETSY, WHICH IS OUTRAGEOUS IF YOU’RE A CHEAPSKATE LIKE I AM. I COULD MAKE NEARLY 8 OF THEM FOR THAT PRICE! ENJOY!"

Yay! Wasn't that great?! Thank you so much Samberlina, for that great post! You can read her original post here.

And today over on The Haunted Housewife, she will be posting a guest post from me, called "7 Ways to Make Your Home Halloween Ready". Go check it out!

"Samberlina Rodriguez is the creep behind The Haunted Housewife (http://www.thehauntedhousewife.com); a blog dedicated to the strange and unusual with a feminine twist. When she isn't haunting her humble abode, she's busy obsessing over beauty products, out chasing kitties, or making a mess with glitter. You can find her on Instagram, @hauntedhousewife."

Peace Love and Haunted Hair Candy
Jess <3

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How to Throw a Medieval Themed Party!

6/27/2016

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This year my wonderful mother turned 60 years old! Since 60 is a pretty special milestone, I wanted to do something extra awesome for her, so she would remember it for the rest of her life. We are both obsessed with the t.v show "Reign", which is a show about kings and queens, and castles, and the like, so I decided to make her "Queen for a day!"
Here are pictures from our Medieval themed party, with lots of tips and D.I.Y that you can steal for your very own medieval themed party!

First things first, you gotta set the scene! I absolutely love themed things, and to pull off a themed thing successfully (whether it be a wedding, room decor, an outfit, or a party), people must know immediately, what the theme is! As soon as people enter the room, they should think that they are in a castle! We took it a step further, and made it so as soon as people pulled into the driveway, they knew they were about to enter a castle! We did that with this incredible drawbridge that my husband made out of some scrap wood from his work! Here's how we did it!

My wonderfully crafty husband just got some scrap wood from work, picked up a saw, and cut a person-sized door our of the wood! Keep the door so you can lay it on the ground, and connect some chains to it, to make it look like a draw bridge!

The drawbridge chains are just black construction paper cut into strips, then linked and taped together. You know how you used to make paper chains in school! For these, just make sure the strips are wide, so it looks like thick chains.

Nick picked up cans of black and grey spray paint for just a couple bucks each, and spray painted it to look like blocks.

We also added some "torches" to either side of the gate.
These torches are super simple to make, and look so good! We made a bunch and also used them inside the house.

These torches are super simple to make! All you need is; black construction paper, red and yellow tissue paper (we got these at Dollar Tree for only a dollar each), and scotch tape and scissors!

What to do; Cut one black piece of construction paper into a square, so you can roll it into an ice cream cone looking tube, then tape. The top should be a large hole, with the bottom coming to a point, just like an ice cream cone! Then take both colors of tissue paper, and shove them into the top hole, fanning them out to look like a flame. You can also place battery operated tea lights on top of the flames, to make it light up!
Now for the inside of the house!

Those walls!
The walls were one of the most important elements of the decoration, because that's what hid our modern day dining room walls, and turned it into an ancient castle! It even helped hide the living room and the kitchen.

We bought a roll of grey plastic table cloth from Party City, and me and my sister used permanent markers to draw blocks. We just rolled out the tablecloth and drew yards upon yards of this, so we could make sure every wall was covered. When it came time to decorate, we just measured out the lengths horizontally, cut the rolls, and taped them to the walls with heavy duty tape!

We cut a couple pieces of the table cloth and hung it vertically from the ceiling to hide the living room. We also taped purple and gold plastic tablecloths to the ceiling, and tied it with lace to act as "curtains".

Here are some more of the torches we made! Taped to the interior of the castle walls.

Lots of pearls (from our wedding. You can buy strands of them from Oriental Trade or JoAnn Fabrics), candles, lace (also from our wedding), fake coins and jewels (bought from Dollar Tree for only $1.00 each)! Also, mounds of moss (bought from Dollar Tree!), gold vases (these were from my cousin's wedding. She just spray painted old vases from thrift stores), and golden chalices!

Golden chalices!
These goblets added great medieval flair! Plus, we made enough for everyone at the party, so everyone got to drink in medieval style, and! Had a great party favor to take home with them!

We went to the Salvation Army and bought glass goblets for $.25 each. They were all matching except for my mom's, which was huge and very Queenly!

Nick took the glasses outside and spray painted them to perfection with gold spray paint (just don't paint the insides-you don't want your guests drinking paint!).

After the goblets dried, I got to work with my hot glue gun, gluing "gems" (we got a bag for $1.00 in the craft section of dollar tree!) onto them!

The results of these under $.50 each handmade goblets? Royal, and super fun! Check out how much fun everyone was having with theirs (ok it probably helped that they were filled with booze!)!

