Queen Size Halloween Quilt

Here are a couple of pictures of my quest room with my Log Cabin Halloween Quilt on the bed. If you visit in October, you get to sleep under this quilt. This is one of 5 Halloween quilts that I have made.

Vintage Halloween Clipboard

This is a mini clipboard....you could attach a small candy bar to and give to a friend...

Make a Moo or Two - Party

I used the moo to create this ATC...

I chose to do a Halloween Party moo as well. Please check out:
http://makeamooortwo.wordpress.com/ to see all the fun moos this week!

October 31st Fairy - ATC

ATC - Scary

Wishing you an enchanting Halloween!

On Halloween if you hear a noise
Don't stop and look behind you,
Because there are lots of awful things,
That would be glad to find you!

it's arrived!

Happy Halloween!

Fall in New England

Here are a few pictures from our trip to New England last week. It was absolutely spectacular. This was my first trip to see the trees and it won't be my last. We went to 6 different states and most were at peak color.

Gorey Details

The Eve of All Hallow's Eve!
There's is just something quite magical about the day before
a holiday. Preparation mode is in full swing and the excitement is
palpable. I'll be spending the day in the kitchen cooking up
some wicked good treats for tomorrow's little tricksters.
Though the weatherman is predicting rain, it will
not dampen our spirits.

This is the last day to enter in the EHAG
Halloween Ghoulish Giveaway.
Best of luck to all who enter!

two faces of jack

Another year of traditional jack-o-lantern carvings. Although . . . the one on the left looks decidedly sinister. He's obviously up to no good. His cheerful, innocent companion is advised to be vigilant.

Wednesday Stamper - Open Theme

(Vintage image by Kelly Burton at Collagevision: http://collagevisions.blogspot.com/)

This week's theme was open and since it's just a few days until Halloween I thought I'd do something spooky. You can see all the wonderful submissions this week at: http://wednesdaystamper.wordpress.com/

werewolf of chocolate

Werewolves have been playing a big role in my Halloween preparations this year, with several of Universal’s classic werewolf movies making up a sizable portion of my Halloween movie viewing. So perhaps it’s no surprise that this guy grabbed my attention right away. Always on the lookout for a themed cake for Halloween, I spotted him in the October issue of Canadian Living magazine. Now one thing I really like about this magazine is that it can usually be counted on to keep its recipes interesting, yet simple, so I thought . . . this might just be do-able for me. I suppose, in retrospect, the first mistake was failing to notice that the recipe started with one rectangular cake instead of two round ones. At that point, perhaps I should have cut my losses, put the two round cakes together and called it a pumpkin cake . . . but no, I thought, I can still make this work. Once it’s covered with icing, it’ll look just like the picture, right? Sure. So, a little creative cutting here . . . a little improvisation there . . . a ridiculously HUGE amount of chocolate icing later . . . and my Wolfman was complete. Well, okay, perhaps not prize-winning material, but I’ve made worse . . . much worse. He even looks a bit like Lon Chaney . . . sort of. Or maybe a bit like a sasquatch.

I’ve been reading the Halloween entries on one of my favourite blogs this week and I think my werewolf might fit in quite well there. Maybe I’ll drop them a line . . .

waiting

Waiting for the rain and wind to stop. These witches have been braving the elements on the front porch for days now . . . losing their hats more than once . . . having their brooms torn from their spindly hands. Rain lashing their skeletal faces . . . cloaks twisted round their withered bodies. Yet, they've faced these difficult weather conditions with admirable stoicism, gazing out into the distance, never complaining once. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for myself. I had planned to set up the remainder of my Halloween props in the yard on Sunday . . . but then it started to rain and the wind picked up. Not eager to begin my Monday morning picking up mangled props, I decided to wait and hope the weather would improve by Monday evening. It didn't. Okay, perhaps Tuesday then. Nope. It just got worse. So, I took a chance and set up my graveyard fence anyway. After all, I thought, I had planned for conditions like this when building the fence. Anticipating the howls and torrents that late October would bring, I had provided room for weighting it down. Surely, with bricks and large rocks inside the columns, my fence could withstand even this raging wind. Nope . . . I glanced out the window later in the evening to discover it had fought valiantly but had lost its battle. There is hope, however. Wednesday's weather forecast has actually mentioned the word "sun" . . . so I'm optimistic that the rest of my props will get to enjoy at least a few days in the front yard . . . and those witches on the porch will likely have some stories to share with their comrades.

Almost here...

Three days from now I'll be able to wear whatever
I want and have pop corn balls for dinner
without raising any eyebrows. Sweet!

