Halloween Pumpkins

That little pumpkin has a slightly happy face...I wonder what the rest of them will turn out to look like. Yes we do have an arsenal of carving tools as you can see, you know just in case the pumpkins decide to get a little unruly!! muhahahaha!

Here is my little guy working his carving magic. I let him use a steak knife this year because all of our pumpkin carving tools bit the dust from a few years of carving amazing pumpkins!

He made me nervous a few times but with some direction he did GREAT!
& you know what happens when you carve these babies out & give them lively faces.....yep you know it...they reward you with beautiful & delish seeds!!

WE love pumpkins seeds at this house!

This year I made them with garlic salt! DELISH!! So delish in fact I am not sure we will have a whole lot left for Monday night's Annual All Hallows Eve Gathering.

For any of you out there who have never made your own roasted seeds because it scares you....well I am here to tell you its super easy & you should try it!

Here is how I do mine:

~after scooping out the seeds you wash them off really well removing any pumpkin gut remnants

~I find dumping all the seeds in a colander works well for washing

~after you have washed them off I lay them out on a clean dish towel that absorbs liquid well

(you know how some towels don't do quite get the job done)

~once they have been payed out in a nice even layer I sprinkle my seasoning on them

~You can use any flavor combo you like, you could do a ranch or taco season on them, that would be YUM!

~Once seasoned leave them on the towel for about 45 minutes then dump them onto dry cookie sheets into an even layer

~bake them in an oven set at 225 anywhere from an hour to an hour & a 1/2 depending how wet they were when they went in & how done you like them

That's it...easy peasy!

these guys here look like a motley crew!! but they yielded a ton of seeds. They gave us more seeds than the 2 large ones did!

Our large pumpkins are still waiting to get faces because my oldest son & the Mr. cant decide what to do with them yet.....but when they do you can be sure I will share!

Don't they look so spooky all lit up? I especially like that I can enjoy their illuminated faces while listening to Halloween Radio on Pandora! It amazes me just how many spooky songs are out there!

You should check it out when you get the chance!

Oh & one more thing before I head off to a Halloween dream land...

I would like to say THANK YOU to one of my Besties Tami!!

She made me the MOST AMAZING collection of Halloween magnets ever!

(She crochets & I absolutely can't!)

When I look at them I cant help but smile!

Because they make me so Happy I want to share them with the world because maybe you can find some happiness in them too! You know spread the love!

See???!! Aren't they the cutest!?!?!

I love them all BUT Frankie must still be may fave because every time I look at him I literally giggle & get giddy!

On that HAPPY note I am off, until the next project....Happy Creating!

my honest opinion

Ok . . . .so I remembered the name of this tool. . .The Crop-A-Dial. Now that I have had the chance to thoroughly use this tool I want to say I Still L-O-V-E this tool BUT

(YES there is a BUT in there)

you cant slide a paper more than 1 & 1/2 inches into the mechanism to crimp an

eyelet, snap or grommet!!

I was working on a project for a Christmas gift & much to my surprise I had to adjust the size on my paper flower just so I could use the the Crop-A-Dial to crimp an eyelet on. Insert sad face here because I am totally in love with how easy this tool is because it has everything built right in, including 2 different size hole punches! Maybe I just wasn't smart enough to pay attention to that when I bought it or maybe I was just so excited to get it. . .either way I felt a little disappointed. Luckily it worked out of for this particular project BUT I was heartbroken because if I want to place a snap or eyelet onto a larger paper I will have to buy a separate tool to take care of the job. UNLESS one of you out there know something I don't know. . . . .it is possible I just don't know what I'm doing! The outer packaging said to read the instructions inside but there were no instructions in the hard plastic packaging (you know the kind. . .the ones you have to be a an engineer to open) there was only a simple chart on the back package & some vague wording.

As you can see...my paper flowers came out super cute, I just wish I could make bigger ones for some other projects I have in mind. The largest circle used here is 2 inches.
The Crop-A-Dial is a VERY easy tool to use & I will definitely be using mine for ALL the smaller projects I work on just for the simplicity of it!
I especially like to use this tool for the ends of my paper banners because it ensures that the ribbons don't tear the paper!

I am looking forward to using this tool on fabric & I will definitely let you all know how it does!

I wanted to give my honest opinion of this tool in case anyone out there was interested in it.

So in light of what I have learned YES I would totally recommend this product to crafters for smaller projects & if any of you out there in blogland have a trick to use this tool for larger projects please let me know...I would love to hear from you!

Until then...Happy Creating!

Girly Banner

Let me just start by saying . . . I L-O-V-E this new tool!! It is the best thing ever to set grommet's, eyelets & snaps!!! Easy to use all in one tool! I got mine at Michael's with a 40%off coupon & worth every penny! The name escapes me at the moment but when I think of it...I will post it! lol I used my new tool to set this cute little dragonfly eyelet. . . isn't it so cute??!

It goes so perfect with my girly banner!

I then tied a white satin ribbon through, making it look like a little rose (well sorta).

I used ribbon on the end pennants for easy banner hanging.

This glue is some amazing stuff too! I use it on all kinds of projects where metal or glass are involved because once it sets. . . that stuff doesn't budge!

I used it tonight to glue little purple gems onto plain old brads!!!

I think affixing them to the plain brads just added that extra something special!

(for a very special girl I might add)

I figured since i was using fun girly paper, it might as well have some bling on it too!

Hence the glitter paper as well!

I also hand folded strips of pretty paper into the rosettes & hot glued them to the pennants.

the letters were store bought glossy black chipboard. The were the sticky kind but I had to hot glue them to the glitter paper. . . .they weren't sticking to the glitter very well as you can imagine!

