kattitudes

How many times at the end of a holiday season do you wish that you had a cutesy holiday piece of jewelry that you could have been wearing, but dang it, you just will not pay the premium prices that are being asked right in the middle of the season?

Now is the time to be checking out your jewelry supply shops for the sale on Halloween beads, charms and supplies. This would be a great time to start putting together Halloween gifts for next year (or frankly, this year). I am thinking about gifting some season specific jewelry this holiday season. Yes, it will be out of season at Christmas, but the truth of the matter is - those little collections are expensive! No one wants to put the nice ones together themselves because they are so damned expensive. So if you find them cut price, it is a nice gift, even if you give it at Christmas, knowing she cannot wear it until October of next year.

At least that is the way I look at it. I have a holiday specific bracelet for each holiday, but I just roll that way. As we all know, I am a jewelry goon. I wear it all. Ranging in price from “oh my god” to “eww, my god” and all at the same time too. I love it.

I swear, when I am at my bench working on my jewelry pieces, I look like both Tiffany and Walmart barfed on me at the same time. Well, in my own defense, I have to wear things for a while to see how they stand up and make sure there are no errors. But still, I’m just saying.

So the main point of this story is that Halloween jewelry is going on sale, and if you made it through yet another season looking at some of the cute charms and such out there with the crazy price tags on them… this is the time to start looking for sales. Just remember.

Starting today, you will find a very handy page over there on the right hand side of the blog (it is listed under the pages). I have created a page that lists pretty quick and dirty some of my favorite shopping places online.

It is a first draft, so not all my bookmarks are up there by any means. However, some of the multitudinous places I wander online are up there so that you too can wander in and find some of the remarkable bargains I’m finding.

If you have places that you love, please - by all that is holy - let me know. I am always looking for a new place to shop. Send me a note, leave a comment, and I would love to check it out. I live to comparison shop (must. comparison. shop. It is in my blood).

Keep in mind, these are not places to purchase finished products. These are stores for you to purchase supplies for you to make your own gifts and wonders. This is for you to get your own crafty on.

Last night was a roaring success. Everyone should have a Halloween crazy dinner.

On to the matter of no costume, no candy.

I swear by all that is holy, the universe heard my frustration. No lie, we had three groups of kids last night.

One hoard first. Every single one in costume. Even the old ones.

The next, older-ish, but both in costume, and accompanied by parent.

And the last, quite young, but in costume, and accompanied by parent.

You could have knocked me over with a feather.

I swear, every time I put my foot down and make an awful proclamation that I am not going to take it anymore, the universe hears, acknowledges, and rearranges things so that I am left either thinking that I am crazy, made things up, or was imagining things.

So I thank each and every single one of you blessed angels that commented and particularly the shy ones that emailed me to tell me about all the manner-challenged terrorists that came pounding on your doors each Halloween to demand their free candy. It let me know I wasn’t imagining this, and that I certainly wasn’t alone.

Could it be that ranting about it somehow broke the curse? Oh hush. I’m southern. Talking about breaking a curse simply means that you jinx it. Hush hush.

And I am laughing my not petite little tush off at my husband. I have said before I’m off chocolate here (migraine sufferer). No chocolate in the world is worth the headache pain anymore, so I just won’t eat it.

Apparently, he was expecting an incoming Mongolian army, so purchased Halloween candy according. We now have enough chocolate stocked up in this house to last through Y3K.

It appears, for budgeting sake, I’ll be baking with chocolate a lot this Christmas season.

Fantabulous. This bracelet uses one of my favorite tricks for fancy. Look carefully at the photo. There are three strands of citrine chips and carnelian nuggets that funnel down to a single strand of sterling silver beads.

How do you do it?

After threading each individual strand of citrine and carnelian on beadalon, each strand is then threaded through a single sterling silver bead (with a larger enough diameter hole to accommodate the three strands. Surprisingly, this will not need to be very large at all).

More of the silver beads were added to continue the length of the bracelet, then crimp beads were added at the end of the bracelet with a two fold purpose: 1) to attach the bracelet to a jump ring (which attaches to the toggle clasp), and 2) to anchor those strands together and anchor them well.

And again, we have the issue of “is a toggle clasp safe to use on a bracelet”. Jewelers try to avoid toggle clasps on any piece that is too light to keep the toggle clasp closed.

However, the weight of this particular piece is definitely heavy enough to pull against the toggle clasp, keeping the pieces taut and ensuring that the bracelet will indeed stay on the wrist.

What a gorgeous gift this would make, don’t you agree?

And with these, we say goodbye to the little felt Halloween ornament fest and the plethora of Halloween embroidery orgy we have had with the embroidery and the felt and the pillows and the Halloween.

Tomorrow, we start with Thanksgiving and Christmas combined.

You think I am joking.

Another last entry into the embroidered Halloween category, but instead of a pillow, we are looking at precious little ornaments for your Halloween tree. Or, if you would rather, you could quickly make a few of these and hand them out to some special trick or treaters in place of all the sugar that we always push out the door.

These wouldn’t take a long time to make. They aren’t complex and if you have the felt in the house, you could whip a few out in no time at all.

A couple last minute entries into the Halloween house decoration pool. If you don’t have time for it this year, keep the idea and make them in your spare time for next year. They are certainly cute enough to qualify.

And no worries. Come November first, the ideas start for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

How’s this for a great Halloween greeting? Bats flooding out ready to say hello.

bat photos via Tolka Rover, flickr.