Monday, 31 January 2011

One World One Heart 2011 Giveaway

0 comments

If this is your first time here, WELCOME. 
So happy you took the time to stop by.
Feel free to explore my menagerie of merriment.

To all my loyal FANTASTICAL FOLLOWERS...
welcome back. I know it's been a while since we
chatted but know that you haven't been far from 
my thoughts as I have been sketching, planning 
and creating a new batch of characters for 2011. 
Oh what fun! 
And speaking of fun, click on HERE to explore 
the sites of others who have chosen to live 
this artful life and to see what Lisa, our favorite 
Whimsical Bohemian, has in store for the 5th and final 
celebration of ONE WORLD, ONE HEART.
•  •  •  •  •  •  
GIVEAWAY
•  •  •  •  •  •  
For my kindred spirits who share in my 
love for all things Halloween,
I'm giving away the mini Orange and Black 
Halloween/Valentine Bottle Brush Tree pictured 
at the beginning of this post. 
Leave a comment below to enter the drawing.
All FANTASTICAL FOLLOWERS will automatically 
be enter in the giveaway. I will be drawing the 
winner on the evening of February 17th.
Enjoy the journey!

Friday, 28 January 2011

0 comments

Enjoyed my hibernation for a wee bit too long. 
Such a guilty pleasure don't you think? 

Now, where to begin... 

...how about sharing the love and good cheer!
I'm putting together a GIVEAWAY for my devoted
FANTASTICAL FOLLOWERS
Check back on Monday to play along. In the 
mean time, hop on over to my ETSY SHOP to see 
my new batch of shimmering Mini Valentine Trees.
Celebrate the heart!

Wednesday, 26 January 2011

fence me in

0 comments


The wonderful thing about -30 C temperatures is the time they provide for reflection. Warm, indoor reflection. So it is that during these past few frigid days, I've found myself reflecting on Halloween. Specifically, Halloween 2011. And I've arrived at some conclusions.

Reflecting upon the way in which last year's well-intentioned-yet-doomed-from-the-start plan of a prop a month fell slightly short of the mark (and by "slightly short" I mean 6 or 7 months short), I have decided to simplify my prop-building in 2011. To adhere to traditional elements (like witches). To expand and modify those elements that have worked especially well in past years (like fences and flowers).

The upcoming replacement of some venetian blinds in my house has inspired me to extend my rickety Halloween fencing. The recycled blind slats should provide me with enough fence "pickets" to line my driveway. Perhaps even surround my entire front yard. The possibilities are endless. Now I just need to wait for the temperature to creep above 10 C and melt the snow and ice in my backyard/workshop.

Thursday, 20 January 2011

Mummy Loaf!

0 comments
Yes, yes I got my wish from the last post -- snow in Georgia. And yes, I was snowed in. And double-yes: my internet was touchy the whole week and I'm still catching up at work.

But no, I couldn't make a snowman. By the time it was deep enough at my house it was already a melty-re-freezy mess. More like dried "Great Stuff" than snow.

So, without reliable internet, a serious inability to create my own "Snowhouse of Horrors," and no way to drive anyplace for a week, a girl does a little crochet and bakes many things with her new bread maker.

Now, I refuse to say that Mummy-Loaf (danish braid with blueberries and cream cheese filling) was a bad idea. HE WASN'T. Look at how cute his sweet little mug is - especially before baking!?!

I would, however, qualify that I'd do things differently next time. For starters, I would have actually thought about what I was doing before applying the Egg Wash. My CuisinArt recipe called for a whole egg + water combination, and I should have known that was for making it even more toasty-amber colored.

I want a paler mummy next time: egg white only, maybe? At least I'm going to finish off with a light dusting of powder sugar or a vanilla glaze/drizzle.

Also: one eye melted into his head, which ruined the 'mummy' effect after baking. Next time I'll save two berries and place them in as it comes out of the oven.


Still, it was a pretty successful ordeal. I followed this bread recipe with my bread maker (lessened all ingredients to make only a 1 lb loaf), then made a cream cheese filling by beating the following together:
  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • half an egg, beaten
  • 2 tbs sugar
  • 1 tbs cornstarch
  • 1 tsp vanilla
To make a bread braid:
  • Roll out the dough in a rectangle, about 12x8"
  • Spread the cream cheese down the middle third (lengthwise)
  • Top cheese with blueberries (leave a little space for the 'eyes')
  • Cut the side thirds at 1" intervals to make strips
  • Start by folding the bottom strips into eachother, then criss-cross fold the other strips all the way up -- this should mostly cover the blueberry/cheese filling, but there may be a few gaps here and there. At the next-to last strips, stretch them a little further down to leave a cream cheese opening where the eyes should be.
  • Tuck the last (top) strips in to look like a head wrapping
  • Bake 30-40 minutes at 350 degrees F until toasted and filling is set (mine took 30 minutes -- again, smaller loaf)
  • Transfer to a wire rack to cool, dot the open area with two berries for eyes
  • NOM NOM NOM (once cooled)
Serve your mummy plain, dusted with powdered sugar, or with a drizzly vanilla glaze. He is delicious with coffee and should be shared with friends.

