It's time for dressing up

and our day is pretty full today. trick or treating at the Lonsdale quay this afternoon before the Halloween afternoon lunch party then rushing home to get the cauldron out and change the light in the entry and a quick trip through the neighborhood to collect some treats. After the tricking and treating dies down I'll be doing a little personal work for Samhain to start the year.

It's going to be a long long day and I'll be carrying my camera as much as possible.

On a completely related topic Mrs B's last day of Halloween is a doozy! so many great giveaways and the Haunted blog tour is not one to miss. I've put my name in for Octoberfarm's gift basket and for FunkyGreenMachine.com's Peeking Sal Organic Tote, but there's also a sweet tea towel up for grabs, an awesome crochet book from Quirke and a gorgeous pendant from Aunia Kahn.

you can enter for all these fabulous prizes here

To quote Mrs B because she says it so well: Have a safe and happy Halloween! For those who practice, have a blessed Samhain, and for those on the other side from me, have a blessed Beltane!

I love dressing up

for Halloween and my preferred costume is one that I made the year I met my husband. It's a simple costume that I've added and subtracted to over the years. In the last 16 years I've only missed wearing it a total of 3 years.

It was simple to make. Making it was one of the reasons that I decided to do my best to make all of the Peanut's costumes if I could. So far I've been pretty good with it:

City Mouse/ kitty cat at 4 months




Cowboy Fairy Princess


Ladybug/ ladybug Princess





and this year we'll be trying for ladybug butterfly actual costume title is yet to be determined.

As for me, I'll be putting on my costume too

Thousand Words Thursday

Pink & Green Mama posted about this phenomenon the
other day and I decided to give it a try at my house.
I even managed to suitably impress the husband
with my anti-gravity skills

~ JACK-O-LANTERN ~

Jack-o-lantern, Jack-o-lantern,
you are such a funny sight
As you sit there by the window,
looking out at the night
You were once a sturdy pumpkin
growing on a vine
Now you are a Jack-o-lantern,
see the light shine

As I mentioned yesterday we carved our first Jack-o-lantern since I was a young. As a kid, I know that we had jack-o-lanterns more than once, but I can only truly recall carving one. My dad brought out the sharpest knife in the house, which happened to be his folding hunting knife. The knife slipped and my sister got a pretty nasty cut which required stitches. What did I take from the experience? The obvious of course, don't put your hand close to a pumpkin being carved with a hunting knife.

Luckily there were no mishaps of that sort with our little lantern.


The decision of whether to go old school with triangular eyes, nose and gap toothed grin or to make a less traditional carving meant that we did a little web surfing to see what could be done and everyone put in their two cents which meant that my husband said yes to the first idea I showed him and the Peanut said yes to the first one that featured one of her favourite animals.

I did a sketch of the most popular carving and went to work:

Monsters, chainmail and Pavor Nocturnus Oh My!

The Spiral Dance was last night and I'm still processing. It was a great night full of magic and mystery and I'm so glad I went. My goals for the new year include renewing my dedication to the Goddess and God and last night's celebration is the best first step on that path.

After a late night, I woke to the 26th day of Mrs. B's 31 days of Halloween. There are some awesome giveaways today, I have my eye on the little monster, The Peanut will most likely claim him as her own. Today we'll also be carving our pumpkin, our first since I was a kid.

I'll post pics tomorrow.

There's a ghost in the house

My giveaway on Mrs. B's 31 days of Halloween was a great success, the feedback on my photography was very confidence boosting, to say the least. I have the winner's mailing address and I'll be sending off her photograph and a little something extra by mid-week.

Speaking of Mrs. B's Halloween giveaways; way back at the beginning of the month I entered one of the many giveaways and I won! OK, I'll admit the giveaways have been so good that I've entered to win almost all of them. I've been fortunate enough to have won two of the giveaways and I'm so excited about both.

I've received one of my prizes in the mail already and he's a welcome addition to our spooky decor. So what did I win? Who is hanging in my window? First things first: Jenny at Sneddonia is an Artist and Designer/Maker based in the UK, she works in a variety of media, and she learned many of her skills on a BA Hons Design: Crafts degree. One of the great things about her work is that she uses reclaimed materials in her work; scouring second-hand shops for old jewellery which she repurposes into new creations. You can expect to find reused chain, beads, and other found materials in many of her pieces.

You can see more of Sneddonia's work on her website, and on Flickr, where can also check out her studio. You can also follow her on Myspace, linkedin and on Facebook. She's a fabulous artist and craftswoman and I have to say that I am a teeny bit envious of her education, the opportunity to add as many techniques as possible to the artistic toolbox is worth a it's weight in gold. Her Blog; Sneddonia Designs is also well worth a read, not only does she showcase her finished work but also her process; in one post she even gives us a peek into her sketchbook which is an incredible way to see an artists' process.

So back to my prize: I snagged a Ghost Hanging Decoration. The package was very well put together, with three fun jack-o-lantern stickers on the outside. The Ghost was wrapped in lavender tissue and well protected. Jenny also included a lovely hand written note and some business cards to pass along to friends and family which I will be doing for sure. I'll be hanging the postcard up in my workspace too!

As for the little Ghosty; I love the expert craftsmanship that was put into his creation. Her bead placement is deceptively simple, you can tell that a lot of time and thought were put into the design. We've hung him in our kitchen window where he keeps us company as we eat, craft and make our own art. He's also keeping a ghostly eye on the many crows, black squirrels and the skunk who make our backyard a part of their daily destination.



I'd like to thank Mrs B for all her hard work so far this month and Jenny for including such a fantastic decoration in the festivities.

On the 24th day of Hallowe'en:

one of my photographs is up for grabs at Mrs. B's 31 days of Halloween while you're visiting her blog you can also check out the Haunted Blog tour and the Guest blogger.

Yesterday I received one of the giveaway prizes I was lucky enough to win over at Mrs. B's I'll be posting pictures of my booty (read: my winnings and not my behind) tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, I'm headed to the Samhain Spiral Dance. This year I'm going with a friend who's never been, and I'm excited to be able to share it with her.

Head on over to Mrs. B's now and enter to win my photograph and see what else is up for grabs!