Archive for October 2015

DIY Halloween Decor: Potion Bottles

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We are hosting an outdoor Halloween open house for our neighborhood this Saturday!  It isn't anything fancy, just some donuts, cider, and some spiked hot chocolate but I still wanted it to be festive and spooky. I thought a few potion bottles leftover from some witches that partied the night before may be in order!

Using transfers I bought at the dollar store made these cheap and easy. I'll be honest, I had started making my own but when I found these I figured half my work was done. The transfers work just like those temporary tattoos we all say we will never let our kids use but always do anyway.


The bottles are a collection of empties I accumulated but to jazz them up and to make them look like old mercury glass I first sprayed the inside with mirror finish spray paint.  I let it drip and splatter, not fully covering the inside.  Once that was dry, I swirled green, purple, or black acrylic craft paint inside to create a different color effect with the mirror finish. I love how they came out!



With some old books and a plastic skull, my table decorations are done!






If you still need a Halloween treat idea, you may like my Halloween cookie decorating ideas!  No talent necessary!



Cheers!
Jenny

12 Halloween Decoration Ideas

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 Halloween is almost here!  If you need some ideas to add a festive or spooky touch to your house or party look no further!  Here are 12 Halloween Decoration Ideas!


Halloween Table Runner




Halloween Spider Light Centerpiece



Free Halloween Printables




Bat Chandelier



Enchanting Halloween Lanterns



Halloween Mantel 



Repurposed Home Decor




Spooky Wreath



Trick-or-Treat Blocks



Lollipop Brooms



Book Page Pedestals



Halloween Silhouette Printables



Cheers!
Jenny

I Am The Perfect Shape!

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I spent my 20s starving. I always had trouble controlling my weight and from ages 19-30 I managed to keep it in check by the Diet Coke diet which is, essentially, drinking Diet Coke and eating not much of anything. I was thin but happy, despite the fact that people would morph into turkey drumsticks before my eyes a la Bugs Bunny.

And then I had my gorgeous babies and, like many of us, came out of that with more than a few extra pounds. Ok, I'm fat again. All that food I could have eaten in my 20s I more than made up for in my 30s. I was stuck in the house and the chewing sound drowned out the sound of my weeping and the girls' shrieks.

But I wasn't and still am not happy. I hate being this fat. I hate that being in my 40s means I have a better chance of being caught in a zombie apocolypse than losing a pound.  I hate spending money on fat lady clothes because clothing makers assume that if you wear a plus size you are A) 10 feet tall B) 97 years old and C) In loooooove with polyester floral pants.  Before kids I had a kick-ass wardrobe!  I loved getting dressed. Now I loathe it as much as the season finale of The Muskateers (goodbye Aramis, sniff sniff).

I am currently in the struggle to lose weight again. Hello, Hunger my old friend. It has been a while but I remember you well. Hunger is such a mean girl. She's all "OMG did you see what she is wearing?" and "She'll eat this cream puff...just watch!"

Except recently I was given a bit of wisdom by a very wise old five year old. I was helping Ellie take a shower and I was smoothing the conditioner in her hair. She was looking up at me as I did it and with the most sweet smile she said, "I love you.  You know, you are the perfect shape for our mommy."

And all of a sudden, my extra weight didn't seem to matter so much!  I AM the perfect shape for their mommy.  My tummy is soft enough for little heads to lay on and that's pretty important for a mommy.  These special people for whom I live my life think I'm perfect the way I am.  And if I lose weight they will think I'm perfect that way. And if my hair grays more they will continue to believe I am perfect. Except I will dye my grays so that's a moo point (Joey reference, anyone?). But you get my drift.

It was such a good reminder for me not to get too caught up in trying to get to my goal weight. I know it is important to be healthy and that means being active and eating right. But it is also important that I am a living example to my daughters; that perfection is a feeling, not something to be attained by a number on the scale. I can hope they will grow up knowing that perfection can mean being in love with yourself with all of your imperfections.

I admit I am still sitting with that mean girl at lunch for many reasons. But it is nice to know that it makes no difference to the ones that mean the most!



