Rest in Pieces

Happy New Year to you all! I hope your holidays were filled with love, friendship and lots of presents.. :) I apologize for the lack of posts over the past several weeks. I'm not even going to bother with excuses. Instead, I'm just going to declare blog bankruptcy, and start fresh this year with a clean slate. I do, however, feel really bad about the twitter cliffhanger regarding one of the collectibles, so lets get to that story... one I actually stared about 20 days ago... before yesterday's earthquake.. more on that later...


This post is hard for me to write because I'm saying a final farewell to beloved collectible, or make it 3 collectibles. I've posted about our Hitchhiking Ghost Masks in the past, but I don't think I've shared just how much we adored these masks. That's why its pains me to have to share with everyone that our masks are the unfortunate victims of Time's cruel affect on latex. Over our stressful summer we were unaware that Time had taken a deadly grip of our latex masks. We knew this process would happen, but we figured it would be a much slower undertaking. It seems that Time knew that we were distracted with our thoughts and concerns on other issues, so Time snuck in under a radar and sped up the deterioration process. Within a few short months, our masks were nothing but a fragile shell of what they used to be. We tried to make their move to our new house as painless as possible, but the more we tried to handle them, the more they fell apart. Ezra's faring better than the others, but that doesn't say much considering that Phineas has no face left and Gus is hanging by a thread of his beard, literally. The beard is all that remains. I didn't even have the strength to take his final picture.

Back in November 2007 I posted about our masks. You can see it here and check out for yourself just how devastating Time can be on latex.








I know using a vacuum handle to display Phineas is absolutely offensive. I'm in mourning, folks. I'm not thinking clearly.
Please forgive me.





As I said, no pics of Gus. It was just too difficult to get past the remnants of his face, scattered around and amongst his beard. Just too painful.

So now what? It seems so disrespectful to just throw these pieces away with the kitchen scraps. What do I do with them? Bury them with our pets in the backyard? (Not likely seeing that we just moved. Thankfully, we haven't had to bury anyone...yet.) Does latex burn? Should I scatter the ashes in the Mansion? (Also not likely. I'm really not supposed to condone that sort of thing.) Anyone have any good suggestions?


*****
This is what I had finished writing some 2 weeks or so ago and had intended to finish it last night when our house started shaking. Now, the USGS claims that it was only a 4.5 magnitude earthquake, but seeing how the epicenter was 2 miles from my house (ok, 2 miles south of my town) it sure felt much larger than that. As badly as the house shook, I only heard one picture fall over downstairs, and it was completely unharmed. My nerves, and my children's nerves didn't fare as nicely. It took awhile for everyone to calm down and come out from under the tables. So it wasn't until this morning, while looking for clothes in my upstairs closet, that I noticed something. Awful.

Remember this picture from when we first moved to our new house?




Well the stanchion and the gargoyle were still on that very shelf in my closet as of yesterday, until an earthquake at 7:49 pm sent one of them flying across the closet and landing on the floor in multiple pieces. Care to take a guess which piece it was?

It was of course, my absolute favorite piece in my entire collection! The one that I waited for years to get my hands on, and will probably wait years more if I am so lucky.

It was the gargoyle. I warn you now. These pictures are not for the weak collector.













Just rip my heart out while its still beating!




I more angry with myself than sad for not finding a better place to house this piece. But truth be told, there was no other place. We left the large entertainment center where our collection was previously stored at the other house, because it was just too cumbersome to move. It was a Big Lots special, not a family heirloom. My closet seemed out of the way, and therefor I thought it would be safe.

*Sigh*

So friends, readers of this blog, let us have a moment of silence for this masterful piece.







Screw the silence. I'm heartbroken and want to commiserate. Have any of you lost a favorite piece and were heartbroken over it? How did you ever recover? Please, share your story in the comments below. Your story will be very helpful to us all.

*Ugh* I hate starting the New Year on a sour note. Nothing like a little Merchandise Event to bring me out of my sorrow. Don't forget.. tickets go on sale in 11 days!

Haunted Mansion Event Announced

Haunted Mansion 40th Anniversary Merchandise Event 09-09-09 (also happens to be my daughter's birthday) If you haven't been saving your pennies, you better now. Tickets go on sale Jan. 20 and 21st.

More info here.

Also, there is a Coctail Reception with Shag on August 8th in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the Mansion.

More info here.


I'm recovering from a wicked cold, but will be posting soon about the devistating loss of our beloved HHG masks. They're doomed...

Master Gracey

We have a Master Gracey hanging in our collection, but it had been awhile since I really admired this piece.  This piece is a fan-made lenticular that I came across sometime ago and was fortunate enough to acquire 2!  We left one in its original form, and cut the other to fit an oval frame.  The oval frame is still packed up, waiting for its new location, but we came across the original, uncut piece and it really is amazing!

email subscribers..check out the blog for a cool video clip of Master Gracey!

Moving news...

So for the past 3 weeks, we've been moving.  Doesn't that just sound ridiculous?  It feels even more so!!  We are lucky that we can take our time to move, but frankly, I think its better to just get it done and over with in one shot.  

