All Hallows Eve

One dark Halloween night in a creepy old deserted mansion, the dolls decided to have a party. They had been sitting around Halloween after Halloween with nothing to do but to stare at the dust and cobwebs until they finally had enough.

So, just as you would suspect old dolls do in creepy old deserted mansions, they got up and wandered around, looking for some friends to invite to their Halloween party.

First, they checked the closet, where they found a skeleton who was dying to attend their soiree, so he donned a top hat and came along.

Meow! said the mummified cat in the hall.

I’ll go as Mr. Hyde! said the raccoon and we’ll have a ball!

The mannequin was dressed in black from head to toe, so in no time at all she was ready to go.

And don’t forget Igor, he is always fun!

Boaris snarled he would be there on the run.

The headless doll said let me collect my thoughts and I’ll let you know …

Who else to invite … oh yes, the crow!

The doll heads were shaking in the jar with glee.

Edith said Mr. Hyde come dance with ME!

The merriment lasted long into the night.

If the neighbor’s had seen, they might have died of fright!

The dolls all had a wonderful time.

Even the Leopard said the party was sublime!

Happy Halloween everyone!!

Monster Fun!

We had a monstrously good time Saturday night when my sister Nancy treated a group of us to tickets to Pageant of the Monsters in Laguna Beach.

Held in the Festival of the Arts area, this spooky Halloween event takes you on a tour backstage at the Pageant of the Masters theatre where famous and infamous characters act out scenes and ghouls jump out to scare you! My favorites were the statues that were not really statues at all, but people painted and posed to look like statues! They were so real that it was amazing. After wandering around in the backstage area and seeing a séance with flying ghosts and other great things, we ended up in the outdoor theatre area and sat under the stars to watch the Phantom of the Opera part of the show. It was a lovely night and I could have sat out there for hours – it was magical!

We also had dinner at Cedar Creek Inn – yum! We got a table in a little section of the restaurant that featured a stained glass window that looked out on Forest Avenue in Laguna Beach. If you’ve never been to this corner of the world, it is really a special place to come visit. We lived in Laguna Beach when I was a kid – Dad is a painter and had a studio there for a couple of years. Laguna is such a magical place! Thank you Nancy for a fun night in one of my favorite towns : - )

Weird Art and the Gypsy Den

Another fun day filled with art! My dad is an artist and he suggested we run over and catch the exhibit at the Grand Central Art Center in Santa Ana. Dad has a great sense of humor and a love for unusal things, so the Basil Wolverton show was just the thing!

Check out this lady - nice hairdo!

Mom came too even though weird art is not exactly her thing - LOL

We enjoyed the exhibit and had a fun lunch at the Gypsy Den - a wonderful little cafe right next door to Grand Central Art Center.

And saw some very cool things at the Art Center's bookstore/shop.

I liked these little wiggly guys - such energy!

Right across the courtyard is The Art Bar! I'm going to take a class there on November 9th, another Lisa Guerin class. So now I know where I'm going :-) Look at that fabulous old building!!

Such a fun day! Too bad everyday can't be an art adventure with my favorite people :-)

Holiday Angel Dolls

Last Saturday I took a trip to Santa Monica to take Lisa Guerin’s Holiday Angel Doll class at Sweetpeas and Snapshots.

It was my first visit to Sweetpeas and this fabulous shop didn’t disappoint! It is in a fun old building and decorated really great with vintage things everywhere. And all the fun paper goodies!

Oh, it is full of fabulous things!

They had 30% off their Halloween things so I got a few things for myself and for sister Tinkie. I got us both a really cute black coffin shaped cardboard book to embellish and some fun tickets – one roll of tickets says Trick and the other roll say Treat.

There was even a doggie section!

It was fun to meet Lisa Guerin – I’ve been a fan of her work in the Stampington magazines where she is one of their Director’s Circle Artists!

She taught a lively class and we all got to use her extensive collection of Character Construction stamps to create our holiday angel dolls. I not only picked up great tips on stamping, but I learned how to set a rivet : - )

I had to leave at 4 pm, but the class was still going strong when I left. They probably keep creating into the night! Here are my angel dolls in the works.

Thanks for a fabulous class Lisa!

Scary Fires

Holy smokes - no work today for me! The wildfires here in California started burning very near the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station where I work and they closed the highway early this morning. The highway is open now, but my boss tells me to stay home today. I know they will get a grip on this fire, the team there at Camp Pendleton is always good at putting these fires out quick! At least I hope so ...

Something Wicked This Way Comes

I bought two wonderfully wicked Halloween crowns from my favorite Halloween artist, the Holiday Queen and they arrived in the mail today along with a fun surprise gift from Melissa (the Holiday Queen herself)! I love getting surprises in the mail!

First I opened the packages with the crowns and all of my taxidermy animals had to try them on.

Hmmm - too small ....

Too big!

Ahh - just right!

Then my little creeps (my old dolls) had to have their turn. But they looked best on Edith the albino raccoon.

Hmm, should I wear the orange one …

Or maybe the black one …
Such difficult fashion decisions!

Then it was time to reveal the surprise! What could it be?

Oh – it is one of Melissa’s amazing glittery skull batons!! How fabulous!! Thank you so much Melissa – what a nice surprise! How thoughtful and sweet of you to send it to me : - ) Now the dolls are happy too – there will be no fighting over Halloween attire tonight!