Decorating With Paper Halloween Mice

October 24, 2011

Using black paper mice for cute Halloween decor!


taking carpet of stairs

Well, you knew it had to happen…the mice are BACK!

Technically, I think they’re called rats:

That’s what Martha Stewart calls them anyway. Or maybe they are mice? Who knows.

I just LOVE THEM.

I got a little, teensy more creative with them this year…a couple of them are checking out the kids:

 

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience.
I may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links. 
See my policies and disclosure page for more information. 

And a few are rocking some sparkly witch’s hats:

I cut the hats out with my Silhouette, but they’re looking a little more like floppy beach hats then witch hats. Oh well. I still love them.

These cute mice cut outs are from an old Martha Stewart line, but you can find them way cheaper on Etsy

A few of you have asked if our stairs match the new hardwood floors:

mice silhouettes on stairs

No, not well. :)

The stairs are Bombay Mahogany (red) and the floors are Jacobean (brown). But I’m not complaining! I still love them both so much it hurts. ;) Someday I’ll have the stairs sanded down and restain them, but for now, I’m good.

Of course, I wanted to add a little glow to the fall stairs, so I added some DIY votives. I picked up some cheapy light covers at the hardware store last summer to do an outdoor project, but the warm season got away from me.

Since I already had them, I decided to make them work for this season:

They are the glass covers that go on light fixtures and they cost $2-something each. They’re nice and lightweight, which gave me another idea, so I got a few more today for an upcoming project. We’ll see how it goes. :)

I filled them with cutie acorns I picked up at Meijer weeks ago:

They look like acorns roasting on an open fire, but the candle is really just an LED light. I’m obsessed with these things. I love how they flicker like real candles. (You can find them just about anywhere anymore, but I’ve gotten most of mine at the dollar store.)

I still say, for $50, this wood stairway redo was the best DIY project I’ve ever done:

martha stewart mice silhouettes

Cause now I can put rats mice on our stairs and that makes me silly happy. I love these little buggers.

I was going to put little teeny pumpkins by their little mice holes (like it’s their front porch…get it???) But I decided I should probably calm down and reel it in Sarah!

The sparkly witch hats are plenty:

pumpkins and mice on stairs

(The pumpkins and votives are tucked under the railing so they aren’t a trip hazard.)

I can’t wait to get them all dressed up for Christmas! Don’t worry, I don’t keep 12 rats mice on my stairs at Christmas. I only keep a couple. ;)

Never miss a post by signing up to get posts via email. 
Email subscription form header
Your email:*
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

Comments

  1. How cute are they!! Love the one with the witch hat on!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have always loved your mice. I think they are very creative. Love the hats too! I think it's the quantity that gives me the spooks. I lived in a NYC apartment with rats that size and they freaked me out. I think 3-4 Mice would be perfect. Love your new floors too :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Delightfully creepy! And I love the ones rockin' the bling. Those are my kind of mice. My girls would love it because they've been listening to "The Tale of Desperaux" in the car lately.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love this so much! It is seriously adorable.

    ReplyDelete
  5. How cute!! I don't find them creepy at all, I think they are adorable! Now if you put little black silhouette cockroaches on your stairs I might be bothered..

    ReplyDelete
  6. Is it sad that the only reason I want stairs is for these rats? I love them and the ones with the hats are awesome. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Such an awesome idea for stairs! Looks great; well done.

    ReplyDelete
  8. They're soo cute, Sarah!! I love their little sparkly witch hats. The acorns with the candles is a great idea. I live in Calgary (Canada) and can't seem to find acorns anywhere. I'd really some for decoration and to make tiny floating candles with. Have you seen those? They're really cute!

    Is that your stepdaughter in the picture? If so, how old is she? Mine just turned 13 at the end of August and the endless texting and chatting on facebook has begun. I'm hoping we make it through the next 5 years ok, hahaha. =)

    ~ Catie

    Oh, I can't believe it's almost November too. It's my 21st ;) birthday on the 4th! Yay for me!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I really love your mice, and the jars of acorns. Makes me want to rip out the carpet on my stairs. I fear what's underneath though. That and I think my husband would kill me.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love them. And I specifically bought the Martha mice this year cause I loved yours last year. You are awesome. Bottom line.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I love your mice/rats too. Never thought I would say that. lol

    Your floors are beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh my gawd, I want some rats!!! Out of the cage that is, our dghtr has rats for pets and I love them too...but these are soooop much cuter by a ga.Zilll.Ion!!! I don't remember how you did it or where you got them. I loved them last year...this year love the Nara and how they interact with the pics. Super cuteness!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh my goodness, I remember the mice! I believe this was the post that drew me in to your blog! A year later and we're both still here! Oh lawd, listen to me getting all reminiscent and teary eyed! But seriously though, your stairs look great and I love all of your creative ideas!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Never commented before, but I had to one this one. LOVE the mice, I wish I could do them on my stairs. Maybe one day I will rip up that old carpet.

