The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe, read by Neil Gaiman

There is a wonderful story about how Neil has participated in the fundraiser every year. How he donated a copy of Stardust for the fundraiser, and what happened after, is also a good read.

Dark and wonderful things

Chatting with the artist lead me to this web site with art work that made me very happy.

The artist is Bill Crisafi. The print above, Dreams in the Witch House, is on my Yule shopping list! She was summoned by Darkness is another favorite.

Lanterns

These fortune teller lanterns were on clearance at Home Decorators Collection after Halloween. They are now part of the Yule decorations.

Clear glass with a fortune telling hand on one side and a phrenology head on the other side. Testing diffusion methods with 2 different sheets of vellum. Tried white vellum and wax paper.

Final choice was tracing paper.

Nice warm glow from the flicker candles at different heights.

Vintage Photo Generator

My early 1900s swim dress costume from Halloween night.

You too can have fun making your own vintage photos at the Japanese photo generator.

Skeleton Photo Banner

Found this great canvas photo op banner at Home Decorators. Turned it in to a mirror for guests to see themselves as skeletons. The mirrors in the faces are mirrored plexiglass. The plexiglass is lightweight and held on with duct tape on the back of the canvas.

The plexiglass was used in a stage production. It was pre-distressed so the audience couldn't see in to the mirrors on stage. Mr. Old Fashion Halloween is a scenic designer. He was kind enough to loan me the mirrors. The aging on the mirrors matched the canvas!

Not ready for Halloween to be over just yet. I tried some new things this year, like the banner, that worked well for my purposes. So, stick around, if you are curious, for a few more weeks. I took a lot of photos!

Balloons

Rain is almost a given on Halloween night in Oregon. Waterproof items are a must out in the yard. Found these illoom balloons. My pack had 5 balloons. Zip tied the balloons to the boxwood. The balloons held up to rain and wind and were still glowing Tuesday night. The 2 button batteries used to light the tiny LED can be recycled.

Halloween Night

I hope you all had a great evening.

In Hiding

Woke this morning to find a bit of chaos from the wind storm. The scarecrow was still dressed but really shy!

The chance of rain dropped to 20% for the prime trick or treating window. Have a great Halloween!

Happy Halloween

The clock says Midnight. We are having really high winds tonight. I looked out to see the scarecrows outfit blowing in the wind. Hope my guy is still dressed in the morning!

We are using one of the remote control fire/ice lights aimed at the scarecrow. It has multiple solid colors and multiple colors with patterns. That added some interesting movement to the display this year.

National Cat Day -Halloween Edition

My little pumpkin sisters, Ivy and Fern. Fern likes to go for a ride in boxes, tubes, and cat beds. She jumped right in the giant plastic pumpkin. Mr. Old Fashion Halloween was kind enough to carry her around the entire house. Photos from Halloween 2014.

The Great Pumpkin Project

This little guy loved the modern sculpture at city hall.

We had to cross a bridge to get to his new home.

This tree is at a fork in the path. He looks so cozy in the ivy. Its a busy spot so I hope this little guy brings some cheer. I use really bright flicker battery lights from Walmart. They last for a few days running continuously. Photo album here.

The Dining Room Table

Took a few dining room photos tonight. Sideboard close up photos will follow. All photos up on the Halloween Album. The next few days are going to go by fast!

Hot Chocolate Gift Set

My in box is filling with all the last minute Halloween deals. Today Harry and David sent me a reminder to order soon. I really like the mugs in this hot chocolate gift set. If they go on a better sale, post Halloween, I want them!

Made a quick dash in to Michael's to grab some velvet maple leave bushes for $1.57. All the Halloween decor is 60% off. Still some great stuff left this close to Halloween. Working on rehabbing an old fall wreath.

Local theater is showing Hocus Pocus on Sunday. This might require wearing some witchy attire. We haven't seen the movie on the big screen since it came out in 1993! Feeling a bit old after seeing the 30th anniversary release of Labyrinth on the big screen last month!

Witch House

Same house as last year that had the spider on the roof. The spider had a different shoe on each foot. Witches are always part of the theme. The skeleton in the cart was new this year.

