Tooth Faerie Brigade!!

Quietly coming into a room without making a sound and then darting under their pillow and perhaps even their covers and almost getting squished by the sweet, sweet child laying in the bed doesn't sound like a very good experience, does it? It is though and one that bestows great honor on the one that holds the job title of Tooth Faerie!!! She loves collecting the baby teeth of all the wee ones and exchanging them for silver coins and she has been doing it for centuries. She is however a bit tired of all the hunting for teeth that have slipped out from under the pillows and rolled onto the floor and under the bed. This can be very dangerous as cats can SEE faeries and I'm sure you know what might happen if she is seen by the family cat. Not to mention how many times she has had to spend time whispering in the child's ear to open it's little hand that is gripping the tooth with all he or she has.

After a very long and tiring night of having to hunt, search or persuade her little charges to let go of their baby tooth, she came up with a plan. A very good plan and one that would help make sure she collected all the baby teeth being offered to her each and every night. She was going to recruit some assistants!!

Meet Pumpkin and Squeak....a great little team if ever there was. 

Meet Fernando who can't leave the pond without his lily pad.

Meet George who loves wearing his Banana tie.

Meet Rascal who again has pulled up one of farmer Joe's carrots.

Meet Cupcake..the sweetest of the team. (Warning: Never, EVER try

and take her cupcake)

Didn't the Tooth Faerie pick out the cutest little whimsical characters? She discovered them living near the old Southern ooaks tree and made them an offer to help that they just couldn't resist. Are you still scratching your head wondering just what a tooth faerie assistant is? Let me explain. Being a mom and wanting to keep up the magic of the Tooth Faerie and having dealt with the lost tooth not under the pillow, lost tooth under the covers, lost tooth under the bed or finally realizing the lost tooth was in the hand, I designed these characters to help me out AND keep the magic going. It's important to let magic flow in a child's imagination especially one that has a very quirky artistic mom. HEHE  Each one of these were hand sewn using a cotton fabric from one of my own patterns. They were lovingly stuffed with just the right amount of batting so that they are still very huggable. Each has been hand painted using acrylic paints and detailed using a black fabric pen. The mouse, lily pad, banana, carrot and cupcake are pouches made from felt. These are the things that will help the parents Tooth Faerie out the most. Each has an open top so that the very special baby tooth can be placed inside. I have placed two little plastic bags inside for now.....one for the tooth and one for the silver coins. (or dollar bill or even a IOU that promises a future fun adventure) The pouches have twine so that on that special night they can be tied around the fabric characters neck and the character sat on the bed or nightstand. You can even take this a tad bit further and make it fun by making up a small bedtime story to go with their character and make this a truly magical and special time for your child. The best part is that you won't have to be taking a chance waking them up by feeling under the pillow or the covers to locate that tooth anymore. ^_^

These whimsies are being donated to the Baldwin County Christmas Angel program and I do hope that the child that receives them will love them as much as I loved making them....just for them!!!

Until next time..........Hugs,

Regi

Dragon is complete...YEA!!

I finally finished the last Tooth Faerie assistant.....the dragon!! I still have to make their little tooth pouches and hopefully will get those completed tomorrow afternoon.

While I was working on the dragon and waiting for the paint to dry in between applications I was able to work on the newest Santa ooaks.

Santa is clapping because he's just so happy that he has at least part of his underclothing on...hehe!! I hope to get the legs done tonight or in the morning.

Until next time.........Hugs,
Regi

Happy Happy Monday!!!

Happy Happy Monday ya'll. Yes yes, I know that most don't like Mondays but if we didn't have them then it would just be Tuesdays that got a bad wrap..hehe...so enjoy your Monday!!

I'm going to be TRYING to finish up the Tooth Faerie Assistants today but ya'll know how my muse gets tired of working on one thing to much and flutters over to another. I will try and contain her for as long as I can so (fingers crossed) I can at least get them all painted. I did get the rabbit, cat and monkey painted. I know that I said in an earlier post that I was going to make a dress for the rabbit but the Chazman said something that got me to thinking. He doesn't know these are Christmas gifts FROM Santa (he still BELIEVES) but he thinks they are just gifts I'm making for our sweet friend Sue to give out. He said what if Sue gives the rabbit to a little boy instead of a girl? Then he added "Mom....I wouldn't mind the rabbit but not one in a dress". Good point, eh? SO I decided that they would all go all natural. HEHE  I'm also thinking of painting a heart on each one and drawing little faerie wings on that...as their emblem. HEY, they are proud to be Tooth Faerie Assistants.

