As Halloween is drawing closer and closer, I am going to start to take some pics of props and things that I've picked up and share them here with you all.
I have recently this year, started to build a Halloween village complete with a train and two ships that I already have. Most of these are from the Bradford Exchange and Hawthorne Village collections but a few are from Dept 56. The problem in combining these two is that the scales are off and not compatible so I am not too sure how I will handle that except to perhaps put the smaller together or towards the back for depth.
I am waiting on the Dracular car and train tracks before I can go over to Home Depot and pick up a piece of plywood so I can start to build it! :)
This is the most recent piece I received, Frankenstein's Castle/Laboratory.
It came in a nice thick styrofoam packaging and they took time to wrap Frankenstein's monster with a bit of softer foam as well. I love these houses as they have such great detailing!
They are a bit pricey however and I won't go too far in a collection/series as I only want to get certain pieces for sure and then will cancel the subscription. You can get them in monthly payments which is really nice and convenient. Just be sure if you do not wish to have your card charged automatically, you CALL Bradford Exchange to place your order and tell them you would prefer to have yourself billed. They may want to charge you at first for a few times but then you can call them and switch it over. I don't prefer to have my card charged willynilly by them as they are want to do with no warning. I prefer to pay on my own.
On this piece, the castle does come with a lightbulb and cord to light the whole thing up. I don't have it put together in these pics so the yellow windows is just looking like that from the flash and they are painted yellow. I was a bit disappointed in that the windows are not real open windows and the chain on the front drawbridge seems like a very fragile fine gold chain instead of a dark black and thicker one that it would be. But eh, not looking for perfection or to be that picky but it's just the little things I wanted to note for you.
I know this will look great once I get it set up on the platform! Once I do, I'll get a better feel as to which pieces I may be keeping or what series I'll continue with and those that I may either move to a separate set up or sell.
Oh and as for the Nightmare Before Christmas? Bradford Exchange started that series over again, brand new and updated it to glow in black light!!! Of course, I had to get that for my daughter who loves Nightmare Before Christmas! :) Our first piece, Jack's house will be the first to arrive in that series!
I just checked online at their site (which is very convenient when wanting to check on your order) and I saw the Dracula car and train tracks won't arrive til September.
Oh and so you have it, here is the number to call The Bradford Exchange as this number is hard to find on their site as they nudge you to email them instead: 1-866-907-3607
They have alot of different themed trains and villages and collectibles. Check them out:
The Bradford Exchange
I saw they have Harry Potter series but I didn't care for how they have the buildings and scenes on pedestals and more like a diorama. It would have been great to have had Hogwarts and other key buildings from the movies and to have created the entire Harry Potter village!
Aye well...one can dream! ;)
Now this is something so interesting to me! The Black Moon! In astrology, we equate that phrase or title to Lilith, the asteroid out there that just tosses a wrench into our lives as found in our natal charts of Astrology. Something I may talk of another time.
But that is not the Dark Moon that I am talking of right now. This is the 2nd New Moon in a calendar month. Just as the 2nd Full Moon in one month is known as a Blue Moon, although I have recently come across something that explains that otherwise being the third full moon in a season.
The 2nd New Moon in a calendar month is known by some as the Black or Dark Moon.
So just what does that mean? Well anytime there is some kind of unusual or rare happenstance in nature, it seems that it is a great opportunity for magicke and energy. The Black Moon is said to hold a great deal of power. It is time to let go of the bad habits, a time for endings and with endings, comes new beginnings. It has felt like 2011 itself has been about that to me.
So June has, that is today, is the day of the Black Moon, stretching into tomorrow, carrying the New Moon straight into July. July, that will have 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays, and 5 Sundays so it will of course have two New Moons, the second one will be on July 30th, extending into the 31st. My birthday and Lughnasadh eve! Very powerful time. Even better, I will be on the beach on those days and I am so looking forward to it!
Is it just me or have you also felt that something big is about to happen? That we are on the edge, the verge of something huge? I don't want to get into all the prophetic things about 2012, but besides all that hoopla, there seems to be something else going on. I am not too sure yet but I can feel it and sense it as of late.
Take this time tho' to really look at your life and see what sort of bad habits you might have, what you would like to discard and take note of what triggers you to it and how you might be able to recognize it when you do start to go down that path and start to try to change that. Leave behind the shell, discard the old and let go of the past. Forgive yourself if need be, forgive others and step forward to the light once more. We all need these times of the year to truly reflect upon ourselves and see what we might like to change, what is possible and what is a work in progress and continue to take those steps forward. Give that gift to yourself.
See yourself as your friends do, be kinder to yourself and take care of you!
Another Summer Solstice has come and gone. Even this whole year, 2011 is already halfway over. Amazing!
First day of summer but we have been feeling the heat here in Texas for a few months already. High humidity and three digit temps. So back inside I go to hibernate til the fall or winter. Or at least try to get most of my gardening done in the early mornings or take my walks at that time.
Alban Hefin, (The Light of Summer or The Light of the Shore) as it is known by the Druids when we have the longest time of light. This was also known as the Festival of Joy. A colorful celebration full of music and dancing around a bonfire!
This day, we had 15 hours and 11 minutes of daylight and more and more cities around the U.S. are having Solstice parties! From the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio to Santa Barbara, California and of course Stonehenge itself in the United Kingdom, more and more are catching on and having a great time to welcome the longest day of the year!
So as the Winter Solstice was a time of mourning the death of the old year and the lowering of the light, the Summer Solstice is when we embrace the light and rejoice in this new year that is upon us.
Ever since June 21st, the Summer Solstice has passed, our days have been slowly getting shorter. This always boggled my mind a bit as I always thought it was the other way around? At least it seemed that way to me as I was growing up.
Seeing more and more people celebrating moments in nature like this, gives heart that we may once again start to revere nature and pay more attention to the natural wonders all around us and less and less on the material and not wallow in the anger and hate around the world.
It does seem like we are always looking for an excuse to party! But coming together and celebrating, sharing of our world and the wonders it holds, sounds like a great idea to me! Sometimes, it feels like we are coming full circle with our society, especially during times like this.
I hope that everyone was able to get out in the sunshine if you can, tilt your face up to the warming rays that glowed from the fiery star in the sky. Breathe in the magicke of the air and set yourself free upon the wind. Alban Hefin is about balance, rejoicing in the sun's light at it's most strongest. Perhaps find that balance within your life and take that time, to wander amongst the trees and be as one amongst nature and the natural world.
Welcome to the magickal world of Under the Crooked Hat!
Dedicated to all things mystical, magickal, and of Halloween!
For those who are more into the paranormal, check out my Ghostly Travels blog where I am talking about all those spooky ghost hunting trips.
And those wanting to quickly back out to the normal realm of sanity, I'll eventually be working on a Travel and Tips blog that will have all those useful ideas for the traveller of the world and life!
I also have been posting on a weight loss blog to keep up my motivation and my own inspiration, so if interested, let me know and I can send you the link for it.
I may touch a bit on both of those other blogs but this will mostly focus more on Halloween props, haunts, Celtic, Druidic and odd bits and pieces of witchly information. Creative ideas from my imagination and the world!
Why "Under the Crooked Hat"? Anything under the hat, in the mind and of course it's all a bit off-center and fun and interesting! ;)
I quickly realized that Halloween is just too big to be lost on the paranormal blog pages. ;) So strap onto your broomstick and away we go!!
Hope you enjoy the ride!!
