SAMHAIN FASHION COLLECTION

  Here´s my complete artistic Samhain fashion collection, all five outfits:

The French Artist.

The 1800´s.

Besides Halloween, these spider & pearl aromatherapy earrings suit this outfit perfectly.

The Goth. Apparently lying flat on the floor does not do justice on the dress...

These fancy crosses are also aromatherapy earrings.

The Hobo.

Pentacle aromatherapy earrings.

Schoolgirl meets Ringu.

A pair of very classic bow earrings, found in numerous colors in my little shop Nelland Boutique.

  This collection of five outfits serves me throughout Samhain, each year from about mid-October until early December. It´s a bliss to pull out a new wardrobe each time a season changes!

SAMHAIN FASHION: THE GOTH

  Deep purple is a color of high spirituality and wisdom. I´m not sure I possess either quality, but I wanted the color in my Samhain collection. Even if only to pretend my capabilities are greater than in reality... =)

  Gothic style is undoubtedly beautiful and magnificent. Needless to say, it suits Samhain perfectly, and I wanted a piece of it in my collection too. But boy, what a challenging task to tone it down to fit everyday life while still preserving it´s spirit.

A basic dress with modern print on it. The dress itself is not festive, and it makes the whole just right to be worn at work. All the accessories are old, excessive, and I like them a lot. So I knew the dress would have to be more on the plain side to avoid a party look.

A bow on the head adds a touch of femininity and opulence, which is needed in goth.

The pattern I used to make this dress is the same one I used for my funeral- and Romania dresses. It´s a rare pleasure to find a good new pattern!

Strong makeup is a must. Samhain is such a dark time of year, in every aspect, that dark makeup is allowed, fine, and a nice change to the usual natural look. Here I applied shimmering medium grey eyeshadow all over the eyes, upper and lower lids and across the crease and fading towards eyebrows. Then to further deepen and "open up" them I applied shimmering dark purple to the outer third of the moving lid and out towards the brow bone, blending well. Blush is actually just a bronzer, didn´t want cheerful cheeks, merely sculpted ones. On the lips purple of course. 

  Overall an important marriage of the garment and accessories. Alone neither would meet the desired result, but together create a gratifying whole.

P.S.  This outfit actually replaces the goth from last year. The shirt proved to be too sweaty in the long run, and since I had enough pant-based outfits in this collection, I decided to switch to a dress. Thank goodness for evolution! =)

SAMHAIN FASHION: SCHOOL GIRL MEETS RINGU

  My love for classic looks extends all the way to school uniforms. They are a universal phenomenon, but not used in my country, which is probably why I am intrigued by them.

  But this latest outfit of mine is also strongly inspired by the Japanese horror movie Ringu. Mixing innocence with terror is effective.

There is more innocence than terror in my look, but after all this is a business outfit...

A blouse and mini skirt is the classic schoolgirl look. To make it wearable and practical for everyday use, I made the "blouse" of ordinary cotton jersey and slipped a pair of pants under the mini skirt. Colors black and white were essential in my head for this look for some reason, but I could not find a proper checkered fabric for the skirt in b&w, so I had to go with this one. It´s more modern and actually keeps the outfit from being too costume-ish.

My undone hair brings a bit of horror here...

The skirt is sewn right onto the hem of the shirt. So when I move and turn, it stays in place and does not twist around me nastily.

Well, at least it made my hair stand up!

  If you think this is blah, go ahead and watch Ringu here!

NOVEMBER RAIN

  This is why I dislike November:

It has been like this for weeks now. I reckon the last time I saw the sun was two weeks ago, and even then it was just for about five minutes.

This is from the other weekend. The weather is trying to draw all positivity and optimism out of me, much like dementors in Harry Potter.  =)

  But I must stay strong, drink my green smoothies, and memorize last summer´s never ending sunlight.
  Luckily this darkness is temporary (although feels forever now).

FUNERAL DRESSES

  We attended a funeral recently. Funerals are never fun, but it is fun to plan what to wear to the occasion. Overall I try to keep a positive mind on funerals, thinking it is the last party thrown to the person, and we´re there to celebrate having known her/him and all the good things shared together.

  In the past four years we have been to four funerals, and I thought it was time to make myself a new outfit. My daughter doesn´t have such dark clothes in her everyday wardrobe, so I knew I´d have to make her something in any case. So why not make matching dresses? She is still so small, that it counts as cute. =)

  Here´s the one I made for her:

Instead of all black, which is too harsh and sad for a little girl like her, I chose a more subtle print in grey and black. The fabric is nicely soft, stretchy, and warm for the weather. Even party wear needs to be comfortable to wear, so one can concentrate on partying, not worrying about clothes.

