Silver Bella...hear me roar!!!

I have all my ducks in a row....well, at least my stockings.... for Silver Bella! I leave tomorrow morning for Omaha and a weekend full of fun, friends and creativity! Can't get much better than that:) Can't wait to meet so many of you! This picture (above) makes me smile. These are some gifties for blogger friends that I've been anxiously awaiting meeting for so long. The funny part is Chloe's hand in the top left corner. Trying to sneak away with one of my gems. Hehe! I'm also putting together some packets of vintage goodies, so if you wanna trade please find me!
I'm bringing two journals this year. Here's my journal from last year. The gorgeous brown canvas journal in the picture above is in the Martha Stewart line. It is an accordian book and you can see I added some fun papers to the pages in the photo below. Can't wait to fil it up with glittery goodness and pics of me with all my bella friends.
So excited to take classes from:
Pam Garrison
Charlotte Lyons
Jenny and Aaron
Jennifer Paganelli

Had some new camera trouble, but it seems to be working great now. I have to get used to the settings. For those of you asking, it's a Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H9. "Full featured" they call it:) It looks and acts like an SLR, but you can't remove the lense. Love that it has completely manual modes or completely automatic. Lots of creative freedom with this baby. Just need to figure it out!
I'm off to get Bellafied, see you on Sunday...if not before!!!

New camera, new haircut....testing things out. Kinda like my Halloween costume, minus the pink:(

Look at the trees, no leaves!!! Winter is on it's way...

Getting personal....

Wow, thanks for the brisk business in my etsy shop. Most things sold out in a jiffy. I guess people are getting in the Christmas mood already! I am still in Halloween mode myself, but packing for Silver Bella has started me looking towards Christmas. Here is a picture of the top of my dresser in our bedroom. I normally don't have this much stuff in my bedroom, but with the Halloween goodies taking over my house this past month, I put together this little vignette and really like it. The gorgeous BECOME wall canvas is by wonderfully talented Cassondra (aka Citrus Faire). She has been selling her collages in her etsy shop, so I snatched it up. Love it! The collage on the right I bought from Pam at ArtFest this year. The book in the middle is the round robin I'm in with Donna and Tammy. This is Donna's gorgeous book that I'm really looking forward to working in.

I just have to mention the book by Corey Moortgat. I've always been a big fan of Corey's work, but this book just blew me away. It is so inspiring and packed full of fun techniques. What is really unique about it is her philosophy of blending vintage collage techniques with personal images. It is a perfect mix of what I love to do best. I know there are so many fabulous art books out there, but this really is a must have:)

Shop update!

My etsy shop update is complete. Check out all the fun goodies here!

Banner by Donna Layton. Thanks, Donna!

Announcements!

What a fun night! Definitely made some new Halloween memories this year with my kiddos.This was their first time trick or treating. Good thing I was dressed in costume, because at first they were so shy I was the one saying trick or treat and holding out the bags:) They caught on and did great! Thank you so much for sharing your Halloween stories. I loved every single one of them. The winners of the banners are...

Jane

Lizzie

Heidi

And I have a few dresses to give away to...

Kristine

Vivian

Please email me at artsy_mama@hotmail.com

In other announcements, tomorrow...Friday, November 2nd at 1 pm CST I will be updating my etsy shop with a special pre-Silver Bella vintage christmas flea market. I have begun packing for the big event and decided that I wanted to share some of the fabulous vintage goodies I've been collecting all year. I will not be a vendor at Silver Bella and I know that not everyone is attending the event, so I thought I'd have a fun sale here! Here are some sneak peeks..

It's here! It's here!

I'm just giddy....Halloween has arrived!

