Mixed Media Monday - Enchanted

http://mixedmediamonday.wordpress.com/

ahh . . . the good old days

There are certain books that I simply refuse to part with. Some have been moving around with me for years. Others were favourites of my children when they were small and the stories inside were too deeply loved to ever let them go. Arthur's Halloween falls into this latter category.

For anyone unfamiliar with Marc Brown's Arthur stories, they tell of the adventures of Arthur the Aardvark and his assorted animal friends. None of which appear particularly animal-like. Especially in the television version.

One scene in this book always interested me because it seemed to be a throwback to an earlier, simpler time. In it, Arthur's sister, DW, boldly goes trick-or-treating alone to the spooky old house that everyone else is too terrified to approach. Arthur and his friends watch in fear and wait for her to return. When she doesn't return, Arthur enters the house and finds his sister sitting contentedly in the kitchen enjoying juice and cookies with a lovely old lady. Having discovered that visiting with neighbours over homemade treats is far preferable to running from house to house for candy. It's a lovely story. Charming. Sweet. Totally unrealistic.

First, trick-or-treating children have been carefully instructed and conditioned to never enter the homes of random neighbours. Second, they wouldn't want to. The trick-or-treaters in my neighbourhood are moving so quickly in their quest to amass as much Halloween loot as possible within a relatively narrow time frame that their costumes are often a blur to me. They're off before the treats hit the bottom of the bag. Stopping for juice and cookies and a neighbourly chat? Unimagineable.

But was it always this way?

I can clearly recall the Halloween nights of my childhood. Trick-or-treating at neighbours' homes. Neighbours with whom I was already familiar. And it wasn't unusual for my fellow trick-or-treaters and I to be invited inside. To stop for a while and perhaps have a drink of pop (as if more sugar was needed) while our hosts admired our costumes and attempted to guess our identities. Time seemed to move slowly then. It was charming. Sweet. Totally unrealistic.

I lived in a rural area. We had a lot of ground to cover. On foot. Time was of the utmost importance. All I could think of as my friendly neighbours nattered on and on, was that we needed to get out of there. Immediately. Needed to get moving. Before treats were gone and lights were switched off. And we were forced to return home with only a meager fraction of the treats we might have acquired.

Arthur and DW visiting with a kindly old lady on Halloween night while their friends waited patiently for them outside? It's a lovely story. Charming. Sweet. But totally unrealistic. At least for any child who's ever pulled on a mask on Halloween night.

Working around the flock

There's been a flurry of activity in my studio
this week due to the gloomy and rainy weather
keeping me indoors and out of trouble.
Halloween ornaments, party favors, noisemakers,
and hooligans are taking over my work space
as I prepare for looming deadlines and events.
I'll be posting some fun new Halloween pieces
in my ETSY SHOP shortly.
Wishing you a safe and cozy fun filled weekend!

post-surgery

I'm happy to report that the amputation of the well-intentioned but unsuccessful tree branches went well. Recovery is underway. Overall, I think I'm happier with the ragged stumpy look.

Florida Renaissance Festival 2010

The Florida Renaissance Festival is on now through March 14th in Deerfield Beach, FL. Visit the 18th Annual Renaissance Festival and the beautiful South Florida weather! Travel back to the 16th Century, enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of The Renaissance, shop crafts, wear period costumes, play games!

Check the Florida Renaissance Festival website each week to see what the theme of the week is!

This week is pirate week! Dress in your best pirate costumes and win prizes!

Get your pirate costumes and all types of Renaissance and medieval period garb online at AnniesCostumes.com

Quick links to help you find the costume you need for the Renaissance Festival pirate costume week:

Pirate Costumes for Women

Pirate Costumes for Men

Deluxe Pirate Costumes

Kids Pirate Costumes

Quick links for Renaissance Fair Costumes:

Adult Female Noble Renaissance & Medieval Costumes

Maid Marian, Princess Bride, and more.

Adult Female Peasant Renaissance & Medieval Costumes

Tavern Wench, Peasant Lady, and more.

