Halloween Cupcakes 2012!

It’s that time of year again! The Halloween Cupcakes Spooktacular 2012! Mel and I decorated our brains out and came up with some fun new creations this year!

Some of the classics: The owl and the worms

And in our office, of course we gotta have EYEBALLS!!!

Monster’s Inc character

And a witch’s hat!

The classic tomb stones…

And one of my personal favorites, PRETZEL MONSTERS!

New this year is a gang of mini aliens…

A zombie awaking from the dead!

Frankenstein marshmallow pops turned cupcake toppers!

A Reece’s bat

And my favorite new character, the pretzel skeleton!

Stepped up the Fall trees this year using Twizzlers instead of just piping it on…

And another new character: the peeking monster!

Skull with tic tac teeth

And some fun minis!

We did a batch of gluten-free cupcakes for one of the girls at work. It was quite an experience! They are pretty tough to work with because of the crumbly consistency. They taste pretty yummy though, and she is happy to be able to share in the spooky treats!

And lastly, our yearly photo in front of our masterpieces! Looking back on cupcakes from a few years ago, we have really stepped it up! It was so much fun and I can’t wait til next year’s Halloween Cupcake SpOoKtAcULaR!

I probably won’t be back until after my craft show, wish me luck! I hope everyone has a great weekend and very HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Frankenstein Marshmallow Pops

So I took a little break from crafting for some Halloween cupcake preparations! Tonight my friend Melanie and I are doing our annual Halloween cupcakes to bring into the office tomorrow. Last night, I made some Frankenstein marshmallow pops, some of which will become cupcake toppers. They came out pretty cute and were super easy to make!

Here are the ingredients, minus the pretzels. I was going to use them for the bolts in Frankenstein’s neck, but ended up going with slivered almonds instead. You’ll need large marshmallows, green melting chocolate, candy eyes, chocolate sprinkles, and pop sticks.

I microwaved the chocolate wafers for 30 second increments, stirring in between. It took about 2 minutes to get it to this consistency. Be very careful not to burn it!

Then you put the marshmallow on the stick, and dip it in. Tap the stick on the edge of the bowl to get off any excess chocolate.

Next make his “hair” by dipping the marshmallow into the chocolate sprinkles. Add the eyes while the chocolate is still melted.

I hate using styrofoam because it’s not biodegradable, but I couldn’t find anything else to use to prop them up to dry.   I have seen others using one small block of foam, or even the green floral foam covered in foil.

I used slivered almonds for the neck “bolts” and black sparkle gel for the mouth. I let the chocolate harden a bit before applying the mouth.

And there you have it! Easy, fun, Halloween treats. These would be great wrapped in little baggies for Halloween party favors, or a fun project to do with the kids.

Stay tuned for Halloween cupcakes coming very, very soon!

How to Make Your Own Stamped Gift Tags & An Impromptu Ghost Hunt…

Happy Fall!!! We just got home from week in Orange County, NY, for a Police K-9 Seminar that Greg was sponsoring, and boy was the weather and scenery spectacular! Upon getting home I realized there is just one month to go before my craft show and sooooo many things left I want to do…crap! I wanted to share some stamped gift tags I made because I think they have potential to be really great craft show sellers! I will also share some pictures from a little creepy detour I took in an abandoned hospital, where some of the K-9 training took place. More on that in a bit…

For these cute lil gift tags, I used a heavy stock brown kraft paper, which I got out of the scrapbooking section of the craft store. It was like  $.20 a sheet or something ridiculously awesome like that.

I cut the card stock into strips and used a small tag punch to punch out tons of tags. I got this at one of the craft stores (Michael’s I think?) for about $12, after using a coupon. It was originally around $20, but TOTALLY worth it since you can make an unlimited amount of tags!

I used a tiny hole punch to make the holes and some black string for the ties.

I made a TON more than are shown here…they are so versatile! For gifts, price tags, decoration, craft show sellers, or general crafting! You could use different thin ribbons and different colored inks / papers…there’s soooo much potential!

