Gothic Chic

"Stop decorating!" says dear husband. He loves it, really. Our house has been chaotic this October with all the out of town trips, so I didn't really get a chance to go crazy with the Halloween decorating. But I did get to decorate the fireplace mantle. I used stuff from around the house to create something I thought was pretty cute and just spooky enough. I always use the Ouija board and an owl or two. My favorite part? ... the dead roses! I bought my favorite [orange with red tips] a week before I decided to decorate and let them get good and dead. If you plan to do the same, make sure you water them and let them bloom fully to create a beautiful, gothic look. If you don't let them bloom, they die closed up ... so sad! I also really like to use real pumpkins in my mantle display. I do, however have a ton of fake-out pumpkins that I use elsewhere.