New Halloween Collection from Johanna Parker & Transpac Brands!

Dear JP Halloween Fans!

By now you likely know that Transpac Brands reached back out to us for a second go, and our classic Halloween tabletop ceramics made a surprise relaunch in HomeGoods, Marshalls and TJMaxx stores in July last year! We have been so thrilled and grateful to witness the immense enthusiasm and delight from fans finding our goodies back in store. Your various social media posts, comments, shares and videos about your JP treasures touched our hearts, made great impact, and we Thank You so much for spreading the news. As a result, the inventory buyers have been asking for designs that are new, and this has kept the wheels of creativity spinning for us and for you! Hence, our first wave of new Lovestruck Luna and SweetHeart designs hit stores at the end of last year and into 2026, and a handful of Americana Luna items have recently followed with our 4th of July Luna mugs currently available at TJXMaxx online!…. 

Even more exciting, we are happy to report that our New Johanna Parker + Transpac Brands Halloween collection is currently en route and arriving to TJX Company Stores! Keep an eye out for our medley of about 3 dozen new designs including teapots, mugs, canisters, candy bowls, and salt and pepper shakers that expand upon our classic icons with some new characters in the mix. In addition, the TJX buyers reordered a variety of our classics from the past, so there should be plenty of JP spooks to haunt your hearts this season, and we hope you find your favorites in your local HomeGoods, Marshalls and TJMaxx Stores!

For now, here’s a ‘lil peek at just some of our new Halloween ceramic designs with many more to come!

Since we work about a year in advance, we are currently designing Halloween 2027…. 

Let us know what types of items you would like to see from JP!

Happy Treasuring Hunting & Haunting!

~ Johanna

NEW! Vintage style witch mugs holding their pointed hats, capture the spooky sweetness of Johanna’s characters in classic pumpkin peep bodied form. A subtle hint of vintage green kisses their skin and some of their pumpkin segments below. ….Tablecloth fabric and throw pillows are from Johanna’s new Spooky Sweet Patchwork Garden collection on Spoonflower.

NEW - Pumpkin Patch Black Cat Jack Mugs with their iconic Johanna Parker spin, grin big and boo to you! Their bulbous jack-o’-lantern bases each smile with delight.

NEW - Johanna’s pair of Kooky Spook Ghosts are wearing pumpkin-peep like gowns. At this small scale, they can haunt mealtime with their salt & pepper shake-a-Boo!

NEW - Black Cat Jack topped Big Mouth Bowl, painted in an eye-catching warm mustard hue is double the fun and pairs purrfectly with a big handful of candy corn. Also New, Johanna’s classic black & white pumpkin peep cats in their mini form can serve as salt & pepper shakers and decorative accents too. Note: This big mouth bowl will be available in a smaller version too!

NEW - Gus Ghost topped Big Mouth Bowl, painted in distressed black is a stunning piece for fans of vintage style black and white decor. With just a touch of spooky, it’s quite alright to fill the pumpkin with treats and such or perhaps some antique jewelry! Note: This big mouth bowl will be available in a smaller version as well as in orange too! ….Tablecloth fabric is from Johanna’s new Spooky Sweet Patchwork Garden collection on Spoonflower, titled “Purple Paisley Gus Ghosts”.

NEW - Dapper Bat Mug and his ‘lil bat shaker sidekick made for a sweet Father’s Day post and mug bouquet too. Keep an eye out for Johanna’s coordinating Dapper Bat gals too, including a creamer and sugar pair. OH Bats!! ….Background throw blanket is from Johanna’s new Woodland Spirits collection on Spoonflower.

NEW - Romeo Gus Ghost & Julie Boo salt & pepper shakers are the sweetest little flirts! Johanna tucked in a little heart that each hold dear by the curling tip of their dollop-shaped heads.

NEW - A gathering of Johanna’s iconic Gus Ghosts in vintage style black and white, simply create a stunning group. Collect the witch hat-topped critter bowl, Romeo Ghost & Julie Boo shakers with their I Love Halloween black hearts and the big mouth bowls too! ….Tablecloth fabric is from Johanna’s new Spooky Sweet Patchwork Garden collection on Spoonflower, titled “Purple Paisley Gus Ghosts”.

NEW - Little Pumpkin Patch Black Cat Jack salt & pepper shakers can squeeze into the palm of a hand, and pack a handful of cuteness with classic Johanna Parker charm! ….Background cloth is from Johanna’s new Spooky Sweet Patchwork Garden collection on Spoonflower, titled “Spooky Sun Catcher Pickets in Orange & Green”.

