Dia de Muertos 2018

How are you?

I've been..sleeping a lot!

Just can't seem to get my fill for some reason.

This is something I notice during this time of year..must be the pull of hibernation, lol

On November 2nd we celebrate Dia de los Muertos.

I created a mini shrine using an old salt container and Lisa Kettell Designs products..

I also made an altered wooden block using elements from the 

Hellgnome death digis design team.

I used the 'Dead man in the moon' digi stamp for this.

I used copic markers to color it then I covered the design in glossy accents

to give it a textured surface.

 I prepared the altar for Dia de muertos

using photos, mementos,candles and flowers.

I marveled at the way it changes..sometimes all I have are photos and a candle,

other times, it's huge, covering a large area.

I also make sure there's pan de muertos on the altar every year.

 

It is a sweetened soft bread shaped like a bun, often decorated with bone-shaped phalange pieces. Pan de muerto is eaten on Día de Muertos, at the gravesite or alternatively, at a tribute called an ofrenda. In some regions, it is eaten for months before the official celebration of Dia de Muertos. In Oaxaca, pan de muerto is the same bread that is usually baked, with the addition of decorations. As part of the celebration, loved ones eat pan de muerto as well as the relative's favorite foods. The bones represent the deceased one (difuntos or difuntas) and there is normally a baked tear drop on the bread to represent goddess Chīmalmā's tears for the living. The bones are represented in a circle to portray the circle of life. The bread is topped with sugar. This bread can be found in Mexican grocery stores in the U.S. The classic recipe for pan de muerto is a simple sweet bread recipe, often with the addition of anise seeds, and other times flavored with orange flower water or orange zest. Other variations are made depending on the region or the baker. The one baking the bread will usually wear decorated wristbands, a tradition which was originally practiced to protect from burns on the stove or oven.
Bread of the dead usually has skulls or crossbones engraved on it. It is believed the spirits do not eat, but absorb its essence, along with water at their ofrenda, after their long journey back to Earth.

 

We had a wonderful night, baking bread and making my parent's favorite foods..

Helena and I stayed up late into the night, listening to music, talking about everyone that passed and how

important this tradition is to us.

Thank you, once again for stopping by and visiting with me.

I'll be dropping by your blogs this weekend and catching up.

Skeletons and Gratitude..

Hello!

How was your Halloween?

We had a pretty quiet one, only six trick or treaters showed up!

It's okay...

We watched The Amityville Horror, ate candy and snuggled up under a blanket on the sofa.

Look at this!
I won this adorable wreath from Lady Caer Morganna at The Wiccan Life 
She also sent a pumpkin dish towel and a super cute Halloween card!!
Thank you so much!!

 

I also participated in an artcard swap with an instagram friend.

She sent me this..

 

 I sent her these..

It was fun..I hadn't done a swap in a long time and I'm hoping to do more in the future.

Anyone? anyone? lol!

.........................................................................................

For Dia de los muertos

I set up our altar like I usually do..

Helena and I made some salt dough ornaments to add to it later too.

I had a dream about my dad, which was great..

I seem to dream of him on days that are significant.

I miss him so much.

In the dream , he looked young..about 60. 

We made plans to go shopping then have lunch.

It was nice to see him again.

..............................................

So, it's November!

I'm pretty excited about it, I love the Holidays..

But there's something about November..

Obviously, I look forward to Thanksgiving.

I love roasting the turkey and preparing all the food.

But this month reminds me of fairy tales and magic.

There are 

bright yellow leaves on some of the trees that rustle around,

Deep velvety skies filled with shimmering stars

&

The cool, crisp air sparkles with an energy that other months don't seem to have.

Maybe because here, in Arizona, it finally starts to cool down, 

and you can actually tell that there is a season other than Summer.

Anyway, all this fills my heart with hope and my thoughts turn to gratitude

Gratitude for so many things! 

So....

I want to start a new weekly blog post..

I'm going to post recipes, crafts..a lot like HH , but more of a holiday vibe to it..

It's going to be about gratitude, magic, blessing, inspirations and joy.

You can join in, or just come by to visit.

If you do a post, it can be:

 a story about a person that inspires you,

a picture of something that makes you feel grateful,

an incredible recipe,

your art or living space,

anything that makes you feel the magic of the season. 

We are including our abandoned art in these posts too.

Helena and I make something...usually something small  that has an inspirational theme to it,

then we leave it somewhere.

(I used to do this before, you can read about it Here)

 

I'm going to start this week and

it's going to be called  Merry Monday! 

I hope you will join me!

I'll post something every Monday.

Have a beautiful weekend,

See you soon.