The pattern is a casual one, not complicated. For example, I also made the Bad Piggies dress with it. Raglan sleeves are always comfy.

To avoid dullness I added pompoms to the hemline. And by a great coincidence I found the same kind, but in larger scale, to my own dress.

Like mother like daughter. We both surfed through the ceremony with comfort, ease, and style! And rose a few smiles on the guests´ faces on the way. =) In addition to that, I eased my own sorrow by wearing aromatherapy earrings with bergamot essential oil on them.

I gotta to use this opportunity to share an idea I came up with for the flower bouquet. I wanted to make one myself to show respect for the deceased. Usually the arrangements are directly from the florist´s, are quite pricey, and don´t last long  (especially now that it´s so cold outside). So my innovative own idea was to make a wreath-based arrangement with a center piece in the middle. Here I chose a spruce twig garland and placed a lantern in the center hole. To top it off I added red roses to circle around the lantern. The whole deal is placed on a plywood round to keep it all together. People liked it, and said they especially enjoyed the calming flicker of the candle flame. This is something I will definitely redo in occasions to come, always altering the design according to who´s being celebrated.

FIRST SNOW

First snow fell today! I doubt it´ll last, but it gives a nice preview to the months to come.

SAMHAIN FASHION: THE HOBO

  This outfit I actually started making last year already, and only now got finished:

The modern-day hobo. A look inspired by old-times silver screen and particularly Charlie Chaplin´s movies.

  Check out the whole story and more pictures on my column Nelland Living on PaganPages!

SAMHAIN GRAVEYARD

  We have a tradition of going to the local cemetery for a walk on Samhain evening when it gets dark. The whole place is flooded with twinkling candle light. It is absolutely beautiful!

We did not see ghosts, but there is a suspicious looking shadow entering the little church in the back... Lucifer himself?  =)

  None of our friends or family are buried here in this cemetery, or in our home county overall, so these walks aren´t emotional. We simply enjoy the beauty.
  But we do have a funeral on the way, because my dear grandma passed away recently. It´s been three years since the last funeral we attended. My son is unfortunately very familiar with the occasion, but my daughter has never yet been to one. Well, that´s life I suppose. We hurt but at least we get to go on...

CRAZY GOOD CARROT SOUP

  Don´t let the rawness of this soup fool you, it is delicious! And suits the Halloween table well.

Dreamy and creamy, absolutely suitable for non-raw-foodists too.

No clumps or bumps, only smooth and fluffy delight. No salt is needed in the making, this is a naturally sweet soup.

  The recipe (for 1):

1 lb (500g) carrots
1 avocado
1/2 inch (1 cm) piece of fresh ginger
fresh basil

+ Juice the carrots (makes about a cup). In a high-speed blender blend the juice, avocado, and ginger until creamy smooth. Sprinkle generously with chopped basil.

  The first time I ever made this soup I was lazy and skipped the juicing part. Well, it was edible but far from the deliciousness of this one. Juicing is definitely worth the extra dishes!

SETTING THE MOOD FOR HALLOWEEN

  Even if I did not have kids, I would like the house to be set for Halloween. Change is always welcome, and exaggerating fun is essential, and it lifts up spirits for us all. Here´s what we have in our kitchen:

A little goes a long, and a stylish, way. I don´t like layers on layers, instead keeping it simple and letting the few selected things catch the eye. Sometimes less is more.

The little pumpkin is grown by my sister, and the spider candle holder I originally bought for aroma lamp use. But after I invented aromatherapy earrings a year ago, I have not had the need for aroma lamps anymore.

Somewhat tacky, but fun, jack o´lanterns.

  Also we enjoy listening to Halloween radio to further get into the mood. And it works!

SPIDERS & PEARLS FOR HALLOWEEN

  Time to start planning for Halloween! I made these cool and gloomy aromatherapy earrings (the only kind I wear anymore!) for starters. They set just the right mood.

Made of jewelry metal, felt, glass beads, and silver plated hooks. Now also available on Nelland Boutique.

  My latest love in essential oils is rosemary. The scent is fresh, similar to eucalyptus, yet woodsy, and suits fall, along with these spider earrings, perfectly. Rosemary gives more energy, revives memory, blood circulation, and hair growth, and eases aches and pains. Suits me!

GIRLS´ NIGHT OUT

  As Samhain is the party season of the year, we had a "girls´s" night out with my sister and Mom. We met at my sister´s, and gossiped our hearts out while dyeing our hair, doing our nails, and munching on goodies. You know, the usual awesome girl stuff.

