New Offerings and Spooky Fun in Orange County, CA

After this little pretty sat in my studio for some months, I decided to change her up. She's a 5x7" Halloween mixed media collage that I created on artist canvas board and then given a nice coating of 100 percent natural beeswax. It smells lovely! That's the beauty of beeswax - you can move things around if you don't like them. She was sitting on a frightened cat, but it just didn't seem to work. So I heated up the wax, pulled off the image, and changed it out for the grinning pumpkin. Wa - la... she has a new look!

If you haven't tried beeswax, you can give it a whirl this Saturday in Walnut Creek, CA, where I'll be teaching the morning session during Mistresses of Macabre Part I - a day of art with two 3-hour workshops, catered lunch, goodie bag and more! Fee is $100 and there's a space or two left. For more details and to register, visit The Art Life or email Daniela Costa, theartlife@yahoo.com.


Teaching Trip Day One - Roger and Over the Moon

This past weekend Colleen Moody and I headed to Gilding the Lily in Fullerton, California, to teach two workshops each over a two-day period. We left plenty of time though to visit some amazing places including Roger's Garden in Costa Del Mar and Paris to the Moon in Costa Mesa.

Oh my goodness!! My heart went pitter pat when we first arrived at Roger's Garden. I love nurseries, since I consider myself a gardener - at least of containers right now. The entrance was beautiful with fall colors and pumpkins every where. Little did I know what delights were inside the many buildings!

Being a lover of everything Halloween, our first stop had to be the Holiday Shop at the Garden. We were told they have the best Christmas displays, but they were still working on them and wouldn't be ready for another two weeks. I did peek in and see all sorts of glittered trees and ornaments. It will be a spectacle when done!


So in we walk to the Holiday Shop, which has been dubbed the basement of Mad Madeline's Manor. The banner above said it all about the look! There were many themed rooms that just took my breath away. They cleverly tucked their products amongst the amazing displays. As they say, pictures are worth a thousand words, so here are just a few of the many I took.


The entrance to the Holiday Shop.


The talking dummy, who informed us that it had "been a long time, been a long time" (in his quirky dummy voice) since he was on stage.



The walls and ceilings were dripping with old, "dusty" chains, cobwebs and everything you might find in an old basement, including furry rats, huge spiders and a mean ol' cat.


Okay, I want to know who had been collecting these wheels? I mean what a grand idea!!



Painting these dolls all white gave them the best ghostly affect. Oh Chucky...where are you?


Bird cages will always seem somehow different after this display. This was a huge cage, about 6 ft tall! How would you like that spider in your house? Or better yet....



this one clinging to your ceiling?? This is a shot looking up. Can you say "Creepy?"



The lighting throughout the display was phenomenal! The mad scientist was still at work!


I have never really like clowns. But after this photo collection, I like them even less! One of those pictured had fangs!! Yikes!

If have a chance to see Roger's Garden, I highly recommend it. Not only did they have a wondrous Halloween extravaganza, they also had a huge selection of seasonal plants, gift items and more! We spent over an hour wandering the property, soaking in all the eye candy, and of course, picking up a purchase or two along the way.


Next on our day of stops was Paris to the Moon. What a delightful little shop, nestled in Costa Mesa.


Although I didn' t get any photos inside, I can tell you that it is full of the neatest kitschy findings, sweet wedding and baby gift items and gift makings, odd doll parts for your Halloween displays, lots of Edward Gorey books (which I wish I would have gotten!!) and a large array of fun art and this and that to make your own. They also have a great selection of FG&Co cards, tags and calendars. It was just too much fun!

When we asked about a suggestion for lunch, without hesitation the shop keeper handed us a menu from Taste Buds. It was bar none the best salad I've ever tasted! Grilled vegetables topped with grilled chicken and a vinagrette that still makes my mouth water when I think of it. We added an order of pomme frites with truffle oil and our morning was perfect!

Stay tuned for photos from my classes on the following days and the wonderful people I met!