Halloween Decor for Haunted Houses !

Decor for haunted houses

 

How to create a satisfyingly scary experience for kids

 

 

 

This house in Vancouver is decorated for Halloween with an astonishing assortment of carved pumpkins.

Photograph by: Steve Bosch, Vancouver Sun

You may be too old to trick-or-treat, but you can still enjoy Halloween. 

One great way is by setting up a haunted house.

It can be simple or elaborate, mildly frightening or intense enough to send people running for the door. Just know your audience and don't overdo it, especially with little kids. In fact, creating your own haunted house lets you take your children's scare-o-meter into consideration.

The first step: Find a location. We suggest a basement or garage. A basement has more rooms to work with. A garage can be opened to the street, and sectioned off by hanging sheets of black fabric or plastic. (That fabric also comes in handy in a basement, hiding the regular decor. A guy dressed like the Grim Reaper is going to look a little ludicrous lurking between the laundry appliances.)

Decide what your haunted house will include and where each set piece will go. Which corner is best for the casket? Where can Dracula hide? Where will lights be set up? Be sure to have an easily accessible exit (a frightened visitor may want to sprint for the door).

Then the nuts and bolts. If there are props to be built, get started. If you're going to rent a special effect -- say, a fog machine -- get it reserved.

At this point, things can get overwhelming, so recruit help. Friends, neighbours, family are all fair game. Remember, it takes a village to frighten a kid.

Get your helpers to brainstorm and build things, of course, but their greatest value may be as living props. Have them get costumed, slather on makeup, splash themselves with fake blood (do-it-yourself directions at chemistry.about.com/cs/howtos/ht/fakeblood.htm or wikihow.com/Make-Fake-Blood). They can jump out and yell "boo!" at unsuspecting visitors -- especially effective if your setup is partitioned into rooms -- or march zombielike around the layout. For a minimalist approach, they can stand in a corner, motionless, staring blankly ahead.

Now you have to pull it all together. Some other ideas:

Good grave-y: A graveyard out front gets visitors in the right mood even before they enter the haunted house. Dot your lawn with tombstones made of heavy cardboard or Styrofoam. If you want to keep the neighbours talking for months, build an animated tombstone. It takes a little effort, but the results are worth it. Go to instructables.com and do a search for "creepy tombstone." For the ultimate graveyard twist, dig a grave-size hole, just deep enough for a colleague to lie in. Cover him or her and the surrounding area with leaves or straw, and at the appropriate time have your co-conspirator spring from the grave. You'll be surprised how fast little kids can run.

Set a mood: Nothing says spooky like fog, whether it's from a fog machine -- you can buy a cheap one for less than $100 or rent one for even less -- or a dry ice do-it-yourself version. A word of warning: Dry ice is dangerous and needs to be handled carefully by a responsible adult.

Music: At this time of year, even supermarkets sell recordings of Halloween-themed music and sound effects. Get something on the gentle side to give the little ones the willies, then climb the ladder to recordings of moaning, demented laughter, crackling thunder and chain-rattling that older kids can roll their eyes at. If it's drama you want, buy Verne Langdon's Music for Magicians from amazon.com. Save your sanity and avoid recordings of endless screaming. A little of that goes a long way.

Lighting: Spotlights and black lights can make the difference in a haunted house. A judiciously placed red bulb can transform a display from pedestrian to scary. Remember, it's important that visitors be able to navigate your haunted house safely, so make sure there is enough light. It's also smart to have your helpers carry flashlights to guide the little ones.

A science lab: Set up a laboratory -- workbench, creepy lighting, large jars containing body parts (doll heads, arms or legs, mannequin parts, etc.). A lab coat and a fright wig turn a helper into a mad doctor, especially with the right spiel. Have the good doctor pull out a tape measure so the little ones can be fitted for the right-size jar. There'll be no sleeping that night.

Tangled webs: You can't go wrong with spider webs. The store-bought stuff works; just don't scrimp. Little ones will get a kick out of a giant spider web you make yourself with yarn. For older kids and gullible adults, skip the webs and hang lengths of the yarn from the ceiling in dark areas of the basement/garage. As they walk through, the yarn brushes across their faces. Increase the creepiness by wetting the yarn.

Touch this: Set up several small boxes with holes cut in the side, into which visitors reach and feel "body parts." Two jumbo stuffed green olives can serve as eyeballs; cold and squishy cooked elbow macaroni or spaghetti can pass for brains; a large soup bone can be delightfully gross. Nothing feels as liverlike as liver, so include a hunk to increase the ewwwwwww factor. For the last box, cut a second hole on the side opposite the first. Have the helper who is supervising the display surreptitiously reach his or her hand in to touch the hand of the visitor.

