Halloween approaches

It's less than three months away, but it's always around this time that some stores start stocking Halloween merchandise. My town's Dollar Tree has had some Halloween up for some time now. And I saw some Halloween decorations in the floral department at Safeway last week. My own place of work has yet to get any Halloween merchandise, though we always seem to start getting it as early as the beginning of August. Perhaps later this week and if not then then next week. Stores like Kmart and Target are still concentrating on back-to-school right now, but the Halloween can be expected before this month is over.

And as of last week, the annual Spirit Halloween Superstore in Gilroy, California began setting

up. For the last three years they had been taking over the

abandoned Linen and Things building, but this year they are taking place in a building left empty earlier this year by Famous Footwear. This building is only two doors to the left of Home Goods (where I have been working since 2006) and to the left of Old Navy. I'd applied for a temporary side job at the Spirit store on its website last month (haven't heard anything) and they'd said their store in Gilroy would be opening next to Costco, meaning they would be in the old Linens and Things building, in the same building strip as Lowe's, across the parking lot from Costco. Imagine my surprise when I pulled out of the parking lot at work last week and saw the Spirit store banner on the former Famous Footwear building. When Spirit opens, I won't have to drive to the store, since I'll be in the same parking lot.

And since last month I've been working on some papier mache ghosts and pumpkins (made from paper bags) that I want to try to sell on Etsy. I'm still working on opening an Etsy shop, and need to learn how to use Paypal. I've already got an Etsy account and have been looking for a way to make a banner for my shop for free on the Internet. Today I found a way to make one and made and saved it on my computer. I'll talk more on this later as I take more pictures of my papier mache creations. I've already chosen several favorite Etsy shops.

Here are the ghosts I first made six years ago that I have displayed each halloween in my kitchen window. The standing ghost are the ones I made form putting papier mache strips over paper bags.

And I have already been browsing costume sites, especially this one. I feel tempted to get this one, though I could easily make one myself. I've been Googling how to make one myself and came across how one person made the cupcakes using newspaper. That sounds like a good idea and I am considering trying this idea. I have already begun experimenting with strips of newspaper.

So far that's all I have seen and have been doing. More to come.