Halloween Decorating with Canvas

by Karen

2010-10-28 00:00:00

Ever since Martha Stewart put out that first Halloween issue of her magazine, decorating for the spookiest of all holidays has become Serious Business. When I was a kid, pumpkins on the front porch and jack-o-lanterns grinning through the windows were the only decorations we had. Ah, but then that was well before the time when discount stores realized that they could sell twice as many strands of Christmas lights if they covered the bulbs with plastic pumpkins, bats, or candy corn.

Since then, decorating for Halloween has escalated to the point where it’s almost as popular as decorating for Christmas �" and there’s just about as much paraphernalia available. Crash-landing witches, pneumatic ghosts, jack-o-lantern leaf bags, lights that spell out ‘Boo!’ through your window; it’s all good fun, and the wide price ranges mean you can spend as much or as little as you want. What you don’t see that much of, though, are Halloween decorations for inside your house. Sure you can toss some black crepe paper around and burn some candles, but where are the really creative and unexpected ideas for decorating your walls?

Where, I ask you, is there any mention of things like creepy Halloween portraits and spooky photo to canvas art?

Nowhere that I saw.

Could it be? Has Canvas Press actually scooped Martha Stewart? All I can say is that a quick visit to her website turned up black paper shadows and candle templates that throw spooky shadows on the wall, but so far, no mention of Halloween canvas art.

Apparently - and amazingly - Martha has not yet discovered all the extremely cool ways you can spook up your interiors with printed canvases. Allow me to enumerate:

Creepy Old Portraits: In almost every haunted house movie I’ve seen, the walls are lined with old and somewhat sinister looking portraits. Usually these are of long-dead family members, some of whom may still be haunting the halls. Most 19th century portrait photos �" usually of dour, unsmiling people �" look a little creepy anyway, and as 16 x 20 canvas portraits, a few of these on your walls with the lights turned low would definitely set the Halloween mood. You can find 19th and early 20th century photos in antique stores. Select a couple of the creepiest, scan the images and have Canvas Press do the rest. I expect they’ll be a hit at your next Halloween party (and then everyone will want them.)

Creepy New Portraits: If you want a slightly more humorous twist on the old portraits, make your own ‘old photographs’. Put on an old-fashioned collar and a stern expression and have a friend or family member take your picture from the chest up. Use a graphics program to make the image look like a 19th century photo. Once you’ve done that, have it transferred to canvas. Hang up your new portrait for Halloween and you can haunt your own house!

Other Ideas: Even if you don’t go the truly spooky route, you can still have fun with Halloween portraits. Is there a picture of the whole family on the wall? Why not take an exact replica photo �" everyone in the same position, even the same clothes �" but all of you wearing Halloween masks, or even made up like zombies, then have the new picture printed to canvas. Hang it in exactly the same place as the original portrait and watch your friends and family do double-takes as they walk by.

These are only a few of the fun ways to decorate with printed canvases. If you’ve got an idea for your own Halloween photo project, visit www.canvaspress.com and see how we can help. Better hurry and do it before Martha finds out!