I decided to leave some blank and stamp some, both for my craft show. I chose this cute little gnome stamp which sorta passes for an elf for the holidays…

And of course, Santa!

 I packaged ‘em up, 4 to a bag. I am thinking $1 per bag. It’s a descent profit for me, but a great deal for customers too. What do you think?

And now, for the ghost hunt you’ve anxiously been waiting to hear about! Forget this crafty crap, now THIS is COOL!!! I thought my fellow blogger Eva Halloween over at The Year of Halloween would particularly enjoy this, as she shares my affinity for the dark side! It all started when I heard we were going to an abandoned hospital for an afternoon of dog training…

And it didn’t take long for the stories and rumors to start, about how the place is haunted and all of the weird “encounters” the officers have had while training there. Naturally, I decided to take a detour down to the morgue and snap some photos in hopes of catching some otherworldly friends on camera. I didn’t capture anything in my photos, but I did HEAR something. A cart rolling down a hallway to be exact. With no one else on that floor. Hmm…

Let’s take the tour, shall we? Not to the basement, but down to the SUB-basement we go! For those of you who are less fond of the mortuary sciences, I apologize for the morbidity of the photos to come.

Turning the corner  heading towards the morgue was this lone, randomly placed chair. I so badly wanted there to see a figure sitting in it upon examining my photos. No luck.

The freezer where the deceased were stored until they could be put to rest.

And a lovely vintage incubator that looks more like a giant toaster oven to me. Same principle I guess?

And the much-anticipated morgue. All of my photos were devoid of any orbs or ghostly encounters like I had hoped. Still very interesting to see the table and tools so up close and personal.

A little foam neck holder to help position the body. Looks comfy, eh?

And what exactly were they slicing and dicing so hard that they left knife marks and scratches on the metal table? Guess we’ll never know…

The tools…just left there one day and never touched again.

Look at the size of that knife!

I never knew the liver weighed so much!

A nearby laundry room…

And some peculiar art work on the walls of a children’s operating room. I’m not sure a giant, blood-red octopus is really the most “calming” imagery they could have chosen…

And I will leave you with one last image of the deserted hospital memorial room. This place left me so intrigued and grateful for the opportunity to explore! Sweet dreams my friends!

The 2011 Halloween Cupcake SPOOKtacular!

Well folks, it’s that time of year again.  Melanie and I’s 3rd annual Halloween cupcake extravaganza at the office! After meticulously working late into the night, we came up with THESE creations…

 New additions include the creepy cat…

 The zombie arm reaching out of the grave…

The bats…

The night-time pumpkin patch scene…

The miniatures…

…and the EEK!!!

And now…the CLASSICS!

 Mel and I call these (below) “cop-out” designs…where we use the pre-made decorations! Still cute though…

…and ya gotta have an eyeball when you work in the eyeball office!!!

The beloved pretzel monsters, this year with beady little red eyes…

and finally, Me and Mel in front of our masterpieces!

And yes, they tasted as good as they looked, if I do say so myself! It’s become a Halloween tradition that we look forward to ALL year…and it makes the day at the office a little more fun!

Hope everyone has a SPOOOOOOKY weekend and a Happy Halloween!

P.S. For those of you who looking for the broken glass cupcakes…well, it was a flop. After TWO failed attempts at making the glass, I gave up. Oh well…something to work on for next year!

Vintage Inspired Craft Supplies & Other Randomness

I rarely feature the “eyeballs by day” part and tend to focus more on the “crafts by night.” So I thought I’d share one of my favorite images that, over the weekend,  won 3rd place at the annual Ophthalmic Photographer’s Society international photography contest! This patient had some major blood vessel abnormalities in their retina. Here, the vessels are illuminated with fluorescein dye that was injected about 30 seconds prior to this shot being taken, bringing out the fine detail of these microscopic vessels.

