~~~ Happy Halloween!~~~

~~~Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone has a "Spooktactular" Halloween!

Please enjoy what I have to share for now.

The aftermath will be updated sometime before midnight.

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Hungry for more? check out what all the Blog Ghouls are raving about on the

Halloween Blog Party!

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~Michelle

a mini i made book Imade to give away but decided to keep for myself!

Our little helper!

Demo "Mask" I made for today's craft at MOPS*.

Treats from Mica of Garboodles from the black cats and pumpkins swap.

Please visit Mica's site to see what I gave her! Here a pic of a crown I added to her goodies!

Happy haunting!

~Michelle

Penny Charm

Just doing a few blog reads before dropping Dyllan off from Pre-School and found this on

Zakka Life's blog!

Who doesn't have a"ton" of those flattened tourist penny's???

Now I can make a charm bracelet that I know I'll wear of all the places I've been!

Thank you Zakka Life!

Still a few more things to do...

~~~~Yesterday I hosted a Halloween Crop party at my house, but do to the fires and some stomach virus floating around, only 1 person showed which was fine with me cause the day was mine to work on crafts regardless. We feasted on stouffers chicken enchalada, ruffles with salsa and dip and some delish' desserts she picked up from a gourmet bakery.
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~ We watched "The Blair Witch", "Creep Show" and a little bit of "Signs" With the exception of creep show which is fun along with a few other movies of that nature that I own, I personally get a better thrill on the movies that freak out my mentality.
The "what if" factor.
~In blair witch, the tent scenes always get to me. As a former girl scout in my younger days, we camped, alot. And when you are sitting in your tent, having to pee so bad, debating whether to wake up a friend to go with you or brave it alone, it's then you start hearing those night noises of things walking around out side your tent. We camped alot locally but every year we went to Yosemeti.
~ One night I heard a strange noise right up against my tent flap. I woke up a friend and she said the noise was probally 1/2 imagination mixed with snoring from one of the dad's that came along on the trip. The next morning, Bear tracks were found around our tents!
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I promise not to ramble any more cause I have alot to do until Halloween.
Here's my To Do list for today:

1. Have Dyllan help make treats for his Pre-school class: stealing the rice crispie bar on a stick idea, will show pic's later. Done!
2. Have Dyllan help make mini cards for friends Done!
3. Prep for MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) Basically a support group for mommies where we have free babysitting, food, interesting speakers and great crafts taught by me!
4. The craft I chose for this wed, is making a "mask". I have multi colored foam sheets, bag o colorful feathers, assorted rinestones and glitter glue. I'll make a demo to be tied around the head and a hand held mask held with a mini dowl. I'll have basic mask templates and let them do the rest. Teaching for such a large group (up to 50) in 30 minutes gives me alot of practice. Done!

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If I get this done, which I should, then these are my other catch up stuff:

1. 100th post treats
2. 100th post winner crown, + one for me!
3. Oct. blog winners
4. demo's for my "Vintage Village Swap" that I'll be hosting soon and you don't want to miss out on!
5. Christmas Post Card Swap
6. Craft challenge of vintage women ( almost Done and should be #1)

Tuesday:

1. Drop Dyllan off at Pre-school
2. jam over to the pumpkin patch for 2 med pumpkins, 1 for me to make into something special, and 1 for Dyllan to help carve.
3. finish off on Mondays stuff.
4. pick up Dyllan from pre-school, then lunch and give him a nap.
5. bake brownies for ghost and some newbi frenkensteins.

Now off to leave some comments.

~Michelle

P.s.,

As much as I love Halloween, this blackness on my blog is so"over", I can't wait till the 1st when I can change it to a warm vintage Autumn look with maybe the "fall crown" as the banner!

An Award for me?

~Jan Thomason has presented me with a unusual and hilarious award! The FIRST EVER CREATIVE SNIT AWARD!!!!!!!!Unlike many other blogging awards, THIS award requires much thoughtful deliberation and strict adherence to the following CREATIVE SNIT AWARD criteria.
~This award shall be presented only to worthy artists who have shown evidence of being in a creative snit.
(I've copied and pasted most of this info from Jan's site to better explain)
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The definition of snit: snit - noun.
a state of agitated irritation; "she was in a snit.". However, don't you agree CREATIVE SNIT requires a somewhat different definition?
....creative snit - noun. a state of creative chaos, creative frustration, or a state of obsessive creativity: "she was in a creative snit.".
~ Therefore, worthy recipients of this prestigious award should demonstrate one or more of the following criteria:
***1) photos of their chaotic creative studio spaces see this post for pic of my "creative station"
***2) reports of staying up till the wee hours of the morning while consuming large amounts of coffee and/or chocolate in order to finish a swap or prepare for a show. ( yes I am up late usually till 2am! but instead drinking something alchoholic and eating what ever looks good.)

***3) documented frustration over the creative process. (all the time!)
***4) evidence of a large quantity of art created over a small period of time. (see any post)
***5) photos of the recipient at vendor night at any art retreat because it goes without saying that ALL attendees at such events are either in, or will soon be, in a creative snit. (again, here at the scrapbook retreat!)
AND FINALLY
***6) witnessing the recipient in a SNIT at a CREATIVE EVENT! (ask anyone who's seen me teach, host a crop, or work my table at a boutique!)