Well I guess this brings us to the costumes!

Since I wanted my Mom to feel like the Queen she is, I rented her this stunning Queen dress, complete with this gorgeous tiara! I rented it from an amazing party store in the Canton/Akron area, Akron Design and Costume. This place is the coolest costume store I have ever seen! And it's open year round!
I also gave her beautiful earrings and a necklace, from Eden.

I also bought this Knight's armor vest from Akron Design and Costume for only seven bucks, and forced my dad to wear it for a little bit (look how thrilled he is about it)!

Those great vests and jester hats you see being worn by everyone? I made them so everybody could feel involved with the theme! I was so glad I made these, because it was a blast seeing everyone get dressed up, and get involved in the theme! Here's how to make your own jester hats and vests, for less than $5 for everything!

Let's start with the vests!

At the Salvation Army (love that store!) I purchased a large red tablecloth, and a large piece of yellow fabric, for only two dollars each.
It's important to get two different colors of fabric, so you can make the crosses on the vests.
All you need to do is; lay the fabrics out on the floor. Cut the fabric into strips. Make the strips wide enough to go from shoulder to shoulder. You can make them as long or short as you wish. The yellow ones are shorter because they were for the girls, and plus the fabric was shorter. Then measure from top to bottom, and side to side, to get to the exact center of the vest. That is where you cut the neck hole! Just fold it in half, and cut a half circle to make it even. After you have done this to all of the available fabric (except for a couple small strips), it's time to make the crosses!

Cut out crosses from each color of fabric, and hot glue (it's faster than sewing!) it to the opposite colored vest!

The crosses make such a difference, and really make it look like a knights vest!

And now for the Jester Hats!

All you need is green, yellow, and purple construction paper (we just bought a large multi-colored pack at JoAnn Fabrics and used that for all construction paper needs!), and scissors and scotch tape!

Cut the different colors into shapes shown above. The long yellow strips are for the band. You will need two strips per hat. The green and purple triangles are for the hanging pieces. They do not need to be pointy at the top, because the yellow circles will be taped onto the tops of them. You will need two green and two purple for each hat. You will need four yellow circles per hat.
Tape two yellow pieces together for the band. You can measure your head for reference. I made varying sizes of hats. Then alternately tape the purple and green pieces to the inside of the yellow band. Add the yellow circles to the top. Bend the green and purple pieces slightly, to make them bounce around. They look so cute!

Now that your home and your guests all look like they belong in Medieval times, what are you going to do to keep everyone occupied?
Since my mom's birthday was in February and it was pretty cold, we didn't want to do a lot of things outside. So here's what we did for entertainment!

We took pictures of everyone!
I cut the center out of a large poster board that I got for a dollar at Dollar Tree, decorated it, and wrote the occasion on it (Ellen's 60th!). When people came in, and after they put costumes on, we took a picture of them holding the "frame". It was a fun way to get pictures of everyone that came, and turned out super cute!

The giant mace pinata!
This was also my husband's idea, and he made it perfectly!

He first blew up a giant balloon we got at Party City, and then mod podged pieces of scrap paper over it. He did one layer, leaving a small space empty at the bottom of the balloon.

While we left the first layer of paper mache to dry, we made these little spikes you see here. We made them by cutting out, rolling, and taping together, cones of black construction paper. Leaving a small flap of paper to tape onto the balloon. Once all spikes were attached, Nick did a second layer of paper mache, going over the flaps. Once that layer of paper mache is dry, it's now time to pop the balloon, from the small empty space you left at the bottom. Then take it outside and spray paint it black.

We filled the pinata with cut up pieces of tissue paper (leftover from the torch flames), and plenty of candy and fake gold coins.

We also had jousting tournaments to keep everyone amused!
We got these great little swords at Party City, and everyone had such a blast fighting with them!

Other activities included; dancing to medieval music (just look it up on youtube!), and playing Taboo (cuz Taboo is just awesome!).

Here are more photos of the party.
"Jewels" for everyone. We got them at Dollar Tree.

To make this throne, we just wrapped my silk bed sheet around an armchair.

Hahaha my Dad is the greatest.

I hope you enjoyed looking at our Medieval Party Pictures! We sure had a blast doing it, and so will you!

Peace Love and Medieval Times
Jess <3

7 Ways to Make Your House Halloween Ready!

10/5/2015

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Hello ghouls and ghoul-etts!
The Halloween Season is upon us!
Cult Classic Horror Films, the Monster Mash, Blood, and Haunted Houses are here! I am so excited!!! Is your house ready? Well, here I have for you my 7 tips for making your house Halloween ready! Yaaaay!

