Guest Post - Marsha's Halloween

Hi Everyone! I'm Marsha (of Marsha Neal Studio) and I am thrilled to be asked to do a special guest post here on LMAJ blog for Halloween themed post...

Marsha Neal Studio Halloween Ghost Pendant

I consider myself to be more of a bead maker than a jewelry designer,

although I do dabble a bit.

Marsha Neal Studio Bat Necklace

I find that as a bead maker, it is important to understand how your pieces can be used for creating finished jewelry and also to listen to feedback so you can make your work that much better.

Marsha Neal Studio Porcelain Bat Pendant

For Halloween, I walk that line of in-between.

In between kinda cute and the slightly not so normal.

I am a color and texture person.

Throw in a shape to give it a bit of definition, but other than that I like to see how the clay and glaze react with the textures.

Marsha Neal Studio Porcelain Bat and Silk Ribbon Necklace

I love quick wire wrapping.

I need to sit and figure out some cool handmade closures, but time has not allowed for that.

(And that is something I have to be ok with for the time being).

Fall Gords and Pumpkin

We have a preference in my house for the fun things.

Not the scary things of Halloween.

Marsha's End of Season Garden

I love the end of season garden for gathering bits of decaying plants and seed heads to press into ceramic clay (which gets fired to become a texture plate) and then rolled over with fresh porcelain to get reverse images printing like this pendant:

Marsha Neal Studio Porcelain Nature Pressed Pendant

I have a little family of 4 (me, my husband, and two young children).

So for Halloween, we start decorating in early October.

We read fun Halloween books. We watch fun Halloween movies.

Marsha Neal Studio Halloween House Decoration

I know that as they grow older, they will be wanting to watch horror flicks.

For right now, we avoid watching them when they are present.

I'm the type of girl that watches those movies through the cracks in my fingers covering my face.

The kind of girl, that when the kids are asleep and my husband and I sit up and catch up with The Walking Dead (AMC) - he often has to ask through laughter: "Marsha. Does your running in place in bed help them get away faster? Do you think they can hear you telling them that one is over there and to Run Now! Get Outta There!?"

Oh, man. My kids are going to have fun with me when they get older...

So with that...

My house usually shows off Halloween more than I do.

I prefer the simple design with a hint of that not so pretty (but usually quite pretty to me) texture and color.

What about you?

How do you wear Halloween?

Please stay safe if you are in the path of Hurricane Franken-Storm Sandy.

I hope you and your loved ones make it through this safe and sound and get to have a little fun with Halloween this year.