Sunday, Bloody Sunday #8

...with Fright Night part II


Love both the Fright Night movies, but this is definitely my favorite.

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)

I have a slight fixation with pillow cases...

The spider web is from Target a couple Halloween's ago.
Ghastlies print pillow case, made by me. :)

Family Frights for Saturday Night 3

Weekends to Die For

Every October, if I'm not watching SyFy for their "31 Days of Halloween" devouring anything horror that isn't Jeepers Creepers (1 and 2, back-to-back, over and over and OVER again), I usually have the Travel Channel on, watching whatever haunted attraction countdowns, weird travel destination shows or ghost stories may be on. Tonight will officially mark the return of "Weekends to Die For", Travel Channel's own countdown to Halloween.

Last year Making Monsters and The Dead Files made their debut, adding some girth to the rather moldy, but always enjoyed, line up of Halloween "specials". I'm shamelessly, and, in the case of The Dead Files rather morbidly (I think it's Amy's oddness), addicted to both. Lucky for me they'll both be back. Since Dead Files just wrapped a season however, they'll be checking in with a few special episodes, and I expect, countless reruns. Also, new episodes of Ghost Adventures persist continue in their new season which officially started September 14th (my loathe/love relationship with that show endures like the plague... I wish it'd kill me already!) , along with another new ghost-stalking show called Paranormal Paparazzi-- which I am already inclined to hate thanks to that horrid title.

Paranormal Paparazzi premiere: Tonight @ 7pm
Ghost Adventures (new episode): Fridays @ 9pm
Making Monsters season premiere: Sunday, Sept. 30th @ 8&9pm

FYI, their commercial is really cute, but sadly I couldn't seem to hunt it down online... if you happen onto Travel Channel keep an eye out for it!



Artwork by Jason Reicher

Twisted Treasuries #8: Panic in the UnderGhourds

I have no idea where September ran off to. This week was the last of it-- that last little bit of cushion I had to keep calm and trudge on before October hits. There's no hiding, the Haunters crunch has begun! With September gone and a new lady-like job starting up for me about a week around the corner, I'm forced to face that maybe* there just aren't enough days. Despite a weekend-long marathon last weekend of spray paint and mache, I'm feeling so behind on my build. I take some solace in knowing I'm not the only one. And I'm not just talking fellow haunters.

One thing etsy has clued me in on: Pumpkins can panic too! As briefly hinted last week, this week Twisted Treasuries visits the UnderGhourds of etsy to help convey the various stages of haunters emotions when the clock starts to really tick.

DanceSippyDance was one of my first favorites when I joined etsy way back. I've adopted many bloody monsters and other pieces from her shop and love every one of them like children. They're so expressively, disturbingly adorable! This Halloween there's a whole army of pumpkin headed cuties that know EXACTLY how I feel.

a little trepidatious to start:

then the nerves really start to settle in and I wonder "am I crazy?":

and then, comes the full-on Kevin McCallister freak out!

by dancesippydance

All that stress can cause breakouts. This little guy looks like he know what I'm talking about. But then he's got a little more to worry about, living with the hordes of Candy Corn Zombies running amok in his shop!

by ALittleCharacter

Inevitably something won't work out quite right; the pristinely mached skull shifts where it's drying, sticks to the floor or plastic sheeting and tears irreparably when you try to pick it up, the teeth crack on the ghoul or the dog knocks over and steps on a tombstone or snaps a corn stalk, and you feel like screaming and bawling your eyes out...

by Fishstikks

On rare occasions you even get a little jumpy and your own decorations start to creep you out!

by paperjar

Most of the time though, you just feel like a deer in headlights, perpetually wide-eyed and in shock at all you have left to do. And you totally did it to yourself, which dumbfounds you even more! If you're lucky, you won't develop a weird eye-twitch to go along with it...

by NattyKnits

I guess all you can really do is fake it and try to put on a (relatively) happy face...

by TheGrayCafe

Don't forget to check out the rest of this week's treasury! Maybe even adopt a sad sack underghourd of your own. Give it a much needed sense of self and security this Halloween.

I'm off to make the most of this weekend before my gainful employedness takes over my life next week. CRUNCH TIME!!

*notice I said "maybe". There's still some delusional little Halloween-happy speck of me still willing to churn out the monster yard haunt I've been obsessing over since April.

On tap tonight:

See the trailer HERE

Starbright Silver for the Pop Culture Geek

Came across a new jewelry shop to favorite the heck out of on etsy this morning: Starbright Silver: silver geek jewelry by Megan McFall. I'm not sure how I hadn't stumbled on it sooner!

