Halloween Cupcake Extravaganza!

In honor of the most FUN holiday of the year, my friend Melanie and I made our annual halloween cupcakes to bring to work. We thought there was no way we could top the awesome cupcakes we made last year, but we TOTALLY out-did ourselves!!! They were much more complex, little works of art this year. Here are some of our favorites!

This is where all the ACTION happened….an entire dining room table COVERED with supplies that had been accumulated over a span of months….we take our cupcake making very seriously.

The whole “cast of characters” as Melanie said…and it’s so true!!!

This is Frankenstein made with a large marshmellow head that was sprayed with a new spray food coloring. It was a little tough to use but we eventually got the hang of it. A little black licorice hair completed the look.

One of my personal favorites are the Oreo spiders with black licorice legs!

We did a couple “EEK’s” and “BOO’s” which came out super cute. Mel found those amazing little bone sprinkles at the Hobby Lobby. If you have never been there, I highly recommend going!! And plan on being in there for hours on end…it’s such a GREAT store, with every craft or baking item you could ever imagine!

This lil skeleton was made with a mini-marshmellow head and the face made with our sparkly gel frosting. It comes in little tubes with a fine point, and that is what we used for the majority of little faces and fine work. LOVE that stuff!

This owl was a little bit of a challenge but came out pretty darn good. Oreos for eyes, M&M’s for beak and pupils, and a little frosting for the “feathers”….do you get the feeling you’re being WATCHED?

In our line of work, it was a given that we make some creepy eyeballs! A gummi life saver became the iris and our handy-dandy gel frosting was used for the veins and pupil.

These mummy’s were an office favorite by far, and one of Mel’s best works! With the right frosting tip, this guy was really easy to make. Strips of frosting over M&M eyes!

A fun side project were these “pretzel monsters”. They were so easy and fun! Pretzel sticks broken in half, mixed with white chocolate that was tinted green. We added flattened mini-marshmellows for eyes. They were soooo yummy!!

This is Melanie next to one of her creations, “The Twilight Zone”, and below is a close-up. Those gummy skeleton heads were a great find!

THE “BRAIN”!

And now it’s time to set up our masterpieces at the office for the big reveal.

The final display!

Melanie and I next to our work. We had SO much fun!!!!

Hope everyone has a great day and a HAPPY HALLOWEEEEEEEEN!

Mini Fimo Pumpkins

I love anything in “miniature”…I’m not sure why. Miniature things make me happy. I made these little tiny pumpkins out of fimo and just had to share. They are SOOO easy!

You’ll need Fimo, or some other kind of modeling clay that you can bake to harden. The Fimo shown below isn’t the exact one I used, but a similar color. That one is sparkley…which I bet would have been cool. Too late now.

For the stems, I used little brads. They added a rustic/prim quality to the pumpkins, instead of using brown Fimo and shaping a stem…these are more fun if you ask me!

For the pumpkin vine/leaf thingy, I used dried grape vine curly cues that I found in the woods behind my house. The picture below is what I am talking about. This pic was shot by steampunkmods on flickr- gotta give proper credit.

Mold the clay into your desired pumpkin shape. Poke a hole in the top with a toothpick, so there is a place to insert the “stem” after the Fimo hardens. Bake as directed to harden and seal. Stick a piece of the grape vine down in the hole, and then dab a tiny bit of glue on the end of the brad. Push the brad down into the hole, pinning down the vine. It’ll be a tight fit into that little hole, but that helps secure the stem and vine in place!

I thought after the fact that it might be cute to paint a little leaf, or even make one out of green fimo to place near the stem, like shown in the ones below that I found online:

I thought this was another interesting take on the mini pumpkins. I love the little lines on the sides.

This photo was taken from abetterbead.com. Lovin’ the green leaves!

 

On a completely different and random note, look at these great Halloween drink decorations I found for half price at the craft store! HOW AWESOME are these??? They are from Martha Stewart…I love that woman! Gonna use them this weekend at the big backwoods Halloween bash!!!

2009 Craft Show Photos

So in preparing for the show coming up soon, I was looking through some pictures from last year’s craft show at Clarkson University to get an idea of how I’d like to set up this year. I really enjoyed reminiscing through these photos, I thought I’d share a few of my favorites!

This is my faithful helper and best friend Christine, who endured the cold (we were in the ice rink…and it didn’t occur to us until that time that it would be FREEZING…duh!) and helped make the show run smoothly for me. Gosh I don’t know what I’d do without this girl!

Signs, signs, signs! They did not sell as well as I had hoped. I think everyone is over the signs fad. What do you think??

