frosted petunias scented candle?

Last night one of those Glade home fragrance commercials came on while my son was watching his Myth Busters recording. Usually he fast forwards through all the commercials. You have probably seen it. (I couldn't find a video to post.) The same Glade lady walks into her house. Lights her little Glade candle and as she looks in the mirror she's transported into this magical autumn woodland. She's basking in the golden autumn sunlight and leaves swirl all around her. She starts twirling around and then she's back in front of the mirror and her husband is teasing her about her little pirouette. It's for their new fragrance called Cashmere Woods.

My son actually watched it and then he said 'Look mom it looks like your blog!' So I had him rewind it again and I thought...actually it does. At least it does in the way that I'd like to think you might feel when you come here. Like you're escaping into an enchanted autumn woods with toffee colored leaves and lemony stardust sprinkling all around you....

Remember I made this little collage for this post? And you are still welcome by the way to use it for your desktop wallpaper if you like. Just click on it for the bigger image and save to your computer. It was this post that inspired me to come up with my Halloween tea party. Long before I even dreamt of starting my own blog I would search for witchy tea parties and dream about having one.

I thought of having a real one but most of my creative friends that would appreciate something like this live too far away. Then I discovered blog parties. And wonderful amazing bloggers like you who don't think I'm odd (or maybe you're just happily odd like me too) because I obsess about an old movie about witches or that I put ravens in my chandelier before October.

I  snuck my tea party post in with the PM party and I didn't get to officially invite everyone. I know some of you already signed up and I'm just so wonderfully excited about it. With so many Halloween blog parties going around next month you would think I'm a bit mental to add to the fray. But I just love Halloween and I couldn't pass up celebrating my first All Hallows in blogland without a proper tea.

So this is my official invitation to you to join me for a Tea Party Under A Halloween Moon. And yes it is an actual full moon on that date which is why I chose it. Now October is absolutely mad at my house. It starts with a trip to our fall Ren faire (hopefully this weekend if the weather cools down), then my son's birthday and I've filled all the other weekends with as much Halloween as I can.  Most of the events involve some kind of dress up which is normal for me. To again quote my nearly 14 year old son... "You always look like you're going to Diagon Alley anyway."

So I am actually planning both my tea party post and my post for the Fanciful Twist Halloween Party now and I'm hoping to have both done at the same time. Although they will be completely different from each other.

Utter madness? Yes.Sheer lunacy? Of course! But this is my season. I live for autumn and I'd rather fill it to the brim with all the pumpkins, leaves, teapots and pointy hats I can grab and then take a break the rest of the year. Yule and Christmas are for family.....although I can't resist a frosty winter wonderland...

Anywhoo. I hope you can join me for tea and even if you can't this time I hope you still feel like you might have stepped into that Glade commercial when you come here to see me. I truly love meeting all of you amazing, enchanted and kindred souls.

You make my life magic.

september atc swap

My atc swap group at Blissfull ATC Swap just posted out September cards. Our theme was LEAVES. I posted my partner Yvette's card earlier but I'm posting it again. She has a beautiful blog called The Charm House

I mentioned last time how gorgeous her card was in person. I love the little fairy and the beads gave it so much more dimension and texture. And I love how she used beeswax as a finish. Again I am truly inspired.

I also wanted to share the atc I sent her and show you how beautifully she photographed it. I need to take a few pointers from her I think. Yvette I learn so much from you yet again! Thank you.

I'm really enjoying creating these little atcs. It's like getting a quick creative fix. I like working with this small scale and trying to see how much or how little I can fit on it. Our next theme is DARK and even if they haven't announced our partners yet I finished it a while ago because I was so excited to make it!

an almost tuesday spooky monday

First I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who came to our Practical Magic blog party this weekend and made it a HUGE success! The party posts were all incredible and absolutely amazed us. I'm still making my rounds which will probably take me the rest of the year! My post is right below for anyone still visiting and there's a pernament button on my left sidebar that links directly to it.

This is one pooped witchy over here! I just had to take a little break from all that blog hopping on my broomstick and rest my little toes for a while.

