Fanatically Festive

by Robert Brawley 

(Halloween Fanatic)

It is that time of year again, time for pumpkins, time for mums, time for fall and here it comes. Halloween is just right around the corner, and it is time, if you have not already, to get into Halloween Fanatic mode! As you know I stay in it year round, but now is the time to pull out your favorite decorations for fall. Mine will include my Halloween tree, it is filled with handmade artists ornaments again, including some of my favorite STJ artist works! When it comes to decorating your Halloween tree, it can be as complex or as simple as you like.

During this time of year you can pick up black trees at many retail outlets. You can also pick up some wonderful handmade feather trees as well. If you really want to go simple go out into the woods and find yourself some really sturdy branches, place them in a spooky urn, with pea gravel for support, and hang your favorite Halloween treasures on them. Be sure to check out Spooky Time Jingles the 13th of each month for hauntingly good Halloween tips, ornaments for your Halloween tree, and fine Halloween art!

Decking the Howls

By Denise Young

(Halloween Enthusiast & Baby)

Breaking news!  Holiday trees are no longer for only Christmas and they are no longer only green.  Holiday trees are for any holiday or season, especially Halloween. Halloween-themed trees are all the rage for Halloween lovers and holiday home decorators this time of year.  Generally Halloween trees are smaller in size and designed to sit on a piece of furniture.  Thus making them easy to put up, display and take down in a timely manner.  They are not the center of the holiday home like Christmas trees, but a place to hang small goodies of scary splendor.

Halloween trees come in standard Halloween colors, black, orange and purple, and are available at most craft and home decorating stores during the Halloween season.  These stores generally carry all the accompanying decorations and necessary accessories as well.  The variety available on the market is wide and consists of ornaments, lights, skirts, toppers, and garland.  If there is not a wide selection available at your local store, do not fear.  You would be surprised what would go on a tree.  Halloween party favors and little toys often are sold in 10-25 pieces, are small and colorful.  Voila…instant tree trimmings!  For that special Halloween tree that grows each year look, on-line or at your local craft shows for special handcrafted pieces; nothing like starting a new Halloween tradition.

I was introduced to a Halloween tree when a friend sent me my first Halloween ornament for my birthday.  It was so awesome I drove to the local craft store and bought my first Halloween tree immediately.  I was surprise to how many little goodies, like lights, garland and other ornaments, were available to put on my new tree.  Oh the excitement!  That was the day I said, “Bye, bye red and green balls and hello orange and purple!”

My tree was black and small enough to manage from year to year without having to move my car out of the garage to store it.  Once I had made my choice, I quickly put it up in my office; I was going to enjoy this tree as much as possible!  At home it would be ignored; gather dust and destroyed by my cats.   Enjoyed it was, not only by me, but also by passing customers and co-workers stopping to chat.  It created a lot of interest and brought me utter bliss.  Holiday trees are meant to bring joy and celebration any time of the year!

October Sneak Preview

No tricks this month... 

just oodles of treats from the hauntingly talented artists of STJ! Don't be afraid to join us tonight 

at SpookyTime Jingles @ 12:00 am EST for 

our October 2012 update!  

Thank you to all who entered STJ's 'Memoirs of Halloween Haunts' Short Story Contest.  There were so many fantastic submissions; it was difficult to select our favorite story!  The winning author of our contest is Sophie Anne Roberts.  We hope you enjoy her story as much as we did! 

 

 

~Halloween Month~

by Sophie Anne Roberts

 

In rural Pennsylvania there is never a shortage of corn stalks, pumpkins, beautiful leaves and candy on Halloween.  This is the setting where my best childhood Halloween memories took place.

October was a month long celebration in my family that started with the tradition of decorating.  Every room was anointed with black and orange.  Paper accordion pumpkins hung on doors and windows, our traditional cardboard life-size jointed skeleton was placed in a new spot every year and the “Readers Digest” black cat was a staple at our house.  His body was made from a folded Readers Digest that was spray-painted black with a round Styrofoam head, whiskers made of pipe cleaners and a tail of braided yarn.

As the month progressed we carved our pumpkins.  This was quite an event as my mom planned ahead for the mess, my dad planned ahead with a sharp knife, and my brother and I planned not only to create a masterpiece, but to feast on roasted pumpkins after the carving was complete.

The weekend before Halloween my parents would have a big party for our friends and neighbors.  We would roast hot dogs, make ‘smores and hang out by the fire enjoying the brisk fall air.  This was the highlight of my year.  Several weeks before the big “weenie” roast my dad would start saving the hard wood from his shop.  This would burn hot and slowly.   He would also do the fall clean up on our property and pile it over on the burn pile. This would burn fast and get the fire going quickly.  I remember always being anxious for the coals to be just right so we could being the “roast.”

Then the BIG day – Halloween!  We always went out on Halloween night, dressed VERY warmly with our closets friends.  Of course we had to start at my grandparents who just lived down the hill from us.  That was the dress rehearsal.  If you could walk down the hill in your costume and back you were going to make it Trick-or-Treating.  We would hit all the neighbors and friends, but never went to a home we didn’t know.  We made a haul!  We would come home and our parents would sort through the candy and discard anything that looked not right or was unwrapped.  Then my dad would take the candy he knew we wouldn’t like, you know he was “saving us”.  The rest was stored always and we were allowed a few pieces a day.

Halloween was truly a special time for my family as it was the one holiday everyone was really into. To this day It is still my favorite holiday!

Halloween Social

Written by Denise Young

Denise Young Photography & Design, Halloween baby and enthusiast!

Today most people keep in touch and share their lives through a social outlet like Facebook, Twitter, email or text.  Why not extend your love for Halloween and other favorite holidays to social media outlets?  The best example is Facebook.  The “timeline” creation has caused quite a stir on Facebook with a considerable amount of negative feedback.  But why not embrace it?  Use it as another outlet for your Halloween enthusiasm, fascination, and creativity!

The timeline allows you to put pictures and creations on your page.  As long as what you would like to share is imported as a jpeg file, Facebook will load it.  A jpeg file is a very commonly used file.  All cameras take pictures in jpeg and it can be created from everyday programs such as Microsoft Publisher and Photoshop. If digital design is not your specialty or is too challenging, you can buy one.  The Internet offers many outlets to find one, such as Etsy.  Many shops are carrying Facebook timelines now at very reasonable rates and most shop owners will create one for you for an additional cost.

The graphic image below is one example of a Halloween themed timeline.  Adding this festive holiday to your Facebook timeline is fun and creates interest for friends who view your page.  If you have a business page, this is a great way to incorporate your love for Halloween and generate chatter on your Facebook page.  Creations can range from a single picture, to a mass produced design purchased, to a privately created masterpiece or even a montage of favorite Halloween pictures.  The opportunities are endless with social media.

Keep Halloween alive in your homes, your offices and on your social media outlets.  Create, upload, share and repeat!