It's a Halloween-Party-a-Go-Go!!!

It's A Halloween Party sponsored by A Fanciful Twist!!!

Welcome to our SPOOKTACULAR HOME...

YOU'RE IN LUCK!

THE WITCH IS IN!

(PLEASE PARK ALL BROOMS AT THE DOOR!)

Walk Into My Parlor

- by Mary Howitt

"Will you walk into my parlor?"said the spider to the fly;

"Tis the prettiest little parlor that you ever did spy.

The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,

And I have many curious things to show when you are there.

""Oh no, no!" said the little fly,

"to ask me is in vain;

For who goes up your winding stair can never come down again."

PLEASE, TAKE SOME CANDY....

BUT BEWARE!!!

THERE IS DANGER AS THE CROW FLYS!!!!!

NEXT....

STOP AND TAKE A MOMENT AND

FEAST YOUR EYES ON SOME "EYE"CANDY...

GHOSTS AND GOBLINS AND BLACK CATS~ OH MY!!!!

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT!!!

On Hallowe'en the thing

you must do

Is pretend that nothing

can frighten you

An' if somethin' scares you

and you want to run

Jus' let on likeit's Hallowe'en fun.

As spirits roam the neighborhoods at night, Let loose upon the Earth till it be light...

joke break:

Do zombies eat popcorn with their fingers?

No. They eat the fingers separately.

MMMWWWAAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!

AREN'T I THE GHOSTESS WITH THE MOSTESS????

DON'T BE AFRAID OF THIS SPOOOOOKY DISPLAY...

GHOULS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN!

LET'S SAY A CHANT!

Five Little Pumpkins
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one said, "Oh, my, it's getting late!
The second one said, "There are witches in the air!"
The third one said, "But I don't care!"
The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run."
The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun!"
WOO-ooh! went the wind and out went the lights.
And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

From THE RAVEN

Once upon a midnight dreary,

while I pondered weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered,

`tapping at my chamber door -Only this, and nothing more.'

-Edgar Allan Poe, 1845

AND NOW, MY BOOTIFUL PARTY GUESTS...

LET'S SIT AND WATCH ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES WITH ONE OF THE MOST MAGICAL AND SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN SCENES OF ALL TIME...

MEET ME IN ST.LOUIS!!!

AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE

FRIGHTFUL...

WE CAN WATCH

BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN!

"OH FRANKIE!!!"

THANKS FOR ATTENDING MY LITTLE SHIN-DIG!!!

GO TO A FANCIFUL TWIST TO "ATTEND" OTHER HALLOWEEN PARTIES...

BATS ALL FOLKS!

Trojan Horses, New Finds, and Winnings!

Before I get into the meaning of the strange title to this post~

I have to first say~ the NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK concert was so so AMAZING and

SO SO Fun!!!!

The pic above is of Kelly and I at the show~ we had a great time!!

It's so weird that we look so old in this pic because I swear, I felt like we were twelve years old again LOL!

The show was so good~ they played all the songs I would ever want to hear them play~ from "Please Don't Go Girl" to new faves like "Dirty Dancing" and they ended with a super great version of "Hangin' Tough"!!! I highly recommend going to see them if they come to your city! Even if you weren't that into back Then...they have grown up ALOT and have grown musically and are super hotties too :)

They put on a great show~ and the people-watching in the lobby of the venue is priceless.

As you can see, I wore some of my old buttons~ and I gotta alot of compliments~ but I saw tons of girls in full-on 1990's NKOTB gear!!! LOL! It was awesome!!!

Kelly and I are still texting each other about how magical the night was :)

I HEART NKOTB!!!!

And so...

This might seem like a strange title for a post but OMG! what a Freekin' week...I have to tell ya!!!!

We got a "Trojan Horse" Virus(says the IT guy at my "real" job) on our old computer and it killed it in the most slow and painful way~ it was so hard to watch.

Matthew and I are both kinda web savvy but both sorta idiots when it comes to the inner-workings of one of these machines. We gave it a shot, tried to save it~ but alas we spent Tuesday night at Best Buy with Kevin, out customer service specialist, and we broke down(literally-we're broke now LOL) and got a new computer!!! Woohoo!!! And I must say it is a top-of-line beauty. So shiny and new...feels so nice.

But I gotta say there is a part of me that misses the old one~she wasn't pretty and was really noisy, but we had a comfortable working relationship~ RIP old gal.

Anyhoo~ look at ALL these new FINDS!!!!

After taking a good portion of the Summer off from our usual haunts we headed back

down to our favorite antique stores last weekend and had a blast!!!

I got a whole bunch of little things (pictured above). I was in a little stuff mood I guess.

