Halloween Works in Progress

Hey everyone! I wanted to share a few of my most recent creations with y'all before I forget, which I'm known to do since I strongly believe there's a direct correlation between art and insanity!

This is my first attempt designing/stitching and painting my version of a monster doll. I know, I know, you've probably seen a lot of these already, but I wanted to give it a try cause they're so darn cute. Mine isn't done yet so this really is a WIP (work in progress). Once I have him complete, I'll put up a new pic. I've got a couple more appendages to add...

Not using a pattern, I sort of winged it. Just stitching and shaping as I went along. Being a fabric hoarder (and darn proud of it!), I had lots of Halloween scraps and quarters available to choose from. It was more difficult than I thought to put all the fabric selections together, and even now it's too "perfect", so next time I'm just going to randomly pick and choose.

For the face, I did some stitching but then had to add in my handpainting as well. His "crazy" eye and teeth are painted and trimmed with stitching instead of ink.

Once I stitched all the parts and pieces together, I laughed out loud how he turned out! I liked him!

Here's my Halloween version of my favorite snowman holding a pumpkin under the night sky while a spooky tree watches from behind. I still have to add some finishing touches, but he's on the way to chubby cuteness!

Next is a Halloween "Trick or Treat" Wish box. This is a petite wooden box, embellished with a special surprise inside; a tiny envelope to hide a wish underneath the lid. The top is painted with witch boots(say that 3 times fast!) and whirls, stars and dots, along with lots of witch hats all the way around the sides. It's held up by 4 ball feet, each painted a different Halloween color with added polka dots. Inside is lined with black and white polka dot paper.

 

You can see all of these and more in my Etsy store. Just click here and it will take you right to it. Happy Halloween! 

Oh Dem Bones, Them Jumpin' Bones!

Did you know that this fun Halloween-time childrens' song is actually an old traditional spiritual song, written by African-American author and songwriter James Weldon Johnson? Well hells bells, neither did I!  And even more interesting, the lyrics are based out of a chapter in the Bible; Ezekiel 37:1-14, where the prophet visits the Valley of the Dry Bones and prophesises that they will come alive by God's command. Wellllllll doggies, I just had no idea! And that concludes our bible study for today........

"....the toe bones connected to the foot bone, the foot bones connected to the ankle bone...." makes me giddy for Halloween!

So on to my Skelly paintings... I created these spooky little characters on 4x5 stretched artist canvas, painted in acrylics and embellished with German Glass glitter, rubber stamping and other ephemera. The details were done with pen and ink which adds that special finishing touch. 

See them on my Etsy store!

It's a Halloween Summer!

Have you ever heard of Campground Halloween?  I hadn't either till I read about this great vacation tradition that happens every summer around various campgrounds around the U.S.

Around the country, campgrounds celebrate Halloween for one weekend every summer. There's trick-or-treating, haunted houses, decorations put up around each campsite or trailer, costumes, and of course scary stories around the campfire. Gee, I sure hope they're serving S'mores too!

So...if you're a fan of Halloween, and who isn't for corn sakes, then by all means consider checking this out for a way ghoul, I mean, cool summer vacation!

Jeepers Creepers and Foster Farm Chickens?

I've been awake for 4 days now! Can barely sleep a wink for some reason. No, nothing I ate. No, not anything I saw on TV either. I've been having trouble sleeping since my surgery this past October. I just can't fall asleep and I can't stay asleep when I finally do fall asleep. So on this 4th day, I'm loony!

Speaking of sleeping and nightmares in particular, have you all seen the movie "Jeepers Creepers"? OMG! I'm not normally one for these modern day horror flicks, but this one completely creeped me out! The monster, the truck it drives, the whole enchilada is just plain ol' creepy. I mean really, look at this thing! If THIS truck pulled up next to you while you were minding your own business, singing along to "Don't Worry, Be Happy!" wouldn't it freak you out just the tiniest bit?

If you haven't seen this movie, rent it! But not by yourself, and not late at night!

Ok, so I have to tell you about the nightmare I had on Sunday night. I was driving with my ex-husband around 2:oo a.m. in the morning along Lankershim Blvd. in North Hollywood, CA. A rather "iffy" section of town at best. We got in a fight (surprise!) and he pulled over and dropped me off. I said fine, and walked off as he drove away. As I didn't want him to find me, I darted down a side street into a residential area, but being Lankershim Blvd., there's a line of sleezy hotels and businesses with an alley separating the homes from the main drag.

As I was meandering towards the houses trying to figure out what I was doing, I noticed a couple of men wearing industrial jumpsuits behind a non-descript warehouse type business. I thought maybe they were outside taking a break but then when they started walking towards me I wasn't sure what to think, but it probably wasn't a good thing. They each grabbed one of my elbows and guided me to this warehouse. They told me they would help me and everything would be better, that I would be just fine. They took me inside and took me to an area with assorted bottles of liquids and what looked like a wall with doors or drawers on it. There was a reddish glow coming from a crack around the doors/drawers, and it was hot in there.

One of the men picked up a large syringe, much like what you'd use to flush a wound out with saline, and loaded it with a yellowish liquid. I wasn't feeling too safe at that point. He said not to worry, that I would turn out great. Just then a large roasting pan appeared in front of me and it was filled up with something that resembled baking bread when it's rising, except the top or the skin was splitting and yellowish juices were running out and into the pan making a sizzling sound. That was no bread baking! And I didn't see any drumsticks either! That was no syringe either - it was a baster! They were going to cook me! I was going to be like a Foster Farms Chicken! But I'd be one of the cheaper birds, plumped with salt and butter solution! Of course then I started to yell, "no, no!" and woke up in a sweat. At least I hope it was sweat!

Needless to say, I haven't wanted to go to sleep since.

The Ol' Tennessee Bag

Ellen, me dear sis and resident Tennessee "Hag o' the Hills", is on a bit of a leave from her "blog duties", whilst her and her beloved hubby prepare for the Halloween Spook-tacular of the Century! Oh I wish I could partake in the festivities myself, but there will be pics forthcoming no doubt. In the meantime, props are being built, potions are being concocted, and mad decorating is happening as we speak!

Aren't these potion bottles totally creepy! Another fine job, me Baggie! Save me some of them Pickled Spiders too!