Witchy Chapeaus, Sailor Moon Jewels, & Oh Hell, Fall

YOU MADE IT TO FRIDAY, MY FRIEND.

Excellent job, let's celebrate.

 I even found the perfect party hats, handcrafted by EverCrumblyAndWitch. (Say that name out loud for a chuckle).

Behold!

Can confirm, my grabby hands would like to be-holding this. Heeeeeeeyo.

Or this!

These sweet witchy hats are magical, and come in so many gorgeous styles:

The mushrooms! Eee! Give Ever Crumbly a follow on Instagram to see more, or head to their website to shop.

*****

Speaking of magic, watch THIS:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by OLGA | BROOCHES HANDMADE 💎 (@v.olga_arts)

OooOOOooooh.

Olga makes mostly Sailor Moon designs, but she also mixes in a little Harry Potter and even Star Wars with her beaded brooches:

It's Gettin' Hoth In Here: Snow Dragon Scarves, Magical Cat Trees, & Small World Christmases

I know we can't complain about Christmas decorations being up too early anymore, but I think you'll still appreciate this photo from one of my Halloween groups:

(Rosanne L. in Halloween Decorations)

We feel ya, Skelly. It's... it's a lot.

:D

*****

In fact let's take a little break from Christmas, and instead gaze in wonder at these incredible Labyrinth candlesticks:

(by Clare H. in Jim Henson's Creature Shop)

Clare hand sculpted the riddling door guards out of air dry clay, then added them to existing candlesticks. I can't get over how perfect they look, especially with the matching candles!

*****

Ohhh, and I know you're going to love these scarves I found. First we have a cuddly neck dragon:

Felted Snow Dragon Scarf by Peacock Felt

Or, if you prefer to make your own neck wear, Bea of Cottontail Whiskers is selling patterns for this adorable barn owl:

::immediately cranks "As The World Falls Down"::

 I thought the Labyrinth vibes were accidental until I scrolled through Bea's shop; she also has patterns for both a Firey & Ludo! Then there are lots of hilarious and/or geeky gems like these:

Alien curtain tie-backs!

I know I said no more Christmas, but this tree is cracking. me. UP:

IT ME

Check out Bea's website for all her patterns.

Oh no, the urge to learn crochet is growing. Halp. Or maybe recommend a good kit? No. Yes. NO.

DEFINITELY NOT.

Or yes.

****

I maintain that you can EASILY work in at least one Jim Carrey Grinch quote per day. The amount of use John and I get out of "It's joyful and triumphant" and "But what would I WEAR?!" is worth the price of admission alone. We also enjoy telling the cats - just before wrestling their mouths open to brush their teeth - that, "this is NOT pudding." Then we laugh like loons while they plot our demise. Good times.

Anywho, let's carry on.

****

Getting back to our snowy winter theme, take a look at Erica Danielle's gorgeous shabby chic Star Wars Hoth wall:

A Hufflepuff Wedding, Tangled Lady Knight, & The Labyrinth Family Cosplay To End All Family Cosplays

Happy Friday, my pumpkin-spiced pretties! It's a gray, rainy day here in Orlando, which I love, but the rain also knocked out our power, which I don't. John and I just spent 10 minutes driving around a Wal-Mart parking lot, trying to get close enough to mooch some wi-fi, hah. (John IS inside buying groceries, so I feel less mooch-ish. [Moochy? Mooch-inary?])

Not that I'm complaining; I have the pitter-patter of rain on the car roof, cold a/c on my face, and a post full of nerdy loveliness to share.

So let's do this.

First up, event planner Hannah Hester teamed up with photographer Christine White to create the most STUNNING Hufflepuff wedding shoot:

This is gasp-worthy gorgeousness. And look at the wands!

You know I'm not subtle with my fandoms, but when it comes to weddings I can appreciate a little restraint. You definitely have to look twice to catch all the Hufflepuff-y touches in this shoot, but that adds an extra thrill of discovery, right?

Swooning over the vintage mix of golds and soft yellows.

So perfect!

They included touches of honey: a honey cocktail and honeycomb design on the wedding cake:

Yip Yip Stockings, A Kitchen Kabaret Throwback, & The Labyrinth Chess Set You Must See!

I noticed several of my favorite things online lately have been Jim Henson related, so today we are embracing the theme.

Starting with these oh-so-fantastic Yip-Yip Christmas stockings by Carissa Browning:

And Carissa has the free crochet pattern on Ravelry!

Of course these don't have to be Christmas stockings; I bet they'd also be perfect for holding plastic bags in the kitchen, or umbrellas, or hair ties, or maybe even - gaspity gasp - cats??

John! I have a new pet bed idea!

If you visit that link on Ravelry you'll find lots of pictures from folks who've made these. Look at this fabulous rainbow row:

::flailing:: Y'all, the last (and only) time I tried crochet I set out to make a scarf and ended up with a bag, but these make me want to try again.