Now after they are all painted I still have to make their pouches. The ones that will hold the tooth for the Tooth Faerie to find a lot more easily and not get squished in the process of doing so. I'm thinking of a banana for monkey, carrot for rabbit, mouse for cat, lily pad for frog and I'm in a bit of a quandary about the one for the dragon. Any suggestions??? AND before anyone suggests this one...this dragon does NOT eat faeries. ^_^

Until next time...........Hugs,
Regi

Can ya see me now? (Santa thinks he is hiding..hehe)

Yesterday was a quiet day around the house. I know....I know, for a Saturday that's VERY unusual. The Chazman woke up not feeling well at all so we stayed in. Must have been a small tummy bug because this morning he says he is feeling "FINE". (have to say that in a very heavy Southern drawl and in a baby voice because he still has one)

I always hate when my lil man gets sick but it gave me some quiet time in my studio without the weekend guilt that can go with it sometimes. A few projects actually got worked on...YEAH!! I'm going to make some of the old fashioned chenille bump ornaments and yesterday I was able to cut out ALLLLL the little faces. So many many faces....there were Santa faces, angel faces, snowman faces, a little girl elf face and a sweet vintage couple that I'm going to make "Our First Christmas Together" ornament with.

The little tin is stuffed full of faces. I have been searching and gathering vintage images for awhile now and decided it was time to cut them out. Talk about time consuming...WHEW!! There are some great free sites to find these, like....Hubpages, Vintage Holiday crafts, and my favorite place to hunt for vintage images is The Graphic Fairy. Just remember when finding an image you like and want to use that you read the terms of use and make sure it's alright. Normally it is but just make sure!! ^_^ (I mean, it's the polite thing to do ya'll)

After I finished cutting and cutting and cutting AND CUTTING the faces out, I had time to work on my newest Santa piece. Santa is looking pretty spiffy so far and extremely weird. Yes, I said WEIRD. They always do at this stage.

See I told ya...hehe!!  Santa thought he was being cute and hiding amongst my craft tools but I caught him. It does look creepy though. I mean it looks like his head, hands and feet are just there without a body. YIKES!!

Santa finally came out and decided I could get a pic of him so you could see that he has a strong wire armature. Ohhh, look..he is even doing a dance for you. Walk like an Egyptian (oh-way-oh)  I'm hoping to get his yarn underclothes done today. Fingers crossed. As you can see his hands are completed and I even made him a pretty handsome wedding band.

His face is painted but I still have a few small details to do. Hmmmm, I wonder how long it's been since Mrs. Claus has seen Santa without his beard?

I also was able to paint on the vintage ceramic sleigh yesterday too. I'm not finished with it but it's looking so much better than it did.

 Before

Almost after..hehe

I hope that YOU have a great Sunday. Thank you for stopping by for a visit...come back again and soon!!!

Until next time...........Hugs,

Regi

Santa's strong hands!!

Good Morning ya'll....so happy you stopped in for a visit. Yesterday I told ya'll that I had started squishing the clay and it is continuing on through today. (if ya ever get really frustrated, just pick up some clay and squish it...it will do ya some good) ^_^

I'm working on Santa's hands today. I love sculpting hands and actually have the perfect pattern to follow when making Santa's or any of my old folk hands. MINE...hehe!!! If you aren't at that stage in life yet then find a good close up photo to follow...it so helps!! As you can see in the first photo, I do all the upfront work at the same time. Make the palms/wrist section, roll out the clay that will be the fingers then cut the fingers so that they will be the same size on each hand. Have my padding ball ready to go. That's what I use to give a bit more strength to the fingers and to add some bulk if needed. Next is the clear transparent clay to make the fingernails. Then I start working. Sometimes I do each finger on each hand one after the other. Then like I did with this set...I finished one of them before the other. It's important to know how your sculpt is going to be positioned too...before starting the hands. This one is going to be waving (with the left) and will have the right one laying in his lap or on the winter lap blanket. (ya know, the one I talked about yesterday that I still haven't decided if I'm going to do...decisions decisions)

Until next time..........Hugs,
Regi

Squish, squish!!!