These little “fixin’s accessories” were a hit. Small figures made of out fimo to accent potpourri, use a bowl fillers, etc. There were little snowmen, hearts, candy canes, crows, and trees. The only problem is they were SUPER fragile. I am not doing them this year because they are too much work and just too fragile…I don’t feel like dealing with it!!

BOWL FILLERS GALORE!

Simple jar candles embellished with homespun and a rusty star…can’t go wrong there! They sold like hot cakes! I am doing these again this year in mass quantities. hehehe…

Refer to the craft tutorials section of this blog to see how to make these cute night lights. I adore them!

Thanks for looking! Hope everyone has a great Monday!

Simple Pleasures Sunday ~ 10.24.10

That first hot cup of coffee in the morning…

Mmmm…the first sip of coffee in the morning, at the office, or on the way to work…it’s priceless. Not to mention the aroma…just as amazing. At work we are fortunate to have one of those one-cup-at-a-time deals with multiple coffee flavors to choose from…what a luxury! There is actually such thing as chocolate glazed donut flavored coffee…it’s my favorite and I highly recommend trying it if you ever get the chance!!! I find that no matter what mood I am in or what the day has brought for me to deal with, a cup of coffee just makes me feel better.

Hope everyone has a nice day!

Above is an illustration by Suzanne Langelier-Lebeda, the illustrator for my friend Barb’s new book, The Reindeer Keeper. See more of these great illustrations at thereindeerkeeper.com.

Back to Crafting: Simple BOO Halloween Ornament

This cute little Halloween BOO ornament is a fun, quick, and easy craft, that is also very inexpensive. Isn’t it adorable??

I got these “BOO” wooden shapes at Joann’s  on clearence for 25 cents a piece as the Halloween season was ending last year. You could do the same with any other halloween themed wooden shapes; pumpkins, witches, etc.

Spray paint flat black. I used cheap stuff, 99 cents from walmart, and for this kind of small craft it works just fine!

Sand the edges with heavy grit sand paper to your liking.

I poked a small hole in each corner by simply hammering a small nail into the corners and pulling it out.

Use a heavy gauge black wire (or twine, homespun, or whatever) and poke through the small holes. I wrapped the middle of the wire around a pencil a few times to give it that curly cue. Finish off with a little piece of homespun. I found a great orange, white and purple homespun pattern at Joann’s that I use for a lot of Halloween-ish craft projects! Love it!!

See, piece of cake!!!

A HUGE Thank You to WordPress and all my Fellow Bloggers!

I want to give a shout out to the great people at WordPress for “Freshly Pressing” my post about Ophthalmic Photography yesterday and say THANK YOU!!!! What an honor. I am new to this, and I went from 8 views on Tuesday to over 22oo views yesterday! Also thank you SOOO much to everyone who left a great comment on my post, and for all the support, encouragement, and kind words. What an great bunch of people there are in the blogging world…I had no idea.

I was fortunate enough to have my post featured in a few other blogs, as well as a “Freshly Pressed Focus” article written by the editor at WordPress! The links are below. Thanks to those who passed along the word!!!

http://editor.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/freshly-pressed-focus-ophthalmic-photography-via-eyeballs-by-day-crafts-by-night/

http://obsidianfactory.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/ophthalmic-photography-via-eyeballs-by-day-crafts-by-night/

http://kambiz.wordpress.com/2010/10/20/the-eyes-are-the-windows-to/

http://glimpsejournal.wordpress.com/

http://anoushdesigns.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/ophthalmic-photography/

http://mypatraining.com/

http://thewitcontinuum.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/ophthalmic-photography-via-eyeballs-by-day-crafts-by-night/

Though the focus of my blog is my crafting, I will be sure to post an occasional update and showcase some more of my ophthalmic images. Our body is an incredible work of art, and these images are a small, interesting glimpse into that mystery world.

Once again, THANK YOU ALL for stopping by!!!!!!!

(For your viewing pleasure, a retinal image during a fluorescein angiogram with a membrane on the surface that is tugging at the blood vessels and causing swelling.)

Ophthalmic Photography

I get a lot of questions about what exactly I do, and a lot of confused looks when I introduce myself as an ophthalmic photographer.  I work in a unique and interesting field photographing the insides of people’s eyes, specifically the retina. The retina lines the back wall of the eye and is responsible for our detailed vision.  My imaging of the retina provides the  doctors with crucial information that allows them to diagnose and treat retinal problems and diseases, such as macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease, and much more. It is very satisfying to know I am directly helping the doctor and am an integral part of the patient care process. I get to use some incredible equipment. A digital camera that is essentially a giant microscope allows me to see even the finest detail of the retinal blood vessels.