Kind of a creepy, eh? A little creepiness just in time for Halloween! And speaking of photography…I snapped these pics of the sun hitting the trees in the back yard after a quick thunderstorm just now.  Damn I love Fall! It was suddenly a gorgeous sight out my back door and I had to grab the camera and capture it…

Anyway, the real reason for this post is to share some wonderful, vintage-inspired craft supplies my friend Christine and I found at Michael’s over the weekend! The best part is…they were only $1 a piece! Yep, a dollar!!! If you have a Michael’s near you…go get ‘em now before they disappear!!!

First, we found these porcelain knobs, that are very reminiscent of knobs from Hobby Lobby and/or Anthropologie (but for a quarter of the price)!!!

Imagine a cute cabinet made-over with these knobs?…And how about a skeleton key stamp, and dinner & drink themed marble magnets! Not too long ago, I paid a LOT more for a stamp just like this!!

My favorite are these Victorian-style skeleton keys!!! I totally would have missed these if Christine hadn’t dug them out from one of the bottom bins. We scooped them ALL up, and I plan on going back soon to look for more! I have so many ideas for these!

There was also a nice selection of stationary, like these cards with cute country tea cups. They are blank inside – and it never hurts to have some cute cards handy to jot a hello to a friend or a quick thank you note!

Along with these great finds, I picked up a few more Halloween cupcake accessories. I am so excited…this week is time for Melanie & I’s annual HALLOWEEN CUPCAKE SPOOKTACULAR! Here is some of the fun stuff I have picked up over the last few weeks! My favorite would have to be the blood spattered cupcake holders…

Pictures surely to follow!!! We can’t wait to try the “broken glass” cupcakes, as featured this year by Martha Stewart!

Well, have a great week…I’ll be back Friday night with lots of cupcake pix! And since this post has been incredibly random, here is the other thing I bought this weekend! LOVE all the EYEBALL stuff out this time of year! Yes, they are salt & pepper shakers…and yes…I might have to leave em out all year ’round!

Do you get the feeling you’re being WATCHED? Muah ha ha ha!!!

Fall in WNY!

The view of the hills back home over the weekend was awesome. The Fall foliage is at it’s “peak” in Western New York. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves!

While I was home, I also scored a few primitive pieces out of my step-grandfather’s barn, that I can’t wait to clean up a bit and get into my booth. To start, I thought this rickety old stool could be very cool with a little TLC!

This piece is an old mailbox with lots of little cubbies – perfect for displaying all kinds of little knickknacks! The holes are for poking your fingers through to lift your mail, so it’s easier to grab. I may have to slide in a little piece of wood or heavy card stock in the slots that I plan to display stuff, so they aren’t falling through the holes! I gotta clean it up a bit, but I am going to leave the worn, chipping paint as is!

The other really cool piece is this antique seed bag mover. Love the rusty hardware! Would make a great garden piece!

So Sunday night I finished up the pumpkin patch for our “Pick a Pumpkin Out of the Patch Discount” at The Carriage Place! Can you tell I used “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” for my inspiration? LOL! I added the little tree for a scary factor. Picked it out of the weeds in the field behind my house!

We are going to fill up the pumpkins with slips of paper that indicate a prize, discount, free appraisal, etc. for customers at the co-op to “pick” on Halloween weekend!!! I can’t wait!

Hope everyone is having a great week so far. Can’t wait for my best friend Teeny to come down this weekend and do a little craftin’ with me. It’s always more fun to do that stuff with a friend. We are going to try out a few NEW projects that I’ve never attempted before. I’ll letcha know how they come out!

Later gators!

Super Duper EASY Thrift Store Make Overs, and Some Pretty Jingle Bell Ornaments!

So my booth is stocked with some items found at thrift stores that ended up being really EASY make overs. Make overs that required very little time or effort. Sometimes it doesn’t take a massive over-haul with tons of meticulous painting or whatever…it’s can simply be a matter of cleaning them up and adding a small decoration to make them super CUTE!

Here’s a couple of grapevine wreaths I got at the Salvo…

I added a few rusty stars and some berries found at AC Moore (on clearance after last Fall)…BAM! Fall CUTENESS!