Adult Male Renaissance & Medieval Costumes

Merlin, Lancelot, Robin Hood, Inn Keeper, and more.

Plus Size Renaissance and Medieval Costumes

Tavern Wench, Medieval Knight and more.

Adult Deluxe Renaissance Costumes

Lady Windsor, Lord Windsor, and more.

Renaissance and Medieval Royalty Costumes

King, Queen, and more.

Adult Deluxe Medieval Costumes

Little John, Merchant Lady, and more.

Deluxe Knight Costumes

King Arthur, Armor Suits, and more.

Knight Costumes

Crusader, King Arthur, Renaissance Knight, and more.

Child Renaissance Costumes

King Wizard, Tavern Lady, and more.

Deluxe Child Renaissance & Medieval Costumes

King Arthur, Juliet, and more.

Floral Headpieces

Handmade Silk Flower Headpieces.

Crowns

Crowns for men, women, and children.

Tiaras

Gold, Silver, and Black Rhinestone Tiaras.

tree branches from the black lagoon

I am an avid recycler. Especially when it concerns Halloween props. Any opportunity to take the remnants of Halloweens past and find a place for them within a new project is always welcome. So while working on my Halloween tree, I began to contemplate which, if any, of last Halloween's detritus might prove useful.

And then, inspiration struck. Or so I believed. I had several wire hands carefully packed away which had served me well last October. One had been part of my costume and the others, the skeletal hands of graveyard mourners.

Why not give their lives new meaning, I thought. Why not use these mangled, wiry hands to extend the branches of my still-evolving Halloween tree? Each branch would extend, and finally terminate, in a grasping, hand-like form.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. I was really quite impressed with myself. The reality, however, was not nearly as impressive.

The hands were attached to the ends of the wire-and-foam branches. The entire branch structure was then wrapped in cheesecloth that had been dyed black and dipped in a glue and water mix. And left to dry. Where it eventually transformed into . . . the tree branch from the black lagoon.




The cheesecloth-covered hands did not resemble the long spindly ends of dead tree branches so much as the limbs of a decaying tar pit monster. Some minor surgery on the stiffened cheesecloth around the fingers helped, but it didn't do enough to alter my original opinion. The hands/branches would have to go.

The amputation is scheduled for later today.

I *Heart* This Crochet

I am amazed an in love with this ... crochet ... pillow ... thing. It's wunderbar!

Heart Crochet

pumpkin magic

It doesn't matter that the emerging perennial shoots in my garden have just been buried under 30cm of snow. It doesn't matter that there might be another 30cm arriving next Tuesday. It doesn't matter. Because when I opened my mailbox today, I was greeted by a true harbinger of spring.

As promised, my magical pumpkin seeds have arrived. Straight from the Davis Graveyard.


Anyone familiar with my tragic tale of last year's pumpkin crop will no doubt share my joy. I cannot wait until pumpkin-planting time. I've already begun planning my strategy. And this year, pumpkin success is guaranteed. This year, I have magic seeds. Personally magic-ified by the Frog Queen herself. All sparkly and bejewelled (that must have taken hours!).

And there was more. My faithful cat Lucky is enjoying the little rubber frog. And I am off to enjoy my chocolate bar with a warm cup of tea. Thanks, Frog Queen! You've made my day.

halloween mardi gras

Mardi Gras always reminds me of Halloween. And there is a perfectly logical reason for this.


For several years during the 1980's, the city of Halifax was home to a huge free outdoor Halloween costume party on the Saturday night prior to Halloween. Which came to be known as Mardi Gras. Apparently, it began spontaneously one year. Groups of people in costume filled the streets on their way to celebrate Halloween in the downtown bars, of which there are many. Each year brought more and more people, until it finally became a recognized event. One downtown street was officially blocked off for revelers. Other streets were un-officially blocked off by the sheer number of people, estimated at 40,000 during the peak years. It began in the early evening and ended . . . sometime later that night . . . or early the following morning.