Just disturbing: A life-size latex or plastic skeleton can be had for less than $100. Department stores sell them or check novelty and dollar stores for an array of choices, including skeletons that light up. Get three -- yes, it's a bit of an investment, but it is guaranteed to make you a neighborhood legend -- and position them so they appear to be scaling your house.

Check out examples at instructables.com, itsapartypalooza.com and halloweenpropmaster.com.

Simple yet scary.

Happppppy Halloween !!!

Wrap your home in Fall Colors

Wrap your home in fall colours

 

 

 

Evolution And Ethanol burning fi replace by Bioflame, C2 paints exclusive to Walls Alive, Rustic Wood Table Lamp from Country Living Furnishings, Hollow Tree Trunk Stool from Country Living Furnishings,Blissliving Home Corina duvet from Home Evolution, The original Buddha Bowl, from Home Evolution, Le Creuset's cast-iron round french oven, in Cassis.

When the outside temperature starts to drop, it's natural to want to curl up and hibernate.

And by hibernate, we mean wrapping ourselves in wool throws, cocooning in luxurious, high-thread-count bedding sheets and gorging on the hardiest cuisine that fall has to offer.

In the world of home decor, this is all good news for those ready to get comfortable. Interior decor choices are trending toward the rustic side this time of year, with an abundance of natural materials such as iron, natural wood and wool.

For paint directions for fall 2010, look no further than cues from Mother Nature herself.

"Warm greys create a feeling of luxury and can add depth and interest to a room, thereby making it a popular choice. For accents, mustard, rich blues and, of course, deep plum and mauve aren't losing steam any time soon," explains Jocelyn Verweire of Walls Alive, who recommends their C2 paint, a line that Greg Stebbe, owner of Walls Alive, along with a few independent paint dealers, introduced to the North American market with much fanfare.

It has all the qualities that designers and do-it-yourselfers demand, including durability, great coverage, and a colour palette that is reflective of current tastes.

"We track trends within the fashion industry, but also within our customer base. Colours that don't sell don't make the cut, so the choices are very consumer-driven," adds Verweire.

So, while the paint dries, slap on a pair of sunglasses and head out into the sunshine for these last few days of bliss (it's cool today, but the forecast is looking good). After all, it's only a matter of weeks before falling snowflakes will replace falling leaves, the ultimate time to get cosy.

10 Reasons to Care About Affordable Housing

Even if you can afford your own housing, the lack of affordable housing in the city affects you. Here’s how...

• Without enough affordable housing, those in the non-profit sector, education, healthcare, childcare and the arts become the working poor.

“High prices lock out teachers, nurses, mechanics, social workers and many others who are essential to a successful, vibrant city,” says Sharon McCormick, executive director of Attainable Homes Calgary Corporation.

• High housing prices make entrepreneurs risk-averse — taking away from innovation and competition in our small businesses.

Any successful entrepreneur is aware of the financial challenges associated with getting a business up and off the ground, says Carolyn Davis, associated manager of development at Momentum, a local organization working with Calgarians to develop productive futures.

“Without affordable housing options, many of these would-be entrepreneurs are forced to stick to safe choices,” she says. “And that means we miss out on the tremendous economic value that would be created over time. Because rent is so high, making ends meet today is too much of a burden, so [those businesses] never happen.”

• Without affordable housing, newcomers are deterred from coming to Calgary.

“[Housing costs] impact our ability to attract people from different parts of the country, as well as people from other parts of the world,” says Elsbeth Mehrer, manager of Workforce Development with Calgary Economic Development. “If we have people looking to settle here, we want to make sure that there is a continuum of housing available.” The goal is to ensure that there is housing in the city that is affordable at all the available wages offered.

• When housing prices are too high, society’s most vulnerable are forced to choose between basic necessities like food, security, shelter and transportation.

“When housing is expensive, it takes a higher percentage of income or earnings and, as a result, people are left with really tough choices,” says Dan Meades, executive director of Vibrant Communities Calgary. “Because they are spending so much on housing, they can’t afford all basic needs and, as a result, face some unfair choices between, for example, food for the kids and transportation to work.”

• An insufficient amount of affordable housing encourages people to accumulate debt, which can spiral quickly out of control.

Davis relates this point to the bigger issue of financial literacy. “Consumer debt levels are at a record high, but the majority of Albertans don’t have a budget,” she says. “When the bumps in the road arrive, families are not equipped with the skills to budget and refinance … And that puts our entire population potentially at risk for homelessness.”

• Without affordable housing options across the city, people are further from social resources, community support and work.

While some areas of the city are more affordable than others, not having affordable housing options across the city means that the cost is shifted from shelter to transportation — which is both expensive and time-consuming.