~~~So I am passing on this wonderfully humorous award to the following for their undying passion to add "just one more thing" on their projects only to finally fall asleep with glue on their pants and glitter in their hair!
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1. Sheri http://blendedcolors.blogspot.com/
2. Laurie http://glitterworksstudio.blogspot.com/
3. Jessica http://www.zakkalife.blogspot.com/
4. Laura http://katydiddys.blogspot.com/
5. Susan http://www.creativedestination.typepad.com/
   
   And, girls, you keep this award going by awarding it to those artists that you know that would get a kick out of it.........and be deserving at the same time!)

Spooky Treats

~Since it's almost Halloween, I wanted to share with you some of the treats I'll be conjuring up for Halloween. They are not only fun and easy to make, but will leave your guest asking for more!
(click on each photo for more detail!)
Ghosties
Bake your choice of brownies and cut into squares.

1. Take white frosting and add a dab to each large marshmellow, then secure to brownies.

2. Place brownies on baking sheet with something to collect drips underneath.
3. Melt the remaining frosting in the microwave till runny. Spoon over brownies creating the "ghost" effect.
4. Add black frosting for eyes. If you make these a day in advance the will look even more dramatic!
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Witch Hats.

1. 1 package of keebler striped chocolate cookies, unrapped hershey kisses of choice, colored frosting in a can or tube.


2. attach kisses to underside of cookie with a dab of frosting


3. draw ribbon with frosting, add other effects if you want.

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Mummy Toes

1. 1 package of hot dogs (your choice)


2. refrigerated croisants


3. ketchup


4. roll up each dog in a croisant, leaving each dog end showing.


5. with a paring knife, cut out alittle bit of each dog end to resemble a "nail bed"


6. bake according to croisant directions


7. cut each crisant dog in 1/2


8. squeeze ketchup into each nail bed.

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Some other things I'll be serving at our 3rd annual Trick or Treat party is grilled cheese sandwitches and tomatoe soup warming in a crock pot for parents to sip in a cup as they stroll from house to house.


Check out the above treat idea that I'm going to make for Dyllan's school friends! I found it on on Heather's site! You are going to "kick" yourself when you see just how easy it is too make these yummy's!
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100 post winner and stuff....

