Halloween treats

Creepy clowns, cutesy ghosts, and more

Good JuJu, Halloween treats, Hand painted

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My booth is ready for guests next weekend at Good Juju’s First Friday weekend.
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There is a full display of Halloween inspired paintings hat I made on our Florida trip in July.

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If they go over well, I have lots of ideas for Christmas paintings too.  And I’ve been setting aside old book pages that will coordinate with the themes.

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This scary clown might be my fave.

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Although the way it is displayed doesn’t really show it off.

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I have a clown shelf on this rack, and I’m thinking of a little redo before the sale.

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Haha!  I think I just said that I was all set up and ready for our weekend, didn’t I?

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There is always room for a little tweak or add in!

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It’s four more days till our sale, so I think I’ll zip into KC today and do a mini shuffle.  I found some more clowns at a flea market and they are “dying” to be a part of my creepy set up.

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An Augtober Birthday

family, Food and Drink, Halloween treats, Sugarwings, We're having a party

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Welcome to Augtober!
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I have been neck deep in Halloween decor getting ready for September’s First Friday weekend at Good Juju.
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So when Sugarwings’ birthday rolled around, I was already full on Fall in August.   And that kid loves spooky season, they keep their Nightmare Before Christmas tree up in the bedroom all year.

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It was a natural progression to turn the birthday party into a Summerween bash with themed foods.  Including a dirt and worms buffet.

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The birthday celebrant spent all week using a silicone mold to make chocolates, enough clear ice cubes for  water glasses, and plenty of fruity ones for our signature mocktail of the evening.

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Plus drawing faces on the outside of the cups, filling them with layered ice creams, wrapping and freezing them so they’d be ready to serve for guests.

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We dined on Monster Mac n Cheese.

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Watermelon shaped with cookie cutters.
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With crescent wrapped mummy dogs as the main dish at a fancy, sit down, adult dinner party with some friends. 
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Oh, and a Jack-o-lantern spewing out guacamole.

Why is Jack green instead of orange?  At Summerween, you carve watermelons instead of pumpkins.
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I was prepared to buy six small melons for us to cut up as a party activity, then we discovered that Walmart carries foam ones.  With pink insides!

I’m sure the hens were disappointed to not get a ton of extra fruit, watermelons are their fave.   But this way, we got keepers that could go home as party favors with the guests.  And the foam punk-melons didn’t attract fruit flies like the real ones do.

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After dessert, the kids, well, not kids, maybe young adults? Had a scary movie marathon and sleep over in the office/den upstairs which Sugarwings had decorated with tissue paper ghosts hanging from the ceiling.

Watching my Grandfairy turn 19 was a mix of emotions, but after seeing this get together, I knew that no matter how old, this person will keep their fun loving, silly side and always be my adventure buddy.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another left in the parking lot redo

Halloween treats

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After an exhilarating shopping experience at Good Juju, the clock struck 6pm and the day ended for Cinderella.  As she raced across the parking lot to her carriage, parked under the I70 overpass, her shoe flew off in the rush.

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I scooped it up and remade it.  You can see it pictured here next to her carriage. (Pumpkin)

Cindy, I am sorry if your Prince never found you without this shoe, but hey- finders keepers, right?

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It was first spritzed with bronzey-gold paint, then misted with a can of black spray paint.  I covered the soles, inside and out, with vintage paper.

The ruffles are dyed coffee filters, and her wings are from a cicada.  After I took this photo, I thought it looked like she was missing something, so I gave her a glittered, white pumpkin to hold.

Trouble with that was that her arms don’t bend.  So I had to snap them at the elbow and glue them in place with the punkin resting on her sparkly tutu.

 

 

 

Sometimes ya gotta break a few rules

cottage, family, Food and Drink, games, Halloween treats

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Sugarwings and I have a strict rule. 

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You can drink cocoa any time at all.  But you cannot have a cocoa party unless you sit in front of a glowing Christmas tree.

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Then I saw this teapot at Homegoods, and our rule loosened up.

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It inspired a Halloween themed cocoa display.

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Complete with a glass cauldron to hold our spoons and rat poison additives for deliciousness. (We did not use the jar to hold any foodstuffs, it’s just for fun)

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We got some skelly cups to drink our potions from.

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With skelly napkins to mop up drips of blood.  I mean, chocolate.

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We invited a little witch to join us.

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Then added some mood lighting.

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The new rule, in addition to the Christmas tree rule, is that cocoa parties can only be held with the proper ambient lighting, ghostly paraphernalia, and a scary movie on the tv.  


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Skeleton fairies at the cottage

cottage, Halloween treats, holiday decor

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This fall, I hadn’t planned on going full tilt Halloween around the house.
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But I’d enjoyed spookifying my Good Juju booth so much, and I had family coming, so I indulged in ghoulishing up a few corners of my cottage.

SavingPNGMost is pretty simple, white pumpkins and crowns, a few glass pumpkins with lighting.

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But we have some skellies too.  This fairy skeleton is glittered and perched onto a poison toadstool.  Her wings were harvested from a cicada and then laminated  I think they have a bit of a skeletal look themselves.

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I have a good time making decorations for any holiday, but I have to admit that I seriously LOVE the lit, glass punkins from Homegoods  I only allowed myself a couple.  I’d love to have a roomful.

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Of course, you always need witches too.

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And funky witch boots.

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I’ve sprinkled some glittered crows around too.

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This candle was from a garage sale.  It isn’t my style exactly, but I liked it.  So I guess that means it is my style for spooky season?

