Christmas in August

Look at what has arrived at my humble abode this week:

A couple of items from Victorian Trading Company.

These aren't very tall, but I think they'll look good across the windowsill, or maybe even around a tombstone. There are 5 sets of three on the string.

The tall witch's shoe pincushion came in, too

I'm not sure how I'm going to use it this year, but it was too unique to pass up.

Next, the tealight holder, which really looks to be a votive holder.

Not red, as listed on the Dark Candles site, but purple.

I'm crazy about purple and I've decided to keep it, but it's not what I ordered. 

This is what I ordered:

 I can see this on the table with the black lacy tablecloth and the crystal ball.  So I've sent an email to Helena at Dark Candles to work out how to keep the purple one and order the red one, too, since they were different prices.

The first set of tea lights I ordered from her came in. These are Bonfire (the dark orange ones), Graveyard, and Clove.  With my next order, I want to try a single votive of several more scents to decide what I want to use in the tent, and some pillars for the house.  So far, they are smelling delicious, but they may not last til the jack-o-lanterns are carved.

Next were a couple of items from a blogging friend:

A papier mache skull from Michael's, I think.

This little casket emits a Fun-House type of laughter that continues as long as the top is opened.  A little black paint (to match my other casket), something to cover the inside top, some batting and silky-like fabric to line the bottom and it would be ready for....what? 

A tiny skeleton?  A tiny vampire? 

 Or a severed finger?

I had a storyline started for my gypsy, but the "elegance" of the candleholders has given me pause.  Maybe it would be creepier to have her surroundings not be likened to an old shack in the woods, where everything is all dusty and cobwebby inside, but more colorful and "bejewelled" and elegant.  Then have the pathway to the tent lined with spiders and cobwebs, crooked tombstones, swamps and cursed victims.

What do you think?

Revving Up

I woke up at 3:30 this morning with the remnants of a scary dream in my mind. With a little work, it would make a good short story, so I'm not going to divulge it just yet.  Maybe later...

Anyway, my mind leapfrogged over to Halloween and the storyline for the old gypsy woman for this year's haunt, and that was it for sleep.  At 4:30, a bewildered but loyal Tandi and I got up for good. I've spent some time mulling over the details of the story, but decided I needed to play some Nox Arcana to facilitate the mood, and plugged the iPod into the docking station in my sewing room before remembering I had removed the Halloween playlists at Christmas.  (No problem, they're still on iTunes on the computer, but it occurs to me I need to back these up on a disc or I will be soooo sorry!)

Turned on the computer and synced up and added the last few Hauntcasts to the list, too.
 While this was going on, I decided to take this lovely dark time and catch up on my Halloween blogs, watching some of the videos posted on their sites and chasing links.  It occurs to me that since going on my "track" at work, I've avoided the one-night-shift-off scenario that usually leaves me grumpy and hard to live with, but has also deprived me of those all-nighters where I have the whole house to myself and no television news or history programs to escape.  I might just need to schedule one of those nights, because once early bird Jack gets up (as he just did) the mood is gone. It's hard to maintain a spooky atmosphere when daylight comes and news analysts argue the latest events--and Jack feels the need to chime in.

Here's a site I need to check out more closely, thanks to Wendy of The Halloween Tree: Victorian Trading Company's Fall Sneak Peek i-catalogue. I could SO spend my paycheck here!

 I've already been over to Dark Candles and put in an order--can't wait for it to come in!

Yes, I'm a little late joining the leagues of those who live and breathe Halloween year-round, and have been hard at work for months, but there's still time.