Before you do anything, first you must turn on Pandora, and turn it to "Halloween Party" Radio! This is the greatest collection of Halloween, and creepy music! Coin Operated Boy, Thriller, Nightmare Before Christmas, even Witchy Woman by the Eagles, and I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow, how cool! And of course, Little Shop of Horrors!
So turn on the music, get in the Halloween Spirit, and start decorating!

Candy Dishes.
During Halloween you absolutely must have at least one candy dish sitting around!
For something very different and cool looking, I use record bowls!
Check out how groovy they look!

I actually make these awesome record bowls, and you can buy them on my Etsy Shop, only $13.99 for a set of five!

Fake spiders and skulls!
Fake spiders and skulls are great, inexpensive ways to add a little spooky-ness to your house!
I bought this skull (the eyes light up and change colors!) at Dollar General a couple years ago after Halloween was over, for only $5.00, and my husband bought a pack of fake spiders this year at Dollar Tree for only a dollar!

Zombie Sheets!
This is one of my favorite way to decorate for Halloween, because they are so versatile! You can put them on your bed, on your couch, or even on a chair! Take a look!

We used the sheet and two pillowcase set and arranged them on a chair, to get this chair to be the focal point of our living room!

Throw the Zombie Sheet over your couch to get this simple and awesome look!

And here are the sheets on an actual bed!
I hand paint these great sheet sets, and you can purchase them starting at only $49.99!

Creepy Pictures.
Holographic Halloween Photos!
I don't care if these things are cheesy, I love them!
We have three of these in our house! We bought two of them at Dollar Tree for a dollar each, and I bought the other one at a flea market.
Etsy is also great place to find creepy paintings and prints!

How to make a creepy standing figure.
I love this little guy! He's super creepy, and super cool!

-Get a tall lamp stand, and take the light bulb and shade off of it.
-Get a long dress or nightgown (I had this when I worked at the Factory of Terror. I got it at Goodwill for a couple bucks after Halloween was over a couple years ago).
-Leave the dress on the hanger, and hang it over the lamp stand.
-Get any mask that you have laying around (believe it or not, we already had this mask!), and place it over the top of the lamp stand, so that it covers the hanger.

And there is your super cool and super creepy standing figure!

^^^Having trouble finding Halloween decorations you like? Check these out!!! ^^^

Take a look around your house for things you can re-purpose and make into Halloween Decorations.
Me and my husband are both very kooky people, so we used a lot of items that we just happened to have laying around; they weren't even originally for Halloween decorations!
So take a look at some of the things we found and used for our decorations, and see if you have anything similar laying around that you can use, or think of your own original and crazy ideas!

-Mannequin Heads
I own two mannequin heads. Don't ask me why, but I love them! I use them when I'm vending at a festival to show off my headbands, and I just leave them around the house 'cuz I think they look cool!
You can find mannequin heads at beauty supply stores, or get one from someone who attended cosmetology school.

-Old Suitcases
I got mine at a thrift store, and my sister bought me one from a vintage store. They were already out in my living room, so I just put a mannequin head, a fake hand, and some fake cobwebs on it to make it look creepy and old.

-Fake Cobwebs
There is no easier way to Halloween-ify a room than with fake spiderwebs! We bought a pack at Dollar Tree for only one dollar! And that one pack went far! Just pull it apart, and put it everywhere!

-Old dried roses
I dry all the flowers that my husband gets me, and they look great put into a vase and set out with all your Halloween stuff.

-Black Roses
We used fake black roses for our wedding, so we just dug out those!

-Old Pictures

-Posters from haunted houses, bands, and concerts.
I have posters from when I worked at a haunted house, and my Misfits poster that I mounted on an old frame.

Now get to thinking of your own terrifying creations!
Have a blast!

Peace Love and Halloween
Jess <3

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Happy Halloween!!!

10/31/2013

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Hey everybody, thank you so much for all of your support and love on this blog, you mean the world to me, and make such a difference!
I know that my posts have been a little scarce during October (they usually are, due to me working two jobs during Factory of Terror Season), but you guys stayed with me, and kept reading anyways! You are AWESOME!
So to thank all of you for being amazing, once November starts, I will not only be posting a lot more, but I will continue with my "Money Management Mondays" and "World Changing Wednesdays" bi-weekly posts! Yay! PLUS! My next post will be informing all you wonderful people on my tricks "How to not get sick this winter!"
Well I think that's it for now...

Happy Halloween from My Peace Love Life!!!

Peace Love and Halloween
Jess <3

Psssst!
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*Free Shipping!
*10% of your entire purchase goes to charities that help make this world a better place!
*Free Record Bowl with $50 purchase!

