where a little letter went...

I had to share these lovely photos of my most recently acquired pen pal, Polly Bland. She is a wonderful (and adorable!) gal with a great personality and love for so many things. Her blog, The Littlest Polly is filled with vintage delights and fantastic photos. These are her photos (of my letter to her) for her post I love getting mail and new library fashion books I'm reading and I had to show them off, Thanks Polly!

the white queen went to a fall festival...

For Halloween this year, Natalie has chosen to be The White Queen from Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland. It was perfect since she already had a glitzy (Disney Princesses) white gown. All that was needed was a platinum wig, a gilded crown, black eyeliner and extremely dark lipstick.
I'm pretty happy that she keeps choosing such great costumes. I've looked in catalogs, online and in stores and I find, of course Alice, The Mad Hatter and The Red Queen but never The White Queen (hmmm).

We got a nice preview of her costume last week at her school's Fall Festival. Last year was our first year there and I know she had a grand time. I didn't capture quite as many photos this year since my hand were holding a variety of things so I missed the daylight. I managed to get a few shots, especially her pumpkin bowling (which they had to cut her off after a while, she kept knocking them all down)!

A dolled up Witchy-poo...

 

I wanted to get this lovely gal into the shop earlier but nonetheless, she is there now. My Witchy Poo was inspired by several things: a certain wizarding world, along with a very famous wicked witch from a place over the rainbow and a new show set in the 1920's. I had to include an unusual choice for a pet. A feathered friend, yes but this gal likes her parakeets (wonder why!) and so has a dark colored one to accompany her.

I hope you like her as much as I do....

thursdays are for winners or the name I pulled out of a cauldron

 I've always liked Thursdays. I suppose it's because it's not quite yet the weekend but it's sort of a precursor to it (since Friday is the weekend in my book). I've always been partial to it. Maybe because I like the way it sounds, the way it is spelled. Today is also the day I randomly selected who will have my littlebigDead drawing. I wrote all the entries on the same paper type as the drawing, folded them up and tossed them all into Natalie's little plastic cauldron. I sang Mary Had A Little Lamb (true story) while the pieces tossed and when I was finished reached in and pulled out a name...

 Lela!!! You have won the darling skeleton girl! I will be emailing you today for your address!

 In other news, this week has been a trying week in several different ways. At the moment I am battling a nasty cold that delights in keeping me up at night, imparting aches in my body and making my throat and voice scratchy and gross. I'll load up on some tea and perhaps a hot toddy later. I'm working on sketches for a commission and I still have a ton of different ideas of things to do. It just always seems like something gets in the way and believe me, this cold thing is not helping.

I've also realized that Natalie and I haven't done any Halloween crafts this year. I can't believe it but I know why. This year is the busiest we've ever had now that she is in Fall Softball and in Girl Scouts. Oh, and let's not forget that she has homework too now. Hopefully we will have a chance to begin on her Cemetery Scene in a box that I already painted all black in the inside. She wants to make graves, zombies and mummies. I have a few ideas but the rest we will have to wing it. I also painted another box all black inside for when I create our little home theatre in it but more on that later.

I've revised the look of not only The Black Hare but of Magpie Apples too, now. I have a few updates for the Hare and eventually at Magpie too but I can't over do it. Too many other things to get to along with not stretching myself out thin while my body is weak...

Until next time....For Lela, I am very excited to be sending a post to you, all the way in Estonia!

what october has brought and a small giveaway

october month has brought these things...

• updated the black hare with a new look, new links and several posts; motivating myself to continue to make the black hare an active place
• reviving my listography to keep track of things like remembering graces both small and great
• feeling good about finally sending mail off to drucilla, helena and mathyld
• halfway through october and we haven't made any halloween crafts; thinking of ideas to do with her
• happy that the weather has finally cooled with a few good days of gray, rain and a bit of thunder and lightening
• working on my cursive, it's a dying tradition but I will try my best to keep it up with writing letters, cards and such
• really enjoying the new HBO show Boardwalk Empire and loving all the inspirations it is bringing
• remembering how I use to draw littlebigDead stuff during the months of September and October and drew a new one today
• thinking of all my favorite halloween photos of Natalie and how I need to gather the last seven years of her costumes photos to compile in one place

Lately I've been drawing on kid's kraft papers that offer the kind of look I've been wanting in some of my drawings. The only thing is the paper is not quality stock paper and it's a bit thin. I think I have found my solution in another stock paper that I have yet to purchase. Until then, I have the kraft papers for some nice illustrating time.

I am going to do a giveaway of the above drawing to one person who comments here with their email address by random selection. I'll keep the commenting open until Wednesday October 27th. I will include a few other things as well so it will be like a tiny care package. Spread the word via twitter or on your own blog for additional entries. Just please sure to leave the link so that it can be verified.

an october gathering...

Last Friday I was honored to have a few friends over and spend the morning and afternoon with. It was called an October Gathering where spooky things would be about and everyone pitched in with either a home made baked good or savory treats. Tea, both hot and iced was served along with home made ginger ale and we gathered round the table and ate, shared, laughed and enjoyed the company.