I  have sooooo many art projects going on at the moment and my muse is fluttering and flittering here and there just trying to keep up. (about time I made her be at a loss for words..perhaps I can get some of these completed) Of course most of the projects are the ones for the Angel Christmas program but I needed a break from sewing and decided to do some squish, squish, squishing of the clay. Ohh it felt sooo good..hehe

I'm starting a new Santa, which I actually started last night or should I say early this morning..OH WELL...he got started!! I went hunting through my treasure troves and found an old ceramic sleigh that I think will go perfectly with him. Ya'll know I love to repurpose found items and this sweet little knick knack needed a rescue for sure. I'm going to rub it....not paint it...RUB IT...hehe..give it that old worn look. The sleigh will be red and of course the holly will have green leaves and darker red berries. The sleigh runners will be brown. I'm even thinking of making a lap blanket out of a pretty vintage piece of crushed velvet material I have with white yoyo's on top. That's still in the "thought" process though and as soon as my muse stops fluttering and flittering about I'm sure she will give me HER opinion on it.

For those new visiting the old Southern Ooaks tree let me tell you a bit about my art. All of my sculpts are hand done which means I NEVER use molds of any kind. I try and make each piece a true one of a kind which means I very rarely sculpt anything the same. I do have some small characters that I might repeat but with them still being hand done they will always have some different characteristics from each other. All of my larger sculpts have strong wire armatures underneath a body normally wrapped in yarn. I LOVE making yarn undies..hehe
I try and use vintage fabrics, buttons, jewelry and knick knacks in my pieces...I LOVE to repurpose those treasures that have somehow been put by the wayside. When a character calls for hair or beards I use either yarn (pulled) or lambswool (sheared only). The ooaks (one of a kind sculpts) eyes are bone beads placed inside the clay face and then hand painted after the clay has been baked. Yes yes...it gets baked and thank goodness I have had very few mishaps with them not getting to toasty. ^_^  If you ever have any questions about how I do something just ask....I will always take the time to answer and love sharing ideas and my often quirky ways of doing things.

Until next time.............Hugs,
Regi

Did I do thaaaat???

Meet Steve "The Chazman" Urkel....hehe!! I still can not believe that he is doing this crazy dress up week but I'm so proud of him for breaking through that shy shield. I wish I had taken my camera to school this morning because it was a school filled with Urkel's....Muahahahaha!!!  If you don't know what's happening with the dress up go back one post and check it out. (that way ya'll will know that we aren't losing our minds..... completely)

I worked on the rabbit tooth faerie assistant yesterday. Her face is painted and I have started on her outfit. A cute light pink shift and a flower print full apron. Again...this is going to take some time as I'm still sewing by hand but I have to admit that I am enjoying it. It's a great "therapy" session!!

So, what's on YOUR plate for today? Something fun and creative I hope. I plan on sewing and perhaps squishing some clay today....at least that's the plan!!

Until next time.........Hugs,
Regi

It's Drug Awareness Week here for the kiddo!!

WOW...talk about an unwelcomed guest coming to visit and NOT getting the hint to leave!!! OMGOSH..I am so not talking about a real person...I love my poeple guest and my furbaby guest...it's this nasty crud I just can't seem to shake. I love the changing of the seasons but apparently they don't like me so much. It is to blame for one of the reasons I haven't been posting but I decided it was NOT going to tell me what to do, especially in my own house......NOO...nope..naaa ahhh!!

I have been busy working on the Tooth Faerie assistants and some of the other items for the Angel program, when the nasty visitor would let me. :P   I have also been coming up with some new designs for some Santa sculpts. I found this AWEmazing site on Facebook called the "Alabama General Store". They promote artist, not just from Alabama or even just from the South but from all over and they don't charge us anything to list or post our photos of our art. Not a thing...nope...nothing!! Here is what they say about themselves: "Alabama General Store is a Southern artist outreach and no cost marketing initiative sponsored by Inspire Arts, the flagship program of Inspire Charitable Foundation. Our Foundation is a nonprofit corporation fostering Inclusion. One of our missions is to provide mentorship. We want to help our members be successful in the Business of Art."     Like I said...AWEmazing group. They even have it set up like a store with floor levels so that you can find just what you're looking for and believe me, YOU WILL find what you are looking for. So many wonderful artist and their wares. Take that cup of coffee and wander on over and do some exploring perhaps even some shopping. (ummm you can find me on the Holiday Decor floor and the Jewelry floor)