You still have 2 days left to leave a comment here
for a chance to win a magical piece of Halloween
art from the EHAG group GIVEAWAY!

From My Friend Julia Ziemann

Isn't this ATC great! This was a Happy Halloween treat from my friend Julia Ziemann. Thanks Julia, I love it!

One to One ATC Swap - Carolyn Utter

I rec'd these wonderful Vintage Halloween ATCs this week from my friend Carolyn Utter. Thanks Carolyn, I love them!

Halloween Giveaway!

As a thank you to our collectors and supporters,

the EHAG group is hosting a Ghoulish Giveaway this week!
Click here for the link!
Wishing everyone who enters wicked good luck
and a Happy Halloween to all!!

"five times more terrifying!"

Universal Classic Horror Movie #5 – House of Frankenstein

My Universal classic horror movie viewing has resumed with House of Frankenstein. Running with the idea that if one monster is good, more will be better, the studio pulled out all the stops on this one and put together a movie packed with their classic monsters. The only glaring absence is the Mummy. The others are all here: Frankenstein’s monster (to be expected since it’s his house), the Wolfman, Dracula, a hunchback and a mad scientist. What more could anyone ask for, right? Well . . . perhaps a more cohesive film? This one plays out like two back-to-back episodes of a weekly road trip series. If it had been made a few decades later, it would have made a great pilot for a series about two monster pals travelling from town to town and encountering various colourful characters while attempting to fulfill their own dreams (a bit like the 1970’s Incredible Hulk). Well . . . sort of. This story opens with a mad scientist (the brother of Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant) and a hunchback sharing nearby jail cells and bonding. If only the scientist could locate Dr. Frankenstein’s research materials, he could build his hunchback jail-mate a new fabulous body. Conveniently, at that moment, lightning strikes, destroying the prison and freeing the two to begin their quest. Assuming the identity of a travelling freak show, they inadvertently resurrect Dracula and turn him loose on a small European village.

To their credit, however, they also contribute to his capture before heading off on their next adventure. On the way to Frankenstein’s house they stop to rescue a young gypsy woman (who assumes the role of screaming, fainting female character so vital to these classic horror films) with whom the hunchback falls madly in love and thus drives the remainder of the story. When they reach their destination, they find Frankenstein’s house was of course destroyed when an angry mob blew up the nearby dam, trapping the Wolfman and the monster under the rubble. (I hadn’t planned to watch this film immediately after Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, but it actually works well as a sequel to that movie – good to see that all traces of continuity haven’t been abandoned) This setback does not deter our intrepid heroes, however, and they are able to revive the two, leading the mad scientist to make some minor alterations to his original plans (mad scientists are notoriously fickle) and costing him the hunchback’s loyalty.

In the end, most of the characters get either what they want or what they deserve and the story ends . . . well, maybe not happily, but it definitely ends for everyone.

crashed

One of several of those ubiquitous crashed witches spotted on a neighbourhood walk. Their popularity seemed to have faded for a couple of years, but this year they're back . . . "and in greater numbers".

SDA ATC Swap - Group 1 - Boo to you!

Party Pumpkin Cake

The Collage Diva's Soul Journal Halloween Party is today!
Stop by Kathryn's inspirational blog of beautiful imagery and
thought provoking prose. Since Kathryn made party favors for
all those who attend, I decided to make a cake. Enjoy!

6 Days and counting...

Debbie from Cottage in the Country has been hosting a month
long Halloween Blog Party. Stop by to see all the creative
and wonderful decorations, recipes and downloads!

hmmm . . . they weren't in the book!

I am not particularly fond of the "typical" haunted house experience. The ones with costumed actors jumping out from corners . . . mechanical ghosts flying toward you . . . the usual. Most I find predictable and rarely unique. But then I saw this ad, which at first glance, seemed to be a haunted house based on the book, Bluenose Ghosts. I was thrilled. Bluenose Ghosts, a book of "true" Nova Scotia ghost stories collected by folklorist Helen Creighton, is one of my favourite books of ghost stories and often gets pulled off the shelf for a read in October. So naturally, I was eagerly anticipating a haunted house experience that incorporated these stories. Which ones would they use, I wondered? There were so many to choose from. I envisioned ghostly wandering women sharing their tales of woe . . . spectral crews from phantom ships searching for their hidden gold . . . visits from the devil (always popular in the book) . . . and maybe even a headless soldier or two. But still, I approached the haunted house with cautious optimism. Perhaps the creators' interpretations of the stories would be different than what I was expecting. Keep an open mind, I thought. Then, as I approached the entrance, I saw . . . a devil.

