October 8th: Art Sherpa Inspired Painting

 Revisiting one of my favorite art teachers of the Youtube-sphere, the Art Sherpa, today I’m sharing the progress pictures and a link to her delightful video (which is far more expertly done than my own attempt). I can’t recommend this lady enough if you’re just looking for some fun at home and have way too many acrylics wasting away in the back of your closet.

Book of the Week: Vintage Halloween Collectibles – 3rd ed., by Mark B. Ledenbach

I’m not sure if I’ve told you guys this yet, but I’m going to grad school for Library Science right now. Terribly relevant? Not really. Still, had a major assignment over the summer that required an interview and a tour at a local library. Not going to name the location, because I don’t think that’d be fair to them – – but their nonfiction section was lacking. Terribly. Most of it was gardening books, I’m not going to lie. That wasn’t the point of my visit anyway, but I just can’t resist digging for some good horror-related books when I’m at any store or library. That’s how I found this hidden gem near the end of the aisle, sandwiched between a couple of books on furniture shopping. Vintage Halloween Collectibles — 3rd ed., by Mark B. Ledenbach.

The pictures of old Halloween cards, toys, decorations and the like inside this book are an absolute delight. It’s the cutest little collection of eclectic demons and ghosts from yester-year I would gladly fill my apartment with if I had the money to go wild, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the decor Hobby Lobby has been stocking for the last 2-3 years (looking at you black cats in clown costumes), were heavily inspired by this book. So, for those of you looking to do some creative decorating or who just want to look at some cool pictures, this book is a must-read.

Horrorgami

Since I promised more craftiness this year, I think it’s about time I make good on my promise. None of these awesome origami designs are of my own creation, but they’re all pretty awesome anyway. Video or diagram, these patterns are sure to help you budget for some last minute decor and have a bit of spooky fun with your kids while you’re at it!

 

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Patterns listed above are, sadly, not of my own creation. I found them at youtube and these awesome sites. If you’re looking for less creepy patterns, definitely check them out: 

– Origami-Fun

– Origami Resource Center

Spooky Board Games: Creepy Hand

I love movie magic. The ability of someone with a few camera angles and quick cuts to make something simple seem that much more intriguing. This is a UK game, so was never easily available to us over here in the states. However, the beauty of the internet makes things that once were impossible to get a hold of…quite easy.

There really isn’t too much to say about Creepy Hand, because it’s a simple premise. A battery-operated hand crawls around and points a finger at the person who has to pick the card. Kind of like ‘Would You Rather’, with a bit of an Addams Family twist. Honestly, I think I would have preferred if they’d just had Thing in a box, have it spin around inside, and flip open to point at someone…

Oh well. It’s a cute Halloween game for kids. Not rocket science. Much like ‘Ask Zandar’, the main prop is still pretty cool, even if the game isn’t absolutely amazing. There’s only so much you can do with a board game.

2014 Vintage Halloween Hotties

Ahhhh, October at last. I already feel that last breath of warm Texas air submitting to the cooling rush of Autumn. It’s hard to believe that 12 months ago we had our last daily posting challenge. But here we are again. Today I decided to start it off with a little special treat for all of you, and a very witchy delight it is. Time again for vintage Halloween pin-ups of actresses and models from yester-year…

 

 

Book(s) Of the Week: “In The Haunted House”

Our recent podcast episode brought to mind a few children’s books I’d like to recommend. Not suggestions for the adult audience, of course, but perhaps for parents. I was recently at a teacher’s store with my mom helping her shop for supplies, and I spotted this little gem on the shelf. Needless to say I couldn’t help myself. I had to read it…

Written in rhyme, as I find a lot of holiday books tend to be, each page has a cute illustration, most of them with flaps to open up. Not strictly a pop-up book, because there are no tabs to pull, but the illustrations rather reminded me of a less dark Edward Gorey.

I wish I could share some of the pictures inside, but it’s a very short book, and much nicer to see them on the page anyway. This is a perfect way to start October off this year for the little ones. I’d even say it’s easily a classic, based on the art alone.

Horror Flick of the Week: Love Bites (1993)

 

When I was about 4, I had a small blue trunk. I would prop the trunk up in my room and climb inside it, pretending I was a vampire. I’d spend several minutes inside preparing myself to rise from the dead in a proper fashion, but I could never do it just right. Being about a foot taller than the trunk didn’t help. I don’t remember when I stopped doing this, but I’m sure I kept playing the vampire trunk game well until climbing inside the ‘coffin’ made breathing difficult.

 

But what does this trip down memory lane have to do with this movie? Hardly anything at all, but I was doing just this on the day I first saw Love Bites on the Sci-fi channel. No…not Syfy. This was when it happened to be a legitimate station worth watching. I curse the day someone decided it should be commonplace to take vampires out of their coffins, because I don’t think anything is so satisfying as seeing a vampire ‘rise properly’ (from the coffin, you pervert.)

 

 

Adam Ant is not the world’s greatest actor, but he makes up for any lack of talent onscreen with charm and an awesome singing voice. He doesn’t sing in this movie though, so the charm is a double serving. The result is a pretty fun horror rom-com.

Before we proceed, I’d like to say this movie is easy to find. It’s not. I spent an embarrassing amount of money on a vhs copy about 6 years ago, and I still don’t tell people how much I paid for it. If you see a copy for less than 20 bucks, buy it immediately. I may or may not have found a streaming version available on photobucket, too, if you’re really interested in watching this.

Basically the story is about a vampire who over-sleeps, finds out his place has been not only renovated severely but that it’s rented out to a young woman with basic karate defense skills, and decides he wants to be human again to experience all the futuristic wonders of the early 90s. This is where it actually gets pretty unique, because in this world, vampires can become human again if they reset their digestive systems by eating real food and getting themselves on a regular night-time sleeping schedule.

For me, Love Bites is a Halloween tradition. I just have to watch it every October, or I haven’t done it right. Hopefully it can become your tradition too, if you manage to find it.