Autumn is in the Air!

These lovely home fragrance products from Greenleaf are currently in stock and making the shop smell GREAT! There are scented envelope sachets, potpourri, soy candles and room spray. It's a spicy, citrusy, Fall fragrance--not too food-like, just nice.

Send your little spooks out trick or treating with a special LED keyring light that makes a scary noise and lights up when you push the button.

Older kids (5+) will love making up their own monster scenes with this self-contained magnetic monster set--choose different heads, torsos, legs and backgrounds. With some creative photography, you could make a cool flip movie!

For the mini Iron Chefs out there, we have the Melissa and Doug apple pie set--slice your apple, put it in the pie and bake. Be sure to use the oven mitt when you take it out of your "oven"! Then slice and serve it up with the included pie server. Nothing says Fall is here like the smell of fresh baked apple pie, even if it is a pretend one.

It's about time!

It's starting to feel a little cooler out, the days are getting shorter, and that means one thing--it's almost Halloween!

I can't wait to wear my Halloween apron for passing out candy to the trick or treaters! If only I had the glowing gams of my mannequin. . .

I'm not sure what you call these: is it a reproduction if it's made by the same company that's always made it? These paper cut outs are printed on both sides--perfect for windows as well as walls.

These feline place mats are so cute! Whether you choose the green or the orange, you'll be sure to festify your dining table!

This is a nice set of dishtowels for Fall--only the jack-o-lantern one has a Halloween-specific picture on it. They come folded and tied with a satin ribbon--a perfect gift for the haunted hostess or the October birthday girl.

They're Here!

I sold out of the first batch very quickly, and I'm pleased to announce that the Berwyner T-shirts have arrived! This time we have them in adult sizes small-XXL. I told you that we'd have them in plenty of time for the holidays. . .


Another addition to the Halloween aisle (okay, I know it's not really an aisle, but that just sounded good) are these adorable ghost pins made by a young entrepreneur in the Depot District. He's 11, and he needs to replace the deck of his skateboard, so he has to raise some cash for the cause. Edible jewelry. I love it, and so will you (or the kid on your extra special treat list).

PETA might have some issues with this. . .

Please don't hate me because I did this. I do it every year, and nothing bad has come from it. I put my cats in Halloween costumes. Laverne DeClawsio would like you, the readers of this blog, to help her decided which costume to wear this year. Her sister Shirley Feline has decided to wear whichever one Laverne rejects. Please leave your votes in the comment section. Thanks!

"I'm thinkin' Wendy's"

OR
"What are ya'? Chicken?"

Halloween merchandise & a new book

Well, I think I have enough Halloween stuff in my store now. Who am I kidding, there's never enough Halloween stuff. . . The landlord was in on Saturday, and he panicked when he saw spiders and rats--that is, until he realized they were fake. * tee hee *

I just got copies of the book Celebrate Green. It's a great guide for ways to celebrate holidays with a lighter impact (or no impact) on the environment. There are tips ranging from decorating and entertaining to gift-giving, and lots more. I was pleased that many of the gifts they mention in the book are things that I carry in the store! They donate a portion of the proceeds from the book to charities, too (Treeswing and Healthy Child Healthy World). And of course it's printed on recycled paper! To read more about it, click the title of this post!

The bottle cap spider was a little trickier than I thought it would be. I was struggling with the legs. The wire I was trying to use was really flimsy and I couldn't figure out how to attach it to the body or wrap it with the electrical tape. Well, Hubby Jon came to the shop yesterday to install my security cameras, and he had all these little scraps of black plastic-coated cable. Just the perfect bendable black legs for my little spider!

You may be asking what's so green about security cameras? Well, they are cameras Jon salvaged from jobs--he replaces the old ones with newer ones, and they expect him to get rid of the old ones for them. Well, he did. And since most of his jobs are in big places, he always has shortish runs of cable leftover that are too short to use on those big jobs. The computer I have them hooked up to Jon's old one that he held onto, "just in case". I don't really know if I NEED security cameras, but it's nice that I can see what's going on in front when I'm in back. And I'm really interested in watching how people shop in the store--where do they look? What do they overlook? I think it will help me design better displays. And maybe seeing myself on camera all the time will make me dress a little better, lose some weight, and comb my hair (or at least I'll stand up straighter!). And, since crime is up all over due in part to the economy, it makes us feel a little safer.

One last thing--October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Fly Right Gifts and Audrey Gerdt have teamed up to raise money for this worthy cause. Audrey has made some pretty bracelets featuring a small dangle with the pink ribbon symbol on them. We are selling them for $15 each, and 100% of the money goes to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

It's begining to look a lot like Halloween!

