Halloween Meme

the wind blows bitter through the last of the autumn leaves, time to huddle by the fire a spell, clutching a cup of steaming tea (coffee or cider you choose your poison) soon all manner of ghosts and goblins will be ranging the streets in search of sickeningly sweet treats.

The Halloween Meme

What is your favorite work of horror fiction? I'm quite addicted to the Anita Blake, and Sookie Stackhouse series which I suppose are technically paranormal romance/urban fantasy/gothic... I love Neil Gaiman's novels too... and I used to obsess over the stories on tape when I was in elementary school, you know the beep turn the page ones, there used to be a couple of spooky stories I would listen to again and again. Like the one about the woman with the ribbon around her neck who tells her husband never to touch it and he does, and her head rolls off... and the one about Bluebeard ....

What is your favorite work of science fiction/fantasy?

Stephen King's the Stand.. one of my all time favourite novels, Neil Gaiman's American Gods, I think there are just tooo many to choose from .. have a look at my goodreads list as some of the more recent books are there.

Who is your favorite monster? hmmm Vampires or werewolves... thank god for TrueBlood having proper vampires because I can't stand that sparkly crap....sorry I dont mind reading pulp fiction but not Sparkles McGuffin.... also The Lost Boys best vampires ever.

Favourite Horror movie? ohh I love all sorts.. especially crappy ones.. nothing is more fun than being curled up in a dark room laughing your ass off at some terrible monster movie... Resident Evil (Alice kicks ass), Monster Squad, Critters, Aliens, Young Frankenstein, the Nightmare Before Christmas, Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice...... Zombieland, Day of the Dead (aka lets live forever in the mall)

What horror movie gives you the most chills? I prefer the crappier sort as the ones that really scare you never have the fun factor.

What character from any horror film would you most like to play? Alice in the Resident evil flicks... she kicks ass and survives everything... also she has really great boots and weapons.

Freddy or Jason? Freddy... I never liked the Jason movies much but would watch the freddy ones over and over.

What is your favorite Halloween treat? candy corn... dark chocolate, jelly beans, haribo sour cherries

Ghosts or goblins? depends on the Goblin I suppose some can be quite cute... or can be evil like the little bastard that pops out of the toilet in Ghoulies 2

Friendly-faced jack o’lantern or scary one? both really....I really like the elaborate ones but the best I could do was Jack Skellington last Halloween.

What is your scariest encounter with the paranormal? nothing specific but sometimes you go into a house or place and it just feels creepy.

Do you believe in ghosts? yes.. why not? there are too many things out there that we don't know about.

Would you rather be a zombie, werewolf or non-sparkly vampire? I suppose I would be a werewolf..or a vampire... though some might argue I'm already a witch before coffee in the morning. :oP

Favorite Halloween costume? as a kid I liked to be a witch, a cat, or a vampire.. I don't think things have changed all that much...though mostly I dress as a witch as I rather like my pointy hat.

Best thing about Halloween? Everything, the candy, the pumpkins, and crappy movies and just the whole thing.. I think I would live in Halloween Town if I could where everything is atmospheric and fantastic.

Person in your family who most likes Halloween (not counting yourself)? Harrison... as his birthday is at the end of October so everything is fantastic for him...and I may have trained him that Halloween is the best thing EVER...

Are you superstitious? If so, name at least one superstition of yours. not really though I sometimes play the stepping over cracks in pavement game with H.


If you have read this consider yourself tagged leave me a comment and I will trundle over to read your meme answers and hopefully remember a few more crappy horror movies to gleefully add to my list!

Happy Birthday H

Happy Birthday Harrison. 7 years old on this grey Idaho morning.

May the Geek be With You

two cards made from a vintage Star Wars annual that I bought from a charity shop in town a few weeks ago... they are quite similar but I am pleased as punch with how they turned out and I cant wait to make some more with some different sayings typed inside with my little white typewriter.
Paige is one of Harrison's little friends... who loves Star Wars nearly as much as Harrison does. Her birthday is a few days after H's so I have been in a flurry of card making and present wrapping.

