Hurricane and pumpkin carving

As we waited for Sandy's arrival, I spent the night carving a pumpkin and eating ice-cream.  

Here's hoping that Sandy quickly comes and goes.  Stay safe!  Hubby, Baby Chuck, and I are hunkering down in the apartment until the storm passes through.

DIY Halloween window clings

I made these window clings on a whim because I still had left over black glue from my  DIY faux stained glass project. 

I doodled Halloween images onto a piece of paper.  Then, I traced the images in glue on a  piece of wax paper. Afterwards, I let them dry about 24 hours. (Yah, I was surprised it took that long for the glue to dry too!)

Just realized now that my bat looks like a black golden snitch with eyes

Tada!  Spooky!

As you can see, these clings aren't quite as nice as the ones from the store.  They are kind of bumpy and don't completely stick to the window.  But, they're one of a kind and fun to make.

Because I lay down the black and white glue at the same time, they mixed together as they dried.  (Now my ghosts a bit spookier than I intended.  Eek!)  When I make window clings again, I'm going to outline my images in black (or whatever color) first. Once that dries, I'll fill the images in with my other glue. 

Also, the clings didn't initially stick to the windows.  I had to wet the back of the cling with a bit of water and then stick it to the window.  (Tip learned here.) Somehow the water helps the clings to stick.  Water also dripped down the window as I stuck them up.  But not to worry! Once they were sufficiently stuck, I just wiped the smudges and dribbles up.

I think the Halloween decorations are helping Baby Chuck to get into the Halloween spirit.  He's so cute.  He keeps pointing to the clings and and pumpkin garland and growling. 

Crapty Fridays- Make a Halloween garland out of an egg carton

Before we talk about today's crapt, let me just begin with this short poem about crapting: 

Crap is destined for the garbage
and therefore it is free.
When I use crap to make my crafts,
a-crapting I will be.

Today's crapting project is a Halloween inspired one.  Our apartment desperately needs Halloween-y decorations.  (We currently only have a pair of Day of the Dead candle holders)  So, I whipped up a super easy Halloween garland out of an egg carton and string.      

Materials:
- egg carton
- string
- craft paint
- paint brushes
- craft knife
- scissors
- newspaper/scrap paper/paper bag
- Sharpie marker


Directions:
1. I cut out all the little egg holders in my egg carton.  (Is there a name for those things?)

2. I painted the little egg holders orange and green.  

This is probably as close as I'll ever get to growing pumpkins

3.   Once my paint dried, I drew faces on my tiny pumpkins.

Doesn't this look like a school photo?  Can you spot the naughty pumpkins in the back row?

4.  I cut two slits on the top of my pumpkins.  Then I strung my pumpkins together.

Right now they're just smiling and dangling away above our table. Seeing their cute faces when I eat cereal in the morning makes me happy.

Happy crapting!

Bunny Halloween Coloring page 2

So my poor bunny still doesn't know what to wear for Halloween.  Perhaps he should wear one of these costumes?

(To see the previous coloring page, click here)
Halloween bunny coloring page 2

Crapty Fridays- Day of the Dead candle holders out of baby food jars

Last year hubby, Baby Chuck, and I went to our first Day of the Dead Celebration (click here to see photos).  Feeling inspired by the colors and festive atmosphere of the holiday, I made two skull candle holders out of saved baby food jars.

Bunny Halloween coloring page

A couple of nights ago a bunny appeared magically on my piece of paper. 

He had a question and asked if I could help.

He certainly asked the right person.  I love Halloween!  So we spent the next hour doodling away....
Coloring page- Halloween bunny costumes 

Kitty Litter cake

You can eat this box of dirty kitty litter.  

No, I'm not kidding.  This isn't a real box of kitty waste; it's a cake.   This edible look-a-like is made from cake mix, instant pudding, cookies, and Tootsie rolls.  Whether you find this creation extremely creative, terribly gross, or both, it's sure to be a conversation starter at your next party.


Cake first spotted on the Edible Crafts blog and recipe originates from Amanda's cookin' blog

Day of the dead

This weekend our town held a Dia de los Muertos celebration as a way to remember deceased friends and family.  With the brightly colored paper decorations, twinkling lights, and dozens of costumed attendees (many with faces painted like skulls), the entire experience felt quite otherworldly.

It was a deliciously creepy and beautiful way to celebrate Halloween weekend.  

It doesn't feel like we're in Holland anymore!

Aren't these Fridas beautiful?

Spooky celebrations

Today we're celebrating two events:
(1)  It's finally Halloween, my favorite holiday of the year. 
(2)  It's the one year anniversary of my blog.  *Throws imaginary confetti in the air and blows noisemaker*

As we all know, Charlie just loves wearing costumes.  (As seen here and here.)  With the new addition to our family, Charlie was gracious enough to whip up two matching costumes, inspired by Dr. Seuss characters.   Although Baby Norris is still too young to fully appreciate this holiday, I do think he enjoyed dressing up. 

Baby Norris- "So this is what it feels like to have hair.  I kind of like it."

Charlie- "Aw mom, I'm having a bad hair day."

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin play (Part 2)

Not only did we carve this round orange vegetable, we gobbled it up too! 

(Left) Roasted pumpkin seeds       (Right) Pumpkin pie brownie

Pumpkin play (Part 1)

This past weekend hubby, Baby Chuck, and I were invited to a pumpkin carving party.  We had a lot of fun and I learned a few new carving tips and tricks. 

Here's my finished pumpkin:

My homage to pumpkin pi.  (Get it?  Get it?  Oy vey, I'm too corny. )

Five finished pumpkins sitting in a row.

Let the countdown to Halloween begin!

Should strollers...

wear costumes?

I'm inspired. Halloween is just around the corner...

(Thanks for the link, Esther!)  To see this photo and other rocking strollers, click here.

Twas the night before Christmas

and all through the house
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse...

or a dog.  We miss Charlie!

I bet if he were here, he would comfort us like this:

Aww, I feel better already.

Super Dog

Hello everyone. Like a squirrel storing nuts for winter, I'm using this blog to store one funny, silly, or happy thought or thing that happens everyday.  Hopefully by the time winter rolls around I'll have an abundance of bright memories to carry me through the cold, dark days. 

So, what better day to start blogging than Halloween?  It's my favorite holiday and coincidentally, my dog's favorite as well.  He just loves getting gussied up for the ladies.  Here he is wearing his homemade super hero dog costume. He's so crafty.