You know the Halloween season is indeed on its way when you start receiving Halloween catalogs in the mail. Just the other day, I got the Fall '09 catalog for The Winfield Collection, and even I was surprised to see it so early! In case you aren't familiar with TWC, it's a company that makes all kinds of wood patterns. There are patterns for every holiday, and every season. I have never done woodworking, but those of you who are into serious prop-making should find it quite easy, I should think. There are even patterns for things that light up. I subscribe to the catalog because at some point I plan to give this woodworking thing a try. I would love to be able to put up lit-up displays for Halloween and Christmas. This new catalog has some new patterns this year, one of which is a large haunted pirate ship. There is also a very cool looking glowing graveyard that I would love to have in my front yard. You can make things for indoors, too, such as a 3' tall witch, vampire, or Frankenstein candy holder. These would all be perfect additions to any Halloween decor.
http://www.thewinfieldcollection.com/category/Lighted_Halloween
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Evangeline's...UPDATE!
Just yesterday, I had the privilege of learning that the Costume Mansion will be opening its doors, not on August 1st as it usually does, but this Thursday, July 16th! Apparently, the owner has decided to try opening the Halloween store a few weeks earlier this year to "see how it goes". I am hoping it goes very well, so that the owner decides to do it this early every year. It just gives me more time to save up and buy more Halloween goodies to decorate my house with! I hope to post pics of the Mansion soon, as I will certainly be paying it an early visit! Oh, joy!!! ;)
On August 1st, Evangeline's Costume Mansion will once again open its doors to the public to prepare for the Halloween season. Evangeline's is the best Halloween/costume shop in Sacramento (and possibly in all of northern CA). Located in an huge old, three-story building, the lower half of the store is open year-round, and you can find all sorts of crazy gags, gothic jewelry, games, incense, posters, and tons of other weird and wacky stuff. But it is the upstairs part, the Costume Mansion, that it is best known for. The upstairs section houses the wonderfully spooky Costume Mansion, which sells not only any costume you can practically think of, and is also decorated in all things Halloween and ghoulish. Naturally, it is my favorite part of the store, and it always bums me out that it's only open for this part of the year. They will allow you to take a special trip up there with an escort if you're in need of a certain costume or accessory, but is otherwise open only August through October. August 1st, to be exact, which means that I now have less than a month to go until my favorite store opens its doors! I always look forward to going there just to see the decorations, if nothing else. As you ascend the stairs, you gradually notice that the lighting is becoming dimmer, and then you realize the rooms are lit mostly by candelabras and wall sconces with flickering LED candles. There is a faint musty smell, and you truly feel like you are walking into an old, delipidated Victorian mansion. The walls, and even parts of the ceiling, are strewn with gigantic bats, spiders, spider webs, mummies, zombies and so on, while skeletons and other creatures of the night are propped up in corners, or glaring down at you as you pass underneath archways. There are different rooms, or different parts of rooms, with certain themes or types of costumes. One room has different styles of Egyptian, Greek, and Renaissance costumes; and then there is the Old West room ranging from saloon girl costumes, Can-Can dresses, and Wyatt Earp. They have a huge selection of wigs, too, and I love to go and try on all the different colors. Between all the make-up, costumes, lighting and other decorations, I could easily spend a fortune here. Oh, and did I mention that there is also a large elevator that you can choose to ride up in, if you'd rather not make the long climb up the stairs? Even the elevator is spooky! The inside has mirrors, and is dimly lit. The outside is black, and the walls leading up to the Mansion are also macabre looking. It is the Halloween lover's dream come true. You can find almost anything you need for a great Halloween party, or a night of trick-or-treating. I am so glad it opens in early August. It's wonderful for the Halloween enthusiast to have such an awesome place to begin his or her Halloween shopping early!
http://www.evangelines.com/
On August 1st, Evangeline's Costume Mansion will once again open its doors to the public to prepare for the Halloween season. Evangeline's is the best Halloween/costume shop in Sacramento (and possibly in all of northern CA). Located in an huge old, three-story building, the lower half of the store is open year-round, and you can find all sorts of crazy gags, gothic jewelry, games, incense, posters, and tons of other weird and wacky stuff. But it is the upstairs part, the Costume Mansion, that it is best known for. The upstairs section houses the wonderfully spooky Costume Mansion, which sells not only any costume you can practically think of, and is also decorated in all things Halloween and ghoulish. Naturally, it is my favorite part of the store, and it always bums me out that it's only open for this part of the year. They will allow you to take a special trip up there with an escort if you're in need of a certain costume or accessory, but is otherwise open only August through October. August 1st, to be exact, which means that I now have less than a month to go until my favorite store opens its doors! I always look forward to going there just to see the decorations, if nothing else. As you ascend the stairs, you gradually notice that the lighting is becoming dimmer, and then you realize the rooms are lit mostly by candelabras and wall sconces with flickering LED candles. There is a faint musty smell, and you truly feel like you are walking into an old, delipidated Victorian mansion. The walls, and even parts of the ceiling, are strewn with gigantic bats, spiders, spider webs, mummies, zombies and so on, while skeletons and other creatures of the night are propped up in corners, or glaring down at you as you pass underneath archways. There are different rooms, or different parts of rooms, with certain themes or types of costumes. One room has different styles of Egyptian, Greek, and Renaissance costumes; and then there is the Old West room ranging from saloon girl costumes, Can-Can dresses, and Wyatt Earp. They have a huge selection of wigs, too, and I love to go and try on all the different colors. Between all the make-up, costumes, lighting and other decorations, I could easily spend a fortune here. Oh, and did I mention that there is also a large elevator that you can choose to ride up in, if you'd rather not make the long climb up the stairs? Even the elevator is spooky! The inside has mirrors, and is dimly lit. The outside is black, and the walls leading up to the Mansion are also macabre looking. It is the Halloween lover's dream come true. You can find almost anything you need for a great Halloween party, or a night of trick-or-treating. I am so glad it opens in early August. It's wonderful for the Halloween enthusiast to have such an awesome place to begin his or her Halloween shopping early!
