DIY Spider Garden Art for Halloween

I love Halloween and decorating the house and porch for the trick or treaters. But my store bought spiders are for hanging under the eves because they are furry and wont stand up to the Portland, Oregon rain. So I wanted to make one that I could put out in the grass that would look good even in a rain storm. And since my hubby had some extra conduit in the basements, I had an idea.

I went to Joann Fabrics and bought a couple of styrofoam balls.

Then I painted them black.

And Lars helped me add the legs.

I thought it turned out pretty nice but it was lacking personality.

So I gave it a mouth and some eyes.

And Wah-Lah, Fun Garden Art for Halloween.

Skirting the Issue

I'm getting ready for a vacation and wanted to have a skirt to wear over my swimsuit when I head down to the pool but I didn't want to spend a lot of money. So, I went to one of my favorite places: Joann Fabrics. I picked out an inexpensive fabric that I got on sale for 50%. Then I added a little elastic around the waist and Wah-Lah! a $7.00 swimsuit cover-up.

Here are the ingredients:

1) Scissors
2) a Piece of fabric
3) thread
4) elastic

Then I sewed a little hem at the waist and my husband helped me thread the elastic into the hem, using a safety pin.
It's easy to sew a simple little coverup without a pattern or much experience. You might want to try it too.

Happy April Fool's Day-Duff and Buddy Better Watch Out

But this is NO joke.

I'm a true Wannabe: Cake Boss, Ace of Cakes


Have any of you watched Cake Boss or The Ace of Cakes? I love 'em - but I hate 'em too.

Those guys are a bunch of frauds. They make that cake decorating look so EZ-smeazy that even I thought I could do it. But, if you've followed my blog maybe you might have seen my fondant FAIL. That cake was an absolute disaster. But I'm not a quitter--especially when it comes to food, just look at me and you'll know that's true. So what did I do. . . ?

I signed up for my first-ever cake-decorating class through Joann Fabrics. I know - who would have thought that a fabric store would have cake decorating classes, but they have that and more: knitting, crocheting, sewing--okay you might have expected sewing classes at a fabric store but you get my point.

So for the next four-weeks, I'll be doing my homework, reading my course materials and climbing my way up from that fondant fail floor to a final fondant rematch.

Keep your fingers crossed. I'll keep you posted and we'll see if a little expert guidance--thanks to Joann--can help a wannabe Cake Boss or a new Ace of Cakes...heck, Duff and Buddy better watch out--this might be the start of a beautiful relationship between me and cake decorating.

And with a little luck--or maybe a whole lotta luck--I might just be on my way to becoming the new Queen of Cakes;)

What can I say, my Mom taught me to dream BIG.