BOO!

 
     Our decorations are up, the costumes are made and the pumpkins- planted by wee hands last spring- are ready to be carved into fierce or funny faces. Halloween we are ready! The Littles are really into the whole Halloween thing this year- obviously they are really excited about Trick or Treating- since we live in a building full of families this is a really fun night of the year. Many parents in our building are like my Mr. and I- we grew up in smaller towns where Halloween meant running willy nilly all over the neighbourhood collecting candy. The older kids were a bit more savvy and knew which neighbourhood had the best candy- once you were old enough you too could venture to the legendary neighbourhoods that handed out full candy bars!

       As a community we come together and organize Trick or Treating with in the building- it is a much safer version of what we did as kids- floor to floor instead of street to street. Families  who wish to participate decorate their doors and put out the carved Jack-O- Lanterns and then at around three P.M. the candy fueled madness kicks in. This is just one of the many ways that an apartment building in the city has found a sense of community and a bit of small town feeling. Of course- because as many would like to accuse I like to take the fun out of things- I decided to hand out an alternative to candy this year. I still think the wee ones will enjoy the mini bubble wands that I found at a craft store- a bit healthier and a tad bit longer lasting than tiny bars of chocolate.

       The final touches were put on The Boy's costume this weekend- it is very elaborate and I am impressed the Mr. is doing such a great job- I don't want to give too much away but lets just say his costume rhymes with "Eggo". Pictures of course to come - after the big reveal to all his buddies! Miss Lo is going to be adorable and is really excited about her costume as well- she picked it out weeks ago on a shopping expedition with Oma- it came with a wand- I think some wand training will be needed before the big day.

      I love Halloween- the true end of the harvest- saying goodnight as the earth goes to sleep for the winter season- the sun from now on is much softer and watery when it makes an occasional appearance. I also tend to jump directly into Holiday mode after Halloween- as I have mentioned before our family celebrates many different Holidays- Solstice, St.Nicolas and Christmas- my parents also celebrate Serbian Christmas which is something I would like to introduce to our Littles this year as well. Celebrating so many holidays might sound extravagant but it need not be so- most of our gifts are hand made and mostly the celebration is about the meal and the candles and being together on a special evening.

       Another thing that I love- especially at this time of year is sending and receiving mail- it is this personal touch sent by the hand of a friend or loved one that led me into creating Plain Jane Designs so many years ago. I have to brag a tad and mention that I feel this season is shaping up to be my personal favourite- the line this year is simple and clean but still with oodles of personality and quirkiness!

      This pleasant little juniper branch with bright red berries that pop out happened in my studio today- the Littles were otherwise engaged in a game that involved all their dress up clothes and the pop up beach tent- so I had a little time to sit and sketch. These beauties are tiny but statement making-
 2.5"x 3.75" in size with matching envelopes. Packages of six are available for $12 plus shipping- either message me or wait till they pop up on Etsy next week.