I'm pleased to report that none of the larger, more delicate collectibles were damaged in the move.  Knock on wood.  Seriously, someone knock because I'm sure I just jinxed myself.  :) We've moved all of the framed art pieces, all the big figs, all the lenticulars, and of course, all of our favorite pieces.  We still have all the little chotskie pieces to pack, and hopefully that will be finished this weekend.  It feels so strange seeing the collection dispersed around the house in such ordinary places  - a gargoyle and stanchion hanging out in our closet, stretching portraits resting along the wall next to the dog kennel, a bride and her ghostly beau sitting on the kitchen table.  I can hardly wait to redecorate!

Now onto the really fantastic, super-duper, its-about-friggin-time-news!  Sam was offered a job and the best part is that his commute to work is less than 10 minutes!!  We are so thrilled! We're still waiting for the official compensation package, but Sam was informed that the company was extremely impressed and looking forward to having him on their team.  That team, by the way, is Perot Systems.  Thank you Ross Perot!!  Life is looking brighter and I know everything is going to be ok.  Thanks again for all your encouragement and prayers!!  

I'm still getting to the many emails from all you wonderful readers. I promise I will be sharing your pics and answering your questions just as soon as I can.  I also want to say that all the items I had up for sale, here and on ebay, have sold!  The revenue from these sales helped to keep us afloat.   Not only did the all the pieces go to great homes, but I got a chance to meet some great people!   Please stay in touch and I look forward to seeing pics!!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to all you boys and ghouls!  I hope you all get lots of treats, and maybe just a few tricks :)

I just love a Disney Halloween.

Boo!

Back Online!!

Greetings Foolish Mortals!

Today we have internet and all is right with the world again!  I can't believe how much I missed it.  What a sign of the times, eh?  Thanks for all the emails while I was away.  I promise I will be responding to everyone shortly.  

We are living in the new house now, but still have tons of stuff to move from the old house.  What a pain!  Who ever said moving just a few blocks away will be easy should be shot!  Wait, that was me....  I was so misguided.  We still have collectibles in the old place needing to be packed, collectibles in the new place dying to be showcased and a beautiful modern home waiting to be transformed into a habitat suited for 999 happy haunts.  I can't stand all these white walls and I miss my demon eyes wallpaper!  As I start anew, I look forward to sharing the process of decorating for the spirited collector.  It should make for some fun posts!  

Haunted Mansion Holiday Scary Teddy on Coffin Bobble

Greetings Foolish Mortals!

Today's collectible shows how attention to detail can make a ho-hum collectible into something really cool. I'm not all that into bobbleheads.  When I think of bobbles I think of my kids' Littlest Pet toys or Dwight's bobble from The Office. Ok, I admit Dwight's bobble is kinda cool, if not a bit scary.  In 2004, the Haunted Mansion Holiday event released a Scary Teddy on Coffin Bobble. Beyond the fact that its a nice resin piece of the "Lemme outta here" coffin guy, at first, the piece doesn't appear to be all that special.  However, upon closer inspection, you start to notice all the beautiful layers of details.

click on picture for larger viewing

I love the roses carefully placed at the head of the coffin, but I love even more the scattering of the delicate petals around the coffin. Also atop the coffin is a bat adorned christmas tag. What about the meticulously painted fingernails? And of course, Scary Teddy sitting on top of it all, like a proverbial cake topper, flashing his mischievous grin. For a relatively inexpensive piece, originally selling for $25.00, there's quite a bit of bang for the buck. I love examining all the textures and details of this piece. Did I mention that it is limited to 500 pieces?

** Update**

So we believe that all things happen for a reason.  We might not understand what the reasons are, or even accept them at first.  In our case, we were really hoping to move to New Hampshire with our friends, the Bell's.  Well, as you may recall that move never happened, and now we like to say there was reason for us not moving out of state.   In two weeks, we are, in fact, moving into the Bell's old house, here in Southern California.  Go figure!  The house will afford me to expand my home business, providing my family more financial security.  The house also has room for extended family to live with us, allowing us to help another family member in need.  We are so excited about this move and feel like we're heading in the right direction.  Sam has had a few jobs with a temp agency and is doing very well with the interview process at a local hospital.  Remember crossing those boney fingers?!  Keep 'em crossed.  He's moved onto the 3rd round of interviews with one more to go.  :)

Also, thanks to the readers that have contacted me about purchasing some of pieces offered here on the website.  I'm proud to say that the Maid Costume, the Gracey Lenticular pin, and the Jack Lenticular have SOLD!  Thank you so much for your business and I'm confident my babies are going to good homes!

Still available for purchase are :***ALL ITEMS ARE SOLD.  THANK YOU!**

The Butler Costume

Oogie Boogie Lenticular

If you are interested in purchasing either of these pieces, please email me at hauntedmansioncollectibles@gmail.com.

As we are packing away, I will be pulling aside more collectibles for sale, so hurry baaack!

And I haven't said it enough recently, but I really appreciate everyone who stops by this little ol' blog of mine.  I can't believe how much the viewership has grown in just a few short months.   I love to hear your comments, so do stop by and say hi!

~Carrie