It's that time again!

 Well, it took me long enough.

Poor Sophie. What is becoming of her mother?

I finally dragged the Halloween totes upstairs and we set to decorating the house for the holiday.

I only used about 1/3 of what I own, though.

Now THAT"S scary!

I did keep with tradition, though, and had a little craft session with my mum, sister, and our little girlies.

I scoured the aisles of Michael's (love that place!) and picked up some 50% off Martha supplies and a few other ditties to make our crafts.

This is what my mum and I made (from an inspiration photo I found on the web, but forgot to mark the source! Drats!):

Easy peasy: A little glue, glitter, craft paper, and my mum's talent at paper cutting (she can draw anything!). It looks just like the inspiration photo, which I really wish I could show you but can't find it!

(my witch's get-away!)

Oh, and here is my spooky tree which lights up my dining area: 

And some of these adorn the tree. We made them last year:

Lots of Halloween activities left to conquer this week! Sophie wants to make a craft with a few friends and we will likely host a pumpkin carving party on the weekend.

What are your Halloween traditions?

Halloween Crafting Party...Matthew Mead style!

When Matthew Mead sent me his newest Halloween magazine, a few pages in and I was already planning a Halloween crafting party for my daughter and her friends.  Sophie loves to create, and although I always do a seasonal craft with her, I could always stand do more. When I pull out the craft supplies I also like to keep it simple. Same day Sally is definitely a good moniker for me. There will be no quilts or knitted sweaters in my future...

What I love about Matthew's ideas are that they really are quite simple and utilize supplies and ingredients you can find readily. In fact, for this party, a quick trip to the supermarket and Dollar Store rewarded me with all I needed to get the party started. On Matthew's suggestion, I baked cupcakes for the girls to decorate using some of the fun ideas in his magazine. Living in a fairly small town, I realized finding fondant would be an obstacle to making some of the cute toppers Matthew molds for his cupcake projects. Initially fretting, I could hear Matthew's calming voice in my head reminding me to improvise, which is a tactic he embraces and encourages his readers to practice when need be. So, a quick scan of the junky candy at the Dollar store gleaned some gummy mummies which rested nicely atop the girls' cupcakes. We also attempted to re-create the bats atop them that Matthew made using black squeezable icing (again, couldn't find the recommended black gel!). The icing didn't work so well, although it was done by a little girl - if I had done it, it would have looked way better...I have a real knack for icing!

Here are our improvised gummy mummy versions:

Then I gave the girls some polished black stones ($1/bag), some chalk to write spooky words on them -again, one of Matthew's wonderfully simple ideas -and a black shadow box style frame which we glued plastic spiders and flies into. Again, it was a project straight out of the magazine!

Behold some works of art:

Matthew also embellishes some of the beautiful embossed Petit Ecolier chocolate biscuits. In the magazine, he piped an icing mask onto the young man, but we didn't have the skill to execute such intricate detail. Instead, we completely changed the tactic, with mixed results:

Mine turned out much better (it's always rewarding to compare oneself to eight and nine year olds). I used more junky bone and pumpkin candies to mimic Matthew's more refined icing versions:

The main thing is that the girls had fun, right? On my own initiative, I also made them Halloween necklaces with scrapbooking charms and bought them a trick-or-treating bag to tote their loot home. Thanks to Matthew and his can-do inspiration, I can go carve another "good mother" notch onto the mantel.

Now go buy Matthew's magazine and earn yourself some kudos!

Matthew, are you proud of me?!

A centerpiece...and I'm a guest blogger!

Is it vain to report that the Thanksgiving turkey I cooked yesterday was the best I ever ate? Of course it is, but I think lying is a bigger sin so I am taking the vanity route! I treat holiday turkey dinners with reverence, and will not eat turkey in between Thanksgiving and Christmas (that's a span of more than two months here!) because I want the taste of the meal to be special. Because the handy man and I don't really exchange gifts, our gift is the meal!

We're simple people...

Remember I said I was going to attempt to replicate the holiday centerpiece found here? Well, don't compare too closely, but here is my version (with the assistance of my girlie). If you don't like it, you can go ahead and blame her. I'm all about blaming the children...

Somehow things didn't look this pretty when we were all finished...

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Now, if you want to see what other crafting I've been up to, just head on over to

Mrs. Limestone's where I am guest blogging today. While you're there, be sure to take the tour of her gorgeous Brooklyn Limestone. Be forewarned: you might be a teensy bit depressed after!!

Whole lot of fakin' going on...

As much as I enjoy creating, I am more of an occasional crafter. Holidays, special events, days when I feel guilt creeping up my neck when I realize my daughter hasn't painted in ages (and you all know why...shame on me). Although I profess to wanting her to exercise her creative muscles, I often fail to set the scene. More guilt...

This past weekend offered up the perfect chance to dust off the scissors, glitter and (gasp!) sewing needle. All of the boys went out of town for a basketball tournament; thus Sophie and I had the house gloriously all to ourselves. The lack of routine (and mess) that offers up has a way of relaxing women, young and old. While technically we missed them, we wasted not a moment in doing girly things and getting our creative groove going again.

So, this is what we got up to:

Yep, that's faux snow...made using this product: (which you can usually find at your local florist or craft shop)

One of my absolute favourite websites is Rachel's One Pretty Thing. Except that title is a bit of a misnomer as there are heaps of lovelies plucked from blog land and beyond, handpicked by Rachel, all meant to inspire even the most non-crafty amongst us. After having a good perusal of Rachel's site I settled on these fakes:

Yes indeed! Those are felt doughnuts, which I found using this link from Rachel. Aren't they adorable? The above link offers up a wonderful tutorial, and the site is definitely worth checking out! I planned on making a dozen, reduced that number down to six, but decided three was even better. I was never much of a seamstress...