The "Halloween pumpkin" necklace, designed after Carpenters classic '78 credit opener.

Her shop has quite the collection of fabulous pop culture pieces to swoon over, not just because they're awesome, but because the jewelry is real silver so you can wear the heck out of them without turning your neck green. A luxury you don't always get with some geek shiek fandom accessories out there. It's cool to honor thy favorite monster, but you don't (always) want to look like it. Know what I mean?


My second favorite to the Halloween pumpkin? The "Face Hugger" pendant!

Then there's the "Evil Willow" Buffy homage necklace. One of  quite a few choice Buffy pendants.

Don't worry, Trekkie's and Star Wars freaks will not be disappointed, nor will fans of Big Bang Theory or Harry Potter. With random injections of pieces like the Princess Mononoke Tree Spirit necklace  and a Godzilla (gotta have a godzilla piece!) the selection is nicely rounded out. No geek left behind!

Pumpkin Feet

Painting by Judy Murphy
Image via nimasonry

Friday!

Man, these things sure do sneak up on you. I knew the release for Hotel Transylvania was soon (hence the movie paraphenalia toys in the parentals Happy Meals), but this Friday?!

I don't get out to the theatres much; costs to too much (everything does when you're use to free), there's people, the smell of popcorn makes me yack (ex-theatre employee syndrome) and blahblahblah... but there are exceptions in which I at least ponder the idea of treking out to the triple,omni, multi, whatever-plex for a matinee. ParaNorman, Hotel Transylvania and, of course, the upcoming Frankenweenie are making it pretty hard to stay away. Maybe I 'll wait till all three hit the $1 theatre and have a triple feature matinees day...

On tap tonight:

See the TRAILER
Watch THE FLICK

Stabby

There's probably one thing in the world that terrifies me more than rabbits... and that's babies.

The ultimate nightmare...


Image Source

Happy Meal Halloween at Hotel Transylvania

My mom and dad sometimes get Happy Meals from McDonald's for lunch. This was the box brought home today:

And I got the Fall Apart Frankie toy! Yay!

 

The hand isn't in the photo above (I can't see to pin down which toys are definites and which are prototypes)*, but how awesome is that?!

I've encouraged both my parental units to keep up with their fast food Happy Meal addictions in the coming weeks. I want all those toys!!


*EDIT: everything in the second pic and the Headlight Horseman from the above seem to be the main 6

Abbott Punkinman

Primitive Pumpkin Art Doll Pattern
Image by Brenda of theVintagePolkaDot

Sunday, Bloody Sunday #7

... with (more) Headless Horseman.

Don't worry. I promise that's the last of it. :)

Pumpkin Overload

Made the first batch of Pumpkin Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies of the season this morning, along with  a couple other quickie pumpkin recipes so I wouldn't have to put half a can back in the fridge. More on those later this week.

My moms best friend and Girl Scout co-leader, heretofor to be referred to as TAZ, also my ex-troop leader (shocked? yeah, I get that alot) from back in the day and cat-sitting client, gave me her "Great Pumpkin" choco-chip oatmeal cookie recipe a few years back when I first started building and baking for Halloween. I haven't had the chance to vegan-ize the recipe yet (there's an egg in it just begging to be replaced with a flax seed egg...), but since this batch is for my grandpa that doesn't matter too much.

I'd totally give you the recipe, but then I'd have to kill you. And if I didn't then TAZ would. You know how Girl Scouts are about their cookies. ;)


What's your favorite autumn pumpkin, Hallow-themed thing to bake?

Snow White: A Tale of Terror

Six More

Picked up some more pumpkins at Wal-Mart (of all places) yesterday-- really the only thing of note in the Halloween sense on the shelves. At $4 a pop for some remarkably big and fresh-from-the-farm-filthy pumpkins it was too good to pass up.

Every year I  dream of a yard full of dastardly wide orange grins glowing all the way up to the front door. Maybe with $4 pumpkins this'll be that year. Here's hoping they'll last till the carving hour in a few weeks.

Mrs. Ghost

Mrs. Ghost appears slightly annoyed, which is rather curious for such an attractively dolled-up apparition. Perhaps Mrs. Ghost has repeatedly shown a seamstress the requested width of her new sheet, but has only been met with a blank stare. Or maybe Mrs. Ghost has an ectoplasmic migraine "this wide."

