Closer and closer...

Is there a chill in the air? Perhaps, but it's more metaphorical then anything as the weather in my neck of the woods is over 100 degrees still. But that isn't stopping Halloween! As has become standard, mid to late July is the time of year when Halloween begins to pop up. So far, Garden Ridge has yielded some fun results. Hallmark also has their stuff out (I, unfortunately, do not have pictures of their stuff).

I don't really frequent Michael's, as I am not a craft guy. I prefer to build as opposed to craft. But as I know their schedule in a way, I have been there at least three times in the past week. The first visit was full of a few fun craft things here and there, but nothing much. The second time was more of the same, but I overheard an employee saying that they needed more help that night putting out the Halloween stuff. Needless to say, I became excited and eager to return.

This was my third visit and as you can clearly see, the third time's the charm!

I want to say that there are probably more things to come (Candles, more crafts, etc), but I think this will be the bulk of it. There are quite a few nice things, especially the wooden signs.

The thing I find most fun this year is the custom carved pumpkins. Giving you a general design, you grab the plastic pumpkin you want and you have them carve a design into it. I'm going to give it a try at least once this season. Hopefully the results are great.

I'll be keeping a look out for more Halloween, as August hits this next week and once Back To School season ends at the end of the month, we will see what Wal-Mart and Target have to offer!

Stay tuned!

100 Days!

Hey everyone!

August is just around the corner and that means the Halloween stuff will come rolling out at a quick pace. Michael's and a few other craft stores are starting to get a few smaller things, so be sure to check those out if you just can't wait.

Over the next few weeks, I have a few activities planned that I think you'll enjoy reading about. Also, Yankee Candle's Halloween preview day is August 3rd from 10-4. I know I'll be there!

So stay tuned everyone, Halloween is coming!

I'm Melting! MELTING!

The greatest thing about July is that Halloween stuff starts to slowing infiltrate the shelves of various craft stores. While Hobby Lobby still sucks and always will, Michael's is a perfect place to find a few odds and ends before the big stuff hits next month.

I am a sucker for crafts. Just little dinky things that put a smile on your face for 30 minutes and then you're bored again. At Michael's, I picked up some crafts I don't think I've done since 3rd Grade. Melty Beads!

There were five different sets; A vampire, Frankenstein's Monster, A black cat, an owl and a jack o'lantern. I picked up all of them, as they were only $1 a piece.

It was a dark and stormy night and I turned little beads into monstrous creatures. Here are my favorites.

There are a lot of beads contained in each pack. Enough to either replace the ones you accidentally drop (It happens too often!) or, in my case, create something completely different!

For the jack o'lantern, I wanted to do my own. A little closer to the ones I like to see and that are in abundance in my residence.

Not perfect, but I ran out of yellow. I still think it looks better than the image provided. But that's just my opinion.

Next is the vampire. Now, I like vampires, but I was feeling really creative after making that jack o'lantern, so I COMPLETELY threw out the design and made my own.

It's a spider! It even has eight legs, a feature I am very proud of. Upon reflection of this, it looks more like a virus from Dr. Mario, but a much cooler looking one. Call it what you will, but it was supposed to be a spider!

Black cats are a staple of everything Halloween, but when I opened up this set and noticed the multitude of black, orange and white beads...a cat would have been a waste!

So I made a bat! This one took a little bit more time to really figure out, but I love it. It's a homage to my plush vampire bat, Vespert.

Uncanny, isn't it?

As a plus, I made a couple extra things.

Halloween Oreos! Nothing screams Halloween like orange and black Oreos.

That wraps up this one, but I plan to make more bead creations, as it was pretty addicting. Go check out your local Michael's to pick some up and join in on the fun!

It's the End of the World as We Know It!

The end of the world is a always a popular subject. After 2012, however, it seems that we are home free, for at least a while. Until that asteroid hits or that supervolcano in Yellowstone takes us all down, we have to turn our attention to the silver screen for all of our apocalyptic needs. There are my favorite films about the End of the World.

1. The Apocalypse Trilogy (The Thing, Prince of Darkness, In the Mouth of Madness)

The Apocalypse is a scary thing, but it will effect us all. The thing that makes John Carpenter's Apocalypse Trilogy so scary is that it the source of the end only effects a certain group. A personal apocalypse, if you will. From aliens to otherworldly forces to powerful fiction, you cannot escape from the evil of these films.

2. The Day The Earth Stood Still

Technically, more of a cautionary tale, The Day The Earth Stood Still is paranoia at it's finest. From the end of WWII in 1945 to the Roswell Incident in 1947, war and the idea of an extraterrestrial invader were very much on the minds of the American public in the 1950's. Playing like an extended episode of Tales of Tomorrow, the story of an martian landing on Earth to warn us that if we continue to be destructive, we will be destroyed.

3. The Last Man on Earth

After the deadly plague that effects mankind, turning them into vampire creatures, one man is saved. Thankfully, that man in played by Vincent Price! Adapted from I Am Legend (Which I tend to enjoy all adaptations of), the movie plays on a one of our most primal fear...being alone. To watch a man delve deeper into isolation is fascinating, yet maddening.

4. The Asteroids of '98 (Armageddon/Deep Impact)

As much as I hate to lump these together, it almost feels wrong not to. Released in 1998, only a few months apart, both films deal with an asteroid hurtling towards Earth and mankind's mission to stop it. While Armageddon focuses more on the science-fiction/action, Deep Impact is the more dramatic film. Also, Armageddon has a happy ending, while Deep Impact shows a more realistic ending. It really all depends upon your tastes.

5. The Dead Saga (Night of the Living Dead, Dawn of the Day, Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, Survival of the Dead)

Credit must be given to this series. Night of the Living Dead, in my opinion and most others, created a genre that still thrives today. The Living Dead films have become cherished by many horror fans over the years as a result of smart writing by Romero and beautiful effects/make-up. If you have ever seen a zombie movie, you have George A. Romero to thank for that.

Hopefully I have covered all the bases. Aliens, vampires, natural disasters, the undead and more. The world might not be ending just yet, but that doesn't mean you can't scare yourself thinking about it!

A Tale of Darkness

The internet is a big place with billions of people using it. The sad thing about that is originality becomes so much more difficult. After watching some Are You Afraid of the Dark?, I got it in my head to do a piece about the ten creepiest characters from the show. I wrote most of the article, then started to search the net for my images. That's when I found this.


The 35 Creepiest ‘Are You Afraid Of The Dark’ Characters

I read through the list on Buzzfeed and thought to myself "There are a lot of characters they missed! I'm just going to write my post anyway."

Then I found this...

The 50 Most Terrifying "Are You Afraid Of The Dark" Characters

In those 15 places, they added every character that was unique to my list.

It makes me rather sad, but those are the breaks of the internet. I'll try again tomorrow.

You win this round Buzzfeed...but I'll be the victor next time!

It Has Begun!

About six months ago, I found out that there was a Garden Ridge that recently opened near me. Now, I have a history with this place. I won't get into that, but needless to say, I know this store pretty well. What I did not know however, was that they start putting out Halloween decorations in July. I patiently waited until July...now here we are...

It's still in the early stages, but seeing Halloween decorations in July is enough to make anyone happy! Enough of my talking, here are some pictures of all the great stuff I found!