Barnabas the Imp a Halloween Swap

This is Barnabas, he went to live with Megan after we decided to do a little Halloween swap together. Megan wanted me to make her a little imp and so Barnabas was born... created... summoned from the depths of hell...or Derbyshire... take your pick.

I wanted the imp to be perfect... well perfectly imperfect because I think that is the charm of the little monsters I create... I love the primitive style but tweak it in my own way.. each little monster is different, with a story to tell and Barnabas is no different. He was sewn together and dipped in a sludge of coffee grounds, vanilla, and cinnamon to stain him nicely and leave the fain scent of autumn, hearth and home.

I included a bracelet of fire opal and onyx some vintage haberdashery and some Halloween themed pegs for clipping things together. if you hop over to Megan's blog you will see some better photos than what I caught before I had to scarper to the post office.

sewn button arms. I love this detail.

Did I mention that Barnabas has a tendency to steal buttons ? *sly grin* I think he will be happy in his new home with Megan and her family...as long as she bribes him that is.

he also likes zombies books... what imp wouldn't?

Eye of Bat Flapjack

Eye of Bat Flapjack
(maple pecan flapjack/granola bars)

2 cups porridge oats
3 tablespoons demerara sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup butter
pinch of salt
1 cup pecans ( or any nut)
glace cherries (for the bat's eyes)

set the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4

I made a little bat tag for them as they were a gift

instructions:

Very lightly grease a muffin pan (unless you have silicone..tins not tits..minds out of the gutter people).
Put the butter, maple syrup and sugar into a medium sized saucepan and melt together over a very low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Do not let the mixture boil.

Take the pan off the heat and stir in the oats, salt, and pecans.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin tin and press down with the back of a spoon or a small glass jar.

Place half a glace/candied cherry on top of the flapjacks.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 12- 20 minutes until golden brown.

Remove the tin from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. leave in the tin until completely cool before carefully removing from the tin with a butter knife...if you do not wait it will fall apart and you will have to sprinkle it over some ice cream insteal.

cook's notes: a couple of them crumbled to bits as I tried to take them out of the oven too soon but the rest held together once cooled and everyone happily nibbled on them and there are only a few left in a much smaller jar.

twinkle twinkle button bat

I'm alive still but things are so busy here with a week till we fly to Seattle and I have had parcels to wrap, crafts to make, all manner of birthday prep for H, the collecting of gift items for my parents, and for the two parcels I will send to Selena and Jaci when I get to Idaho (much cheaper than posting from here), we have all had colds and Matt is still busy with weddings and all manner of studio based jobs. Its enough to make your head spin, I'm not used to running around like a headless chicken every single day... well maybe not that bad but it does seem like were are ridiculously busy the last month or so.

I can't wait to get to Idaho and not do much other than drink lots of coffee, play with the pack of pugs, eat my dads wonderful cooking and shuffle round the holy trinity of Target, Barns & Nobles and Old Navy ... with a few other shops in there too... honestly I'm not a shopaholic... I normally despise shopping except for book and craft shops but I love shopping in the states and looking at all the things you cant get here... and hauling back as much as our suitcases will hold.

Today I parceled off three packages one to a friend who forgot things at mine, one packages of Halloween swap goodies, and an order for Lillian the doll (with a few goodies pack inside as the buyer is a lovely twitter friend.) I baked cheddar muffins...and cheddar and marmite ones too.. and I have just coffee stained a stack of note cards to make more story notes and the pictured little button bat. I'm so pleased with how the button bat turned out that this one is the 3rd I have made since yesterday

Right its getting late and the jacket/baked potatoes must be done by now...I'm starving.

Spider Jar

spiders caught in a jar

a Mini Halloween Tutorial

ingredients:

1x medium jar

a small amount of fake spider webbing

2x plastic spiders

instructions:

*Turn the jar upside down and place the webbing so that it goes up half the jar.

