May the Forest Be with You...Happy Earth Day

Here's a link to fun Earth Day Activities :
http://bestlifemistake.blogspot.com/2013/04/earth-day-activities.html

HELLO KITTY CAKE

Anyone who knows me, knows I love to bake, create and decorate ;D And if you have a little girl or just someone who loves to have fun cakes for a birthday, here's how I made this Little Kitty cake for a friend.

I started by frosting the cake with a butter cream frosting, which you can make with a cube of butter and some powdered sugar. It's simple.

Then, I rolled out the fondant and  laid it over the cake. (The frosting works as glue).

I pressed the fondant tight to the cake to make it show the form. Then I  started to decorate the eyes, nose and bow.

Oh and the whiskers...you can't forget the whiskers.

The little dash of pink added quite a lot...I  thought.

I cut away the excess and lined the edge with a pink ribbon of fondant.

It was a very simple design but turned out pretty cute. This is a cake anyone could make.

And, if you do make one, let me know. I'd  love to see pictures.

Finding Fun in Hobbies

I have lots of hobbies. I love to read, write, bake, sew, knit and crochet and those are  just a few. I also love to run, play tennis and hike.

But, lately, I've been  focusing on  my knitting a  little more. I love  to visit yarn shops and walk around  and look at the beautiful colors and touch the textures  and fabrics. Plus,  I've been  looking at youtube videos on-line.

Here's one new site I just found that I'm enjoying:

Michele Wang's  website.

She lists patterns, shows designs and even has youtube videos where she shares monthly favorites.

I've spent some time finishing a few  projects I was working on. Mine aren't anything fancy. I just knit for fun. But I finished a scarf I was  working  on for my son.

I bought this beautiful, chunky, bluish-purple yarn at The Stitching  Post in Sisters Oregon, which is really famous for their  Quilting  Festival in July but they have some beautiful yarns too.

I started  the  project when I went to my niece's wedding in January and when we got back home I put it away. But I figured if I didn't finish it soon, the warm weather would roll in (I hope) and my son would never wear the scarf. So,  I pulled  the project out of the closet and went to work.

You can't  tell by the photo above, but this is a really lush wool, so soft and thick. Perfect for cold, wet, windy Portlandia days.

HERE’S TO A SUPER HALLOWEEN

I don’t know about you but I LOVE Halloween. How many other days in the year can you get free candy and sweets simply by asking?

And, dressing up and decorating is like being a star in a movie. You can create the character you want to be and make your own setting. What could be better than that?

So for this year, I’m planning a SUPER Halloween, with heroes at my doorstep. And it’s simple to make this dream come true…with a little paint, time and patience.

Here’s how I’m doing it.

First I started by sketching on some pumpkins. Don't worry if you make mistakes, the paint will cover that:

Then I paint them

And, my theory is one is never enough...

Then I started  on some  standups

You do the same thing as with the pumpkins. First sketch the character then paint

Then I had to make my costume. First I went to the fabric store to find some material on sale...

This was going to be a simple skirt with an elastic waist. So I fit it to me and then cut it out. Next,  I ironed the seams to make sewing easier.

And all I  needed  was  some gold duct tape to make my fingerless gauntlets, crown and shirt (which I used a running tank top for)

The gauntlets were simply plastic drinking cups after I cut off the bottoms

My lasso of truth was a strip of cording I bought at the fabric store and duct taped to my shirt.

It was all SUPER simple ;D

I hope you have a SUPER Halloween too ;D

Halloween is Right Around the Corner

With Halloween coming around the corner,  I had to paint my fingernails and then stick on some  little skull stickers because  what would this holiday season be without a  few  skeletons lurking about on the tips of our fingers.

And, just wait, I'm only beginning . . . because I LOVE HALLOWEEN!

HALLOWEEN is scary enough without being a MISSING PERSON...check out this new book

Blurb:

Brett Cole is one of the nearly three thousand Americans who go missing every day; however, in Brett’s case, he disappears willingly. Thirty years old and disillusioned, he packs his bags (including his Smith & Wesson) and vows to reach Mexico. 

Halfway there, Brett stumbles upon a kidnapping and FBI Special Agent Hayden makes it clear that Brett has stumbled upon something far greater: Operation Ethereal (OE), an ultra-secret branch of the FBI in operation since the Hoover Administration, “took” Brett as a young boy because of his ability to pick up timeprints, impressions of the past. After erasing memories of the first eight years of his life, OE reinserted him into society for observation. Now that he has gone off the map, they want him back in their custody. 

As Brett flees from the FBI, he must come to terms with his newly awakened gift and what it means. Can his past be redeemed and his future rewritten?

Purchase Link:  http://www.amazon.com/Missing-Person-William-Michael-Davidson-ebook/dp/B01E8JZ2R4/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR:

Twitter ID: https://twitter.com/realwmdavidson

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/WilliamMichaelDavidson/

William Michael Davidson is the author of the children's book, The Dragon Who Pulled Her Scales (Winner of the 2013 OCD Book Festival Award), The Dragon Who Tamed Her Temper, Missing Person, and Living Sacrifice. He lives in Long Beach, California, with his wife and two daughters. Always reading, always writing, Davidson is drawn towards stories of suspense and adventure that delve into man's inherent need for redemption.

HALLOWEEN IS ALMOST HERE - TIME TO GET READY

I LOVE Halloween...of course I LOVE almost every holiday but Halloween is especially fun for me because crafting is a creative way of expressing myself without much time, effort or money.

So...

I decided to do a Wicked Witch of the East inspired craft.

I wanted to have Witchy looking tights and red  shoes sticking out from underneath a house...but it's hard to slip tights underneath a tiny house... unless you just happen to have one sitting around.

So, I asked my husband if he could build me a tiny home...No. Not one of those itty-bitty homes you see on HGTV. I was  talking about a little house I could use to squish a witch with. Now don't get upset with me because this is a WICKED Witch...you know, from The Wizard of Oz fame. And not the sweet Elphaba we all know from WICKED. No this is her evil sister.

Anyway, my husband said he could throw one together in about fifteen minutes. And he did. Here's how he did it.

First he grabbed  some old scraps of wood. Yep, we have those types of things just lying around our house.

Then he cut the wood - just eyeballing the pieces to fit together.

When he was finished cutting, I jumped in to hold the pieces while he screwed them together.

And when it was all screwed together, I started painting the project.

But I wasn't happy with a simple little white house and roof...I needed to add a door and window to really make it feel like a home.

After it  dried, I added a little doorknob and put it all together on my porch.

And for a quick little project, with a lot of help from my hubby, I was really happy with this DIY Decorating project for Halloween. I'm really hoping all the little kids will love it :D

(Quick photo collage recap below) ;D

Wishing you all a  Haunted Halloween!