These are my first little pumpkins of the season. I found these 2 perfect mini ghost pumpkins at my grocery store earlier. We always start with the baby ones and build up to the big guys as it gets closer to Halloween. I was so excited to find them that I could almost ignore it being 99 degrees outside. Almost.

Here's my sweet LaLou, who isn't really mine but my neighbor's cat, even if she practically lives in my backyard. She watched me and Luna fly back in early Sunday morning on my broom after blog hopping all over the place. She was not too happy about being left behind so I made a deal with her. I'll bring her along on the next ride if she stops pooping in my backyard! Ok she can come anyway. She and Luna are going to have to figure out who gets to sit in front.

Since there are exactly 7 minutes left of Monday here in Tomato Land I'm sneaking this post in with Spooky Mondays at Wendys Adventures in Wonderland. She has a fabulous Practical Magic post that you don't want to miss.

Happy very late Spooky Monday!

practical magic

It's Autumn! My favorite season of all.

A bright yellow moon hangs in the night sky and a feeling of magic fills the air. Each fall I love to watch one of my all time favorite films, Practical Magic. Since I discovered blogging this year it was obvious that a  blog party was in order. More than 200 of you seem to feel the same way! I never tire of looking at that house and it's amazing interior. More than a decade after the movie it still never fails to enchant me.

Tonight I invite you to join me in celebrating the season with

a touch of Practical Magic...

Here in a little corner of the attic I have tucked

away a bewitching space. A place for dreams and enchantments

inspired by the movie's white Carpenter Gothic Victorian.

Where gypsy firelight illuminates ancient herbs and

potions waiting to be brewed.

And where sparkly ravens foretell omens and fortunes

for unsuspecting guests.

Like the Aunts' greenhouse and pantry I filled

my room with curious bottles, fragrant blooms...

and candles in shades of honey and amber.

In this place everything is magical by candle light.

Time stands still.

When I stand here I can imagine being

in the Aunts' conservatory, gathering ingredients for a potent charm.

Tonight these ingredients await a spell...

A spell for true love cast under an Autumn moon.

With words whispered in the darkness of night.

Sweet blooms and intoxicating lavender are mixed just so.

In my witches pantry you might find herbs such as those

mentioned in Alice Hoffman's novel and in the film as well.

Butterfly Weed, Pennyroyal, Mugwort

....and Belladonna.

And a book of spells whose pages must remain a secret.

Unless you dare to meet me under a midnight moon.

We can mix a wicked brew....

with herbs gathered from a witch's garden

Like Sally Owens we can cast a spell for true love...

.....Amas Veritas

In this magical place pumpkins dare to grow year round.

Spring flowers bloom in a witches garden even

as the leaves begin to fall.

The heavy scent of jasmine fills the air inviting us

to play in this corner a while longer. But now there

are other witchy things I would like to show you.

Other spaces and a pinch of art created by this whimsical witch.

Would you like to see?

I'll come back for my broom after we're through.

This corner of the attic is for crafting magic by witches light.

In honor of our favorite movie I created a set of

Practical Magic inspired ATCs (Artist Trading Cards).

A toad found in the Aunts garden watches over them.

I suspect he's been there since that day they banished

Jimmy Angelov's nasty spirit!

Each ATC bears part of a quote taken from the last lines

from the film (and from the book).

And a miniature spell book....

One to hold a small gathering of ingredients for an ancient curse.

...Or perhaps it's just the right size to hold my ATCs!

It's nearly midnight and before the spell is broken I have

still one more thing to share with you.

This sign was used to promote the fragrance Elixir of Love No.1 by Caswell-Massey. You can almost imagine it being sold at Verbena, Sally's botanical shop. Caswell-Massey provided some of the antique furniture used in the movie. I purchased the fragrance and lotion a few weeks after the movie opened. While I was in the shop I saw this sign and asked what they would do with it after the promotion was over and to my surprise the very nice cashier just gave it to me! It was like magic.

The card shows the original release date of October 9 (my son's birthday!)

but there was a delay and it eventually opened on the 16th.

