Shivers of Delight

Kaitlin Martin's modern-medieval whimspookal banners have been bookmarked on my Halloween Shopping tab since at least 2020, but it's been awhile since I've wandered back to her shop CoolCatKMart . Martin paints on fabric and makes really fun pennants that remind me of a ghoul joust. I was excited to see she is now painting on silk scarves and doilies!  The pennants are painted with acrylics on canvas and are one-of-a-kind. Ghosties Pennant Fancy Dragon Pennant Martin's doilies and scarves are just as fun. Skeleton Knight Painting The Ruins Painting Coven Painting The shop also offers mini paintings on felt, stickers, and cool prints like this one: Three Witches Print This is a fun site to shop in and don't forget to bookmark it!  

I haven't looked at a zine since the 1990s when I lived in Athens, GA and Henry Owens had a music zine. Were you even alive then? Fast forward 25 years or so and an artist friend, Bruno Perosino (@bperosino on Instagram), recently showed me some of the cool zines that he makes.  Today I was browsing the online shop of Pam Wishbone and happened upon her zines! I just love Wishbone's style and her zine Signs of the Night: Sigils of the Order of the Empty Cup (and others) are sitting in my shopping cart. Little did I know there are loads of Halloween and spooky zines out there that cost less than $10. It's the perfect way to support an artist and feed your longing for spooky art. Let's take a look. Calendar Observations: Order of the Empty Cup zine (Pam Wishbow) All of them BRUJAS mini comic zine (Rebecca Artemisa) The Idgaf Book of Spells Halloween zine (Rebecca Artemisa) The Graveyard's Call zine (dMcMpDesign) All Hallows Lore zine (Lys Reese, The Pomegranate Kid) N...

For a long time, I've been interested in learning how to hook rugs. My interest really peaked when we visited the Shelburne Museum in Vermont in 2017 and saw an exhibit of hooked rugs. (I remember the date because I just looked at my photos. 😂) Last fall, I purchased a small pumpkin hooked rug at Brimfield Antique Flea Market that my cats, unfortunately, have adopted as their sleeping spot.  Anyway, I was aimlessly wandering around Etsy last night while drinking an Old Fashioned (a favorite) when I came upon some wonderful finished hooked rug pieces made for Halloween.  The finished pieces I could even contemplate being able to purchase are made from patterns. A one-of-kind piece would be way out of my budget right now. A pattern piece doesn't make it any less desirable though because it takes a great deal of skill as well as artistic talent to successfully recreate the pattern. Here are a few of the pieces I found that are delightful from Wellesley Willow , Tweedful Things ,...

Please excuse the mess and keep an eye on the page for new posts. Happy 2025!

It's our Season of Delight and though I've been posting in this blog for 10 years (gulp) I thought it might be a good time to re-introduce myself. Some very good friends of mine, Jen & Pat Healy of Mixture Group, have watched my passion for collecting Halloween art grow over the years and took it upon themselves to create and produce a fun and quirky short video about me and my unusual hobby. I'm brimming with delight because it's both scary and wonderful to see myself on video and have a camera focused on me. <insert another gulp here> First and foremost I am a passionate collector of Halloween art. The blog and how I decorate our home is my expression of this. The video is about 4 minutes and I hope you enjoy it. Happy Halloween!

I have to admit that I rarely take a lot of photos at the Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween show because I'm too busy shopping. By the time I'm finished, some of the booths are empty and others are nearly so. That happens within the first hour. I'm not kidding.  The Early Buy Ticket is $20 and starts at 8am sharp. Standing in line before the doors open is an event within itself. Collectors with numbers come early even though we have a guaranteed spot in line. I want to see who is there, hear what they're excited about, and check out their outfits. Most people take the effort to don their favorite Halloween clothing.  Jennie Hepler-Takens, Show Producer The best part of standing in line is when Jennie Hepler-Takens (show producer and artist behind My Dearest Witch ) and Amy Schneider (show photographer and assistant extraordinaire) come through the line handing out tote bags, mugs, and an official ribbon to wear- all for the price of admission! Maybe someday I'll hav...

For the last several years, my true Halloween kick-off event is making the trip to Marshall, Michigan for the Bewitching Peddlers of Halloween art show. If you've been following the blog or know me personally, you'll know that for me, attending BPOH is when I go completely delirious with joy. It's the one time every year that I can count on feeling like a child again. At one point during the show this year, my husband, Rich, actually told me that I should probably go sit in the car for awhile to calm down and relax for a bit. Ha! He was right! I needed a time out. "Bewitching" was last Saturday (Sept. 28) and I'll give you the quick rundown. (It looks long, but really, I'm leaving a lot out.) It takes us about 12 hours of driving to get to the show from Connecticut. We leave before dawn because my goal is to get to Marshall on Thursday evening in time to claim a number to stand in line for the early morning sale on Saturday. This isn't a ticket. Just ...