The reason for its title of "Mardi Gras" is lost in the mists of time. There was really no connection to February's Mardi Gras. Other than the costumes. And the street parties.

I had the good fortune of being a university student in the city at the time. And as such, took full advantage of the celebratory atmosphere. Always eager to celebrate Halloween, my costume was planned well in advance and I either hosted or attended a pre-Mardi Gras party. Of course, creepiness and horror were paramount. As evidenced by my costumed party guests. I'm the one in the always terrifying Sylvester the Cat costume.



No photos exist of the events downtown. My only camera at the time was a large 35mm. And even I knew better than to wade through the downtown crowds carrying that. So when I remember Mardi Gras, I am forced to rely on my memories. Which are all good, if somewhat hazy.

Halloween Mardi Gras was one of the highlights of the year, each bigger and better than the last. Sadly, it eventually grew too big. And too problematic. Complaints about noise and damage and drunkenness began to escalate and led the city to eventually cancel it. But by that time, I had moved away. Taking my happy memories and my Sylvester costume with me.

Great Expectations

Spring is in the air. Oh happy day!

pancakes not pumpkins

There is only one day each year on which I eat pancakes for lunch or dinner, rather than for breakfast. And that day is today. Shrove Tuesday.

Every year I remind myself to use the opportunity to get creative and whip up some pumpkin spice pancakes. With cinnamon and nutmeg. Maybe a few pecans. A pancake with Halloween flair.

Perhaps something like this:



Or this:


Maybe this:



Or even this:



And every year, I trudge off instead to a local pancake supper and let someone else whip up the pancakes for me. Minus the pumpkin and pecans. Ordinary pancakes. This year is no exception. I'll be enjoying my pancakes at a local church hall. With no Halloween flair.

Maybe next year, pumpkin pancakes, maybe next year.

Penny Tree Auction

THE PENNY TREE AUCTION will be listed
on eBay FEBRUARY 14TH at 9:00pm EST-6:00pm PDT.
• • • • •
This beautiful tree is the brain child of Lori Davis.
She has rallied together over 30 Folk Artists
to create, and donate an ornament to benefit
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The winner
of this auction will receive a treasure trove of over
30 pieces of original Folk Art ornaments and
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Alabama
Chapter will receive 100% of the proceeds.
• • • • •
Here's a peek at the tree and my handcrafted ornament.
Click HERE for auction link.

be my halloween valentine

My first introduction to Halloween as a time for finding true love came through Robert Burns' poem. Since then, I've encountered countless postcards and images portraying the once romantic side of Halloween. Recently, however, I stumbled upon another form of this Halloween romance ritual. This one appears slightly more dangerous than tossing nuts into a fire or gazing into a mirror at midnight.




How many people went up in flames in their quest to find their one true love? How many?

Source

Living A Heart Full Life

Whispering hearts spill out in ink drops on paper
cautiously etched with a breath of certainty.
• • • •
Wishing you lightness and frivolity throughout the day!

Vampire Cocktails

What to drink for Valentine's Day: Bloody Cocktails.

Okay, so this list if for a vampire party. But blood-themed cocktails=Valentine's Day ideal.

Valentine's Day: Have a Heart

What better way to celebrate a snowy Valentine's Sunday with your loved one(s) than with oven roasted ribs and a stabby little heart.

Roasted red peppers really make fabulous fake hearts to serve with a plate of ribs. The power of suggestion works wonders and they are delicious to boot!

You don't have to follow those exact recipes; the layout is what is important here. Presentation, presentation!

Finish it off with a lovely, devilish cake that would look as nice at a sweetheart dinner as it does at Halloween:


On a moderately random side note -- would sipping tea then reading the leaves with your Sweet make for a romantic activity on Valentine's Day?

"blood, gore, and human body parts"

The Wolfman opens this weekend. And I am torn. I wanted to see this movie. I really did. It seems like ages since I first heard the news of its production and impending arrival. I wanted to see it and I wanted to love it every bit as much as I love the original. Maybe more. Larry Talbot is my favourite Universal monster.

