Dog Days......

In these heat-filled, semi-humid dog days of summer, my comfort is knowing that the days of Orange and Black are not far away...

Did you ever wonder where the origin of using these colors for Halloween started? Celtics were given the most credit for the beginnings of the holiday as a festival of the harvest. And orange, being the most prevalent color of autumn. The color of pumpkins, the warmth of fire. It also signifies strength and endurance, and used often in feng shui, being the "social" color, instilling lively conversations and good times in your home.

 

 

Black, the color of mystery and void. The color of a space with no beginning and no end. Black holds the power of energy and protection.

 

Do you see now why this is a perfect color combination for Halloween?

 

 

 

Fall Confetti Bracelet

It's no secret that I love Fall. Who wouldn't with all the beautiful Fall colors? There's a crispness in the air, the sky is more blue against the big puffy clouds, and then of course there's Halloween.

My Fall Confetti bracelet is a blend of my favorite Halloween and lovely Fall colors, with a touch of whimsy tossed in of course! There are about 4 layers of beads in the making of it including; freshwater pearls in soft peach, glass, crystals, silver lined, metal, strung on a base of black beads. It's finished off with a silver toggle clasp. I will be posting it on my Etsy store today.

I'm making lots more pretties right now, so check back soon!

A Fun & Frivolous Gift or Craft!

And Happy Friday to you all!

Since I haven't had a whole bunch of time to create my sculptures or detailed pieces lately, I've been dabbling a bit with a fun craft I discovered while in Tennessee earlier this year.

I was in a little gift shop in Franklin, TN, a most adorable place called "Shops on Main" that was just filled with all sorts of really neat craft-type items. Anyway, I saw these little blocks of wood that were painted up so cleverly, and I hadn't seen anything like that before. I loved the simplicity of them and wanted to try my hand at creating something similar. The possibilities really are only limited by what you want to embellish them with. The ones I saw had nothing on them at all, just basically paint, so I "glammed" mine up more and added my own quirky spin to them.

Basically they're just blocks of wood - use whatever kind you want. The one above is a pine 2x4, that I cut and painted. Then I added "stuff". That's the fun part! Just add whatever you want! I did glitters and then added a saying mounted on some scrapbook paper, antiqued it a bit with a wash of ink, popped on a crown that I got from a scrapbook store, and there you go! A simple and easy gift, or craft item ready to go in about 1/2 hour or so.

I did a few of these earlier for Halloween that I just love too!

Think of these for dolling up your desk at work, in a little niche somewhere, in a Halloween vignette, a shelf-topper, on a nightstand, a gift for a girlfriend, as an addition to a gift basket...just so many fun and frivolous uses!

Halloween Comes this Night! Papier Mache Box

One of the new finished pieces I've been working on; a cylinder shaped papier mache box. Sort of looks like a pint size ice cream container doesn't it? I wonder what delectable flavor would be inside? How about Black Widow Berry? LOL!

This treasure box measures about 7" tall x about 5" wide. It's adorned with wooden polka dot ball feet, and crowned with a paper clay pumpkin and black widow. Wrapped around it's girth are painted pumpkins, stars, and moons topped with a pen and ink saying, "Moonlight Starbright Halloween Comes this Night!" There's lots of antique washes on this piece, and then it's sealed with a satin varnish.

Signed by me along with the "By Way of Salem" seal of approval! Now for sale on Etsy.