Shivers of Delight

Ally Burke is an artist who likes to draw and paint monster girls. Burke has a shop called DeadSpiderHands on StoreEnvy where she sells her ghoulishly-adorable prints, original artwork, and even a coloring book. I think I may need to purchase a few items for my twelve-year-old niece whom I'm training to be a Halloween Princess. You can follow DeadSpiderHands on Facebook to keep an eye on what is being added to the shop. Deluxe Monster Girls Zine Bundle Bad Apple Brooch Leslie: Tiny Painting Sad Pumpkin Sticker Monster Kitties Postcard Set Dirty Thoughts: Original Drawing

Graphic artist Vincent Marcone is spook-tacular and the man behind My Pet Skeleton. I found him through his shop on Etsy , but then meandered over to his website and was hooked. Take a few minutes to watch the short film The Lady ParaNorma on the website. It's wonderful and reminiscent of a sinister Dr. Seuss. Marcone sells prints of his work on Etsy and a few pieces he calls the Velvet Rope Collection which include limited edition prints. Check these out. Twisted Devotion Pins and Needles Scarecrow Print (Monster Cat) The Lady ParaNorma Poster Love and Rockets The Ghoul The Scarecrow and The Raven

Wow. I just finished reading Josh Malerman's novel Bird Box last night. It was the best horror book I've read in a long time. A nominee for the 2014 Shirley Jackson Awards , it's the kind of book you want to stop reading because you're getting too anxious and frightened, yet you can't do that because you need to know what happens.  I stopped reading for about an hour at the last ten pages because I didn't want it to end. It's that good. Here's the Good Reads synopsis: Something is out there, something terrifying that must not be seen. One glimpse of it, and a person is driven to deadly violence. No one knows what it is or where it came from. Five years after it began, a handful of scattered survivors remains, including Malorie and her two young children. Living in an abandoned house near the river, she has dreamed of fleeing to a place where they might be safe. Now that the boy and girl are four, it's time to go, but the journey ahead will ...

The weather is going to be super hot for New England this week and I think I'm going to feel like I died in the afternoon even without this cocktail. Hopefully it will only speed up the process. Death in the Afternoon is a cocktail created by Ernest Hemmingway, famous for his writing as well as his drinking, so I have a feeling this cocktail will do the trick. (photo courtesy of Epicurious) Death in the Afternoon 1 jigger of Absinthe Add iced Champagne A small amount of sugar can be used to round it out, especially when using a verte absinthe Hemmingway recommended drinking 3 to 5 of these slowly. I do not recommend that.

If you haven't seen the works of Jessica Harrison , well then, today is your lucky day. Images of her art are always floating around Pinterest because they make you stop in your tracks. Your fast scroll through becomes a "Whoa! What is that?" I particularly like the enamel and ceramic pieces from found objects. Harrison is currently exhibiting in Belgium so, if you're nearby check out her website for more information. The online store, on break for the summer, carries prints and scarves.  You'll want to check back another time. Rosamond Eleanor Ruby Painted Lady (6) Painted Lady (10) The skin miniature furniture is quite intriguing as well. Armchair Sofa Silk scarves are something to lust over. Bones scarf Muscles Scarf

I know, I'm posting fashion shops two days in a row. I don't like to do that, but I'm in a shopping-for-clothes kind of mood. I'm sure you can relate to that. Tragic Beautiful is physically located in Australia, but this is a world economy so, "shop away!" I say. Tragic Beautiful carries women's clothing, makeup, shoes, accessories, and household goods. It's a big shop. I'm more than a little amused that they have subdivisions in the clothing section for roller derby, burlesque, and pole dancing. You'll have fun looking around. They were also featuring Widow Wear on their homepage. You don't see a lot of widows dressed like this, my friends. I think it might be a nice change. Let's take a peek, shall we? Weirdos Tank Dress Addams Velvet Dress Purple Cemetery Skirt Death Card T-Shirt Full Face Hoodie Yin Yang Handbag Moth Satchel

SE7EN Deadly is a web store that describes itself as "elegantly macabre." I'm not sure about the elegant part, but it most certainly is delightful. The site also says SE7EN Deadly "twists together...the graceful Victorian era and the harsh grunge of a traveling circus in the Great Depression." I can't argue with that. The shop carries clothing for women and men along with accessories, housewares, and art. I'm a sucker for sweaters. Be Still My Heart Embroidered Tooth I love the collection of lounge hangover pants they carry for women. Memento Mori Yoga Pant Overdose of Sin And there's so much more.... Deadly Gluttony Dementor Dress For the gentleman: Synn & Sons Casket Company Embalming Fluid Pinstripe Drinking Team Overdose of Sin And just because Deceiving Beauties Pillow Browse the shop. I'm sure you'll find something you love.

Look what I found for us! Curious Portraits , the Etsy site of artist  Lisa Zador , claims to be "Unusual artwork for the discerning eccentric." Well, I think that describes us perfectly, don't you? I love Zador's whimsical portraits of animals, but of course, it's the skeletons that always draw me in. Zador has clients like Target and Publix Super Markets so we're fortunate that we can visit her Etsy shop for reasonably-priced and enchanting artwork made from prints of her work. I love the miniatures. Headless Skeleton Miniature Portrait Edgar Allen Poe Portrait Moon Man Portrait Skeleton Portrait Brooch Skull Still Life Dog Portrait with Nosferatu Pumpkin Man Coasters Zador also does custom portraits including a portrait of your favorite toy. Now, that would be just grand. I wonder whatever happened to mousey.