Showing posts with label moon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moon. Show all posts

Sunday, June 28, 2026

Michaels Halloween Part 1 ~ Bound by Magic

Hey everyone! I hope you've all been having a nice summer so far. I've been having a pretty good time, although nothing I've been doing has lent itself to Halloween-themed blogging until now. 

Michaels has their Halloween out already! They have only rolled out a few themes so far. I think they're counting everything I'm about to share in the one "Bound by Magic" theme, but to me it feels like it could be split in two. I saw online that they are previewing a few additional Halloween themes, but they haven't been released yet. I like the idea of slowly rolling out different Halloween themes over the course of the summer. That will give me something to look forward to over time. 

So, I know I have some magic fans out there! Especially of the antique magic posters. I think you guys are going to really dig what Michaels has done with this theme. Some of you might even recognize the face on this tray.


You can get the matching hanging advertisement too!


These are probably some of those book box/storage type decorations, although they do have a more realistic book look than usual. I didn't open them to find out. 


Another view of those electrifying hands, this time on a tray.


Part of why I am loving this collection is that it reminds me of my times visiting a certain antique store. I'm not sure that place even exists anymore. Anyway, that store had some old stuff, and unusual too. They had actual old circus posters and they were massive! Maybe "posters" isn't the right word. They were more like massive painted tarps with these crazy images of sideshow performers. I may have even shared some photos from that place years ago. 

I'm aware that these are reproductions of images from actual magicians' advertisements. And much like those sideshow advertisements I was just mentioning, these show some pretty impossible stunts. A floating head? Really? If he did try to do something like this back in the day, well, let's just say I'd like to have a time machine to see it. I'd like to go back in time to see any of this, really. 





This may be rack for wine bottles. If not, it could be! It kind of goes with the image above. 


How fun are these shelves? She hasn't quite been put back in order yet.


And the matching disembodied heads. The girl's expression on the left makes sense to me! The one on the right is really holding it together. There's a joke in there somewhere. 


This next section is listed as "Bound by Magic" on the Michaels website. Now, I'm a little confused, because I would have named the first photos I shared under that name. I would have called this "Celestial" something. Also, I wouldn't consider any of this strictly Halloween themed! These seem like year-round decor, but... oh well. OK, so we're starting with some shimmery led lanterns. 


Triangular boxes:



I thought this was a cool message and I'm surprised to have not seen it on something before. 


A zodiac-themed mirror that I wish didn't have so much reflected in it. It's always challenging to photograph mirrors in stores. 


And speaking of mirrors, I think this one probably hangs on the wall and then you put a candle in front of it on that tray. I really like that old-time look of candles in front of mirrors on the wall.




This mirrored container was probably a candleholder. I can't find it on their website to be sure.


How old-timey is this mirror? It looks like something that could be hanging above a bar a century ago. 


An up-close view of that pillow:


As you can see, they're doing a lot with eyes in this collection. These are wall hangings. 


These eyes are actually kind of spooky to me. Maybe because they remind me of something, although I'm not sure what.


I know what this reminds me of, though! The leg lamp from A Christmas Story! Must be the fringe.


This is maybe another storage cabinet? 


These velvety zodiac pillows are so cool!


Shout-out to my fellow Libras. ⭐♎⚖


Michaels had their Spooky Town out and there were a lot of little buildings in that town! I wish I could have seen these little displays lit up and moving, but they either weren't plugged in or turned on. If you would like to get a glimpse of what they look like lit up: 


From the pictures on the Michaels site, I think I would really like this one lit up with those little pink lights. So, here we have "DJ Decay's Roller Rink Rave". If this had been on, I would have seen the little monsters gliding or "skating" around. 



How great are these hand-like trees?


Check out the porch on the "Frightful Fangs Dentistry".


Looks like the werewolves hit up "The Full Moon Bar". 



I like the "Misty Grave Mausoleum" so much that I'm including two pictures of it.


I appreciate the detail on this one. It actually resembles stone. I also like the ghostly figure in the doorway. I just noticed its ribcage. I wonder if the ghost lights up? I just checked and yup, it glows a bright green. It would have been a missed opportunity if it didn't light up.


Little Shop of Horrors meets Harry Potter?


"Beware, the clocks keep on ticking" ??? I guess ticking clocks could drive someone crazy.


This one was one of my favorites So, here's the miniature seance going on:


And the full building:


This eye detail is why this made my favorites list. I just watched the video that goes with this, and yes, that eyeball moves from side to side! 


This is my other favorite, I think for obvious reasons. That pumpkin creature reaching over the building to grab a VHS tape. I feel like between this and the rollerskating rave, someone my age designed these. 😄


It's worth paging through the Michaels page I linked to earlier, because there are a number of miniatures there that I did not see in person. 

And lastly, I'm sharing a few favorites from the bead/charm/jewelry making section. These aren't strictly Halloween, but certainly could be. 




Well, what do you guys think? I think Michaels is off to a great start with their Halloween items, and as I mentioned there is more to come. I'm excited to see the other themes they roll out. It looks like they're going to be vampiric. There's definitely a lot of red and black going on. 🧛

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Some Surprising Photos of the Solar Eclipse

Hey everyone! I hope you've all been having a nice winter/early spring. I'm popping in to write a short blog post and share some photos of last Monday's solar eclipse. I was careful not to look directly at the eclipse and more or less tilted my camera up toward it. From what I read, the older (non-phone) cameras would be OK if you were quick about it.

So here are a few photos showing what the sky looked like as it changed. I stood out there about 15 minutes before the full eclipse (or partial where I was in Wisconsin). What I mean is, I stood outside 15 minutes before it was going to be as full as it was going to get. 

Getting darker....

I think I can see the curve of something different at the top of the sun:

I see some interesting pieces of colored light here. I'd like someone to explain to me what was going on with those, especially the green shape.

When the eclipse did arrive here (at 2:08:10 pm from what I read online) I felt physically more cold and a dark purplish-blue cast of shadow went over everything. It didn't feel like day or night or any other time we're used to. It actually felt like time was in a holding pattern. I'm trying to think of how to describe how I felt during the eclipse. I didn't feel in the present moment. It was like the past and future were happening at the same time for a few seconds. 

This photo is the same as the one I started with. I feel emotionally moved looking at it for some reason. And how about the perfect square of light that is formed around the eclipse? It looks like someone drew purplish-pink circles in a square formation.

And boy, did I feel dizzy throughout the day! Did anyone else feel physically weird on Monday?

Aside from the physical symptoms, experiencing the eclipse was not something I wanted to miss. And we've had some nice, warm weather lately. So it was very comfortable to be standing around. I'd be curious to know what time of day you guys saw the eclipse and how full of an eclipse you saw where you were. I know some people traveled to the states where they could see the full effect. And I'd of course be interested to see any photos you may have taken. So far, every person's photo I've seen looked different.