What Santa's Elves Must Feel and Wild Horses Couldn't Keep Us Away

It's been a while since my last blog post, and for that I apologize. It is not my intention to neglect you or this blog. However, in my defense, the busy season (aka the holidays) is upon us and my family and I have been spending long hours and late nights working on new pieces. We have been as busy as, well, Santa's elves. So, like many crafters out there, we empathize with Santa's elves wholeheartedly.

Nevertheless, we are having a lot of fun creating new pieces like our Hanging Steer Skulls (which are made by modifying our classic Steer Skulls and adding a steel wire hanger), incorporating new and vibrant colors into our line of Geckos (which are the most sought and bought at every show we attend), and experimenting with new molds and colors for brand new line of Thanksgiving and Christmas items (more will be online soon) to compliment our Halloween holiday items. (Speaking of Halloween - become a fan on our Facebook page and get a special discounts - this month receive 10% on all Halloween items by becoming a fan and using the special code.)

This is what my dining room table has looked like (with pieces interchanging day to day) as we get ready for our upcoming shows.


Speaking of shows, we have quite a few lined up in the Southern Arizona area - so if you are in the area, stop by, we'd love to meet you in person! (see our show schedule here.) We have so much fun at the shows meeting new people, spending time with our new artist friends, and immersing ourselves in all the wonderfully creative art on display. Wild Horses couldn't keep us away!

And that's not just a reference to a great Rolling Stones song! Dark Horse Arts and Gifts is donating 5% of all item sales to the American Horse Defense Fund. The AHDF rescues wild horses and donkeys; purchases, restores, and maintains land for natural habitats so these majestic animals can roam free; coordinate efforts with other non-profit groups and more!

Halloween is ghoulish fun, with tricks and treats and my favorite holiday!!!

Fall is here and I am so excited that Halloween is just around the corner! Halloween is hands-down my favorite holiday of the year. I love that it's all about fun and decorating and dressing up. Typically I don't make it out for trick or treating, but I do love to decorate just the same. What other time of year can you add skulls, carved pumpkins, ghosts, scary witches, hang a skeleton from the ceiling and use colors like orange, purple, red and black in your decor and not be considered truly odd? Plus, you get to eat candy and treats without any guilty feelings! :)

I've been pretty busy this past month making a few new favorites for the season. I'll share them here, plus some other great discoveries for Halloween I found at Etsy and 1000 Markets...

I am really honored to have this handy pumpkin candy dish featured
in an Etsy Gift Cuide for Halloween!

Here's a little ghost candy dish/box that is just too cute!
He looks bashful and somewhat embarrassed... and he should be -
hiding all that candy under his lid!

These grinning pumpkin dishes are my favorite this year along
with the lighted jack o'lantern that I posted at the top. They are
really fun and unique and I was very lucky to have found this
mold which was being disposed of by a company that
went out of business - lucky find indeed!!!

Black and white pumpkins are very popular this year, and I really
like the way this jack o'lantern figurine turned out. I used a jet black
underglaze against the white clay and used a sponging
technique to highlight the leaves.
I think this would be a great addition to decorations, and envision it
as a lovely centerpiece to add to any Halloween party table.

These Halloween Tags are so adorable and made by Catnip Studio
at 1000 Markets.
I love the name "Catnip Studio"!!

Anna's Trunk created this Halloween-Edgar Allen Poe-Raven
Nevermore Quotation-Sachet/Mini Pillow. I love E.A. Poe and his
spooky stories.
What a great and unique idea for adding a little "spooky" feeling around the house!


Another great table-decor idea from YourWayEmbroidery -
Embroidered Lace Halloween Doily.
I love the little bats around the cat with the witches hat - great design!!

Wishing you a great fall season and Happy Halloween!! Pumpkin juice cocktail anyone?

Something old and something new.... Victorian Crossroads

Dark Horse Arts and Gifts was recently accepted into the Victorian Crossroads Market and I cannot begin to tell you just how wonderful this market truly is! While browsing this unique and beautiful market, you start to feel as if you have been transported to a time past that is full of elegance and beauty, simplicity and grace.

The feeling of the Victorian-Edwardian Era (1832-1918) is represented very well at VC, and I love exploring all it has to offer. It is fascinating to me that an old era can be blended so beautifully in today's world.

I have found wonderful prints and cards, jewelry with an old-fashioned flare, lovely hats, great drawings and even honey! For me, being part of the Victorian Crossroads Market has meant an exploration in something old, but something new as well.

I have always loved this interesting time, but have never fully explored it. Now, day by day I explore and learn a little more and find it is very nostalgic and peaceful to browse and expose myself to this lovely marketplace. As explained in VC, this was a time of etiquette, glamor and romance amidst so many changes in the world like the many scientific advancements and the industrial revolution.

What a time it must have been, and how like the times we live in now....