Image and Text by Cthulu's Hope Chest

Family Frights for Saturday Night 2

Since Halloween is right around the corner and autumn's (officially) beginning to set in, most normal families are probably crowded around the television once the sun goes down. They should be patroning local haunted houses and hayrides, but if they must, why not watch a Halloween themed family flick? Following last week's The Ghost and Mister Chicken, I've decided to make this a weekly installment here on the blog through till October 31st. So if you're stuck for something to watch with the kidlets you can check in every Saturday for a nudge in the right direction.

Up for tonight, Disney's "Tower of Terror" starring Steve Guttenburg and Kirsten Dunst.

It's Officially Fall!

Right here, this second: the Autumnal Equinox "for 2012 begins in the Northern Hemisphere on September 22, 10:49 A.M. EDT." For more on the first day of fall, you can visit to the Old Farmers Almanac website.

Fun Fact: One year ago today exactly, I was in Maine taking the above photo.

"Said the spider to the fly"

"The Spider turned him round about, and went into his den,
For well he knew the silly Fly would soon come back again: So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready, to dine upon the Fly.
Then he came out to his door again, and merrily did sing,
"Come hither, hither, pretty Fly, with the pearl and silver wing;
Your robes are green and purple -- there's a crest upon your head;
Your eyes are like the diamond bright, but mine are dull as lead!"

Alas, alas! how very soon this silly little Fly,
Hearing his wily, flattering words, came slowly flitting by;
With buzzing wings she hung aloft, then near and nearer drew,
Thinking only of her brilliant eyes, and green and purple hue --
Thinking only of her crested head -- poor foolish thing! At last,
Up jumped the cunning Spider, and fiercely held her fast.
He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,
Within his little parlour -- but she ne'er came out again! "

 

- The Spider and the Fly: A Fable

 

 

Image by Art Scott of the Curioddities Cabinet
For the full poem by Mary Howitt go HERE

It's Coffee with a Scream... the Addams Family

How perfect would these be to solve my current coffee cup conundrum?! But they're pretty awesome as a magnet too...


Image by vividiom.

Twisted Treasuries #7: Damn(ed) Fine Coffee... Mugs

This week's Twisted Treasury was supposed to be about pumpkins and panic that next week is the last of September, but then came an unexpected personal... tragedy? (loss? mishap?).... whatever it was, it was a definite kick in the face as I discovered that all of my Halloween mugs* had gone AWOL from the cupboards sometime between last Halloween and now. I'm not a big coffee or tea drinker, especially not in the summertime and I wasn't here for about six months last winter (nope, the mugs didn't come with me) so the fact that I didn't notice till now isn't a stretch, but they've still gone somewhere. Somewhere nobody bothered to tell me about.

One of the five victims.

It's a family mystery (mayhaps, dare i say, conspiracy?) that no one in my house seems able (willing?) to solve, even though one of them had to have been the guilty party. Issue #2424789724 of living with aging parents: someone does something (bad/good/constructive) they can't remember if they did it or why. Meanwhile, all The Brother's mugs and Mom's mugs were present and accounted for. Did I mention The Brother hasn't lived in our house for almost three years? Three years and not only does he have have a designated mug cabinet, but seemingly mug security as well. And mom says she doesn't play favorites... Uh huh. Tell me another.

At any rate, Mom feels pretty terrible about it -- even though she may not remember it, deep down, she knows she's responsible-- she spent most of Sunday rifling through boxes (some that have probably been packed since 1987) searching in vain. Eventually she'll remember what she did with them I guess (I hope), in the meantime I'm looking for new mugs**

Luckily, that's the sort of thing Twisted Treasuries (and a good guilt trip) was created for!

Second Chance Ceramics has a LOT of great cups, mugs and well... other ceramics. I would say it's hard to choose, but that was before I saw this one! I'm an Oz fan from way back and I'll always love the original illustrations the best. This is so classic! Maybe a little too cutesy clean, but hey, can't be blood and gore all the time. Mom always said even evil takes a break...

maybe not my mom....

Think evil drinks honey vanilla chamomile too?

If it does, it'd drink it in this mug I betchya.

by SecondChanceCeramics

but this one, this one or maybe this one or this one would do too! I can't decide. Which do you prefer?

There are a couple of Frankenstein Monster/Bride sets floating around on etsy, but these are my definite favorites. My only gripe is the his and hers, "mr." and "mrs." deal these sets seem to have. How about Mine and MINE sets?! Of course, I'm sure it's possible to get without. All I have to do is convo them... but, you know, just saying...

by stickmen

This one is just a flat out "duh". Must have muuuuuugggg!

