Happy Halloween!!

This has been a very busy weekend with no blogging time!  I do have some fun projects in the works for next week though.  Hopefully I will get some time on Monday night to finish a few things off!

I just wanted to take a few minutes to wish everyone a safe and candy-filled Halloween!  From my tiger and ninja to yours:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!



Scentsy Giveaway

GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED - Thank-you to those that entered!

I have made a few little changes around my blog (some of which I am still in the process of doing!).  I finally gave up on trying to make my own button and had one made for me.  Smitten Blog Designs were awesome to work with and I am very happy with the results!  I have also created a facebook page for those who find it easier to follow things over there.  You can check it out here.  I'm still not quite sure if I have everything linked up properly.  If something is not working for you, please let me know!   I would love it if you would "like" me!

So...for all of my awesome followers (both old and new!), I thought this would be a good time to do my first giveaway!  Now I know you are all focused on Halloween right now but Christmas will be here sooner than you think!    This Prancer Scentsy Warmer would be a nice place to start your Chirstmas decorating.  Love it!!

AND I will also include 3 bars to get you in the Christmas spirit - Christmas Cottage (my personal fav!), Christmas Tree and Eskimo Kisses. 

 For those of you who have not heard of Scentsy, it is a safe, wickless alternative to scented candles.The Scentsy warmers use a low-watt bulb to melt their wax slowly which maximizes the fragrance time.  There is no flame, soot, or wick to worry about and the scents are amazing!  Even when the wax is melted it does not get hot enough to burn (which is great for those over curious children or pets!)  If you would like to see the other warmers available or a description of the scents, just check out my website here. 

There are two ways to enter the giveaway:

1. Follow me here and leave a comment that you would like to be entered into the giveaway.  If you are already a follower, just let me know!
2. "Like" me on facebook.  Make sure you leave me another comment so you get a second entry!

The giveaway will be open until November 14th.

Thanks so much to everyone that has supported me as I try to get things up and running here!  I love getting all of your comments and feedback.  Feel free to contact me if you ever have any questions!

Rice Krispie Pumpkins

It's bake sale day at my son's school tomorrow.  I am sure the local fire department was waiting to see what I would be baking.  Well, I decided to stick with good ol' rice krispy treats (fire department breathes a sigh of relief).  Can't go wrong with those!

I made mine into rice krispie pumpkins.  You just need some orange food coloring (or red and yellow!) and some tootsie rolls (which I cut into 4's) for the stem.  Let the krispie mixture cool a little before you try to mold the pumpkins.  It worked much better when I buttered my hands!

 You can always pop them on a stick.  Everything always seems to be more fun on a stick!

And what do the kiddies do while I make the pumpkins?  Create their annual Halloween House! 

I always have a hard time just letting them go and do their thing so it was good for me to have something else to do!

Hope you are all enjoying your Halloween week! 

Don't forget to check out my Scentsy Giveaway!

I linked up with The Thrifty Home, Today's Creative Blog, House of Hepworths, Paisley Passions, Ain't She Crazy, Tidy Mom, Fingerprints on the Fridge, and Night Owl Crafting.

Banana Ghosts

You know what I love about kids?  They are so easy to impress!  For some reason, the addition of a couple of chocolate chips always makes things fabulous.

For all of you who have kids overloaded with sugar at this time of year (well, pretty much now through to Christmas!) here's a healthier snack that they still seem to love!

How To:
Okay, I realize you probably don't need instructions on how to make these but in case anyone is wondering here it is.  Cut a banana in half.  Line the bottom of a pan with juice and roll the banana in it.  Place some coconut in a ziploc bag and roll the banana in that and add some eyes with chocolate chips.  Put the banana on a stick and boo away!  I made these last year for my son's Kindergarten class and they looked really cute all lined up. 

My hubby (yes, the one who thought my fridge ghost looked like Mickey Mouse!) thought my original banana ghost picture looked a little obscene.  I kind of had to agree with him on that one.  I added a pumpkin behind it to give it more Halloween flare.  Definitely more spooky now!

We eat these guys all year round.  Most of the time I am too lazy to add the juice and the coconut part and just slap on a couple of chocolate chips.  And that is what is so great about my boys.  They still love them just the same!

I linked up with Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Love Stitched,  New Nostalgia, Sugar Bee Craft Edition, and These Creative Juices. 

Spice Holder Picture Frame

This is the last of my projects from cleaning out my kitchen.  The good ol' spice rack.  I am not a huge fan of cooking but I somehow managed to collect a whole cupboard filled with various spices.  Honestly, I don't know if I even used any of the spices that were in this holder.  I'm not an expert on spices but I am assuming that they are not supposed to be rock hard. 

