Are you a Good Witch?

NOTE** I am entering this hat into the "Crafting with the stars" contest :) Wish me luck!

How can you not love the new Halloween papers from Graphic45? Alice in Halloweenland is perfectly perfect for the projects I love to make: vintage, whimsical, and delicious colors. Adoring all things witchy, I made several of these darling little witch hats. Relying heavily on the graphic45 papers, I also used fabric, ribbon, bottlecaps, vintage buttons, odds and ends... I love to mix materials.

I sold a few at the Farmer's Market yesterday, and may put some up on Etsy. After I got home from Market, I had a bee in my bonnet to take the boys to the Family Fun Fest in Grand Blanc. I think listening to the carnival sounds and smelling popcorn all day made the festival irresistible. So after I rushed home, I changed my clothes and had Steve help me get the kiddos ready. We got a pizza on the way (my picky eaters won't even eat Carnie Food - what is that about?) and had a picnic in the park before going to the carnival. Mikey decided he was content to play at the park playground, as was Dad (he said just listening to the Tilt-A-Whirl made him nauseous), so Johnny and I took off for carnival fun.

He won a blue turtle, went through the fun house, and rode down the Gigantic Fun Slide twice by himself. I was super impressed that he did it by himself, it was super tall (I think I was more nervous than he was). And he got some free balloons from a nice lady, just because he is just that cute. He had an absolute blast, and Mikey was tickled to have Dad all to himself to help him do the monkey bars. It was a win-win for all!

The only not-so-fabulous part was that as I was getting the monkeys in the tub, I started to sneeze. And feel drippy and tickly. Sure signs of an end-of-summer cold. Bluck. I feel icky this morning, but have too much to do to be sick. So I am refusing to succumb to my desire to plop on the couch and sniff all day. I am hoping sheer will alone will heal me :)

Ooooh, and Glee starts tomorrow!

How exciting is that?

Pumpkin bread, Glee, and the house to myself....

Ahhhh.... I have pumpkin bread in the oven, my Playlist going, and I am reading the blogs I love to follow. In the house.

Alone.

This is my first "real" day without the kiddos. Johnny had his first real day yesterday, but I went with Mikey to his first day. We were there for just about an hour, played with puzzles and playdough, and then came home. Mikey "helped" me clean my craftroom (which is fitting, seeing that he is the one that destroyed it) but it still has a way to go.  I have moved my poor craft room all over my house. It has been in the basement, the guest room, the "office"... and half the time I end up crafting in the kitchen anyway... but I need a place to store my goodies, you know?  Unfortunately, my darling boys are fascinated by all my goodies. They like to stack them. And dump them. And walk on them. And....

You get the idea.

I finally installed a hook and eye locky latchey thing on my craft door. No boys allowed. I had one of those baby door handle things over the knob to try to deter my little destructors, but they were too clever for me. They just figured how to tear that off and get in and have their way with my crafts :(  Sundays, when I am at the Farmer's Market, was their favorite day to do a little breaking and entering while Daddy watched them.  But no more! They are locked out, baby!

At least until they realize they can team up, find a chair to climb, have one spot the other, and unlatch the hook.

But until then, I think my sanctuary shall be safe. I still have some crafty corpses to dispose of, but my goal today is to get my room completely in order and get cracking on a custom order that is long overdue...

While I am celebrating my alone time, I have to admit I got teary after putting Johnny on the bus this morning. Mikey's bus comes at an ungodly 6:50am, and he grumbled at me and was basically ticked off, so there was no Hallmark moment for us this morning.  Johnny and I had to be at the bustop at 7:15am, and as we walked, Johnny looks up at me, and says, "Can we talk about Halloween, Mama?"

Of course we can! So we walk, hand in hand, talking about pumpkins and candy, costumes and carameled apples. I was fine until he got on the bus. I watched him get in the front seat. Totally fine.

Then he turns to look at me. A giant smile on his face, he puts one palm on the glass and waves with his other hand.  The bus pulls away, and I can still see that little hand and his bright blue coat.  The bus goes down our street, and I start bawling my face off.  I cried all the way home.

So now I am baking pumpkin bread (don't be too impressed - it's a mix), drinking a pot of coffee, and listenin to my playlist which is heavy on songs from the best show on television, Glee. It makes me feel better.

hellllooooo!

Seriously... where the heck have I been? I'll tell you:
In the depths of despair.

Internetless, with a craft studio upended, that's where. I have resorted to the library (after paying some seriously hefty late fines for books long since returned or lost) to use the computer.

