Put a Florida-Friendly Spin on Halloween With 'Summerween' Decor
Summerween is fun, colorful and still a little bit spooky.
Image: Ron Genta
Halloween in the tropics might look a little different than the traditional chilly night with hands hugging a cup of pumpkin-spiced something as kids dart door to door for trick or treating. But that’s the fun part. Embrace the palms and beach inspiration to decorate differently. Vampires and mermaids can be friends, and flamingos can certainly be ghoulish.
Don't believe me? Check out these skeleton flamingos from Amazon:
These skeletal flamingos are available from Amazon, or you can paint pink ones to match.
Image: Kim Doleatto
To help me make Summerween happen, I met with Sarasota artist and illustrator Ron Genta of Gentafication Design Services to show me how to do it in fun, colorful and inexpensive ways. A glue gun and fake dollar store flowers are a good place to start. Genta transformed this plain human skeleton from Amazon into a Summerween southwest Florida pirate:
With a glue gun, fake flowers, yarn and other odds and ends, Genta turned this plain skeleton into a Florida pirate.
Image: Kim Doleatto
He also used an old cigar box and painted it in electric purple and orange. Inside is a Day of the Dead-themed cocktail napkin from Party City decorated with fake flowers. Above and on either side of the skull, he used old thrift shop earrings that add glam and depth. Then he strung the back so it can hang as Summerween wall art:
Old cigar boxes or drawers can be repurposed to showcase art creations and hang on the wall.
Image: Kim Doleatto
The skeleton mermaid below is also available on Amazon and received the Genta treatment. A cord running from her hand to her tail makes her hangable:
By gluing on fake flowers, little sea shells and fishnet scraps, transform this skeletal mermaid into a Summerween queen.
Image: Kim Doleatto
Contact Ron Genta for a gallery tour at (941) 321-3351 or check out his Instagram here.