Some people cringe when they see our images, but to me it is beautiful…it sorta becomes abstract art.

The image above is of a patient with a retinal vein occlusion. The vessel on the bottom (that is black) is blocked and thus there is a lack of normal blood flow out of the eye.

The above image is a rare syndrome diagnosed in a 16 year old boy who got into a bad car accident. It’s essentially inflammation due to impact. He lost almost all of the vision in this eye. Amazingly, he did heal up and regained most of his vision.

This photo won 3rd place at the Ophthalmic Photographer Society’s annual photo exhibit a few years ago. It’s a diabetic patient with severe damage to the blood vessels in the central vision area. It is inverted just for fun, but I swear that’s why it placed…it’s eye catching (no pun intended).

I actually JUST found out that the image above won honorable mention at the 2010 Ophthalmic Photography Society Photo exhibit! Yay! It is a small hemorrhage photographed with two different types of retinal imaging; a fundus photograph (orange) and an OCT, or Optical Coherence Tomography (b&w cross sectional scan) and I just loved the graphic look of that perfectly circular hemorrhage, right smack in the center of her vision. Luckily, this young girl also regained her vision as the hemorrhage resolved.

I am lucky to have such a interesting career that can really help people, not to mention the images are just SO COOL!

Spooky Primitive Witch Head Tutorial

What says HAPPY HALLOWEEN better than a creepy little primitive witch?? I found the witch on the right (in the picture below) a few years ago and had to have it, but I also knew this is something I could make myself. Last Fall I gave it a shot, and the result is the witch on the left. I made a few small changes, using slightly different materials, but I think MY witch is even witchier than the original!! (okay, so I’m a little biased…but I like the CRAZY hair on mine better!!)

You’ll need:

A wooden egg (for head – I suppose a plastic or foam egg could work too, though I haven’t tried it!)

A miniature terra cotta or wood gardening pot; preferably one with a hole in the bottom of the pot (hat)

Acrylic paint (for face and hat)

Crafting Spanish Moss (hair)

Hot glue gun

Twine or wire (to hang, if desired. Could work as a bowl filler too!)

First, I painted the egg green and then painted the face using the original witch as a guide. I did other facial expressions, like this one below. Feel free to experiment here, and paint the head and face however you would like!!!

Next, paint the hat black and paint on the stars. You could even use small decals or stickers and modge podge them on if you’d rather. Tie a piece of twine (or wire) into a loop and knot, slipping the looped end through the hole in the bottom of the pot. The knot will hold the loop in place. This way the pot will hang upside-down to act as the hat. Mine didn’t have a hole in the top, so I skipped this step and just hot-glued the twine loop hanger on the back of the hat.

Glue on a small bit of spanish moss to the top of the head, in two sections so that it hangs down on each side of the egg head. Not too much, or the hat won’t fit!

Glue the pot on the head. I used a TON of hot glue for this part to make sure it was secure.

Hang up by loop and enjoy being stared at by this spooky lil witch!

A Fun-Filled Fall Day

It was a picture perfect Fall day yesterday! I started off with a little K-9 Fall photo shoot. This is Paco, our retired police/narcotics dog. He is 14, but thinks he is a puppy. He loves posing for pictures. There’s that great rusted milk can I found the other day for $2 at a barn sale down the road, isn’t it perfect with the pumpkin on top??

 

This is Brico, Greg’s current working dog. He is full of life and loves to cuddle…but when it’s time to work, he’s all business!

This is our back yard. Usually there are deer lining the far field. What a gorgeous day. It inspires me…wish there was more time in the day to work on some crafts.

 

Next, it’s off to my friend’s daughter’s Halloween party to help out as the official face painter. This is Miss Klaire, the party supervisor. She LOVES the camera!

Kim and Kasi pinning the nose on the pumpkin!

This is me hard at work, face-painting away. We did both cheeks on all the girls. Face painting is a lot harder than it looks, but they seemed pretty pleased with the results!

There are no words for how cute this kid is…

My co-worker Mindy and her daughter Emily…with some awesome face painting I might add…

A close up of the popular purple spider…

And what is a party without CUPCAKES! The girls decorated them themselves!

Hope everyone had as great of a weekend as I did!!

