The Ouija Project & Pumpkin Party

O-U-I-J-A
Go Ahead....Ask It Anything!
But NEVER Play Alone!

Last night we had a very small Pumpkin Carving Party. 'Very and Small' are the operative words here. We have just had SO MUCH on our plates this month, that not only have I been a little sick since our vacation, but we just did not have the time or energy to host a big shin-dig like we usually do. It does disappoint me some, no doubt....but, one can only do so much. And honestly speaking, it was still a lot of work, but it was fun and we could socialize more and enjoy it, so it was all good! I missed photographing all of the pumpkins, but I did manage to get a 'blood and guts' shot. Okay....so maybe there was no blood, but the pumpkin guts looked pretty cool. I also got the 4 jacks below when they were lit up. One was really big and one was teensy tiny....but any carved pumpkin is a good pumpkin in my book!
But as such, I missed yesterday's post. I will be finishing the RavenWood Apothecary tour in the next few days, but today's post is on one of my two favorite projects from last year. I'll post the second one later. I was SO thrilled with how this project turned out, and it looks even better in person than in the photos. I had grand intentions of making a few of these to put in the Etsy shoppe, but time did not cooperate with me as usual. So for now it remains my prototype.
Last year I sojourned into the Spirit World via Ouija....well, sort of! Now I've posted on the art of Ouija before because I'm just absolutely smitten with it for some reason. I guess it's the graphic artist in me, or the fact that I was a Journalism (Advertising/Public Relations) major....but I love 'lettering and type'. So I think that's why the Ouija Board appeals to me so. I previously did not own, and still do not own, a store bought Ouija Board. Oh, I want one badly for my Hallowe'en display, I do....but, I don't like the current versions that you can buy, and the older ones are harder to find and usually pretty expensive.

Now when I was considering buying one a few years back, I read up on them via the internet, and of course there were a gazillion warnings to 'STAY AWAY'! "It is not a toy, and you should not attempt to contact the spirit realm unless you are qualified and prepared for what ever might come your way!" Well, you don't have to scare me twice....nope, that was all I needed to know that I had no intentions of using one. But the fact remains that I still love how they look. And I really still wanted one. Now another thing I read somewhere said, "don't even have one open in your house because it acts as a portal and entities can come through it." But others rebuffed that opinion and said that the only way it can act as a portal, is if you actually use one in a seance and open said portal. I side with the second opinion....and I do that out of personal experience.
So since I wanted a Ouija Board, and I wanted it to look old, I decided that I'd really love to design my very own board and incorporate my own style and aesthetic to it. I wanted one that looked old and was decidedly 'witchy'! So that's exactly what I did. I sat down and spent a rather long time designing and creating the artwork for my very own personalized Ouija Board. Then I was ready to actually craft the board itself. And I had intentions of making a bigger board, and I still will, perhaps this year in fact. But first I got another idea, so I decided to implement that idea first. And that idea was to create a Ouija Board Purse!
So I got my wooden box purse and measured the area where the board would go on the front and the back. Next, I made the hubster remove the handles and hinges so that he could stain my box black. Then I printed out the design on high quality paper and trimmed it to fit the purse. I used Mod Podge to affix it to the purse and a squeegee to remove any air bubbles or bumps. Then I went over it twice with a sealant. When it was all dried, the hubster reattached the handle and hinges.

Then, as a finishing touch, I decided that it should be a real board and be able to be used if someone felt so inclined. So I set about creating a planchette. I made this out of wood pieces that I had the hubby drill a hole in to perfectly fit the size of the letters on the board. Then I put some round ball feet on it so it would be elevated and move easily across the board. And lastly, I painted it black. The planchette can be kept inside the purse for ease of use, anytime, anywhere!I personally, will NOT be using this board in any way, shape or form....but I feel better knowing that I have that option always open to me....ha! And, I've had my custom designed/crafted Ouija Board Purse on display in my home for a year now....and I can report that it's portal to other dimensions remains tightly sealed....as no Ghosts, Haints, Spirits or Specters have come a calling! So what do you guys think? Have you used a Ouija Board and had any bad experiences or lack thereof? And would you be scared to have one set out in your home for fear that evil entities might become squatters in your humble abode?

Halloween Music CD Give Away

Well...today is a special day. In honor of just getting my 60th follower, I am going to do a give away too. I haven't done one before, so bear with me. But I have something that I know will be a most spooktacular thing to win in a Hallowe'en Give Away and I've been dying to share, so this is the perfect excuse. I do not understand all the workings of having people go to other websites and post things, so this one will be very easy. You only have to leave a post on this blog entry letting me know you want to be entered...easy enough. And if you are the lucky spook who wins, I will need you to email me a mailing address. I will also ship out of the country, so no problems for my friends in Canada. You also do not need to leave multiple posts because one is plenty. I will put all the names in my Witch's Hat and let my kids draw it out. How is that for a scientific selection method? We will do the drawing and post the winner on Saturday, October 10th. That's 2 weeks.

