Countdown to Halloween: The Art of Mab Graves

I have just discovered a fun artist who has captured the charm of The Addams Family and blended it with the darkness of Grimm's fairy tales and the often terrifying innocence of childhood.

BobbiAnn

Things

Harlow Alone

You can see more of her work at her website. She also has a lot of great things for sale in her etsy shop.

For example:

It's Tentacle Tea Time Notecards
Drink up--if you dare! Muahahahaha!

The Precious in her "Tea Cozy Crown" From Charmed Knits

I love so many projects in the Harry Potter-inspired book, Charmed Knits but I am still very much a novice when it comes to knitting--I just found out that I cannot purl yet, for instance, though I thought I had been purling for several years! So there is only one project from the entire book that I have made, though to my credit (I hope) I have made it several times. The simple garter stitch "Tea Cozy Crown" inspired by Dobby's hat in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is such a cute and easy baby hat that I have made several.

I have only kept one, though, and it is the one that I made before I even got pregnant. I knew it would be for my future baby. What I didn't know is that it would be a long time before that baby would be able to wear it! For her first winter, the hat was too large. Now that it is just beginning to get the littlest bit coolish, it is looking as though the hat will be too small. I guess for it to fit perfectly she should have worn it in May. Oh well. It is still awfully cute!

It's too bad she doesn't like to wear hats for very long yet!

To get the book that has the pattern in it, of course, first try your local independent bookstore! If you cannot find it any other way, here it is on Amazon.

Charmed Knits by Alison Hansel

Countdown to Halloween: Thumbtack Pumpkins

I know, that doesn't sound all that pretty, does it? But look at the results!

Gold Thumbtack Covered Pumpkins

Countdown to Halloween: Spookify your Family Photos

At Second Street is one of my favorite blogs. I loved the idea I found on there for temporarily altering your pictures to make them creepy for Halloween. Take a look!

Free Halloween Decor

I Has a Fail, Thanks to Wal Mart

Today I made the mistake of getting a copy of a key made at Wal Mart and trying to open the door with it. Important clue as to what is to come: the bloody key is made from ALUMINIUM! (What were they thinking? I didn't notice until the adventure had already occurred.)
I inserted it in the (deadbolt) lock and it lodged in really hard without me trying to push it in hard. It wouldn't unlock the door and suddenly was going around way further than a key should. It also wouldn't come out. Nothing I did would remove it. Turns out it had broken inside the lock on the first try! This was a brand new key that I had made today. Thanks to this stupid key I was locked outside with a baby at lunchtime, had to buy food out, and had to drag my daddy out of his sickbed to come and help. We are in the house now but it looked for a while like I was going to have to call a locksmith. I still have a piece of key stuck in the lock! Now we're going to have to replace the lock on the door and a lock on the window we forced open.
Moral of the story: DON'T BUY WALMART KEYS!
I made one of my photos into a Failblog submission. Click the link to vote me up!

Wal Mart Key Fail

Countdown to Halloween: Crow's Nest Chandelier

I would love to make this and keep it up all year long! Go to lyssa beth's blog to learn how to make one of your own.

Crow's Nest Chandelier

Countdown to Halloween: Velvet Morticia

That's right, velvet art is back, and this time it really is art! Check out this amazing painting of one of my heroines, Morticia Addams, as played by Caroline Jones.


Morticia by ~BruceWhite on deviantART Isn't it deliciously gloomy? *snap snap*

Countdown to Halloween: Cross Stitch a Jack-o-Lantern

In my family we have always carved a real pumpkin, with my sister and I taking turns choosing the shapes of the features and my mama doing the carving. Since I've been married my husband and I have kind of continued that idea, except for last year when I was so sick with a stomach bug that I ended up pretty much unconscious for a few days. We ended up not carving our pumpkin at all and instead set it on our porch to see how long it would last. Despite an insanely hot winter, that pumpkin was fine for four or five months!
Elsie Marley, however, has found a unique way of creating a jack-o-lantern that will never go bad. I still can't believe it, but she has found a way to cross stitch a design onto a dollar store foam pumpkin! How cool is that?

How to Cross Stitch on a Pumpkin

Trust me, this one has to be seen!

Good Things Coming Soon!

I have had a crazy couple of weeks. My aunt Martha came to visit and then first The Precious, then me, and then my husband came down with a coldlike virus. I am still sick and so is he. Therefore, I probably won't be able to get a lot done on the blog for a few days. I do have some good things in the works though!

First, I plan to add my skirt guide to my What I Want for Fall posts. I have read a great book called Shining at the Bottom of the Sea and intend to review it as soon as possible. As soon as I possibly can I will be making a tutorial for the Yoplait yogurt cup flameless candle holders that I made for my wedding (almost five years ago now!). My countdown to Halloween begins today. Each day there will be a new craft project, Halloween artwork, costume idea, etc. So much fun!
And believe me, this is just for starters!

Until then, enjoy this cool steampunky picture by tahra.

library by ~tahra on deviantART

Trekalicious

I made the best find at a thrift store recently and am offering it on ebay.

These have to be some of the geekiest things I have ever seen! Check out the way it's worded on the inside.

Classic Star Trek Invitations--Mint in Package

How fun can you get? I love these and I'm not even a real Trekkie!

UPDATE:  Sold on Etsy!

Nerdy Quote of the Week

“I have never listened to anyone who criticized my taste in space travel, sideshows or gorillas. When this occurs, I pack up my dinosaurs and leave the room.”
― Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

Stegosaurus courtesy of Arthur's Clip Art.