Simple Pleasures Sunday ~ 10.17.10

Fresh, Cool, Crisp Autumn Air
There is nothing quite as refreshing as taking a deep breath of crisp Fall air in the morning. It’s a unique smell…one that’s hard to describe. Kind of like the smell of playing in the leaves as a kid. If you do nothing else today, go outside and close your eyes and take a deep breath. It’ll soothe your soul and make you smile.

Decorating Candles With Texture Fierro

One of my favorite new craft supplies is DecoArt’s Texture Fierro, a textured material (almost like a paste) that can be applied to almost any surface. It has a subtle shimmer because it is mixed with metallic flakes. “Fierro” means “iron” in Italian. It hardens and creates a very cool texture. It’s fairly inexpensive too, around $6 for the container below, and a little goes a long way. It comes in a variety of colors, but so far I have only experimented with the brown and green.

I picked up some candles at the dollar store and textured the outside of the glass with the texture fierro and got GREAT results! I would have never thought to use this material in a county/primitive context, but it kinda works! I applied it with an old paint brush and just dabbed it on. The first coat was fairly thick and covered it almost completely, but I did a second coat just to touch it up.

These little electric candles were a huge hit at my craft show last year, however I had used a different technique involving cinnamon and modge podge that took FOREVER and was a huge mess. This product is a great alternative for these candles. I get them 2 for $1 at the dollar store. It creates such a warmer, cozier look than the plain white plastic!

Another option is painting any old glass, container, frame…really anything you can think of! This is a simple glass candle holder that I threw a tea light in, and it looks great. SO EASY!

I have to give a shout out to Cynthia Lee Designs, a fellow craft blogger who gave me the idea. I stumbled upon her tutorial as I was searching for ways to modify those little electric candles. See her take on texture fierro at her blog: http://cynthialeedesigns.wordpress.com/2010/01/22/making-primitive-candles/. Thank you Cindy!

I am trying to think of other uses for the texture fierro, because I love how it looks. There are other colors and even other types of textures available that I have yet to experiment with. What kinds of things would you use it for???

Fall Favorites

Fall is the best season, hands down. Perfect temperature, beautiful landscapes, fun holidays, and yummy foods. Here are some Fall favorites:

Pumpkin Muffins and Lattes from Dunkin Donuts…the MOST DELICIOUS THING EVER!

Upstate New York Fall Foliage. You can’t deny that Upstate NY is one of the most beautiful places ever. The colors are amazing and the landscapes, breath-taking!

 

It’s The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

 

Pumpkin seeds. There are a millions recipies out there but no one makes them like my mom. The key is NOT washing off the pumpkin gook. Then add a crap load of salt and bake until crispy! Deeeelish!

Cool, crisp weather…just cool enough to have to put on a hoodie. Hoodies rule.

Hardy Mums and Pumpkin Patches!

Pumpkin Spice everything! Candles, coffee, potpourri and fixins! Anything pumpkin spice is usually drool-worthy. Yankee Candle has an exceptionally great array of Fall Fragrances…including the new MAPLE PANCAKES! Yum…

This looks quite yummy too…

And my personal favorite Yankee scent for Fall: VANILLA PUMPKIN!

Craft Shows. This time of year seems to be busiest for craft shows, with lots of holiday goodies for both Fall and Winter.

Fresh Apple Cider. Nothing else like it. My friend Tisha told me to drink it when you feel a cold coming on and it helps to keep you from getting sick. I SWEAR by it!

Halloween Decorations are the BEST! Pumpkin faces, witches, crows, goblins and ghouls! My absolute favorite are primitive pumpkin faces…the ones that border on being a little creepy!

The colors are just fabulous. I’m thinking burnt oranges, maroons, reds, mustard yellows, olive greens, plums, browns, and blacks. It’s such a great palatte!

Those are a few of my favorites, what are YOURS?? I’d love for you to leave a comment with your fav’s!

 

 

 

Recent Finds

I found these two antique kitchen scales at a local antique co-op, and absolutely fell in love. Whether it’s for a display in my booth or decoration on my kitchen counter, they are just plain COOL.  Upon doing some research, they sell anywhere from $10 to over $100…so for a few bucks I had to have em. Ever see something and you just HAVE to have?? They will be for sale in my booth, but if they don’t sell I am fine with that!

One had an interesting label on the side of it, which I love. It gives it some character.

Love, love, love enamelware. Especially colored enamelware. Classic white is great, but there is something unique and luring about colored enamelware. I found these 3 speckled pans at 3 different thrift stores. I wouldn’t use them to cook, but for decoration or display. I am planning on using one to hang up and display my magnets at the craft show. My little snowman face magnets look great against the blue background.

