The Secret to Writer’s Block: Fashion Post Two

Diving into Decorating as a Distraction 

Using Halloween Decorating as a Distraction from Writer’s Block

I love Halloween. It brings together a lot of my favorite things - friends, family, fall, and football (Florida-Georgia weekend- Go Gators!). Plus, I get the opportunity to become someone completely different for just one night. Every year, my husband and I celebrate Halloween in different ways. We’ve been terrified in haunted houses (see my travel blog on Halloween Horror Nights), given out candy, enjoyed ghost tours, and dressed up for costume parties. This year, Halloween will be a little different (thanks COVID-19), but I still enjoyed decorating for the occasion and thought that I’d share some of my favorites. And before you ask why I decided to put this post under the fashion - decorating is basically just fashion for your house. It changes with the season, it shows a sense of personal style, and you should throw things away if you haven’t used them in two years (just like that dress that you used to think was cute that’s still hanging in the back of your closet).

So why do people like to decorate? Decorating allows you to express yourself. It lets you show off your creative side and your personality. Let’s bring this back to the fashion of Halloween- costumes! Decorating yourself is the same as decorating your house. My favorite costumes every year fall into two categories: over-the-top realistic and uber-creative. My personal favorite over the top costume belonged to my husband the year we decided to go as The Joker and Harley Quinn (Jared Leto & Margot Robbie versions). I had fun wearing the bleach-blonde dipped in blue and pink wig and enjoyed all the accessories to go with it, but had the most fun with my husband’s costume. See, that version of The Joker has a lot of tattoos. ALOT. And guess who the temporary tattoo artist was? You guessed it! I spent over three hours drawing replica tattoos for about a four hour party. But I loved it! I got to express myself in a creative way and had a blast doing it.

It also brings me to the second main reason that people love to decorate. It is a great way to show off your sense of style to friends and family. I cannot tell you how many people talked about my husband’s costume that year. It made me proud of my effort and made it even more worth it to me. It’s the same with decorating…the same with fashion... the same with writing. People want their good work and their taste to be recognized and it makes them feel good when it is.

My personal style of decorating for Halloween combines cuteness with touch of scary and a whole lot of fall colors and accents. The nice thing about using a lot of fall accents is that even when Halloween is over, those items can stick around through Thanksgiving. It makes all the work of putting everything together that much more worth it.

Here are some ideas of things that make a ton of impact for a lot less money and less storage space:

• Pillow covers: This one is a favorite of mine. The covers take up very little room for storage, are easy to clean, can often be used inside or out, and can be found for basically any season/theme that you can think of.

• Window clings: These are super for storage because they are so thin and basically any theme that you want exists. The best thing about window clings is that they come with so many for so cheap! It allows you to put a ton all on one window or share between a few. It’s also a really fun thing for the kids to get in to the holiday spirit.

• Salt and pepper shakers: Hear me out on this one. You don’t actually have to use them as salt and pepper shakers. They are just small little things that can accent the rest of your decor. I like them because there are so many different styles, themes, and colors to pick from. (I have used them in all of the indoor pictures for these posts- I bet you didn’t even notice the acorns or poison bottles).

• Flowers (silk or real): Flowers are a great way to tie in a color story or a theme. Both silk and real flowers have their pros and cons. Silk flowers: They last forever, can be found in ANY color you can imagine, and take less upkeep. However, they typically cost more and take up quite a lot of storage room. Real flowers: They are beautiful, smell great, don’t have to be stored, and are typically cheaper. However, they don’t generally last very long and have to be purchased repeatedly. If you are going with silk flowers I recommend getting one stem at a time and using a high percentage coupon at your favorite craft store or buying them after the season for the following year. If you are getting real flowers: black calla lilies, sunflowers, or roses in different fall colors work great too.

• Pine cones or leaves: I live in Florida, so I prefer to use the fake ones here (otherwise, who knows what bugs might come crawling out and I prefer only fake bugs in my house for Halloween). These both make great fillers for vases, bowls, and table centers. You can also buy scented packages of both if you want a little more fall to tantalize your senses (shout out to my brother who especially loves the cinnamon).

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Regardless of which theme or color scheme you choose, make sure that your choices represent you in some way. Show off your style, your creativity, and your sense of humor. If you are like me, you’ll enjoy the fashion side of things and that in itself will be an inspiration to keep writing. 

So, the next time that you feel like writer’s block is keeping you from finishing your story, try a little decorating as a distraction instead. 

I hope that these ideas help you to break through! 

Found a great source of inspiration or a distraction that works for you?  Let me know!

Still getting writer’s block?  Tell me how I can help!