AND THE WINNER IS .......

Happy Halloween ..... wishing you a Bootifly, Spooktacular Day (and night !!!)
My kitchen is busy .... busy ..... busy today !!!!
Spooktacular Sugar Cookies ..... Puking Pumpkin ..... Cockroach Crunch Cake ...... All in preparation of tonight's festivities !!!!

Well, it's time to announce the winner of my Witches Tea Party 2015, party favor giveaway !!!!
And the lucky person is .....

Magaly Guerrero

Congratulations Magaly. Please could you email (kerry_james@verizon.net) me with your postal address, and your favorite candy treat, so that I can pop your goodies in the mail.

Thank you all so much for visiting my Witches Tea Party. As a first timer, I was a little nervous, but y'all were so sweet and welcoming. I LOVED reading all of your comments - they were very appreciated !!!!

Time to head back to the kitchen ..... my cauldron is bubbling ... time to cook up some more wicked treats !!!!

WITCHES TEA PARTY 2015 ....

This popped through the mail box a few weeks ago .....

Such anticipation and excitement for what is sure to be "The Event " of this magical time of year.
The Zombie Patch ....... no better place to host such a party !!!!

Our hostesses for this most spooky event - Ermaline and Amelia, the two trendy witches, who live in a little rickety house, deep in Boggy Hollow. Gracious hostesses they're sure to be.

The table is set and the sun shines bright - there's a gentle breeze blowing in the trees ....

Welcome to The Zombie Patch ....
Please sign The Visitors Book upon your arrival ....

Then make your way down the curved path, where the witchy duo are waiting to welcome you .....
The guest list is impressive - the perfect day to catch up with longtime friends ....

 Maggie  - the sweetest little zombie girl ....

Oh look, there's The Old Woman Who Lived In The Shoe, Mathilde, and Peggy Sue (dressed in her party tutu) ....

Eye-ara, and Zombilena have come too .....

Jack SkellingZombie !!! So glad you could join us ....

Mr SkellyBones - love your party hat ....

So much chitter chatter, and so many treats ....

Cookies with a cup of Witches Brew ....

 Chocolates and Cupcakes ....

The guests had plenty to eat ....

They laughed and they giggled ....
 The dapper Mr Skellington even danced with Peggy Sue ....

The party continued as the sun began to set ....

As darkness crept in, candles were lit, and party lights were turned on,
and the party continued into the night, until the last sweet zombie guest was gone !!!

No party is ever complete without a party favor - so I've decided that a giveaway, would be the perfect Witches Tea Party Favor (a red and white polka dot lined zombie tote, and a witchy candy jar, filled with your favorite Halloween candy treat) ......
If you'd like to be entered into my giveaway, please let me know in the comments section.
Please leave a blog address or email address in your comment, so I have a way of contacting you, if you're the winner.
Tell me what your favorite candy treat is, so I can be sure to fill the little Halloween Candy Jar with some candy love :-)
I will draw a winner on Halloween (next Saturday, October 31st)

A huge Thank You to Vanessa, for hosting an amazing Witches Tea Party. For so many years I've watched from the sidelines as she's hosted one each year, wishing that I'd signed up to take part. This year I decided I would take the leap, and join in ..... I am SO glad I did !!!!

All of my zombie dolls are dolls I've either created myself, or are dolls that I've been gifted in an annual zombie doll swap group, that I've been part of for the past 5 or 6 years. They are creative treasures to me, and make an appearance on my mantel each Halloween.

Thank you for visiting my Witches Tea Party - now hop on your brooms and fly on over and enjoy some witches brew with the other witches at their parties .....

STATE FAIR OF TEXAS 2015 ....

The dust has settled ...... many thousands of people visited ..... and for 3 weeks Fair Park was a hub of activity !!!
I always love Fair time...
 At entry drop off time - the fair grounds are a hive of activity. Stands and stalls being made ready ..... the excitement and anticipation is palpable !!!.
During the fair - the atmosphere, the sounds, the smells ....... it's "fair" to say that I'm a Fair junkie !!!!
At winners pick up time - the post Fair tear down is going on, and it feels like it's all being put to bed until next year.