*Place your spiders on the webbing and then screw the lid back on the jar. You can add a small stick or some autumn leaves to make the jar more effective.

a super simple little project that kids of any age will love to do.. it costs pennies to make and recycles a jar. Harrison took great glee in showing the jar to Matt when he got home.

Creepy Chocolate Covered Oreos

Last night we made spooky chocolate covered Oreo cookies in a chocolate/cookie mold that Jaci sent us last year and there was never a chance to play with it. It was so much fun, Harrison was practically flying about the room before he ate any cookies or chocolate! I'm going to buy some more dark chocolate and some white chocolate today so we can make some more after school tomorrow.

Shop Update

I will be closing my etsy shop down on October 15th as we will be going to visit my parents in the States. So if there is a doll you are wanting please order him or her now so I can get it parcelled up and in the post to you.

I don't know when I will be re-opening the shop again...presumably when we get home again but one can never tell. Thank you so much to everyone who has bought a doll or just commented on them... it has meant the world to me.

Hello October

Its October and I am so bouncy happy despite the rain pouring down from the black clouds swirling overhead all day. Its October and that mean apples, and pumpkins, Harrison's birthday and Halloween... and a trip to visit my parents in Idaho at the end of the month!

I am so bouncy and excited, its already the third and I have so much that needs doing before we can fly away and be delighted by all the lovely autumnal things rural Idaho has to offer. September was an awful month and I'm so glad to see the end of it and the beginning of October. It really is my favourite month of the year, I hate winter but Autumn with all the falling leaves and harvest-y things makes me so ridiculously happy (you know till I stress out about the packing and collecting of gifts and the fact that really I am an awful traveller because I cant sleep on planes, and god I hope that Harrison will sleep.

To celebrate the beginning of October we had a little trip up to York, where we bought way too much bread, nibbled on too much cake, oggled things we could not afford, and got thoroughly soaked in the rain.

choosing cakes

We had fun though, and that's the main thing... well that and the fact that I bought a book and some fabric and was inspired to doodle some crafty ideas in my journal for secretive things.

drinking coffee

So hello October I'm so glad you are back, and now I think I best go put the cobwebs up.

getting rained on

oh and um sorry about the pictures... I have been having way too much fun with apps on my iPhone.

halloween pegs tutorial

halloween pegs

Ingredients:
wooden clothes pegs (or the mini craft pegs)
twine
acrylic paint (orange and black)
water
paintbrushes
vintage buttons
glue

directions:
1. put a dab of paint onto a small plate and add a little water to it.

2. paint the pegs with the watery paint so that the paint soaks into the wood of the pegs.

3. let the pegs dry (you may need to wipe them down with a cloth or tissue to get a more rustic effect.

4. dab glue onto the back of a vintage button and glue it to your peg.

5. clip your pegs to the twine or anywhere you please. Or give them away as a little gift.


cook's note: its a simple project, a fun thing for kids to help do, great for holding cards, decorations or scraps of fabric. I have misplaces the craft magnets I bought ages ago but if I do find them I plan to stick them to the back of one of the pegs to make a magnetic clip.

Mr Northman

no not this Mr. Northman

Mr. Northman isn't for sale I'm afraid ladies... he was made for the exceedingly fantastic Amanda of Kitschy Coo infamy. She blogged about him when he arrived but I am a dunce and forgot to blog about him. So here is is Mr. Northman in all his vampiric glory... the button-y blue eyes, the fangs, the swept back blonde locks... this Vampire has everything.

this one!

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about you must go watch TrueBlood and read the Sookie Stackhouse novels...they are trashy Bit Lit at its best. And please visit Amanda's blog post as its far witter and funnier than mine. As I have bags to pack for a trip to York and I haven't had my lunch yet! eeep!

GO HERE NOW

Mr. Melvin Bone

Meet Mr. Melvin Bone. He was made from a witch's spell that went astray... he was meant to be a servant of the bone but something went wrong and Melvin isn't really of much use. He is crass, disruptive, lazy, deviant, downright vile in the morning....