But I was worried. Throughout the discussion and the delays, I remained cautiously optimistic. Maybe they would remain true to the spirit of the original. Maybe plot and character would receive more attention than special effects. Maybe every remake of a classic horror film doesn't automatically have to be a blood fest. Maybe they would realize that horror is not synonymous with gore.




The television previews began to appear. They looked intriguing. Very atmospheric. I allowed myself to feel hopeful. And then I paid a quick visit to IMDB for some early reviews. More details. And my deepest fears were realized upon encountering the words, ". . . expect to see a lot of blood, gore, and human body parts flying around all over the place."

I knew it. It was just as I had anticipated. Apparently, classic horror remakes do have to be blood fests. To be fair, I am basing my dismay upon only a couple of personal opinions. I'll wait to read more detailed reviews. Try to find some balance. Make a more informed decision.

And then I'll probably pull out my DVD of the 1941 version.

Bury Me Deep

What a freaking rad idea. Found at Make.

lord of the pumpkins

Recently, I've been seized by the urge to sort and clean and reorganize my possessions. I choose to believe that this is a sign of spring's impending arrival. But in an effort to pace myself and avoid housecleaning burn-out, I'm starting slowly. With my photographs.

I came across these from 2003. Arguably the last really good year for the Kentville Pumpkin People Festival.






Makes me regret missing the year they did Star Wars.

Cupid's Quest

There are those who surrender the affairs
of the heart to the roll of the dice, leaving
delicate decisions to the hands of Fate.

There are others who rely on Cupid
with his golden quiver of love tipped
arrows to be the bearer of loves fortune.

And then there are the super heroes of love
who boldly walk with a bullseye emblazoned
over their heart leaving nothing to chance.

This Valentine’s Day, whether bewitched
or besotted, celebrate the heart. Celebrate
the small random gestures. Celebrate the
grandiose and all its pageantry. Celebrate
love that overthrows life. Celebrate!

New Makeup Tips on Rachael Ray Today

Today on the Rachael Ray Show was "Tips Day" a day of all kinds of tips from viewers and experts on everything from food & cooking, to health, to beauty even how to keep ants out of your house!

Beauty experts Gretta Monahan and Mally Roncal had a "Tip Off" to see who had the best beauty secret. In my opinion, they both won! Here are the beauty tips:

From Mally: Combat tired eyes by using a shimmering silver or pink shadow on the inside points of your eyes and where the socket meets your nose. Using concealer to cover under eye darkness is well known, but women often overlook this inner area.


From Gretta: For longer lasting lipstick, after brushing on your favorite lip color, set it with the same color blush! Use the same or similar color and a large brush to brush on just a bit of blush to set the color, then apply your lip gloss over that. It will make your lipstick have lasting color and lasting power!


From Mally: Make your natural hair makeup brushes last a lifetime! You should be cleaning your makeup brushes at least once per month if not every other week using baby shampoo. But you can also condition your natural hair makeup brushes with your favorite hair conditioner. Just put a dab of condition on the brush, rub it in and rinse in a dish of water. Also, do not put your brushes tip side up in a cup to dry, lay them on a towel with the handle side up higher so that the water will drain off rather than go into the base of the brush and loosen the glue.


From Gretta: How to keep your eye shadow on long with out fading! Use lip balm on your eyes before brushing on your eye shadow. The eye shadow will stay in place and will not lose color!


From Mally: Tip for eyebrow pencils: your eyebrow pencil color should be a shade lighter than your actual eye brow hair color. This applies to all hair colors except silver or very fair blonde.


From Gretta: Beauty tip for dry hair and dry scalp: add a few drops of tea tree oil to your favorite shampoo!

To see a video demo of the tips, go to RachaelRay.com

StageAndTheaterMakeup.com features Ben Nye, Mehron and Bloody Mary makeup for every day, not just for the stage and theater. These professional brand makeups are made to last longer and show brighter, so they are perfect for your every day makeup look and these great makeup tips apply as well.

