Weekend Shenanigans, Part 1

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity here at the Nest. 

Even though I had to cancel on Hallowbaloo due to my hand injury, I still have Halloween and Vine to prep for, so of course, part of the weekend was doing just that.

Dorothea used
lorazapam to drug
her victims, not
Tic-Tacs, pictured
above.

But this weekend brought a couple of opportunities to take a break, too, something I seldom do this time of year. A friend of mine celebrated her birthday by visiting the Dorothea Puentes house in Sacramento, which was open for tours on Saturday.

Dorothea Puentes, for those who don't know, was a woman who ran a boarding house in Sacramento. She also had a habit of killing her older boarders, stealing their valuables and burying their corpses in the back yard. Not a sweet little old lady, to say the least! 

The arresting officer was on hand, along with the first reporter on the scene.

Dorothea, who was also a notorious barfly, trying to make her escape and failing.

 

Goodies were on hand, from the cookbook Dorothea wrote from prison.

  

One of the arresting officers.

 After, we hit The Shady Lady for brunch. 

It's a cozy little restaurant and bar in an old brick building. The food is good and the atmosphere convivial. Just a great place to have brunch and enjoy catching up with friends!

Part 2 tomorrow!

Epic Drunk History Thang!

Click the pic for the full video

Not. Safe. For. Work!

The explanation of how a couple met, which they made for their wedding.

Clever, hilarious, and a few F-bombs. (And a bit with a dog!)

Love it!

Halloween Art by Bob Lizarraga

When I was at ScareLA, I spent some time connecting with other Hallowe'en artists. And spending money on their art!

One of those people is Bob Lizarraga. 

I've loved his art from the moment I first saw it, and finally, I have a print of the very first piece of his I ever saw!

Bob was even gracious enough to sign it for me! Thanks, Bob!

I took it over to Aaron Brothers (we don't have any small art stores here in town to do this kind of work) to get it (and all my other ill-gotten gains from the show) framed. I got them all back this week, and man, was I happy with how they all turned out! The picture above doesn't do justice to how the colors really pop with the matting, or how the gold mat brings out his signature, which was done in gold paint pen.

After Hallowe'en, and by that I mean, "after all the bins which are making it impossible to walk into my office are put away," I plan to look for some shorter, longer bookcases so I have more wall space to hang my art on.

I can't wait to share the others with you!

Overachiever Jack

The Jack-o'-Lantern Spectacular happens every year at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Rhode Island.

That would be something to see!

Trick or Treat Bag

Eric Pigors' Toxictoons Trick or Treat bag is available! One of the best signs that Halloween is around the corner. I buy one of these every year and use them for purses in October. I bought mine today!

The Halloween CD he makes is always full of wonderful gems, and all the other little goodies are fun to paw through!

Available at Toxictoons. Nice job, Eric!  

Samhain Stout And Sinister Jack Spiced Ale

If your clock hovers around "Time for Halloween" and "Beer o'clock," simultaneously, then you could think about adding these mugs to your collection...

Samhain Stout and Sinister Jack Spiced Ale beer mugs for sale in my Etsy store.

And yes, I'll do my best to get a few pumpkins in, too! I promise!

Pumpkin House

The Pumpkin House, in Kenova, West Virginia.

Article about the Pumpkin House here. More pictures here.

New in the Shop!

T-shirts, with art by Bob Lizarraga!

I sent Bob some sketches last year, and we talked about the direction in which I wanted it to go. After some back and forths and some wonderful tweaking on his part, he came up with some spooktacular art!

After Bob was done, I sent them over to Evenas Design for the craft beer label treatment. 

"So this skeleton walks into a bar..."

 And then, there was The Great ShellHawk's Creations Photo Shoot at Oak Park Brewing Company! These crazy kids had fun with this amateur photographer, but even more fun was when one of them busted out some props and costume parts!

 And soon, there will be coffee mugs and beer steins available! (And yes, some jacks will be up soon, too!)

Order your shirt at ShellHawk's Creations Etsy Store! And spread the word, too! :D

Rickety Fog

Photo by Bogdan Panait.

A Few Good Jacks...

I'm hoping to get some of the jacks up in my Etsy store this week for a one-day only event, since many of you have been asking when you'll get an online opportunity to buy them! 

Here are a few to whet your appetite for pumpkins!

 I hope you like them! Feel free to spread the word...