Clown Lion...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are doing well and that your holiday weekends were relaxing and enjoyable. Mine was delightful. My family came to town and we pretty much laughed, opened presents and ate delicious food for 4 straight days. Here are some pics from the weekend:

Champagne with Titanic ice... those cubes are a bear to get out without breaking.

One of my favorite records (it's blue), on my new record player. Best gift of the year!

Creepy clown lion (does my family know me or what?)

And clown cupcake toppers...

But don't think all that celebrating means I don't have wonderful things to share. To start, I am down to literally 3 Zom-B-Vex Calendars and I would love for them to find a home before January so I have dropped the price again: $10. That's right Folks! $10. Treat yourself to an after-holiday gift this year!

And I have started a new series of illustrations that I'm really excited about! I don't want to spoil the surprise so I'll give you a sneak peek of a sketch I'm working on. I'm pretty sure you'll love them so standby.

I have enjoyed an illustrator for awhile now who I wanted to share with you. Harry Clarke actually died in 1931 at the age of 41, so he's not a modern day illustrator. However, I think you'll agree that his style has influenced many illustrators working today. I love the dark richness of it, and the fluid movement as well. I aim to get a book of his works if one exists (because I love a challenge)... take a look:

And a movie recommendation. (More accurately, a series of movies.) I received part of the Charlie Chan DVD collection for Christmas and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. It's funny and dated and in many ways politically incorrect, but the mysteries themselves are clever and fun to watch. There are tons of different movies starring the fictitious detective Charlie Chan, and he was even played by several different actors, so I'm sure you'll find a couple to enjoy. Check them out if you have time!

Plus, the graphics are great.

Until next time: Unpleasant dreams...

Sweet but Deadly...

Hello Lovelies~

Well, the holidays are literally almost here and things have been nutso here at the Mill. (In a totally good way of course.)

First off, I have less than 10 Zom-B-Vex 15-Month calendars left and I want them gone. So, I have reduced the price on those to get them moving. If you've been debating, now's the time to act!

I have mentioned my Dark Harlequins on here a number of times and I just finished a harlequin commission for a friend. She found this huge one at the Goodwill and wanted me to pretty her up. Which, I did. This will probably be my last piece in this series. I love painting on found objects! If you find something that you'd like me to darken up for you, shoot me a message and we'll chitty chat.

Those of you who've followed the blog for awhile know that my Sweetie and I are slowly renovating our mill condo. Well, we put down trim throughout our upstairs to finish off our hardwood flooring this past week. It looks terrific, take a look:

I have a few more additions to my Christmas decor this year that I wanted to share. (As you all know, I love old and strange things... ideally both.) I received this wonderful present from a friend last week. Yes, those are bearded lady ornaments she made herself. I about passed out from glee when I got them and they went right on the tree.

I also found this old Santa head that lights up for a steal! Once I got him cleaned up and hung, he looked great. He'll be creeping us out at Christmas for years to come!

For the final installment of the Holiday Gift Guide do I have some doozies for you. The item of the week, is not for sale (unfortunately), but I wanted to point it out nonetheless. I am finding some wonderful Japanese crafters and illustrators and Hine Mizushima is the latest great find. You may know her shop as Hine on Etsy, I mentioned her a few posts back, but check out this Octowreath... holy smokes. Coveting.

The shop of the week is Kush Kush. Their felt brooches and hair accessories and just general cuteness make me want everything in their store. It may be too late to buy gifts, but I may be gifting stuff to myself from this shop...

I will leave you with this great animated gif via Who Killed Bambi from Fritz Lang's 1927 Metropolis. I wish all of you Lovelies a happy holiday week. See you next Monday!

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Happy Haulidays!

Hello Lovelies~

A brief post to give you the good and the bad news. Bad news: I didn't win the Chronicle Book Giveaway I posted about last week. Boo.

The good news is, for readers of this blog, Chronicle is taking 35% off your order + free shipping through December 16, 2010! Use the promo code HAULIDAYS at checkout! So go forth and buy books my friends, Stapelia is looking out for your as usual. :)

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Caged Skeleton Harlequin...

Hello Lovelies!

Hope you are all doing well. Things are busy, busy here gearing up for the holidays. I found another great harlequin litho from the 70's the other day, so I added yet another piece to the Dark Harlequin series. This piece is entitled Caged Skeleton Harlequin, and I pulled out all the stops; glitter, metallic paint, dark evil. He's mighty fine, take a peek:

If you are local to Portland, Maine, all of the remaining Dark Harlequin pieces will be on display at the Sylvia Kania Gallery for Merry Madness this Thursday. Merry Madness is a great way to get that last minute shopping done while supporting local businesses and artists. Stop by and say "hi", I would love to meet you!

It's been awhile since I've listed fresh photography in the shop, so I put up 2 new prints; W and Ripley for your viewing pleasure. They make nice gifts for yourself... or for others. Take a peek:

The Holiday Gift Guide shop of the week is a brand new boutique called The Nimbus Factory. This is their first year in business, and in fact their first product collection so show them some love. Because... they're going to blow up. Narwhale gift wrap? Animal Kingdom playing cards? The colors and design are impeccable but they still have a sense of fun. I want one of each please.

The item of the week is the strange and wonderful tarot deck of Bea Nettles. A little back story, back in the late 70's a photographer named Bea Nettles photographed models posed to resemble tarot cards... and she did the entire deck. One of the cards was even used on a Bruce Springsteen album cover. Original copies of this deck now sell for thousands of dollars. Bea recently found uncut press sheets of her deck and they're for sale here. Such neat work and what an original gift! Beautiful.

