Halloween

Cool breeze, blue sky. Feels like fall. And it should, becaaaauuuuuuse....

It's that time of year again! Two years ago it was decided there needed to be a holiday weekend to mark the approach of Halloween. It is to Halloween what Thanksgiving is to Christmas.

"It takes place the 7th Sunday before Halloween, which means this coming weekend is Misgivings Day Weekend!

How to celebrate? Well that's easy. Eat as much fall fare (like pumpkin ale, trick or treat candy which is now on sale at the stores, pies both savoury and sweet) as humanly possible. Work on Halloween props, decor and projects. Watch horror movies and break out Halloween cartoons.

A package of puppy supplies just arrived. Before you say "Oh Ghoul, enough with the puppy talk", take a look at what I got.

Did you know they sell Halloween themed dog toys? I didn't. And I realize that getting a puppy has given me excuses to buy more Halloween stuff. 

It started inexpensively with this $3 double-sided Happy Howloween rope flyer, and a cackling skull and crossbones for $8 from www.petonly.ca. 

Add this to the fact that hats might actually be a safety feature for my soft-skulled little girl...I mean...I would be a bad owner if I didn't get her some costumes that incorporate hats. Like this. Or this. Or maybe this. Or this.

Hee hee hee.

Happy Halloween everyone! 

Though reports of ice and snow storms are top stories for haunters on the east coast, Toronto is all blue skies and sunshine. 

I hope those shivering without power are safe and still finding ways to enjoy the day despite terrible conditions. 

As for me, I finally had a moment to carve this year's pumpkin. Decided to do something different from my usual styles and I think this mouse house is pretty cute (real mice need not apply). 

Not sure what the plan is for the day. It's lunchtime and I have yet to get out of my pajamas (which has made this whole day so far feel a bit like Christmas morning for me, and isn't that a nice thing?). 

The book I ordered for October reading at the start of the month arrived today. So much for leisurely reading this last month, slowly getting into the spirit of the holiday. But I'm still pleased to have it. Now I can thumb my way through some Poe, Lovecraft, Straub, Sir Walter Scott, Bradbury and a load of other authors perfectly designed for Halloween reading. 

Enjoy the holiday. Keep creepin'.

A creature of darkness tired of working for death. He sought an existence the opposite of the world he knew.

But what is it? How to attain it? The living held the secret. So he studied their literature and observed their courting behaviour. He understood he needed a fiancee to shower in gifts (including the key to his heart). And in order for her to love him, he started gathering all the human elements of love: lips for love's first kiss; an ear where sweet nothings are whispered; a tongue that professes love; a nose to breathe in pheromones; fingers that caress; eyes to stare longingly; a brain for daydreams and romantic thoughts; a heart to give to her, and an extra in case the first should "break".

He found a house in a quiet neighbourhood which conveniently had a wife living in it. In his limited understanding of human custom, he grasped she couldn't marry him if she already had a husband unless he was given something called "divorce papers". He created a crude version with a simple statement and added his own wax initial (a gesture to make it official) though by that time, the marriage was technically over since the man no longer lived (better to be safe than sorry, he thought, apparently divorce indicates an ending to love while death has strange lingering romantic thoughts surrounding it).  

A very quick peek at the last of the large prop makeovers this year. 

After this, I hope to start snapping some official images of every character in its place and tell the story of this year's theme.

We have here a 6 ft hanging ghoul with a blue complexion. His detailing is pretty wonderful for a hanging prop which is what caught my eye. That and his almost gleeful expression which works well in my story (coming soon). But blue isn't what I'm looking for, so it was time to give him a quick paint job.

For the record, this prop could easily be taken out of the box, hung up, and with a good spotlight be ready to go. I just needed him to look a little different. Plus, I wanted those eyes and teeth to pop.

All I did was paint black around the eyes and mouth (image below, left). Then I used dark brown to paint the deep creases and shadows (below, middle). And finally, light grey/beige and white dry brushed highlights (with white for the eyes and teeth).