Remember this jar with the wooden top?

There it is, filled with mini pumpkins, after a quick coat of black spray paint on the lid. I sanded the edges…it took literally 30 seconds. The other small jar is from the dollar store, which I can’t find anymore. I’m sad, because I loved using them to fill with stuff.

Found this picture frame at the Amvet. I printed out this cute Halloween poem from my favorite FREE graphics website The Graphics Fairy and it looks so adorable displayed with some other Halloween stuff!

I  found this crock lamp at the Amvet also. It was a mess. Dusty and really grimy. I cleaned it up and it looks brand new! Added this basic shade and VOILA!

This gothic looking window frame was originally REALLY tacky, covered in fake pink and green flowers. I mean COVERED…you couldn’t even see the metal bars inside the window frame. I took them off, scraped off the gobs of hot glue, and here it sits waiting for someone to scoop up and plant some herbs or small flowers in those little pots.

Lastly, these were not a thrift store find per say, but a clearance find at AC Moore’s last January. I like the snowflake cut outs on the bells, but I don’t care for the bright reflective surface.

I decided to tone them down a bit with this metallic spray paint. It’s pretty expensive, but at any give time you can find a 50% coupon on the craft store websites. I never go craft store shopping without checking for a coupon first.

Finished with a piece of twine as the hanger and homespun fabric as a little decorative tie. Wouldn’t these look neat all over your Christmas tree, or in a giant wooden bowl on the table??

You could do this same technique on smaller bells, like these below, found at the Dollar Tree! I’ve also used barn red, forest green, and a navy blue spray paint (in a satin finish, not metallic) to paint these kinds of bell ornaments. Any of these are cute for the holidays.

I’d love to try to do a post about other people’s thrift store finds and/or make overs. What’s the BEST thing you ever found at a thrift store? Send me a pic!

So anyway, I plan on trying to photograph the beautiful foliage around here and I’ll be sure to post them next time. Have I mentioned I LOVE FALL?!?! hehehe. Have a great day!

 

 

Preparing for the Kendall Scarecrow Festival!

First off, I’m so happy to announce I got my first official “blog award”!  Be@Home Decor blog named my site as one of the “Best of the Web”…how COOL! I am so honored. Here is the website and little blurb! Do those snowmen look familiar?!?

http://pocketchange.become.com/2011/09/best-of-the-web-be-home-41.html

Anyway, I have been busy, busy, busy getting ready for my first FALL craft show this weekend with my friend June. I have always done winter shows and have never had the chance to make/sell HALLOWEEN stuff…my favorite! I made a big batch of marble magnets to sell, including lots of fun Halloween ones.

I laid out these images in Photoshop…

…And then punched them with my 20mm circular hole punch – found in the scrapbooking section at the craft store. It’s totally worth it…so much easier than cutting by hand! (For more details on how to make these, there are a couple marble magnet posts in the craft tutorials section!)

To package them, I cut down some grubby tags and slipped ‘em down into a little baggie…

…then cut a small hole in the bag for the string to come out. I folded over and taped the top of the baggie, and finished with a little fabric tie.

Aren’t they so cute?

Here are the Halloween ones all finished!

The ones on the left were my inspiration for the packaging (got them a while ago at Roses In the Hedgerow). I think mine are just as cute!

I also packaged up a ton of “fixins” that I scented with pumpkin spice. I stamped the little owl on some craft paper stickers to add a little Halloween/Fall flair.

After talking about this idea a few posts ago, I decided I’d give this suitcase display idea a try! I found this suitcase on the side of the road last Fall and have had it sitting in my craft area for a year…I knew it’d come in handy!

Those long seed boxes I picked up a few weeks ago fit PERFECTLY, length-wise, in the suitcase and will hold my “seed packet” sachets. They have vintage flower images on the front, and smell AWESOME!

I tied a long strip of fabric around the suitcase flap (that unbuttons and folds down) and then clothespinned on some of my pins.

