La Petite Sorciere

 As a Halloween Artist myself, it only stands to reason that I just love me some Hallowe'en Art....I mean who doesn't, right?  Anything Halloween themed always grabs my attention.  And I fell instantly in love with this spell-binding lil' Sorceress with her pumpkins and sidekicks!  The piece is titled La Petite Sorciere and I simply adore it! So I wanted to be sure to give props and a shout out to a fellow artist, the lovely and talented  Fragile Zombie, from France.   You can check out more of her 'Dark Creations' over at DeviantArt! 

© La Petite Sorciere by Fragile Zombie / Deviant Art

This Halloween, Pumpkins Go Postal!

Jumpin' Jack O'Lanterns....It's almost Halloween!  Speaking of Halloween and more importantly, of Jack O'Lanterns....there is no better way to celebrate our favorite holiday than to mail out all those spooky cards and boxes of candy, signed, sealed and delivered with 'Jack-o'-Lantern' Forever Stamps!  These Pumpkin Postage Stamps are most pleasing to my Lil' Halloween Soul,...and are hands down my favorite stamps to come along since the Edgar Allen Poe Stamps of 2009 and the 2013 Harry Potter Collection!  

In fact, they are quite possibly my favorite stamps ever!  I mean nothing says Happy Halloween better than Grinning Jacks.  These beauties went on sale this week, and are going fast...go figure!  But the good news is, you can stock up on them and break them out again every October, because they are 'Forever Stamps'!  So in the immortal words of Edgar A. Poe...once bought at today's price, these festive stamps will be mail-able at that same price...."Forevermore"!  You can't beat that.

For your enjoyment, below is a collage of a few other spooky stamp offerings the US Postal Service has served up in past years...so which Halloween Stamp do you feel best epitomizes the essence of the Halloween Season?

Creepy Clowns Making The Rounds

Just in time for Halloween....is the appearance of Creepy Clowns all over the South, striking terror in the hearts of college kids far and wide.  Undoubtedly your local news has reported on these Clown Stalkers, but the question is....are they for real or just some hysterical urban legend making the rounds?  Well, turns out that I can now post photographic evidence that at least one of these Clowns is the real deal, and alive and well in Knoxville, TN.  Turns out my daughter called from her college dorm at UTK this week to tell me all about how the Clowns in the news stories are real.  Of course I tried to console her by saying that they were surely just Fraternity Pledges being forced to dress up and play copycat for laughs.  She said the clowns have shown up right down from her dorm in the court yard, and have chased people at night returning from parties.  She said they are not only haunting the campus, but have also been lurking around Downtown Knoxville.  She insisted that the police can't do anything about them if they aren't committing any crimes....to which I suggested that loitering on a college campus without student ID must surely be grounds to at least force them to leave.  


Then the very next day, she sent me the image below which was circulating in the local media and creating a buzz around campus.  It was taken at a parking garage right there in Downtown Knox near the school, and it was a Creepy Clown with the name Buckles on his belt.  She said that they've since learned that most of the 'Clown Clones' on the campus were indeed just young Frat Boy jokers. However the police did confront the Creepy Clown below who was stalking around a downtown parking garage late at night, and he turned out to be a strange 40+ year old man.  His intentions?  Still unknown. So what do you think...are these Creepy Clowns that are lurking around, just harmless pranksters....or are they the ill-intentioned stuff or your nightmares? 

From August to Autumn

Wow...tomorrow is August 1st, and that means another birthday will roll around for me on August 2nd, and that is in no way exciting other than the fact that it officially marks the beginning of my annual Halloween Hunt Ritual. That's what I always request to do on my birthday...go around to all the stores and see if I can spot any Halloween products on the shelves. It helps soften the blow of growing another year older, because I instantly feel like an excited kid again when I spy the first pumpkin, skull, witch hat or bat! As all good and true Halloween Lovers know...the stores right about this time, will have officially begun their slow and creepy march towards our favorite holiday...All Hallow's Eve.

 Already, most of you should have spotted the slow roll out of Fall and Halloween goodies coming to Michael's, Joanne's and Hobby Lobby's near you. But after August begins and the school stuff is bought up....the Halloween Mercantile Isles will start rolling out the good ole' Orange and Black!  And that is honestly one of the most magical and exciting things about the season for me....the Countdown!  Pumpkin Spiced EVERYTHING will begin to manifest out of thin air, and the Fun and Fright of the season will 'materialize' right before our eyes.  And that means that there will be all sorts of fun Autumn Activities kicking into high gear as well.  In fact, I just ran across one that is Perfectly Pumpkin-y in every way.  For those fiendish friends of mine who live in or near Texas, you'll want to check this out. (I'm looking at you Gill-Man!)  It's just the perfect way to spend an autumn day.  And if you get the chance to go...be sure to post some pics for the rest of us to enjoy! 

