Creating these gals was a hoot. They began life as apples and ended up as shrunken witches heads.
Hair was added, hats and spectacles were also made and then came the process of naming them and what fun that was.
They were mailed to my Witches Coven Soiree guests who cackled with glee upon opening their boxes.
xo
I give you, Percy.
I created him.
At each Halloween party, guests are given an opportunity to create something to take home. At the Mischief and Mayhem Soiree, the thought was that creating a gory pie with a nod to Sweeney Todd might be entertaining.
And entertaining it was.
Weeks ahead, I purchased masks and metal pie tins. Great Stuff was sprayed into the tins and after a day, I carved it into a smoother mound. The mask was trimmed until it fit over the mound and was then glued into place. If you look closely, you will see that even though I used the same mask for each pie, each face had a slightly differently look to it, especially in the mouth area. Some were trimmed a bit differently and glued down tighter.
I added air dry clay around the edges and pressed marks into it with a disposable fork to create a pie-like crust. This was not done with my personal Percy People Pot Pie, by the way.
This what the table looked like when we descended to the lower level. There were bloody severed ears, severed tongues, porcelain teeth, red and brownish paint to simulate fresh and dried blood, paint brushes and quick-dry glue. I came up with names for each "face" and they were on wee canvasses/easels at each setting. People could choose their "person" to complete.
The mound in the middle revealed to guests what was under their mask before I smoothed it. The bowl to the left held some of the shavings that they could add, if they so desired. And some desired.
It was a riot and everyone became very invested into their people pot pie. They proudly took them home to show off to I know not who.
More to come...
xo
For the second year in a row, we attended our historical society's Halloween Ball. The theme was Grimms' Fairy Tales and I decided to dress as Rose Red. The costume was elaborate and gorgeous.
I purchased the various components separately. The jeweled pannier with long fringes and matching collar were bought on Etsy. The red velvet gown, red velvet boots and 7' long red tulle cape were purchased from Amazon. I added the brooches and created the red rose bouquet with silk flowers from I believe, Hobby Lobby. My vintage red bugle beaded wristlet was carried. Even though I created an enormous red rose to attach to the top of the trailing tulle in the back, I decided against it.
More Halloween to come...
xo
She also looks grumpy.
I made her a day or two before Halloween maybe ten years ago, to put out for the trick-or-treaters. Seeing this photograph, still makes me laugh.
On the other hand, her chapeau is fabulous.
More to come...
xo
The boxes were painted, fabric was arranged just so and glued down. All of the items inside were made, purchased or a combination of both. You cannot see the silver bullet as it is nestled down into the fabric, but rest assured, it is there. I would never leave out such an important component!
One side of the accompanying card that I had printed detailed what the each item was to be used for and the other side had the phrase, "Non Timebo Mala" which is Latin for "fear no evil".
The wood boxes with their contents were mailed inside a glossy black box. Twas yet another labor of love.
More to come...
xo
When I saw these life-sized (except for the petite one on the right) figures, I had to have them. Their wraith-like appearance was most appealing to me. These days, the colors most often found in my Halloween decorations are white and black with some purple sprinkled about at times. Sometimes, in the past some orange was used, but never in abundance.
These photos were taken at Greystone, my home in Florida.
More to come...
xo sequestered and serene
After receiving head-shots from my guests, I enlarged them to life-size and cut them out.
It was then that the fun commenced. I added hair, slid each into a gallon glass jar and stuffed moss behind them. A wee skull was glued to the lid. They were awesome in a most creepy way and served as one of their gifts. It was hilarious to watch each person clutch their bottled heads and ponder their new hair styles.
More to come...
xo sequestered and serene
How excited I was to acquire one of the 12' skeletons three years ago. The day it was due to be available, I stayed up until about 4 am, refreshing the Home Depot page but it was not listed until later that morning. By the time I woke up, it was sold out.
Fiddlesticks.
The next year, I called Home Depot numerous times, until I was told that they had received a shipment. I immediately drove to the store and was able to purchase one. The enormous box just fit in my SUV. Yes, I would have rented a van if it had not. The dude was coming home with me, one way or another.
