Homemade Halloween

I start out with some pretty simple cards and then I embellish them to my hearts content..."witch" just means there's no limits to what you can do, if you're willing . . .  to use your imagination.

And, I'm cheap, so I use whatever I have laying around the house to add a little "magic" to my cards. It might be candy eyes...

Or even beans I've bought in bulk to make some ten bean soup.

Or it might be some fun Halloween stickers...

And I have to add a few personal touches, like initials or names...

And I like to bring it all together by adding a little something to the envelopes too.

And it might be food or feathers or stickers, it doesn't matter...you can personalize anything and it's so much fun . . . plus whoever gets these handmade Halloween cards will definitely see the time and attention that's gone into the gift. And in these days of email and texting, it's fun to find a little surprise in the mailbox that says, "I was thinking of you."

The World's Finest - Superman and Batman Cakes

My kids may be grown up...but I never will.

I wanted to make them each a superhero cake but they don't like fondant or sugary frosting so I used whipped cream and sugar sheets. Here's how I made them:

First I had to bake the cakes and then I cut off the tops to make them even.

Then I put whipped cream and homemade blackberry jam in-between the layers.

Then I put whipped cream all around the top and sides.

Then I started on the designs. First I had to google the superhero emblems to get it right and I printed them out so I wouldn't forget.

Then I cut out the iconic emblems and held them up to the sugar sheets to make sure I cut them out properly.

I laid them on wax paper so they wouldn't stick to anything. I needed to create the emblems in layers.

I used an exacto knife to get the lines right and I cut the sugar sheets out on a cutting board so I wouldn't cut into the table.

After I created all the emblem pieces, I used frosting to piece them together (frosting is the glue that holds them in place).

Then I put them on the frosted cakes.

But they still needed some embellishments: licorice and candy.

I always keep wax paper underneath the cakes so I can transfer them easily to the cake stands. After I have them positioned on the cake stands, I use candy around the edges to make it look like clean lines.

I made a few mistakes while I was making these cakes. Here's my tips so you won't make the same errors:

1) Make sure you measure the top of your cake against the emblems you're going to put on top. I made mine too big and had to cut them down to size so they would fit properly.

2) Count out your candies so you are sure you have the proper count of black to red...I had to skimp and scrimp to cover the edges.

3) Don't cook your cakes until the tester comes out clean - they are over done if the toothpick comes out clean. Leave them a little damp, they continue to cook for a few minutes after you take them out of the over and there is nothing worse than dry cake. (I didn't make this mistake - but it's easy to do).

In the end, I thought they turned out cute...even if they are a little kidish for a 29 and 25 year old ;D

Long Labor Day Weekend Begins today - Look Here for Events

Portland knows how to party and if you're looking for some fun ways to spend the days, click on this link to find concerts, shows and ways to celebrate. Or just type in pdxpipeline.com to find all the fun ideas of ways to spend your weekend.

I hope you all have a funtastic time with family and friends. Remember it's the last official weekend of summer! So don't waste it.

Progress on the Room

Some of you have followed along on this remodeling journey from the beginning. When the ceiling was way too low.

So they looked around to see what they could do

And they decided to raise the roof and rip off the walls...

Well, it's been a long process but the room is finally painted.

Now there's just the trim for the windows, the final coat of pain, the deck off the french doors, the refinishing of the floor...YEP, we're almost there.

Salmon Balls

Salmon balls or salmon patties are delicious for dinner and Super Simple to make. Here's how you do it.

2 cans of canned salmon
2 packages of saltine crackers
2 eggs

Mix ingredients together until you have a nice mash.

Then using your hands, squish patties (just like hamburgers) and fry on a cast iron pan that's coated with olive oil until the outsides turn golden brown - or for about 3 minutes on each side.  You can salt and pepper to your own taste. But, I like to squeeze fresh lemon on my patties.

Serve with rice and creamed spinach...at least that's how I like to serve them. Super healthy and tasty.

EZ Cooking and healthy too!

Squash Minions

Okay, so I'm on a Minion Mission. . . or kick, or whatever you want to call it.

But since I love Halloween...and all holidays...I wanted to start practicing my pumpkin carving. So, why not start with a Minion?

This is how I did it.

I pulled out some duct tape, yes, we do have lots of colors of the stuff sitting around the house.

I used yellow, black and the old standard gray.

I started with a little pumpkin and some yellow duct tape.

I started covering the pumpkin in tape.

Then I used garden wire to make the monocle and wrapped it in gray duct tape and the sides in black duct tape.

This is a no muss, no fuss pumpkin carving.

The Next Level SCBWI Professional Series

The SCBWI is offering free seminars for children's book writers and illustrators.

The third Saturday of each month at TaborSpace on 5441 SE Belmont...you can take your writing to the next level. Doors open at 2:00 and speakers start at 2:30 p.m.

The first session launches in September so mark your calendars for September 21, 2013 and keep watching here for more information or pop on over to the SCBWI website and check it out.

Minions Galore

 

So I wanted to create my very own minions but it's hard after working all day and coming home tired BUT this is a super way to make your own minions with hardly any fuss, muss, or cuss...ing ;D

I got this from a Pinspiration I found on-line and then simply quickened up the process.

First I stopped at the store and bought some marshmallows, candy eyes and white chocolate tinted yellow.

Then I simply microwaved the chocolate in a cup, stuck lollipop sticks in the marshmallows and took the little minions for a dip.

 While the chocolate was still warm, I stuck candy eyes on them.