    ReplyDelete
  15. spiders would have been ok, or little ghosts, or even ugly little witches....but rats? The idea is great I love the little pumpkins tucked under the railing. I love the black start against the white....but rats? Using the riser of the stairs is a really clever decorating tool....but really, rats???

    ((( Shuddering here!!)))

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love the mice/rats! I'm dying to tear up the carpet on my stairs, but I have two wild boys. And they already make me nervous enough!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Just darling! and thanks for your comment the other day :) on Twice Lovely. You've brightened my day many a time with your posts. thx.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I cannot believe I am saying this...but those "rats"...are cute!
    I am one of those gals that would totally freak out if I ever saw a real one!

    Linda @ Truthful Tidbits

    ReplyDelete
  19. i found VERY similar rats at our 99 Cent store in Southern CA! 24 rats and houses for $2~

    ReplyDelete
  20. I can't believe how much I absolutely love your staircase (and the photo wall with the quote). Reading your blog makes me happy. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Greetings from Croatia! :)
    I like all your decorating ideas so much! The stairs are probably the one thing I've been checking out the most just because I wish to have them (just so I could decorate them in a similar way :D) - living in a flat. Atm I'm searching for some halloween decoration ideas so this seems like something that will come in handy as an idea :) my mum and I also like to try out new decorating options so I'm sure I'll be visiting your blog quite often! Keep up the great work :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Tee hee... I love the mice! So cute & charming!

    ReplyDelete
  23. i love your little friends. They are adorable. I have the
    real thing down here. They are not. The pest control guy and I are becoming best friends.....
    Your decorating is always the best!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Your staircase looks amazing. I put them up one year and I swear it attracted mice to our house --so NO more! =)

    ReplyDelete
  25. My boys have been begging for these. Yours look so stinkin cute, I am going to break down and do it. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  26. Ha! I kept 2 mice up for Christmas last year and decorated above the mouse hole with a garland of poinsetta and holly crafted with card stock and paper punches. After all: not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.....

    ReplyDelete
  27. I love them, they are super cute!! I love your stairs... mine need some serious attention. Thanks for posting about your colors. I will keep that in mind. How did you redo your stairs without peeps sitting on them? Cause, ya gotta go upstairs to bed, etc. Just curious. That's what holds me back, do I do one step at a time? Anyway, enlighten me please.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I have always loved your mice! Love the addition of the witches hats and the ones on the wall checking out the kids photos =)

    ReplyDelete
  29. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your mice! Some day I'll tear up the carpet on my stairs and do exactly what you did. Your staircase is awesome, and did I mention that I LOVE THE MICE?

    Looking forward to Atlanta in June. :)

    ReplyDelete
  30. OH I *love* them! and Please please please put the little pumpkins outside their mouse door - that is so totally ADORABLE!

    ReplyDelete
  31. A year later and these are still oh-so-cute!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Cute idea! (I really like the moulding around your stairs, too.)

    ReplyDelete
  33. I love the mice! Definitely mice, too, not rats. The "reel it in, Sarah" bit cracked me up. I think my husband wishes I'd "reel it in, Anna" more frequently than I do ;)

    ReplyDelete
  34. Love your mice! I have the spider silhouettes on my stairs. And my floors are also stained Jacobean!

    ReplyDelete
  35. I loved these mice last year, and this year they're even better! great work :)

    ReplyDelete
  36. luv luv luv them!! and i think the little glitter pumpkins for scrapbooking wuld be awesome next to their doors!

    ReplyDelete
  37. Love this idea! The witches hats add a special touch. Very cute!

    ReplyDelete
  38. ABSOLUTELY AH-dorable! I want to come and visit JUST to see this in person, so super cute!

    ReplyDelete
  39. How did you store them from last year? I"m getting ready to rat-ify the house for party this weekend and want to be able to use them from year to year. Thanks, Shannon

    ReplyDelete
  40. absolutely love the ones wearing hats! lol. so cute and humorous. also, the portraits of your children are gorgeous.

    ReplyDelete
  41. omg! I thought they were still cute at Christmas, and I LOVE the HATS! :)))))

    ReplyDelete
  42. I've been sitting here trying to figure out why we all love the rats er mice so much. We're all the Cinderella age. It makes me think of the cute little mice running around not gross giant rats. :)

    ReplyDelete
  43. In a convo with, Gail of My Repurposed Life...she mentioned the mice you had on your stairs....I had to seek you out and see yours. AWESOME is all I can say..your stairs are beautifully done...mice and all. Ü

    ReplyDelete
  44. Love love the decoration !! You have a lovely site :)
    Thanks for sharing ! Following you :)

    ReplyDelete

If you have a specific question I will do my best to answer you back here!

You can find our paint colors and links to items at the "Our Home" tab at the top of my site.

THANKS so much for reading!