Can’t wait to get this set up at the show…I think it’s a real eye catcher!

Well, that’s all for now. Lots of pictures of the show coming soon….wish me luck! Happy FALL everyone, and stay warm…summer is officially gone! What Fall or Halloween inspired crafts are you working on? Send me some pics and I’ll post em here!!!

A Fabulous, Fall Weekend & Country Pumpkin Pins

Welp, it’s official. It’s FALL! My favorite!!! We had all kinds of big plans and didn’t end up doing any of them…instead we did all kinds of fun, FALL stuff! We got pumpkins from a road side stand and I just LOVE the white ones…

Got out the Halloween decorations including my new OWL from one of my favorite stores, Roses in the Hedgerow! Check out the little rusty bottle caps for eyes with a black bead sewn in the middle, and a Fimo nose. Man, I wish I could sew!!!

Had the “Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Pie” candle going ALLLLLL weekend…YUM!

…AND I got a ton of crafting done for the Kendall Scarecrow Festival in a few weeks! I made some more pumpkin pins, but this time in a more country themed, using rusty tin pumpkins and stars!

Here’s how, incase you’d like to make some! I start with rusty tin shapes that I order in bulk from rusty tin.com.

Paint them up with a burnt orange…

Glue on the pin backs with Dazzle Tac, NOT hot glue. With hot glue, the pin backs snap right off. The Dazzle Tac is a jewelry glue and will hold that pin back there forever!

I lightly dry brushed  some dark brown on the side to give the pumpkin some subtle texture and added the little green curly-cue vine. Then glued on the stars with a tiny bit of Dazzle Tac. Last year I did some black pumpkins too, which were really cute.

I pinned them on my grubby hang tags for sale/display. I can then hang them up OR throw em in a basket.

Meanwhile my latest batch of silicone bulbs were curing in the basement that I dipped Friday night. TIP: I found that using less spices in my silicone mixture made it much easier to work with and the tips came out better and smoother. The trick is adding just enough to get your “warm, cozy glow” but not too much to muck up the silicone! See my original silicone dipped bulbs tutorial here.

The bases sit…waiting for their bulbs!

These have been hot sellers at the co-op so I figured why not put some more out there, too! These have become one of my “signature” items.

Well guess that’s all for today. So much has been going on, I feel like I haven’t sat down since I opened my booth in April. I wanted something to keep me busy and motivated, and boy did I get it! Have a great week everyone and enjoy this wonderful Fall while it lasts…!

Folk Art Inspired Pumpkin Magnets, Pins & Wine Corks

Well, I’ve decided I am ready for Fall! I LOVE Fall…it’s my absolute favorite season in every way. I think it’s because I am starting to see all the fun Halloween stuff in the stores that’s doing it. I have been working on some pumpkin items for my booth, and I love how they turned out! I love little folk art Halloween stuff, so that was my inspiration.

Here’s the how-to, should you feel the urge to make some of your own cute lil pumpkins!

I started by spray painting my wooden discs, just like the snowmen. I used this Terra Cotta spray, mainly for the color. Helpful tip: Do not spray paint in the garage within a 3 foot range of your boyfriend/husband’s brand new truck. This will result in major trouble for you. Just sayin’.

The Terra Cotta spray has a texture to it, which I thought would look cool on the pins/magnets. It definitely looked cool, but did not work well when I tried to paint the faces. The black paint pens would run because of the uneven, textured surface. I ended up painting them all with acrylic paint of the same color – lesson learned. The corks were handed painted with acrylic paint.

I used a yellow paint market to dot the eyes, and an ultra fine black paint pen for the noses, pupils, and mouths.

I didn’t want to hand paint the teeth so I cut off a tiny square piece of foam from the edge of a foam stamp. I stamped the teeth one by one!

The cork faces were a bit smaller so I decided it would be quicker to stencil on the mouths & noses. I used this little stencil I found on clearance at last year at Joann’s. The tiny face worked perfect, except I made one the eyes into my new nose. I covered the other eye with tape to create just one triangle above the mouth!