(feel  free to display this button on your blog if you want) 

Haunted Humpday part one...

Happy Haunted Humpday!

It's been a busy week here, preparing for Stephen King's birthday tomorrow!

I hope you will join our celebration.

Our

 is going to be a bit shorter than usual.

Part 2 will continue tomorrow.

Guess what?!

We found out walmart had it's first pumpkin delivery last week!

and they're huge!

We baked a cake after we carved this guy up..

I just love funfettii cake.

We watched another scary movie

This one is called

usually, I hate the stupid movies with the shaky camera (found footage)

like Blair witch and paranormal activity, but this one wasn't too bad, someone had sense enough

to let the camera stay still once in a while:)

you can read the plot here.

I've been painting and gluing like a mad woman lately..

but I have a few older projects I want to share this week:

mini shrines and ornaments

Now, I must go continue getting ready for our party!!

(or Part 2 of HH)

If you want to participate in Haunted Humpday or 

the King party, you can do so throughout the weekend.

 Thanks for stopping by and if you get a chance to visit Thursday 

please do!

Bye!!

November moves in...

Hi!
time has run away from me lately, but

We have done SO much!!

We made our visit to the Arizona State Fair.

There were gigantic corn dogs, milk shakes, huge french fries 

and for the first time ever, I had some

Funnel cake!!!

I'm sad to say I loved it!!

We had a great time in the silly haunted house...

I had to take a picture of this..he looks too much like Pennywise not too.

we got on the Ferris wheel

Actually won a huge stuffed animal,

Helena's new stuffed toy..

Socko

We went to the zoo
It was so much fun..the crowds were terrifying, but it was worth it.
 Here's Helena the zombie hunter and her cousin the zombie.
(they wanted to be serious for this picture)

 Great Pumpkin night was awesome as usual...
He brought toys and candy for Helena..
sweet smelling goodies for me.

 We also went to a home haunt on the 30th..
It's called Terror Nights
It was So much fun!
actually scarier than some of the "professional" haunts Ive been to in the passed few years.

Dia de los muertos has always been a huge deal for me..

especially now that both of my parents are gone.

I set up our family altar in a new space this year.

Now that I moved away from negativity 

I dream of my mom and dad on a regular basis..

I had many dreams of them the passed few nights.

while at the great pumpkin festival at the botanical gardens a couple of weeks ago,
I was able to visit the amazing exhibit they had set up for this special occasion.
It's is gorgeous!!

.

Now that we have entered November

I'd like to slow down just a tiny bit.

Thank you to everyone that stopped by and joined in on HH !

I appreciate it so much.

Oh! I have a painting to give away too!

that will be in my next post so stay tuned, lol!

I hope you are doing well and staying cozy.

I'll be back very soon.

Now, does anyone know where I can get funnel cake in Tempe?

Spooky finds and creepy creatures...

It's rolled around again!

How has your week been?

We are doing pretty good..

I have a whole bunch of cool things to show you.

Here's a little witch hat I made to go with the witch's dress.

my daughter bought me this coffee mug at world market,

And this garland too!

This cute banner was from Target

As were these throw pillows

These treat bags were fifty cents each!

We stopped at our local Spirit Halloween store and 

found this adorable bird feeder (on clearance) and these Ouija board coasters.

This is a 50x60 throw blanket,

we have it on the sofa.

Rigby, checking out the new cup and straw.

I have a few more goodies to show you, including the gigantic pumpkins we found at the grocery store. 

But I'll save them for next week.

Are you ready for another short story?

Grab a blanket and get comfy then....

remember my cousin's odd ordeals?

Well they didn't stop with the werewolf and creeping ghosties.

Early one Saturday morning when she was about 8 years old she was

watching cartoons while her mom did laundry.

My aunt told us this tale..she recalls my cousin being terrified at the time.

 My cousin said she was lying on the sofa when she saw her mother 

walk into the bathroom by the living room.

as soon as she closed the door, The backdoor opened and her mother walked in with

a load of laundry in her arms.

She said she felt frozen to the couch..she couldn't take her eyes off of the bathroom door.

She began to cry and begged my aunt to please check the bathroom.

Of course there was no one there....

What do you think these type of creatures are? doppelgänger?

 Or a child's over-active imagination?

 Have you ever seen anything like that?

I spoke to her recently and she told me she vividly remembers lying in bed at night and pretending to be 

asleep because there was a huge dark shadow with a long snout

 sniffing around her room at night.

She would pretend to be asleep so it wouldn't notice her.....

 

alright, I'm off ..it's the witching hour!!

May you have a magical week.

Happy Haunted Humpday!

(don't forget.....