EMILY'S PICKS {HAPPY HALLOWEEN}

Hey kids! When did it become October?? I feel like I blinked and September was over completely. Oh well, goodbye Summer, hello Fall.

This set of picks comes courtesy of the upcoming holiday of Halloween, and are a little bit inspired by my fairy goddaughter, Ava, because she’s incredibly adorable. Now, I must admit upfront that I hate Halloween. In part because I’m lazy, and in part because I hate being the center of attention and having people look at me. And also, I have no kids, and I really think Halloween is a kids’ holiday. So there’s that. Just putting it out there.

That being said, despite my hesitation at my dressing up myself, I do like looking at people’s costumes, and checking out people’s creative energies. My costume this year is inspired by a recent trip to Austin TX, and being caught up in the fervor of University of Texas football. My Texan friends took me to the UT team store, and a lazy costume idea was born – the UT football fan. So I’m decked out and ready to go with lots of burnt orange and longhorns. My sister so far has won my personal awesome costume award with her idea to be Link from the Legend of Zelda. But Halloween isn’t quite upon us yet, so there’s plenty of time for the awesome award to change hands.

Anyway… here are a variety of my picks for Etsy items for your Halloween season…

Number One – The Princess Cinderella 2-piece by Miss Things Boutique
 

Now I said earlier that this entry is inspired in part by my fairy goddaughter Ava. She’s in her princess phase, and Cinderella is her current favorite. And how adorable would a 2½ year old look running around in a big poofy blue dress?? Pretty sure it’d be off the charts. And that’s not even for Halloween, just for an afternoon play date. On Halloween, it’d be awesome award winning.

Miss Things Boutique has lots of pretty poofy princess dresses for your little one, whether or not they’re into Cinderella or into ballet or just into playing dress up (and what little girl isn’t??). There’s even an adorable bee costume.

Pick Two... The Ebony Bubinga Marble Wood Magic Wand by Fortress Wand Works

This one is for me. Since I’m Ava’s fairy godmother, I need a wand. But alas, I’m more of a Harry Potter wand kind of girl than a fairy godmother wand kind of girl, so I went with a wand from Fortress Wand Works. This wand is just beautifully made. So many fairy godmother wands look like they’ll just fall apart after you cast your magic spell and turn the pumpkin into the carriage, but this wand looks like it’ll stay in one piece even after midnight.

This wand is a bit spendy (at 42 dollars) but it has handsome craftsmanship, and if you’re truly into Harry Potter, or role playing, or just stunning woodworking, this wand is worth the price. Fortress Wand Works only has a couple of items in their shop, but they’re also new to Etsy, so in time they could have many different wands to choose from.

Pick Three… The Zombie Prom Gothic Wrist Corsage by April Hiler Designs


A slightly different turn away from Miss Ava, and to my true obsession… zombies. They’re slow, and bloody, and eat brains, and I love them madly. I think this love is largely owed to my intense worship of Simon Pegg and that zombies are one of the monsters of the world that I have more of a chance in defeating. Whenever I contemplate the apocalypse (happens more frequently than you think), it usually involves a zombie element. And it must run in the family, since a recent conversation with my brother about his new house, turned to his only problem with the new place: no real safe place in the event of a zombie uprising. He was devastated.
Anyway, back to the corsage. Did I mention that it’s fabulous?? I love the dark colors (cause I’m not so into hot pink) and I love that the gift box is a coffin. Truly inspired, and I wish I’d thought of it. April Hiler Designs has lots of dark and devilish flower designs, including matching boutonnieres and bridal bouquets for the perfect zombie wedding. As well as some beautiful traditional fare, with not so much a zombie tilt. Lots and lots of great ideas for decorating with flowers for fall.

Pick Four… Bloodbath Whipped Sugar Scrub by Bloodbath


I know what you’re thinking… This girl starts her blog post with pretty poofy princess dresses, and in a just a couple paragraphs is recommending items from a seller called Bloodbath??? It’s quite the turn I know, but I couldn’t resist the names on these products. Petrifying Pomegranate, Coffin Candy, Screamsicle… I love the play on words. And I also just enjoy a nice sugar scrub in the shower. Sugar is great for exfoliating truly beautiful places like elbows, and you smell less like the ocean compared to using a sea salt scrub. (Not that there’s anything wrong with smelling like the ocean).
Bloodbath’s shop is filled with fun macabre bath items, which really there are far too little in this world. Even the loofah sponges look devilish. Also, I love their logo, even though it does call to mind a bad horror movie.

Pick Five… The Peacock Feathermask by Masks by Martina


Now I’ll be honest, this is my second choice on the mask. Although, my first choice was also from Masks by Martina. But it was so intensely beautiful and magical that it was sold in between my gathering of items yesterday, and my blog posting today. Sigh… but this one is pretty darn close, and certainly just as pretty. The real drawing power on this mask for me is the peacock feathers. What is it about those feathers that just make things seem mystical??

This mask really reminded me of one of my very favorite movies, Labyrinth. It looks very similar to the mask that The Goblin King Jareth wears to the ball. And it’s probably the influence of that movie that has made me always want to go to a masquerade ball, with a mask on a stick keeping my face covered until the clock struck midnight. All of the masks in Masks by Martina’s shop are perfect for your next masquerade ball, and ideal if you’re lucky enough to be headed to Venice for Carnival. I wish I fell in either group…

And finally, a special Pick Six… The Candy Corn Hand Painted Mary Janes from Snanimals

 

And this, my friends, is what’s known as coming full circle. Starting with the little girl princess dress and ending with some adorable little girl mary janes.

In my opinion, the real reason why everyone REALLY loves Halloween, is because there is a perfectly good excuse to have candy all about the house. My favorite Halloween candy (and probably because I only allow myself to eat it around Halloween) is candy corn. And since this set of picks is in part inspired by Ava and in part inspired by Halloween, I thought these adorable mary janes seamed the perfect cross point for both inspirations.

Snanimals’ shop has lots of adorable hand painted shoes that have absolutely no affiliation with Halloween as well. My personal favorites are the cupcakes, the cows, and most especially the little japanese dolls. And if you want another Halloween option, the Frankenstein pair is pretty darn cute too. Happy Halloween everyone!! Be safe, and eat lots and lots of candy!

PS - hoop class is super awesome. The first night, I felt really awkward and ridiculous, but now that I’m getting the hang of it, I’m really enjoying it. And the soreness was where I least expected it – my palms. Those aerial moves with the hoop over your head really do a number on them. And I bought my very own hoop. Not from Etsy though, from my instructor. But I do very much have my eye on that Red Devil hoop from my last set of picks, pity it’s been sold.