I packed up the corks and magnets in individual baggies (mini clear bags which can be found in the jewelry-making section of your local craft store) with labels I made with my logo.

The pins are pined onto my grubby tags, with my stamped logo. This has become my signature way of packaging/displaying all my pins!

I think this lil dude in the middle is my favorite as far as the expressions. You can really see the sparkle of the mod-podge sealer in this picture.

Well, hope you enjoyed the tutorial on my first attempt at pumpkin people stuff! I really love them and hope all the customers at The Carriage Place do too!

Country/Primitive Fall & Halloween stuff is irresistible if you ask me!

Have an awesome weekend everyone!!!

Making Over Dollar Store Candles and a Few Other Crafty Tid-Bits…

Ever see these at The Dollar Tree? They are in the tiny wedding accessories section, usually near the craft supplies. I am guessing they are meant for favors? I don’t know, but they are good quality little jar candles, and 3 to a pack is a great deal.

I knew right away I wanted to texture them, but I didn’t want to use the dark brown or the gold. I am tired of these colors and there aren’t other colors of Texture Fierro except a bluish-gray and green.

So…I mixed these two to make a light brown/tan color! I then added a little strip of homespun with the trusty hot glue gun.

I was going to embellish them with a rusty star, but I decided at the last minute to use these left over Fimo crows I made. I originally made them to mix with some Fall themed “fixins” but I had some extras…exactly enough for the candles! It was meant to be!

I think they are super cute. and great for Fall/Halloween! I just LOVE crows!

The other weekend projects I have been tinkering around with are the mini clothespin snowmen for my December show. They were a huge hit last year so I made TONS!

All they need are their scarfs!

And finally, I have been working on some pins/magnets/wine corks for Fall with pumpkin faces. It’s taking a lot longer than the snowmen did, but I am liking the results. Here is a sneak peek!

 Welp, even though it’s a crappy, rainy MONDAY morning (eww)…try to have a GREAT day!!! I am in major crafting mode…more to come soon!!!

Organizing The Craft Room and Some Great Prim/Folk Art Goodies Acquired Over the Weekend!

It’s been a cold, cold few weeks here in Upstate New York…I mean REALLY cold! Here is the view of the back yard….it’s a winter wonderland out there! No kickball for me today…I’m just too sick. Damn sore throat just won’t go away. A perfect day to catch up on some blogging!

After looking out at all the snow, I suddenly got a great idea. Every now and then I get an incredible urge to dress my dog up in human clothes. It is an urge I simply cannot control! I’m not sure, but I think Paco enjoys it too. He’s such a good baby. Paco’s ready for a snow day! Tell me this doesn’t make you a little giddy inside!

Last night I decided it’s time to do a little organizing. Does anyone else’s craft area look like THIS?

As you can see I have taken over the basement. This is only one corner…it actually extends around much of the perimeter. It’s nice because I don’t have to worry about being neat, as I would if I were upstairs. However, lately, it has gotten a little out of control. After a few hours of unpacking boxes and bags, cleaning, and organizing….it now looks like this! Please ignore the messy carpet…my last job is to vacuum!

A freshly covered crafting table is so….satisfying. It makes me wanna make something!

I organized the supplies I have gotten over the last few months into bins of future projects.

1. Old Christmas bulbs: to be painted with sparkly modge podge to use as jar/bowl fillers and ornaments.

2. Large metal jingle bells: to be spray painted barn red, forest green, and possibly Americana blue, to be hung with homespun!

3. Wooden discs and mini wooden clothespins: to be spray painted white and made into snowman face pins, magnets, and clips. Some of my best sellers at the show this past Christmas! Thinking about giving gingerbread men another try too.

4. Electric tea lights: to be grubbed up with texture fierro!

5.  Night lights: to be disassembled, bulbs dipped in silicone and turned into country night lights.

So, moving onto the great stuff I acquired over last weekend while I was visiting home! I have to say thank you to my mom’s friend Beth, for sending over a huge box of antique and folk-art style goodies for me to have. THANK YOU BETH! It’s so very thoughtful of you!!! I LOOOOOVE everything!!! Here are a few of my favorites out the box!