Now for what you'll win.... You may or may not have noticed in my sidebar, an advertisement for a music CD titled "Swingin' at the Séance" by the marvelous Moon-Rays. First, let me tell you what a fabulous CD this is for any Hallowe'en lover. And if you're a fan of vintage Hallowe'en....even better, because the majority of these swingin' tunes are from the 20's and 30's big band era. Here is a better description for you. "This year the Moon-Rays have given you the ultimate Hallowe'en treat! They have gone back in the studio to really dust off the skeletons in the closet and record twelve tracks of the best Hallowe'en songs of the 1920's-1940's. Songs originally made famous by artists like Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Bing Crosby, Louis Jordan, Tommy Dorsey, and Glenn Miller. These songs, many of them never re-recorded before, take you back to a time when Hallowe'en parties were really swingin! To take on the recording, the Moon-Rays used the same instrumentation and arranging that were done on the originals, which meant recording with a full big band on several of the numbers. So if you think that Hallowe'en music started with the Monster Mash in the 60's you're in for a very pleasant shock, because these songs are the real deal, and they are SWINGIN baby!!!!!!"
So why have I chosen this to give away? Because first, I can personally attest to this being my absolute favorite Hallowe'en CD in my collection. And secondly, because yours truly was the artist/photographer who had the pleasure of doing all the art work for the CD. So you can only imagine what an exciting assignment it was to design a Hallowe'en CD....right up my witchy lil' alley! The band picked the theme they wanted to go with, in this case being the Séances so common to the Hallowe'en parties of old...and I worked closely with them to give the CD the visual excitement to match their stellar music. In the end, we couldn't have been more pleased with the final product. I played this at our annual Pumpkin Carving Party last year and it was a total hit. The Moon-Rays music is equally enjoyed by young and old alike. My kids love "The Headless Horseman" and "Skeletons in the Closet." The whole CD is swell, I give you my word!

So think about it, and if you want a Free Hallowe'en CD to liven up this year's bash, then throw your name in the hat! And this is not a requirement at all, but if after you get the CD in the mail and listen to it...if you dig it as much as I do, then please tell your friends about it and send them to the Moon-Rays MySpace page. They also have 3 other CD's of spooktacular Hallowe'en music as well. They are a top notch group of musicians and I like to support my fellow artists! Check out their video of "Swingin' at the Séance" below...oh so spooky!

100 Days Til Hallowe'en!

Thank you John Rozum for the reminder that there are just a mere 100 days til' Hallowe'en! Don't know how I could have overlooked those stats, but I'm glad you posted it to remind everyone. It won't be long now before the spirits begin to materialize right before our eyes...and Hallowe'en comes calling once again!Image ©2008 Wendy A.

Music For Séances

Now this is cool! Music for Séances! I ran across this site while doing some research for a CD project I was working on and I became fascinated with these little Ouija Board CD's. The art was produced for the Art-O-Mat project which if you haven't heard of it yet...you really should check it out. It was basically an artist's vision to refurbish old cigarette vending machines thereby saving them from the scrap metal graveyard. Then the newly renovated machines are installed in different cities and vend out little boxes of art that are the size of a pack of cigarettes. Such a fabulously clever and creative endeavor. Read more about them.
http://www.artomat.org/

So one of the companies who was going to contribute their miniaturized art in a box for these machines decided to make Ouija Board shaped CD's. And thus The Mystifying Oracle's Music For Séances was born. Here is the summary from their site. "Music for Séances (a nod to Brian Eno) is a series of ambient music releases by different artists which are meant to envoke feelings of mystery, discovery, and ceremony. Each package is decorated to look like a vintage Ouija-style Talking Board. Some are gothic and dark, others are light-hearted and silly. The project, along with the music selected, is meant to encompass all aspects of the diverse nature of the boards, and can be taken as "seriously" or not as the artist and listener desire."

What a 'spirited' idea is that folks? There is a LOT of creativity packed into one of these little jewels (art, music, game, divination device). And they can be purchased for as little as 5-7$. And you can see the artwork front and back and sample the songs on their site. You just can't beat that, and the artwork is 'DIVINE'....get it? DIVINE...divination? Yeah okay...
http://austere.org/oracle/seances.shtml#oracle

Swingin' At The Séance

If you're anything like me, you are already busy making up your Halloween Playlist. No Hip and Happening Halloween Shindig would be complete without some Ghoulishly Groovy tunes bellowing out of the Hi-Fi! Well this year...your party can really 'Swing' if you can lay your cold sweaty palms on the new CD out now by those Halloween Hipsters...The Moon-Rays! Their latest offering is called "Swingin' At The Séance" and it is SPOOKTACULAR! They have brilliantly re-recorded old Jazz Swing tunes from the 20's, 30's & 40's that were previously recorded by the likes of Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller and Artie Shaw to name a few. Plus they throw in a few originals as well. This album, along with their other previously released albums, are all available on Amazon and CD Baby, or you can buy directly from their website http://www.moon-rays.com. With full big band instrumentals and powerful vocals...this is the Halloween album you've been looking for. True Vintage Halloween Music at it's best. And with titles like "The Headless Horseman" and "Skeleton In The Closet"...you know this one is going to be a favorite for years to come! So let your own Skeletons out of the closet and start Swingin' at the Seance today!