Now part of my time since Saturday has been getting my kiddo ready for Red Ribbon Week (Drug Awareness) The Chazman brought home his weekly "What's happening" newsletter and said that he wanted to participate each day in the theme. My shy kiddo is coming out of his shell and it's such a thrill to see. So with him wanting to do this, we had to go on some junk treasure hunts on Saturday. We got really lucky and found some of the items he would need to make this week happen and only had to spend about $6...that's goood!!  Here's what the weeks themes are to be:

Monday: Duck Dynasty Day (Dress like one of the characters)

Tuesday: Team up Against Drug (Wear favorite team shirt)

Wednesday: Too Smart for Drugs (Dress like Steve Urkel)

Thursday: Hugs not Drugs (Bring favorite stuffed animal)

Friday: Red shirt and jeans day.

The mister is NOT a hunter so we had to find some camouflage. I mean it is the uniform for DD..hehe!! Chaz really likes Phil Robertson...said he is soooo laid back and loves the way he talks so that is who he wanted to go as. We tried to find an old wig so that I could make a beard but had no luck there (well we did find a few but not within our junk treasure budget) so I made him one using cotton balls. HAHA...almost could have called him Santa Phil. To really bring the character into the outfit I found a duck card and added some of our own words to it and pinned it to the pocket of the tshirt. The saying we used was: Happy Happy Happy to say No No No to Drugs. The Chazman was a fitting Phil if I must say so myself. ^_^

Today, Tuesday is team day and they could wear their favorite team jersey. We didn't find a jersey but really didn't think we would at yard sales but it was worth a try. I mean we didn't even find any auburn rags...muahahahaha. Just kidding...my friends know I love both teams...when they aren't playing each other. The Chazman did have a long sleeve crimson tshirt and I called the school yesterday and asked if he could wear that instead of a jersey since he didn't have one and they said OF COURSE!!! Now ya'll know me and ya know I could NOT just let my kiddo wear a plain old tshirt.....sooooo...I got my paints out. I spent most of last night painting since I had to let each layer dry before adding to it but I'm very happy to have done it especially when I saw the Chazman's eyes this morning. He LOVED it!!! He and I both looked at each other and he asked if I knew why he pulled more for Alabama than any other team. I said I thought because he was such a smart kid...HAHA. He said "Ohh Mom". He told me that he loves Alabama because his Papaw (my Daddy) asked him to always root for HIS favorite team and to remember his Papaw every time he yelled ROLL TIDE ROLL!! (and he said he told him never to say that dirty word either...Auburn. Ohh my Daddy..you would have had to have known him) I got a good cry out of that one and realized just what an impact my Daddy had on my son at such a young age and for such a short time.

Tomorrow is Urkel day and I sooo can not believe that my shy guy, even if he is coming out of his shell, wants to dress just like Urkel did. We found a great button shirt and even some suspenders for him to wear. I will post a photo of that tomorrow...so come back to visit. Ya'll don't want to miss Chaz Urkel..for reals!!

Until next time............Hugs,
Regi

Dragons and rabbits and bears...OH MY!!!

It's a beautiful day today and I'm staying inside..hehe  The mister has gone off with some of his work buddies, the Chazman is pillaging and plotting (playing one of his games) and I'm sewing. Happy Happy Happy!!!

I am working on some of my Tooth Faerie assistants for the Angel Christmas program today. A rabbit and a bear. Yesterday I finished with the dragon and he looks "adorable".

Dragon, monkey, cat and frog are just in the "bones" stage right now but will look amazing when I get them painted. I think I might even dress a few of them. Still pondering on that!!

Now I can see that some of ya might be a scratching those noggins wondering what in the world a Tooth Faerie assistant is. In a time far away and long, long ago....hehe....it does feel that way as I made my first one about 30 years ago. Tooth Faerie assistants are fabric characters that aide the tooth faerie in her quest to gather children's baby teeth. Do you remember how frustrating it was to try and find that tiny little tooth hidden under your kiddos pillow? I can remember having to lay on the floor and search and search around and under the bed, only to find that my son(s) had the tooth in hand....literally!!  Well....that's where these guys come in. Each has a little pouch they carry so instead of putting that precious tooth under the pillow you put it into the pouch. The assistant then sits on the bed patiently waiting for Tooth Faerie to come and pick up the tooth and leave some shiny coins in its place. Yes I said coins people...no need to spoil our youngins. Well...we don't want to spoil them TO MUCH!!