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Outfit of the Week; Halloween Costumes! Yay!

10/13/2013

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My second Halloween in China, with my adorable friends (we didn't have costume shops, so we improvised, and every costume was made from my own wardrobe)!

Halloween is comin around the corner (yay!)! So I have for you a special Halloween edition Outfit of the Week!!!
Have you picked out your costume yet?!! For those of you who haven't, I've gathered up some pictures (ok a lot of pictures) of my various Halloween outfits over the years for inspiration! I hand made a lot of my costumes, which is super fun to do, and even the costumes you can see that I bought, I found a way to make them mine. And that's the secret to looking awesome (and not spending hundreds of dollars) on Halloween; make the costume yours, with clothes you already have, random makeup, hair accessories, jewelry, and a lot of imagination!

I was a babydoll! This costume was made completely from stuff I already owned and I loved it!

A kitty kat! I bought the tail, ears, and gloves.

A Vampire! My first Halloween in China, and once again it's completely home-made.

Me and my friend. A frog, and a pumpkin! I was living in Colorado at the time, so we wanted to be warm. Haha I loooved these costumes!

Sailor Jerry Pinup Girl! I bought the costume at a Garage Sale for 75 cents! Then I added my own stockings, garter, red lipstick, and Sailor Jerry Bottle to make it my own!

Me and my Mad Scientist Boyfriend

I found this child's Batman costume at a thrift store! And I loved it!

Me as the Grudge at Factory of Terror

Happy Halloween all!

Peace Love and Halloween Costumes
Jess <3

How to Make the Most of the Haunted House Experience!

10/2/2013

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As most of you know from a couple of my posts from last year, I am an actor/breaker at the Factory of Terror Haunted House in Canton, Ohio. I looove my job there! I get paid to scare people all night! It's a complete blast.

guiness book of world records haunted house

The Factory of Terror in Canton, Ohio holds the 2010-2011 Guiness Book of World Records for the longest Haunted House in the World!

This is my third year working at the Factory of Terror (F.O.T), so I've spent a lot of hours (over 250 actually!) inside the haunt, a lot of time scaring people, and a lot of time observing the people who walk through. It is because of all this observing, and knowing how a haunted house works, that I decided to write; "How to Make the Most of the Haunted House Experience!" How to have a great time, be safe, and not bother other customers!

Me at this year's Factory of Terror Haunted House

#1. Go into it with the right mindset.
I can definitely tell the difference between a group of people who are coming through with the mindset, "This isn't real, it's not scary, I'm not scared." And the group of people who get all excited, even though they know it's not real (obviously!), and come through with a good, and excited attitude. The good attitude group has SO much more fun than the other group! Even if they're not terrified, if I scare them, they'll jump or scream, then they'll smile and say "That was awesome!" and continue on their way! The group with the bad attitude, just walks through not even trying to get in the spirit of things, and gets mad when they do get scared!
Just go into it with the right mindset. You came here to have a good time didn't you? So don't go into it as a grumpy pants!

#2. Don't walk too fast.
Sometimes I'll have people walk through my room so fast, that I don't even have a chance to jump out and scare them! If you're walking so fast that you can't even see the different set-up of the rooms (which are AWESOME!), or get scared in every room, that's no fun!

#3. Don't walk too slow.
I know we've all had the experience of going to a Haunted House, and halfway through, getting stuck behind a slow group. It's the worst; you're forced to walk super slow behind a group of people that you don't know, and worst of all, they get all the scares!
So be courteous and don't walk so slow that you back up the whole house.

#4. Get lost in your imagination!
When you go to a haunted house, you will have a much more enjoyable experience if you let your imagination go wild! Really get lost in your imagination, and the scenes created for you in the haunt! It really is a whole experience, so get into it! It is SO much more fun!

and finally
#5. Don't be rude.
To the groups in front of you, the groups behind you, or the actors! You are paying us to scare you, so why would you get angry at us when we do our job?! Most nights we see over 2,000 people walk through, so trust me, we have heard every obnoxious, rude, and disgusting comment you could think of. Just play nice, we're all trying to have a good time! (:

I know that this is the 2012 trailer, but it is so awesome! Check it out and see how amazing F.O.T is! You can see me at :56, and 1:26, and above!

Peace Love and Haunted Houses
Jess <3

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Zombie Rockabilly Photo Shoot

2/27/2013

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Last week, me and the boyfriend were lucky enough to be able to take part in a couples rockabilly zombie photo shoot! It was freeezing out (below 20 degrees farenheit plus a very strong wind), but we got into our best pinup/rockabilly gear and braved the cold! The pictures turned out phenomenal, totally worth almost getting frostbite!
Here's some pictures from the shoot!