Hooray for October!

* I know very well that I can't do a post every day in October, but I'm gonna try for 3 a week (Mon, Wed and Fri). Wish me luck!

* For the past few years, I've made special boxes of candy for my friends and co-workers. No co-workers this year, but the boxes continue. Here are some favorite places to find just the right graphic elements:

• The Graphics Fairy has everything from beautiful butterflies to antique photos waiting to be modified. She even takes requests!

• The UCLA Library site took some digging, but the reward is high-resolution pdfs of the Antikamnia Calendar - happy little skull-headed men going about their daily activities.

• Historical Anatomies on the Web. Once again, you gotta look around but there are plenty of skeletons and muscles to choose from.

• The Fantastic in Art and Fiction, from Cornell University, supplies demons, more skeletons in clothes, and a naked witch riding a broom.

• Just Something I Made has lots of stuff that can be easily modified for nefarious Halloween purposes. These apothecary labels include a "danger poison" label, and here's a lovely ornate gravestone border.

• And of course there's Dover. Their Old-Time Halloween book and CD combo is great, because the CD includes higher quality jpegs.

* If you want a post a day, take a drive to Neato Ghoulville! (don't forget to detour through Weird Hollow, they're dying to see you bwaa haa haa!)

they read my mind

* I took the bus downtown all by myself for the first time on Wed, to buy presents for my husband. I stopped in Chapter's to browse and from across the room it called me ...

zombie! and cross stitch! together at last! The box was all sealed up so you can't preview all the patterns inside but there are a few more pattern peeks on the back of the box. This is going on my wish list. (and the author has a blog over here!)

* In other spooky news, Martha's Halloween mag Best-Of book is on the stands (at least here in Canada). But it's a best-of so I'd strongly advise having a look through before you take it home. Almost all the projects have been in previous issues (tombstone yard, bubble wrap jellyfish costume, black vodka cocktails, etc.) But her costume on the cover is new - I wish I had access to her hairstylists!
edited to add: it is actually a book, and only has 2 ads (one across from the table of contents, and one on the back of the book) so it is alot of info handy in one place.

* So I've been volunteering at a facility, and I met one of the board members (1). His son is an actor (2) and was in Battlestar Gallactica. Lucy Lawless (3) was also in BG. But she was the star of Xena, which often guest-starred BRUCE CAMPBELL!!! I'm 4 degrees of separation from Bruce!!! this made my nerdy fan-girl day ;)

* and on that note ...

yay!

(note to self: if you hit Enter after you type the title, the blog will post. you don't want to do that.)

* Gettin' in the Halloween mood. I want to make treat boxes again this year, but on a larger scale. I've been perusing a fantastic book my mom-in-law got me - Ghoulish Goodies! It's really cool with great recipes and adorably spooky illustrations. I'd love to try the pumpkin-shaped cookies with melted crushed candy for the eyes so they look like they're glowing!

* Also nabbed this year's BHG Halloween magazine (the magazine is great but their website is a nightmare!) My fave section this year is the "Dead and Breakfast" front yard ideas, and the photos of an antique shop's decorations. Weathered paperbacks stacked with pages facing out? Brilliant! Wrapping flameless candles with yellowed book pages? Spook-a-licious! Hmm, flameless candles were on sale at Costco last week ...

I haven't seen Martha on the newsstands yet. This year she even has her own costumes for sale at Grandin Road - the costumes that she tells you how to make in her magazines and website, but buying them would save time I guess. (Don't look at the other women's costumes there, it's all that unimaginative "sexy fill-in-the-blank" junk)

Well, looks like Target have started the ball rolling and revealed their mascots for this year - green witch, square-headed Frankenstein and mummy, and one-eyed ghost. Dagnabbit, I'll miss the Jones soda this year :(

World Market doesn't have a specific section on their website, but this branch candle holder would fit right in, these mercury glass votive candle holders are great, and I would love this kinda-retro paper pulp moon & owl.

Okay, I'd better spread this stuff out or I'll be bare by Halloween. See ya next time!

spooky times ahead?

* Hi to anybody that's left!

