Big Giveaway

Have you been here?



It's a group of Halloween Artists who are giving away 31 prizes in October--one a day.  There are some really intriguing gifts and all you need to do is describe your favorite Halloween tradition.  For more entries you can post on your blog and shout out on Facebook.

Unfortunately neither Bean nor Shellhawk are part of that group, because their work is outstanding and I have purchased items myself.  Maybe next year, ladies?

And look! I won a giveaway over at The Candy Corn Chronicles!  The Pumpkin Girl

I have lots of repurposed items for Halloween, and my share of the commercial stuff, too.  But more and more, I'm collecting handmade items of the holiday, and when I'm too old and decrepit to get out and haunt the yard, I will set up my little display in my nursing home windowsill and admire them from my rocker while I remember the good old days.

Latest Acquisitions

 When I woke up yesterday morning, it felt like a good day for junkin'.  After lunch I headed out to hit various thrift stores, and though I didn't get to all of them, the ones I hit yielded several items for this year's haunting.

First, another oil lamp for my collection.

It's in great shape; it just needed a little work where the burner part was rusted and hard to get open.  Once I got it unscrewed and cleaned and refilled, it burns beautifully.  Whoever priced this didn't know what they had, because, although I haven't looked up this pattern in my book, the assembly indicates it was made before 1920--which makes it at least 90 years old. I got it for the cool price of $15.00.

And the last tea light holder came in from Dark Candles:

This one's a little dark, but here they are all lit up in my kitchen:

Next, a couple of Halloween buckets (probably will give these to friends), and electric stick candles which will be painted black and used in the tent, also.

The small jar has painted-on letters, which I will need to paint over or cover with a label, but is a good size for small  potions.

This old jar cost me $3.00.  It's very large and with the lid painted black, and maybe some tattered muslin or something around it, will also be a good jar for a specimen.

Next are several red dresses I will be dismantling for drapes inside the tent:

Detail of the fabric:

This one has a nice shimmer to it, that doesn't show up well in the pictures, and is lined with red satin:

It also has a long scarf that went with it, and will make a great headband:

This one was my favorite.  Notice the rhinestones across the bodice?

They'll be removed and used somewhere else, probably on the little wooden casket from Michael's that a friend gave me.  I figure part of the fabric will be used to line the inside of the casket.

The underskirt is black netting, always handy, and more red satin.

Tonight will probably be spent watching a spooky movie off my Netflix list and ripping seams.

Good times.