Halloween at Target and lots of it!

Get ready to see lots of photos! After going to two different Target stores over the past few days, I have a lot to share. Target has some different "collections" of decorations this year. They have a classy black and metallic purple collection, a traditional orange and black collection, and a pretty impressive Day of the Dead collection! And there were lots of fun toy-like items that moved and lit up.

Starting with some nostalgia... I love this mask because it reminds me of my childhood. Do you guys remember those super bright Halloween decorations printed on kind of a cardstock material? These would be from the '80s. I remember a bright green full body skeleton decoration like that and some faces. Well, those are immediately what I thought of when I saw this:

Ah ha! I found a picture of one of those 80s skulls:

Skull pic on Halloween Wizard's blog

There are a lot of skulls on that page, but I'm talking about the first one.

I didn't try to light up these masks, but I'd like to see one in action. It appears they are sensitive to sound. I think this butterfly mask looks like something made to go with a blacklight. Now we're getting into 90s nostalgia!

This a cute new prop: the haunted fishbowl. If you press a button, all these different lights come on and the little skeleton fish move around.

Masquerade birds

These pumpkin pillows were so soft! Like a nice, fluffy blanket. How do you like that Simpsons looking bat?

I LOVE this skull and crossbones. This is the first time I've seen fake skulls go in that piratey direction.

In other new skull news, check out this dragon skull! It said on the tag that it lights up and I think I can see a lightbulb in there.

That red wire or cord looks almost like thin neon rope lighting.

The Wheel of Fate! I like where the hand is pointing now (Treats will be yours), but they're not all good spins.

This thing was massive! We can see that it lights up in purple but I'm not sure if it lights up in other colors.

I liked all the metallic purple accents I was seeing. They had a lot of metallic purple on black stuff.

Check out this Day of the Dead section! I like that they're going in a direction where some of this could actually be used on an altar. The candles and candleholders, for instance.

This wreath was one of my favorite items there. I'm feeling inspired to make something like this.

Some of those little birds Target carries:

Sugar skull dachshunds!

This reminds me of the classic blow molds, only super tiny.

This poison bottle is kind of an old-school liquor jug/bowling pin.

Obviously this spider's legs can be bent down. They look pretty funny like this.

I think these spiders have pretty adorable faces. Their hairdos are adding to the cuteness.

Check out these wicked old school devices! Those specimens in what looks like a mad scientist's lab equipment actually startled me, because they made so much noise. I think the others are pretty fun designs. The boombox brings me back. You can't see in this pic, but if you peel apart that purple center in the phone, there's a big eye.

Here we go:

If you get a chance, give this phone a listen. I think you'll agree with me that it sounds like a close relative to Cookie Monster. The alarm clock opens and rings really loudly. That one was a little much for me. It'll make you jump.

Here's a close-up of that nostalgic boombox. This one wasn't like that crazy alarm clock. It was surprisingly low key in the noise department.

And the specimens! This reminds me of something. A kid's show? I don't know. Somebody help me out here. Do these eyes and teeth remind you of something?

Some big, juicy eyes! I assume these are for sticking on a pumpkin?

More eyes! These were in the party favors section:

One more eye! I can't remember if this does anything aside from glancing around. It reminds me a little of that eye on the spellbook in Hocus Pocus.

I think there's something creepy about a bunch of mascot heads on shelves. I'm reminded of a local costume shop that I don't think exists anymore. It was creepier than this because it wasn't well lit in there. There were rows after rows Easter Bunny suits in there.

I think the cow is kind of cute.

I'm pretty sure I saw this chicken head worn with a full fluffy chicken suit years back, something close to it anyway. A person was doing something like "The Funky Chicken" in this at a street festival. 😁

Funky, tribal pumpkins:

Pretty cute

This one might be on the After Halloween Haul list:

Tiny punk planters! At least I see those plants as hair. I'm now noticing those creeping hand candleholders behind them. They had some of those hands in black too.

A close-up of another punk item: the spiky pumpkin

I'm ending with this Ouija Board tray because it fittingly says "GOOD BYE".  I  can see this tray as holding a number of candles. I think the metallic gold on this tray would look really cool by candlelight.