Yes I was there on opening day for the first matinee and I won't even

tell you how many times I saw it in the theater. 

The beautiful Elixir of Love No.1 apothecary bottles are a deep cobalt blue. It's always been one of my favorite scents to wear in Fall. I still have the lovely boxes these came in but couldn't seem to find them. You can see the entire line at Caswell-Massey but don't forget to come back here....

Because I have a witchy little giveaway for you.

I will send the winner my set of 3 ATCs inspired by

Practical Magic along with your own mini glass cloche

or belljar which is seen throughout the Aunts house and garden

(sorry you will have to catch your own toad).

All you need to do is leave a comment and you're entered.

I'll leave the giveaway open for 2 weeks and announce

the winner on Saturday October 9!

Det. Gary Hallet offered to take the little spellbook to a new home in AZ (hee-hee).

And if you like the Autumn spellbook page I created at the top of my post I also made one that anyone can download and use for your personal (non commercial) book or journal, virtual or real. It's a high resolution (300dpi) 8 x 10 page which you can print out or resize as you wish.

Click for a larger image to save to your computer.

Well I would say it's definitely time for Midnight Margaritas! It's been an amazing soiree with so many of you nice enough to come and play. I think I'll need a little break after this but I'm also looking forward to playing at the lovely Miss Vanessa's  Halloween Party at A Fanciful Twist on October 16.

(She is my inspiration after all.....isn't she everyone's?)

And if you're like me and you still can't get enough of Halloween

come back and join me on the night of the next full moon,

October 23 for my Tea Party Under A Halloween Moon.

Thank you so much for coming to our party and for

visiting me here in the witch's attic.

OH MY GOODNESS!! With all this deliciously magical chaos I forgot to thank my dear co-hostess Justina at La Boheme Magique! It was our mutual obsession for this movie that brought us together which led to this blog party coming to life. She's an amazingly talented artist (the girl can really sing I tell you) and through all her crazy and hectic schedule she was able to put an amazing post together so don't miss it! Thank you for all your inspiration and magic Justina!

My dear Luna has been patiently waiting by our broom.

She knows it's almost time to grab our

witchy hats and carpet bags. It's midnight at last....

.....and now we're off to visit all of you!

Have a most magical Autumn season.

Click HERE to go to the blog party home page and to see list of participants.

Blog design, photos and digital art were created by me. Please remember to be kind and not link to or take them away(except for the giveaway page which you are free to download). If you have questions feel free to email me at frostedpetunias@gmail.com

tea party under a halloween moon

To go to my party post and to leave your party link please go here.

So what does one do after the unbelievably huge Practical Magic Blog Party? As you know I love all things Autumn and Halloween. I couldn't let my first Halloween in Blogland go by with only 1 blog party!

You see Lucinda (my crafty studio witch) and I have a secret wish. One we've been holding onto for a long, long, looong time. And this year we think our wish might actually come true. We have always wanted to have a witches tea party under a Halloween moon. With vintage lace and tarnished teapots set aglow by candlelight. Wicked sweets and other tattered bits.

And so that is what I decided to do...

Join me on the night of the October full moon.

It's on a Saturday this year.

Follow me along a moonlit path.

Into the deepest heart of the autumn woods.

Where burnished moonflowers

and twinkling lanterns light our way.

Underneath a full Halloween moon we'll set our table and have a wicked tea party. You're welcome to bring anything you like. Bewitched teacups, singing pumpkins, candy corn stripped cats, cackling ravens and of course wandering witches. There might even be a ghost or two.

Have your tea party for one or for ninety one!

You can have a real tea with real people. Or one with your favorite magical friends. Come and show off your Halloween art, crafts, decorations, collections, stories, costumes and edible delights.

For a few ideas you can go here, and here.

Here is a button for you to add to your bloggy. You can save it from here or grab the code from my sidebar. On the day of the party please leave a comment on my party post and include the link to your actual post. This will ensure that everyone can find your party even after I take the names from the sidebar down.
If you would like to join me, Lucinda, Fiona, Luna and all my other witchy kin simply leave a comment and let me know.

 Let's make the most of our favorite season before it goes away!