Jar Heads…I Mean…Hands

A few weeks ago myself and a few other blog buddies were approached by Coupons.com to do a little sponsor post.  Don’t go running away because I said “sponsor”…this is a doozy of a post!  You’re gonna want to stick around for this one.  They provided us with Sears gift cards and challenged us to purchase something from Sears with our gift cards, use one of their coupon codes since you know, us bloggers like to save money, and create either some fall or Halloween themed decor that could transition into everyday decor.  Not one to turn up a good DIY challenge, I whipped up my first Halloween display of the season, it’s not too early, right?!

And it’s easily the creepiest Halloween display I’ve EVER put together.  Seriously…check out these hands (disclaimer…no real hands, feet or eyeballs were harmed in the making of this blog post…they’re plastic…I swear).

I knew immediately what I wanted to do with my gift card from coupons.com.  That never happens.  Never.  Usually I come up with a few plan options ranging from plan A through plan Z, weigh the pro cons, make a list, and go back and forth for ages before finally deciding on plan Z version 3,486 which came completely out of left field for the win.  I knew I wanted a dining room table full of glass jars, creepy crawlies and other oddities (hello rubber rat fetuses and gooey eyeballs).

I’ve always gawked over all the awesome Halloween jars that I’ve seen on Pinterest, magazines and other such places.  So I couldn’t help myself.  I scooped up a whole mess of the glass jars from Sears (thank you coupons.com).

They’re the Anchor glass jars and come in a range of sizes from 1/2 gallon up to 2 gallon.  Now here’s where the beautiful part of the whole ordeal comes into play…the money saving part.  Confession time…I am not an online shopper.  I hate it.  Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good long online window shopping excursion but when it comes time to actually purchase something online, I balk at the shipping charges…every…single…time.  Even if it only costs $2 to ship the item, or that it’s actually cheaper online.  Doesn’t matter.  I won’t do it.  Please tell me I’m not the only shipping crazy person out there?!  Bueller?  Bueller?  So when I was cruising around coupons.com for a Sears coupon to help me save more money, I came across a free shipping coupon for orders over $59.

Heavens parted, angels sang, and I didn’t get physically sick from paying shipping chargers for my heavy glass purchase (since everyone knows that heavy = higher shipping charges).  Here’s to you Mr. first-pitch-thrower-outer coupons.com.  And now I’m the proud owner of a big ol’ set of Anchor glass jars…currently filled with stuff like this:

Ignore the feet.  They kept floating away and wouldn’t stay in their jar home.  They actually kept popping the glass lid off.  Strong kickers.

How about a few more shots for creepiness sake?

The whole “how’d she do that” for this little decor project was pretty simple and went a little something like this.  1….send husband in search of the Halloween tub that he put away last fall.  2….go in search of said Halloween tub after 30 minutes of husband not finding it.  3….retrieve it under two minutes.  4….set out jars and fill them with random creepy crawlies and plastic hands/feet.  5….Add water and food coloring to hands/feet jars.  And scene.

Can we talk about the creepy plastic feet for a second?  Forewarning….this story is not for the weak of heart or for women who are pregnant, nursing or who could become pregnant.  Consult your doctor before continuing on with this story.

So I had a giant pile of hands and feet that I was working with.  If only I had a dollar every time I said that.  Then this happened.

You may have seen that Goose pic on Instagram (if you’re not following me you should…we’re @angiesroost).  I about died when I busted him slinking off with a foot.  That was after I was utterly and totally freaked out by what he had in his mouth.  But then I realized Goose is a dog.  He doesn’t know any better.  To him, that’s just another one of his chew toys.  It is the same material after all.  And he wouldn’t drop it.  It’s now his favorite “toy”.  Of course I did what any self-respected Goose mom would do and paraded him around the house with his “toy” snapping pictures and showing Colby.

So let’s get back to the little coupons.com challenge.  So remember, amidst my ramblings, that part of the challenge was to buy something to use for fall/Halloween decor that could be transitioned into other seasons.  Well, here’s my game plan for transitioning the glass creepy crawlie jars into everyday life.

Hello glass jar organization!  My kitchen is currently a super mess (and super ugly) but we are planning a big ol’ kitchen remodel this spring and have grand intentions of incorporating the jars I picked up into a little kitchen organization display.  But for now, here’s what I’m using for the glass jar inspiration:

  1. Open shelves with a glass jar display found here
  2. Labeled glass jars from The Painted Hive here
  3. Counter jar display from Better Homes and Gardens found here

I almost started demoing our kitchen after ogling all the glass jar goodness!  I love the idea of using the glass jars as Halloween displays in the fall, then later cleaning them out real good and using them to store things that we use pretty regularly like cereal, pasta or rice.

Pssst…The other participating bloggers include Brave New Home, Embrace My Space, Fancy Free Me, Inside-Out Design, Thinking Closet, Two Live Colorfully, Charming Zebra, Whats Ur Home Story, Dogs Don’t Eat Pizza, and Our Humble Abode.

13 Comments

  1. Love this ghoulish display Angie! And your post halloween use for them is genius. You’ll definitely have to do a followup post and show us your transition.

  2. Oh Goose, too funny! I just got a jar like this as a wedding gift, sadly I wasn’t quite as creative…I filled mine with a couple stands of the fake leaves. I might have to go a little more creepy crawly!

  3. Brilliant idea to use glass jars as a way to transition your home to fall! So creative, Angie! (Ha ha, love that pic of your dog!)

  4. Awww, cute puppy, he looks guilty.

    Great looking Halloween display, although I will say the feet are just a bit much for me! lol

  5. I love your super creepy tablescape! It’s awesome!! Great idea with the jars. I love tons of clear glass jars as storage in the kitchen. It’s fun to see what everyone did with their gift cards! 🙂

  6. That picture of Goose is absolutely perfect! (You need to frame it.) And I love your creepy buffet–my kids would be all over it.

  7. OMG! That is a creepy display. And the Goose pic is perfect. I was also laughing at the, “1….send husband in search of the Halloween tub that he put away last fall. 2….go in search of said Halloween tub after 30 minutes of husband not finding it. 3….retrieve it under two minutes. ” part. Same story at our place too!

  8. Haha, yeah, those are pretty creepy, Angie! I think you tackled this challenge just perfectly. I can’t wait to see how you transition these jars after Halloween. Thanks so much for participating—that was a lot of fun!

  9. Holy feet! I loved this. Of course, I found it extraordinarily creepy, but – hey! – that’s the whole point. And I cackled when I saw Goose with the foot in his mouth! Awesome. Serious awesomeness. Love it. And now I’m off to have bad dreams about dogs carrying feet. 🙂

  10. Okay, that is a seriously awesome Halloween display. Love that it’s gory, but not scary. And you get to use the jars for whatever you want after Halloween. You totally rock!

  11. Super creepy, Angie! So perfect for Halloween. I laughed out loud at your husband trying to find something for a half an hour and then you finding it in 2 minutes. Sounds familiar, except Matt doesn’t have the stamina to look for something for that long 😉

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