Happy Halloween!

Amy Knutkowski has done it again, another fabulous digital masterpiece. Today was a late day at Piddlestixs, spent eating candy and giving it all away. As I sat back tonight and reflected on the Halloween Season, I came away with magic, 2 full weeks of it. A Witches Tea Party, Ghost Walk, Seance, Halloween Decor, Folklore and a Special Birthday Greeting to my Grandmother who was born on Halloween, who makes this day that more special.

I walked toward each area of my store and turned off the lights, which glow so magically every evening. To me it doesn't have to be Halloween time in order to decorate and feel magic around you and inside you, it can be kept all your long. In a few weeks, I will be celebrating the release of the latest Harry Potter Movie with a night workshop and a trip to see it.

Tonight I turned on the computer and was greeted with a fabulous piece of digital magic from the amazing Amy Knutkowski, who used one of my images: Betty Grable Halloween as an element in the piece. Click here to visit Amy's flickr site!
Amy's Blog: www.wallflowerimages.blogspot.com

Here is the Betty Grable Halloween Image:


Here is the digial masterpiece that Amy created with it:


All my collage cd's are available in my Etsy Store, Website, and inside Piddlestixs. For free images to use in your works, please visit my flickr site.

Have a magic filled night!
xoxo
Lisa!

Handmade Pink Glass Glitter



For a few years I have been making my own crushed glass glitter using broken bottles, colorants and a crusher or tumbler.

For the Candyland Putz House Workshop and Event, I have made up several batches of glitter in sweet candy colors such as cotton candy pink, rosy lampshade, sugar plum, aqua bliss, Miss Blueberry, Divine Lemonade and more. Workshop attendees will get to use the glitters in their project and take some home.


I will have the glitter available next week, for sale in my etsy store and at my shoppe: Piddlestixs.

Have a glitter filled Weekend!
xoxo
Lisa!

Winter Candyland Workshop and Event

Winter Candyland Workshop Event

What: A Winter Candyland Show andWorkshop Event
Hosts: Piddlestixs and Bell Barter Theater Presents
When: Saturday December 11, 2010
Time: 11am-6pm
Limited to: 10 students only!
Price: $95 (this included everything, no kit fee)

Every year I do a different themed early winter event. This year's theme is Candyland and its many stages of characters, vintage putz houses and seer sucker bliss. I have combined all the fees into one price so no kit fee! Hooray!

The added bonus: Students will become apart of the Winter Candyland Vignette at a 200 year old Cathedral transformed into a Whimsical theater for the past 10 years known as: The Bell and Barter Theater.

Students are encouraged to dress up in fun and whimsical clothing, and are welcome to borrow some costume and accessories to wear for the day. We will create vintage inspired Putz houses decorated with faux candies, seer sucker stripes and placed onto paper mache boxes. Our class setting will be one of the vignettes in the show, where passerby's attending the main event will watch us create and play within our own storybook world.

Workshop Highlights:
-Create inside a real theater
-Be a real live vignette inside a day event, smile for the camera!
-Wear costumes and play
-Some enchanted treats and sweets
-Light lunch
-Coffee/Tea/Soda (Candy land brew)
-Vintage Inspired Putz House Box Project
-theater Music
-Giveaways
-Sponsored Goodie Bags and Candy
-And more....

Seats limited to 10 people only

No refunds!

Price:$95.00
Click Here to register

The Witches of Lafayette! Double, Double Toil and Trouble

I added some magic to some of the photos from The Witches Tea Party and Ghost Walk Event I hosted at Piddlestixs on October 16, 2010, in Historic Lafayette, NJ.

I added some pizazz in Corel Paint Shop Pro using some filters, distress tools, lettering, plug-ins and borders!

Here are some highlights of these enhanced photos:



Here I am in my own Witches Hat, I choose Pink and I'm wearing Mo's Velvety cloak, I truly felt magical. To set the mood of the event, I tried to play all the magical tunes I could find, a few of songs on the playlist were from Harry Potter, such as Double Double Toil and Trouble, which comes from Macbeth.

Below is a caption from Macbeth, its interpretation and the lyrics from Harry Potter....P.S. I have this as a ring tone on my cell phone!

"Double, double toil and trouble
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble."

-Macbeth Act 4, scene 1, 10–11, etc.