This antique Santa is my favorite new Christmas decoration!

Here he is lit up!

This has to be my favorite primitive witch ever! My mom tried to confiscate it, but I wasn’t letting her go! Nice try Cath!

Look at the awesome details in the face, shoes, and pumpkin she is carrying!

This great Americana piece is so charming…

Check out this facial detail. I think it’s such a wonderful piece of folk art.

I don’t think I can sell these items…I adore them too much. Thanks again Beth!

That’s all for now. Check back again soon! I have been working on some new sets of marble magnets using some slightly different supplies which I need to photograph still. I’ll get em up real soon. Have a great weekend ya’ll!

2011 Crafting Goals: Craft Tutorials From Fellow Bloggers That I’m Dying To Try!

I’ve had that itch to craft lately…and BAD! But, I am across town dog-sitting for some very adorable pooches, so no crafting this weekend. I decided to post my “2011 Crafting Goals”…which are basically some tutorials that I have had bookmarked on my computer for ages that I want to try. I am gonna try to accomplish some, if not all, of these by the end of the year!

Not Martha: Marble Magnets. I find that magnets sell very well, and are a great gift idea for anyone. I love the simplicity of these, yet they are so charming. I have seen sets of magnets like this sold in some rather high-end stores, so I think they might be a fun new product to add to the craft show.

Our Big Earth: Bottle Cap Ornaments. Similar to the one above, this tutorial would make for great magnets! I like them as ornaments, but I think I’d like them even better as magnets. I think the rippled edge of the bottle cap makes an awesome border some mini-vintage art. Not sure where this magnet obsession is coming from. I guess it’s because they are easy, fun, and everyone loves them!

The Graphics Fairy: Halloween Fabric Art. You really could take this idea and run with it…using all kinds of great graphics, monograms, country phrases, or holiday themed vintage art like the Halloween ones shown below. This website is one my favorite places to find wonderful antique and vintage art of all types!

And Baby Makes Five: Sparkly Snowmen Salt Dough Bowl Fillers. I have had my eye on these bowl fillers for quite some time, and I am DEFINITELY gonna try them this year. I for sure want to try the sparkly snowmen – see the amazing little 1/2 circle snowman faces on the second picture down! The possibilities are endless…I’ve been keeping my eye out for new cookie cutters just for this reason!

Preferably Prim: Homespun Raggy Prim Christmas Tree. I love anything wrapped in homespun, and stumbled across this cute little tree at Preferably Prim. It reminds me of homespun rag balls, but way cuter! I love the addition of the rusty star on top.

Bakerella: Cheesecake Pops and Mint Oreo Truffles. I know, these aren’t really “Craft” goals, so much as “Baking” goals…but I had to throw them in. I love this website and have often wanted to try many of the delectable treats featured there, but of course I never got around to it. I VOW to try both of these recipes. As you know I recently made the regular Oreo truffles which came out so amazing, and to try them with MINT is just….genious!!! I’m drooling now…

Last but not least are these cool rag ball ornaments, but I can’t remember where I found them. I just saved the picture in my “ideas” folder and forgot about it until now. I love this twist on traditional rag balls…with writing on them. It’s so elegant, yet still country. I’m officially keeping my eye out for fabric with writing on it…I’ll keep you updated!

Oh, and one more thing. I decided I don’t wanna do “Simple Pleasures Sunday” anymore. Yes, I still think it’s really neat to acknowledge the simple pleasures in life, and not take them for granted. I just don’t like being on a schedule with the blog…I wanna post whenever I feel like and not be obligated on Sundays. Ya know what I mean?

So anyway…what are YOUR crafting goals for 2011? Anything fun?? Please share…I’d love to hear!!

Thrift Store Finds…Both Xmas AND Halloween!