There's a huge Halloween party going on here. So get your favorite costume on and join us in the fun!! Come on in and sit down for a treat. The kids have been working very hard on some cupcakes for all the party goers. Because I love Halloween so much, I want to do a fun giveaway. Please share your favorite Halloween memory in the comments section and leave your email, so that I can reach you. I will have a drawing tonight at midnight for three lucky winners. Each winner will receive one of my favorite fall banners (pictured below). They are made with vintage wallpaper and original pictures from a vintage Dennison crepe paper costume catalog. I love these! Growing up, I had a neighbor that really went all out and definitely instilled the love of all things Halloween in me:) She would transform her garage into a haunted house and had a party every year. I looked forward to it all year long. It was fabulous! It took many years just to get the courage to wander through. I loved the anticipation of what lay ahead. She really made the holiday memorable, while not being gory or too scary. It was good old fashioned Halloween fun:) Here is a pic of my sister and I circa about 1980.

Here are my little ghouls today...

Tonight is the night
When dead leaves fly
Like witches on switches
Across the sky
And gnomes & trolls
Creep out of holes
Mossy & green
Tonight is the night
When the leaves make a sound
Like a gnome in his home
Under the ground
And elf & sprite
Flit through the night
On a moony sheen
Tonight is the night
When pumpkins stare
Through leaves & sheaves
Everywhere!
When ghoul & ghost
And goblin host
Dance round their
Queen
It's Hallowe'en
Harry Behn~1944

Counting down...

I'm practically to the point of counting down the the hours til' Halloween. I can't wait!! Chloe and I carved a pumpkin at my parents yesterday. She is holding a spoon in this picture, not a big sharp knife, like it looks.
I took my mom over to Nature's Harvest today. The little heaven on earth store I found and shared tons of pics of here. Well, it was just as delightful as the first time and they had even changed a few things and added more! Here was the new door decor.
The weather here in Minnesota has been so fabulously fallish. It's cool and crisp and the dark rust of the oak trees sends my Halloween giddiness over the top!

Oh my, look at the crown on this guy!! The dining dungeon was changed a bit since last time, so I took a few more pics.

And what a cutie she is!

Halloween fun at its finest:)

Blessed...

After sharing so many goodies that I have received from generous folks on my last post, someone commented that I am very blessed. Indeed I am and these two are my greatest blessings....

It's the perfect fall day here today!

Halloween high....

My Halloween high continues as the mailman came to the door with several boxes in hand. Two were from my wonderful Sweet and Sinister Swap partners, Jenny and Lesley. Lesley's partner disappeared...poof!...so I gladly adopted her as my own:) Debra was also my partner and I shared what I received from her here.Jenny gave me several pieces of Halloween artwork. They are all absolutely beautiful and are perfect additions to my Halloween decor. Love it all Jenny!!! Can't wait to meet her and her sweetie Aaron in a couple of weeks at Silver Bella!I am now a proud owner of one of Jenny and Aaron's Charlotte portraits. FaBulouS!!!!Lesley gave me this neat spooky glitter tree that reminded me of the card I bought at the House of Seven Gables when I was recently in Salem.She must have been hungry when she put my package together, look at all of these yummy Halloween treats. Thanks Lesley!!

I went to several very good estate sales this morning on my usual Saturday rounds. I found some neat stuff. This dress form fits perfectly with my metal facination lately. The sash is made from a bat garland that Jenny gave me. This old victorian album was just a couple of dollars because it's falling apart. It contained a few pictures inside and the gorgeous pages will be perfect to take out of the book and use in a project. The chenille comforter in the background also came from the sale. It's in perfect condition and just screams cozy:)

I can't wait to use these fabulous cases for my supplies when I go to Silver Bella in a few weeks.This old printers tray is in great shape as well. Can't wait to play around with it! Maybe I'll do something like this. Oooh...more fun stuff to look for at estate sales!

I couldn't believe it when I found this neat black glass glittered Wendy Addison bat chandlier at the thrift store last week. It was even new in its box. I love it!Did you know that there is going to be a big Bloglandia Halloween party!? See all the details here. See you there!

Have a great weekend!

Full Hunter's Moon....

Wow, the full moon is spectacular!

The front yard...

Scenes from the party last night...and the ghouls....
We had a fabulous time!