Oct 10th, 2010 by artbymar
In honor of the annual Pittsburgh Zombie Walk being held today in Market Square here are some fun Zombies from Zazzle.
A fun I love zombies tee shirt.
Here is a tee shirt for you if you do not love Zombies.
Vegetarian Zombies? Not sure such a thing exists but who knows?
Some cool Keds shoes with blood splatters. Great addition to any Halloween or Zombie outfit.
Here is a postcard invitation for your own Zombie party or event.
If you like looking at Zombies all day while working on your computer here is a Mummy Zombie dude done in black and white on a mousepad.
Posted in Halloween, Interesting Events, Zombies | No Comments »
Oct 7th, 2010 by artbymar
Autumn is my favorite time of the year. Mainly because of Halloween. But I love the not too hot, not too cold weather as well as all the pretty colors in Fall leaves. Always lots to do with art festivals and pumpkin festivals at local farms. We always go a local farm here to pick our own apples then walk the nature trail they have through the woods. Here are some Zazzle designs inspired by the Fall Season.
A beautiful Fall scene in a misty woods with pretty bright red fall leaves. Looks like a place I would love to walk through. Spooky and beautiful all in one.
Great way to enjoy Autumn every morning with your cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Pretty Fall leaves brightly adorn this mug.
How about leaves on your Keds shoes? Colorful assortment of Autumn colored leaves on a black shoe.
It doesn’t get much prettier than this Fall leaf scene on a poster.
Thanksgiving always signifies the end of the Autumn season to me but still brings to mind all those warm colors I love. A Happy Thanksgiving tee shirt with pretty Autumn leaves.
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Oct 6th, 2010 by artbymar
The annual Zombie Walk is scheduled this year for October 10, 2010. This is where anyone can get dressed up like a Zombie and well, walk. In the past it was always held at Monroeville Mall, where one of the George Romano Zombie movies was filmed. But it it has grown rather large and the Mall did not want to sponsor it this year. It has been moved to Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh. Lots more room to spread out over the streets of Pittsburgh. The city with the largest number of attending Zombies gets into the record books.
You can read all about the details at this Pittsburgh News Site.
Posted in Halloween, Interesting Events, Zombies | No Comments »
Oct 5th, 2010 by artbymar
Scarecrows are interesting creations which remind me of the Autumn season, my favorite. There are so many types from elaborate to simple homemade ones. Do they really keep the crows away from the corn? Well probably not but they are just such a part of Fall and American tradition. Here are a few I found on Zazzle ranging from the cute to the scary.
This is one of mine from a vintage image. He is rather strange with some sort of melon type head and dressed in a suit. Doesn’t look like the crows are too afraid of him however!
Here is one of mine that falls into the cute and folk art category from my original painting. This sweet little guy seems to have made friends with the crows sitting on his shoulders. He is dressed in the traditional farmer overhauls with a cat sitting at his feet. Great stamp for the Autumn season.
Here is a Halloween one with a big moon in the background. He is done in vibrant Halloween colors and falls into the cute and fun category for stamps.
Here is a greeting card with a photograph of a “real” homemade scarecrow. I love those homemade ones, so unique, especially when a jack o lantern pumpkin is used for the head.
Here is a very adorable scarecrow on a child’s tee shirt (great for grown ups too!). This cute little folk art guy is done in soft shades of brown and orange.
Here is a great hoody for those cool evenings on a hayride. A wonderful scarecrow in the field Halloween scene is done in embroidery.
I just love this photograph on a postcard of an art doll hiding in the cornstalks. This is one of my favorite doll artists. Love those spooky green eyes on this creepy little scarecrow.
This scary guy is from one of my favorite Zazzle artists, her Halloween art is awesome! He is dressed in a black robe with a top hat and cane. Great tee shirt for a trip to a haunted house this season.
This scarecrow face is goofy and eerie all rolled into one! Would be great for men and women on a tee shirt. Not something you want to run into in the dark of the night.
Here is an awesome poster to decorate your house this Halloween season (or if you are like me all year round!). Creepy night scene with a scary scarecrow in a pumpkin patch. I love how the purple and orange sky seems to glow.
Posted in Autumn, Halloween, Scarecrows | No Comments »
Oct 4th, 2010 by artbymar
I just re-designed my store front on Zazzle! I was afraid the previous banner I had was a little hard on the eyes. So I thought of all the things that were “me” and came up with a new banner. I am passionate about genealogy so I went with a muted green for a base color with some colorful Celtic knots to represent my Irish ancestry. The fact that Halloween originated in Ireland just fits with me so well. I love crows. They represent spooky, remind me of Poe (favorite poet), plus they are connected to my last name. In old, old English (lots of English blood in me too) my last name means “From the Place of Ravens. So I had to include some ravens.
You can check it out here at my store Art by MAR
Posted in Cool Art | No Comments »
Oct 3rd, 2010 by artbymar
Since Halloween is my favorite holiday I love creating and designing Zazzle products with a Halloween theme. Here is my newest design, a witch hat. Witches have always been one of my most loved Halloween characters. In fact I get dressed up each Halloween and have been a witch many times. I actually made myself a witch’s costume a few years back and have gotten lots of use of it. I don’t sew very often, don’t have the patience for it LOL. But during the Fall season I get really creative and can sew up a storm! So every so often I need a new hat to go with my costume which was the inspiration behind this design. Here are just a few of the products I created with my traditional black witch hat.