.... he drinks far too much coffee...

in a bookshop in Hay-on-Wye

.....and likes to read books and watch movies that scare the bejeezus out of him and keep him up all night worrying about monsters and aliens... for some reason it has never occurred to him that he is a monster himself. Halloween is the only holiday he celebrates, with chocolate and candy and horrid movies that keep him up all night....movies that he makes you stay up to watch with him.

Here is me sewing him caffe Nero in Derby

he is listed in my etsy shop here

candy corn stamp and jam jar tealights

Probably the Worst Candy Corn

Rubber Stamp in the World TM

I sat down last night and doodled a little candy corn and set to work carving an eraser into a stamp. Its not brilliant but it was fun to do an I think I will have another go at stamp carving later today. I found the eraser much easier to carve than previous fights with lino tiles, resulting in plaster/band-aid covered fingers.

This morning's crafting was making tea-light holders from various jars and scraps of vintage book paper and music sheets. I made some DIY Mod Podge glue (which is white craft glue mixed with a few spoons of warm water).

I'm off to play with my copy of Wreck This Journal .. I'm going to be brave and crack the spine... I may have to cry, as to me that's one of the worst things you can ever do to a book ... *ignores the various book paper related crafts i have made from damaged books*... ;o)

Craft Challenge: Rubber Stamp Carving?

a lino cut coffee cup in a coffee tumbler...
yeah I know what can I say we are coffee geeks

Vintage Violet and I were talking yesterday about printing after she took a one day printing class that wasn't her cup of tea/coffee/cider/buttons... I have done a bit of lino cutting before in High School and a few months back, and thought she should give that a go. But then I remembered that lino is tough to cut and I had heard that rubber stamps/eraser stamps are easier to cut. Cue me saying we should have a craft challenge and try to do a small stamp by the end of next week.

Is anyone else up for challenging themselves to carve their own rubber stamp?

Here are some tutorial links I have scavanged from the depths of a 5 minute google search ... and begged off of everyone I know... and I will probably annoy any stamp makers I have vaguely chatted to on flickr, etsy, or twitter.


Tutorial Links

Craft Pudding - has a fab post about tutorials and books.. I may have to order one...or two *hopes Matt isn't listening..or reading this for that matter*

Carve Your Own Rubber Stamp Tutorial by Alma Stoller - looks very nice

Two Cheese Please

Mushroommeadows (lessons 1 and 2 but I cant see a third one.. still very cute and simple)

Carina's Craftblog (5 step tutorial posts with lots of pictures)

Milliande (lots of videos to watch of carving techniques)

Looks like fun doesn't it?

Is anyone else up for challenging themselves to carve their own rubber stamp?

I think I will go look at some more stamp carving books now.

the post where I am a super steathy ninja...

vintage key and button pendant

So today I told myself I would do something crafty, creative, magical, and inspiring...

so I drank coffee...

and I drank some more coffee... and I pondered and then I glared at my desk...and the buttons and fabric heaped upon it... I look at my stamps and then I got down the vintage jar I had that contained some mixed haberdashery items from Vintage Violet. I dug through until I found a small rusty key and a few mother of pearl buttons. So I dragged out my jewellery making kit and went to work, it didn't take long to create this little key and button pendant but I have happily worn it around the house. I was wondering about getting a bit of black velvet ribbon to hang it on instead of the silver chain (I may have a look in the little knitting shop in town tomorrow.

fantastical things from Rowan

...but then it was time to go for a little walk before going to collect Harrison from school. As I was getting my shoes on (black converse) the werewolf postie brought me a parcel. What? He is totally a werewolf, I have gone on about this before, he is awesome, and so far he doesn't bite and I don't know if he has fleas or not....

Where was I? Oh yes he bought me a lovely parcel of goodies from Rowan who I sent some thrifted manga and a book page illustration (which sounds more posh than doodle) and a little typed note card. Well Rowan sent me the sweetest little manga pendant, brooches, a refresher sweet that the boy later stole, and a cute little ring.

I wore the blue and orange cameo brooch on my walk to school to fetch the Boy. I talked to my friend's mum (picking up the grand kids) and one other mum (who is lovely).

