Shivers of Delight

Some friends of mine recently went to Iceland for a music festival that they described as the early days of SXSW (I like it already). Photos from their trip are beautiful and Iceland needs to be on my radar. They brought to my attention a band and artist they thought I would like. The artist is Jon Saemonder Auoarson and his band is called Dead Skeletons . Auoarson's art revolves around the theme of death. He was diagnosed as HIV positive in 2004 and attempts to work out his fears through his art and music. His website DEAD has a shop where you can purchase art, clothing and some jewelry. Let's explore, shall we? Dead Skeleton Watercolors The Cure Dead Skeletons Poster Hand-printed Dead Raven Tshirt DEAD Logo Tshirt Hand-painted Watercolor Tshirt Dead Skull Ring Ok, I LOVE this stuff, but I'll stop because I have to go to work. We can listen to some Dead Skeletons together while we go about our day.  Dead Skeletons: Dead Mantra ...

Today I feel the need to dance with a skeleton to remember that life is short and we need to focus on the good times. I found these sweet dance partners. Czech Marionettes: Smiling Skeleton Czech Marionettes: Bonnie SuziLinden: Frida Kahlo  ofMiceandMarionettes: Day of the Dead Pair ofMiceandMarionettes: Day of the Dead Lady PrimitiveHalloween: Folk Art Skeleton PersnicketyThicket: Clay Skeleton SqueakingTribe: Bones Jones SqueakingTribe: Day of the Dead  In the words of Edgar Leslie: When it gets too hot for comfort, And you can't eat ice cream cones, Tain't no sin to take off your skin And dance around in your bones.

I have to admit right here that I didn't carve a pumpkin this year. I thought about it, but it just didn't happen. I have a feeling there are others like me. Don't fret. I found a celebration that carves turnips for a parade on the second Saturday of November!  The festival is called Rabechilbi (get out your pencil and add two dots over that "a" for me) Just one minor detail; we all have to go to Switzerland- the town of Richterswil would be perfect. Richterswil, located on Lake Zurich, has the largest parade and is entirely decorated with lit turnips. Or do we? I say we all get a few turnips or beets tomorrow morning, carve them, and then parade around our neighborhoods with lit turnips after dark. We can finish up the evening by having cheese fondue. Who's with me? For inspiration, I'm posting a few photos I found of the parade floats and carved turnips that are absolutely beautiful.  I'm not sure that there is any spooky custom behind the celeb...

Some of you may recall that I have an old doll house that was given to me last year to create anew. I have been doing more thinking about it than re-doing, but it is going to be my winter project and I'm starting to get excited. I plan to turn the doll house into a funeral home on the first floor with a lounge for ghosts on the second floor. Yesterday evening while browsing through Etsy I came upon a shop called Nightfall Miniatures .  Fabulous! The shop owner makes the miniatures and is inspired by "all things gothic including Victorian, Steampunk, Fetish, Dark Fairytales, Gothic Lolita and its varied aspects such as the bizarre and the macabre." I have a feeling I'll be shopping here quite a bit. Vampire Coffin Gothic Candlestick Dumbledore's Office Werewolf Hunter Chest Divination Set Admit it. You want a doll house now.

Sometimes I come upon something I want to share with you that it too big to cover in a few minutes. Why don't I wait till I can properly prepare it? Well, I really don't have anything else lined up. This daily blog post thing isn't as easy at it seems. So, that means I'm going to whet your appetite and then you'll have to click the links to find out more. At times, reading a blog is as much work as writing it. Five minutes before I was scheduled to start writing (with nothing planned) I happened upon Boxes of Death . Yep. Boxes of Death is an art exhibit that well, I should let them explain because they've had the time to think about it. Boxes of Death is an art exhibition where 50 artists are each given their own coffin to do with what they want. The idea spawned from Kane Quaye, a famous coffin maker from Africa. His philosophy was that a coffin should not just be a pine box, but something that represents the person inside and their life. Each artist in...

I've been seeing more and more skeletons and skulls showing up in baby and kid fashion and decor. It's odd to be sure, but that doesn't bother us, does it? I'm sure the message is supposed to be "I have a tough, cool, rocker kid." I wonder what the Victorian's would think? It seems kind of young to be considering your morality. That doesn't stop me from buying for my niece, however. Or, for that matter, showing it to you. I've been watching an item for over a year now trying to decide where I'd put it in our house. Le Squelette Humain This absolutely adorable skeleton wallpaper panel is available from a British shop called Smallable.com   It's meant for a child's room and the anatomy lesson is written in French. So, maybe that's less scary? The panel also comes in grey if pink isn't your style. It's on sale. I think I should act soon.

Sometimes you need a place to put down all your wicked ideas. I stopped breathing for a few seconds when I first saw this leather, hand-carved journal from Skrocki . Small Grey Journal Be still my heart, it also comes in red! Small Red Journal If you have a lot of wicked thoughts, you might need the larger size journal. Dark Grey Large Journal For the less ostentatious of us, you may prefer a simpler journal that still contains a warning to all who open it. Skull Journal Your wicked thoughts aren't cheap. Don't waste them on an inferior journal. Just sayin'. The Paragon of Design by Skrocki shop is on Etsy and in  Amazon 's new handmade department. (By the way, I'm still not sure about the Amazon handmade site. What do you think?) Skrocki makes other beautiful leather products as well. Check out the storefront.