I found a bunch of neat thrift store goodies right before the craft show a few weekends ago and never got around to posting them. I just have to share…I found some REALLY cool stuff! I get a strange high when I am in a thrift store and find something really cool…I feel like I won the lottery! I am all about vintage Christmas ornaments this year, and I found these guys:

Love this cute little elf with a big pointy hat! My friend Christine said he was really creepy with those black eyes…lol….but I still really liked him. A lot of vintage ornaments/dolls/cartoons/etc. seem to have a certain creepiness, if you really think about it, with their big eyes and strange little faces! Personally I find them endearing and love these unique, strange characters!

A couple of cool vintage reindeer…

And a tilting Santa candle. The lady who bought it said it is very hard to find these old Santa candles…??? Anywho, I got all 4 of these guys for $3 and sold them each for at least $3 a piece!!!

As you know by now I drool when I see enamel ware of any sort. I found this neat ladle that I used to display some night lights at the show. I just love the red rim on the white. It’s got a real neat retro look. See it hanging there on the right:

Another enamel pan that is a brilliant orange! Okay, so I already have this exact same one but I had to get it because I want to do a Fall/Halloween show at some point, so I am always on the look out for orange and black items. For $1, I’m doin’ it!

Speaking of Halloween….check these out!!! Not something you expect to find at Christmas time, but I HAD to have em! The detail of the illustrations is great, and they are pretty solid…ceramic (or whatever normal plates are) and not plastic which I originally thought when I saw them from afar. LOVE THEM!

Do you get the feeling you’re being WATCHED?

 

Haha…that’s all for now. Now that I am done with the craft show and am not in psycho crafting mode as I have been for the past few months, I probably won’t be posting as often. Hope everyone is enjoying this FABULOUS holiday season so far!

Goodbye Halloween, It’s Been Fun!

Hope everyone had a nice Halloween weekend. Goodbye my favorite holiday of the year, and hello shelves stocked with Christmas stuff already. Ugh!  Here are a few pictures from the “Backwoods Halloween SPOOKtacular” at my mom’s house this past weekend!

We started Friday night with some good ol’ fashioned pumpkin carving!

They all look kinda creepy lined up there with the red back light and the giant cross on the wall…totally did not plan that! SPOOOOOOKY!

This is the famous schoolhouse…a nearly 200 year old one-room schoolhouse that my step-dad disassembled board by board, and then reassembled on his property to turn into a wood shop. He is keeping everything original, really preserving the integrity of this great historical structure. It was the perfect setting for the party, because not only it is dark and rustic, but it is thought to be haunted! I plan on doing a post all about the schoolhouse build, along with some of it’s interesting history, sometime in the near future!

This is a very cool display my mom whipped up with things she had lying around the house…she’s so clever. The red glass goblets and glasses held little tea light candles and looked real spooky all lit up. The primitive tools and magnifying glass give you that “mad scientist” kind of vibe!

A retro orange crock pot made for an excellent Halloween punch bowl. The addition of the broom was to create a “witch’s brew” set up! The (spiked) punch was my Great Grandma Garrison’s recipe and is the BEST punch ever.  We froze a rubber glove full of water to create a floating ice hand to keep it cold, instead of normal ice cubes.

Grandma Garrison’s Punch Recipe

Mix equal parts:

• Orange soda
• 7-up
• Pineapple juice
• And if desired, a little plain vodka

We did a lot of displays of weeds, dead flowers (dead roses from an old bouquet), and twigs that were covered in spider webs to really set the mood. This is a cheap, quick, and easy Halloween decorating idea!

My mom uses this old bird bath base as a stand for hanging plants, potted plants, and seasonal decorations like this pumpkin. Great idea for re-using an old or broken bird bath!

The fruity sisters…Andrea as a bunch of grapes, and myself as…you guessed it…a giant banana.

This is the bride of Frankenstein…also known as my mom!

Greg and I near the bonfire…

What is a backwoods party without a ginormous bonfire?! It was so awesome!

Good times were had and great and great memories were made! Can’t wait for Halloween next year…only 364 days to go!