The Blue Pear

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Pink Spiders

Pink Spiders! This was a project I had planned to do last Halloween, but never got around to it. As a designer, I'm a big sketcher, and I always have a handful of different sketchbooks floating around. They're great for somebody like me - I tend to have lot's of ideas but not the time to actually get them all done. Now that I have my own store, I have an outlet for these ideas, and my sketchbook is one of my best resources. Scribbled in one of my sketchbooks from last year was this idea for the pink glittered spiders, and I knew they would be perfect for my "good witch" display this year. I brought in a bunch for my Fall Open House and they sold out within a week! I made some more - come check them out!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Facebook...Finally

Ok...so I've been resistant to join Facebook. I attempted a few years back but never really got into it. Though as a business owner you have to look at things a bit differently and I do admit I like the idea of being accessible to my customers. I just set up the account - haven't had a chance to make it all fancy yet - but search for it if you'd like. I tried setting up a link here but Blogger is giving me some trouble at the moment.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Christmas is Coming! Really?

We're literally just a few hours into the month of October and yes, I'm talking about Christmas already! (In fact, believe it or not, I'm already sketching out some ideas for my Spring 2012 displays!) But back to 2011...

I've selected the dates for our

Holiday Open House at The Blue Pear.

Thursday November 3rd

Friday November 4th

Saturday November 5th

We'll have tons of new merchandise

including Christmas Decor

& Great Gift Ideas!

No Peeking!

We'll be closed Oct 31, Nov 1 & 2

so we can transform the shop into a

Winter Wonderland.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

A Few Last Treats

A bit time consuming but worth it. I handpunched these paper spiders out of old book pages, vintage sheet music, black glitter paper, and other decorative papers. You can sprinkle them like confetti or use them in various halloween projects. You could probably even bend the legs and make them three dimensional. I used some doublestick tape and have them crawling up the back of a cabinet.

Package of 50 is $5.00

The spiders crawling up the back of a cabinet.

Owls & Vintage Goodies

This is probably the third incarnation of this display. It morphed together as I moved merchandise from one corner of the shop to another. The black owls arrived at the last minute and it all just sorta worked together. Owls have been everywhere the last few years (I think Hedwig started it all) but this year they seem to be more popular than ever.

Owls, Owls Everywhere.
Glass Cloches filled with Twine Balls

Everybody Loves Glittered Gourds

Owls in Old Bed Springs

Giant Twine Balls, Vintage Brackets, & Handpainted Sign.

These ghosts have been flying out of the shop. Each one holds a real skeleton key.

These canvas pillows are awesome!

More canvas pillows, plus numbered bottles.

A Collection of Old Shutters

Metal Numbers & Vintage Trunks

Fall Garden

I had some summer/garden merchandise floating around and decided to use that as a base for some warmer autumnal tones. This is about as traditional as I get when it comes to decorating the shop for fall.

Everything was layered in the display like a cornocopia.

Little Pumpkin Urns

Save the Date!

I love these Ikat frames!

Glittery Webs

White Pumpkins -- Another Big Seller!

Friends of Poe

I love decorating with crows for Halloween, and I knew I had to fit these large birdcages into the shop somewhere, so I'm lucky they all came together for this display. There are also some references to Edgar Allan Poe -- the typewriters, the journals, and of course the ravens.

The black and white work so well together.

These old pillars are perfect for perching.

The sign is slightly hidden: It reads "Support Your Local Poet"

They're so simple, but these white branches have such a presence.
They're definitely one of my favorites in the shop right now.

Great photograph by local artist Rachel Rotoloni

"It was a dark and stormy night..."

Good Witch

This display took on a life of its own. There are a lot of different influences here: shabby chic/victorian, salem witches, Harry Potter, fairy tales, etc. I've gotta say I'm so happy everybody has responded so well to this display -- I think it's a nice break from the traditional orange & black.

I took the shelves out of this old white cabinet and that allowed me to just start piling stuff in.

Vintage Dress Form

My mom made all these white witches hats and they've been a huge hit!

Old lampshade frame on top of a collection of cameos.

This old chandelier looks great hanging in the cabinet.

I would love to go to Salem.

The Poison Apples are going like crazy! The vintage bottles look a bit ominous.

Another Hat

Owls continue to be popular. I paired them with some vintage White Owl cigar boxes.

These tiny glass cake domes make great homes for tiny white frogs.

Small "Good Witch" hats -- almost sold out!

Stenciled Hat Boxes

These pink spiders were the hot seller the first couple of days and now they're sold out. There's a story behind them. I am making more (in the process as I write this) so I will be doing a seperate post on these in a few days. Check back!

Pink Spiders - Completely Sold Out!
Making More!

French Circus

I love the colors in this display! I've wanted to do something carnival-esque for awhile, and even though it's not your typical halloween display, it does sorta work. Doesn't it?

I think this old white hutch looks great sitting on top of the vintage workbench. The rustic finishes on the furniture contrasts nicely with the candy-like colors.