A Spider Question

If a spider's skeleton



Is worn on her outsides,



Does she dress her inside parts



For festive spider rides?

Ask her here.

Halloween Party Tips from Vladimir the Vampire

Vladimir is vorld-renowned for his food blog and writes an entertainment column for the Transylvania Times.  He also appears in Vittles Vith Vladimr.  Here are some of Vladimir's tips for your Halloween party.



1.  Choose pumpkins visely.  Assorted sizes vork nicely for decoration purposes.  Leave some uncut for pie, vhich goes nicely with Type O Cocktails.



2.  Encourage the spiders to start spinning vebs.  If you plan ahead, you can use some of those vebs as seating for your guests.



3.  Choosing a DJ who is also a dance instructor vill get your guests moving.



4.  Skulls are useful for flower arrangements.  Don't forget the eye sockets!



5.  Have a hat rack or closet where guests can leave unvanted pieces of their costumes.  Some guests vork vell as hat racks.



6.  Your guest list should include both the living and the departed.  A quick bite from Vladimir can change one into another.



7.  Delegate, delegate, delegate.  Have a friend vith a special potion recipe?  Encourage her to vhip some up.



8.  Worried about guests leaving plates of food around?  Make sure you invite some hungry cats to take care of those annoying leftovers.



9.  Don't fuss over lighting.  Most of your guests vill prefer low-light situations.



Vatch this space for more party tips from Vladimir!

Bond. James Bond.

In the past, OctoKitty was the beautiful head of a ring of jewel smugglers who wanted to start a nuclear war in their down time. She was an arch-nemesis of James Bond.




But OctoKitty has done time and is a new woman...er, spider... er, cat.




She no longer wants to start a nuclear war, but she is inordinately fond of jewels and beads and bling. That will never change.

OctoKitty is made from lampwork glass, pewter bead caps, bugle beads, and seed beads. She is beaded, legged, and dangerous... if you happen to have a Faberge egg lying around.



She is living in a rehab house at etsy.

Blanche du Bwahahahahahaha

Meet my latest spider creation, Blanche du Bwahahahahahaha. I made a beaded web strand for Blanche so that she can hang alluringly on the wall, be taken for a walk, be worn as an ornament, or be safely tethered to one spot.





Blanche has had a rough life. She lost her mate a few months back. No... she didn't bite his head off. She's not that kind of spider. He lost his life in a tragic accident. Rolled-up L.A. Times. (It could have been worse. It could have been the rolled-up L.A. Times before they downsized it.) She found herself with 543 beady babies to raise all on her own.




Then she lost her web. Yep. Foreclosure. Sign of the times. She got into one of those Re-Fi now loans. There's no way she could make the payments, especially with her husband gone. And she's not as young as she used to be. It's not like she can pull all that spider silk out of her... well, maybe she can. But not as quickly as before.



Fortunately the kids are grown now, weaving webs of their own. Blanche can finally relax a little. Take it easy.




Her requirements are few: a couple of beaded flies, a web to call home, maybe a pig to watch over. Can you help. Adoption is available right here.

Garden Party for Ghouls

(sung to the tune of "Garden Party")




I went to a garden party to reminisce with all the ghouls
Hadn’t seen a bunch of them since April Fool’s.
When I got to the garden party, they all hollered “Boo!”
Swilling ectoplasm, in the ghosts all flew.

{Refrain}
And it's all right now. Time to haunt some homes.
Spook out all the attics and the catacombs.




Bats came from the belfries. Ghosts came from the tombs.
Witches came from covens, filling up the rooms.
Dracula woke from his nap. Said he had a thirst,
But the bats were at the bowl, quenching their thirst first.

{Refrain}
And it's all right now. Time to haunt some homes.
Spook out all the attics and the catacombs.




Spiders spun their wispy nets. Owlvis hooted loud.
Skeletons were dancing all throughout the crowd.
“I Aint’t Got No Body” was their sad refrain.
Grab some bones and make your own; time for Ghoul Soul Train.

{Refrain}
And it's all right now. Time to haunt some homes.
Spook out all the attics and the catacombs.





Someone opened up a crypt. Out stepped Bert the Bat,
Drinking Type O cocktails, boozing with the cat.
Spiders danced the eight step. Pumpkins rolled around.
Witches limbo-ed ‘neath their brooms. Pumpkins smashed the ground.

{Refrain}
And it's all right now. Time to haunt some homes.
Spook out all the attics and the catacombs.




In my ebay store.

Make Way for Arachnophiles!

I started playing with making spiders this last weekend. Not sure where I'm going with this, but I'm having fun.

Here are the three debutante spiders. I'm pretty sure they'll be spinning webs and laying eggs, producing lots more spiders next week.

Green and black, with a lampwork bead:



A topaz-y kind of spider:



Faceted hematite and hematite:



Wouldn't they make lovely hair ornaments?