* I realized last week that I haven't done a single post about Halloween and it's almost September! Blame Canada. No Target (they'd be on the bad list anyway after donating money to a PAC that then supported an anti-gay rights politician), and I have no idea what nifty mail-order places there are up here. I have scoped out Michael's collection, and the rack and a half at Winners/Homesense, but nothing is calling me. I'm considering making my Halloween treat box bigger this year and filling it with cookies. My sis-in-law picked up some cute cookie cutters on her trip to Oregon so I could break those in.

The spirit is coming, though. Today is super windy and the scent of fall is in the air! And the wind is chilly! Real fall!

* Last Friday night we attended a very special birthday party - Lovecraft's 120th! The giant Cthulhu head with lit-up eyes was amazing! They had spoken word artists, singers, poets, a trivia contest and they showed a creeeepy short film called AM1200 (rent and watch with the lights off).
My favorite parts were:

• The gentleman in the photo above reading Nyarlathotep (which it turns out I've been pronouncing incorrectly).
• The singer (Jeff Andrew), self described as "hobo noir," a combo of Tom Waits and Tim Burton, and accompanied by a saw! a saw I say! and a tin whistle!
• Missie Peters' poem about a rift brought forth through a carving
• a bouncy little Cthulhu song sung by the host and a robed gent with a guitar

They even served birthday cake.

* That's it for today - thanks for stopping by!

Swap meet goodness!

* Oh boy I love the swap meet! (except for the getting-up-early part, and the walking-in-the-sun part). It's random - sometimes there's nothing, but sometimes we find something great!About a month ago, found this gem. (not exactly this one cause I haven't taken a photo of mine yet, but just like this except the top says "A classic game for two" and the bottom right corner says "Le Bourreau" because we're in Canada). Vincent Price! Hangman! Once I get some plate holders to hold the box upright, he'll go on top of the bookshelf with Cthulhu, the gargoyles and the jar 'o skulls.

Last week I got a handful of vintage patterns. I had been sticking with the 50s, but these ladies are just so cute! The one on the far right is having a VERY GOOD time, and I covet the shoes of the one in the middle.

He lives! He strikes! No grave can hold him! For $1 I got Tales of the Zombie #1 AND Vampire Tales #1! Glen also got a fantabulous photo album of Elks from the 50s through the 70s. Stuck between a couple of pages was this:

Nifty real human hair net invisible! With hair net enclosed!

Last but not least, the cutest vintage embroidery transfer pattern! One day I will make these for somebody I know. I don't exactly know WHO yet, but somebody deserves to bee relaxed!

Thanks for sticking around! Coming soon, an epic tale of vinyl.

My heart is racing!

* Once upon a time, I met a man on the internet. Last February, I decided to show him how I felt by making him a very special stuffed monkey. He loved it, and the rest is history.

And now! q.D. paToOtieS, the designer of the pattern, has featured the Amazing Love Monkey on her blog! Hooray! Thanks q.D.!
ALM and his jaunty hot rod reside in my husband's studio. Hopefully his head won't get swelled by the attention.

thrift stores galore

* I've been having sooo much fun up here visiting thrift stores, flea markets, yard sales and used book stores. There's a pile o' printed goodness on my desk just waiting to be scanned!

First up, Modern Needlecraft magazine, Fall Winter 1963. A thrift store up-island had tons of this magazine, but since I can neither crochet or knit I only bought one (the purple-and-black color scheme on the cover played no part in the decision ;) I kinda like the sweater on the cover, but as a busty gal it would NOT work on me at all.

There aren't many scan-worthy ads, but the Lane Bryant one is a keeper. IF you're STOUT? How kind of them to notice! And look at the teeny waist on her, with her gloves and pumps.


How about some thrills ... fun ... earn? "If you seek increased independence, greater happiness, and a worth-while hobby, and you feel you have artistic talent, write for this FREE booklet." I have never heard of this hobby before.

The ladies seem to be all a-flutter about Cardigan Cal. And he knows it!

Mr. Dobbs, is that you?


A yarn ad on the back. The woman at the top looks suspiciously like Julie Newmar.

* Thanks to those who let me know I'm not the only one having blogger issues! As you can see I changed some things around, and although Preview still doesn't match, the Compose part is fairly close to the final result.