Posted in Cool Art, Halloween | No Comments »
Oct 2nd, 2010 by artbymar
Samhain is a lesser known holiday celebrated on October 31 by those of the Wiccan religions. It is a holiday with that dates back to ancient times and originated in Ireland. It is believed on October 31 the veil between our world and the world of the spirits is lifted and our ancestors who have passed can join us. It was celebrated at the end of October to rejoice the end of the harvest season and to honor those who have passed. Many different cultures have celebrations around the end of October to celebrate their deceased loved ones.
Samhain cards in my experience are not so easy to find in mainstream stores but Zazzle has a large selection of both Wiccan and Samhain items. Here are just a few of the many products available.
Here is a Blessed Samhain postcard with a pentacle done in a rope motif along with a pumpkin and black cat. Traditional black and orange colors of the season.
Beautiful Happy Samhain postage stamp for all your mailing during this season. A misty blue sky with moon and very pretty Autumn colored leaves floating in the breeze.
I just love Black cats so this is one of my favorite. On this card a black cat sits on the Samhain altar watching the orange candle while waiting for the ritual to begin. The inside text reads “Gracious Goddess, guide our Lord safely again back into the light. Happy Samhain!” on a subtle background with pentacle.
Here is a tee shirt with an Autumn themed Happy Samhain. Has a cheerful carved pumpkin, fallen Fall leaves and flowers.
Here is a tote bag done in black and white with another of my favorite creatures a black raven sitting on a pumpkin in a moon lit forest.
Here is a custom envelope for your note cards, invitations, or other type mailings. A classic black envelope, orange on the inside with a single orange candle glowing and burning.
Posted in History, Samhain | No Comments »
Oct 1st, 2010 by artbymar
Since my last post was about the history of the trick or treating tradition I thought I would share some of the cool products at Zazzle that are Trick or Trick themed.
There are so many Trick or Treat candy bags to choose from that you are sure to find one that suits your needs. The best part of using Zazzle bags is you can keep using them year after year, no waste. They will not fall apart like plastic bags when your kids out and about on Halloween night. There us a variety of sizes also. This one has ghosts and a witch among the Halloween scene and you can personalize to text to your child’s name.
Here is a bright orange and black trick or treat bag with a fun skeleton. Not too scary for the little ones.
Here is one of my favorites because I love this artist, she creates the most awesome cats. This bag has a cat mummy with one spooky glowing orange eye peaking out.
Here is a coffee or tea or hot chocolate mug with a pretty pumpkin Halloween scene. Perfect for your favorite drink after a cold night of trick or treating with the kids. Fun to use the whole autumn season, or if you are like me and keep some Halloween decorations up all year–have your coffee in a pumpkin mug in July!
Here is a fun Kawaii type character tee shirt for the Halloween season. Would be great to wear out trick or treating for the adults. Gravestone, ghosts, bats and pumpkins complete the spooky Halloween theme.
Here is a cute tee shirt for both little witches and big witches this Halloween season. Bright Halloween colors of orange and green with a witches hat and shoes.
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Sep 30th, 2010 by artbymar
Trick-or-treating is one of the biggest Halloween traditions. This takes place in just about every town in the USA. But where did this tradition originate?
Trick or treating is not only popular in the USA but also in the United Kingdom, Ireland (the birth place of Halloween), and Canada. Due to increased American cultural influence in recent years, imported through exposure to US television and other media, trick-or-treating has started to occur among children in many parts of Europe.
Dressing up in costumes is an ancient Halloween tradition which was done to either scare or “blend” in with the ghostly spirits that were believed to return to the earthly world on October 31. The door to door tradition of our current Halloween closely resembles the practice of “Souling”. Souling originated in Ireland and Britian where poor people would go door to door on November 1 and receive food in return for prayers for the dead. Shakespeare even mention this practice in his play called “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” (1593) with a character accusing someone of “puling” (whining) like a beggar at Hallowmas.
However there is no evidence that souling was ever practiced in America. There is little documentation of this practice but very likely these traditions were brought over with Irish and English immigrants. The earliest known reference to our modern trick or treating is a newspaper article from 1911 from upstate New York. It reported that it was normal for small children to go street guising on Halloween between 6-7 pm, visiting shops and neighbors who would give them nuts and sweets when the children sang songs and recited rhymes.
But the practice did not seem to be widespread until the 1930′s when the word trick or treat is found in print. The popularity was diminished during WWII due to sugar rationing. It became firmly established in the 1950′s with movies and TV such as Disney and Ozzie & Harriet portraying the tradition.
So it rather remains a mystery of how and why trick or treating by children developed in America. While thousand of Irish and English immigrants who practiced souling came here beginning in the 1840′s, the tradition did not become established for over 100 years. It is not depicted in the thousands of Halloween postcards that were produced from the turn of the century to 1920. Nor is it mentioned in a popular book from 1919 call “The Book of Hallowe’en” which described Halloween customs.
However I do have photos of my father in a Halloween costume with a trick or treat bag from the early 1920′s. Possibly the tradition was not written or recorded by mainstream America due to the resemblance of begging and being an “immigrant” custom.
Posted in Halloween, History | No Comments »
Sep 29th, 2010 by artbymar
Zazzle is running a promotion for five free Christmas cards. You get to pick from a large selection of cards which can be personalized with your own text and pictures if you wish. Great way to sample Zazzle’s greeting cards.
Details: Pick 5 cards from the large selection. Price of the cards is FREE. However you must pay any sales tax and shipping costs. Use the code HOLIDAYCARDZ at checkout. Click the link below to check out the selection at Zazzle. This offer is good through October 16, 2010.
Browse Five Free Cards Selection
Posted in Christmas Cards, Zazzle Promos | No Comments »
