Sunset 14th November Autumn into WInter

It's been great to see the return of some lovely sunsets this week after a period of cloud and rain. Tonight was a real pleasure to watch, it looked lovely in all directions and changed from pale pastels to quite intense shades of pink and purple in the North...

And fast changing oranges and yellows with hints of purples in the South West (which became very fiery near the end before softening off at the end as the street lights came on. The trees have lost nearly all their leaves now but as long as some are still clinging on my head thinks it is Autumn, but dropping temperatures and early sunsets are telling a more Wintery story (this took place over 12 minutes from 5.17pm)

September, tiny ponies, red Rowan

Autumn came early to many plants in the garden after a brief dip in night time temperatures, meaning the baby Rowan in the garden turned red long before the mature ones. Also the young Spindle and the Virginia Creeper making seasonal leafy splashes of brightness sooner than expected. Lovely. And then a surprise, tiny ponies 10 minutes from home.

50 minutes of Sunset

Such a lovely changing sunset on the 6th, I went from window to window taking photos in all directions, this is just a very small sample of the changes it went through. So beautiful. As you can see I've given up with writing under photo's as the new Blogger layout makes it such an unbelievable faff. Life is to short to waste time formatting each post and I've forgotten all the html I used to know.

update - I'be decided that since it won't let me write then it has to be all about the image, so i should make them bigger. Old posts with smaller images will still show at their full size when clicked (applies mainly to posts after 2009, prior to that I was making them tiny so my blog allowance wouldn't run out too fast). I hope you like the change.

The photos are set out by direction rather than in the order they were taken. Photo 2 was so bright it lit up inside the house, it was so intense. I wish I had made a video of the transition between the 1st two photos, i think it only took 5 mins to change, would have looked nifty speeded up.

1-3   Looking North and North East
4-7   Looking South West
8-10 Looking West

My Halloween - food, face, flowers - 2011

Much belated, a few snippets from my Halloween Dinner party:
1. Autumn Squash and a lovely Black Bear brooch from Adadine (guilt gift from Mr P).
2. Facepaint always makes me happy.
3. Oxalis plant in a ceramic raku fired bowl I made in the early 90's.
4. Japanese snacks in a small ceramic tealight holder.

Halloween inspiration - black white grey & stylish

Mummified drink bottles by one charming party


Marshmallow goody bags by one charming party


Crushed Oreos adorn the top of the cake to resemble dirt, inside is red sponge. By one charming party


Halloween table display with pumpkin painting tutorial on Apples & Onions


Black lace candles on Family Chic


Table setting for Black Halloween in Sweet Paul Magazine


Black Pumpkin styled by Paul Lowe for Black Halloween in Sweet Paul Magazine


Framed Embroidery by Paul Vitale for Black Halloween at Sweet Paul Magazine


Spanish Moss tealight holders and white Ranunculus with wording make more grown up table decorations via One Charming Party.


Chiharu Shiota - In Silence - 2008


Sweet Paul's scary portraits tutorial is here.

So you have some ideas for the house, but what about you? I always think about how I'll do my hair, or my wigs. Here are some tamer than usual ideas for a more stylish party...


Désirée Dolron - Xteriors VI - 2003 (via Alain Truong, see more on Artnet)


Dusan Jaukovic working with Morpheum Couture for Best Shop (via Haute Macabre)


A Tribute to Dorian Gray. Shot by Vincent Alvarez for Soon International. Found via Haute Macabre.

Next up, what to wear? Perhaps that should have been before the hair, but I usually start with hair and work a look around it. When you are going for something stylish that shouldn't mean giving up on the costume side of things, dressing up is half the fun. One option is to think Couture or Avante Garde catwalk style take some Halloween fashion tips from the runway shows and magazines.


Gareth Pugh via About a Girl.


Gareth Pugh - Spring Collection, Women's 2010 via Million Looks.


Gareth Pugh - Spring Collection, Men's 2010 via Homme Times.


Gareth Pugh via About a Girl.


Peter Pilotto Franken-Fashion mask for model Guinevere van Seenus on Dazed Digital.


Chic Gothic Glam, shot by Craig McDean for Vogue Italia. Found via Haute Macabre.




Photographed by Jerry Bennet :: Modeled & MUA by Manchester
Wardrobe and Styled by Alex London. Found via Haute Macabre.


Photos from Max.Tan’s F/W 2010 collection via Haute Macabre.


Iris van Herpen - Capriole - Paris Haute Couture Show

I have so much more but don't have time to find the links, perhaps another time? FOr now I need to get on with my own Halloween arrangements, like dusting off Mr P's green lady painting 'Tina' by J.H.Lynch which is perfect for Halloween in a mobile home since it oozes kitsch. I'll try and get a photo if I have time.

Scabious 'Black Cat'

Scabiosa 'Chat Noir' (Scabious 'Black Cat') logged here on Folia.

These were slow to develop from seeds sown earlier this year but are now opening up. I expected the dark ones, it's all in the name, but there are actually more which have the brighter colouring. The two colours look great together

The closed bud stage lasted about 2 months for them to open up. Last week the larger ones began to open one or two tiny flowers around the edges and this week those same ones are fully open. There are still lots in the early bud stage so I think there will be flowers into October. This year they are mainly growing up through the dark Sweet Pea mix but I'd love to try them in amongst golden or lime green foliage.



The two colours that came up, bright and dark.