New Carnival Cottage Halloween Sample Sneak Peek!

Happy Friday Friends! So, what ya think? Would you like to add some of these whimsical pieces to your Halloween decor & festivities? It’s Johanna Parker here, and Today we’re sharing our Sneak Peek at the Sample Phase of our Carnival Cottage design process. From sketch to development and now full form, it’s a treat to see those early scribbles and mock-ups come to life! Included is a new series of stand-alone ceramic designs that also add variety when paired with our figural items. You’ll see that the canisters, bowls, mugs and such can be rotated for a playful, pattern-only look too. The coordinating party, bakeware and garden items extend the collection and bring many more possibilities into the mix. Your feedback is key as we gauge interest for Halloween 2023. Please spread the word and let us know!! Be sure to share a like, a comment and thank you for your interest! :)

Thank you!

~ Johanna

Carnival Cottage ~ Halloween Product Development

Hello Again!

I’m sharing a peek at the various steps I take with our Creative Carnival Cottage Team to turn ideas into potential products! From sketch to illustration and template creation to clay art direction, the process is a test of patience, but one, well worth the wait! I work with a team of skilled graphic designers and creative directors who help design and arrange my illustrations for print and who also prepare my concepts for the sculpture artists who manifest our designs into form. To get a feel for the product shapes, I often print the team's templates to check alignment and fine-tune design details. Hence all the paper print-outs in this video! Enjoy this glimpse at some back and forth visuals, exchanged between these creatives to build the prototypes, inspired from rough sketches, previously shared. Be sure to share a like, a comment and follow along f you’d like to see the finished results! Thank you for your interest in our process!

Cheers,

~ Johanna

It all Starts with a Sketch!

Hello Friends!

It’s been a long while since I’ve added a post to my blog. But, Jack, if he were here, would meow, purr, share a few nose-bumps and encourage me to share! With that, it’s no time like the present to return and share what I’ve been creating…..

You’re in for a Treat! I’m taking you behind the scenes for a peek at my creative process, designing new product concepts for Carnival Cottage! Be sure to share a like and leave a comment if you’d like to see more! Truly, it all starts with a sketch! More to come….

Happy Haunting,

~ Johanna

Enjoy a behind the scene peek as licensed designer Johanna Parker sketches character concepts for Carnival Cottage Halloween products.

How - To Halloween Hats!

Have you ever wondered how I make my conical paper hats? We have several spooky sweet decorative hat designs in our DIY Printables Shop for you to try your hand at, but if you’ve never made one before… well, it may be a wee bit daunting. GOOD NEWS! Abby from @KatPaperLove on YouTube & on Instagram surprised us with her How-To Videos! She shows us how easy it is from start to finish to make these vintage style delights that feature my illustrations! I have been wanting to make a similar video that walks you through the process, but I’m always designing new things. And well, I just haven’t had a moment to play with that! So, we are grateful that Abby picked our signal and jumped on it! Thank you!! Please check out her following YouTube links for crafting inspiration and secrets revealed to making these vintage style delights:

Vintage Halloween Hats ~ 100 Days of Katoween (Day 24)

DIY Vintage Crows from the 99 Cent Store! - 100 Days of Katoween (Day 25)

NOTE: Abby used a clever combination of both our FREE Print & Share Cat & Owl faces as well as our new “Black Cat & Jacks Halloween Hat” design, available in our Store. The results are clearly spooktacular!

We hope you watch and are inspired to try some for yourself!

Happy Crafting,

~ Johanna

 
Watch & Learn HOW TO make these Vintage Halloween Hats on Abby’s KatPaperLove YouTube channel!

Watch & Learn HOW TO make these Vintage Halloween Hats on Abby’s KatPaperLove YouTube channel!

 
 

It all starts with printing our high res digital download and cutting it up from there! Once you purchase the file, you can print as many as you wish for personal use.

 

Screen capture from Abby’s How-To video, showing how she uses her glue gun to make the magic happen…

Once she finished the hat, Abby added my freebie cat to embellish the look!

 

Voila! Vintage style Halloween can be yours at home with a few simple crafting supplies!

 

Abby shares a few tricks to help shape the hats and adorn the tops… She printed these at a smaller scale to add more variety to the group.

Just roll, glue and press… Abby takes the fear out of the project..

Make them large or small and festoon the objects in your home with a little Johanna Parker Design style!

Many thanks once again to our creative guest feature, Abby @KatPaperLove for jumping in and sharing her talents and tips with us! You can peek at her artful creations at @artista.kat as well. ENJOY!