Halloween Thoughts

Reader,

So now that it is the last day of September I can officially focus on Halloween. Truthfully, I've been thinking about Halloween 2010 since November 1st 2009! As soon as the makeup is wiped off, and the candy combined in to a communal dish (this is how I keep my kids from fighting about it), and tasted, my thoughts turn to my costume for next year.

I love to dress up in costumes. Always have. Probably comes from having parents who majored in Drama in college. Early on, my brother and eye would scour thrift stores for clothing to make our pretending more real. I didn't play princess or fairy, it was Sherlock Holmes or GI Joe for me. My parents were always into Halloween too. I remember watching them get ready for the holiday. They would hire a sitter and go to costume parties every year. Often they won top prizes too. My mom usually made our costumes and Dad made the props and did the make up. We'd head over to my oma's (that's my mothers mom) neighborhood and meet up with my cousins. Trick or treating was a family activity. Extended family too.

It's not the same for my boys. I have and older brother who has two children, one is 13 the other 3 months. One is too old to trick or treat with mine and the other too young! My sister is 20 and usually walks with us as we take the boys house to house. My mom too joins in whenever able. I wish I could create costumes for my kids to wear, but really, its hard to compete with store bought these days. Remember when it was just a printed plastic sheet and lousy mask. You couldn't ever see or breathe through those masks! But now, fake muscles and everything, I can't compete! Sewing or price wise!

Every year for the past 5 years (I think) my uncle (Dad's side) has thrown a wonderful Halloween party. It's very kid friendly. Not too scary and lots of treats. We love it. We all dress up, even my Grandma! There's chili and other snacks, pop and beer, and lots of funny costumes. My aunt and uncle spend a lot of time setting up Halloween decor. There is even a "spook walk". We walk a path decorated with creepy tombstones and scarecrows, waiting for the spooks to jump out (usually my cousins and brother). After the walk is a large game of hide and seek. We play in teams and it goes on for hours.

I think my boys are getting a different kind of Halloween than I did, but maybe a better one. The party is usually the weekend before the actual holiday so they still get to trick or treat. I get to dress up, play and see family. I also get to watch them trick or treat. It's great to have that special time watching them ring the doorbell, learn to say thank you, and then run to me telling me what they got. My parents missed that. With a crowd of cousins, we were always running ahead of the grownups. I get to hold my boys hands a little longer since it's just us. That's quickly becoming my favorite part of Halloween....okay, after costumes.

What about you, reader? How do you celebrate? What was your favorite costume as a child? Do you make your kids costumes? Let's share.

Once upon a midnight dreary,

Margo

Update

You may notice a new gadget on the sidebar. This is a little joy I wish to share with you all. My boys say the strangest things and I think you'll get a kick out of reading them, so take a peek every so often and have a smile!

$1 Craft!

Readers,

That's right, just a dollar. Yesterday I was in one of my favorite parts of Target, the dollar aisles! I came across this bag of silk leaves.

Don't ask me where there are leaves that purple. I did however love the red and orange leaves. Those were worth the dollar price tag. SOLD.

First step is to find a hair clip or headband you can use to attach the leaves to. Mine is a four inch hair clip. I know, its huge, I have thick hair so I was thrilled to find a clip that could hold my hair.

Next, grab your craft glue/hot glue and attach some leaves. What do you think?

If you pick up your own bag of dollar leaves I'd love to see what you come up with. I'm getting in the fall mood, finally. This is the first week in Kansas we haven't been up to 90. Now I've got the Halloween Fever. I love costumes and only need a small excuse to be in one. It's rubbing off on Things 1 and 2. I'm proud and worried at the same time. My sewing skills leave a lot to be desired and they constantly come up with ideas for dressing up.

I hope you enjoy this small autumn craft! Don't forget to sign up for my give away over at Live Large 4 Less! It is running until Friday, hurry!

Love and apple pie,

Margo

Giveaway!

