back from the dead

Greetings Blog Readers...
First I owe you a HUGE apology for dropping of the face of the web for so long. I hate to admit this, but I was feeling bitter after the Haunted Mansion 40th fiasco and decided to have a month long tantrum. I didn't want to look at my stuff, which was easy since a lot of the collection was still in boxes. I didn't want to discuss the Haunted Mansion because the estrogen in my body would cause me to cry like a girly girl at the mention of Grim Grinning Ghosts or the like. I just wanted to sulk, which I did, but I don't feel any better for it, and now I have guilt for not posting so long. So, I am done with my tantrum, and will stop sulking and pouting and crying, well...sorry, I'm a sensitive girly girl and this girl just has to cry every now and then. Forgive me readers for my poor behavior.

I also owe you a HUGE thank you for emails popping up in my inbox as of late asking about my whereabouts and posts. You really know how to make this bratty, sensitive girly girl feel much better. Sincerely, I thank you for your concern.

Yesterday, I pulled out some collectibles and actually started to feel better, so much so, that I redecorated my master bath with our Lenticular collection. I felt like I was visiting old friends. Today I will be hanging up my Duelist portraits in the master bedroom, where most of our collection seems to be ending up. All the little pieces are still in boxes, but I'll be paying them a visit soon, and getting reacquainted. Once the bedroom and bath are completed, I'll share some pics.

Since blog posts are always more interesting with pictures, here are some pictures of the Duelists that I'll be hanging later today. I had these framed by a local framer here in So. Cal by the name of Link, who does amazing work. Check out his site here.

Haunted Mansion 40th Event Registration Fiasco

The day of the Haunted Mansion 40th event registration, a friend of mine facebooked that she was spending the day at the "Happiest Place on Earth." I had just spent the last hour and half trying to register for this highly anticipated event, and out of complete and utter frustration and sadness I responded with "Oh yeah, well give the Mouse a kick for me."

I thought I had better explain myself. And I do not advocate kicking any of the Disney characters... some might hit back.


So I'm not really mad at the mouse, just the company he represents. Would you believe that Disney Event Services would only allow one person per registration for the Haunted Mansion 40th event? Basically what that means is, there are a lot of married folks, family and friends who were not able to purchase all their tickets at the same time, leaving some people out of the event. Registration was online; only so many people could get thru at one time and the servers couldn't handle the influx of requests. I have friends back east who have planned a family vacation around this event, but Dad didn't get a ticket, or daughter didn't get a ticket. What are they supposed to do now? My friend's husband didn't get a ticket. While Sam and I were lucky enough to get a ticket, it wasn't for the package we wanted, so we don't get to attend the dinner and seminar with many of our friends. (I am grateful to have something, but missing out on the entire event is terribly painful. I've waited for this event since I missed the 30th Anniversary all together.) So.. yeah... I was a little miffed at the mouse. But its not really Mickey's fault that the people running Event Services are so damn Goofy!

40th Event Merchandise Announced!

If you haven't already heard, the Haunted Mansion Event 40th Event Merchandise is online.  Check out DisneyGallery.com or click here.

I was beyond excited to see Javier Soto as one of the artists featured with his amazing ghost sculpture, which interestingly enough could be Ezra or the Hat Box Ghost. There's been a lot of speculation that the HBG might be materializing for this swinging wake and I know many fans, myself included, would just die if the rumors were true.

I was introduced to Javier thru GhostRelationsDept. I chatted with Javier on Facebook tonight and he said that he worked on this piece for a year! All that hard work paid off Javier! I'm sure the collector who is lucky enough to get this piece (in green or in blue) will be thrilled. How I wish it were me. :)

Fan made Staring Bust

First I want to thank everyone for their condolences for my broken heart, er, I mean gargoyle candle holder. I have taken all your suggestions to heart and have sought out a professional to have it repaired. The guy I hired works with these 'cold cast porcelain' type resins on a daily basis and has given me great hope that my gargoyle will look as good as new. I'll keep you posted. In case your wondering why I just don't do it myself? Simple. I have about as much grace and patience for this type of delicate repair as a bull in a china shop. I also think that some of the pieces might need to be pinned to add reinforcement to the repair. Just not my cup of tea.

I'm in much better spirits today however!  On the very day I posted that horrific story, I received a rather large package in the mail. On the outside were some very specific instructions telling me to 'cut here' and 'fold' there. I then saw the return label and discovered it was a gift from my dear friend and HMC blog reader, Gary! Remember Gary? He's the fabulous sculptor from Michigan who shared with Haunted Mansion Collectibles a video of the Hitchhiking Ghosts that he made for his Halloween yard display.

He has been working on a Haunted Mansion inspired staring bust and sent me the first prototype! Thank you so much Gary! This piece is amazing. And it wasn't enough for him to send me just the prototype - the package also doubles as the display piece, which explains all the cryptic instructions on the outside of the box. I basically had to make a few incisions in the protective tape layer (Gary was kind enough to have everything precut), plug in the power cord, and be amazed!

I'll admit it. I was intimidated by the box at first. 

But curiousity got the best of me, and I had to open it.  

There were all these other places to cut on the box. But Gary was so thoughtful and precut all these special areas.

Thank you, Gary!! 

This has got to be the coolest package.. 

and not for just what's inside....

but also because of the built-in cord storage.  What?!  I loathe stray cords and prefer my cords to stay neat and orderly.  Gary, you rock!

I really don't know why I was so concerned about opening the box. Gary sent very detailed instructions. Don't worry, Gary, I won't leave the box unattended! :)

But enough of the tease already.... hehehe

Take a look at what Gary made! I'm in awe and so grateful that you shared this piece with me.




email subscribers.. click on the blog to view the video of Gary's great fanmade Staring Bust!

One final note.. if this is just a prototype, I can't wait to see the actual finished product!!  

But of course, you'll have to hurry baaack to see it for yourself.

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!