Adventures of Veggie People on Hallow'en

One of the most well-respected postcard publishers

was Raphael Tuck & Sons.

In 1893, the company was awarded

a Royal Warrant by Queen Victoria.

The backs of their postcards reflect this designation

with the statement 

"ART PUBLISHERS TO THEIR MAJESTIES

THE KING & QUEEN".

Today, I would like to share some unique

Halloween postcards published by

Raphael Tuck & Sons.

This twosome skipped through the moonlit night

 and the black cat and witch took chase.

Antique Postcard from my Personal Collection
Copyright Raphael Tuck & Sons
"Hallowe'en" Post Cards Series No. 150
Postally Unused

The black cat cornered these three characters

 in the vegetable patch.

The one on the right truly seems frightened

while the other two laugh off their fears.

Antique Postcard from my Personal Collection
Copyright Raphael Tuck & Sons
"Hallowe'en" Post Cards Series No. 150
Postmarked New York, New York October 30, 1908

After all that running,

the witch and black cat are ready for a ride to rest a spell.

Antique Postcard from my Personal Collection
Copyright Raphael Tuck & Sons
"Hallowe'en" Post Cards Series No. 150
Postmarked from Los Angeles, California October 21, 1909

And it's time for the veggie people 

 to serve themselves a treat of cake filled with jam.

Antique Postcard from my Personal Collection
Copyright Raphael Tuck & Sons
"Hallowe'en" Post Cards Series No. 150
Postmarked from New Haven, Connecticut (Date Illegible)

And this poor pumpkin became overheated 

as witches and demons erupt from the steam.

Antique Postcard from my Personal Collection
Copyright Raphael Tuck & Sons
"Hallowe'en" Post Cards Series No. 150

Last Halloween I told how our ancestors

 believed Halloween was a romantic holiday

and had a superstition that a young man or woman

would be able to identify their future mate

 by following certain rituals on Halloween.

You can read this earlier post here.

The message on the back of this Halloween postcard

 reinforces Halloween as "the season of love".  

Wishing you a romantic Halloween!

Until next time, live and love well.

Joining Weekly Link Ups:
You're Gonna Love It at Kathe with an E
Welcome Home Wednesday at Vintage on a Dime
Cottage Style Linky at Lavender Garden Cottage
Share Your Cup at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home

This forum reveals random thoughts and reflections on topics of interest and events impacting the life of the founder of Doll in the Looking Glass.  Our boutique specializes in custom designed dolls that look like your child. We also design toddler and baby dolls that look real using vinyl doll components manufactured in Midland, Michigan USA by Apple Valley Doll Works.  The goal of Doll in the Looking Glass is to delight our customers with our creations.  We would love to create a special doll for you!

Sorceress' Apothecary

Typical Halloween decorations around our home include

pumpkins, scarecrows and good witches.

Inspired by all of the creative blogs I have been reading,

this year's decor includes some some items on the darker side.

A corner of my kitchen has been devoted to an apothecary of items

to be used by only the master sorceress.

You may have seen these labels on other blogs.

Seasonal potion bottles seem to be a popular topic.

Thanks to the creative minds at Love Manor and KarenCookieJar

 you can download their free labels from the links provided

and make your own display.

Here are close-up photos of some of my favorite ingredients.

A scrap of green fabric repeated the color in the Zombie Virus label.

I like the effect of tying a few knots into gold elastic cord.

The black cat button looks like he could be a Zombie kitty!

After my clematis blossoms dropped their petals, the remaining flower centers seemed to resemble something that could be a filling for my Zombie Virus jar.

While exploring the scrapbook section of the craft store, I spied this paper with a scene of tree branches under a full moon.  A few rectangle cuts of the paper covered a powered seasoning mix packet.

Colorful ribbons secure a label to document the contents.

A small box features a wrapper of heavy paper stock.

A coordinating border and some ribbon make these 

earthy contents look like something that is almost good enough to eat.

Empty Pistachio shells appeared to resemble vampire fangs.

A bit pointy and a bit yellowed -- PERFECT!

The empty pepper tin looked a bit plain with only a label.  A couple decorative buttons glued to the top added more interest to this container.

This label was the right size to convert an empty baking cocoa container into a seasonal delicacy.

The Life Renewal bottle started as a maple syrup bottle.

It's small curved handle was perfect for threading a decorative tassel.

Some dried seed pods and a small piece of pleated fabric top

a trio of individual-sized jelly jars that now contain more deadly ingredients.

I didn't purchase any special products for this project.

A glue stick worked fine for adhering the labels to the glass bottles.