Monday, 17 January 2011

the return of the witches

0 comments


As much as I enjoyed last year's departure into a haunted garden theme, there was apparently something missing. Something lacking. Not in my opinion. But certainly in the opinions of my outraged family members and incredulous neighbours.

Because within the haunted garden, there was a dearth of "people". Humanoid figures. Standing or sitting silently near the porch, challenging trick-or-treaters to approach and determine whether or not they were "real".

In previous years, there had always been "people" in my haunts. Their appearances varied. Witches and grave diggers in the more recent years in which my yard had a theme; random werewolves and vampires and devils during the years in which it was simply an eclectic collection of whatever I could find inside my Halloween storage boxes.

So this year, in response to a combination of peer pressure and nostalgia, my haunt will once again play host to "people". Specifically, to Halloween witches. Because more than any other creation, witches were a mainstay of my haunts for many years. On the porch. On a garden bench. On the stairs. Usually constructed out of tree stumps and flower pots and dollar store masks. There was usually a Halloween witch lurking about somewhere.

And I miss them.

So this year's theme will be The Return of the Witches. But with a few modifications. Gone will be the flower pots and dollar store masks. And those tree stumps are getting too bug-ridden to be of much use in prop construction. So when the witches return, they will have adopted a slightly different form. I believe this is where my cheesecloth-mache experimentation may fit in . . .

Saturday, 8 January 2011

mascot

0 comments


The project from 2010 with which I was the least satisfied would have to be the grasshopper. It never seemed to conform to my vision of it. No matter what I tried, it just kept looking too . . . cute. It spent Halloween in my yard, where it drew comments and admiration from trick-or-treaters and assorted passers-by. Most felt it was more creepy than cute.

I remained unconvinced.

So in the days following Halloween, as I deconstructed the props and sent most into storage, I made the decision to dispose of the grasshopper. It would not live to see another Halloween. Oddly enough, it was a decision that elicited a mixture of shock and disbelief from my husband, a person who is largely oblivious to the fate of my props after Halloween night. Apparently, however, he had formed an attachment to the grasshopper while it lived in our basement in various stages of completion. And he was appalled that I would even consider its destruction.

I remained unconvinced.

Finally, unwilling to witness the grasshopper's demise, he took matters into his own hands. An elementary school teacher, he was planning a science unit for his class on invertebrates, and he felt the grasshopper prop could play a role in its introduction. But not any ordinary introduction. Instead, he stuffed the grasshopper into a large white sack and hung it upside down in a corner of his classroom. He would eventually have them "Guess the invertebrate".

But in the meantime, nothing keeps those kids in line like an unidentified corpse in a body bag hanging in the classroom.

Saturday, 1 January 2011

halloween resolutions for 2011

0 comments


As another New Year's Day dawns and I sit in the comforting glow of my computer screen, my thoughts turn once again to resolutions. Not the typical new year's resolutions, of course. I've long since given up on those as futile and discouraging. Rather, I am once again considering the preparation of Halloween resolutions.

My experience with Halloween resolutions has been somewhat checkered. Two years ago, I made a list of general ideas and projects I wanted to have completed by Halloween of that year and, much to my surprise, I was actually able to achieve most of my goals. Last year, not so much. Last year, I foolishly resolved to complete one Halloween prop in each of the first ten months of the year. Big mistake. Before I knew it, May had arrived and I was still working on February's prop. I should have known better than to be too specific in my resolutions. Vague and nebulous plans work best for me. Which is why this New Year's Day, I am again embracing the non-specific.

Anyone who reads this blog regularly may recall that last year, in addition to my woefully delayed Halloween props, I also completed four Tusken Raider costumes for my family to wear to a local comic/scifi convention. In the process, I discovered that I greatly enjoyed making masks and working with cheesecloth mache. I'd like to continue to experiment, but my choice of Ringwraith costumes for this year's con have rendered mache masks unnecessary.

So . . . instead, I hereby resolve to incorporate homemade cheesecloth mache masks into my Halloween display this year. No idea as to what or how or where. But that's the beauty of it. With this degree of uncertainty in my Halloween resolution, it can't help but be a resounding success. I look forward to wonderful results.

Sponsors

Followers

 

Planet Halloween. Copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved Free Wordpress Templates by Brian Gardner Blogger Templates presents HD TV Fringe Streaming. Featured on Wedding Photographers Singapore.