Bats in my Belfry

EEEEEeeeeeeeekkk!!!!

bat headband hairpiece, Martha Stewart

I think I have bats in my belfry!!!

downloadable bat and crystal ball lady

www.RhondasOriginals.etsy.com

MISSING:

One Weird Thing

Please don't bring it back!

Victorian lady in bat skirt dictionary page print

www.reimaginationprints.etsy.com

vintage Boris the Bat book

www.LaVintageByMissPJ55.etsy.com

Bats are so cool!!!

lithograph by Henry J. Johnson, c.1880

www.WeVintageArtfulShop.etsy.com

how to cut bat wings

www.coolest-holiday-parties.com

They are mammals, which means they have little baby bats!

A baby bat is called a 'pup'!!

www.halloweencostumes.com

A group of bats is called a 'colony'.

www.sheknows.com

mini chocolate bats

www.factorydirectcraft.com

The Little bat screamed out in fright

"turn on the dark...

I'm afraid of the light!"

- Shel Silverstein

portrait of H.P.Lovecraft in bat necklace

www.sandrandan.etsy.com

Fangs for the memories

and nightmares!

The Count, Sesame Street

Halloween is always a wonderful time to re-connect with

The Count

What a wonderful thing!!!

eh, eh, eh!!!

I count ONE bat!

I count TWO bats!

Eh, eh, eh!!!

TWO bats!

Conan O'Brien broadcast, 6/27/2013

www.teamcoco.com

How many of us learned counting with The Count?!

I still sing his song in my head....

'Batty, Batty, Bat, Bat, Bat...!'

That's One Bat....eh, eh, eh....

Kermit and The Count, Sesame Street

Two bats...eh, eh, eh...

The Count, with his voice Jerry Nelson

www.lehighvalleylive.com

"On Hallowe'en the thing you must do

Is pretend that nothing can frighten you

And if somethin' scares you and you want to run

Just let on like it's Hallowe'en fun."

- Author Unknown

www.arwendesigns.etsy.com

'Backward, turn backward,

O Time, in your flight

make me a child again

just for to-night!'

 - Elizabeth Akers Allen

downloadable pdf

www.RhondasOriginals.etsy.com

www.purecostumes.com

There about 1,240 bat species!!

That's about 20% of all classified mammal species

worldwide!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat

No, don't ask me what an

'unclassified mammal species' is!

vampire bunny bat necklace

www.sandrandan.etsy.com

notecards

www.StudioStrayer.etsy.com

Contrary to popular horror movies

and common myths,

there are only 3 species that live on blood.

They make up about 30% of all bats.

www.oldish.etsy.com

How-to series by Dover Publications

The majority of the bat  population?

They eat insects.

Flying insects like mosquitoes

and ground insects!

www.reimatinationprints.etsy.com

bat pattern, Benny the Benevolent Bat

www.tisbest.wordpress.com

In fact, a bat eats

every night

several hundred insects in just a few hours!!

vintage bat brooch

www.sanibelsands.etsy.com

There's this really cool size HUMONGOUS bat colony

under the Congress Avenue Bridge in Austin, Texas, USA.

That's their summer home.

There are an estimated

1,500,000 Mexican free-tailed bats living there.

Yep.

I typed the right amount of zeroes in!

www.BAYMOONSTUDIO.etsy.com

Every night they eat

about

10,000 - 30,000 POUNDS 

of insects.

wow.

I'm sorry, I don't know where this bead pattern came from.

cone bat treats

www.thehometeacher.org

"Have a fang-tastic night!"

http://www.craftsayings.com/index.php/projects/holidays/halloween/324-halloween-sayings

So, does everyone think bats are creepy

and scary

and get caught in your hair?

Nope!!!

www.karenswhimsy.com

In fact in many countries bats are symbols of good things!

In Tonga,

the bat is sacred, and is often considered a physical manifestation of a soul. But in a good way!

They are protected by Royal Decree!

Foxbats and Old World Bats thrive in the wild there.

Tongan bats in Casuarina trees

www.babasiga.blogspot.com

www.fivedaughtersvintage.etsy.com

In Chinese culture the bat is a symbol of

longevity, and happiness.

www.lhchinesepaintings.com

In Poland, bats are considered lucky!

original Ashley Fisher bat skeleton papercutting

Texas

and Oklahoma

both have the Mexican free-tailed bat as their Official State Bat!

Mexican Free-Tailed Bat

www.bbc.co.uk

The state of Virginia's Official State Bat is

the Virginia big-eared bat.

Virginia big-eared bat

www.atoztheusa.blogspot.com

I think he's kinda' cute!!

bar chocolate bar party favors by Elizabeth La Bau

www.candy.about.com

'The best the good world has to give,

The best that ever has been,

I wish for you dear little friends

On merry Halloween.'

