The haunted living room...and sweet surprises!

OH! It is getting SO spooky here, I can hardly stand it. And tonight is scary movie night! Shiver, shiver. :)

I received the nicest surprise in the mail today. But first, the haunted living room!

The haunted Halloween tree!

The haunted fountain! The Oogie Boogie man is there. I got him at Disneyworld this summer - eeek!

Here is the haunted village (LuLu - see why I want your skelly ferris wheel?)!

The haunted fireplace! ooooooooh!

and to make Halloween perfect what do you really need?
Sweet friends.

I got a package in the mail today from Sally. It was marked "Perishable". Was it a pickled bat? A rotting skull?
Oh, no. It was much better than that.
First, there was a lovely hand-made card.
And then there was See's chocolate.
To a Californian, this is like, well, nirvana.
I might share. I might not!

And on the same day, I got a beautiful card from Robin, complete with a Halloween poem! I put them on each side of the haunted Cinderella coach (see your Halloween shredded paper, Sally?).
I am a happy girl.

I wish each of you one truly spooky moment. Just enough to get your attention.
And then I wish you See's chocolate.
Happy Halloween!

The haunted dining room...

It's almost Halloween!

I thought I would share some pics of my decorations. I'll try and get some photos of the Halloween tree, and the village tomorrow. It's getting very spooky here!Happy Almost Halloween!

Come take a drive with me....

Got coffee, tea, or your favorite soda?
Good tunes on the radio?

Then let's go for a drive up to the Catoctin Mountain Park, near Camp David.
It's a gorgeous day.
Don't worry about snapping pictures. The DH and I have it covered. Just sit back and look out the windows.
I do love me some trees. These were just spectacular. Now brush the dog hair off before you get back into your cars to go home. There are tape rollers located by the exit doors. Have a nice day!

What do Day of the Dead and Carpal Tunnel have in common?

Bones!

I've been having my very first experience with carpal tunnel, and so I haven't been blogging as much as normal, or sewing, or writing. So what have I been doing?

Well, I finally finished this little painting of Frida and Diego. I found this frame a few months ago at a thrift store (natch), and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.
I've also been cutting and pasting. For some reason, cutting and pasting and painting don't hurt as much as typing or hand-stitching. That's my story, and I'm sticking with it.

So here is a Day of the Dead card that I made:
The card is actually a thick pre-cut shape. I found them in the dollar bin at Michael's (there were 5 in the bag). Under my new rule of "Pam cannot buy any more art supplies until she uses what she has!" I went digging around in my considerable stash, found these and thought they might make cool cards.

I bought the images on etsy from Magic Pug. I've also gotten some great images from another etsy shop called Land of Enchantment. I now have an overwhelming addiction for digital images (that I can print out as many times as I want)! You have been warned! If you buy one, you will want another! It's worse than potato chips. I have been having a blast with these. I've made tags, magnets, cards, collages, and used them in shadow boxes. I have my eye on some vintage Christmas images.

If you decide to do this, paint the cardboard surface with a primer (gesso) first, then give it a base color of the brightest color you have (I like hot pink).
I was going to use black lace in the background, but spray painting a doily black was cheaper.
The foil in back of the cross is the pull top off of a can of nuts. Yes, I do save everything.

Glitter glue and sequins - you gotta have that. I also used bits of old Christmas cards (because so many of them have reflective surfaces and textures).
When I was done, I sprayed the whole shebang with glossy varnish. I might put a thread hanger on the back, I can't decide.

Now I am going to put my wrist brace back on and be good for awhile. I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

Treasures, my precious...

I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures of what I bought at yard sales last weekend. I think I need a 12 step program to control my desire to buy odd things.

But who could resist this? (Don't answer that. It's a rhetorical question.)
Especially since the guy at the yard sale gave her to me because her couldn't find her mate. So she was all alone in the world, destined to live a solitary life, until I found...

Look at this happy couple! I am a yard sale matchmaker!
I found a little bag full of antique metal buttons. Some day I will do an entire post dedicated to buttons. It will be riveting.
There was also a bag full of cuff links and pins. I bought it because I felt sorry for them. I wish I was kidding.
I got a little wooden tray for a quarter. I see skellys, don't you?
A bag of lace. Like I needed more.
Fabric sample books. I got a pile for a buck.
Several packs of Punch and Judy cards that were printed in 1980. I love the graphics. For some reason, they remind me of Rocky and Bullwinkle.
A hand-painted, signed angel pin that I bought (for a dollar) because it was in a box with stuff that was going to scratch it up. Anyone else feel sorry for inanimate objects? No? Hmm.
Oh no! Another little orphaned person. She was all alone on a table with the lace that I bought. I had to buy her, too, right?
When I got home, I remembered something. A couple of months ago, in a thrift store, I bought this guy (I won't even try to explain, except to say it's the "Aw, poor little guy!" thing).Sure they come from different worlds. He's a prince, and well, she's a...dogwalker? But I think they will overcome their socioeconomic differences and have a long and happy life together in the hutch where I put all of the things I have no idea what to do with.

And last (Not really. There was more, but you know how it is with Blogger and posting pics, I GIVE UP) but never least...

SANTA!!!

Anyone else hear the Bee Gees? It's like John Travolta became Santa Claus. Did I mention he is an orphan, too? He's a pepper (or perhaps a salt) and he is missing Mrs. Claus.
Don't worry. I am sure in the not-too-distant future, the missus will turn up in one form or another.

Have a wonderful weekend. And remember, they are inanimate objects and don't have feelings. (Yeah, right!)

It's spooky, spooky time again...

We had such a beautiful weekend here. The weather was absolutely perfect. Cool, sunny days with a slight breeze. Look at this amazing sunset I caught a couple of days ago!

The trees are just beginning to turn. I could have days like this for many, many months and not get tired of them.

The DH and I went for a drive. We were supposed to go to a craft fair, which I do love to do, but when we got to the tiny town of Thurmont, it looked like an invasion had hit it. There were just too many people. So instead, we went to garage sales and I got some fun stuff which I will post about later.

On the way home, we stopped at Pryor Orchard and picked up some apples. When you step out of the car, you can smell them! My favorite apple besides Honey Crisp is Stayman. Crunchy-sweet-and-a-little tart. Muy delicioso.

I do love Fall. And this Tuesday is Spooky Time Jingles night! New items will be reveal around midnight as Tuesday the 12th becomes Wednesday the 13th. I will have some new Fall and Halloween goodies. Here are a couple:

This is Lester.

This is Irene.

I have recently gotten bitten by the Christmas bug (I KNOW! It's shocking!). To be honest, I don't seem to have found my 'thing' with Christmas. But I've been playing with snowmen and elves, and I think I'm getting closer.

This is Barnabas, the Abominable Snowman.

This is Bailey, the snowman in a snowsuit.

I have a couple of little elf ornies, too. One last thing! If you are in the area on October 16th, hop, skip and jump on over to the Spooky Time Jingles Soiree. There will be many fabulous artists selling their holiday goodies, and in the quaint town of Titusville, New Jersey. A perfect way to spend the afternoon (be sure and take money in all its forms because you will definitely find something you love).

Halloween is almost here. I am very excited! I hope you've been on the naughty side of nice. :)