Angry with the Comments

I'm getting spammed like crazy. It's making me angry every time I sign in to blogger... so I'm very sorry, but now I've enabled word verification.

I know, I know -- it's a pain it the butt. :( I'm very sorry. But seriously -- I can't keep up with the deleting of spam.

work in progress

After a couple of busy weeks, I've finally found some time to work on my Halloween tree.

When we last saw the Halloween tree, Plan A had proven disastrous, thanks to the evils of spray paint. Plan B, an adaptation of Plan A which involved fabric dye, was still on the horizon.

Well. Plan B has at last entered the realm of reality. With this comes both good news and bad news.

My new plan was to dye cheesecloth black and use it to cover the thin foam which would then form the trunk of the tree by surrounding the tomato cage and chicken wire assembly. The black cheesecloth would provide not only colour, but the added benefit of texture. In my mind's eye, it looked wonderful. In reality, not so much.

The dying of the cheesecloth was quick and easy and successful. Impossible to screw up that part. But then came the attachment of the newly black cheesecloth to the foam. I brushed glue onto said foam, applied the cheesecloth and put it aside to dry.

I am rapidly losing respect for the quality of this foam. The cheesecloth adhered to it quite nicely, but the glue was not much kinder to the foam than the spray paint had been, causing it to warp and bubble. I'm not sure that this is a bad thing, however. It seems to have given the foam an interesting, gnarly appearance. Perhaps more glue is what's needed. This may fall into the category of "happy accident".

But despite the absence of total failure, I'm not entirely happy with the appearance of cheesecloth on foam. And while I plan to do more experimenting with the glue, I also have the beginnings of Plan C simmering in my mind.

Universal Orlando Celebrates 15 Years of Mardi Gras in 2010

Universal Studios in Orlando is celebrating its 15th year of celebrating Mardi Gras in their theme park in Orlando, FL. Starting today, February 6, 2010 and running through April 17, 2010, you can see the daily Mardi Gras parade with tremendous floats, decorated in Mardi Gras' traditional colors of purple, green & gold, plus fabulous performers entertaining the crowds in elaborate Mardi Gras costumes & throwing beads and coins, a Mardi Gras tradition. Universal Orlando also features great bands for Mardi Gras with great bands such as K.C. and the Sunshine Band, Heart & Kool & the Gang performing live on the Mardi Gras concert stage!

There are great ticket deals for both Florida residents and guests from around the world. Don't miss this great Mardi Gras celebration in warm & sunny Florida! See Universal Studios Orlando web site for more details, concerts schedules, and to purchase your tickets today to get in on the Mardi Gras fun!

And to have your own Mardi Gras fun at home or wherever the party takes you this Mardi Gras, visit MardiGrasCostumes.com for costumes, hats, beads, coins, masks and more.

lost and found

This almost slipped past me.

I've been a little distracted lately and haven't been devoting my usual meticulous level of attention to this blog. I know. I know. I had said that this past week would be different. I anticipated much more free time. Time for working on props. Time for long rambling random posts. But I had forgotten. I had forgotten about the return of LOST. Back for its final season. And suddenly, like the Man in Black into the Smoke Monster (my apologies to anyone who hasn't seen the first episode yet), my leisurely carefree week was suddenly transformed. Altered. Changed forever. LOST theories. Blogs. Speculation. Podcasts. Forums. Their presence expands until they fill every available moment of free time.

Fortunately, I was able to tear myself away and drag myself back to this blog just in time to discover this:



This award arrived courtesy of the Frog Queen. Not only is her blog always a guaranteed entertaining read, but she is one of the most prolific commenters around. I'm not quite sure where she finds the time. But I'm glad she does.

Now on to the rules. Because there are always rules. But this time there are wonderfully few. Just the way I like it.

1) Link back to the blog/blogger who nominated you and say a few kind words

2) Paste the picture of the award in your award post

3) Nominate bloggers you think deliver great comments to your blog

4) E-mail/post/tweet or do whatever you need to do to inform these bloggers they have been nominated for an award.