While I'm sewing today I'm also doing some baking.....BING...the dirts ready!! Did ya try my dirt brownie recipe yet? I'm on my third batch this week..hehe  I have some eggs sitting out to come to room temp so the Chazman and I can make some ghost poo cookies. They are really "forgotten kisses" but they have different names depending on the holiday around this homestead you see. Halloween they are ghost poo, Christmas they are angel clouds and at Valentines they are smooches..hehe Here's our easy recipe just in case you want to make some for your little ghoul or boy. 

Ingredients

2 large egg whites at room temp

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

2/3 cup fine granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Optional:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup crushed peppermint sticks

1 cup walnuts

Mixing and baking

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until fluffy. (do not overbeat)

Add sugar about 3 tablespoons at a time beating well in between spoonfuls. When half of the sugar is added, add vanilla extract. Continue beating and adding sugar until all sugar is mixed in and not grainy. Your fluffs should be shiny. Fold in any of the optional ingredients you may want to add at this time. (we love them without any of the optional ingredients too...just sayin) Working one teaspoon at a time, push a teaspoon of the meringue onto the parchment paper using another spoon to help you. Leave about 1 inch in between cookies. Place in oven...turn oven off and leave cookies in at least 2 hours or even overnight until cookies are crisp and dry. Can be stored in an airtight container for up to a week.....if they last that long!!

Until next time........Hugs,

Regi

A few more Halloween Labels per the Chazman ^_^

I am soooo excited that my Chazman loves to get in on the decorating at holidays. He went through the kitchen last night and decided that some of the jars I use on a daily basis should have labels for Halloween on them too. I mean...they are sitting out and we do have labels on other things...so why not!!!

I love the glass and porcelain old timey containers that have the large wire closures. I keep our coffee creamer and sugar in some. Those are the ones that the Chazman said needed Halloween labels since they sit out on the counter. So.....here's the labels:

Sugar=Faerie Dust

Creamer=Mummy Dust

Now I told ya'll in my Halloween decorations post about the clear container that holds the Transylvania Dirt (remember..not real dirt but brownies) but the Chazman wanted me to actually add a label for that too. Soooo, I did!!!

 As you can see, a good bit of the dirt is missing...hehe!! I knew that I would be making brownies all month long and I don't mind at all. I have a very easy and delicious recipe and I want to share it with YOU.

Ingredients

1/2 cup melted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup powdered baking cocoa

Optional ingredients (but ohhhh so good to add and we did)

1/4 cup Nesquik Chocolate Syrup

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

I guess if ya wanted to have "rocks" in your dirt, you could add 1/2 cup walnuts. Muahahahaha

Mixing and Baking

Melt butter. Combine sugar, vanilla and melted butter.Add eggs. Mix the remaining ingredients in a different bowl. Combine the two bowls into a larger bowl and mix well. (this is when ya would add those optional ingredients and those "rocks") Grease and flour a 9x11 or a 9x9 pan. Spread batter in pan. Bake for 20 minutes at 365 degrees. Cool. Eat. ENJOY!!!

Until next time............Hugs,

Regi

35 Lil mummies in a box...ready to wreak havoc!!! Muahahaha

Finally....FINALLY...I have finished all 40 lil mummies. What a project and one that I swaney just kept growing and growing..hehe.  The Chazman is very happy that he will have a surprise to take to the class Halloween party later this month and if my lil man is happy....then...I am happy, happy, HAPPY too!!!

If you are new here and would like to have your kiddo say "I want my mummy umm I mean mommie to make some too" then just click HERE to see my How To post.

I could not believe that I actually got 36 of these lil fellas to fit inside the box. That is the real number that the Chazman needed but he wanted a few extras. The extra ones will just travel in a paper bag. Not just a plain bag either. HEY....ya'll know me and ya know I can NOT send a plain old paper bag. HEHE

I'm using my old painted box that I have been using for several years now and it's going to work perhaps this one more time for us. I need to start saving boxes again because you never know when ya need one. Love to recycle!! I did do some touch up and added some new images so it doesn't look to banged up. If it does though then that will only add to the character. I mean the mummies are traveling from Egypt!!  HeHe

The worse part of the box was the original outside flaps.....soooo...I made them the inside flaps this time. I covered them in a cardstock newspaper print and added some cute little tags over that. Now when the box is opened they won't see where I have pulled old images off......several times!!