...I displayed my mad ninja skills of not being seen by the rest of the parents there. I do know a few mums that are quite nice and friendly but I'm too shy to be chatty with the others, so I wait quietly for Harrison to be let out and tell me about his day...

...telling me about his day consists of him saying they had mashed potatoes at lunch and not remembering anything else that happened all day. Ninja skills discarded as we negotiated what sort of treat he should get for the epic task of walking home. So I sighed and took hold of the seventy billion things he was bringing home and off we went to practice super stealthy ninja skills another day.

The Owl Girl

*****SOLD*****

The Owl Girl

In day she hides behind the fragile mask of humanity, thick glasses perched on a small nose, dark hair in wild disarray. Eyes on the ground, a quick step and an arm full of books to keep others away.

When the moon rises round and fat, the night creatures sing and Athene sheds the pale mask of humanity and slips from her human skin. Shining feathers burst from pale flesh. She flies screeching into the night, free to hunt and wishing the dawn will never come.

The world turns and night spills across the sky, strings of glittering jewels, necklaces of suns and worlds scattered across unending black.

The sun crests the horizon, golden rays falling on golden eyes and black and white feathers. Athene fights again the change, the slip back into human form. Feathers fly on the wind as her wing shifts to a human arm, bones twisting, breaking.

Fat tears roll down feathery cheeks, but the pain is too much to fight for one small masked owl and she lets her night shape slip away. Bones and feathers and cries of pain and a small dark haired girl is all that remains.

She crawls to the hallow she hid her clothes, dressing quickly in the cool dawn light. Wiping tears from her cold cheeks she slips her glasses on.

lillalotta fabric tapes

old book cotton tape

The lovely Anna of lillalotta blog will be closing down her fabric tape shop in two weeks time so run to her shop and order some beautiful tapes before they are all gone.

'little red' cotton tape

I have just ordered some of the 'old book' tape and the 'little red' tape and have ordered the book tape and some Alice in Wonderland 'Drink Me' tape that I have used to make some of my little monster dolls.

'Alice Wonderful' cotton tape

....run to her etsy shop now

Cheddar and Ham Muffin Recipe

Cheddar and Ham Muffins

Ingredients:
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• 2 cups plain flour
• ½ cup melted butter
• 1 cup crème fraiche *
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Black Pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup ham, chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions:
Mix dry ingredients together.

Add crème fraiche, butter, eggs and mix.

Add the grated cheese and chopped ham.

Mix well and spoon into muffin pans 1/2 full.

Bake in preheated 400F (180C) oven 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

*Alternatively use plain yogurt or sour cream or ¾ cup milk.

Cook’s note: there are a number of different recipes for ham and cheese muffins out there, I read quite a few then winged it to create this recipe, they turned out great but I will probably tinker with the recipe a bit more the next time I make them, perhaps adding bacon instead of ham, or including some sautéed onion for a richer flavour. My taste testers Matt and Harrison loved it, oh and so did Frizbe too! I used the crème fraiche because that’s what I had on hand that needed using up, I also used thinly sliced sandwich style ham for the same reason though a thicker cut would probably work better.

Ursela the Vampiress

Ursela didn't want to be a vampire, she didn't want to be or do anything but read her beloved books. But then she learned the most marvelous magical thing...well the most magical things if you are an immortal wallflower...Vampires dont need to sleep...EVER. Ursela could spend her immortal afterlife roaming bookshops and late night cafes, reading book after book and nibbling on the shoppers and coffee drinkers. She never missed the sun for she never saw it to begin with.

Ursela was sewn for my frien Marina's birthday on Tuesday. Harrison helped me to pick out the fabrics and vintage buttons to use, and he helped stuff Ursela with toy filling. I think she is one of my favourite dolls and I may have to make another similar in style as I love how her mouth turned out with a wide grin and little fangs. So if you love her too, drop me a comment and I will see what I can do to make another little vampire doll.

typed on a note card that had been coffee stained