“You want to have that mix within communities so people have an opportunity to live and work in the same community. Or, so that someone who may be renting now and has developed support and social networks can remain in or near that community when they purchase a home,” says McCormick.

• Without access to affordable housing, women in abusive relationships are forced to stay in them for shelter.

“The lack of affordable housing or housing options for women is a huge barrier,” says Cynthia Wild, associate director of quality assurance at the YWCA of Calgary. “Women get paid less than men and many women, those who are not working, or those who are immigrants and who are maybe sponsored … they’re just so economically vulnerable that they do return [to abusive relationships] for shelter.”

While emergency shelters provide some time for women to get their feet under them, often it is not enough time and there is not enough room. The YWCA Mary Dover House is an 86-bed facility that provides emergency shelter and transitional housing for women and children. Last year, it served 339 women, but turned away 778 because there wasn’t enough space. If they can’t stay at shelters, women will couch-surf with friends and family until they aren’t welcome any more. Without a network of friends and family they will then choose to stay in or return to an abusive relationship because they have nowhere else to go.

• Without affordable housing, low-income earners are one paycheck away from being homeless.

“People are getting by, but because their housing is eating up such a large part of their income, they are not able to save for a rainy day,” says Michael Classens, strategy lead for the Poverty Reduction Coalition with the United Way. “Basically, it’s difficult to build stability and resiliency against their brushes with poverty.”

• The cost to society for affordable housing is less than the cost of homelessness.

“If we are making the choice of having a family move from being in stable housing to being homeless, the cost of that to society is huge. The other side of that coin is families that are living in safe, stable housing are much better able to contribute to society,” says Davis. In addition, the average homeless person uses $135,000 of public and private funding in health care and judicial and correctional services, while the average housed person uses $2,571 of health care and very little if any judicial or correctional services.

• Affordable housing is a major piece of the complex jigsaw puzzle of poverty

“Affordable housing is one piece of this really big thing,” says Meades. “Poverty is really a complex problem that naturally requires a complex solution. Our efforts will never be completely successful unless we’re looking at solving the whole puzzle, of which housing is one among many pieces.”

Avenue Calgary Magazine

Calgarys Top 5 Best Neighbourhoods For Resale Value

Calgary Real Estate: Where to Buy Now

Calgary's Top 5 Neighbourhoods for Resale Value


There’s no doubt about it: Calgarians love to talk about real estate.


In fact, property investment is a city-wide sport, with somebody being heard at almost every cocktail party telling a tale of their spectacular success. But in the current climate real estate is not necessarily a sure thing, so are there still areas in the city that are a slam-dunk when it comes to making money on real estate investment? Or, better yet, what neighbourhoods in the past few years have had the highest resale value?


To answer that question, Avenue turned to Leger Marketing to crunch some serious numbers. It looked at the median tax assessment increase for condos and single-family homes in every Calgary community from 2008 to 2009, then weighted those with the largest number of properties whose value increased against Avenue’s city-wide survey that asked residents to rate the resale potential and value in their neighbourhoods. The end result from that mind-boggling mathematical equation was a shortlist of five neighbourhoods that stood out as money-makers.


“When it come to our methodology, it’s about as close as you can get,” says Leger Marketing associate vice-president Barry Davis. “What we’re saying is there is recent momentum on property value in these areas.”

Here are the top five.

1. McKenzie Lake

McKenzie Lake stands alone, bucking the trend as the only community in Avenue’s list of top neighbourhoods for resale value that isn’t located smack-dab in the inner city.

“It’s probably one of the best lake neighbourhoods in Calgary,” says Lina Horner, a realtor with Re/Max House of Real Estate. “Its amenities are incredible.”

Indeed, McKenzie Lake is just east of Fish Creek Provincial Park, giving residents access to a wooded area of parks and pathways three times the size of Vancouver’s Stanley Park. It’s also next to McKenzie Meadows Golf Club, and has a man-made lake and island in the centre of the community that are hotspots for fishing and swimming, with a beach that gives the entire area a lake country vibe.

McKenzie Lake is bordered by Deerfoot Trail to the east and Highway 22X to the south, which you’d think would keep people away, fearing the nasty commute that comes from being on the outskirts of the city. But the Shawnessy C-Train station is only a short drive away, along with the accompanying Park and Ride lot, which has 206 parking stalls. That means residents who work in the core can chill out and read the paper as they travel to and from work everyday. “You can be on the C-Train in a matter of 10 minutes,” Horner says.

Top that off with a killer view of the mountains and the Bow River and it’s easy to see why McKenzie Lake is one of the hottest neighbourhoods in Calgary for resale value.

