Halloween Recap

Happy day after Halloween.  The farmers are working late to get corn harvest wrapped up before the possible rain/snow reaches us later in the week.  So instead of eating my way through the candy BUCKET; I thought I'd share some photos of our Hallows Eve activities.

First on the must-do list:

Carve the pumpkins!

This year I raced home a little early and gutted all 5 of them before the kids got home.  Some extra work for me but more efficient in the long run.  I'd also like to add that we didn't get the pumpkins planted until June this year due to the wet spring.  This led to SMALL pumpkins.  Worked out great for the "pumpkin gutter" - the littler the pumpkin, the easier to gut!  All these years of motherhood and I just NOW figured that out.  Usually, I persuade the kids to pick out the biggest ones they can find.  Then make the child carry the 40# pumpkin to the house.  They can be such whiners.

Daughter #1 is an expert when it comes to organization and efficiency...

...need I say more?

Second on the must-do list:

Take the traditional photo of each kid with their pumpkin in their chosen holiday attire.

Wait...who's this creepy old guy?

It's number 1. (aka Uncle Fester) 

#2 - funky witch...very nice symmetrical "holes", #2.  How DOES she do it?

#3 - our resident pissed-off angel.  She's not having the time of her life.  Aunt T made her wishes come true with the costume but she drew the short straw when it came time to choose pumpkins.  This is a forced smile.

#4 - the bull rider. Equipped with a cowbell donated by his cousin.  Those of you who remember him last year...this is totally different from being "just a cowboy".  (wink, wink)

#5 - the duck.  She's only a duck because mother guilt set in and I (Nana helped) HAD to make her a costume .  I'd made all the other kids a costume once in their lives...(and the dialog goes on from there in my tiny little guilt ridden mind)

Third on the list:

The family picture.

Dad's a bull fighter, for obvious reasons and I'm a knight. I love saying this part..."My mom made my costume." Seriously, she did, I swear. Actually she made it for my niece who wore it in a horse show. The horse has matching garb - I chose not to ride the horse through the streets of town. People might talk.

Fourth on the list:

Picture for the Christmas Card

"Funny face" pictures are my favorite!

Only one fun-sized bag of Skittles was harmed during the making of this post. 

Becky

The Halloween Mantel

So I drag all the boxes of Halloween Decor out of the storage closet in the basement on Thursday - that's the first step, ya know.  On Monday, #4 suggested that I might want to get something decorated and put things "back in their place".  I hate it when my own words come back to haunt me. 

{pun intended}

On Wednesday, we took action.

Instead of strewing it throughout our home, I/we decided to put most of the coolest stuff on the mantel in the basement...like a good blogger should do.  I always feel like a loser when I'm spending time perusing my favorite blogs and they are showing off their divinely decorated seasonal mantels and mine is empty, bare, deserted, lonely...you get the point.

{ Keep in mind - there is no natural light at 7:30 in the evening in the basement. My attempts at editing the yellow out were not good.  Forgive me.}

Here's what we did.

Old birdcage found in the dumpster after an auction...I have no pride.

Cool old mirror from my summer trip to Indy.

The makeshift shelf came from above a big window in an abandoned house...yes, I did ask if I could have it.

The hurricane is filled with skeleton parts from the dollar store.

The crows are from Jo-Ann Fabrics.

I love crows!  Does anyone else have this obsession with crows?

The signs came from the dollar store for. . . a dollar each.

The "mantel scarf" is black cheesecloth that the kids had fun ripping apart.

#4 decorated his room with orange lights.  He couldn't wait to show his roommate . . . #1.

Oh, and he was especially excited to see #1's reaction when he found the spider that he had hidden under his sheets.  Ahhh, the beauty of being the little brother.

Happy haunting-

Becky

Company's Coming

Hey, girls!

My sister is coming this weekend!  I'm so excited for her to be here because I have lots of projects planned for us to do together {she doesn't know that, yet... she says with an evil taskmaster tone}.

I had to show you how we decorated the bed in The Little Red House for her stay.

Do I mean anything by this?  Of course, I do.  Hellooo... she's my sister! 

 Even better...my LITTLE sister.

The idea for the "Wicked" banner came from Miss Mustard Seed. 

I love her stuff and want to grow up to be just like her.

The bed was my grandmother's.  It was 1960's maple - not 1930's oak - therefore, I felt comfortable painting it FLAT black.  Think it looks cool with the wood on the walls.

The holster came from a little antique store in Franklin, IN.  Quite the cowboy look.

For the "cowhide" pillow, I tea-stained black and WHITE fabric that were curtains in the girls' room.  Then sewed them together with chunky flat-fold seems.

The witch pillow...I ADORE the witch pillow.  Mostly because I love using freezer paper stencils.  I used the CriCut to cut a stencil of the witch - ironed it on to the fabric {waxy side down} - then used soft black to paint the witch onto the fabric/drop cloth.  Then whip it into a pillow. 

Sidebar:  I get all of my "pillowforms" from Goodwill.  Usually, throw pillows are only a dollar and after a wash they are more than great under another homemade pillow cover.

The dress form is dressed in a thrift store black witch-like dress and draped in orange organza.  The orange came from the fabric bin at Goodwill.  Kinda fun, huh?

I'll share our weekend projects soon.

Sleep tight!

Becky

Portrait of an American Family

Had to share photos from our Halloween-

The Family

The Children

{don't exactly know why they are yelling?}

The Penguins

{Dad is finishing off a sucker...just in case you were wondering}

Mom was a dead/zombie doctor (last minute trip to Goodwill) - #1 was Dracula - #2 a Garden Fairy - #3 a Pink Princess - Dad and #4 were Penguins!  (#5 slept in her car seat)  The whole "giraffe rider" thing with #4 faded and he was thrilled when he got to be the same as Dad!  Dad was so happy to wear the discounted (severely discounted) costumes Mom found last minute.  He is the best dad in the whole wide world.

Blessings-B

Simple

Recently introduced to me was the phrase: "glitter is the herpes of the craft world".  {Aren't ya just crackin' up?}  I love glitter and below are the 50 cent Goodwill ghosts that got to participate in my latest indulgence with the bling...

[I really don't know why I was clinching this itty bitty ceramic guy with my great big thumb.]

...and after...

...a little silver spray paint, and a little spray adhesive, and a whole lotta silver glitter...

Easy.

Blessings-B

$16 of Unadulterated Fun

Monday's trip to Goodwill provided me with all of what's pictured below for only $16.00!

{I am so not a photographer!  Oh, how I long to be!}

My weekly budget for "thrifting" is $25.00.  Those of you thinking, "she needs a junk budget?" - trust me, it's necesssary.  However, if there's something out there that I really "need", then the budget is merely a guideline - you understand.  I digress.  With these limits in place, one is sure to realize how excited I may have been to get so much for so little.  To the untrained eye it may look like junk but it's oh, so much more.

The "Trick or Treat" bucket found itself full off Halloween candy (currently hidden from those sticky hands that belong to M and four of the five children).  The corboral (is that what it's called) thingy in the middle I love but it's in purgatory waiting for its assigned spot.  The candles got a new home in the bathroom.  And finally, the candlesticks and cheese plate got a fresh new coat of.........black spray paint!

The birdcage came from an auction and no one wanted it - I dug it out of the dumpster, painted it black, and added a crow.

There's a glittery skull inside these plate. Would you call that "head cheese"? HA

Who can't love a pumpkin on a candlestick?

Blessings-B