Got these ugly blue candy canes at the Amvet with a great craft idea in mind. 5 for $1…not too shabby! I’ll be posting the much improved “after” pictures soon.

I also picked up a great old milk can that is rusted to perfection…for $2! I have it out front of the house with a pumpkin on top and it looks great! I love finding treasure in other people’s trash, and it’s great to be able to reuse and recycle some of these great old wares.

Prim/Country Crafting Must-Have’s!

There are many supplies and materials  that seem to come up over and over in all my crafting endeavors. Here are some of the things I could not live without.

HOMESPUN – usually mini checks, gingham, plaid, striped, etc. All colors and patterns, but I steer away from bright colors and pastels. It’s a fortune at the local craft stores, but sometimes I can’t resist. I got a ton of great homespun fabric from a recent estate sale (thanks to my friend Melanie and her grandmother’s hoarding of craft supplies) that I use ALL the time, for ALL kinds of projects!

RUSTY TIN SHAPES – for accents mostly. Candles, nightlights, decorations/figurines, mason jars…the list goes on and on of items that can be spruced up with the addition of a great rusty star or heart. I also use these to make pins for the holidays (below). I get these in bulk at rustytin.com since they are really hard to find in stores.

SPRAY PAINT – I am loyal to my brand American Accents by Rustoleum, usually in satin or matte depending on the project. I have used a ton of other crappy spray paint and nothing seems to get the great coverage and color that AA provides. Pricey…yes. Worth it…definitely. I use spray paint for everything…especially for refurbishing thrift store finds. Shelves, stools, wooden bowls, the base for my signs, and various other projects all begin with a fresh coat of spray paint.

My favorite colors to use are Fossil (below, it’s my fav), nutmeg, london gray, oregeno, ivory silk, colonial red, and of course canyon black. Another favorite that’s not pictured is a great mustard yellow. I tend to steer away from blues…I don’t find much use for it. When I do, it’s usually a dark navy or muted “americana” blue.MASON JARS – I make a ton of items for my craft show with mason jars. Use them to hold wax tarts, putka pods (mini pumpkins), rosehips and/or potpourri mixtures, use as candle holders, or even as the base for a great lamp, which then can be customized to hold and display whatever you’d like. I use one for my toothbrushes. A vase for my wild flowers. A paintbrush holder, soap dispenser, the list is endless!

Also, couldn’t live without my ACRYLIC PAINT, TWINE, HEAVY GAUGE BLACK WIRE, and HOT GLUE GUN!

Those are the main supplies I find myself using over and over. What do YOU use, and what are YOUR favorite materials to work with?

Country Night Lights with Silicone Bulbs

Primitive country night lights with silicone dipped bulbs are easy and fun to make, and are great things to sell at craft shows or give as gifts!!! Here’s how I do it!

Supplies:

• Mainstay (Walmart Brand) Clear Silicone
• Calking gun
• Rubber gloves
• Cheap night lights and/or extra 4 watt bulbs from the dollar store
• Cinnamon
• String or wire – to hang up bulbs to dry
• Small disposable cup
• Popsicle stick or wooden dowel – to stir in cinnamon
• Homespun fabric
• Rusty stars and/or hearts

To start, buy some cheap night lights at the dollar store, and remove the cheesy plastic covers. Unscrew the bulbs and set aside, as you’ll be dipping them shorly! It takes some time to get down the technique, so get some extra bulbs to experiment with if you are just starting. Additional 4-watt bulbs can also be bought at the dollar store, usually 4 for $1. You want to get CLEAR silicone, which can be found at Walmart or any home supply store. I find the Walmart brand “Mainstay” works the best. You can add some cinnamon to the silicone for color (when it’s lit, it’s a much warmer look, also it camouflages any imperfections in the silicone), or leave clear if you wish.

Using the calking gun, squirt the silicone into a shallow bowl or cup – like an old cream cheese or sour cream container. Something disposable. Mix the cinnamon in at this point, if you wish. Gripping the base of the bulb, dip it down into the silicone, while slowly turning it to get the whole bulb covered up to the edge of the base. Then dip it down in and pull it out in a quick motion, to create the long tip, or “flame.” This takes some practice!

WORK QUICKLY! The silicone cures quickly once exposed to air, and will become harder and harder to work with!

Hang up by the base to cure. I use a small piece of string tied to the base and hang it from a clothesline. Once the silicone bulbs have set (after at least 24 hours), screw back into the night light. Tie some homespun fabric around the neck of the night light and either knot or tie in a bow. Finish by adding a rusty star, or heart.

So FREAKIN cute, aren’t they??