My first plan was to use the spice rack to hold some of my smaller scrapbook goodies.  After scrubbing and scrubbing and scrubbing I could not get the smells out of the jars.  So the jars went in the garbage and I was left with this:

Well, I decided to make a picture frame out of it.  I may not like cooking but I LOVE all my pictures!  I always like looking at comparative pictures of my boys when they were the same age.  I don't really think they look alike at all but you can definitely see similarities when you see their pictures side by side.  Since there are 4 sides, and my little one is just three, I did baby, age 1, age 2, and age 3.   And here is the finished project. 

MATERIALS:

• spice rack
• wooden ball
• pictures
• scrapbook paper (mine is from Stampin'Up) 
• paint
• glue (I might put some modge podge over the paper backing but I will see how it holds up)

HOW TO:

• Paint the wood ball and the spice rack black.
• Pick your pictures and trim them down to fit the holes.  Glue them to the back of the holes.  For the third picture hole I put the age that the pictures were taken at. 
• Cut 4 strips of paper to fit over the back of the pictures and glue over.  You could put a layer of modge podge over this as well to seal.

And there you have it!  A cute little picture frame to compare your beautiful kiddies! 

If you want to check out my other recycled kitchen items, go here for my cutlery cork board and here for my bread board menu board. Thanks for dropping by!

And don't forget to check out my Scentsy Giveaway!

I am linking up with these fabulous blogs: Young and Crafty, A Little Lovely, I Heart Naptime, Fun To Craft, Paisley Passions, The Shabby Nest, The DIY Club, It's So Very Cheri, Craft-O-Maniac, Me Making Do, Polly Want a Crafter, Support Blog for Moms of Boys, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, C.R.A.F.T., These Creative Juices, New Nostalgia, Sugar Bee Craft Edition, Night Owl Crafting, Today's Creative Blog, The Thrifty Home, House of Hepworths, Tidy Mom, Fingerprints on the Fridge, and Tatertots and Jello.

The Benefit of Having a White Fridge

I really don't like my white fridge.  I have been secretly waiting for it to die so I can go out and buy a new beautiful stainless steel one.  BUT...I have a feeling that this will be one of those fridges that will last forever and ever.  Now (finally!) I have a reason to celebrate my white fridge!  BOO!

My boys weren't too happy about giving up their Word Whammer fridge space but once they saw it they both laughed and thought it was pretty cool. 

For those of you that haven't figured out that it is supposed to be a ghost, you are not alone.  My husband came home and said "What is it?  Mickey Mouse?"  Really Dave???  Mickey Mouse???

If you would like to make your own Mickey Mouse ghost fridge all you need is some black foam, magnets and glue.  Cut out your shapes, glue on a few magnets, and 2 minutes later you are done!  I must say, that I did not come up with this brilliant idea on my own but I can't figure out where I saw it.  Let me know if it was yours!

So, for now, I am actually liking my fridge.  In two weeks, when Halloween is over, and the fridge is once again covered in the Word Whammer and various other children's magnetic toys, I will go back to wishing for my beautiful stainless steel one. 

I am linking up with House of Hepworths, Fun To Craft,  Tatertots and Jello, A Little Lovely, I Heart Naptime, Polly Want a Crafter, Support Blog for Moms of Boys, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, C.R.A.F.T. and The Shabby Nest.

Rustic Picture Frame

It is another beautiful fall day here today and I was out again doing some yard work.  I brought in a few broken branches and put together this cute little picture frame.

Here is the easy how-to:

1. Just trim a few branches down to roughly the same size and put an elastic band around each end.  You need to play with the twigs a bit to find where they will stand up straight. 
2. I cut a cereal box up for the picture mat, covered it with scrapbook paper, and sanded the edges.  Glue on your picture and wiggle it in between the branches.
3. Wrap over the elastic with ribbon or twine.  I wanted to use twine but couldn't find any so I used raffia for now. 
4. Add any extra embellishments that you would like.  My owl is from a Stampin' Up punch that I have.  A letter monogram would also be cute.

Once I get our pictures back from the pumpkin patch, I am planning on doing a grouping of three with a 5x7, a 4x6 and a 3 1/2x5 .  I think the rustic frame should suit some pumpkin picking pictures perfectly!  (Now try to say that fast!)

I linked up with Coastal Charm, Today's Creative Blog, All Thingz Related, Polly Want a Crafter, Night Owl Crafting, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Nest, and New Nostalgia.

Have a fabulous fall day!!

Treats!

