I promised to show you photos of Lisa's adorable art cards she's making as invitations for Joli's faerie themed 2nd birthday party. I realized later that I couldn't really take shots of the full cards as they had all sorts of personal info one doesn't particularly want to spread all over the internet (because of course a thousand people a day read my blog and would then share that info...), so I settled for just a peek at the cards and after I uploaded the photos I realized it they were fuzzy out of focus peeks at that. Oh well, you know, it's very hard to see the faerie realm clearly from the mundane world, yes?

She's making four or so of each design and then moving on to another idea. This set has the neatest wispy silver .... it's not quite lace and not quite cobwebs... framing it.


This wee faerie reminds me of Joli with her "look at me" stance. She's coloring each one slightly different.


Frogs and faeries seem to be connected somehow. Maybe there's also some connection to the disappearance of frogs from their ecosystem and the faerie world. Are we losing parts of the circle of nature because we're losing the magic that binds everything together beneath what we can see.

Faery poem and some pretty thrifted ribbon.

And now for something a bit spookier to fulfill the Post Spooky Challenge. I took these photos on a walk with Lisa and Joli yesterday. I forgot how much pushing a stroller changes the amount of effort one expends. My shoulders are remembering just how much today!

A veiny pumpkin

The one little pumpkin looks pretty nervous about being in this spooky scene. The other one seems to be smiling wickedly.

A witch and her familiar.

A more goofy than spooky pumpkin monster.


Autumn blooms fading on the vine.

For some spooky haunted house photos, creep on over to Beach Treasure.

Leaves on the trees.

Leaves on the ground.

Leaves in the fir tree - already decorating it for the coming winter holidays!

Leaves in the air - about to become leaves on the Joli.

Lisa, Joli and I went to Chester for an warm autumn afternoon in the mountains. We had lunch, spent a bit of time in the shops, but mostly walked around enjoying the outdoors. We wandered a bit in the local farmer's market location. it wasn't open but there were remnants of what must have been a totally fun haunted festival.

A haunted bride riding in an old pick up truck.

A "bedroom scene". I have no idea if this bed was used as a display for fruits and vegetables or was dressed up as as something spooky, but I thought it looked pretty neat even in it's bare bones stage.

A spooky old chair.

A peek at an old metal candelabra. There were two of them that stood about four feet high. I bet they were used in a church. I didn't want to start moving them around to take a better photo, wasn't sure we were even supposed to be walking around in there when it was closed anyway. I would have loved to take these home with me. I'm sure they were not for sale, decoration purposes only.


I assume this Jack had something drapey on his body during the event but I liked him as a stick man.

A very cool plywood cut out.

There were lots more spooky props, not to mention lots of great old shabby furniture and "antiques gone to seed" but alas, my SD card was filled up at this point and it was time to grab some coffee and get on home before it got dark for the drive.

In the studio itself, lots going on. I'm cleaning and sorting because there's just no way to make art until I organize things enough to find everything or even access it, but making lots and lots of progress. In between watching the irascible grandbaby of course, who is interesting in investigating everything in Grammy's oh-so-not-babyproofed house. Meanwhile the muse has struck and Lisa is busy making beautiful art card invitations to the aforementioned child's upcoming second birthday party. Hopefully photos tomorrow.

And if you need more sweetness in your life, more photos today over at Beach Treasure, of the adorable Joli playing in the leaves.

Been busy with family visiting. Football games. Pumpkin patch visiting. Dancing with the granddaughter. Dealing with pet stuff. Finally picked some of those apples just outside the back door. Feeding folks home cooked meals. (I know, sounds implausible - but true, I swear it!) Bringing ginger ale and comfort to poor sick William. Computer time is very limited. Hopefully some crafting and decorating will happen after the weekend and I'll be back with photos.


Until then, more photos, many highlighting this adorable face, can be seen over at Beach Treasure.

I spent a couple days last week photographing autumn in the mountains. Here are some close ups. Pour yourself a nice warm cup of spiced cider and enjoy.









For bigger scenic views, I put up a sampling of images on Beach Treasure today. Refill that cup of cider and check them out.

My second Sweet & Sinister Swap partner, Joanne, finally got a chance to open her box this week, YAH! So now I can show you the rest of the things I made this year.


Not terribly complicated but still, I liked how they came out. I spray painted these white rose stems black and added black glitter and ribbons. I like how this photo came out. It's a color photo but it looks as if it's a black and white. Each partner got one.

Each partner also got a BOO banner, crawling with creepy spiders.

