Shivers of Delight

Valentines Day will be here in just a few short weeks and I hate to pass up on an opportunity to have a little twisted fun. I'm sure you must know someone who would appreciate one of these sweet sentiments from your bloody, cold heart. Skulls & Kisses Valentine Gift from DemBones Spooky Valentines Day Matches from HereForeverMore Bat Valentines Day Card from Isabelle Mouton Friendly Valentine Skeleton Embroidered Patch from FeverDreamBoutique My Spooky Valentine Button from SpookyBoutique Eternal Sweet Reaper Enamel Pin from SabreToothDream I need handfuls of all of these items to hand out on Valentines Day! Let the ordering begin. Don't be left out this year. Sometimes you have to go after what you want.

Maja Lindberg started out in ceramics and eventually found her niche as an illustrator. Her palette is soft and her images are dreamy, and occasionally, a bit of spookiness creeps in. Those of course are my favorite illustrations. Her shop is called Majali Design and Illustration . The Magician and His Crows Dragonride The Babysitter Under the Cherry Tree: Winter Little Red Riding Hood Three Grumpy Owls I like Lindberg's dreamlike world. You should know that she has written and illustrated a few children's books. Check out her website for more information about those.

I hate when I find that I haven't a proper thing to wear when attending a funeral or perhaps just mourning for someone or something. I really need to have a few items on hand that are ready to go for such occasions and recently I've felt the need for some black glass beads to wear round my neck or maybe a brooch for my jacket. I like glass beads because they have a nice weight to them and they hang really well. I'm thinking you might also want something for a proper mourning so, let me show you what I've found. You can usually find some fairly inexpensive vintage pieces. Vintage Black Glass Drop Necklace from DuplexLA Repurposed Black Glass Buttons and Beads Necklace from roundtwojewelry Black Cat Glass Cameo Necklace from WhispertotheMoon French Jet Black Glass Tassel Brooch from GemmaRedmondVintage Vintage Black Glass Bouquet Brooch from boogiebee Vintage Black Glass Bead Collar from dpalma10 Vintage Black Glass Mourning Necklace from tof...

I don't usually wear gold jewelry, but I might make an exception for these pieces by Opal Magic Studio . Margaret Mosquera says she is inspired by the "bizarre, mysterious, weird and unusual things in nature."  I imagine her pieces are worn by the vampire queens of the world. They're stunning and if it takes me becoming a vampire to wear gold, well, let me tilt my head a little to the left. Vampire Necklace Snake Pendant with White Opal Cicada Pendant and Earring Set Snake Earrings Dragon Necklace Octopus with Pearls Necklace Of course, vampires wear gold jewelry to remind them of the sun, but you knew that.

I love art that grows out of the Mexican Day of the Dead festival. It's always so joyful even when it's being creepy. Angélica García Mendoza is a plastics artist who also creates paper maché spookiness that has a similar gleeful style. Her line of Mictlanis (little monsters) are super cute. The shop is called Arte Topalli Tienda . Creepy Monster Killer Happy Devil Pumpkin Monster Bat Cat Little Monster Blue Vampire García has other paper maché and wood art in her shop that you might enjoy. Shop away!

Athena Papouli muses that her dolls are "feelings, ideas, that is why the figures are elongated, airy, like smoke, or with skirts like clouds, weightless." Her art dolls represent some of those dark, scary feelings inside us all. I'm bewitched by them. Her shop is Madamoiselles Bleues . The Cocoon Breaking Acherontia Virginia the Ghost Maura the Psychopomp Rhea the Forest Spirit Damien the Stray Cat Papouli's sculptures are what I hope I'll look like as a ghost.

Every once in awhile I step away from artist created works and just want some good old spooky mass-produced stuff. I like to sprinkle tchotchkes amongst the art. One of the stores I like to browse through is Stuff of the Dead . They stock everything from clothing to household items. This is what I'm eyeing. Mystic Eye Ouija Boots Ouija Board Pillow Case Grim Reaper Varsity Jacket Bat Mary Janes Voodoo Papa Legba Stretched Canvas Print Frankenstein High Tops Jack-O-Lantern Watch You should always mix your highbrow with a bit of lowbrow.

I'd like to introduce you to a growing group of Halloween bloggers called The Samhain Society. The society began last summer when a few Halloween bloggers started talking about the need to learn, support, and raise the visibility of spooky bloggers. The group was founded by Miranda Enzor of   Spooky Little Halloween . Miranda is one of the hardest working bloggers I know. I really don't know how she gets it all done, and if you haven't visited her blog, well, I won't be insulted if you jump over there to check it out. The society has grown to 18 members and includes written and video bloggers. All of us create Halloween-themed blogs year round. I almost hate to call them "Halloween" themed because many of the blogs go far beyond celebrating that one special night. I hope that you'll take some time today or this week to check out all of our member blogs. You'll find the permanent links on the right hand side of this blog for easy access anytime, ...

Sometimes you don't want all the bling, but you still want to honor your dark side. Most of the jewelry I show on Shivers is bold and not for everyone. I'm always on the look out for quieter pieces that I can wear to work and won't scream "WITCH!" or "crazy." Some of us work in more conservative offices and that's why I love the jewelry that Michelle Chang is creating. It's elegant and understated. For years I wore her tiny skull ring on my pinkie until it slipped off one day while I was shopping. I still miss it and am thinking of purchasing a new one. Come shopping with me! (pieces are much, much tinier that they appear) Mini Mismatched Snake Stud Earrings Crescent Moon with Five Diamonds Necklace Baby Skull Ring Baby Skull Bangle Bat Necklace Tiny Spider Dangle Necklace Baby Skull Eternity Ring Most of Chang's pieces come in stirling silver and 14K gold. You can also get most of them with or without dia...