http://www.evangelines.com/
Monday, June 22, 2009
As Autumn nears, so the days grow shorter
Yesterday was the longest day of the year. From here on, each day will begin to grow shorter and shorter as Fall slowly creeps closer. I couldn't help but feel a little bit excited when someone reminded me of this yesterday. I love it when I can really start to notice it, when the leaves start turning red and orange, there's a chill in the air, and darkness descends before the clock strikes five. It's around this time that the autumn mood really takes hold of me. Signs of Halloween start popping up everywhere. Store fronts are lined with an assortment of pumpkins, and Halloween decorations and candy have their own aisle. I always buy a few pumpkins early just to have them around. I think I will carve a few extra this year. Maybe I'll do something totally different like paint one black on the outside so it looks extra creepy. I also plan to put up orange and purple lights all around the deck just like we do for Christmas. There are 130 days left until Halloween. I wish I could speed up time.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Halloween ideas at Michael's
Before you get too excited and think I'm saying that Michael's already has Halloween out, no, unfortunately, they do not. They did, however, have quite a few Fall-colored plants and flower bouquets out, which immediately brought a big smile to my face! I decided to check out their website just to see if there was a date that said exactly when Halloween would be put out on the shelves. I didn't see a date, but there was a link to 'Seasons', and from there I clicked on 'Halloween'. This led me to a page with a bunch of cute Halloween project ideas (over 20 pages worth!). One of my favorites was this ghost TOT table centerpiece. I also thought this cupcake holder would be fun to have out on display for a Halloween party. I don't normally do a lot of craft projects, but in looking at some of these, it might be pretty fun. I always loved gingerbread houses at Christmas, and I thought the haunted gingerbread house was a pretty clever idea. It would also make a great centerpiece, and who doesn't love the sweet smell of freshly baked gingerbread?? Maybe working on a few Halloween projects will get me even more in the Halloween spirit (as if I needed any help already)!
Friday, June 5, 2009
Autumn is coming early at Michael's
Ok, I just had to share this because I couldn't believe it! I walked into a Michael's yesterday, and to my complete surprise, I saw Fall-colored flowers and bouquets already stacked on the shelves. It was the last thing I was expecting to see considering that it is only early June, but nonetheless, they were there! I recalled that last year in July I was shocked to discover that not only were Fall flowers already out, but Halloween decorations were out as well. The same aisle that houses the Halloween stuff every year had at least half the decorations out, such as the 'Spooky Town' collection of musical haunted houses. Funny that I find Fall already showing up in one of my favorite stores when the weather is so Fall-like. In about a month from now, I will expect to probably find Halloween already showing up on my favorite aisle there. I wonder what cool, new things I will find there this year. I hope I find a bunch of new stuff to bring home and decorate with! I am *so* looking forward to it!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Fall-like weather
Is it really June?! We had major thunder and lightning last night as we were driving home, as well as some rain. It is still completely over cast and pretty chilly today. While many people are probably upset that the weather is like this in early summer, I am actually quite enjoying it. It feels, looks and smells like Fall. Unbelievable. The sky looked so awesome last night! I wish I had pictures. Most of the sky was dark and stormy looking, but there was an area of it I could see far off in the distance that was lit up. It was so strange. Every ten seconds or so, lightning would flash across the whole sky, and heavy raindrops would come pounding down on the windshield, followed by an occasional boom of thunder. It was truly a sight to see and hear. It would have made for a wicked Halloween night. I could see myself, on a night like this on All Hallow's Eve, perhaps sitting in front of a warm fireplace surrounded by friends, telling tales of horror to each other. The soft glow of jack-0-lanterns all around the room would cast spooky shadows on the walls, and creepy music would play in a corner of the room. We'd be enjoying all sorts of Halloween candies and treats, as is tradition on Halloween night. Our faces, hidden behind masks and make-up, would look ghoulish as we stare wide-eyed at each other in the glow of the firelight. My kind of Halloween, indeed!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Summer
I am already sick of it. It's barely even begun, but I am already dreading the 100-plus heat that will be upon us in a matter of weeks. Already, I long for the cool, crisp breeze of autumn, with the sweet scent of dying leaves and smoking chimneys that always accompanies it. I am happy summer is beginning. I am just anxious for it to be over so that my favorite time of year can finally be here again.
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