October 31, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

It’s The Little Things: Halloween Goody Bags

It’s here! Happy Halloween! Every year I stay up late and make goody bags for the trick-or-treaters. I have done this every year since I have lived on my own. I told you, I like Halloween.

When I first started making the goody bags with my family, we would gather around and make them together. I have such fond memories of this. I thought it was a good time. However, for the last two years, I have been on my own. Nobody wants any part of doing the goody bags with me. Aw, well. I still think it is fun.

This year I made 45 bags. When we first moved to our current home, I made 125. And I almost ran out. But ten years later, the kids in the neighborhood are slowly growing up. I only had 19 trick-or-treaters last year. It was incredibly sad.

I made my goody bags last night. Inside each one was a ghost eraser, a pumpkin crayon ring, a plastic witch finger, a full sized candy bar and a couple of pieces of small candy. Witch fingers crossed we get more trick-or-treaters this year! I bought tons of extra candy just in case.

It’s the little things: Halloween goody bags made with cheer!

What are your plans today? How many trick-or-treaters do you usually get? And what is your favorite Halloween candy this year? Mine is Butterfingers.

October 28, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

Rhode Montijo

As many of you know, I love art. My family and I collect whimsical surreal pieces in our home. One artist I have had the pleasure of meeting is Rhode Montijo. We own four pieces of his fun art. He is the creator of a comic called, “The Halloween Kid.” I believe a special is supposed to be airing soon. He has been hard at work on it. It is based off of the children’s book he wrote (he also wrote “Cloud Boy”). I figured with Halloween here it is a perfect time to showcase his art.

Our first piece by him is my favorite. It looks like two gnomes playing in a tree. But there is a creature shambling towards them. I think it looks kind of like Ollie.

This is such a whimsical little creature. I liked the scale of him on the page. In a few weeks I will be doing a post about how to save money on your framing. I definitely used those tricks for this piece. Isn’t he cute?

I like this collage of creatures. It is interesting. I like to mix pencil drawings in with more colorful pieces. It allows the eye some rest.

A fairy king perhaps? Rhode’s imagination and drawing technique is fantastic.

Here is Rhode Montijo and myself at Comic Con in July. I wish I would have gotten a picture of him with his lovely wife, too.

Rhode Montijo loves Halloween. I remember reading once on his blog that he leaves door hangers he created on homes he feels truly got into the fun spirit of Halloween. He really is a sweet man with an imagination to match his talent. I have met him three times and he is always smiling. We love to have his art in our home.

October 19, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

This Is Halloween

I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. I love Halloween. I love it. The idea of transforming oneself into whatever one wishes. Millions of people playing “dress-up.” It’s exciting. Besides Disneyland, this is the closest thing us adults will ever get to our childhood left behind.

And trick-or-treating! Forget about it! I love it. The idea of knocking on someone’s door and having them not only answer, but give you candy. I mean: If you stop to think about it, it is such a wonderful thing in this world full of mistrust and heartache.

Halloween. It is such a ridiculous holiday. Which is why I love it. I just cannot believe how many people celebrate it and give in to the fun.

Growing up in the country meant never having one trick-or-treater. We would venture five miles down the road to my aunt’s house and trick-or-treat from there. My aunt would give out the most amazing goody bags to each child. This led me to immediately start this tradition from the moment I was on my own. (Post to come about my goody bags this year. Hmmm. Something about that doesn’t quite sound right). It is a thrill to me to get a trick-or-treater. Seriously, a thrill.