Let's wrap up with a movie review, shall we? Now, I am not a big David Lynch fan, in fact, I dislike much of his work to be honest. In my opinion, his movies use strong/obscene/confusing visual cues to elicit a response without the story line to back them up. So it was with reluctance that I watched Blue Velvet. (Yes, it's the 'dirty' David Lynch flick.) All I can say is that the scandalous aspect was completely overblown, but the plot was one of his more interesting ones. Dennis Hopper plays a complete creep. I'd give it 3 out of 5 corn cobs. It's worth a watch if you have nothing better to do...

...than watch Isabella Rossellini sport a bad wig.

Until next time... unpleasant dreams.

Chronicle Books Haul-iday Giveaway

Hello Lovelies!

I happened upon an awesome giveaway courtesy of our friends at Chronicle Books (makers of all things beautiful) and I had to share.

Here's how it works:

- Make a list of Chronicle books that you'd love to have, valued up to $500 total.

- Post your wish list of books on your blog for a chance to win all of them. PLUS, one reader who comments on your post will also win a copy of the books on your wish list if you win. YES!!!

{As stated in the official rules, the contest is only open to US Residents. Last day to submit entries Dec. 10}

Here's my list!

1. Let's Bring Back

2. Extreme Encounters

3. The Art of McSweeney's

4. More Things Like This

5. Suburban Legends: True Tales of Murder, Mayhem, and Minivans

6. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls

7. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Deluxe Heirloom Edition

8. Dracula's Heir: An Interactive Mystery

9. Zombies: A Record of the Year of Infection

10. Comic-Con: 40 Years of Artists, Writers, Fans, & Friends!

11. Airstream: The History of the Land Yacht

12. Absinthe: History in a Bottle

13. The Art of Pixar Short Films

14. How to Survive a Horror Movie: All the Skills to Dodge the Kills

15. Mysterio's Encyclopedia of Magic and Conjuring

16. Emily the Strange

17. My Milk Toof: The Adventure of Ickle and Lardee

18. Little Book of Letter Press

19. Weirdo Noir

20. The Small Stakes

21. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Total Price: $497.15

I would love to own any Chronicle Books really, and I have a ton at home I've enjoyed and loved for years. I hope I win! Comment here for a chance to win my wish list!

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Killer Sweets...

Hello Lovelies~

I hope you are all doing well out there. I have been busy as usual over here in the Mill.

To start, I recently finished a brand new series of paintings entitled Killer Sweets, a couple of which are displayed below. The rest are displayed on my Flickr page here. If you're local to Portland, Maine, they are displayed at Dock Fore until the beginning of next month. Fun little pieces that deal with dessert and death... just the way we like it around here.

And speaking of paintings, if you're ever interested in purchasing my original work, I have a portfolio with a painting section here that you may peruse at your leisure. All of these works are for sale and you may contact me directly if you're interested. I ship worldwide!

My Sweetie and I decorated the house for Christmas over the weekend and it's almost done. This is our living room by the glow of the twinkle lights. I love it, and every year I'm happy when the lights are up.

Most of our decorations are vintage, and I try to add a new piece every year from our forays into junking. This year's addition is this pair of blown glass mercury candles with trim. Beautiful, aren't they?

This homemade pine cone turned mini tree is my all-time favorite decoration and it gets a place of honor every year on our mantle.

While we're on the topic of the holidays, I have a great item and shop for the Holiday Gift Guide this week Kiddies! First, the item of the week (and really, it could be the shop of the week, because come on people... so cute), is from Hine on Etsy. The print below is entitled Holiday Surprise Gift and it's perfect in every way. That teeny red octopus? The wallpaper? Needless to say.

This is so cute I want to explode!

And the shop of the week is Something's Hiding in Here. They have a wonderful blog here, and their packaging is beautiful and then there are the items themselves. Like these mitten cupcake toppers. Sigh. I love it. Oh! And if you have a boy in your life who likes to dress up, they have a new shop Forage, that's nothing but bow ties made from vintage material. Really? Yes. They're that cool.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...

Sandy Claws is coming to town...

Hello Lovelies!

Hope your Thanksgiving (if you celebrate it) was exemplary. Mine was very nice, I spent time with family and friends, had great food and many laughs. It was kinda like this:

Only less peace pipe/nudity.

The holidays are fast approaching and I have tons of stuff that's going to make your holidays easier! First, I just listed gift tags. These vintage-inspired macro tags are just the thing to take your presents to the next level. Ooo and Aaaah.

And speaking of presents, I am also offering $3 gift wrapping on everything in my store (including original paintings and larger items). Kraft paper, baker's twine and a free gift tag will make gift-giving a snap! So, see if you can't rustle something special up for your loved ones from Stapelia.

Lastly, to stuff those stockings, the Old Salts buttons are finished, listed and available. And they're pretty cute you guys.

I mentioned in my last weekly post that I was decorating my gallery's window for the holidays. Well, the Santa Worm Train is finished, installed and running!

Take a peek at this video of him in action HERE.

As promised, I have more Weekly Holiday Gift Guide suggestions for you! The shop this week hails from the other Portland. Verabel's jewelry is mind-blowing. I can't pick a favorite and I don't know how they do it. Look at some of their lockets, amazing.

The item of the week is this argyle paper tape from Little Happy Things. Perfect for wrapping, it was all I could do not to buy all their tape basically.

Until next time: unpleasant dreams...