Also did you know the Yip Yips are actually saying "Yep"?

John and I are re-watching Brooklyn 99 right now and I'm getting some serious Jake Peralta energy here.

Yep yep yep, no doubt no doubt no doubt.

*****

Hang on, I have more!

Autumn Jesme shared some baby pics for her little Oskar and they are ADORABLE:

Happy Things Round Up: A Labyrinth Basement, The Child Minnie, & An Alpaca Eating A Banana

As I write this there is an emotional tidal wave hitting my social media feeds, y'all. I'm seeing mostly relief, since we're all ready for this election fight to be over, but whatever you're feeling, remember to take care of yourself, k? These next weeks and months are still going to be tough here in the U.S., and probably just as shout-y. Let's try to be gracious and loving in both victory *and* defeat, because others are watching, and forming life-long opinions based on our example. 

::flops down::

But first, help yourself to a drink/snack/pet cuddle, and come look at this cool stuff I found! You've earned it.  

Let's start with a good belly laugh courtesy of Amber over at EatDrinkCat:

Yep, she dressed as Bob Ross for Halloween.

And that is NOT a happy little tree. 

:D

*****

Over in Weird Secondhand Finds, Alice turned this vintage kitchen set...

... into "the rainbow mid-century canister set of my dreams... on a budget!"

Eeeeeee! SWOON. ING. Those colors are so dreamy.

Check out her original post for more details on how Alice did it.

Also in Second-Hand Finds, Tori shared this picture to show off her chair and side table, but I can't stop staring at this wall:

Catbusters, Cake Fascinators, & Jareth Drives Us Crazy

Hey. 

You know what we need right now? 

We need Yzma and Kronk sitting in their roller coaster car, where Yzma's lookin' all 2020 grumpy and Kronk's still blissfully 2019.

OH LOOK:

The Emperor's New Groove Sketchbook Ornament from Shop Disney

I don't collect character Christmas ornaments - in fact, I don't think I've ever bought one? - but this may be the exception.  I wouldn't hang it on a tree, of course; I'd have to build a little roller coaster track for it, maybe have it wind around the wall? :D


*****

Mary Jane McGuire combined two of my favorite things: Ghostbusters and cats:

MASS HYSTERIA.

I love the "slime," and how concerned "Ray" is for "Venkman" after.

Hee!

*****

Someone in my Labyrinth fan club just got this sunshade, and I'm preeeetty sure you need to see it:

For me it's the photoshopped steering wheel that really makes it. And you KNOW there's a song parody coming now, right?

Ahem hem hem.

♪ How you turn my world 
you precious thing ♬

I MOVE THIS CAR FOR NO ONE

::bowing::

Thank you, thank you very much.


Someone else in the group posted this link to purchase the shade, but I can't vouch for that website, so shop carefully, k?

*****

My Modern Met is a great page to follow for all things beautiful: art, nature, photography, etc. This next gem isn't geeky per se, but it's gorgeous and inspiring:

A Rainbow Plague Doctor Mask, Miniature Muppets, & The Cutest Mermaid Camper

How've you been this week? 

Do you identify more with this green pepper Isabella discovered?

 

 Big 2020 Mood.

Or would you say you're more like Andrea W. and feeling a little...

... Goofy?

:D

Seriously, though, we need more Disneybounding and closet 'bounding with masks. Anything to make them more fun, to bring a little nerdy whimsy when you're out and about.

John's favorite mask has rainbow cats all over it, and he reports that it gets so many smiles, he never wants to wear a "boring" mask again.

So hey, John, have you seen Kirsten's mask?

Bahahaa! Omigosh, I LOVE IT. That quilting is amazing, Kirsten.

As always I have so many saved goodies from the Fans of Epbot group on Facebook - you guys brighten up my feed every day - so let's see how many more things I can cram into one post. 

There's a gift exchange on FOE called QUACK where members make & send each other nifty nerdy things, then share pics with the group. I keep forgetting what "QUACK" stands for, even though we've had 9(!!) rounds so far, but here's one of my favorite creations from last May:

Sherry G. made this miniature Muppet Show stage shadow box - complete with needle felted Muppets!! - for Nicole C., and there was MUCH rejoicing. And Kermit-flailing.

A closer look:

FINAL REVEAL: Our Labyrinth Christmas Party Video!

For those who aren't sick of hearing about it yet, good news! I finally have all our photos and videos together to show you EVERYTHING John and I made for our big Labyrinth Christmas party earlier this month.

And for those who ARE sick of hearing about it: good news! This should be my final Labyrinth party post. 

So come on in!

 

And here's our big video tour:

One thing NOT included there is the food, and I think you'll appreciate our oh-so-punny menu:

 

 (We originally planned to serve "Jareth's (Meat)Balls in Junk Lady's Chunky Gravy," but our friends Thom & Jess brought Ludo's Tasty Rock Friends instead, which were indeed tasty, and also more family-friendly, ha.)