I just wrapped a few strong rubber bands around the bottles overnight

to help the labels conform to the curve of the bottle as the glue dried.
My labels were printed on photo paper which gives
them a crisp professional look but they do need to be coaxed
to curve around the shape of the bottles.

A crystal drawer pull and some black and gold cord transform a plain wine bottle

into a more elegant container for pouring Vampire Blood.

The lovely bottle earmarked for this charming spider wine label isn't quite empty yet.

This tassel to pair with the spider wine label
was a great bargain at only 50 cents from the dollar store.

A small cloth-edged journal was transformed into a reference for the sorceress

to document her successful potions, spells, brews and curses.  

Of course, the back cover needs to provide a warning

in the event this guide falls into inexperienced hands.

Hope you enjoyed a sampling of my not-so-scary apothecary.  

You will find my version of Halloween potion jars include

a dash of sweet and a pinch of elegance.

What else could you expect from a witch with sparkles in her hair?

Until next time, live and love well.

Joining Weekly Link Ups:
Be Inspired at Elizabeth & Co.
Cottage Style Linky at Lavender Garden Cottage
Share Your Cup at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

This forum reveals random thoughts and reflections on topics of interest and events impacting the life of the founder of Doll in the Looking Glass.  Our boutique specializes in custom designed dolls that look like your child. We also design toddler and baby dolls that look real using vinyl doll components manufactured in Midland, Michigan USA by Apple Valley Doll Works.  The goal of Doll in the Looking Glass is to delight our customers with our creations.  We would love to create a special doll for you!

Harvest Pumpkin Stitchery

In a September post I shared a photo of my Autumn

foyer decor that includes a pumpkin wall hanging.

Today I'd like to show you more details

 about that project that was stitched this summer.

The pattern was created by Crab-apple Hill

and was purchased from a quilt shop I like to visit

when traveling to Northern Michigan.

Look at all of the rich floss colors used in the stitching!

To transfer the pattern to my fabric,

large plastic paper clips secured the fabric to the pattern.

Since I have a glass top table, a lighted flashlight 

was placed under the table shining upward.

A colored pencil was used to trace the pattern onto the fabric.

The pumpkin outline was created using the fly stitch.  

The left half of the pumpkin features sunflowers.

Multi-color oak leaves and acorns

are a focal point on the right half of the pumpkin.

The Autumn themed words were the most difficult to stitch.

The letters were fairly small so extra care was necessary

to assure crisp, legible words.

My fabric stash included some striped fabric

 that repeated the floss colors so this was used

for borders and binding.

 A hand-written label on the back 

documents the history of the work.

Once the prep work was completed, 

this was a great project to carry when away from home

 and stitch when a few minutes were available.  

Thanks for letting me share this stitchery with you!

Until next time, live and love well.

Joining the fun at these parties:
Be Inspired at Elizabeth & Co.
Cottage Style Linky Party at Lavender Garden Cottage

Fall into Fall at DIY by Design
Share Your Cup Thursday at Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson

This forum reveals random thoughts and reflections on topics of interest and events impacting the life of the founder of Doll in the Looking Glass.  Our boutique specializes in custom designed dolls that look like your child. We also design toddler and baby dolls that look real using vinyl doll components manufactured in Midland, Michigan USA by Apple Valley Doll Works.  The goal of Doll in the Looking Glass is to delight our customers with our creations.  We would love to create a special doll for you!

Window Shopping

Remember those bygone days when you would 

stroll down Main Street in your community

to do a bit of window shopping?

You can recreate that relaxed browsing experience

 with your on-line shopping.

Victorian Heart Shoppe has brought together a group of 

web-based merchants who provide an assortment of 

Victorian inspired products that are certain

to satisfy your gift-giving needs.

Participating merchants provide personalized service

 that small businesses are uniquely 

capable of offering.

Doll in the Looking Glass is privileged 

to be included as a member of the

 Victorian Heart Shoppe community.

  The display we have in our storefront window

 features our two newest dolls

 that are available in our boutique.

Wouldn't you love to stroll through the

Victorian Heart Shoppe on-line shopping community? Simply browse the storefront displays and when you find something interesting, enter the shop for a closer look at the treasures that are available.

  Please visit soon!

Until next time, live and love well.

Joining the conversation at:

You're Gonna Love It Tuesday at Kathe with an E

This forum reveals random thoughts and reflections on topics of interest and events impacting the life of the founder of Doll in the Looking Glass.  Our boutique specializes in custom designed dolls that look like your child. We also design toddler and baby dolls that look real using vinyl doll components manufactured in Midland, Michigan USA by Apple Valley Doll Works.  The goal of Doll in the Looking Glass is to delight our customers with our creations.  We would love to create a special doll for you!