So here are the inside flaps that are now the outside flaps. Have I confused ya yet? 

Added some cute little side images. 

The end package....all ready to be hand delivered!! The little mummy tag has written on it "Open at your own risk".  I so hope the kiddos will enjoy their mummy candy containers. Each one is filled with Smarties, a Skellie Pop and a bag of bones...candy bones that is. Muahahahahahaha (evil laugh or perhaps just a giggle)

Now that these guys are totally and completely finished I can work on the Tooth Faerie assistants. So far I have a monkey, cat and frog all sewed up. A dragon is all stuffed and patiently waiting to be put together. I'm going to make a rabbit and a bear and then I can start painting them. I still won't be finished with them because I have to make their little pouches. The pouches that will hold those baby teeth as they come out that need the Tooth faerie to collect. Ya don't know what Tooth Faerie assistants are? Come back to visit and find out. ^_^

Until next time.............Hugs,

Regi

It's looking a LOT like Halloween!!!

Not EVEN going to say anything about not posting until now except...WELCOME WELCOME and thank you for visiting. ^_^

We LOVE Halloween around the old Southern ooak tree and we wanted to share our BOOtiful decorations with YOU!! Enter if ya dare and take the Halloween tour...muahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

Now being on a tight budget does not mean that you can't go out and buy some new decorations. I know....I know, things are sooo expensive these days but you can find items that won't cost you and arm and a leg and ones where you can even make them your own with a little imagination. Take our entry door welcoming you in...ok well...muhahahaha (evil laugh) perhaps not your normal welcome but it is a welcome, Halloween style!!  I made this arrangement from Dollar Tree finds. I could not believe that they had Christmas things out already but sure was glad they did. See the glitter green spider eggs ummm I mean balls on the welcome sign? Yeppers, those are Christmas balls but they added some really "pretty pretty, shiny shiny" to our unique sign, ri iight?? HEHE...if ya look closely you can see me taking the pic and I look headless....that's creepy!!

Once you enter the front door you are in what's called "Regi's B&B..hehe!! This little table sits to the left of the door and is where we put the candy we give out. Our little cauldron holds the candy for the good lil ghouls and boys ummm I mean girls and boys. The cauldron is one that I have had for a long time...a gift from my mom. The black roses, which I know are kinda hard to make out are a Dollar Tree find too. They are awesome as they have little spiders attached to them. The photo is...yes yes...another Dollar Tree find as well. It is one of the hologram photos where if you look at it standing in one place it looks like a kindly old gentleman but look at it standing in another and OOPS..no more kindly gentleman!!

Here's our little coven of witches....so BEARy cute!! I'm still working on making them all little felt witches hats. There are more of the coven scattered here and there. I think some are wanting to make up a new coven. Hopefully they won't start casting spells at one another and one of us get caught in the middle. :P

Always love decorating the fireplace and I wish there was more space to use but I can't be blocking the view of the hubbikin's football games and such. Well....I could but that wouldn't be very nice of me..hehe...and I do have to live with the man!! The black cloth and the crows are more Dollar Tree finds. The banner is one I found at http://www.scribd.com/doc/39132830/moselle-haunted-bunting and printed off on cardstock and then put together. It states "Happy Haunting". I think for next year I'm going to add more to it but it's good for now. (to many projects going on to start on another one at the moment) See the little glass vase on the left? It's holding a tiny bat boy. No worries....he can escape get out whenever he wants. I mean he is a bat boy...has wings..can fly.

Such a simple decoration and one you can make yourself. I found a vintage photo of a little boy, added some wings, a top hat and some little bats hanging from a limb, made a tab on the bottom of the cutout and used double sided tape and stuck him to the bottom of the vase. Hmmmmm, perhaps that's why he never leaves his jar. :P  I added some spanish moss and a black bow and "POOF"..cute decoration!!

On the right of the fireplace is this little witch, one that I made for my mom several, several years ago. It's hard to see in the photo but she is holding a black cat. The cat rubbing her legs is a simple paper cutout. Add a cute witchy porcelain pumpkin and a Halloween piece is made.

