Halloween + Owls

Halloween and owls. Two of my FAVORITE things. So now, for your viewing pleasure, I present these pumpkin owl photos (courtesy of the internet).


These lil guys are from Martha Stewart.

I love these owl pumpkin greeting cards from Lise Winne on Etsy. Buy them here.

Learn to make ones like this here. Adorable.

P.S. I wish I had made some of these myself. But I did not. Did you all carve pumpkins this year? I would love to see pictures! crystalross306@msn.com

nothing sweeter

Have you ever taken a tour of the Sweet's Candy Company? It's a factory tour in Salt Lake complete with hair nets candy  maker  hats, knowledgeable tour guide, chocolate pipes and 75,000 pounds of sugar. No kidding.  Set up an appointment here. With or without kids (or even with a rambunctious crowd of people from your work) it's amazing.

So, I love taffy--especially the blue raspberry kind. During the tour, they pass out all sorts of candy samples from jelly bean centers to raspberry sticks. At the end, they give you your own lil pack of salt water taffy (it's their #1 seller, and with good reason). You'll also get to watch many of the candy making processes, including the famous chocolate enrobing.

So, once the tour is over, the guide will make sure you know that there's a store right there in the warehouse where you can buy ANYTHING & EVERYTHING that Sweet's has to offer. I made sure to bring my debit card. (I knew the free samples wouldn't be enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.) I couldn't resist the packaging of this Happy Hour taffy (and besides that, it's ALCOHOL FLAVORED CANDY). Does it get any better?

I purchased a big ol box of Swedish Fish to leave at work, and last (but definitely not least) chocolate sticks. But these aren't ordinary chocolate sticks, or even raspberry or orange...they are CHAMPAGNE chocolate sticks.  Click here to buy some RIGHT NOW. You should. Oh you really really should.

Have a minute?

Or 12? Watch this amazing short film. It brought a sweet tear to my eye.

Chris? Making pendants?

Yes sir e, ladies and gents. Chris crafts. He made this for me the other night, after seeing me exasperated and grumbly for about an hour (I couldn't trim the paper just right and anyone who knows me at all is aware of my severe lack of patience).

He got into my craft stash, used some black paper and an old pressed wild flower, and went to town. He did a great job; I know I couldn't have created something so pristine.

Here it is on:

We found that pendant at Michael's (had to empty out what was in it) and the chain was $4 at Claire's. Here's my shout out to Chris for putting together such an elegant little masterpiece. Thanks, sweets. I love it so much.

more pendants and details on what products I used coming soon.

Izabella Rose

Saturday, we babysat. As in...Chris and me...with a child. Ha! It went great, though. Izabella is the only baby I'd be comfortable watching for a significant amount of time. She's such a perfect lil angel.

We call her bootycakes...not sure why?

Photobombed by the bootycakes

Notice the blanket in the background of that beautiful smile

Her loves her Elmos

Pendants

vintage fabric + empty pendant tray = cuteness

Finished product and tutorial coming soon!

Marble magnets

Do you have extra craft paper, scraps, magazines or even newspaper--just lyin' around? I do. I've got TONS of it. A good solution that my crafty friend Amy suggested: marble magnets. They're easy, cute, fun, versatile--and they make GREAT gifts.

I'm a little late posting this, but as requested, here are the pictures and tutorial.

Stuff I used: E6000 glue (you can also use Mod Podge, but this stuff worked better for images I printed from my computer), clear, flat marbles, paper scraps and small disc magnets. You can get all this stuff at your local craft store.

1. Punch pictures with a hole punch or trace around the marble and cut.

2. Use a good-sized drop of E6000 in the center of the image. Press to flat side of marble. Squeeze to get out any bubbles.

3. Squeeze a drop of glue (E6000 or hot glue) on the back. Attach magnet. Let dry.

D O N E!

TIPS: try adding stuff to your magnets like sparkles, pressed flowers or ribbon. I tried all of those things and it worked beautifully.

my fridge:

(I don't care if it makes you gag. I think it's cute.)

with pressed flowers:

I hate cardboard tampons

Why do they exist? Who wants cardboard...there. WHO?  

I bought a box by accident and I'll tell you what...NOTHING compares to Tampax Pearl.

I know my dedicated group of readers is small and humble and I am pretty sure I won't have offended them with this post. I am even more sure that not many guys read this. If I'm wrong, I'm sorry.

Can you mod podge a toaster?

The answer is Y E S. And I did it.















I needed a place to put my pressed wild flowers. Today it occurred to me, why not the toaster? It's looking white and boring.


Perhaps matching salt and pepper shakers to come...












Yes, I have a problem. I am aware.

Yeah, so

this crafting thing has really taken over. I think it may have something to do with my favorite local craft store being located one mile from my house. I find myself looking around the apartment for things that are too plain--things I can transform NOW. Not good for the pocket book, but good for my sanity. I can't believe what a stress-reliever it is. Especially mod podging. It works on everything.

Anyway, my latest project: ugly filing cabinet turned two-drawer mod podged marvel.
Overboard? Yes, probably a little. But now I have a vibrant storage cabinet for our oh-so-important paperwork, bills, etc.

Here's a look at the details. I used some ribbon and recycled craft paper to make it eco-friendly.
The best part about this filing cabinet: it's still not even FINISHED. I need to do something with the sides. I am thinking some mod tree paper cutouts and paint? If you have suggestions, send em my way!

Here's a blog where I get a lot of inspiration. Thanks to my friend, Amy, for introducing me to this Amy.