And the Award for Best Costume.....

...goes to Cosmo, one of our two Aussies. Sorry, Cosmo, but this is what happens when you don't have little ones to dress up for Halloween anymore, lol....

Happy Halloween!!

It's finally here.....the magickal day when childhood is re-lived - and the day that for many of us inspires a whole year's worth of wicked and whimsical art!

We broke down last night and bought a few extra bags of candy, the theory being that too much is better than too little (although probably not for my already goddess size figure, hehe!) Can't wait to see all the little kiddos out in their costumes tonight....

Yes, I said TONIGHT! For unlike some of the towns around here, and some years in this town, "trick or treat night" is actually on Halloween this year! I'm not sure exactly when it became OK for local government to change an age old tradition for the sake of convenience, but I have to say I think it's pretty bogus. Halloween is Halloween, and it's rightfully celebrated on October 31st. When you change that, you take away some of the magic. So what if the kids are up a little later? So what if homework suffers for one night? So what if the grown-ups have to deal with costumes and pumpkin carving mid-week? It's HALLOWEEN!

OK, stepping down now, hehe....

I'll be spending the day here painting of course - a new cat and mouse treasure box and a bowl or two, to be listed on eBay either today or tomorrow. And I'm seriously considering baking another batch of "puffins" - noooooooo, not the birds - pumpkin muffins! With chocolate chips and almonds. Yum. :)

One little side note before I go - to everyone with an aol address, all the emails I sent to aol yesterday came back. Not sure if it's a glitch with aol, or with my server, but there it is, and I'll try again this afternoon.

Off to the studio now.....Wishing everyone a Happy and *Magickal* Halloween and a Blessed Samhain!

~ Carolee

One More Day!

Well, tomorrow is the big day, and as usual I'm wondering if we have enough candy to last the night?! This is a guessing game I play each year, trying to estimate just the right amount; enough to be generous, but not so much that we have leftovers - (which I may as well apply directly to my hips, hehe!)

As you can see from the photo of our little street, we live downtown, where there are plenty of houses in very close proximity - so we generally count on well over a hundred visitors! John and I will take turns sitting outside, dispensing goodies, and when the evening is over we'll have a late supper and either read, or watch scary movies.

And the following day, it's time to start thinking about NEXT Halloween, teehee!

I've found the best way to combat the post Halloween letdown is to dive right into creating another wicked piece, and there are plenty of sketches still on the drawing board, plenty of scribbled notes, and plenty of ideas spinning around in my head - so stay tuned. :)

Speaking of new pieces, there's one calling my name now, which I hope to list later today; a bit of a departure for me, this one is based on one of my favorite books, Richard Adams' "Watership Down" - but with a celestial, holiday twist..... So with scented candles burning, a little Van Morrison in the CD player, and a cup of my favorite brew (Wild West tea from the Montana Tea and Spice Company this morning) I'm off to face the day.....

Wishing everyone a Happy and CREATIVE day before Halloween!!

Artful Blessings,
~ Carolee

Transitions

This has been a week of changes....comings and goings, old work and new, friendship and loss...even the weather seems to finally be in transition; in short, the natural order of things, moving in cycles like the seasons.....

It's a bit late for autumn weather to arrive, but it's finally here in the form of several days chilly rain, and I'm loving it! We're fortunate to have both a tin roof and a skylight in this old house, so I've been spending my days listening to the constant patter of raindrops. This morning the new Joni Mitchell CD is the player and I'm burning a spicy orange scented candle, drinking my morning tea and getting ready to face the day. It will be a busy one, as I plan to finish a Halloween mailing and work a bit on two custom signs.

I also managed to list the very first "crossover" piece of the season (a winter candle box, shown above), after waiting a very frustrating six hours for eBay to actually bring up the listing. Additional photos and description can be found by clicking on the link to my eBay auctions. :)

The vintage glass glitter I used on this piece is SO fun, and I can't wait to try it out on some holiday ornaments!

Off to face the day now. Wishing everyone a happy and *CREATIVE* weekend!

Artful Blessings,
~ Carolee

Back from the Wilds

Good morning, all!

I've just returned from another weekend with the Cabin Ladies, and am feeling completely refreshed, and ready to dive right back into commission and eBay work. :)

For anyone not familiar, I get together with a group of women friends several times a year and we rent a cabin in a beautiful wooded setting for a long weekend of relaxation - no kids, no husbands, no t.v., no computers or phones, just good friends, good food, good wine, and good conversation; we read, play board games, knit, cook, chat, and take the occasional day trip to nearby points of interest. This is definitely not roughing it though. The cabins are fully furnished, have hot and cold running water, and over the years our supply of provisions has grown to include things like wine glasses, a coffeemaker, a large selection of cookware and utensils, even an extra towel rack. My kinda camping, lol.

I'll be dividing my time this week between commissions, eBay offerings and a last minute Halloween mailing. I'm also hoping to add some bells and whistles to the blog here, and get the ball rolling for a quarterly newsletter.

As usual, I hardly know where to start - more ideas spinning around in my head than time to paint them, and this is the time of year inspiration leans to kitchen and yule witches, Christmas ghosts and faeries, and magickal black cats. I've also just recently purchased some "diamond dust" - gorgeous clear, German glass glitter I can't wait to try on a few holiday pieces. So stay tuned....

In the meantime, it's very nearly HALLOWEEN, and I can't wait!! Pumkins, parties, and parades of trick-or-treaters! Living downtown as we do, there's a pretty constant barrage of costumed children. I bought something like 15 bags of candy last year and had to run out for more - now THAT'S scary, lol!

Okay....off to make a cup of tea and face the day now..... Wishing everyone a happy and *CREATIVE* week!

Artful Blessings,
~ Carolee

Greetings from my new home at blogspot!

I'll still be posting to my eBay and myspace blogs, but am hoping this will evolve into the new and "official" King of Mice Studios website blog. The old version was a nightmare to update, requiring an email to my webperson, and a sometimes lengthy wait before it posted (can you tell I'm technically challenged?!)

At any rate, I'm still finding my way around this, and need to figure out how to post photos and such, but I'm told it's reasonably easy to figure out...Then again, we're talking about totally right brained ME, so we'll see.....

The website is also in the process of being updated, albeit in baby steps as I can afford them. New links were recently added, this blog of course, and the NEXT step will be a gallery update, so stay tuned. :)

And wish me luck!

~ Carolee