Halloween Inspiration

I was so fortunate to get into this FABULOUS Halloween swap hosted by

Gypsy Mermaid Life. She was so sweet to let me in~ even though I contacted her after the deadline. (Thank You!!!) I am so excited to have Sarah, The Gypsy Mermaid herself, as my swap partner for this one!

I plan on getting in some serious crafting time this weekend working on new Halloween items for custom etsy orders, My Lollishops shop(the buzz is Lollishops will be opening before Halloween~ very fun!) and of course I am going to work on many fun things for my new swap partner :)

So, a little inspiration....

All of these photos are from Christmas Traditions, one of my FAVORITE stores on the web for all things AMAZING and HALLOWEEN!

What an envy-worthy collection!

I have been having a hard time not buying these new pieces from Nicol Sayre~ I find myself swooning after them~ maybe these could be an Anniversary gift from my husband..hint hint..Matthew, I want these :)

I love this little vignette, so magical!

When I am really really old and they have to come in my house to get me out~I hope they find me under a pile that looks just like this, LOL.

Happy Crafting!!!!

All I want For Halloween Is...

I went to Michael's Craft Store the other day~ officially one of my favorite
places to load up on Halloween decor~ and I started my wish list for this year!!!
Check out this AMAZING black glitter chandelier kit by none other than Martha Stewart herself. It looks so neat and fun to make!!!

Next, this honeycomb kit caught my eye(also by Martha)
I just love the vintage cutouts!!!

and of course what would a Halloween wish list be without the treats???
I just think these cupcake stencils are sooo neat!

Also, Michael's carries the Spooky Town village by Lemax that I collect.
They have some Fabulous new pieces for 2008.
I was glad to see they are carrying some more traditional pieces this year to add to my "town."
The last couple Halloween's they have been adding scarier-type pieces, and I see this year they have some kinda-gory haunted wild west themed pieces.
I think they are all super-neat, but those wouldn't really go with my current pieces, and I have a small fortune invested in them at this point.
I originally started collecting this village around 2001, when the pieces were more true to life. My set up consists of a little haunted-but-not-too-scary town with little trick-or-treaters and a fun Halloween house that is hosting a Halloween party.
It is the highlight of my Halloween decor every year!

I just adore this Full Moon Apothecary shop~ it is animated, the witch circles around the top!
Also, it lights up and makes sounds~ too neat-o!

And this would be the creme' De la creme' ! I think this piece is so
cute! All of the characters move and the whole thing lights up and makes sound.
I am going to have to hit the lottery~ that is just all there is to it :)

Happy mid-week...and Halloween wishes!!!!

Is it October Yet?????

For those of you whom are beach bunnies and Big Kahunas~ BEWARE!!!
I am busy at work in Canton, Ohio wishing and praying for AUTUMN!!!
Every year towards the end of August I get a serious case of ants-in-the-pants for rustling leaves and candy corn. I even started scouting out my local haunts(pun intended ;)) for Halloween decorations, like I don't have enough already, LOL.
Side note: Get with it JoAnn Fabrics Stores!!! I am so mad, been over there twice and not a witch or ghost on the shelves yet!!!
See, I secretly LOVE when the stores get flooded with Holiday decorations early~ I embrace it! I love Halloween and Christmas and really enjoy shopping for holiday things. I am so envious of the people that live near all-year-round Christmas stores, especially the ones that have a Halloween room or two. I have been lucky enough to hit a couple of those while on vacation and they are so so fun.
Anyhoo~ now that the nights are finally getting colder(in the high 50's- see my wishes and prayers are working :)) I have been in the mood to craft again~ finally! For awhile there I thought something might have really been wrong with me, LOL.
So these are the few fun things I made yesterday~ note all the doll head images. Ever since I saw one of these images in the latest issue of Somerset Life magazine~ I don't remember the artist, but the article was about dying papers and making tags~ anyhoo, I loved the image and so all summer I have been searching ebay waiting to find the perfect China doll head to bid on...the trouble is they are pricey~ so I "retrieved" some images of ones-in-particular that I loved but couldn't afford and started using them in my artwork~ I think they are so versatile and sweet. Just love em'!
Anyhoo, I hope to be back in the swing of things now and I will start posting more often again~ Promise.
Here's to Fall...and Crafting!

Boo!

Collage Witch ornament

All available at my etsy shop.
Happy Crafting :)