"Autumn at the Arboretum", named one of "America's  Best Pumpkin Festivals" by Fodor's Travel, MSN Travel and Country  Living, will return to the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden to  highlight the "Art of the Pumpkin" September 17 to November 23. The  Dallas Arboretum was just named one of the 15 most breathtaking gardens  in the world by Architectural Digest."

Over 75,000 pumpkins, gourds and squash come together to form the nationally acclaimed Pumpkin Village. A multitude of special fall events are also available throughout the pumpkin festival including a hay bale maze, scavenger hunts and Tom Thumb Pumpkin Patch. Join us from September 17 - November 23, 2016.

For more information on all Autumn at the Arboretum events, call 214.515.6612 or visit Dallas Autumn at the Arboretum

(Photo / News - © Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden)

Creepy Coffee Mugs

For all of you I didn't see last year....hope everyone had a most Creeptacular Halloween.  I was out of the country engaged in top secret testing for quasi-nefarious purposes, and therefore was subsequently 'out of pocket'!  Unable to gain access to the internet...I was unfortunately incapable of posting to my blogs without putting innocent lives in danger...and I certainly didn't want any blood on my hands.

Okay...so maybe that's a bit of a stretch....the truth of the matter is...I'm just lame and had to take a hiatus which centered around a longer than normal Autumn Vacation to Asheville and the Blue Ridge Parkway...which was fantastic! That of course then lead us to a months long quest to determine how soon we can reasonably make a move to that area in the very near future.  So although I did miss the Halloween Countdown....I can at least happily say that I was completely immersed in much Halloween / Autumn goodness, so all was not lost.  In fact, I was actually able to really enjoy the season this year by having a little less on my plate.  We had a Halloween party with all new decor that I hope to share photos of at some point in the future.  And All Hallow's Eve was a blast as always.  But for now, I just wanted to pop in and say hello to anyone who might still be lurking around.  And I wanted to share this image I just found of some very Realistic Zombie Coffee Mugs.  How Creepy Cool is this?!  This guy is grotesquely cute in his own way, and would be a real fine addition to my Halloween Mug Collection.  ** Click the link above and check out the spectacular art of Kevin Merck!  He says that it can take a full month or more to create one of these.  Bet they don't come cheap!

You Gotta Love a Haunted Pumpkin Patch

You gotta love a Haunted Pumpkin Patch!  
Have a great weekend!

What to Look for in Autumn - Book

Yes, it's only the beginning of June...Happy Full Moon by the way!  But there is no time like the present to start wishfully thinking about my favorite season of Autumn that is just around the corner.  There are so many special things to love about the Autumn Season....for instance Mushrooms, which my blogging buddy Vraie Fiction blogged about today.  And right after reading his post, I stumbled upon a pin of this book from the UK by a Pinterest Pinner.  I thought the juxtaposition of finding one and then the other was pretty cool so I thought I'd share the book here just to help get those Autumn Juices slowly primed and flowing.  :o)
Image  ©

Some Hocus Pocus is Brewing this Halloween

 
Looks like there will be some Hocus Pocus brewing this Halloween season at Disney World here in Florida.  According to The Wrap, those bewitching Sanderson Sisters will fly into town to brew up their special brand of magic at this year's Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party!  They're coming to haunt the "Hocus Pocus Villian Spelltacular" running Sept.15th through November 1st.  Winifred, Mary and Sarah have developed a cult following since the debut of their magical Halloween Comedy from 1993.  So if you are near the House of Mouse during the upcoming Halloween season, be sure to check out those wonderfully Twisted Sisters of Hocus Pocus!  But beware.... Winifred may  'Put a Spell on You'! 
Image © Walt Disney Pictures

Looking ahead to Halloween and thinking about a Disney Halloween Cruise...it's not just for kids.  But then again, when it comes to Halloween, aren't we all just kids at heart?!!
© Disney

Day of the Dead - Animated Video

Happy Dia de los Muertos one and all!  There are many reasons to love this Mexican celebration....the color, the flowers, the candles, the sounds, the lights, the fiesta, the sugar skulls, the skeletons....need I go on??  It's a lovely heartfelt celebration of those family and friends that have passed on to the other side.  And although it's a celebration of the dead, it's also very much a celebration of life, a remembrance of those lives that touched ours.  This is how death should be celebrated if you ask me...piercing the veil through space and time to reunite with those whose lives touched yours!  Please enjoy the animated short "Dia De Los Muertos" from Whoo Kazoo!

Happy Dia de los Muertos

Happy Dia de los Muertos to you all!  As the veil grows thin between the Spirit World and ours...it's the perfect time to commune with your ancestors.  Light some candles, get out your skulls and adorn the place with bright colored marigolds.  Serve up some of your late Grandpa's favorite foods and take turns remembering the things you loved most about the dearly deceased.  Celebrate Life and Death during this festive celebration.