Today, we collected my entries and ribbons, so I thought I'd share my entries with y'all ....

My elephant amigurumi won a first place ribbon in the Crocheted Toy Category. Here he is on display during the Fair.

My crocheted Wildflower Bag. This bag was a 3 part CAL that happened, back in the Spring. It was a great pattern to crochet :-) I made it using I Love This Cotton yarn, from Hobby Lobby ....... it is such a silky, soft yarn for a cotton - definately my new favorite cotton yarn. I lined it with duck cloth, to give it body, and I lined the strap too, to avoid any stretching. To save wear and tear on the base of the bag, I used 4 bag feet ...... they work a charm.
I won an Honorable Mention Ribbon for this, in the  Other Crocheted Items Category.

I love everything about this tote ..... all of the details, as well as the fabric, but, it was not a fun project to make !!!! Truth be told, I'm not even sure why I felt that way. Maybe, it just felt SO bulky at times when I was trying to sew it.
I won another Honorable Mention Ribbon, in the Machine Sewing - Tote Bag Category.

Lastly, this cute little outfit. I always enter a child's apparel item, and I make it to fit my niece. She has a January birthday, so it usually becomes her birthday present :-) I'm going to send it to her ... she LOVES dresses though, and seldom wears pants, but hopefully she'll get some use out of it.  I had to dye the anglaise that I used around the hemline of the pants, because I couldn't find anything else that I liked, and that matched - it turned out really well - Ritz Fabric Dyes are the best (and no, I wasn't paid to say that :-)
I won an Honorable Mention Ribbon, in the Machine Sewing - Child's Apparel Category.

All in all, it was another great year for the Fair !!!
I'm toying with the idea of entering completely new categories next year ..... we'll see though, I have some time now, before State Fair Of Texas 2016 !!!!
So until next time, I'll leave y'all with a picture of the man himself ...... Big Tex !!!!

A GIRL WITH GREAT TALENT ......

They're creepy, little brain eaters BUT they can be useful too !!!!
I wanted to send a little "Thank You" gift to my special friend Val. She's the Queen of Halloween, and does such an outstanding job of hosting our annual zombie doll swap, that our group of swappers has come to love !!! We look forward to it every October :-) I wanted her to know just how appreciated she is, by us !!!

I wanted to give her something useful, but still in keeping with our theme ....

I decided that a needle book might fit the bill. I appliqued a little Prim zombie onto the cover :-)

I love including a little poem with my zombie dolls .... I'm no poet, but I like it as a way to tell the little zombie's story. Little Miss Zoe Zombie is an accomplished seamstress ...... with a dark side !!!!

This is the card I made her, to go along with the gift. It was made by layering a variety of ink colors over a stencil ..... I really do love the effect it gives. The results you can get are so varied depending on how much of each color you sponge over each area.

Now, I know I promised to show you the WONDERFUL zombie doll that I got from Debbie ...... then I promptly forgot to do it !!! She is so super awesome - I LOVE her !!!

Her tutu is fantastic ..... it so appeals to the girl girl in me ...and those dainty, little feet, with their purple bows :-) I love her from the tip of her tufty hair to the tip of her dainty toes, and her stumpy arm in between :-)

This was one of my tuck ins ...... A Jack Skellington Clock ..... perfection !!!
Debbie, you outdid yourself .... you are one amazingly talented doll maker ... thank you SO much !!!!

HALLOWEEN COOKIES .....

If you've read my blog for a while, you know just how much of a sucker I am for decorated sugar cookies ..... LOVE them !!!!

It's time for ghosties and ghoulies to come out and play ........

Here's a peek at this years Halloween cookies ..... So cute, if I say so myself :-)

Mr Skellybones ....... Keeper of the Cookies !!!

They were a ton of fun to make ..... I really don't think that I can pick a favorite this time.
Frankie makes me smile ..... Mr Skellybones is oh so cute ..... Happy little bats .... Smiling Jack O Lanterns .... ghosties and tombstones !!!!

And just because I had an extra skull cookie, and zombies are a particular Halloween favorite of mine (as you can see from my previous post), I created a zombie cookie ........ Yum, just delicious !!!!