10/20/08 Update:
First, I would like to once again thank Vanessa for hosting such a fun (if not EXHAUSTING) event - that girl sure knows how to throw a party!
I would also like to thank every single one of you for taking the time to stop in and leave me a comment. It does a soul good.
Without further ado, the giveaway winners are ...
Mock Sugar Skulls: Marilyn Butler, Sara at Pipscrap
Kitty: Sabii Wabii
Disclaimer from the beginning: Rather than wait (till after work) and show up to the party in the early evening, I decided to stay up way too late (and show up to work on the groggy side of me) ... nice to know my priorities are in the right place ... lol ... be patient with the one of little sleep. :)
Thank you, Vanessa, for hosting the Halloween Anything Goes Party!
As is very common for one such as myself, I had all these grand intentions of telling spooky ghost stories & decorating as if I were a slightly twisted version of Martha Stewart (on crack, no doubt), but it seems I lack the necessary time management skills to properly execute my grand visions ...
Don't fret too much ... I WAS able to produce two firsts for all of you pretties. I sure hope you enjoy the treats ...
First up - Mock Sugar Skulls! I spent a lot of years in Phoenix, Arizona and was exposed to Day of the Dead at a fairly young age. I was always drawn to the celebration with all the fantastic traditions, altars and skeleton art that went along with it. This year I was thinking that I would paint my face like a sugar skull ... which lead me to thinking that it would be cool to try to paint some as Halloween decorations. Here's my first batch:
I was thrilled when I found little bags of small plastic skulls. I coated the skulls in Gesso. Initially I had used markers on them, but quicky learned that the markers I had didn't stick - the littlest moisture and they were all smeared beyond recognition. Next I played around with paint and a tiny brush. Much better. I couldn't resist doing a few in simple black on white (go figure, right) and then I let Sadie pick out a set of colors for the other two. Below are close-up's of the five pictured above ... three of them are part of my Halloween giveaway ...
And that's not all. I have also sewn my very first plushie! I found a free pattern "Pointy Kitty" by Hillary Lang, a Wee Wonderful original pattern (free as in: make one for yourself, your kids, your friends & neighbors, but please do not sell toys made from this pattern - seems more than reasonable to me).
The pattern was easy to follow & I am really happy to introduce you to kitty:
Kitty hasn't been named, yet. I'll leave the naming to the other winner of my giveaway.
So, that's four winners in all. Three will get a Mock Sugar Skull and one gets Kitty. Leave a comment if you would like to be included in the drawing ... and have a most Spooktacular time visiting all the party pit stops. Hope to see you again soon!
10/18 update - All comments posted up to 6:00 pm (EST) Monday, October 20th
will be entered in my giveaway drawing.
130 comments:
I LOOOVE those skulls. Yes, please enter me in the drawing.
candiceowrey@gmail.com
Hi, Michelle! I stayed up late too--the dark circles under my eyes tomorrow should serve me well for the Halloween blog parties, as in, no mask needed!
I love Day of the Dead decorations...your mock sugar skulls turned out beautiful! Kitty is amazing too, hard to believe that's your first plushie. Please, please enter me in your drawing...thanks!
Hugs, Marilyn:)
Those skulls are very cool, they remind me of the artwork splattered around The House of Blues, very cajun inspired! Cute!
first on the list of parties to visit, boy am i gonna have fun tonight! (i think i might be reaching my download limit soon though boo hoo) i just love softies but your leather idea is so perfect. we once adopted a stray , until we found its owners, and my girls aged 4 and 2 at the time named her STELLA. such a great name but i always say it loud like sylvester stallone does, weird i know. anyhoo gotta go and check out more blogs.
p.s. your kitty would love to live here no other competition ;0)
I love those sugary little skulls!!!
I love the skulls particularly the last set shown! Kitty is charming!
Please enter me into the drawing!!
Hi Michelle,
Nice to see you here at this great party!
I really like your skulls, especially the black and white ones. Your little kitty is cute and very stylish in the choice of fabric. He looks a bit like one of those designer 1950s sofas except as a cat!
Thank you for sharing how you made the sugar skulls. I want to try to create some of my own for the Day of Dead. I had such an enchanting time visiting you blog. I hope after work you aren't too tired to swoop by our Soiree. Never fear, we ply you with restorative libations and cast a musical spell that will set your feet a'dancing!
Love and toadstools,
Witch Alberta
Time Management Skills? I think they exist only in a magical parallel universe - certainly not anywhere in MY universe! LOL.
Love your sugar skulls and your little black kitty is too adorable.
I had amazing intentions as well but forgot that it's very difficult to be in more than two places at once. Since I had to be at my son's football game as well as at home creating my blog and at Vanessa's party, uhm, I had to come up with a simpler party post as well. I hope you'll come visit though, my humble offerings.
