31 Days of Spooktober, Day 21: "Monstrous Monkee Mash" episode of "The Monkees"

Ghoulies, sit back with your Bosco and enjoy a FULL EPISODE of vintage "Monkees" goodness.  I remember every year they ran the reruns, I'd always hope and pray this one would show up for Halloween.  And look!  My favorite Monkee as my favorite Universal Monster!  Doesn't get much better than this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYkEn9f_5hg

From psychobabble200.blogspot.com

31 Days of Spooktober, Day 13: How to make a wreath that would be the envy of the Cosmos Cotillion!

http://mid-centurymystic.blogspot.com/2013/10/how-to-make-bewitched-themed-wreath-for.html

Oh, my stars, I can't figure out how to re-post an older blog post.  So, here you go: the link for an older post I did about a year ago for a fantastical, magickal wreath I made, which is now a Halloween touchstone for me.  Click the link above to learn how to make a "Bewitched"-themed wreath!




Just look at the awesomeness. I did it all by myself (with the exception of Ben printing out the photos, because my printer is wonky. Witch's honor).

31 Days of Spooktober, Day 10: Drink Recipe! Freaky Punkintini

Whilst enjoying the DVR'd first episode of "American Horror Story: Freak Show", my friends and I delighted in a bit of seasonal tippling.  Introducing the Freaky Punkintini!!

So what's in this delicious glass of sin?  The following:

2 oz. Vodka (I used Grey Goose)

1 oz. Pumpkin Spice Kahlua

Splash of Vanilla Half & Half (or you could use regular half & half, if you must)

Wink of Jeremiah Weed's Sarsaparilla Whiskey

Pour all ingredients into a shaker, add ice, shake all freaky-like.  Pour into chilled glasses, rimmed with crushed Hazelnut Manner wafers (affixed to the rim by dipping it in apple juice first).

31 Days of Spooktober, Day 8: Ben Cooper and the iconic Collegeville Halloween costumes!!

If you were a kid in the 60s or 70s, you definitely remember them.  Heck, you probably even wore them for at least one Halloween: the masks were plasticy, easily cracked, and were sometimes difficult to see through.  The costumes themselves, usually tied in the back and shredded by just looking at them.  Yes, maybe they weren't the sturdiest, but they were definitely iconic, colorful, and they transport you back to a simpler time, when you didn't have to have an adult walk around with you for Trick or Treat, when you didn't have to wear glow-in-the-dark or reflective gear for safety, when kids showed up at the doorstep dressed like popular Saturday morning cartoon characters or Universal Monsters, not some colorless 2010s toy or princess.

Yep, I'm talking about those individually-boxed Collegeville Halloween costumes for kids!



What I didn't know was that Ben Cooper designed costumes for the Cotton Club and the Ziegfield Follies back in the day!  The children's costumes were available from the 1930s through the late 80s. You could purchase them at Sears, J.C. Penney's, Woolworth's and your local five and dime (where I remember seeing them as a kid, at Stewart's 5 & 10 in the Southwest Side of Chicago, Garfield Ridge).Many of the costumes are highly collectible, especially if they are in their original boxes.  A book was even published in 2002,  Dressed for Thrills: 100 Years of Halloween Costumes & Masquerade by Phyllis Galembo, which featured photos and text regarding these iconic costumes.

You can learn more about them at the Collegeville Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Collegeville-Ben-Coopers-vintage-mask-and-costume-collectors/229579747092005#!/pages/Collegeville-Ben-Coopers-vintage-mask-and-costume-collectors/229579747092005

Or check out the 1966 catalog!: http://search.aol.com/aol/imageDetails?s_it=imageDetails&q=collegeville+costumes&img=http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-Yr1tby5dWOs%2FT7KSMUel7VI%2FAAAAAAAAEj8%2FKnGQwCEzDGs%2Fs1600%2FCollegevilleCostumes1966-Catalog-pages3-4.jpg&v_t=tb50-ie-customie9-chromesbox-en-us&host=http%3A%2F%2Fmonstermasks.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F05%2F1966-collegeville-costumes-catalog.html&width=181&height=117&thumbUrl=http%3A%2F%2Ft3.gstatic.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AANd9GcRyaI4bknvXvk9j8IM9ftjGPlFQlKdFl4vBEc-nwx9-OTZocD8dhdtoqFdkbw%3A2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-Yr1tby5dWOs%2FT7KSMUel7VI%2FAAAAAAAAEj8%2FKnGQwCEzDGs%2Fs1600%2FCollegevilleCostumes1966-Catalog-pages3-4.jpg&b=image%3Fq%3Dcollegeville%2Bcostumes%26v_t%3Dtb50-ie-customie9-chromesbox-en-us%26s_it%3DimageResultsBack%26oreq%3Ddacb8f6acee64721bff8a7b7753ee946&imgHeight=1041&imgWidth=1600&imgTitle=of+costumes+and+masks.&imgSize=420426&hostName=monstermasks.blogspot.com

Want to own one?  Check out this link on Ebay: http://www.ebay.com/bhp/collegeville-costume



Can't get enough "memory lane"ness?  Take a stroll through this extremely well-documented Flickr site, devoted to the art of the Collegeville mask: https://www.flickr.com/photos/22686070@N08/sets/72157609652753603/

31 Days of Spooktober, Day 5: Hitchcock Halloween Decor

My darling Hitchcockian throw pillow

So you know, you can get THE best things in the world at the Kane County Flea Market.  And so you also know: it's less "flea" than "really cool things that are mostly antique but are also, at times, home-made".