This was the first time I was having any thing like this at the house and I was pretty excited. Natalie helped me attached vintage and spooky labels alike onto bottles and jars. Halloween dolls i have collected from Marshall's took a seat by the entrance door. The front room chandelier held pumpkin jars, coffee filter ghosts and an old bat I had made when Natalie was a baby.  Tables had a ceramic owl votive, a few photos within halloween frames, coffee filter witches and cardboard tube monsters. My mom's silver wear found a place in the kitchen along with a few crafts Nat and I have done in years past. Even the restroom became festive with a witch on a broom and pumpkin rocks. An old piece of artwork with creepy eyes stared at you next to a few painted rocks and vampire teeth.

The chalkboard pumpkin greeted everyone with a welcome and on the back, with cut out eyes and mouth, was drawn a burly mustache with bushy eyebrows in chalk. I had another owl votive stand guard along with my sweet serena the witch owl.

The mood was set with the smells of fresh baked goods from the oven. I made banana nut bread muffins and peanut butter cookies of various sorts (original, dark chocolate, apple jelly and apricot jam). Pandora radio was set on the Early Jazz station for background music. Friends brought home made pumpkin scones, three different types of hummus with pita bread, and a salami, cheese, olives & tomatoes platter.

I had such a tremendously wonderful time I truly did not want it to end! I wish the kitchen/dining area had better lighting to show you more of the decorations and yummy foods. I know that this is the beginning of having friends over and spending time with them and I am looking forward to more times of fellowship and gathering.

little bees, other sketches and small thoughts

Finding myself falling in love with bees again and at the same time reminding myself to find motivation through being 'busy as a bee'. There is always something to do and I still learning to manage all those 'somethings' that need to be done....

I always love times of doodling and playing with my best little partner in crime, miss Natalie while we wait for our meal at a restaurant. The best is when the table is already dressed up with paper! Endless amount of fun like dress up the girl, playing hangman, decorate your own pumpkin (and valentine too!), drawing nice vampire girls, writing out or names in flamboyant cursive, making portraits and writing and drawing stories about a spooky cat...

little things often reap the biggest rewards...

• baking with bubelah while she 'hosts' her own cooking show
• filling up time with more useful and productive things for all of us alike 
• feeling grateful to be a part of creative avenues like featherheart trading co.'s labels and business cards
• feeling equally blessed to receive a packaged filled with natural goodies from featherheart!
• a new commission to begin very soon
• a few days of autumn gray, rain, tea & homemade muffins and cookies
• encouragement, reassurance and admonishment for mothers
• late evening bike rides (with more to come!)
• the simple joys of making jiffy pop with a child of the twenty first century and seeing her absolute delight over it
• a small vintage etsy indulgence to arrive via post shortly
• the pleasure of perusing a new GloryBee catalog
• visiting old friends and being able to be at a service with them
• the complete enjoyment of being at a shower to celebrate a friend's upcoming nuptials
• long talks with kindred spirits
• decorating the house with homemade halloween crafts
• looking forward to friday morning when a few friends will come over and visit!

a calender for owl lovers...

I am so completely thrilled to finally be able to share about a neat collaboration I was apart of. Shivani of the very loved blog, My Owl Barn invited me along with other artists to submit an illustration featuring our beloved feathered friend, the owl. You have an option of downloading the complete calender for 2011 (I'm the month of July!) or customizing your own calender with your favorite illustrations. Oh, and did I mention that it is free!

(photo, My Owl Barn)

Go to My Owl Barn to download and/or customize your own calender and enter an amazing giveaway (owl plus anthropologie, enough said)!

Read the Owl Calender story along with all the illustrators who participated. The illustrations themselves are very delightful, whimsical and darling (there 30 illustrations total).

P.S. Some of you may have already seen my illustration for the calender. It's available as a postcard set at my second shop, The Kindly Owl.

tuesday things

Thank you Polly for the award!

Before some serious work to get to, a few things to share:

1. I am nine sales away from one hundred!! Very exciting, so something a little extra in store for the one hundredth buyer :)
2. The Dreamery Studio, my newest etsy fave store, Where vintage book pages meets illustration art!
3. Absolutely adorable brown hoot owl wings and hat set for children by Naturally Crafty Shop
4. A new commission job to begin!

Be back soon, happy Tuesday!

a raggedy ghost and a sweet hankie

Dolls are something I have been wanting to do for a long while now. I have attempted my hand at some over the past few years or so and now I present a little raggedy ghost girl doll. I enjoyed my hand sewing time with her, especially giving her a sweet little bow for her ghostly hair. I had to take some nice photos of her complete with a sweet gift to me by the lovely Drucilla Pettibone. She crafted my nickname along with my shop name on a vintage handkerchief. I am constantly amazed by her brilliance in embroidery. You must see her visually inspiring blog along with delights in her shop. She is also one half of the ladies behind Ragtime Seance (along with Mathyld). I am so in love with this cherished token. I plan on having it always, sending it along with my daughter when I am old and gray so that she could have it and one day pass it along as well.

pen and paper

the hootenanny

miss kitty

Back to drawing with just pen and paper. This is the way I first began drawing after being inspired by the likes of Edward Gorey, Charles Addams and John Tenniel.

In other news, what a great way to begin October! Though it is hot and humid now (I have the windows opened and the fans on) earlier this morning the sky darkened, the lightening bolted and the thunder crashed!! It was absolutely amazing! The rain poured hard but too quick for me and now it's all over. I can't wait for it to happen again though!