Oh, P.S. You know about the Dia Bloglandia party for Dia de Los Muertos, yes?
I love the day of the dead. Hmmm I think I have some skull beads that I could tackle with some gesso. Great ideas! The cat is precious.
Be sure to swing by my place for I have some brain tonic and three witches brew for you! Vincent Price is waiting patiently for you to arrive to begin his story. I do hope to see you soon!
Happy early Halloween.
Hi!I love those skulls.fun post!Happy early halloween!
I do hope to see you soon
Marina
so lovely to see you at Vanessa party...the skulls made me smile!
Those skulls are pretty neat and I adore your kitty. Happy Halloween
What a cute Kitty! Is that vinyl? I think I may have some black scrap vinyl begging to become small kitties for my little people. Thanks for the link to that site.
What great skulls, and a cute little kittie! Please enter me.
Love these!!! I ♥ Halloween!!!
Come check my slideshow if you can find time.
It's HERE
I want kitty. He's too cute! Plus, he goes with my contribution to the party. Though the skulls are equally awesome.
I'm another night owl! I never can get all those ideas put into play! Oh well.
Your Day of the Dead skulls are wonderful. Kitty is fabulous too!
Elizabeth
WOW...You are extremely talented :-) I especially love the kitty you made (I'm partial to cats lol)~Cheryl
I Love Kitty
please enter me in the draw
and dont forget to visit me i have lots set up for the party :D
Happy tea party day!!!
Cool artsy skulls:)
Stop by for a pumpkin muffin.
kayellen
Please enter me, thank you! Love it all!
Your sweet and spunky kitty is divine! Happy Halloween!
Very nice! Perfect for El Dia de Low Muertos
Hi.
You're skulls have me such a fright..
Those kitty with whiskers will be a sure delight!!!
Happy Halloween!
I love that kitty! And the skulls are wonderful. Happy Halloween!
Those little skulls are great!
Happy Halloween DaY!!!!!!
Please enter me into the drawing
i love the fabric for your kitty! she's adorable!!
I was up till 3:30 to finish up at my party. It is so worth it, so today I can join in and partay all night long. I love the skulls especially with the flowers on it. My heart belongs to the kitty. So beautiful. BTW, I am a Michelle too!
Oh the kitty is magnificent! What fun you had with those skulls. Yikes! So scary!
Tammy
Oooooo, the soundtrack is the perfect touch. The sugar skulls are amazingly boo-tiful!
Must go as it is time to Monster Mash!
I can so relate - I was up until almost 3 a.m. and didn't do a speck of what my grandiose imagination thought I would get done. I don't think artists have time management skills, do they? Oh well, your party turned out just beautifully, your artwork lovely, and your wit is charming. Thank you for having me! Your welcome to grab some treats (or a nap!) at my place!
Marsha
What wonderful skulls! I loved the party!!!~
ooooh these are so wonderful!!
Happy Party day!!!!
xoxox...jenn
Oh love the skulls! What a great way to dress them up. Great idea!
Christine Verstraete, http://cverstraete.com
* An ancient family curse... Searching For A Starry Night
* Will it be him - or them... The Witch Tree
Your skulls are so much fun. Happy Halloween!
Martha
Great post, the cats are wonderful. Have a wonderful Halloween!
Patricia
http://theunfinishedflower.typepad.com/
Those are so fun! Day of the Dead is big in Texas, too.
Lovely post!! I'm doing a giveway so come and check it out ;)
http://artnsewl.blogspot.com/
those skulls are so cool and great job on the kitty!
Boo! I love your skulls and kitty! They are spootacular!
I'd love to win one, so please enter me in the drawing.
Freak me man! Great skull!
Muah ha ha haaaaaaa
Happy Halloeenie!!!!
heh heh heh!!!
Your painted skulls are so Fabulous!
Sandra
I love your little skulls - such a fun and clever idea. I visited Taos NM earlier in the year and fell in love with Day of the Dead!
I love sugar skulls! You have seen my sugar skull pendants, haven't you? This is a great party. I love the blog world for bringing us all together like this. Happy Halloween!
Kitty is so cute!
MY heavens, those SKULLS! I love them. And ever since I saw pointy kitty on Hanna's blog, I've wanted to make one, but you have really made it work (as Tim would say). How cool is that little black kitty?
What cute skulls!! The kitty is precious too...
great job!z Happy partying!