I am making some Halloween decorations for the store this week. I was on a quest today to find some good, fake spiders for a wreath I'm doing. This is proving harder than I thought, so I'll try to make some out of plastic soda bottle lids and electrical tape. Lord knows we have enough of both of those things in our house! My quest lead me to many places I rarely visit--both -Marts (K-and Wal-), Michael's (okay, not THAT rare for me), and a Halloween Store that has popped up where Wickes Furniture was. All that was was a giant version of Kmart's Halloween aisle--complete with K's on the price tags. But no spiders that were small enough to fit on a wreath! I'll let you know how my homemade spiders come out.

I also thought about what I was going to give out to trick or treaters this year. It needs to be "green" in some way. So I searched out organic Halloween candy. Not in my budget. Small toys? All made in China. What's a girl to do??? Then I remembered that there is a candy factory in nearby Forest Park--the Ferrara Pan Candy Company. Makers of Lemonheads, Red Hots, Boston Baked Beans, etc. They have an outlet store within the factory, and they said they'd soon be getting Halloween size boxes in mixed bags. That's about as green as I can afford to get, so I'm going to. I have to get the scoop on whether or not kids trick or treat in the Depot District. I would assume that some of my "regulars" will come by. I'm sure everyone knows I love Halloween, and they will assume I'll have treats. So I will!

***Corny Joke Warning***

Why did the Vampire subscribe to the Wall Street Journal?
He heard it had great circulation...

Oktoberfest Success!

This was the scarecrow that the kids from Prairie Oak school made for Berwyn C.A.R.E.S. She's the old lady who swallowed a fly (I don't know why she swallowed a fly, perhaps she'll die)! I had the pleasure of hosting her right in front of the store all weekend. In the background is the Cuckoo Haus (Germanic version of a fun house). I didn't venture in there--I was too busy.

Wow. That's all I can say about Oktoberfest in Berwyn. They really did it up right! I was really proud when a very young girl came into my store and bought a small, but relatively expensive stuffed panda (made of soybeans and kapoc, thus the added cost) with her carnival money from her parents. He was only slightly larger than the smallest carnival game prize animals, but oh so soft and eco-friendly! And way cuter, too. I'm sure all those cheapie prizes will end up in a landfill soon. The panda probably won't, but if he does, at least he's biodegradable.

I'm so glad that I stayed open until 11pm both Friday and Saturday nights--tons of new people came in, and many bought stuff. It was great exposure for the store, since we were right along the carnival midway. I met so many new people and my head is swimming with names and information! I got to see a lot of previous customers, and acquired a lot of new ones as well. The feedback I got was overwhelmingly positive. Now I feel really great about taking this giant step. I can't believe how many people actually bought stuff. . .they had to carry it around with them all night! I think I'll be seeing lots of them again, too.

At Angel-a's urging, I put out the Halloween merchandise early. I'm so glad I did. I didn't sell a lot over the weekend, but I have a feeling people will be back for it soon! And it's just so darn cute! I did sell a lot of the paper decorations that I had--vintage reproduction cutouts, still made by Beistle.

I'll be writing about ways to "green" up your Halloween in upcoming blogs. Thanks to everyone who came to Oktoberfest, and especially those who stopped by to check out the store!

Septemberfest

The weather has been feeling a bit Fall-ish lately, and for that I am thankful. Things around the shop have been a little slow recently, which I guess is to be expected since everyone just spent all their money on school supplies and new shoes for the kiddies. I'm taking this time to gear up for the upcoming holiday, and by that I mean Halloween! I just ordered some adorable Halloween tablecloths, treat bags, place mats, and dish towels! I also got a nice Fall tablecloth with autumn leaves on it. I also have a really cute kit to make witch hand puppets, and a magnetic monster maker (you pick a background and then mix-n-match your monster's head, torso and legs--it's killing me to not have one for my own personal enjoyment!). I'm trying not to go too overboard, as I understand not everyone is as excited about Halloween as I am. I hope I get some trick or treaters at the store, and I hope I get home in time to see some of the ones there, too! My dear hubby had better have that afternoon off so he can man the fog machine and have the treats ready!

I have some cute new BlueQ bags that just came in--all made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic. I've got 2 styles of shoulder bags, shopper totes, and small totes, and of course the coin purses (4 styles in all now). I've also replenished the water bottle selection, and I now have the very PC and cool stainless steel ones in addition to the cute plastic ones. I've got a couple of other orders due soon--the soda bottle birdfeeder kit, wooden train whistle, and more fun Pacifica stuff (if you like gin and tonics, you'll love their newest Juniper stuff).

I'm gearing up to redo the store window soon--we have the big Depot District Oktoberfest coming up the 19th and 20th. That should give me some good exposure--it's right out in front! There will be food vendors, bands, games, activities for the kids, and of course beer. I decided I'll stay open late-ish (if there's any interest). It should be fun, so if you're in the neighborhood stop by! I'm still not sure what to do with the window--probably just a general Fall thing that will easily morph into a Halloween spooktacular. I'm practically sitting on my hands to keep from spookin' the place up too early! I've got some great Halloween rubber stamps to play with in the meanwhile.