A Practical Magic Giveaway

One of my favorite parts of the movie Practical Magic is the Aunts. I love their eccentricity and their style. I would love to wear vintage hats and clothes but, I don't have the wardrobe or the courage!

To celebrate Fran, Jet and Practical Magic I'm giving away this pretty victorian witch pendant. Fran and Jet's style seem to be more Edwardian but, this witch reminds me of them none the less. If you look closely, I think you can see the Owen's house in the background.

 The pendant will come on a organza ribbon necklace (length up to your specification) the pendant measures 1x2 inches and is set in a copper tray with a glass overlay. If you'd like to be entered into the drawing become a follower on my blog and leave a post or if you are already following just let me know in a post as well. Be sure to leave me your contact info.

I'll draw a name at random one week from Saturday and announce the winner here. I'm so glad you've flown over to visit. Enjoy the party and good luck!

Blessings,
Joane

In Search of My Perfect Halloween...It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

It's not Halloween without the Peanuts gang. I've watched this every year since I can remember. It's classic Halloween. Charlie Brown warms my heart with his optimism and who doesn't love Linus who is wise beyond his years. Even crabby Lucy has a tender spot in her heart - remember when she gets up in the middle of the night to bring Linus home from the pumpkin patch? And Snoopy as the WWI Flying Ace! I don't need to say much about the creative genius of Charles Schultz, his work speaks for itself.

It's that time of year to welcome the Great Pumpkin into our hearts.

Autumn Leaves and Victorian Witches

I have some new items up for sale at my Etsy shop, Ivory Pumpkin,  if anyone would care to stop by. Here is a sample of what I have AND I'll have something similar to one of these items as a giveaway for the Practical Magic Blog Party! Click on the link on my side bar to find out more info.

In Search of My Perfect Halloween - Creepy Dolls

I've mentioned before that I love the vintage Halloween of the past, the whimsies of a bygone era. But, for me, Halloween has to have an element of scary. The deserted house on the hill that mysteriously has a window lit at night or long dark hallways (think abandoned asylums), the old cemetary at night, mannequins in a department store after its closed. These things are not really scary in and of themselves but, it's the thought of what could happen in the environment or where our minds take us if we let it go there.

This brings me to creepy dolls. Dolls can't harm us. Many of us love them and collect them and have had a favorite one when we were children. They are inanimate objects. But, as we've seen in many scary movies, what if the dolls we know and love have a soul? Or are possessed by something dark? Or what if they are crying out to us in their silent stare that they still want to be loved?




What if?

In Search of My Perfect Halloween...The Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House

I got this record when I was a kid, I don't think I was even 10 years old yet.

I still have it. It's at my mom's house. She has a turn table and I listened to it with my son a few months ago. He thought the "Chinese Water Torture" was sooo politically incorrect and, it probably is but, remember I got this record decades ago. This record means Halloween to me. When I got a little older I would darken the house and play the record when kids came for trick or treating. It would scare the crap out of them! I love the noises of the creaking house and howls and screams....AAHHHHH! What memories! When I listened to this record it meant Halloween was just around the corner and I had better start thinking of a costume. Hmmm, what to be this year?

The Joy of......

Nutella!

I've recently re-discovered this delicious treat. I used to eat it when I was a kid. I was the only kid in school that got a chocolate sandwich for lunch! I didn't eat it for a long time, I'm not sure why but, I was at the store a my hand grabbed a jar. I've been eating on toast and with bananas for desert. How do you eat your Nutella? Would love to hear your recipes.

The Search for My Perfect Halloween Begins...

In my previous post I talked about the kind of Halloween I do and don't like. I'm going to search the web, blogland and the outside world to find the prefect Halloween and share what I find here on my blog. I'm not sure what I'll find or come up with but, I'm excited! I for sure will not be heading to the commercial Halloween stores as that's what started this search. To my joy, last week, there was one open already near my house. I got sooo excited and then I was very disappointed with overload the "sexy" costumes - sexy witch, sexy vampire, sexy Alice in Wonderland - geez when did Halloween get sexy? There was a lot of gore stuff too. I like a little blood during Halloween but, some of it just seemed gross.

Of course Hallween means different things to different people so when I say perfect, it's what perfect is to me. So let's begin with one of my favorite artists that caputures the spirit of the perfect little witch....

This is Darcie by Paulina Cassidy. She is for sale on her website, the link is on my side bar. Paulina has also created these...

It's a lovely little 1x1 inch brooch. And, it's only $7 on her site. Sooo cute!

Thank you to all that have shared your suggestions for shops to check out. I can't wait to see what awaits there!