Moving on, we then made some hand-made Valentines for Sophie's classmates, using some supplies from the Dollar Store and some of my long-neglected scrap-booking supplies. More guilt...

For someone who couldn't wait to get started, she was only too happy to hand much of the work over to me. Maybe I shouldn't be feeling so much guilt?

We capped the evening off with a bit of dancing (hers, not mine), and she wore her favourite play shoes (ladies size 5, bought by my sister). She walks amazingly well in them, and her clickety-clacking can be heard throughout the house, whenever she is inside. More proof?

There are no fake high-heels in her life!!

Getting my Glitter on...

photo: Bethany Lowe Creations

We all have needs. Creative needs. Right now, I am feeling the need to scatter some glitter dust and make something pretty. Luckily for me, my mum's birthday is coming up, so I think it is time to begin looking for inspiration.

photo: design shimmer

There are several ladies I look to for glittery inspiration. One, of course, is The Glitter Fairy (Laurie Davis). Laurie has spread her glittery wings and landed herself on the Martha

Stewart show several times. Wendy Addison is another glitter artist - one of the Seasons of Cannon Falls designers behind some of the most fabulous, sparkly decorations cranked out of that brilliant Seasons machine. Then there is the always lovely Jerusalem (don't you just love her name?), who right now is showing off the prettiest glittered and paper Eiffel Towers on her blog and Storia Home shop. Jerusalem is all about pretty, and you know how I love pretty...

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I am sure many of you are familiar with Bethany Lowe Designs. If you're not, just look underneath some of your favourite glittered purchases. Chances are her named will be stamped on the bottom. You can view (and purchase) her work at Bayberry Cove, a smorgasbord of seasonal decor/creations by some of the most wonderful artists in the business.

I could almost be convinced to like Valentine's Day if I had these beauties:

above two photos: Bethany Lowe Designs

Other great spots to gaze upon the magic of a good dose of sparkle is Amy Powers of Inspire Co., and Heather of Speckled Egg. Naturally, you can purchase all of these ladies' pretties (and make them very happy in turn); but if like me, you have the urge to actually get glitter under your fingernails and on your eyelashes, draw inspiration from these glitter artists/purveyors of glitter. Then, look around your home, rifle through your craft drawers and cupboards, and see what you can sprinkle glitter upon. A little glitter always elevates the ordinary to a level of beauty one can never imagine possible. In fact, the end result is always far prettier then you could hope for.

Glitter anyone?

A Thankful Thanksgiving...

I am a lucky girl. I had all my favourite things squeezed into one weekend. Breaking bread with my little family and my parents, who travelled from New Brunswick to share Thanksgiving with us, and creating pretty things with my sweet girlie and mum (she's sweet, too). Toss in a few games of Scrabble with a dear friend and then my parents, and my sighs of happiness could be heard throughout my home. I am, indeed, a word nerd.

Our turkey dinner was beyond delicious, and we all took a part in making and serving the meal. I made a chocolate cake with "almost homemade butter-cream icing" with the recipe coming from Country Living magazine, and it is our new favourite icing recipe. Of course, we capped off our meal by pulling a few crackers, and Sophie enjoyed "winning" every time. Pulling crackers is a tradition we have enjoyed for as long as I can remember; and we have since extended the ritual beyond Christmas, to include Easter and Thanksgiving. We are used to looking goofy in the paper crowns, and everyone has to wear one while at the dinner table!!

What a difference a year makes! Last Thanksgiving, I was tortured by the pain of a dry socket from the removal of a wisdom tooth, and could have cared less about the holiday. I never got a chance to make the beautiful place cards Matthew Mead offered up as a free download on his website last fall. So, this year I vowed to finally make them:

Aren't they pretty?

After dinner, we finally placated Sophie, and began our annual Halloween craft. Lots of glitter, a few skeletons, stamps, and creativity and we ended up with some great decorations. They are still drying, so I will show you the end result soon. In fact, I think I will begin decorating for Halloween now that Thanksgiving is over.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends (and my family)!!

Not your Granny's wallpaper...

We finally have a sunny day and I feel inspired to create something...do a project. I have been saving my pennies for an upcoming trip with my mum for Mother's Day, so I decided that anything I do will be "on the cheap", which is really my favourite kind of project. I have a million plans swirling around in my head, but most of them involve my long-suffering hubby; and when I have mentioned some of them lately, he throws up his hand with a warning look (I'm sure those of you with handy hubbies know which look I am referring to). Sooo, being an independent project girl, off I went to the scrapbook store today and spied these lovely papers, which in turn, inspired me to take on a wee project.

I spotted this beauty of a paper, and it instantly brought to mind vintage wallpaper, without the price tag (and, sometimes, smell!!). It is literally pathetic how easy I made this project (cutting without a straight edge, using tape instead of an adhesive spray...basically cutting corners) but when I set my mind to something, I don't necessarily want to wait for all the right supplies. Sometimes if I wait, I lose my crafting mojo!! You know what I mean?

Here is the before shot of my glass cabinet (it is a bit messy, too):

...and here is the after:

Now for a close-up:

Pretty, no? Now to figure out what to do with the rest of the papers...stay tuned!