Here is the finished product!!

The girly banner for the very special girl!

I was able to give the banner to her tonight & it was so good to see her bright smile!

She moved away from us & we miss her a lot! BUT we are glad she can come for a visit every now & again!

While I was busy making a girly banner, my rough & tumble creative boy was busy making something for ME!!!

Isn't it so bright & pretty?!! I love my bracelet! it is cheery & colorful just the way I like things to be! I am so glad he is not too manly man yet to take time to make something from his heart!

yep. . . . .this guy right here, little Mr.

Thank you my little love for making me feel extra special today!

Homecoming Dance

Tonight was the big dance...the very first formal my son will be attending during his High School career.

The boys were patiently waiting for the girls to finish getting ready!

Finally. . . . . . . .?? Sike false alarm it was someone else coming down the stairs haha

Look how cute they are waiting with corsages in hand!
placing the corsage can be difficult. . . .



. . . . BUT not as hard as pinning a boutonniere

Honestly I think nerves were taking control on the pinning...it's not easy when you have 4 or 5 sets of parents watching your every move!

Here is the whole gang looking so great!

The girls taking the opportunity to get goofy

& the boys were just happy to stand there & look stunning!

Such handsome young men!

here is my son with his Homecoming date

I love that my son wore black on black because he looked so sharp!

But what I really want to know is when did my little baby grow up into his Dad's shoes literally!

It seems like just a short time ago that he was a goofball kid in elementary school nowhere near ready to go to dances, or drive, let alone wear the same size shoe as his Dad!

It happens so fast!

I hope the kids have a good time tonight making the memories to last a lifetime!

Homecoming Happiness

While my Oldest son was at the homecoming football game watching Joplin DEFEAT their opponent tonight ~GO EAGLES!! I was at home making corsages & boutonniere's for the big dance tomorrow.

This is my son's 1st "formal" school dance so who is excited..........MOM is excited!

I think I am more excited to go take pictures tomorrow!! What a wonderful experience! I myself never went to ANY school dances except for my senior prom! So I feel like my son is ahead of the game already, getting to experience Homecoming!

I used purple alstromeria & white roses for his friends girlfriends corsage


I added lirope & rose leaves, cream tulle & purple & gold sheer ribbon. I also used a fabric covered hair rubber band for the wristlet & viola....there you have it a thing of beauty!



I even packaged them pretty for the boys to deliver to their dates

Yes I needed a little pick me up to get me through, can you say Iced Vanilla Latte...I love my Starbucks!!! I love my Keurig MORE but I am waiting for a new one to arrive since I wore the last one out apparently!

Here are the starts to the corsage my son will give to his date.

cream & pink roses with babies breath & ruscus for the greenery. I discovered rather late that I had no pretty ribbon to go with it so in a pinch the mind gets creative.......I used the cream tulle, some rhinestone embellishments & black feathers from my Halloween boa! Then I found just enough glitter spray to shine it up & make it extra sparkly!

My son's Boutonniere! Hopefully he will not give me too much grief about wearing it....such a manly man he is!
here they are all packed up nice & pretty! did I say I cant wait to take pictures tomorrow??

My son wanted to wear black on black...he is going to look soooooo sharp!

more to come tomorrow so check back to see the kids all spiffied up!

Until then...........happy creating!

Mirror, Mirror on the wall......

A few weeks ago my youngest son & I were running some errands. It was fairly early in the morning & he was begging to go get something to eat. So I headed down a side street that I normally don't travel so my hungry boy could get some grub.

There it was...this little yard sale...nothing too much to write home about except that they had a trunk that caught my eye so I just had to stop...I had been eyeballing them everywhere lately because I am bound & determined to get one for my living room.

As I am debating about whether I can spruce up the old trunk I wander around & then I see it...This large fabulous mirror. I have a spot in my front entry that has just been calling out for a mirror but mirrors are pricey (at least the ones I am always drawn to) so I always talk myself out of getting one. I examine this mirror hoping beyond all hope it is not damaged or just way too heavy to hang.......nope it is just perfect. The detail on it was great & it was just the right size...I purchase the trunk & the mirror & my still hungry little guy lucked out with a Santa that he wanted so life was good!

The best part is that the older couple who sold the items to me gave me a little history lesson on what the trunk & mirror had survived..........

I live in Joplin & unless you just refuse to watch the news...you should know what this city has been through the last several months.

Well this trunk & this mirror had survived one of the most deadly tornado's to touch the earth.

I was amazed that these worn out items looked so good after hearing what they had been through!

Upon further inspection on the mirror I could see how the debris & papers were stuck on the back crevasses of the wood. It was amazing to me how in the midst of so much devastation...a mirror could come out of it with nothing more than debris stuck to it.

I was never more proud of a yard sale purchase...it was a strange feeling.

It was as if the universe had sent me down this street just so I could discover some hidden gems!

Here is what it looked like after I got it home & prepped it for paint:

Here is what it looks like now...


Hanging gloriously in my entry with all my Halloween goodies!
Don't you just love my witches hat?
The mirror was in such good shape that all I had to do to it was give it a good sanding. Then I hand painted it black. I also documented on the back of the mirror that it had survived the May 22nd tornado in Joplin MO & what street it was on when the tornado came through.

This was one of those easy projects with so much bang for your buck at the end.

The best part was I only paid $15.00 for the mirror & I feel like I have a piece of Joplin history hanging in my home.

Watch for the trunk re-do coming soon!