A Fanciful Twist's 2014 Halloween Blog Party !

It's that time of year again....time for A Fanciful Twist's yearly Halloween Blog Party.

Anyone in the mood for a spooky poem? 

Oh, I hope so.

I adore fun and spooky Halloween poems.

The House Upon the Halloween Hill

The house upon the Halloween hill is waiting for the day ~

For little clowns.... 

and kids in masks,

coming out to play.

Trick or treat can take you to the scariest of places ~ 

Little ghosties on the graves...

(look closely)

 and dark and evil faces.

With weeping girls...

 and ghostly brides ~

 and twins from beyond the veil.

A weak and tiny vampire boy with skin that shines so pale.

The grown-ups play in masks of their own....

Dressed up like Pierrots ~ 

and fortune tellers study books to ready for their shows.

When the autumn air is upon you, enjoy it while it's here,

Halloween is but a season to fill you up with fear.




A huge thank you to Vanessa Valencia for hosting these amazing parties each year.  xoxo

Hope you enjoyed the vintage photos.  They are all from my personal collection.

Until Next Time:

Kim

Gerushia's New World

Simple October Days And A New Watercolor ~

I adore the easy and simple days of October.

I've been slowly working on a salted watercolor the last week or so.

"Apple Jack"

"Apple Jack....he LOVES apples.

Even if it means stealing them from the neighbor's tree....

he'll do whatever it takes to feed his desire for apples!"

Apple Jack is in my Etsy Shop right now.

He's not fancy or masterful....just a simple, salted watercolor illustration.

I've even been working on some little ACEOs, which I haven't done in years.

I love working in small format, and ACEOs are only 2-1/2" x 3-1/2"....tiny goodness.  I just started one last night.

"Hester's Last Balloons"

Easy days.

Tiny art.

Reading books ~ 

Autumn garden blossoms ~ 

A tangle of pink and orange, greeting the cooler days ~ 

Puppy's favorite sunning spot.

Snoozing in the warmth ~ 

Lazy strolls.

Treasures hidden in the nooks and crannies.

It isn't unusual to find little bones and feathers this time of year.

With garden clean-up in full swing, you never know what might be hidden beneath the leaves on the hill.

Traces of hummingbird

and lost feathers ~ 

Keepsakes from previous garden years ~ 

Sad and harsh yet beautiful.

Nature is a beastly gal sometimes, isn't she?

The days are getting shorter.

The nights are cooler.

Simple days of art.

Warm days in the garden with the puppy.

Holding on to each and every moment.

Until Next Time:

Kim

Gerushia's New World

A Late Halloween And a Facebook Give-Away ~

Well, I can't believe it....

It's October 10th and our Halloween decorations are all still safely tucked away in the garage.

This is the latest we've ever decorated for Halloween.

It's just been too hot and not at all autumn-like.

But, they are going up this weekend, hot weather or not.

I am craving the glow of Halloween ~ 

Spooky foggy nights ~ 

and ghoulish visitors ~ 

Last year, I was so lucky to find a conjoined pumpkin at my local grocery ~ 

Wonder if there's any chance I'll ever find another one.

Probably not.

Gathering the Halloween decorations ~ 

Adorning both inside ~ 

...and outside ~ 

We will make the best of the warm weather and dream of the cool and orange flavored days ahead.

Also, during this decorating weekend, I am having a give-away on my Facebook Art Page.

If you'd like to participate, all you have to do is stop by my Art Page and leave a short comment.

No need to share it on your page or do any such thing.

Simply leave a comment.

I am giving away a tiny tale print version of "Let's Gather the Stars."

Along with the art print, I am including the short story that goes along with it.  These two lovely ladies, Alice and Junie, are characters from the middle grade fairy tale I am writing, so I am including a short excerpt from the book, nicely printed on high quality calligraphy paper.