Those skulls are adorable!! And oh my gosh that cat is the cutest thing I have ever ever seen!!! (Looks like my little black kitty!) Wonderful post (I couldn't tell you were tired :D) Happy Halloween!
toopixiedolls@yahoo.com
xoxo
~K
P.S. Feel free to enter my giveaway too!
http://twopixiedolls.blogspot.com
I love this Halloween Blog party! Thanks so much for sharing. I LOVE the kitty!!!!!1
Awesome skulls! Fabulous for this glorious season! Pointy Kitty is sooo cute! I would love to entered into the drawing! pippy ----> pipscrapstudio.typepad.com
Hello there,
I'm popping by visiting all the wonderful party goers from Vanessa's Soiree!
You did a fabulous job on the skulls and I must say the kitty is too cute. Very Halloweeny ;)
Denise
Great stuff! The skulls and kitty are fabulous. Thanks for being a part of such a cool party!
I love it! Happy Halloween!
Awesome! What a great giveaway your having. The skulls are cool and your first attempt at a plushie looks good to me. Love the little x's for eyes.
K
Happy Halloween, these are sweet little sculls. Karen
I'm Blog Hopping from Vanessa's "A Fanciful Twist" Party <{:O) Great skulls! Wow!
Stop by my place too... I'm having a couple of give-aways!
Have a bootiful day!
Be Enchanted!
~A~
I am so loving skulls this year, even made a few myself.
so cute
Wonderful. What beauuuuutiful skulls. And a sweet black kitty. Thanks for having me.
Oh I love skullies!! i think I have some sugar ones stahsed in my frdige somewhere ;) You did a lovely job on them!! Thank youfor staying up so late!! i hear ya on that one!!
And your plushie, miam miam, too cutttie!!! Witchie Kisses, V
The skulls are neat! Great idea. I also think the Kitty is so cute! Nice site. HUGS
I love your take on the Pointy Kitty pattern! Perfect for Halloween :)
The skulls rock! But, that kitty! I have made a few with her pattern but never thought to go Goth! It reminds me of that Emily the strange's cat that I see at Hot Topic. Very, very cool! I hope you have a wonderfully wicked and superbly spooktacular Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mwahhahahahahhahah
blood & stitches,
calamity kim
Those skulls are spooktacular and did you actually make that kitty?Way cool! Please enter me in the draw-yipee!
Sandy
Cute little plushie and those skulls are tooooo cool! Michelle, you are a twisted Martha! LOL. : D
c
Sweet, sweet, sweet! Your skulls remind me of an amazing exhibition I saw at London's Victoria & Albert Museum! How I miss that museum!
Your black cat is a feat too! I didn't realize you had sewing skills too! Cute!
I finally did my 7 oddities in response to your tag! Hope you don't mind that I mentioned your give-away too!
Hope you've recovered from your late night!
I love the skulls, what a great idea~~!
I was just partying over at a Fanciful Twist and I thought I’d check out your blog! Love the skulls and the cute pointy kitty!!
UMMMMMM Did I tell you "Skull" is my middle name? Yes, I make no bones about it........it's an old family tradition. So, you can imagine what an absolute delight it was to view your blog and perhaps greet again some old long lost relatives. Love those Day of Dead "Heads"! First time to visit you, but it will not be the last!
Sue
Great skulls!!
Happy Halloween!
happy halloween party! I love your skulls. they turned out great! Melinda
I want pointy kitty!!!
:}
Those skulls are wonderful! Please add me to the list of many who want.
oh my gosh, those skulls are cool, and that kitty is too cute!!
Please enter me into the drawing!
Oh, I love them all. I never knew they were called sugar skulls.
Yes ! I love the skulls ! Hope I have luck enough to win one.
I adore those rock star skull! I want one! :D
Happy halloween!
Your skulls are very creative and I really love the black and white ones. Great job!
Wishing you a magickal & Happy Halloween!!! :-)
SpOOky CK
CUTE KITTY with the cross-stitch eyes! I would simply name her "SPOOK". My black cat's name is JET. The pointy kitty pattern is adorable.
So cute skulls! Very nice post! Thanks for your comment and visit at my blog. I hope you come many more times. Happy Halloween from Brazil!
oh what lovelies you have shown!i'm having such a blast at your party, thank you so much for visiting me!!! so very nice to meet you!!! i love love love your mock sugar skulls and your black cat plushie!!! hope you are having a fabulous time this weekend and can't wait to see you later!!! happy halloweeeeeeen!!!
What a super little black cat!
Yes, it was quite the party out there!
Greetings from New York
Your skulls are wonderful and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that kitty. The shape is wonderful. Congratulations on your first one!
I love the kitty! It is sooo cute! please do enter me ;)
I love the name of your blog!!! How amazing.