The neighbor across the street was bringing his little boy over to see the display when I arrived. He was really unsure about the big witch in front. The kid made a speedy retreat!

Around the House

The large cloche from Target with mummy rats. Rats found at Pier One last year. Copper fabric with the skull and crossbones mesh as a topper. Part of the dining room table decor. Votive from Target with a sheet of vellum to soften the candle light.

Our roof has been repaired after a big wind storm. The leak is fixed? Second time we have had this leak. Water coming in above a full wall of book cases. Books are piled everywhere.

My porch decor had to come down before the storm. The cornstalks might have blown away! Hopefully, fingers crossed, the porch and the scarecrow will be back in working order on Saturday.

Creepy Portrait 3D Shimmers

Discovered these interesting light up paper embellishments at Michael's last night at 50% off. Layers of foam and paper that either light up or light up with an illusion. This stern looking fellow turns in to:

The lights only last for 30 seconds. Great effect for costumes. There are light strings in this line as well. You can see this fellow here. My favorites are the haunted house and skull light string. The haunted house lights up in sequence one window at a time. My version is white light not yellow as shown. The only down side is they are delicate paper items and the effect doesn't last very long.

Crossbones

Found this crossbones stretch knit fabric at JoAnn. Can't find it on the web site. It has a nice pirate or apothecary vibe.

Same fabric layered over a copper curtain.

Post Halloween this table cloth topper might turn in to an over skirt and possibly a long vest.

Holographic Lanterns

The owl and holographic pumpkin lanterns from Walmart. Working on the fireplace mantel set up. Very pleased with the warm and cozy light from the lanterns.

Welcome October!

Feeling a bit unprepared at having just started the decorating. Hope to pick up speed tonight and drag more bins from storage. Loving all the great Halloween decor posted on blogs today.

Found these lovely Halloween and fall arrangements at the garden center today.

Hatbox Ghost Figure

Very excited about this new figure debuting at Disney Springs and eventually arriving at Disneyland. Fingers crossed the figure will be available in October on the Shop Disney Parks app. and at a good price!

Horses Train to Ride with Headless Horseman During Mickey’s Halloween Party

Nice behind the scenes video of the horses being trained for the Headless Horseman at Disneyland

Crusty Pumpkins

An odd find at the Party City Halloween store. Crusty pumpkins with a tiny LED inside. Made from very thin and fragile styrofoam. You can see the white beads where the paint is missing. Strands of yarn over the eyes, nose, and mouth. Interesting texture. No sign of the pumpkins on the website.

Halloween Cloche at Target

This might be one of the best buys of the season at Target! I bought the big cloche and probably should go back for the smaller version. The dome is plastic and there were little scuffs on all the domes in the store. That does not detract from how amazing they look. Priced at $7 and $10 each.

Classic Halloween Dress

Found on etsy this dress with a classic Halloween print is charming. Reminiscent of the cotton and crepe paper dresses of the 1920s and 1930s.

The same dress style in a black print. A big thank you to Coffin Kitsch for sharing the dresses.

Holographic Lanterns at Walmart

I wanted to share this lantern from Walmart. Good looking lantern for only $9.97. When you switch it on it flickers and reveals holographic Jack-O-Lanterns. There is a green version with bats and holographic skulls and a purple version with crows and holographic ghosts. The purple and green are on sale on the web site only. They were $9.97 at my store. My store only had 6 of the lanterns. My guess is they won't last long.

So many wonderful things out in the stores. Real life is seriously interfering with my Halloween fantasy life. Lots of photos to share when time permits. Yesterday I agreed to a settlement with the insurance company from my 2015 car accident. Treating myself to a few extra Halloween goodies this year!

City Flowers Bellevue, WA

Tiny Flower shop that jam packs Halloween in to a compact space. Great decorating ideas.

Magic Cabin

I love the the whimsy and old fashioned decorations you can find at Magic Cabin.

This little gem caught my attention. The entire skeleton for decorating. So many possibilities. Clothes line style with a strand of lights behind. My living room needs a framed backlit skeleton x-ray using remote control battery operated LED's. I really don't need another project on the list. Falling behind on my current Halloween projects.