I did manage to find this AMAZING old barbers cabinet at the Paradise Flea Market in Navarre, Ohio. And you know~ I love the Johnny Depp Sweeney Todd movie and also my great grandpa was a barber too~ so it was just meant to be. I love the old chipped white paint and the little glass window. I am going to display some special things inside.

It is a bit stinky though so I scrubbed it out this morning and it is sitting in the sun on our back porch to dry out. I think I am going to spray it with Febreeze a little later too.

I have read that is a good way to get STINK out of wood.

I have seen so many ARTSY bloggers using old baby dresses in their decor and I guess after looking at pics on their blogs and flickr sites I fell in love with the idea.

I spotted this old little girls cotton dress at the Rt.57 antique mall and just had to have it.

It is absolutely beautiful. The picture barely does it justice.

I am looking for a smaller old wooden hanger for it but for now I hung it from an adult-size wooden hanger. I love the little cabinet card hanging over it.

It has a couple condition issues~ a small green(marker?) stain and a little tear. The stain I would like to remove but I kind of find the little tear endearing~ so I am not going to mend it. Any suggestions for how to clean up the marker stain? Just a good hand washing??

Or some other product? Your suggestions would be highly appreciated as I know many of you have done this sort of thing before.

Also last weekend I painted some cabinets that I have had for a long time and always meant to paint...well, I finally did it!!! Old with the old..and in with the new...

BEFORE

AFTER

After: WHITE PIE SAFE!!!

I love it :)

I also painted this cabinet~ because of the virus I lost some of my old photos~ and I don't really have one of this guy when he was green~ but I know I posted pics of it on here a few times.

CORRECTION: click here to see the "BEFORE" of this one

I love it this creamy color~ and then I decoupaged old sheet music and papers on the inside of it~ it looks magical!

Lost and Found kit necklace

I posted a few posts ago that I had got some neat little kits from JoAnns to make jewelry~ well, this is the necklace :) It was so easy to make and it looks so pretty..I also made a little charm bracelet for my friend Kelly~ go to JoAnns and get yourself some of these ~ it is a fun FALL craft :)

And LAST but NOT Least!!!

MY FABULOUS GIVEAWAY Prize from Scrappy Jessi came yesterday!!!

Isn't all this stuff great???

She is great!!!!

Thanks Again Jessi!!!!

and...she included these YUMMY glass ice cream cone ornaments~ too cute!!!

I just LOVE THEM!

I can't wait to hang them on our Christmas tree!!!

Well~ this has been a long post!!! I felt so lost without a computer~ I felt so disconnected and I missed blogland so much!!! It feels great to be back :)

I hope everyone is having a lovely FALL weekend!!!

Fabulousness on Etsy

Pleated Convertible Clutch
made with Amy Butler fabrics
(I heart Amy Butler fabrics!)

by Amie j Designs

"Spirits"

Junque Revival : art and jewelry by Jessica Moreau-Berry


I decided to spend some of my hard-earned cash this week on a splurge of fabulousness from some of my favorite stores on etsy!
There are so many amazing artists that have FABULOUS stores on etsy!
My favorite sellers list has over 30 pages!!!
What to choose???
I decided to stick with 2 of my most-favorite things right now~
clutch purses and steampunk jewelry.
I am really looking forward to getting my items in the mail :)
That is another thing I love about etsy~ the delayed gratification because I LOVE getting mail!
It always seems like I am having the most BLAH day and then I pull in the driveway and
see a package on the porch~ I get so excited!!!!
Oh boy! Oh boy! Oh boy!

And now onto other FUN stuff...

Tomorrow night is the NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK concert~ finally!!!!
I am so very excited!
Not only just to see Joe, Jordan, Jon, Danny and Donnie~ but to spend
time with my bestest childhood friend, Kelly.
It is so funny~ I remember going to NKOTB concerts in the early 90's ~ we have seen them a bunch of times, anyhoo~ and the night before I remember
being so excited I couldn't even sleep. LOL.
Being 31, a little of that has worn off...but I gotta confess, both Kelly and I have been listening to their new CD "The Block" all week and we have been texting each other like crazy with messages of anticipation for tomorrow night :)
Anyhoo~ I am sure the New Kids are going to deliver~ I saw a little special on VH1 of their concert and it looked AMAZING!
A BIG difference from their concerts of the past~ the audience that is..no more screaming, crying, psychotically-excited 13 year olds. LOL
The women in the audience all looked like me and Kelly-OLD(er) LOL!!!
I can't wait!!!!
And their new CD "The Block" is so good~ so fresh and modern sounding~ they have come a long way from"Hangin' Tough" that's for sure.
I can't wait to hear "I'll be Loving you Forever" and "You got it-The Right Stuff" (Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh- you know you're singin' it...LOL!!!!)

