Halloween Decorations 2007

We've been preparing our house for Halloween over the last three weekends. The first weekend we took care of the porch. Deep red mums. Pumpkins. And a leaf mask. I get lots of questions about the source of this mask, so I'll fill you in on the story.

Before we moved to New York we used to attend the most wonderful Halloween party hosted by Chris and Lisa Clark. It was for grown-ups only and everybody dressed up. Everybody. There was good food and a big roaring fire. Christopher would always tell the story of the girl with the black ribbon around her neck. And he would ask Ben to read something by Edgar Allen Poe. We miss this party. And I confess, Ben and I haven't dressed up for Halloween since we moved here.



I made this leaf mask (and its partner) for one of those parties. I'll be honest, they weren't much of a hit — Chris and Lisa's friends are much too clever to simply wear masks — but the leaf masks have proved to be fantastic and long-lasting Halloween decorations. I put them together at least 10 Halloweens ago, with newborn Ralph on my lap while I was hot-gluing, and they're still going strong.



The instructions were from the October 1997 issue of Martha, and happily there are instructions on her site. I made two. One for me and one for Ben. I used artificial leaves, and on one mask I had the glossy side of the leaf facing out, on the other I used the matte side. One feels more masculine and one feels more feminine — when my girlfriends need a last-minute Halloween costume, they always borrow the matte one with softer colors.

In the past they've hung from shutter doors or rested on a stack of books. Sometimes they adorn a pumpkin as part of a centerpiece. At this house they live on the front door, back-to-back, inside and out, to greet you as you come and go.