2. Elboya

Elboya has the best of both worlds: it’s close to the hustle and bustle of the inner city, while maintaining a quiet community feeling.

Elbow Drive — one of the community’s main traffic arteries — ushers residents to and from the downtown within 10 minutes.

“It’s a fun street,” says Jim Sparrow, a realtor with Royal LePage. “There’s a lot of traffic, but it’s still only two lanes either way and most people don’t abuse it, speed-wise — and certainly nobody is cutting through Elboya to get anywhere.”

That’s because Macleod Trail, which forms Elboya’s eastern boundary, siphons away most of the traffic, leaving residents in the community with a neighbourhood that is quiet, yet close to the core. That unique street setup has also made Elboya a popular spot for families, who in the past few years have targeted the area as a place where they can buy and renovate the 1950s-style homes that dominate the area to suit their needs.

“Elboya is a mature, older neighbourhood, but a lot of younger families are moving in, which has seen them renovating all of these older homes,” says Michael O’Hara, president of the Elboya Community Association.

3. Lower Mount Royal

Even today, Lower Mount Royal’s historical roots as one of Calgary’s most exclusive residential neighbourhoods can be felt throughout the community.
In the early 1900s, when Calgary was just starting off as a city, the area carved out a name for itself as one of the ideal places for wealthy businessmen to put down roots — it was, after all, close to the downtown. Today, that legacy continues — albeit, in a different way — with a new generation of downtown workers calling the area home, thanks to the number of high-density condos and townhouses.

“It’s mostly a place for younger people,” says Sparrow, referring to the fact 42 percent of the residents in the area are ages 20 to 29. (Other neighbourhoods throughout Calgary average 20 percent in this age range.) But with more than 200 locally owned boutiques and 435 total shops only a short walk away on 17th Avenue, it’s easy to see why Lower Mount Royal is a bustling hub of activity.

“You’re close to all the action. You’ve got all the amenities. It’s just a great place to be,” says Sparrow.

4. Mission

Mission has a message for other communities in Calgary: size doesn’t matter.

As the smallest community on Avenue’s list of neighbourhoods with the highest resale value, Mission stretches only 13 blocks at its outmost boundary, which starts at 17th Avenue and ends when you head south and hit the Elbow River. At the centre of this neighbourhood is 4th Street S.W., a street lined on either side with more than 35 restaurants, as well as a number of trendy pubs, clothing boutiques and specialty retailers.

“For young professionals who work downtown, there’s simply no better place to be,” says Sparrow. “Most people don’t like to work and live in the same area, yet Mission is far enough away, but still close enough to the downtown that you can walk to work, while also being able to enjoy all the shops and boutiques along 4th Street on your off time.”

For this reason, Mission is a haven for condo development, which appeal to upwardly mobile, 30-something urbanites. “The properties in Mission tend to be more expensive than what most first-time buyers can afford to pick up,” Sparrow says.

5. Elbow Park

Elbow Park is home to Calgary’s well heeled, with most homes in the area fetching between the high six-figures to more than $10 million. At that price it’s not an area for property flipping. but if you’ve got the capital it’s a great investment.

“It’s a gorgeous neighbourhood,” says Sparrow. “You’ve got some really spectacular, newer homes and, as the city continues to grow, it’s an area that’s going to become nothing but more desirable.”

Just three kilometres from downtown, and nuzzled between the banks of the Elbow River and 14th Street S.W., it’s easy to see why Elbow Park is a hotspot for high-end property. Heritage homes line the banks of the river, seven parks are smattered throughout the community and the trendy shops and restaurants of nearby Mission are only a leisurely walk away.

But perhaps the greatest quality of Elbow Park is that it’s close to downtown, but still manages to maintain a quiet, forest-like feeling, thanks in part to the 100-year-old trees the line the neighbourhood’s streets.

“That mature vegetation is everywhere, which is something a lot of communities are totally lacking,” Sparrow says.  

Sound advice for property investors

For Don Campbell, author of the best-selling book, Real Estate Investment in Canada, property investment comes down to scouring the market for areas with the perfect combination of economic fundamentals. Here’s what he looks for:

• Target areas where migration, jobs and income will be strong
  When you buy an investment property, you need people to move in and pay down the mortgage until you’re ready to sell. An area known for long-term job and migration growth will give you what you need: renters and buyers.
• Look for areas with transportation upgrades
  Transportation changes often pay off, big time. If you buy within 800 metres of a new LRT line, you’ll traditionally see a 10 to 15 percent increase in value over the rest of the market.
• Take a long-term view
  Never look at an investment from under the lens of a microscope, which means you’re emotionally responding to every headline you read every single day. Instead, you have to look at it through the lens of a telescope — with a five-to-10-year window before you expect to get a return.