Do your Target stores have this same general selection? The two I visited varied a bit. One seemed to have more of the traditional orange and black decorations.

I should also mention that now is a good time to visit Target for some discount school supplies/organizers. I ended up with some pretty large plastic magazine or binder holders for only 58¢ each!

Classy Candles and Glittery Gourds!

I have more fall and Halloween finds to share with you guys! My mom and I, while on the search for some clothes for my cousin's wedding, visited a mall that we don't usually check out. This mall has some fancier shops. I was so struck by how well the Halloween items were displayed, that I felt a blog post in the making!

So, we'll start at Bath & Body Works. This mall has White Barn candles included with the Bath & Body stuff. These fox candleholders were the cutest of what I saw there. 🦊

This pretty leaf candleholder looks enameled to me. I just had to check on the name of this candle. It's simply called "Autumn". If you're interested, here's a link to it: Autumn candle. I was surprised to find that it smelled like cider. Looking at the fragrances added, I can see why. But I didn't notice anything like the Eucalyptus or Fir they're mentioning!

A blingy leaf candleholder that reminds me of a crown:

It doesn't come through so much in this photo, but I was trying to capture how well these candles/candleholders were lighted. This store is a cut above the regular Bath & Body Works I'm used to. That's probably because it's a flagship store. I'm not used to seeing their products displayed on dark furniture with built-in lighting.

The "Bones & Co. Apothescary" ceramic shop. That's a perfect theme for something being sold in a Bath & Body Works. 😊  I only just noticed that it's an "Apothescary".  This is from the White Barn brand, so I'm assuming it holds candles.

Big spiderweb candle holders, that I'm sure would look very nice at night.

I'm not really sure how to describe this candle holder. It's one of those things that looks different in person. But it was in sort of an antique lantern or clock shape.

This metallic pumpkin was lit up inside. The light changed colors. I happened to catch it while it was green, but the purple looked amazing.

A goofy skeleton man candle holder:

This little cutie was peering over one of those flameless candles that actually looks pretty realistic. It was one of those where the fake flame actually moves back and forth.

And here's a far away look at one of the displays. I thought the broom and little twinkle lights were a nice touch.

Another store in the mall that was ready for Halloween was Restoration Hardware. If you don't know about this store, there's a clue to what they're all about in the name. The items they sell look like restored old furniture, light fixtures, decorations, and of course hardware.

The entrance to the store was set up to look like a stand at a farmers' market.

Inside the store were the upscale type of decorations I expect from Restoration Hardware. Everything was arranged so nicely.

This is one of my favorite photos from the day. This might need to become my desktop wallpaper. So there were these neat, beaded spiders which casted quite the shadows, a glass skull, and a screened looking candle holder that I'd love to have!

I really liked the way this display was put together. I'm committing to memory how cool it looks to put something glittery and glamorous in a rustic container. It's like wearing blingy jewelry with jeans. It's cool and unexpected. I just noticed the words on the crate. Maybe that's Swedish?

Yo-ho-heave-ho! The skeletons are carrying this... I'm not sure, really. I was thinking this could hold a floral arrangement in the middle of a table. My mom is thinking this is for holding ice. What do you think?

A front view:

I'd seen these very same skeleton goblets (or something very similar) in a Ross store recently. Suddenly, in this classy environment, they looked a lot better! I'd picked them up in the Ross store, and found the grip to be pretty strange. You're basically holding a boney little metal thing, so I wouldn't say it's comfortable. But they're cute!

And last, but not least... Check out this cool witch hat bottle stopper! This is a tempting buy. I didn't even notice those metallic pumpkin stoppers behind it until now. They're pretty cool as well.

Again, this blog post is going to work as a bookmark list of all the cool Halloween stuff I've been seeing out and about. I'd probably think of going back for the fox candle holder and this witch hat stopper. That screened crow candleholder was pretty amazing too.

This will probably be my last blog post for a little while. We'll be flying out to Colorado next week for the wedding, and there's still some last minute stuff to get done. I have in mind one place in Golden Colorado that I'd like to photograph if I see it. It's the Buffalo Rose. I don't think it will be hard to find. I'll try and get some pics of this reportedly haunted bar and maybe write a blog post about it when I return!