Real sugar skulls are tricky I hear. I will be attempting to make some. Yours look fabulous!
xo
Happy partying :)
Oh COOOOOOL! These skulls look so great! I love the extra black paint against the white skull. Great idea. And that black kitty - I want to make one, too! It looks terrific in black leather. Good thinkin' and creatin'!
Please enter me into your draw. Thank you!
The skulls are cool but I'm loving that kitty! Great stuff!
the cat is just delightful!!!
Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Wow! I am impressed with your skulls. They are a real work of art.
I am sure no one else had this idea. Good job. Now the kitty is awesome. How can you give it away? anyway I am happy to be in the drawing. Thanks for sharing a fun post. As you can see I am late with my comments. So many people and so little time. sigh
Hugs...Jeanne
Hi Michelle,
Those skulls are fabulous! The painting was wonderfully done! The kitty is awfully cute too, I'll have to go and check out the pattern.
Lovely!
xoxo~
Abbie
The skulls are great and that kitty is wonderful.
Thanks for stopping by my blog....I love your kitty...I saw that pattern from Home Companion Mag....so darling! I will cross all my witchy fingers and hope I win....every good witch needs a black kitty ;) jackie
love LOVE the sugar skull!!! What a great party here!!
Thank you so much for participating in Dia de Bloglandia and for spreading the word....
Your skulls are fabulous!!! Great job! Stop by my party for a nightcap, its in full swing.
Oh, I love the skulls and the pointy kitty! Happy Halloween!
greenerjello@Hotmail.com
Count me in! Love the skulls and the kitty! :o)
Happy Hallowen!
Love the skulls! I use them in my art sometimes. Yours are lovely! :)
Whow what give aways! Thanks for visiting my blog and have a happy Halloween!
Very creative! Thanks for visiting my "T" party- and I know just what you mean about lack of time management skills, I'm just figuring it all out myself! Take care! ~Michelle~
Great skulls. Please enter me
Very halloween as well as Dia de los muertos! Spectacular!
~Ann-Denise
Love your little skulls and kitties! Vanessa hosts a great party! Wish I had the time.
Love the skull with the blue eyes and yellow teeth! And that kitty...TOO CUTE! You're so creative and talented :-)
Perhaps the coolest halloween party!!!
I hate to leave.
Linda
Oh how fun! I'm also a huge Dia de los Muertos fan. I live in Texas, so we get lots of fun decorations around here if you know where to dig. Thanks for sharing! -Laura
Hello,
Thanks for your visit! Wow!
What a great party you had!
~ Gabriela ~
I went through Vanessa's list of partyers from the bottom up this time so I am late...Kitty is charming and the skulls are soooo coool!
ohh my, Im in love with all of your stuff..those skulls are wonderful, and that kitty is adorable!!!
Just starting now to visit the rest of the party goers from Vanessa's blog! Love your skulls and your kitty is so much better than the tuitorial I saw!
Love the kitties and little skulls! I'm jumping on board to join this spooktacular party too! You're a wonderful designer, unique work!
need more sugarrrrr
:)
I am on pacific time and it's already past your deadline but I still wanted to say THANKS for stopping by my place and I love your skulls and kitty! Happy Halloween!
what a sweet parte!!! lovin' it!
Drats! I missed your giveaway. I love your day of the dead skulls. And you need to make more of those plush kitties and start selling thing. They are soo cute and modern:)
~Christine
Too late for the giveaway but love the skulls and kitty!
Rock on!!!! How exciting!!! I never win anything! Woooooo Hooooooo! You made my day! Thanks a ton!
;o) Sara
pipscrapstudio.typepad.com
Oh that Pointy Kitty is the CUTEST!!! Love your blog! Thanks for coming down to see mine...
Have a great Halloween! :)mendy
So much fun coming by to visit during the Halloween Blog Party event.
Thanks for joining in.
Donna
Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting me! I must say...I love pointy kitty. She is SPOOKtacular!
at last!! Someone who gets into Halloween for what it really nmeans! Yay to you, and I want the plastic skulls to paint on too.
I can't wait to see what you are working up for the SJ Halloween party. You rock. I do so love those day of the dead beads. I hope to make some soon. If only I could sit in a studio all day to play!
Hey, I just wondered over here from Days Too Short and saw those skulls. Great Job and thanks for the wonderful idea. Take Care :)
Wow! I'm comment 128!!! You rock!!
I LOVE the skulls!! Your doodling know no bounds!! :-D They would be perfect for a Halloween party...or maybe even for a Grateful Dead fan!!!
I missed the party.....damn. Oh well...next time!!
have a great weekend!!!
good heavens! how'd ya get so very many comments ... it has to be that cute kitty ...
M - your skulls turned out fabulous! And your kitty is adorable! =) But then, I love any kind of kitty!
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