And now on to the difficult part. Difficult because, although there are many wonderful fellow bloggers upon whom I would choose to bestow this award, the Frog Queen has already chosen most of them. I am going to try to select recipients that she has not. No easy task. So if your name does not appear here, it is not because I do not love you dearly. I do. It is simply because I don't want to clutter your mantle with duplicate awards.

That said, I hereby pass this award to:

1) Jessica @ Chronically Vintage

2) Mr. Macabre @ Mr. Macabre's Hallowe'en Cerebrations

3) Bridgett @ Doug and Boo Plus Two

4) Diane @ Good Mourning, Glory!

These bloggers regularly leave kind, encouraging or otherwise entertaining comments that often make my day. They are much appreciated.

And now, back to trying to unravel the mysteries of LOST.

My Chubby Valentine

In just a little over a week is the

Holiday of Hearts!
Treat yourself to something that
celebrates a life filled with love.
• • • • • work in progress • • • • •

Rad Cocktail -- Perfectly Awesome!

Do you see this? It's called a Jack O' Lantern, and it's made of orange juice and Cognac. You can find it and 9 other great Halloween cocktail recipes here.

I wish I had seen this before my wedding. I might not have mixed this exact drink, but I would SO have walked around sipping something orange-colored with this garnish. Maybe a mimosa? It's an orange slice with just a little bit of greenery in the top. You might also consider a green straw poking through the middle, there.

And what if you used glass paint to make a jack face on the container? Oh my goodness. Splendid. :)

CHEERS!

Why Dress up for Purim

Purim is a Jewish holiday. This year, Purim is on February 27, 2010.

On Purim, children, and some adventurous adults, too, traditionally masquerade—an allusion to G‑d's hand in the Purim miracle, which was disguised by natural events. Make sure your children dress up as good, cheerful characters, such as Mordechai and Esther.

See more about dressing up for Purim



For Purim costumes in child and adult sizes, check out the selection at AnniesCostumes.com

---

Please visit our affiliate sponsor! Kosher.com for Kosher meats, groceries & yummy bakery items!

Cauldron Clutch

What a fantastic crochet bag!

Pillow Pumpkin Patch

Barbolot over at Craftster made this excellent stack of pumpkin pillows with her family this past year, in lieu of carving the real thing.

What a fantastic idea -- stitch together and stuff some pumpkin-shaped orange pillows, then let friends or family come over and cut out felt faces!! A little bit of fabric glue and you're all set. Plus, they could make great themed accent pieces.

Do you see that guy with the mustache in the bottom right corner? I'm so making him when I get some more free time. He's rad.

. . . aaaaaaand I'm back

The past week has seemed frantic. I've felt like the tree branch in the photograph. Encased in ice with a world of water rushing past.

It was the end of first semester for my daughter, who finishes high school this year. That meant exams. So much of my free time was spent helping her prepare. Quizzing her on facts. Proof-reading essays. Making decisions about university applications. Which could have been done earlier, but why plan ahead when you can leave it all until deadlines are looming.

And then there was my rapidly-deteriorating physical state. I had my tooth extracted. But it was a far more intense process than I've experienced before. I've had two teeth pulled previously. Both experiences I recall as brief and relatively painless. So I'm not sure what happened this time. I spent 90 minutes on a sharp backward incline in the dentist's chair. The tooth didn't go gladly. It required drilling and breaking and a top-up of anesthetic. Finally, it came out. But not completely. The root was left behind and had to be pried out. Slowly. Not surprisingly, I was swallowing painkillers for a few days to recover from the ordeal.

Now I've noticed that suddenly, it's February. Which means I've already fallen behind on my Halloween resolutions. One project per month indeed. What was I thinking? But I'm hoping it's not too late to redeem myself. This week is looking slightly more relaxed. Except for picking up (and adjusting to) my new bifocals progressive lenses. So I'm planning to devote considerable time to the completion of the outdoor tree and perhaps even begin February's project. Or at least decide what February's project will be. Maybe.