Wow! Where does the time go? I can’t believe we’re starting on our annual Halloween set up this week! I mean, I can believe it because we’ve been working on certain display elements for the past couple of months, but still to be emptying out the space in the Garden Rooms and watching the black curtains go up seems almost surreal. And so exciting! Halloween is my favorite holiday to set up at Roger’s Gardens. It is completely different from year to year and it’s so amazing to see it all come together. From conceptual discussions, to elements being created to physical installation, it is quite a transformation.

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As I write this we just finished up day two and already the walls are getting covered with different fabrics per room, temporary walls have been installed that create the vignettes, and fun sized candy bar wrappers litter the floor (yes, we work for chocolate). There are only a few times per year when we all work together in one area so we have a good time while a lot gets done. Tricks as well as treats are plentiful. Things like discovering a (plastic) cockroach sitting in a pool of paint in the paint tray I’m using is a normal occurrence. (I painted eyes on it and was looking for the next victim when it mysteriously disappeared. I sense we’ll meet again once more).

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It’s all hands on deck. Even a certain holiday buyer couldn’t resist getting in on the action! Here she is demonstrating her mad painting skills.

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This year the theme is Night Gallery, an art gallery that has taken on a life of it’s own. Each area represents an installation of work from an assortment of eccentric, manic and crazy artists. This gives us the opportunity to let go and create amazing things, so much fun! Here’s Emily getting ready to start on a project after accidentally getting purple paint on one of her hands. She wasn’t too happy about that.

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Here are some things Chad and I have been working on in the background. This is all going on while we also take care of our normal day to day tasks, so it can get a little crazy but it all works out in the end.

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So that’s week one. Whew, and we’re just getting started! If any of you are new to our Halloween displays or missed it last year, you can take a look at last year’s blog posts starting here. And stay tuned, I will be posting more as we go along and maybe even throw in a DIY or two. If you have any questions or just want to know how we did something that is shown please leave a comment and I’ll answer or post about it. Until next time….keep your eyes open for a particular cockroach running around that answers to “Crazy Eyes”!