It's Day 4 of Halloween in Miniature 2014 and the party is in full swing!
(If you missed the beginning, go to Day 1)
Let's cut through the hall. I want you to meet some of the guests.
Oh, dear. The twins seem to be wandering the house again unsupervised. We insist their nanny stay with them after they tried scaring guests with that representation they did last year of the ghostly girls in the movie based on Stephen King's The Shining. Scared half the guests back to their graves!
Please, keep walking. We don't want to encourage their behavior. I'll have cook check where the nanny went. Maybe you should take a seat...
WAIT! No, not there. Oh, I'm terribly sorry, Mort, Finney, and Darryl, our resident ghosts, already claimed those chairs. Quite handsome, aren't they? I mean the chairs. No, guys I wasn't slighting you. It's just that the guests can't see you yet. Yes, yes, please forgive them for trying to sit on your laps. It's rude, I know, I know.
I'm sorry, the Specter brothers are quite touchy. I hope we don't have any other surprises. . .
Well, we won't complain about a pleasant surprise! Why, it's the Skellie Sisters! Such a fun trio they are. They insisted on coming out this year as they said they had some jokes that just couldn't stay buried! (groan!) (Chairs and scene, including hand-sculpted skeleton ladies below also by Patricia Paul.)
Artisan Patricia Paul says she's been making minis "forever," but professionally for about 35 years. Growing up, she made cardboard houses and clothes for Barbie, played with clay and had a dollhouse with Renwal furniture, which sadly, her mother "gave it away when she figured I was finished with it. I probably could have done a lot with that had she waited," she says. "I have always loved tiny things all my life and discovered as a newlywed a catalog of miniatures and could not believe that grown people did this."
Patricia studied art in school and thought of being an art teacher except for some parental interference... "I really should have studied fine arts but my dad was nervous that I might starve," she says. "I really hate that starving artist meme."
Amusingly, she got into haunted stuff when her son fell in love with a pop-up book. ..."I had a weird little kid who loved skeletons from a very tiny age. He learned by heart that pop-up book 'In a Dark Dark Room' and was thrilled to see the reaction of people he was ‘reading’ it to when the ghosts pop out at the end. I made him a haunted doll house along with some things to go in it. He wanted and got an articulated skeleton which he promptly broke so I sat it in a chair with a book in its hands to cover the break. That’s how the posed skellies started. I took those things to a show promising him no one would buy them and they flew off the table. I just saw one of my earlier pieces sell on eBay for $699. So maybe I should look into making those again."
She's now clearing out a stash of chairs by transforming them into "gothic delights" with sculpted decorations and hand-printed fabrics altered from full-size designs. She also will be selling some witchy things and really wants to sculpt more animals. "I guess I can include black cats, hounds of hell and gargoyle creatures," she says. "There is a nice gargoyle that sits on Notre Dame that looks like it might make a nice haunted house pet."
Speaking of pets... Little Witch Julie wanted to know if you saw her pet spider? No? well, she says to look out for something fuzzy and the size of a small puppy (If you haven't seen it - beware. Yikes! Yes, it's real).
Such a sweet girl to have such a gruesome, I mean, uh, a nice pet. And she seems so innocent with all that candy, too. (Doll by Julie Campbell, JulieCampbelldollartist.co.uk). She has the most proper of manners and wanted to ask the guests if anyone was thirsty?
Lisa Parker Clark brought over the absolute perfect refreshment.... her bubbling delight. What flavor is it, you ask? Well, er, it may have some Ear of Toad, or Eye of Newt, but I know there's some peach flavoring, too, to cover the after-taste.
How about a cup? No? Alright, then we best move on. Gosh, the party can't be nearly over! Why we have many more stops to make, people to meet, and ghastly, I mean yummy, things to eat!
SPOOKY READS:
* Author Heather Graham just released a new book in her Krewe of Hunters series - The Betrayed (Krewe of Hunters)
. (Just started reading this series and I love it! Great suspense and paranormal stories, each in different time periods and locations.)
The latest has FBI paranormal unit investigator Mo Deaville and new agent Aiden Mahoney going to Sleepy Hollow as they explore both past and present events to figure out who killed Aiden's friend Richard--and wants to kill them, too. As they work
together, they discover that they share an unusual trait—the ability to
communicate with the dead. They also share an attraction that's as intense as
it is unexpected…if they live long enough to enjoy it!
* Coming soon in November! Two Must Reads (and some great book covers!)
Early November - Author Jaime Johnesee is releasing a new collection, The Misadventures of Bob the Zombie, which contains not only her three novellas, but a new novella and bonus short story, plus great new art featuring Bob, the Zombie with bad luck!
Fun, funny humor and zombies! Watch her website for news!
(Aren't these the coolest covers??)
Coming Nov. 14! Who can resist a story about a haunted house? Author Chantal Noordeloos has a scary new book coming out. In Angel Manor, Freya sees inheriting her mother's old childhood home as an opportunity. It's a chance for a new life with her best friends as they transform the crumbling mansion into an exclusive hotel. Instead, they'll barely escape with their lives...
Be sure to check her website for release news! * Read more about the book.
** BONUS! Here's a mini book cover printie for your dollhouse shelf!
(*Personal use only! Cover (c) of artist and author, used with permission. Do not pin or re-post.)
c.verstraete - candidcanine.blogspot.com
- by 
- by 
- 10 paranormal stories by various authors
- various authors, Crystal Lake Publishing