A Halloween display just wouldn't be complete without a cute little candy jar, right?  I loved this one over at A Pumpkin and a Princess and headed out to pick up my supplies!

Everything else I already had:

-black paint

-gorilla glue

-a little wooden top

-ribbon

-crystals (I have had these in my stash for ages so I was happy to use them!)

All you need to do is paint the pot, saucer, and wooden top black; glue the glass bowl onto the pot; glue the wooden top to the saucer; and have fun decorating it!  This was yet another project that was waiting for my Silhouette to arrive so I could add some vinyl.  But, my Silhouette did not come and the crystals were begging to be used up.  I just added some ribbon and glued the crystals on with quick grip glue. 

Now, I love the look of candy corn but, honestly, I can't stand the taste of them!  So... I ended up filling my jar up with caramels.  Not as cute as the candy corn but much more tasty!

Now, go grab a treat!

I am linking up with Craft Schooling Sunday, Skip to My Lou, Sugar Bee Craft Edition, The DIY Living Showcase, New Nostalgia, Today's Creative Blog, Coastal Charm, Polly Want a Crafter, All Thingz Related, Night Owl Crafting, The Thrifty Home, Blue Cricket Design, Fun To Craft, Tatertots and Jello, I Heart Naptime, A Little Lovely, and  It's So Very Cheri.

Front Porch

Hello all!  I hope everyone had a great weekend!  We had a gorgeous weekend here but there is definitely that fall crispness in the air! 

I have been loving all the pictures of everyone's fall decor and thought I would post a few pictures of our front porch.  I still have a few little things to add but I think that it is pretty much finished for this year. 

Here's my first attempt at a grapevine wreath that I hung on the front door.  (I do realize that it is off center in the picture- it has been fixed!)

I have had it lying around in my craft pile for ages and thought that I had better use it.  I found some flowers (hydrangea's maybe?) down at our local Liquidation World, a few white pumpkins, some pine cones, a berry twig that I cut apart and some other coloured leaves to add to make it more "fallish".  I try to avoid use of the glue gun at all costs but did pull it out for this project! 

I love the fall Mums and was planning on getting a few nice big ones.  I must have been late buying them this year - it was pretty slim pickings at the stores!  I did manage to find one nice one and placed the pot inside a plastic pumpkin.  My plan was to cut out a vinyl "Welcome" to add to the pumpkin but my Silhouette has still not arrived.  Hopefully this week!

Here is my favorite little wooden scarecrow.  Love him!  He will get changed out for other seasonal plaques throughout the year. 

For the rest of the porch I just added some baskets of pumpkins, gourds, and coloured leaves and a couple of seasonal stakes in the planters.  I'm planning on adding a few little pumpkins to the lantern - too lazy to pull out the ladder today though!

Now, if anyone has any great ideas to make the glass in the door more private, please let me know!  Right now I have a curtain hanging that I need to get rid of!!

Thanks for dropping by!  I hope everyone has a great week!

I am linking up with Come Together Kids, Craft-O-Maniac, Under the Table and Dreaming, C.R.A.F.T., I Heart Naptime, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Sugar Bee Craft Edition, and Tatertots and Jello.

Spectacular Saturday - Favorite Fall Finds

Yay!  The weekend is here again and the sun is shining!  I love these beautiful fall days! 

Before I head outside to do some much needed yard work, I thought I would share some of my favorite finds for the week.  I can spend hours touring around the blog-o-sphere looking at all of the fabulous projects out there.  I think I am pretty much done with my Fall/Halloween decorating for this year (although I still have a few more pictures to share!) but I wanted to make sure I remembered these for next year!

How cute is this wreath from Lemon Tree Creations? 

There have been some really nice projects done with old books (and we definitely have enough of those lying around here!).  I really liked these pumpkins at Primp.

And this wreath from Crazy Craft Bugs.

I love those nice, simple craft projects that can make such a big difference.  Check out this lampshade from Debbiedoos.  I will have to remember this for Christmas time!

This note board from Greenbean's Crafterole is so cute!

I love this do-it-yourself treat bowl from the Speckled Dog.  I actually bought the plate from Target before I saw this - wish I had bought the little bowl now too!

I have been waiting...and waiting...and waiting...for my Silhouette to arrive so I can finally make some subway art.  This one from Tatertots and Jello is my favorite Halloween version.

And, finally, this cute pillowcase ghost dress from Sugar Bee Craft Editions really makes me want to have a girl. I don't think my boys would be too impressed!

Anyone else have any must-do ideas for next year (or this year!)?  Maybe I am the only one who is actually thinking of next Halloween?

Happy Saturday!