 - vintage verse

www.imgur.com

Blood donors needed.

See the Count....

maze courtesy of Dover Publications

Bats all, folks!

www.theminorityreport.co

I love that moving tribute to the creator of The Count.

Have a batty day of bat-filled fun!!

'til next time,

inkspired

www.inkspired.etsy.com

www.collagepaperpainting.etsy.com

www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com

and on pinterest:  kkloberdans

coloring page by Michele McDonough

www.brighthub.com

BOO!

That's child-speak for 'I can scare my mom and dad, ha-ha'.

vintage comic book cover

Are you thinking Halloween/Harvest Party costumes yet?

Does your work suggest you dress up for the day?

Today

I will be featuring ideas for costumes!

Hip Hip Hurray!!

I am a BIG proponent of making your own Halloween costumes.

If you're going to a Harvest Festival instead, just substitute that for Halloween, every time I mention Halloween. Just makes things easier.

Make sure you have a BIG moustache, and you are

Pancho Villa!!

You will need:

1 striped poncho....or substitute striped blanket

1 large moustache.....if not available, get a stick-on one at the party store

1 pair brown sweat pants.....or one pair brown/dark jeans

1 XXXL men's brown belt,criss cross over shoulders (depending on size of person),

           or to criss cross around the waist to simulate a gun belt

1 BIG hat, preferably a sombrero....or adapt a ladies straw brimmed hat

        add stripes with colored duct tape, add a hat band and

you're done!

c.1912

A Boy Scout!

or Cub Scout, or Girl Scout...

you will need:

1 pair men's shorts, solid color, green preferred

1 button down short sleeved shirt, solid color, green preferred

1 red handkerchief to tie around the neck

1 handkerchief holder (I forget the real name)a very small child's ring works great

several press-on embroidered type patches - go to Goodwill

1 belt, with one canteen attached

anything else that you would like to attach to the belt - be creative!

1 pair (green preferred) knee socks

1 pair shoes - preferably brown or black

Go to ARC and find a canvas hat.

      You can find the canteen there also,  or go to a military store.

           We have one in Old Town Arvada.

adapt for GIRL SCOUT

vintage Betsy McCall paper doll

Kids should love this next one, as long as they like getting dirty!

I think of this one as either/or boy/girl.

be a CHIMNEY SWEEP!
I'm not going to break this one out, as you can see from the picture you just need dark/black clothes (sweats are a Halloween staple), and a 'broom'.
Wouldn't one of those swishy ones, like a specialy Swiffer broom, look similar, if you get it black? Or an old wood/bristle push broom about 8" wide.
For the hat use an old baseball cap.
You can always pin a picture of Mary Poppins on your breast.

 

Here is a very modern take by Frey on the old tale of Dracula & his Partner in Crime, of the vampire variety:

 

Again, I bet you have most of this stuff in your attic/basement.

I know you can find tacky silk shirts at the Salvation Army!

 

How about a shepherd girl, and/or a shepherd boy?

 

 

c.1895

 

You will need:

a full skirt, just below the knees

a white apron

a scarf to tie around your waist, or a wide belt

a shepherd's crook - be creative! Think inexpensive cane with a foil 'hook',

           covered in dark brown pantyhose

1 peasant type blouse

shoes and socks are up to you to match!

 

Are you dreaming COSTUME yet?

Are you thinking of where you could go to a second hand/used shop?

Come on, don't putz out and go to that pricey Costume Shop.

I never had a store-bought costume the whole time I trick or treated,

or went to Halloween parties.

For one thing, we didn't have the money for that kind of silliness.

For another thing, both my parents were incredibly creative.

I think some rubbed off on me....

 

 c.1910

c. 1908

 

Time to brush up on your cowboy songs!

Get those sweat pants out, some fun foam cut into fringe & Aleene's No Sew Glue

Borrow your guy's rope - they all have some kind of it!

or a clothesline

Go to Goodwill for:

a beaded belt, or beaded scarf to go around the waist

a BIG hat, preferably western/cowboy

some jingle bells to sew onto a silver piece of ribbon,

and tie around your shoes, under your instep. (Spurs!!)

western shirt

ooohhhh, I can see it already....

Here is a vintage piece of sheet music, with a great CowGirl illustration to inspire all you Cow Girls out there...

An embroidered shirt would look great too.

Get out that fun foam and a pair of plain gardening gloves to make a great pair of roping gloves,

if you don't happen to have any.

Well, since it is late in the day here, I will close for now.

I have TONS more costume ideas for you;

and Halloween paper dolls.

:0)

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/