CLOSED
It's my very first giveaway! Shout out to Emily over at Live Large 4 Less! She has given me an awesome review and you all a chance to win one of my items! Totally free, people. I'm springing for shipping and everything. Now is your chance to have a one of a kind statement necklace. The giveaway is for one of my awesome (if I do say so myself) spoon pendants. These items are a treat for me to make and I think it show. Head over to her blog to get the details and enter!

Earring Organizing

My Readers,

If your anything like me, you are constantly in need of organizing. Everything from the garage, to the refrigerator, to my jewelry box. I've decided to start with the simplest and least messy. The jewelry box.

I have a lot of jewelry. I admit it. One of the messiest items is dangling earrings. I can never keep them paired up and they seem to constantly get tangled. I've found a simple and stylish solution. Interested? You know you are. Here you go:

Start by getting your supplies together. We need an empty frame with no glass. The size depends on how many pairs of earrings you have (or plan to have). I happened to have a plain black 8x10 that wasn't being used. Dollar stores sell all different kinds if you want something more ornate. The other item you need is plastic canvas. It looks like this;

Most likely you've seen it but never used it. I picked mine up at a craft store, but I've seen it at Walmart too. It comes in various sizes and color, choose what works best for you. The only other supplies you need are fishing line (or other strong clear line) and scissors.

First step is to cut your canvas to fit your frame. After you do that it's time to affix the two. I cut four inch lengths of fishing line. I think I used eight of them. Place your canvas in the frame and simply thread the fishing line through your canvas and tie the ends together around your frame.

Sorry about the photo. By nature, fishing line is hard to capture. I tied the line

twice on each side. Trim off the excess line and your earrings are ready to hang! That's it!

I also added some large jump rings in places so that I could attach my hoop earrings

too. I hope this gives you some relief of life's clutter! Thanks as always for reading!

Love,

Margo

Eco-Chic!

So I was browsing around the other day/week and came across this lovely idea on Aunt Peaches. Want a brilliant idea! Right away I ran out to dollar tree to get some plastic cups. I did mine a little different then her and thought I'd share both styles with you.

On Aunt Peaches she used regular scissors to cut her cup into large pieces. I used scrap booking scissors that had a wavy blade. I also snipped mine to to smaller pieces and didn't punch as many holes in mine as she had done. Once they were in the oven mine did not melt as quickly as I had thought they would. I cranked up the heat and they turned to puddles. My husband pulled the tray out and told me, "Looks like we should have left them alone." I left them on the tray overnight and sulked about my own mistake.

Side note: Don't you hate it when you spend hours on a craft and the result is blah?

Two nights later I decided to sift through the mistakes to see if anything was salvageable. Surprise! I didn't think they were ruined any more! I began adding jump rings and the necklace just took shape. I really do love it.

My next plan is to try multiple colors. Don't you think purple and blue would look lovely mixed together? And maybe earrings? I also have a star punch I bought in a dollar bin. I'm going to see if it will punch through the plastic.

WARNING! Many plastics do release toxins when they melt so be careful and make sure you have windows open!

In other news, I have a give away coming up at my friend Emily's blog. She's a hip lady who knows how to save money. Check it out and save big!

For the little kitty...

Reader,

Here is a little craft to keep your skills sharp. It also makes your cat/dog look hip. Side note for me, it makes my husband shake his head and say, "really?" Start with your run of the mill pet collar. I think mine was a Dollar Tree find. Make sure your collar is sized to fit your pet.

Now search through your collection of buttons (we all know about mine now). I decided to make mine in the same color family, and green really makes his yellow eyes pop. ;) I also chose a variety of sizes and styles. Don't choose buttons that are too big, otherwise your pet might get it caught on something!

Now sew. Sew like the wind! (Three Amigos joke, anyone?) My cat is small enough that the stitches are hidden by the extra material of the color. I sew them all on with one shot, but you certainly can tie off each button.

All done! Now find your pet and enjoy that look of contempt they give you now that you've made them pretty! I hope you enjoy this little how to! Thanks as always for reading and following. If you are reading but not following...why not? That's semi-piracy. Not really.

Love and Whiskers,

Margo