As you can see I used bamboo shish-kabobs to lengthen the sticks so I could put them in glasses until the chocolate hardened. Then I made some frosting (but you could buy your own at the store and just color it with food coloring).

I like cream cheese frosting and it's so easy to make:

1 2 lb package of powdered sugar
1 8 oz package of cream cheese
1/4 cup water

Then you blend the ingredients until smooth and separate it into a couple bowls so you can add food coloring and make different colors of icing.

Then I use a pastry bag and a small tip to pipe my icing but you could use a baggie and just snip off one corner and squeeze out your frosting.

Then I added blue pants

Super simple and oh so fun...ny :D

Schmoozing

• So what exactly is schmoozing?
• Who can do it?  
• What's the purpose?
  
  Well according to Merriam Webster here's what "schmooze" means:
  
  To converse informally : chat; also : to chat in a friendly and persuasive manner especially so as to gain favor, business, or connections 
  
  And what could be better than getting together with like-minded folk and chatting about the thing we are most interested in: writing.
  
  Well, if you're like me, and love talking with other writers then listen up:
   
• There's a Schmooze going on this Saturday: 
   Aug 24, 2013, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., SE Portland

SE Portland Writers and Illustrators

Holgate Library (7905 SE Holgate Blvd, Portland) Schmooze will be Aug. 24th, 10:30 - 12:30.  Roz Malin will speak on the Willamette Writers Conference, Kiersi Burkhart is bringing handouts on her Professional Series coming up. She is also planning a pre series Schmooze in Sept.

 Yes, YOU too can Schmooze. So come on over to the library and meet up with other writers. You just might make some great connections and a few friends :D

And if you want to check out what other Schmoozes are taking place, hope over here to the SCBWI Oregon website and read all about it.

When I'm feeling Blue

Yep, I got a new car. She's a baby blue beauty. And she reminds me of my youth - way back in the 60's when bugs (or beetles) were really popular.

So, I couldn't just ride around town with the top down, not without making myself a new retro style foo-foo fluffy baby-blue blouse (see yesterday's post), a hair scarf and eyelashes.

No, not my eyelashes, Mimi's carlashes. You've probably guessed it. Mimi is what I've christened my new car. Here's to Mimi!

So now I'm enjoying the warm weather for all sorts of new reasons. . . he-he and MAYBE I'll actually get a tan this year. Every other year I've only managed to get dark white ;D

Homer's Odyssey

Nope. Not that one. This Homer is a cat. A blind cat.

This little black cat had an eye infection that required removal of his eyes. So Homer grew up blind.

It was a cute story but rather slow for me. There were a few interesting parts:

1) 911
2) The burglar story

but aside from those parts in the book, I was a little bored.

I also wondered how the heck a woman could be around...with, best friends with a guy (for three years) and not realize that she was in love with him...or at least "had feelings" for him until he started dating another woman.... REALLY? Sort of unbelievable.

Of course Gwen Cooper would have to dramatize a bit to make a story stay interesting but I wondered about a few things...and thought they couldn't be true.

But all-in-all it's an easy story to read. Kind of cute and not too long. But then again, the ending left me like "Huh?" It was anticlimatic. No ah-ha moment, no big conclusion, nope not this one...

So on a scale of 1 to 10...I'd give it a 4 and 1/2 - kind of mediocre.

DIY Ruffles

Maybe I went a little over-board but I wanted to make a retro-shirt to match my new car because I couldn't find one at the store that was a perfect shade of baby-blue, plus I wanted a scarf to wrap around my head to match.

So I went to the fabric store and bought a yard of baby blue chiffon then I cut it into strips and started sewing.  Here's how I did it.

First I did a loose zig-zag stitch then I grabbed one thread and pulled it together to gather the material.

If you want to see how, watch this.




It's super simple and it costs way less than buying ruffles.

Vampire Energy

It sounds cool but this isn't like "V" on True Blood or some supernatural source for a metabolic high. This Vampire Energy is a bad thing. And I haven't thought much about it.

Probably all of us have appliances plugged in that we aren't using. Well, did you know that those appliances are secretly sucking energy out of those cords?

In the US alone, unused appliances suck up over 100 billion kilowatt hours of electricity and cost homeowners more than $100 each year!

That's not only bad for your wallet, it's bad for the environment too. So take a quick walk around your house and take a peek at those wall outlets...are appliances plugged in that you aren't using? Unplug them.

You'll be saving a little money for yourself and helping the environment at the same time.

FREE Writer's Workshop

Roseanne Parry will be teaching a free writers workshop at the Garden Home Library Tuesday the 20th of August at 7pm. The workshop will teach you how to create emotionally resonant characters using the seven deadly sins as a framework for understanding human conflict and motivations at the deepest level. 

Garden Home Library is at 7475 SW Oleson Road, Portland, OR 97223-9019

Here's a link to their webpage with a map. Please register. The class is free.

http://www.wccls.org/libraries/gardenhome

 

Rosanne Parry has written:

WRITTEN IN STONE, 2013

SECOND FIDDLE, 2011

HEART OF A SHEPHERD, 2009

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Word for Wednesday-a Game for Writers

Word: Inapposite

It looks like it's misspelled..."write"?

It's not.

Do you know what it means...?

Take a guess...

Then scroll down for the Answer....


Further........



FURTHER........


ANSWER TO WORD FOR WEDNESDAY: INAPPOSITE MEANS

Not appropriate or pertinent; unsuitable (if you don't believe me...check it out here.)