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Talk about a change of looks for me- get ahold of that shower curtain.

My first seasonal curtain switch, ever.  My sister, Bobbie, changed hers out for each holiday.  Things like that made her happy, and she had collections for all seasons.  On her birthday this year, I decided to honor her tradition by starting one of my own.  Typically, I prefer vintage fabric, but I have to admit this makes a statement. And is a lot of fun.

I just might find myself shopping for a Xmas one too.

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It looks good in person, you never know for sure when shopping online, but I really like it.

Part Three of the Fall Display

antiques/junking, Good JuJu, Halloween treats

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Here is part three of my spooky corner at Good Juju, a little less scary than the creepy doll parts,  skellies, and poison toadstools.

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And a few traditional fall colors.

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Hmm, I think I forgot the price tag on this black metal planter.  There are always a few things that slip through.

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I brought in my hand painted clothing too.

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And a couple of banners.

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As always, it’s jammed in pretty tightly.

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The entryway features my previously floral umbrellas and white wisteria.  Both got spritzed with black spray paint and hung up high along with some witchy hats.

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After it was done, I looked up at it and pondered what was missing. Then added a “haunted” sign to the Karla’s Cottage.  It’s only on a piece of paper, and not quite where I wanted it, its as high as I could reach from my ladder.  

But it made me smile.. 

 

 

The creepiest of the items I have to offer for First Friday weekend at Good Juju

antiques/junking, Good JuJu, Halloween treats

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Doesn’t this baby has a look on its face that says he is a bit shocked to have become a bat?
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But I think this ballerina bat seems joyful to keep dancing even after they thought they were done.

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All the skellies in my booth got some foofing up.

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Including the bride.

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I think those owls might actually be love birds, huh?

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In honor of the season, I no longer have mushrooms, they are all Poison Toadstools.  
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They are offered up in a variety of colors and styles.

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Some are being used as perches for glittering, crowned crows.

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And some are stowed away in apothecary jars for when you need just a pinch of toodstool for your potion.

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These genuine stone ones are on leather cords to wear around your neck.  I am sure they can be used to ward off some sort of evil.

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Or if you are more into growing your own patch of toodstools, maybe you need a plant stake to stick in the dirt with them?  Sugarwings and I made up some spooky season inspired stakes that can also double as magic wands.

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All year, I have been gathering up creepy goods and making haunting crafts for this sale.  I was thrilled to find these very vintage doll eyes.

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And a concrete gargoyle to watch over a haunted mansion.  (I won’t be too disappointed if he doesn’t sell, I think he’d enjoy staying with me at the cottage).

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I’ve made up zombie brooches and bags of body parts, and have bits of dolls.

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If you have a poltergeist infestation, who ya gonna call?  Well, I don’t know if KC has any ghost busters around, but here is the ideal phone to use if there are.

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Oh, and if you happen to have a young vampire in your home, maybe toddler aged, here is a tiny tux for your creature of the night to look his best in.

A Practical Magic inspired corner of my booth

antiques/junking, Good JuJu, Halloween treats

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It’s a relief when I get my booth set up in advance of First Fridays.

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I try to do it right after the previous sale instead of waiting til right before the next one.  The only downfall is the dustiness of the old building.  Especially on the jewelry, so I wait to bring out the sparklies till closer to the event.

The Halloween theme has been a hoot (and not just from the owls), I’ve enjoyed every creepy corner.   I’ve made an effort an effort to have lots of spooky season goods, but also have a bit of a Romantic Gothic Ghosts thing happening.  Or more of a Practical Magic look?  That is what I call this part of it.

 

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My owl and crow watercolors are set out on a mantel that hangs over wallpaper with a  dark and moody, haunted house feel.

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I filled the shelf with necessary items that a witch would require to make potions.

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While pictures of their familiars peeked out from behind the bottles.

Of course, there is a selection of handcrafted brooms available too.   No two are alike, because what witch would want to show up at an event and see another crone riding the exact same broomstick? The embarrassment!

While I was at Good Juju laying out my jewelry to finish up, I took some videos around the shop, and will be posting them to Instagram and as reels on FB.  Many are behind the scenes, sneak peeks of booths in process of setting up.  If you want to see more around the warehouse, please take a look.  I’m Karlanathan on IG. 

 

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Zombie parts

Halloween treats

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It’s starting to look a bit creepy around here!

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I’ve been painting sculpy clay hands, feet and faces made in molds.  Some are now brooches, the rest are bagged up to market as zombie parts for Good Juju’s fall sales  

What are the bits and pieces for?  Well, who knows what my sinister shoppers will have in mind….

Honestly, I don’t really have a good use for them, they are just spooky and creepy decor.  
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My work space looks like part of the zombie apocalypse.  Not very pretty colors, are they?  I’ve learned to use big sheets of poster boards as placemats at my desk.  They get one flip over, then I move onto another piece once both sides are wrecked.

 It saves the table underneath from ending up like this.  After a particularly messy project, I can get a clean slate with a simple turnover.

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Before replacing this poster board, I painted all the other planned ghouls.  This wedding topper sat in my booths for months without selling, so it had a ghoulish makeover.

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I think my new creations will fit right in with some of the great, vintage finds I’ll be bringing in too.  

Not everything will give guests a chill down their spine, though.  I’ll have pretty bracelets in Halloween colors, glittered crows with handmade crowns,  cute witches, paintings of steampunk ravens, and a few happy little ballerina bats.

It has been SO MUCH FUN to  craft it all!  But now time to get on with making Christmas.  I am pretty far behind this year.

 

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