Oh and I can't wait to here them do my new favorite song of theirs, "Dirty Dancing"
~ with the Patrick Swayze references-it's an instant classic.
(above picture is mostly for my mom) ;)

Anyhoo~ have a fabulous weekend, buy yourself something!!!!
Buy Handmade!!!
Support your favorite Etsy shops!!!!
Craft On!!!!

Witches Cupboard Swap and Fun Fall Crafts

Thank You Sarah for the above picture, in my excitement to send your swap package
I forgot to take a picture of everything! LOL!

Above: What I sent to Sarah for The Witches Cupboard Swap...

I posted a while back, I was lucky enough to squeeze in to Gypsy
Mermaid's Witches Cupboard Swap and Sarah, The Gypsy Mermaid herself, was my partner!
And I totally lucked out!
I had just about sworn off swapping after getting some real flakes as swap partners.
This might sound pretty cold, but for those of you whom have gotten royally screwed over by a swap partner~ you know my frustration!
The last few swaps I have participated in I haven't even blogged about either because what I received was of such poor quality it wasn't worth it or I didn't get anything at all!!!!
But Sarah is my Swapping Angel and sent me an amazing BOX full of
Halloween Goodness!
My faith in swapping has been restored...and, if you read Sarah's blog, you know that recently her house was completely destroyed during Hurricane Ike!!! And she still was able to swap with me~ I was so shocked when she emailed and said she still planned on swapping with me~ now that is dedication~ none of us have any excuses for not committing to swaps we join and putting our money, thoughtfulness, and creativity into our swap partners gifts when we commit.
Thank You Sarah!!!

So onto the Fabulousness that I received...

Look at all this GREAT stuff!!!!
Isn't that garland the cutest?!?

The "Best Spell" frame is over-the-top creative and AMAZING!!!!
I had to find a SPECIAL place for it...

this hangs right beside "my" spot on the couch~ and I have been admiring it often!!!

This is a little sneak peek of some of my Halloween decorating.
I wanted to go all "Sweet and Sinister" with my Halloween decor this year and this is my favorite vignette so far...
Sarah sent me that AWESOME black cat covered in tons of shimmery black glitter~ so great!

This is another little nook in the corner of our dining room
The little pumpkin and pedestal are from Sarah~ too sweet!
And the little vintage-esque canister is filled with candy eyeballs~ perfect for any witch!
The little green glittery apple reads "Poisonous Apple (only take one bite)"
How precious?? She is so creative! WOW!

And today on my way home from work as the weather was turning from a partly cloudy cool day to a full on AUTUMN day with grey clouds taking over the sky and a few rain drops falling I felt so overwhelmed with crafty urges I just had to stop at Joann Etc. on my way home.
What is it about this time of year that gets our creative juices flowing?
I just want to stay in the house, drink hot cocoa and play with my glue gun :)
I really wanted to craft something for myself-not for my shop- and so I strayed from my normal favorite sections- the paper and stamping sections~ and I wandered over to the beads and buttons section and voila!! My mind popped open with some fun Fall Crafting Ideas!

Fall Fun Crafty Idea #1: make a fun BIRD-themed necklace with these AWESOME kits by "Lost and Found"
I love them and the possibilities are endless...and the whole set is 40% off this week!

and then I spotted these AMAZING buttons~
Fall Fun Crafty idea #2: I am going to add them to a little black cardigan that I just bought~ to add a little special touch.
I think they are just too cute!

Well..here's to Fall and Crafting Fun...and thanks again to Sarah for all
of my Halloween swap surprises!!!

Craft on!

It's a Halloween Party!

This party is on Saturday Oct.18~ and it is an "anything goes" Halloween party! How fun!!!

Ghost stories, decorations, and creativity are being encouraged~ sounds like my kind of party!!!

Check out the blog, A Fanciful Twist to sign up!

This is an Autumn Gathering hosted by Artsy Mama herself.

Head over to her blog to sign up!

I am so in the Fall mood~ it looks like the weather is breaking here this week and I am super excited about it!!!

We decorated our house this weekend for Halloween, I took lots and lots of pics that I will get ready to share here soon!

I hope all of you have a FUN FALL week!!

Country Living Fair Finds and Our House

As promised I took pics of all of my FABULOUS Country Living Fair Finds so that I could share them here :)
First ~ one of my ALL TIME Favorites, This AMAZING collage by Cheryl Kuhn(above).
Her booth in the Earth Angels toys tent was mind-blowing!!! I was having the hardest time making up my mind about which one of her creations I would take home with me.
And then i saw this couple, so sweet and it just clicked with me.
I feel so lucky to have one of her pieces and I even got to meet her!!!
What a fun day!