Three Scottish witches are going about their business—tossing poisoned entrails, eye of newt, toe of frog, and such, into a cauldron—while awaiting a visit from the man they said would be king: Macbeth. "Double, double toil and trouble" is part of the refrain to their demonic incantation, an inspiring little number in tetrameter (four accents per line). The collective memory has clouded somewhat; often, this refrain comes to mind in the jumbled form "Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble," which makes even less sense than the original. The witches are actually trying, with their spells, to pile up toil and trouble until they "double"—yielding twice the toil and double the trouble for Macbeth, presumably.

Here are the lyrics as they were played in Harry Potter:
Double, double, toil and trouble.
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Double, double, toil and trouble.
Something wicked this way comes!

Eye of newt and toe of frog,
wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
lizard's leg and owlet's wing.

Double, double, toil and trouble.
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Double, double, toil and trouble.
Something wicked this way comes!

In the cauldron boil and bake,
fillet of a fenny snake,
scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
witches mummy, maw and gulf.

Double, double, toil and trouble.
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Double, double, toil and trouble.
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Double, double, toil and trouble.
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Something wicked this way comes!

Have a magical night!
xo
Lisa!

Witches Tea Party and Spellbinding Ghost Walk!
Here are some of the witches at the 200 year old covered bridge

On Saturday October 16, 2010, I hosted the Witches Tea Party at my store Piddlestixs in Historic Lafayette, NJ, from 12pm-10pm

Witches Flew on their brooms (cars) from all over NJ to take part in the festivities. What's a witch to do without her hat, broom, lantern and brew? I was so excited to see many friends and meet new ones. Geralyn and Zandra drove in from the Jersey Shore and Theresa came down from Mahwah, while the other ladies came in from Succasunna, Stillwater, Warwick, Newton, Branchville, Parsippany and Allamuchy!

Several Witches and Wizards were on hand to create new hats to wear this Halloween, sharing eerie tales and spellbinding techniques, munching on spooky delights and geared up for some bone shivering frights........


I had been preparing for weeks for this event, getting Witch hats to decorate, ribbons, trims, millinery and other spook-tacular goodies. The studio had to be transformed, the food prepared the lanterns set, the ghost walk organized, the moonlight tea ready and the surprises in store.

Our day started with a light lunch of tea sandwiches, Parmesan and Artichoke Chicken Salad, Croissants, Spinach Spread and Wine Crackers, Hummus, Fruit Salad and Harvest Autumn Punch. Lunch was followed by the creation of our Witches Hats made using a witch hat base, vintage fabrics, tulle, feather boa's, ribbons, millinery, images, jewels, stitching and glue. We used primarily fabri-tac by Beacon Adhesives and hot glue for this gluing. During this time additional friends and curious seekers popped in for a peek, along with Mark Lipinski who came on by for a visit.

After our witches were complete we started our shopping parade to the businesses and covered bridge. We stopped first at Karen and Don's Shops at the Mill Bogwater Jims and The Boat House!
My dear friend Joyce, owner of Rose Petal Porch handed out surprise goodie bags to the attendees. After Joyce's we headed over to Black Pony Antiques, The Chocolate Goat at the Mill Antiques at Joe and Sharon's spot.
Once dinner was over, attendees received their Pink Jack-O-Lanterns filled with goodies from: Beacon Adhesives, DMC, Rat's Pajamas, Aurora-tique, Piddlestixs, Tila's and Suburban Girl Studios.
With tea lights in place (battery of course), it was time for the ghost walk and evening tea. We descended down the stairs and walked over to Miss June's location over the Lafayette Emporium, in a 150 plus year old structure which is allegedly haunted.
During June's talk one of our attendees felt the ghost nearby and needed to sit, now that was scary, Then as we all left, June handed each of us some goodies, just as we left the structure, we were greeted by David Messineo, creator of the Six Centuries Club, David appeared in 17th Century Costume and led us to his home for the ghostly tales session. His home is a turn of the century farm house which was often used for gatherings and church meetings during that time, it was here that David spoke of eerie tales of witches and ghostly folk lore in a candle light setting w/hot tea and sweets.
After wards our party walked back to Piddlestixs for another round of gourmet desserts and to recap the day and night!

I hope you enjoyed escaping to a world of magic and mayhem as I recapped the wonderful event: Witches Tea Party and Ghost Walk, which brought together a wonderful group of people for lots of fun and joy! Hope to see you at the next workshop or event at Piddlestixs!

Magic and Joy,
Lisa!

To see the full album of pictures from this event please visit my flickr site or click here!

To sign up for workshops and events or to book a private party for you and your crafty friends click here