My super son named him Barnaby Bones. I adore him. Allow me to clarify that statement. I love my son. I adore Barnaby.
He is a pretty simple to assemble and stand up, and while it is easier if two people work in tandem to accomplish this, one person can also put him together.
Barnaby weighs 85 pounds. No lightweight is he.
He blinks his eyes and they move from side to side and up and down. At times, they appear to follow you.
When Barnaby is disassembled, he tucked inside a huge, canvas Christmas tree bag for storage.
He was placed outside in the front yard one year and was king of the property. My preference is for him to be inside the house, in the great room, as shown in the photograph above. He fancies that location as well.
More to come...
sequestered and serene xo
A lot of thought is always given when deciding on a Halloween costume and there is an attempt to have something unique. My preference is almost always something feminine, so I generally begin with a gown. Once that is acquired, the fun commences when I embellish it.
On this occasion, the event we were attending was the Halloween gala, hosted by the historical society. The theme was cirque, as in circus.
I decided to be "cotton candy". The custom gown was ordered from Etsy and it was very, as in VERY voluminous. Much more so than it appears in the photograph.
I added pink velvet ribbon for straps since it was strapless and had a good amount of weight to it because of the many layers of ruffled tulle.
The cotton candy was made using pink wool roving along with pink and white striped straws. They were dangled from various areas of the gown. Pink stiletto boots and a pink handbag completed the ensemble.
I had to ride in the back seat of the SUV, so poofy was the gown.
One of the historical society curators calls me "cotton candy" to this day. Too funny.
xo
I hosted a number of Halloween parties at Greystone, the Florida house that sugar daddy, aka my husband purchased for me. There is definitely a story there, that I will probably share in the future.
One year, I invited a couple from Virginia to spend the week-end. Saturday night was the Halloween Soiree and on Friday night, we took them to dinner and then to a haunted house that I rented for several hours. I also invited another couple along with the chef, bartender and his wife, my party server.
It was the May Stringer House in Brooksville, Florida. It was built in the mid 1800's, is on the National Register of Historic Places and is known as one of, if not THE most haunted place in Florida. I came to know it when my heavenly angel daughter, Miel and I toured it. Yes, I did experience something. The docent, Bonnie LeTourneau that gave both tours provided us with her other-worldly experiences at the initial one that was mind-blowing. Thus, I knew that I wanted to share it with others.
After the tour with the docent, my guests, sugar daddy and I were literally allowed were able to meander throughout the entire house by ourselves for an hour. It was amazing and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.
If you have an opportunity to visit it, I HIGHLY recommend that you do so.
Below are some links that you may wish to peruse:
https://tampahistorical.org/items/show/225
https://www.hernandohistoricalmuseumassoc.com/may-stringer-house/#
More to come...
xo
There was a very tall, feathery tree purchased from Terrain that I added extra tendrils and such to. It reached the ceiling.
Just before we came upstairs, I had my assistant tap each hanging raven with a stick so they looked as if they were flying. In the background was the sound of cawing ravens and two strobe lights provided an eerie effect. I have a video that shows everything, but could not get it to load. C'est la vie.
At some point I will share the outdoor decorations from several parties and the art projects (usually life-size) that my guests and I create. I will also tell you all about the amazing entertainer that I have hired on three different occasions...she is that good!
Oh, and by the way, Happy October!
More to come...
sequestered and serene xo
My Annabel Lee costume
The gown is from Anthropologie and was accompanied by lace ankle boots, a hair wreath of silk flowers with a very long ivory tulle veil that I put together. This is what I imagined Annabel Lee would have worn as she haunted the cliffs above the sea, waiting for her beloved to come for her.
The top of my built-in candle storage cabinets was used for some decor. There was the ever-present black feather. A tongue-in-cheek wood block that I created and renamed, "writers block". A black, vintage typewriter with part of Poe's poem holding a paper with part of "The Raven" typed onto it. A raven's mask. A book of Poe's works. Brass candelabras with white tapers. A black velvet skull is not shown in the photograph.
I decided to show the dining room decorations tomorrow.
More to come...
sequestered and serene xo