This vintage giant red "C" was just so neat, I had to bring it home. Even though
no one in our family has a name that starts with "C"~ it is so great. And when I was fretting over
buying it, the ladies in the booth were naming "C" words that it could stand for~ we had a good time coming up with them!
Crafty, Cute, Classy, Country Living Fair...and some not-so- G-rated ones as well LOL.
It's been a fun conversation-starter as you can imagine.

This cottage-style shelf was such a FIND at the Broadway antique mall in Lebanon, Ohio. One of our favorite shops of all time! It is huge, 4 ft. x 2 ft.!!! So perfect!! It must have been a cabinet at one time because there are some left over hinges on the bottoms. I love wondering where it has been and all the things it has stored. And don't you just adore the scalloped top??? That is what made my heart sing when I saw it. And what a steal for only $40!!!!

Also in the Earth Angels toys tent was Kitty Babendreier, another one of my ALL-TIME favorite collage artists!!! She was so sweet and I took tons of time looking at all of her ORIGINAL shadow boxes~and these are the 2 that I just had to have.
As soon as I saw them I pictured them hanging in this old frame. I got this old frame forever-ago at a local antique mall and painted it creamy white. I have tried using it several ways but nothing ever stuck. But I knew it was meant to be when I hung it up to add more definition to these tiny little collage boxes.
Also, in my opinion~ one of the neatest things about Kitty's collages are the tags that she hangs from them, they have little phrases on them, and they almost give the collage a "voice."
I think they are just so special.
Check her out at Earth Angels Toys.

Naughty Obsessive Decorator confession #1
After we painted in May, I never hung ANYTHING back up on
our walls..till this past weekend!!!
I just couldn't decide what was going where and I knew I wanted to get some new things and get rid of some older things...yada, yada, yada~ it's been a long summer~ and now it's September and we finally got stuff back on the walls!

So, to share our new DECORATED walls...
Here's some Dining Room Pics...

~Pink shelf was a flea market find~
Featuring: Cody Foster mini-putz houses in sugary colors and the
old photos are "adopted" relatives from different garage sales.
The little bird cage was a CL Fair find from McMaster and Storm.

I know I showed off this vintage carnival-prize chalk ware figurine way-back when I picked her up at the Strasburg antique mall AND I showed off this drawer that I shabby'd up a while back too~ now they are together forever on our dining room wall.
I actually got this drawer on the day I got the figure, knowing that eventually I would make her a house out of the drawer...she's finally at home.

These are 2 AMAZING prints from Dollface Design, a favorite etsy-shop of mine.
They are printed on antique ledger paper, how cool is that???


And now onto our Family Room...

This black shelf hangs above our couch~
I finally gave a home to these 2 sweet Black Apple prints that I got forever-ago.
The N's stand for my maiden name. I pick em' up whenever I see them which isn't often and they aren't a fortune!
I just got the little white one at the CL Fair.

This sits next to our couch~
just a little corner of things I like to look at~
dried hydrangeas, wedding memorabilia, and a cabinet with old family photos.

This pie safe, OH My, this pie safe! Where do I start???
It has been in every corner of our dining room and family room and I
think I finally like it here.
Or is it just that my husband refuses to move it yet AGAIN??
maybe one more time because...
I plan on painting it this Fall~ I was thinking a light pastel color.

Earlier this year I started picking up silhouette pictures here and there~ when they wouldn't break our bank~ speaking of which, has anyone else noticed that since these have been featured in Martha Stewart and Country Living the prices on them have been going up at the antique malls???
Anyhoo~ these were all purchased at garage sales or estate sales for under $5 each!

(I stopped posting to pet my cat, Stanley)

Okay I'm back...This cabinet holds my Halloween collectibles, it sits in our family room.
I also want to paint this one~ I am thinking white.
The window on top was a curb-side-freebie and I lined it with antique ledger paper
I bought on etsy. The old wedding photo is of "adopted" relatives.
I got it at the Shoe Factory antique mall (Lebanon, Ohio) for only $3!!!
I was drawn to the cute young couple and their kinda awkward
best man and maid-of-honor. When I picked it up an old note fell out of the back that said
"my mothers wedding" and it kinda made me sad.
How did it end up in some dusty booth at an antique mall when
someone so lovingly marked it with a handwritten note?
I guess that is the why I love flea-market style and decorating with old things,
it's not just that the objects themselves are neat and beautiful but the stories behind them are yours to make your own too.

I hope you enjoyed my little house tour.
Have a great weekend!!!
Happy Crafting!

My Thursday Loves

My Thursday Loves
Originally uploaded by SleepyHollowCrafts

Things I am Loving to Look at on Thursday. Prettiness for prettiness sake...and because our electricity is still out (its been out since Sunday evening!!!)and I need to see some pretty things since my pretty little things at home are harder to admire by flashlight.

**Update!!! Electricity finally came on Thursday evening!***