  Later that evening we headed to town and hit a beautiful river boat restaurant.

I´m the only one of us who´ll touch something stronger than tap water, so I enjoyed a relaxing glass of sweet perry cider.

Naturally on the menu, as the main course, was dessert. This is a creamy Tiramisu. Instead of going for a drink, we usually opt for desserts.

The view from the boat was fantastic.

I´m wearing my Goth outfit. It is fancy enough for a night out in this cold weather. I only needed to apply a lot some more makeup.

  Our night continued in another bar, but there was nothing special there worth mentioning here. All I can say is that nights like these are far too rare these days. But I´m so glad we do get together like this at least once, if not twice, a year. I´m so lucky to have such a wonderful Mom and sister!

SAMHAIN FASHION: THE FRENCH ARTIST

  How could I resist this true classic?! The look just begged to be included in my Samhain Collection, in all of it´s black-and-whiteness. So here it is, my version of the good old French artist look (with a couple of twists of my own of course =):

Stiped shirt, black pants and a beret. But the shirt is grey(not black)-and-white and has kimono sleeves, and the pants are made of thick fleece to keep me warm in this cold weather, and I´m having fun with the jewellery. I want life to be playful, not too serious, and I try to shine that spirit around me. What´s better than being surrounded by a positive bubble?

The design. I always exaggerate when drawing the makeup, so I´ll later understand what I was going for. I´d never put this much red on my face for real...

The shirt is also made of super warm knit fabric, so I need not wear anything else under it. Simplicity is bliss.

The jewellery is so delicious that, I can´t help telling I got it from here. A small shop of four women, who make these by hand.

Makeup repeats the black-and-white theme. Grey eyeshadow is the main focus, but it is enlivened up by a hint of bright red blush and a touch of red lipstick. Thin layers are enough for daytime wear, and are easier to maintain through the day.

  Sadly these pictures were not taken in France itself, but in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. I took a short trip there with my awesome friends recently. Great shopping (although I mainly bought loads and loads of puffed rice cereal to bring back home to my son, who loves them. For some reason the cereal is not available here... =( , beautiful Old Town, and friendly people. I tasted some hand-made chocolate coated marshmallows there in a small bakery shop, and was in heaven! Definitely worth going back for.
  Go Sweden!

  Speaking of France, aren´t they just pretty much the most stylish people on Earth? To be honest, I´ve never been to France, but the French people (women)  I´ve met, all have oozed this femininity, confidence, and delicacy to them. Hopefully one day I´ll have the chance to go visit there.
  Go France too!

P.S. Thank you, Manna, for taking these pics!

NELLAND GOES PAGAN PAGES

  In the November issue of PaganPages I made the perfect neck warmer and hat to survive through the cold Samhain weather.

Check it out!

  Let´s stay warm!

SAMHAIN FASHION: THE GOTH

  Playing with different styles and looks is so much fun! What better suits Samhain than the gothic look?
   I´m creating a real world wardrobe for myself, one that I can go to work with, so I tone down the images in my head to bring to and suit my everyday life. When walking down the street, I do not want to look like I´ve just ran off of a theater stage!
  Here is my gothic outfit, in the casual and easy-to-wear way:

Black is the base color of course, but instead of going all black (which we have all seen so many times), I opted for grey leather for the shirt (faux leather that is). I already have one all-black outfit in my Samhain collection, and besides, this way the whole is more interesting. For that same reason I chose pants instead of the obvious dress/skirt. In our visual world today, my eye enjoys a breath of fresh air, or a small challenge, among the usual jeans-and-t-shirt look.

The sketch. Black and grey combined with dark purple. In my mind purple is the color of wisdom and power (not saying I possess either!) in the mythical world. Just the perfect illusion.

If the leather had been black, I would have ended up looking too much like Lady Domina. That´s no way for me to present myself, anywhere! I´m a good girl...

A detail of the neckhole. I used the same ribbon/lace to decorate the leg hems too. It adds a nice, combining, touch to the top and bottom.

A better view of the faux leather fabric. I kept the sleeves short for better circulation of fresh air.

A nifty little detail to keep me safe in these dark Samhain days (and seemingly endless evenings!), a reflective band circling around the leg hem. If for some reason I should forget my other reflectors home, I´m hoping these will keep me visible and not get hit by a car.

The same reflective band without a flashlight.

  This outfit is even festive enough to go to parties in. Early winter is the time of year that is always busy with parties here and there. I think I´m gonna show up in one of them wearing my new Goth outfit!