I found these great candlestick holders at the thrift shop and added a fresh coat of black paint to spiff them up. I glittered the pumpkins, added the crepe paper ruffled collars (I've never done that before and I was pretty pleased with myself - until I realized they would be difficult to ship without breaking!) and added all sorts of ribbon and lace. I have a third candlestick holder to decorate for me. We'll see if I ever get around to it, or maybe I'll just be lazy and use it plain.


Last double item for both boxes, some large candy jars filled with bones, skulls, wickedly sweet black and white candy sticks, and cobwebs.


I made Penelope for Joanne. I thought she should be dressed up ready for a southern style Halloween soiree, even down to her pearl necklace. Can you see her tail peeking out from behind. I love how her tail came out.


Here's the whole box full of goodies for Joanne. I found some play and vintage jewelry (in the little box) for her and her daughter to play with, added a tea cup full of both black and white teas, and bits and bobs of other fun things - candles, cards, a tea towel, a fun houndstooth purse (I was tempted to keep that for me!), a "J" for Joanne, some cute paper coasters, a ghosty tea light, a basket for storing goodies, a wee felted mousie, and even a couple of teething toys for the little prince Stephen.


Here's the full box of loot for Linda's box that I couldn't show you earlier. It has many of the same items as Joanne's as well as some thrifted goodies that I knew she'd like - yes, those are nuns (she collects them), a wee owl made out of shells, an owl tea mug (which I believe I forgot to add the teas to) and some 1950's collectible swan wall plaques I scored.

I had so much fun with this swap and I'll give you an early heads up - I've decided to host a swap myself for the upcoming December holidays! I'll announce it as soon as I have the details worked out, at the end of October or first of November. All I can tell you now is it's going to be a magical one!

It was hubby's day off today. We have a standing lunch date every "weekend" - meaning his weekend, not the weekend. Tired of the same ol' same ol' amongst our town's offerings, we decided to drive up to the little mountain town of Chester, California, hoping to see some autumn color along the way. We were surprised that the color, even at the higher elevations, is still just starting to come out, but we did see some, and of course always lovely scenery.

The weather was nice enough to eat on the patio of our favorite lunch place and then hubby indulged me in a bit of shopping.

Next to the restaurant a building that used to be a fancy restaurant has been turned into a new store called Good Vibrations - Earth Friendly Products for Conscious Living. A fun place to wander in. This sign was a smaller version of their outdoor sign (which I forgot to photograph) hung behind the counter. I loved it. I bought some chocolate and a dragonfly which I'll have to show you later.

We also hit a paper and craft shop where I found some Halloween decorations at 50% off, a gift shop where we just browsed the pretty but expensive offerings, and the local quilt shop, Mountain Maid Quilters.

A cute gourd pumpkin lit with a small light, and check out the cute fabric leaves beneath it.


I wasn't the only one admiring this lovely red work quilt top hanging in the shop studio room.

Here's a close up of one corner. So sweet!

Very dramatic. It's lovely in pinks and yellows but I can really see this in autumn colors, can't you? Or in all sun colors for a solstice quilt? Or maybe in icy blues and silvers with a deep blue background, like the night sky?


I thought this was a nice bright alternative to a traditional autumn color combination. This pattern could be made in so many different ways, for every day decor or to fit various holiday themes.

Another cute winter themed quilt. I love the owl in the tree. I think the photo will be larger if you click on it, so you can see the detail.

You might be wondering if this post qualifies for a Spooky Post. Well, there was the pumpkin. And here's a wall full of quilts as well as a baby stuffed in the top - that's sort of creepy, yes? I haven't bought a lot of fabric in awhile. So I piled up a bunch of fat quarters and cuts off the bolt without much thought until the total was rung up. THAT was spooky too!


I just thought this was adorable. I don't know if this was purchased pre-made or if someone added the sequins. I loved the sparkly bright colors. It looks like a Mary Engelbreit but I don't know if it is.


Here's hubby and quilt owner Sharon chatting while she cuts some fat quarters for her well stocked shelves.


One more spooky - wish you could see this without the reflections through the window. Isn't this a cute pattern.


Nope, I was wrong. This is the last autumn themed photo. This is another shop near the quilt shop that had a colorfully decorated porch. What you can't see is that the autumn leaves in the trees surrounding the shop were just as colorful.

We also wandered about taking photos of autumn scenery, as much as there was so far. I'll give you a heads up when I put those photos up. In the meantime, check out some spooky pics over on Beach Treasure from a very unusual pub experience.