It comes in other colors, but the orange is a fabulous Halloween bonus.

by BreadandBadger

Circa Ceramics is another one chocked full of hard decisions. They're a lot like zombies and brains... or me and notebooks: you can't stop with just one!

by CircaCeramics

This would nicely replace my favorite cauldron mugs from Target a few seasons ago...

by BigSkyArtworks

The atmosphere of these handpainted mugs is so magically Halloween...

by InkyDreamz

For more handmade and vintage mugs, check out the treasury.


To my missing mugs--

Wherever you are baby mugs, I'm sorry I didn't pay better attention to you. Please, come home safely. I need you! It's Pumpkin Spice tea season!

*who am I kidding? All my mugs are Halloween mugs, except for the two generic black dollar store and my care bear mug. YES, my care bear mug. ;)

** my melamine Halloween plate collection is MIA too. Clearly, there's a Halloween thief plaguing the neighborhood. Lock up your theme-ware people! they could be coming for yours next!

First Pumpkin of 2012!

It's just a little baby and what I call "a cheater pumpkin" that I picked up at Target yesterday. It's my opinion that pumpkin's should be carefully selected from farms or from roadside stands, with mud and dirt cemented on their sides, hay stuck in bits like autumn graffiti. But this little guy was squeaky clean discovered in the middle of the grocery aisle next to the bananas and hostess doughnuts, hence "cheater pumpkin". Nothing against him or any of those glistening picture perfect grocery pumpkins out there. They're still pumpkins and that's all that matters.

Can't wait to pick up a couple of monsters soon!

Target Halloween

The rumors are true! The usually torturous super slow Halloween stocking at Target seems to have magically already happened. Of course I didn't believe it until I headed out yesterday morning and saw it for myself.

The last couple of years I haven't been at all impressed with what Target's been putting out. I couldn't tell you one thing I've walked away with since the haunted mailbox I bought a few years ago. Maybe a couple melamine plates. A little ceramic pumpkin. And I've never EVER been able to catch the pumpkin spice Eggos or the poptarts everyone on the haunt forums were gushing over... until yesterday.


On the shelves:

Always happy to see these little guys. I don't think they'll ever get old.

Sparkly cardboard houses, and witch hat owls... I love these pillows, but let's be real. I could totally make my own. No sign of any bedding, except for the usual chenille throws. Shame. I really loved all their pillow cases.

Does your store have pillow cases this year?

A terrible photo, but I was kinda in love with all the sippy cups. Is that weird? I especially love the orange skulls and the black pumpkins (barely caught on the edge here). The pictures are divided into strips and turn to make different pumpkin faces. Sweet!

Party things.

Kicking myself for not liberating these two. They want out!!!

 

My phone crapped out on me halfway through the first aisle. Wanna see more? I recommend checking out The Spooky Vegan and her Target 2012 post. She has some awesome photos of everything I didn't get a chance to. I'm in love with the flaming pumpkin!

 

Overall, in comparison to the last few years of ho-hum Target Halloween, I guess I'm impressed. Definitely satiated the Halloween need at the very least.

What made it home with me:

I have a thing for pencils and stickers this year. Probably cause they're cheap. :)

 

 

Lalaloopsy... doomed to live in her package for all eternity. Unless I go back to liberate the sock monkeys, then maybe I'll get a 2nd and let her out to play.

 

 

More dog toys! The Bugaboo's been carrying around her skellie since I gave it to her yesterday. Even brought it in to sleep with her last night at bedtime.  The bat has proved Zoe proof! She was chewing on the rope wings all day and not a scratch...

 

 

Fabulous plates. The black ones are even microwave safe!

 

 

The good stuff! My mom was super excited about the Cadbury Screme eggs. Also managed to grab a couple boxes of Eggos waffles since I've been trying to find them for three years! Tried some this morning, which, of course, our evil toaster almost burned, but they smelled and tasted SO good. Subtle, but definitely pumpkin spice. Worth "3-years-of-waiting" good? Um... probably not.

A couple extra shots from a quick run-in to Marshalls:

Marshalls is probably the scariest square footage of consumer chaos on the planet, FYI... the things we do for Halloween! I was pretty unimpressed with all the sparkly garbage. Only this guy merited a photo.

 

 

At Five Below:

 

Again, nothing special.... so far. I'm hoping for more, because last year this was where I really scored some surprisingly awesome stuff.

 

 

Wal-Mart, Walgreens and Party City are next on my list of places to check out and that's about it for me and my Halloween shopping. After that it's really time to hunker down and build build build!