Thank to all the wonderful bloggers out there left such nice comments on my 100th post! Everyone gets a treat! If I did not e-mail you requesting your address, please let me know! My computer is acting up and I had to sign back on a couple times.
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The lucky winner for the crown is Zakka Life! Please take a moment to see her little demo! I can't wait to try it out!
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~ Our home is safe from the fires but not from the smoke! We are fairly close to Camp Pendelton's fire and it's just awful! The sky is orange. We are staying in the with air conditioner on auto and 2 air purifiers running.
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~As you may have read earlier, I went to my Mom's in Borrego Springs for a visit with Dyllan on Sat, and came home on Monday. During the stay, the only time the tv was on was to play Dyllan's Dvd's. And plus the air was fantastic in the desert, blue skys with lots of wind. We had no clue to what was going on in california until Monday. All the normal ways out of Borrego were closed or on fire. I ended up adding 2 hrs onto my already 2 hr drive to take the "back" way out of Salton Sea and Palm Springs route. I will post pic's from this visit soon.
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Please enjoy my card creations!


I learned the art of "punch craft" from a friends on tuesday while Dyllan was in pre-school.
I love the frog the best. He required: 4 oval punches, 1 round, some little circles for the eyes and a flower punches for the toes.
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The pink flower is obvious that I used 2 sizes in ovals, a mini flower in the center and I cut a circle punch in 1/2 for the leaves.



The lady bugs were oh so simple and the folded flower was fun to make!
I used 5 tags, tiney flower, and butons. I'll add a demo on this one another time.
I don't own these punches, but I do have the cricut which can make multiples of these shapes in various sizes for me!

The monkey was a little tricky you can see the different shapes ans sizes we used. The arm and legs are from a punch my friend uses with gift card holder making.

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The bunny is my creation! Dyllan is a magician for halloween. I covered a small pail with black paper and added a foam rim. After making the bunny, I added him to the rim. and on his butt is a cotton ball. After halloween I'll post pics of his full costume.

I hosted a halloween card contest with my scrapbook group and added a few of my own.

These are all mine using scraps, buttons,glitter, and just 1 CTMH stamp set.

I could not stop making them once I got started so I'll post more before I give them away!

100th post Give Away!!!

~It's here, today's the day and I'm very excited!

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I'm also buzzing because tonight Dyllan and I are following our 3rd year tradition of the both of us dressing up in our costumes and meeting friends at Disney CA Adventure Halloween bash! It's a lot of fun and something I look forward to every year!

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~ Then Saturday after breakfast, Dyllan and I will be heading out to my Mom's in

Borrego Springs, Ca. I used live there up until I was 10, Mom ended up retiring there and my little sister lives close by. Borrego is know as the largest desert state park in Ca. And also for their stunning wild flowers.

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~ I'll be visiting until Monday afternoon. My main goal for going is to sort through my Mom's vintage Christmas stuff for something "special" that will be the base of a Christmas swap I'll be hosting through Blog land. Cant wait!

Now on to the FUN stuff!

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1. Upload pics and word details of a fall themed demo to your blog any time starting Today, October 19th, ending last hour of Monday, October 22nd.
Make sure to "link" your post to me, so others can join the fun!

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~2. Post a comment on my 100th post letting me know what you've done, include your blog link.

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~3. Upload as many demo's as you can create, you have 4 days to play!

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~4. Each person that participates in this demo will recieve a hand crafted Fall themed cone from me, stuffed with inspirational goodies!

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~5. One lucky participant will recieve a beautiful fall themed, glittery "Crown" made by yours truly.

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~Here is my demo.

I actually had 2 but the pics did not do justice on the other one.

This one is about Wax coating, only I accidently got the white wax and not the clear one.

Clear wax is good for preserving leaves so they don't loose their color. I made do with the white and just see what I've done!

I believe in using what I already have. A cookie sheet for drying, and a extra tartlet burner melts the wax just fine.

1. I laid out butcher paper shiny side up on the kitchen table and covered with an assortment of fall leaves.

2. Covered shiny side down with some more paper. ( wax paper can be used to)

3. Find something to lay on top. Magazines, cork place mats, a large art clip board, then put a few heavy things on top of that~ give it at least 8 hours of pressing, any longer and the leaves start to dry out. ( this comes in handy for large projects, but for smaller ones, I use a flower press)

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It took approx. 10 minutes to melt the bees wax, occasionally stirring with a tooth pick.