Yes, it was a soft, furry devil and it was collecting our tickets, but it was a devil nonetheless. I forged ahead. But as I made my way through the maze of rooms, I knew something just wasn't . . . right. None of this seemed "Bluenose Ghost-y" at all. In fact, apart from one rather crusty-looking pirate I soon realized that I was walking through a standard, run-of-the-mill haunted house. I've read Bluenose Ghosts cover to cover, and while I may have forgotten some of the stories, I'm almost certain there were no people trapped in bags in meat freezers, no vampires in coffins, and definitely no mad doctors operating on patients with chainsaws. So once I had safely emerged from the exit, I looked up the advertisement again. Hmmmm. It appears that someone didn't read carefully enough. It seems the haunted house itself was not actually based on the book, only the accompanying cemetery tour (which was great). Oh well . . . there are worse ways to spend an October evening.

The count down has begun...

Halloween is one week from today!
So many festive Halloween events still to come...
did someone mention a giveaway?
More details to come.
This mini glitter crown just added in my Etsy shop.

ATC - Witches Brew

vintage

Old-fashioned Halloween postcards from the early 20th century seem to fall into two categories - the sinister, almost surreal, images of devils, witches and evil . . . vegetables, and images like these, which put a more light-hearted face on Halloween.

The prevalence of plump, innocent-looking children on many of these cards is largely thanks to Ellen Clapsaddle, an artist who created images for thousands of Halloween postcards in the early 1900's.

. . . more vintage Halloween postcards here

treat bag memories

I have a love/hate relationship with these vintage paper treat bags. On one hand, they bring back warm trick-or-treating memories of standing on neighbours' doorsteps on a chilly October night, anticipating what might be dropped into my bag or bucket (the image below is one I distinctly remember). On the other hand, they were often filled with the types of candy I disliked . . . or perhaps settled for once I had eaten all of the chocolate and bags of chips and had reached the bottom of my trick-or-treating loot. Rockets . . . Kisses . . . anything involving licorice. But when it's a choice between mediocre candy or nothing, the candy usually wins.

. . . more vintage treat bags here

Altered Puzzle Piece - Halloween Night

The stamps are by Oxford Impressions....

in search of pumpkin beer

Reading through some of the blogs out there during the past month or two, I’ve noticed posts evaluating various brands of pumpkin beer. Sounds tasty I thought. I’ve never had pumpkin beer. And now I think I know why. A quick trip to the liquor store confirmed what I had suspected: pumpkin beer does not exist here. Discouraging. However, all was not lost. During my recent trip to the U.S., pumpkin beer was everywhere . . . and with great names like Pumpkinhead Ale, Red October, Sea Dog Pumpkin Ale. It was a difficult decision indeed, but I finally settled on a few bottles of Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale and excitedly brought them home. Finally, I thought, I get to discover what everyone’s been writing about. And I must admit . . . I was a little underwhelmed. The only pumpkin spice I could detect was a barely-noticeable cinnamon aftertaste. Disappointing. So much pumpkin beer to choose from and I chose badly . . . lured by the grinning jack-o-lantern on the bottle. Oh well, I thought, maybe next year. And then . . . I saw an ad. It seems that a local microbrewery is offering pumpkin beer during the last two weeks of October this year! Better late than never. And not just any beer. No, this beer is reportedly made using local award-winning pumpkins. It just doesn’t get any more promising than that! So it wasn’t too late after all! I was being given a second chance at pumpkin beer. I immediately dashed to the nearest liquor store and tried to locate the beer. I looked . . . and looked . . . and finally asked for assistance . . . only to be told that no, this beer is being sold in select liquor stores only. Hmmm . . . seems we have an elitist microbrewery at work here. But okay, I’ll play along. So my next stop was one of the “select” liquor stores in the city, where I was promptly told: “Sorry. We had a shipment last week but it sold out in four days.” Seems I’m not the only person in town desperately seeking pumpkin beer. But there’s more. Apparently, the brewery will not commit to a delivery date for the next batch, simply stating that it will be there when it’s ready. Not only elitist, but power-crazed. This is pumpkin beer insanity! The nice liquor store guy suggested I check back next Thursday or Friday. So tomorrow, I’ll be giving the Propeller Brewery one more chance. By this weekend, I’ll either be enjoying the local pumpkin beer that I struggled so hard to obtain, or I’ll be sitting at home dejectedly, finishing off the rest of my mediocre Jack’s Pumpkin Ale.

Webbie and Boo Theater

Now on eBay!

New Web Sale Site

Hobgobbie Mini Theater and more

now available on my Web Sale Site!
Click on photo for link.