The phone table sits next to the fireplace and it always just "SCREAMS" decorate me..decorate me!! Get it....Halloween time.....SCREAMS? Yeah yeah..I know..ya get it..hehe  It's holding two of my witches. The one on the feather tree got stuck in her cauldron and with a little  help from her batty familiar she will hopefully get out.....hopefully!! Of course the little witch on the right is Tabitha, the newest lil witch in town. I thought the three lil ghosties I made for the Chazman a few years ago would look cute sitting next to her. They are patiently waiting for her to light the skellieabra. They be very afraid of the dark...EEKKK!!

I love using my pieces that I have made over the years in my decorating along with some of my paper art as well. It's really fun to make your own decorations....so many awesome sites to find free images to use. Go haunting ummm I mean hunting and you will find some too.

This lil bear holds a special place in our decoration for Halloween and for Christmas. For Christmas he of course turns into Santa Bear and for Halloween is he normally dressed as a ghost but this year...well...he is VERY special indeed. The outfit he is wearing is the first costume I made for the Chazman when he was 4. That was the first year we were able to convince him to go Trick or Treating. He loved answering the door with me but he did not want to be out and about with all those characters..HAHA!! Fixing up bear this year made me cry...happy tears though. Thinking back to his first time and realizing just how big my lil guy is getting.

WOWZERS...that's one freakin BIG spider. Ohhh...wait, it's not real so she won't hurt you. She's just hanging out to see what time it is. HEHE

That big old gal has just spun her webs everywhere!! This one kinda freaked ME out last night when I got up and went to the bathroom. I forgot it was there. ^_^ (that's the bathroom door by the wreath on the wall)

Here's a pretty idea for decorating. Take a inexpensive frame, add a print of a vintage Halloween card, add some Dollar Tree tinsel, a bow and you have a purrrrfect decoration.

Now this is a decoration that I should probably keep up year round. Why, you ask? Because this is the door leading into the Chazman's room or the Chazman's cave as he likes to call it.

You have now enter the Chazman zone!!! OMGOSH....we have another HUGE spider hanging around and she's looking to see what time it is too. HEHE  The spider, webbing, black crow, glass vase and shelf poster are all Dollar Tree finds. Perfectly spooktacular, eh?

I attached the shelf poster to the Chazman's real wooden shelf. He LOVES it and wants us during the year to find old bottles to make creepy specimen bottles to sit on the shelf for next year. Yes yes, my weird genes were passed down to him. The glass vase the crow is sitting on is holding a brain. Noooo...not a real one, it's one of those squishy ones to exercise your hands with but it looks good in the vase. The motorcycle in the background is one his Daddy made him and if ya look closely you can see it has a little skeleton rider on it.
Like I said....he has my weird gene!!! He says we are weird with a side of AWEsome. Luv that kiddo!!!

I added some of the black drapings (yes..from the Dollar Tree) and spider webs to his windows along with a black crow. His parrot is wearing a dragon mask that the Chazman actually found at a yard sale. He calls it the Parragon!!

These photos are of the kitchen. I told ya'll I love decorating...hehe!! I like adding labels to our candy containers and other various containers too. Again, you can find so many great and FREE to use ideas if ya just go searching. Some of the labels I found and printed were from  http://celesterockwood-jones.typepad.com/files/halloweentreatlabels_crj.pdf . Please check with anything you use to make sure it's alright by the designer. Most will let you use it for free for personal use. I let the Chazman help decide which labels we would use and what goodies would go in them. Here's what we used: for the "Bat Guano" we used Hershey's chocolate pieces. For the "Night Crawlers" we used gummy worms. For the "Dragon Eyes" we used the chocolate balls covered with eye foil. You really can't see the jar in the right back but I just printed off a aged tag and put the words "Dried Zombie Skin" and filled it with dried banana chips. (that was a Chazman idea) The little witch label on the left back is filled with candy corn. Ya have to have candy corn..it's a Halloween goodie for sure.  The green sign is from.....drum roll.........the Dollar Tree. HEY...I should get paid by Dollar Tree for all the advertising of items they sell!!!

I also have a clear plastic container that will be filled with "Transylvania Dirt". That's brownies in real life!! So as you can guess, if I'm gonna keep it filled, I'm going to be making a good bit of brownies this month.

Hope you enjoyed your tour and I hope that it has inspired you in creating some of your decorations. I would love to see some if ya do. Leave a comment with a link and we will all come and visit.

Until next time............Hugs,
Regi

Oh yes....I wanted to let any of you that have a Publix close by that this is the cute grocery bag they have this month. It's only .99 and is made very well. Perfect for those October groceries and for a little one to use for Trick or Treating!!!