~Here I added Martha Stewarts Fire Opal glitter. I have about 8 of her glitters and love them all cause they are beautiful and super fine.

~Working quickly with the foam brush, I dip in the wax, scooping up some glitter and brush lightly over the front and back of the leaf.

~If you click on the pics for a close up you can see how pretty they look and almost sort of vintage.

I'm going to put these in a small shallow bowl I'm making out of paper and place on the table.

~This way if the wax melts just a little in any sun light it won't ruin anything.

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~Hope you like this demo and will play along with your own! I look forward to seeing what you have to show off and to also make new friends!

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Happy Crafting!

~Michelle

Please come and play...

~Tomorrow will be my 100th post!
I'm preparing for the celebration with two demo's and a special give away.
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Here's how it works:
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1. Upload pics and word details of a fall themed demo to your blog any time starting Friday, October 19th, ending last hour of Monday, October 22nd.
Make sure to "link" your post to me, so others can join the fun!
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2. Post a comment on my 100th post letting me know what you've done, include your blog link.
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3. Upload as many demo's as you can create, you have 5 days to play!
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4. Each person that participates in this demo will receive a hand crafted Fall themed cone from me, stuffed with inspirational goodies!
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5. One lucky participant will receive a beautiful fall themed, glittery "Crown" made by yours truly.
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Hope you can join the fun!
~Michelle

Crafters Challenge

Beachy's Cape Cod Cupboard is having a fun challenge due November 1st using this image.
~Want to join the fun? Click here
for more details!

Happy crafting!
~Michelle

Halloween Greetings To You

~~~~~ Every Year my decorating for Halloween changes, specially now that we have a 3 year old boy who gets "spooked" as easily as he can destroy things with the touch of a finger. So sadly I did not go "all-out" this year and kept things simple. After Halloween, I'll post some pics from dress up to lit decorations and also some glimpse of the past!

***Feel Free to "Click" on all the pic's for close up detail! ***


Hard to see unless you click on it, I saw this "somewhere" and used CD's as templates onto cereal boxes. Stamped the letters and then added glitter.
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The jumble of stuff is a doll I made, some mini books, and loose goodies.
The other is a card holder I made eon's ago that is always up except for Christmas. I decorated it with all my Halloween tags and cards. Some I made, some received.
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Do you notice my LOVE of Disney? I'm missing one of the hitch hiking ghost and the dead bride.
Let me know if you find them any where!
I would love to add them to the collection!
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For the downstairs bathroom, I take out the bulbs and cover the vent fan light with layers of purple suran wrap. It gives off a eerie glow. I have some spiders hanging from the ceiling and minimal deco's except for my floor creature.

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The flowers and kitty are under the mantle, Kitty gets decorated on Halloween and Christmas. He's a regular in the household at all times.

Some of my new deco's are from some of this years Halloween Swaps!

We don't have a normal mail area cause I'm always changing my mind on how and where.

I got the hook rack at Michaels on clearance and hung 2 purses I got at Target last year for $2 each. They hang well and hold our mail too!

Our front door is metal. So I'm often putting up Dyllan's art work for him and all who enter to admire. Don't you love his little ghost foot prints? The bat's are my creations and the partial moon you see is made at his request to fly his rocket ships to.

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At Christmas time our stair way and house really gets decked out!

Pillows I made and have to keep reminding Dyllan that they are not to be stood on.

Looking out from the house and my front door. I made the sign and the other side has a Fall greeting.

Our humble home, too close to our neighbors, but at least it's ours and anything bigger would require more cleaning!

I put Walmart cheap flowers in dirt on my windowsill. Looks good with the Halloween theme and webbing. Colors kinda ran with the last rain but still looks good.

I like putting spiders and webbing on the front of our house. Neighbors have even stated that they look forward to what I'll do each year. I'm not a stucco fan but love how it holds webbing.