Here's the little story:

"Alice and Junie are gathering stars on this clear and warm April night. Junie is curious and ready to collect so many stars in her wooden bucket. She hesitates, but Alice assures her that all is well and the collecting night is upon them. Junie knows that tomorrow morning when she wakes, she will have a bucket full of wishes. What will she wish for?"

Stop by my Facebook page and say hi and enter the contest!

I will be choosing a random winner Sunday evening, October 12th.

I'd love to see you there.

Until Next Time:

Kim

Gerushia's New World

The Changing Season and the Color Orange ~

Hello There ~

Can you see the change in the air?

The change from summer to autumn?

Orange is everywhere ~

In the garden ~

A morning coffee cup ~ 

Fresh squeezed orange juice ~ 

Pumpkins have already been welcomed into my backyard ~

(P.S. I grew all the tiny, solid orange pumpkins)

Pumpkins here and there.

On the dining room hutch, paired with delicious autumn apples ~ 

Jack O' Lantern sketch.

Soon to be orange ~ 

 (work in progress)

There is a glare to autumn.

An exciting time of change....

but sad, too.

I always feel a little empty during the change from summer to fall.

The oranges of the season help to lighten the mood.

Soon, it will be time for pumpkin carving ~ 

and a love/hate relationship with candy corn ~ 

Early October in Southern California.

I can see the autumn in the air...

but I can't feel it yet.

Today, it will be well over 100 degrees.

Time to stay indoors and dream of the cooler days ahead.

Since it is still early October, I created a"Halloweenish" shop section in my Etsy shop. There are 17 items to choose from.

It is filled with some of my spookier art.

Use coupon code Halloweenish to receive 30% off any item in my Halloween shop category.

This sale will only run for a couple of days. I want to be sure and have time to mail out any Halloween art well before Halloween.

Is it autumn in your neck of the woods yet?

Until Next Time:

Kim

Gerushia's New World

Sadness and Healing. Good and Bad. Light and Dark.

I can't believe it's been over 3 months since my last visit.

Life has been a roller coaster.

Has it ever been that way for you?

Up and down.

Up and down.

A whirlwind right in my very own home.

Life has been crazy ~

Awful, good, sad, creative and insane all rolled into one big unforgettable year.

My husband got a job....thank goodness.

He was hired at the end of July.

Then, my car caught on fire.

But, the worst, saddest, most heartbreaking thing happened ~

So horrible I can barely type it here.

We lost our beloved Kelly to a disease she had been fighting all of her short life.

We thought she was better.

She had not been sick for almost a year.

It came on so quickly and she failed so fast.

We weren't able to save her.

Of all the other craziness going on in our lives,

losing Kelly shattered our hearts the most.

Her brother, Kenan, had never spent a single day away from her.

He's getting better now~

Finding his own way, bit by bit.

Playing with his toys ~ 

They did everything together.

Nap time ~

Birdwatching ~ 

Studio visits ~

and playtime ~

Kenan sticks to me like glue.

He's my shadow ~ 

We are smothering him with love and attention.

Probably too much because he likes to set his own pace.

But, he's going to be okay.

He can hang with me all day in my studio ~ 

Losing Kelly hurt so much for so many different reasons.

Too many reasons to name right now.

But, somehow I had to stop crying.

I just couldn't stop crying.

So, I forced myself back to my art.

It is true ~ 

Art Heals.

Art and family and time and hope.

We are healing little by little.

But I know we will never stop missing her.

In the meantime:

I am finding bits of goodness.

Firelight sunsets ~ 

An unexpected visitor ~ 

Who now has his own chair ~

Freshly baked apple pies ~ 

And the lovely chaos of the Halloween season ~ 

So, life is a whirlwind.

Sadness and healing.

Good and bad.

Light and dark.

My friend Vanessa told me ~

 "This whirlwind of a life is like hanging on to your ruby slippers through a tornado."

Right now, I am hanging on tight.

And I'm happy to be back.

Healing and hoping.

Until Next Time:

Kim

Gerushia's New World