Cheers!
Jenny




DIY Sharpie Pumpkin Candy Bowl (Halloween Craft)

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Tis candy season !  Cancel your pedicure appointments, stop shaving above your ankles, and fill a DIY thrift store pumpkin candy bowl with some "fun sized" candy (which isn't fun, by the way. Making candy smaller is the exact opposite of fun).  

This little copper bowl (planter?) is transformed into a sweet jack-o-lantern Halloween candy bowl with a black Sharpie!  That's it!  It is as easy as drawing three triangles and mouth with a permanent marker to create a festive Halloween decoration!  Cute, right?  


I drew my face freehand but you can always measure patterns on paper and trace your shapes with the marker first before filling it in if you aren't confident with your drawing skills.




In other news, Pixie is toying with the idea of being Wonder Woman for Halloween. She isn't sure about her costume. Thoughts?


Cheers!
Jenny

Halloween Free Printable

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Are you all getting ready for a festive, spooky Halloween?  Halloween is a huge holiday in  my house because it also happens to be my oldest daughter's birthday!  We do Halloween here in a big way! 

I recently made some Halloween printables to get us in a ghoulish mood for the big day and I thought I'd share them with you!  Just click on the printable title  underneath each version! I couldn't decide which font I liked best so I created 3 different versions!  Enjoy!  Oh and these should be formatted to be an 8x10 image (fingers crossed).

Halloween Printable 1



Halloween printable 2 



Halloween Printable 3 

If you would like to see some of my other Halloween projects click on the links below!


Thanks for stopping by!
Jenny

Beginner Sewing Project: Pot Holders!

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What do you do with old towels?  You turn them into something else...like pot holders!


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 Making pot holders is a great beginner sewing project. It is an easy and quick project and I am happy to share it with you today!

You'll need old towels or thick terry cloth fabric, fabric for the outside pieces, coordinating thread, and basic sewing notions along with a sewing machine.  These directions are for 1 pot holder, by the way.

I used an old pot holder to size my fabric, increasing the size by a half-inch on all sides for the seam allowance (my measurement was 8"x8").

pot holders 01

Cut out one square from the towel and two from your cover fabric. You'll have three squares all the same size.

Layer them from bottom to top:  terry cloth, fabric square right side up, fabric square right side down.

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Sew around the edge, through all three layers, using a 1/2 inch seam allowance, and leaving an opening for turning the pot holder right side out.  Clip the corners for easier turning.


 
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Turn your pot holder right side out. You'll need to turn the terry cloth and its closest piece of cover fabric together as if they are one piece so that your terry cloth is sandwiched between the two cover pieces.  Fold in the opening and pin. Top stitch about a 1/4"-1/2" from the edge all the way around, sewing the opening closed.


 
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Now you can leave your pot holder like this but I chose to quilt diagonal stitches to keep the terry cloth from rippling or shifting inside.  I did this in two ways. The first was to simply sew a line, back-stitch, cut thread. Repeat over and over. This created a ton of threads that needed to be clipped. The second time I used a different method and it was quicker and neater.

Begin sewing a straight stitch from one corner to the opposite corner. Stop when you reach your top stitching.

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Turn the pot holder 90 degrees, sew an inch or so (you'll be sewing on top of your top stitching) and turn 90 degrees again. Stitch another line straight until you reach your top stitching. Your second line of stitching will be parallel with your first. Continue sewing and turning until you have run out of space and have reached the corner. Back-stitch to secure.

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Complete the other half the same way. Then turn the pot holder 180 degrees and repeat the whole procedure to create a criss-cross pattern.

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I love my new pot holders!  They are thin enough to bend to grasp handles securely but thick enough to keep me from burning myself. I plan on whipping up a bunch to use up more of the old towels!

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Thanks for visiting today! I hope to "see" you again!

-Jenny

Hello Autumn! Fall Printable

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It's October 1st! Are you feeling the fall in the air? It is chilly and windy here today...the perfect weather to usher in one of my favorite months! To celebrate, I'm sharing a fall printable I made this year with all of you! Print it out, frame it, and say "Hello!" to this gorgeous season! Then share this post to your friends so they can do the same! Yay Fall! 

Click on the link below to download and print your own free fall printable! 




You can find Halloween cupcake topper printables here!


 Cheers!
Jenny