Case in point, my new bit of Halloween decor, handmade by The Clay Penguin (that's her Etsy store, but I met her in-person at the Flea; her name is Lisa Cramer).  Here's a link to the store: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheClayPenguin  And. in case you're curious: the design on the pillow is by graffiti artist Banksy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksy  I bet you could order your OWN Hitchcock "The Birds" pillow at her Etsy shoppe.  Or maybe you'd like eight or more!

Ms. Cramer, a.k.a. Clay Penguin Lady, is a sweet gal and had a great selection of items, some handmade, others vintage, at her table at the Flea.  We shared our stories about our love of Hitchcock, namely "The Birds", and I told her about the time I saw the film at the Hollywood Palms on the Big Screen and Tippi Hedren was indeed there to introduce the show, but had a cold so only spoke for a short period of time.  And speaking of short, Tippi's about 3 feet tall.  I know this because I was entering the ladies' room as she was exiting.  She's still absolutely stunning in her 80s.

The beautiful Ms. Hedren and Crow

I also mentioned that at this viewing of the film, there was a young girl who came TOTALLY decked-out as Tippi, in torn and bloody skirt suit, with fake bird neatly attached to her head.  And I said if I could've adopted the child, I would've. The child waited in line to have Ms. Hedren autograph her Tippi Hedren Barbie doll.  Here is a photo of said doll:

I own the doll

Such was my day at the Flea.  Now to decide how else to Hitchcockify my digs for the season ...

How to make a "Bewitched"-themed wreath for Halloween!

Just look at the awesomeness.  I did it all by myself (with the exception of Ben printing out the photos, because my printer is wonky.  Witch's honor).

 

So, how did I go about making this fantabulous wreathic ode to my favorite Mid-Century TV show?  How did I get the idea to do it?  WHY did I do it?

 

Well, I was tired of walking through Target, speciality stores, quaint antique shoppes, trolling around online,  and just not finding the perfect Halloween-Samhain wreath.  I wanted something that stood out from the rest, wasn't orange and black, and had no owls. Or bells.  I can't tell you how many Halloween wreaths I found that had black, metal bells.  What's with that?

 

Also, I wanted something witchy, something magickal to pay homage to my new-found leanings.  It had to be a perfect reflection of what I think of when I think of witchery: positive, mystical, celebratory, and maybe just a tad purple-bluelicious.

 

So, one I day, while viewing some clips of "Bewitched" on Youtube (because I do that), I came across the segment from "Serena Stops the Show".  You know the one. 

 

Where she sings, "Blow You a Kiss in the Wind", the song that Boyce and Hart then perform at the Cosmos Cotillion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3cFkXSgfjg

 

Ah.  The Cosmos Cotillion.  How I always wished I could attend it.  Or any of the Witches' Balls.  Or stop in for a visit at Witches' Council.  Ethereal, smoky-yet elegant, and definitely otherworldly.  And every picture I found online didn't quite match the picture I image I had in my mind's eye.  Because, since childhood, I would dream about what lay beyond the scenes of said councils and balls and cotillions.  Those were the times when I hung around with Samantha and Serena and we sipped bubbly potions, feasted on the vast array of delicacies only found in that world between worlds, cast spells, and played practical jokes with Uncle Arthur.

 

And then it came to me.  A wreath informed by those wispy, crystalline images dancing in my head for over forty years.

 

Here's what I amassed:

 

* a styrofoam wreath circle

* purple, sequined bendable ribbon

* lavender-silver glitter ribbon

* silver sequined craft paper stock

* fourteen wood circles (eight 2" ones, six 2 1/2" ones)

* purple glitter glue

* glue stick

* black tempera paint

* small craft pins

* hot glue gun

* small picture hanger

* photos printed from online search

* crystal decorative chains

 

First, I covered the styrofoam circle with the lavender-silver glitter ribbon. I needed three spools of it. I used pins to pin it all in place. 

 

Then, I took the purple bendable ribbon and made foot-long accordions of it, pulling it out and pinning it in place on the back of the wreath, so it makes a funky, witchy sunflower. 

 

Next, I pinned the silver paper stock the the back, trimming the excess so there wasn't a big, ol'  square attached to the wreath.

 

After that, I painted the outer edges of the circles black, then decorated the dried paint with the glitter glue (this doesn't show up in the photo too clearly, but adds some depth when you see it up close).

 

I sat and scoured photos online until I found a wonderful mix of all my favorite "Bewitched" characters, with a preponderance of Serena and Samantha, naturally.  I was giddy when I found one of Tabitha in mid-conjure.  And, of course, Uncle Arthur served tableside.  I had my hubby print them out (thanks, sweetie!) on photo paper in either 2" or 2 1/2" circles, which I then cut out and affixed to the wood circles with my trusty glue stick.

 

Next, the wooden photo circles were hot glued in place.  I made sure to not make the pieces look like a series of clock numbers, alternating larger and smaller circles in an unstructured way.

 

To gild the lily, I first pinned the crystal chains (used two) after weaving them around the photos, then hot glued them securely onto the wreath. It adds that perfect bit of glimmer and decadence (Actually, I told my hubby that I was assembling a "Bewitched" wreath that will look a little like a drag queen.  I think the crystal chains achieved that effect nicely).

 

Then, to seal the deal, I printed out the iconic "Bewitched" logo on photo paper, and hot glued it to the center of the sequin paper.

 

All that was left to do was nail in the small picture hanger on the back et voila!  The perfect purple-silver-whimsy-magic spell Cosmos Cotillion wreath.  My childhood dreams of hanging out with my TV family have come true!

 

Photo from Samanthashaven.blogspot.com