Halloween House - it's BOOtiful

I love holidays - all of them. In fact, if I could think of a good way to decorate for Ground Hog's Day, I probably would. And, I still decorate for the holidays even though the kids have long since lost their interest in coming home to ghosts hanging around the house--but I've still got witches dangling on a string and mice running amok.

Wreaths are easy to make - just twine some old branches together with some wire and glue on some silk flowers and ornamental fruit, you can buy super cheap at any craft store, then add a ribbon and it's a festive decoration


It's easy to put out some flowers, hang up some masks and add a couple of creepy critters to the tables and stairs and the kids will think it's cool.



I throw some plastic bugs on the tables, some paper mice and put out a lot of orange candles and flowers.


And hang up giant spiders on the porch




Or, if you don't want to have scarey things hanging around just use colored corn and squash with some homemade potpourri.

Here are a few of my tricks for easy inexpensive decorations.
I put some hats out and add some fun fabric to tables and WAH-LAH creepy Halloween House


With paper mice peeking around, and a pumpkin sitting on top of the table - the house can look really bootiful!








How 'bout you? Any decorations hangingaround?

Mad Hattress

I love parties. And, any reason will do. So, I decided to throw a Mad Hattress Party!

We got together to make our own hats. With Halloween just around the corner some of us worked on hats suitable for the occasion.
Others weren't so into the season. Not everyone wanted to make hats so some made special scarfs (almost magical since it was a gryffindor scarf)

and others worked on needlework.
But we had tea and scones and a great time.

WWW...What a Wonderful Weekend

Just thought I'd share a couple pictures from my wonderful weekend away

FINALLY FINISHED

My first pair of hand-knitted fingerless gloves!
In the past I've had good intentions. I've started a few pairs before. . . but I never finished them.

I think the problem of starting and stopping stems from my childhood...but then, don't all our problems stem from our childhood? ;)

See, when I was a kid, I used to crochet all my own doll clothes. Mom and Dad never had the money to buy fancy toys or clothes for those toys - heck, they couldn't even buy us kids fancy clothes. I grew up in hand-me-downs and my dolls usually went naked--or I wrapped them up in old worn out towels. I'd cut those worn out rags into dresses and hand-stitch them into what I thought were pretty clothes.

That's how I started sewing and crocheting. Anyway, I made most of my Barbie doll's clothes by crocheting leftover strands of my grandma's yarn. She always had scraps lying around from finished afghans she had made. So, she showed me how to crochet but never took the time to teach me to read patterns. I made up the designs as I went, weaving in one new strand/scrap after another until I was finished. But, I never learned how to read a pattern.

Those gloves I started (and never finished) were all started from patterns. Over the years, I've learned how to read the patterns but for one reason or another, I never finished those gloves I started from someone else's patterns.

So, this weekend when my sis and I went away for a girls' getaway, I started knitting and I just made up the pattern as I went and WAH-LAH!!! my first pair of fingerless gloves.

So, maybe I have a problem following rules, or maybe I feel locked in by patterns and trapped when I try to follow someone else's design. I don't know. But I've finally figured out a way to finish those fingerless babies!!! It's like the Nike motto says "Just do it." Just knit and go...fingerless.

So, how 'bout you? Is there anything holding you back? Any projects you've started but never finished? Could it be the rules/expectations/patterns that are holding you back?

I don't know but maybe all you have to do is just do it. Don't worry about staying inside the lines. Color outside the box. Maybe you'll be wearing your first pair of fingerless gloves too.

Gummy Bears

Candy is candy...right?

Not always. Both Germany and the U.S. make Gummy Bear candy.


However, Germany has been doing it for a lot longer.
I was biased and thought the U.S. candy would be best but after tasting the two, I'd have to say that the German candy was the best. It's softer and more full of flavor.

Thing 1 and Thing 2

My sister and I went to the Sylvia Beach Hotel - a hotel for writers and readers. Every room has a writer's theme.

I asked my sis if she wanted to stay in the J. K. Rowling room.

No.

I asked my sis if she wanted to stay in the Jane Austen room.

No.

I asked my sis about the Shakespeare room.

Not a chance.

She said we HAD to stay in the Dr. Seuss room because it suits our reading level.

And one of the really cool things is the real fish swimming in the toilet bowl tank - I know, weird, but cool too.



Well then I had to make us a couple of shirts to wear on our weekend.

Shellac

I've heard of shellac on wood, floors and furniture. I'd never heard of it for fingernails. But now that I've had my nails shellaced, I don't ever want to go back to regular polish. This polish has lasted over two weeks and most polish only lasts a day or two for me.