I feel like a sugar addict suddenly allowed into the sweets shoppe.  Where to begin? My hands are giddy with typing.

I have been rearranging my house (that's a shocker, I know), playing with my wild children, trying to craft, and cursing the hot humidity of Michigan summers. Luckily I have the new "Glee" CD so I can belt out some tunes as I try to reorganize my house, whip up some aprons, and try to find elusive scraps of paper.  Somehow singing "Bad Romance" ala Glee cast makes me feel like I can do anything...

The addict must leave, however. I am limited in time on this borrowed computer (how I miss the days of pajama-clad me sitting in my chair, a hot beverage by my side as I rambled to BlogLand) but I shall be back! I have missed you all dearly, and I need to do some serious reading on my next visit to see just what exactly the rest of you have been up to!

GLEEful to be Home for the Holidays...

So who watched "Glee" last night? Such a good show! It just gets better and better :) I swear, I have a "new" favorite character each time I watch... and just when you think you have a someone "figured out," they surprise you...

And as for Home for the Holidays... I am hosting my first ever Thanksgiving dinner this year! I am sure I'll burn the turkey and forget the potatoes, but I am going to give it my best. I made this card with the theme of old fashioned goodness, and have entered it into the Mojo Monday challenge. I love silhouettes, and when I found this set of rub ons in my stash, I had to use it!

Ingredients
Papers: Basic Grey
Images: Rubons from Marah Johnson
embellishments: sparkly brads, and fabric from stash

Glee photo from imusicdaily.com

Chocolate, costumes, and challenges :)

I have had some success in my quest for cute costumes for the twins. I decided to go with altering "real" clothes. This has several advantages. One, I feel fancy doing a "homemade" costume. Two, in Michigan, it has been known to snow on Halloween, and the store bought costumes often get covered in a coat (because I usually would buy the cheapies that were flimsy anway), and three, I justify the cost of buying a few things because parts of the costumes can be worn "for real" after trick or treating. I got some nice heavy black sweatpants for Mikey - after I creatively cut the cuffs into ratty pirate pants, he will be warm and festive at the same time! I found a cute red fringed scarf on sale, which when wrapped around his waist will be a perfect pirate scarf (and I plan on pirating it later - I love red!). Johhny can wear jeans, and his new plaid shirt can be worn long after the sugar buzz has worn off. I plan to hit the dollar store tomorrow for the proper hats to finish the costumes off.

In other news... I have to share my new favorite indulgence. Three words: Nutty Waffle Chocolate. Ice-cream with chocolate covered nuts, pieces of waffle cone, and swirls of decadent fudge. I polished off the carton while watching last night's episode of Glee (could life get any better? I don't think so!), and I have a burning desire to go to the store and get more. This could be dangerous.

Finally, I want to remind all you card makers and other crafty people that the Pixie Cottage Challenge is taking entries until Sunday night, midnight EST. Exciting and new, challenges are posted every-other-Wednesday. You still have time to make your card with this sketch:

I actually created this sketch, and am tickled to see all the great cards that have been made so far! A random winner will get some fabby stamps, and three others get a cutie blog button to show they were a Top Three cardmaker. You have until Sunday night to get this sketch up and loaded to the Pixie Cottage blog, and then the winners, along with the new challenge, will be revealed on Wednesday, October 28. Come play with the Pixies!

Here is the little button for the challenge - feel free to snag it and put on your blog :) Just right click, save, and load.

Hope to see you play, wish me luck in my costume making adventure, and remember - eat lots and lots of ice-cream!

Glee!

Ok, so I have to share a new obsession with you. One word:

GLEE.

It is a new series by Fox, and it is sooo good! Funny, musical, and characters to die for! Now I never hardly ever watch TV. As many of you know, I pretty much watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD, and that series has been over for quite some time. But luckily for me, a mama whose TV is almost perpetually tuned in to PBS or Nick Jr., I found that Fancast lets you watch lots of shows, among them, Glee! Out of curiosity, I watched the first episode on Fancast, and let's just say that I didn't go to bed until well after 2am because I had to watch all the episodes.

Maybe because in my past life as an English teacher who also helped direct the school musical for several years this appeals to me, but I think that just about anyone who went to high school can "get" this show. If you like music, it's all the better :)

Too funny. Apparently for people who get to watch non-cartoon programs live, they can catch Glee on Wednesday nights. Have any of you out there seen this show? I would love to hear from you :) and we can dish it out together!