I used to believe that a festive home during the holidays meant hauling out bins of glitter, garlands, and greenery. But these days, I’ve traded the storage overload for a simpler kind of joy — one that blends creativity with practicality.

Besides my love of baking, I love painting and crafting. That includes watercolor painting and making all manner of decorations for the holidays. After living in the city for years, and not having room for my supplies, I put that part of myself away for a bit. This post is to share what we’ve been doing more recently. I hope to update it regularly with new artwork and crafts to see what you think. 

Dolores is a “ghost” I created a few years ago to continue building our outdoor Halloween decor. When I decided to make a second Dolores or Dolores V2, I figured I would name her another old fashioned name, like Gwendolyn or Gertrude. Alas, my 8 year old had an opinion, and decided we should name her Zolores. The rest is, as they say, history.

Anyone who knows me, or is one of our neighbors, knows my husband and I LOVE Halloween. Using the word “love” here. Even before we had a kiddo to celebrate with us, we had parties, decorating, visited Salem, MA and generally enjoyed Halloween. Now, with a kid, it’s even more fun. With the addition of getting costumes, trick or treating, giving out candy in a great trick or treat neighborhood, and “booing” which I didn’t know was a thing until 2020, it’s such a blast!