 Our bog punch was delicious, if I do say so myself:

 

We made it with ginger ale, frozen OJ concentrate, a little Blue Curacao, and floating lime sherbet. Then for an extra brackish color we added a drop of red food coloring.

Here comes my favorite punny creation:

 

Those are dates stuffed with goat cheese and almonds, and let me tell you, gang, they were DELISH. Considering we made them purely for the pun, I was delighted by how quickly they disappeared.

And finally, the star of the table:

These stunning peach cookies tasted as good as they looked! Our friends Kevin and Katie made them using this tutorial, then hollowed out each half slightly so they could fit more peach jam.

Now let me throw some pretty detail shots at you from around the house. Starting with the Bubble Ballroom Photo Opp:

I've Brought You... A GIFT: All Our Guests' Labyrinth Christmas Costumes!

John and I are working hard to get the final party video ready for you guys, but I at least have fun costumes to show you! One of the best parts of throwing elaborately themed parties is seeing what our friends wear, since most of them keep their costumes secret 'til they walk through the door. This year's theme was especially tricky to dress for, so I think you're going to love how creative they got!

Let's start with the glory that is John as Sir Didymus:

NONE SHALL PASS.

(Now I want to see a Didymus/Black Knight mashup from Monty Python, ha.)

Here's a look at the real Didymus for reference:

John's jingle bell socks really tied the ensemble together. :D He made the tunic shirt with sleeves himself, and the hat, and even made his own resin buttons when the ones at the craft store were too expensive. His gloves are from Amazon, along with the facial hair & eye patch, and he already owned the rest.

My turn!

 John made my sleeveless long vest/cape, and then I stapled strips of tulle all over it to look slightly feathery and shredded.

Sorry for the blur on this next one, but I look better blurry anyway. :p

I'm wearing a shorter flared skirt underneath, but I like it better with the cape/vest closed in front.

Now let's get to our friends.

Christie's costume (which is actually her wedding dress!) looked like it was MADE for our Ballroom photo opp:

 I checked, and there IS a dancer wearing a unicorn horn in the ballroom scene. I had no idea!

And then... John:

LOL

I don't know what's happening here, I just take the pictures.

Karen was also masquerade ready - though I forgot to take a picture of her in the matching mask:

 

 She made this herself out of two or three thrifted dresses, and the white train is from a wedding gown!

Rest assured, not everyone came in formal wear:

 

 It's Toby and one of his kidnapping goblins!  This was Stephanie's first time working with EVA foam, and she made her helmet and shoulder pauldron herself. She also had painted-on tusks and a goblin nose, which were adorable:

 

Also in painted-on tusks: Kari, 'bounding as Ludo:

I don't have my own photo of Kari (whoops), but here's her selfie in a fluffy orange cardigan, curly horns, and a giant necklace ring for the time Ludo put the knocker ring in his mouth. Brilliant and so' cute!

Then the winners of Largest And Most Impractical Costumes are...

 

Thom and Jess! They dressed as Henson puppeteers behind their False Alarms:

Behind The Balls: Our Labyrinth Christmas Party Progress Update, Part 2!

Our most studious stalkers already know this - or anyone who happens to be Facebook friends with one of our guests - but the big Labyrinth Christmas party all went down Saturday night.

And it was GLORIOUS.

You'll have to be patient with me, though, because as much work as the party was - and WOW was it a lot of work - it's another long haul to document it all to show you guys!

So while I gather and edit and fuss with getting all the glamour shots just right, here comes the second half of our build photos. This way you'll know how we did everything you're about to see in the Big Reveal posts later!

Starting with the surprise crowd favorite of the night, our Bog of Eternal Stench Bathroom.

That's more carved pink foam to make the door plaque. John used the Dremel with a pumpkin carving bit to carve the words, but a soldering iron can also work! (Just watch out for the fumes, they're toxic.)

The foam is so light we were able to stick it to the door with poster tack.

John went Hog(gle) wild with the Bog, so our guests got to experience a full canopy of mossy branches overhead, stones underfoot, and a sound track of non-stop farting and Ludo complaining about the smell. Even the most stoic personality was reduced to helpless giggles after just 10 seconds in there.

I realize this looks terrifying, but that's only because it is.
 (Here's the shower curtain we used. It's the perfect boggy backdrop - there's even a rope bridge!) 

 John built a contraption in the bathtub - essentially a giant T bar of plywood - that holds all the dead branches overhead. Our tree in the backyard is an endless supply of dead branches, so this was a cheap project.


BEHOLD OUR PROFESSIONAL SETUP. Ha! The painter's pole in the corner is holding up a green flickering spotlight, which looks suuuuper cool through the canopy.

John collected the Spanish moss himself from a nearby parking lot, grabbing whole bags of it to disinfect and dry in the front yard. (Gotta keep those neighbors guessing!)

He also bought this rocky contact paper to cover the entire floor: