What Day is It?

Do you ever just get so caught up in something that everything else kind of disappears?

Yeah, me too.  I didn't even mean to this time!  The second round for American Crafter is "House of Order" and it has got me spinning with ideas on all the order my house could be in.  I am almost done with my project now, and I'm actually feeling very satisfied by it, but it is kind of a miracle that I've gotten anything else done!

I didn't realize how distracted I have been by this project until last night when I was putting O to bed.  In an effort to stall her bedtime, she was making up things to tell me.  Then, as I was leaving the room, she said, "Mama?  Do you mind...um, can we have a date tomorrow?"

So, today, we planned a date.

While putting my things in order (not for the project, just in general...the organizing thing is kind of addicting!), I came across this little kit I bought on clearance (50 cents!) at the end of the Halloween season last year.  

So, our first order of business was to decorate. 

Sorry about the blurriness of the pictures.  She was so excited, I couldn't get her to hold still!

Here is our mantle: 

Then, we put up a "tent," 

Popped popcorn, 

And watched a movie.

It was a good time.  

I apologize if I have neglected any of you with my distraction.  If it helps, feel free to put up a tent, pop popcorn, and watch a movie while imagining I'm there with you.  I don't mind.

Woo!

I made it into round 2 of American Crafter!!!

I have to be honest, I worried waaaaay too much about it over the weekend.  I've had to remind myself that nothing important rides on this.  I've made my goal (to have a project worth submitting for audition) and now I'm just going to enjoy the ride.  
This is a good place to be since I have absolutely no idea where I'm going to go with "House of Order!"
So, I'm off to the dollar store for some inspiration!!  Wish me luck.  
(p.s.  I've hit 50 followers!  I'm so excited.  You guys are awesome.  =))

Easy Pumpkin Muffins

Have you noticed that most of my Pinterest projects done posts are recipes.  =)  I'll move on soon, I promise.  There are just so many great recipes out there!  

Have you seen this one?

Yeah, it got my attention pretty quick.

It leads to this post over at Scout's Stitches.

There are only 2 ingredients in this recipe. 

That's it!  No eggs or oil or water or anything.  

Genius.

I froze a year's worth of pumpkin last year.  It's been wonderful.  I have to get on top of the pumpkin  buying/baking/freezing for next year!

Anyway, I felt it necessary to add an ingredient. 

Pumpkin and chocolate go together beautifully.

Here are my results:

These were sooooooooo good.

So good.

I took them to a church activity and they were a hit.  L at 4 before I caught her and stopped her.

I'll be keeping this recipe handy.

Halloween Wreath: Round 1 of American Crafter

Hello!

Did you guys get a chance to get over to Naptime Crafters and vote?  Voting closes Sunday at 8:00 p.m. MDT.  Don't miss it!

Here is the project that I submitted for the Halloween theme.  I left the text in there, because that's part of the experience.

Halloween:  The word usually brings to mind creepy images of ghosts, witches, mummies, skeletons, jack-o-lanterns, werewolves, zombies, vampires.  It's all good and fun, but, when it comes down to it, isn't the best part of Halloween the night of free candy?  So, here I have designed a soft, fluffy Halloween wreath with an enticing offering of candy.

Those fruity candies are pretty easy to get to, but the good stuff is up a little higher.  It needs to be reached for...earned.  So, you stretch out your hand, barely able to reach; you grab a firmer hold on that beautiful chocolate (why is that spooky music playing in the background?) and pull down firmly (wee, wee, wee, wee--read that like Psycho music)!  

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!  

It's the dreaded Monster Wreath!!!!

Now, here is the backstage pass to see how it was done.  Well...kind of see how it was done.  This was kind of a figure-it-out-as-you-go kind of project and I got so involved in it, that I forgot to take pictures once I figured something out.

I'll tell you what I can, though.

I started with a yarn wreath, using the same technique I did before, but the form was a styrofoam form I found in my craft room (good fortune!).  

Next, I found this yarn:  Fun Fur. 

It's really hard to crochet with (possible, but hard) but it works beautifully on a wreath...especially a monster wreath.  I have 2 skeins there because I wasn't sure how many it would take to cover the wreath.  It turned out that 1 covered it exactly.  I didn't glue this on the wreath, because I wanted the hair to stick out.  Tying it on worked very well.

This is the only after picture I got of it once all the yarn was wrapped. 

You can see my sketches on paper for the teeth and I was experimenting with paper to figure out how to get the eyes just right.  I'll tell you what I came up with in just a second.

To make the "Free Candy" pouch, I took a piece of felt and folded it in half lengthwise. 

Then I sewed up the two ends, creating a pocket. 

On the corners of the bottom of the pouch, I sewed a diagonal line, like this: 

That way when I turned it right side out, it stayed open a bit.

For the lettering, I free-handed the embroidery, starting with the "N" in "candy" so I could make sure it was all centered. 

Now, I cut the teeth out of craft foam. 

I did this free hand as well because I wanted them to be crooked and jagged.  

If you are doing something like this, make sure the teeth are long enough that they can be seen when they are pulled down, but short enough to not be seen when they are behind the wreath.

Also, I ended up not using these teeth because they didn't pull right.  I used 3 sets of teeth, with 2 or 3 teeth per set, tying 1 set to each eye.

To make the eyes, I ended up using 2 circles of felt, one colored to match the yarn and one white (for the eyeball).   

I stitched all the way around the top, for show, but only attached the two at the top.

That way it opens. 

They googly eye is hot glued in and the whole eye is hot glued in place.

The whole thing is rigged with fishing line.

Note:  Don't let your 3-year-old play with the fishing line when you're not watching.   

Unless you're good at untangling hard-to-see knots.

The teeth hang behind the wreath and are attached to the eyelids so that when you pull the teeth down and out of hiding, the eyes pop open.

The teeth are then attached with the fishing line to the ribbon and the candy bars (which, by the way, are just the wrappers.  I ate the chocolate.) so that when you grab the ribbon/chocolate decoy the teeth come out and the eyes pop open.  (You can see the line in these pictures.)  

The ribbon is wired.  I folded its ends and pinned it to the back, leaving enough of the fold unpinned so that it would come unfolded with it got pulled without tearing or ruining the wreath.  (Does that make sense?)  Also, wired ribbon holds the shape better.

BOO!

heehee.

There, now you have the basics.  Enough, I hope, to attempt your own and let your own creativity take over! Let me know how it goes!

Oh, and thanks for voting!

Linking up to my parties!

Apple Cinnamon Rolls with Caramel Cream Cheese frosting

I came across this post a couple of weeks ago over at Mrs. Happy Homemaker and I pinned it right away.

Seriously, the pictures and the recipe made my mouth water.  Mmmmm.

I knew I had to try it as soon as possible. 

The perfect opportunity came this past weekend.  My church holds a General Conference during the first weekends of October and April.  So, in between sessions, while my family was sleeping, I pulled up the recipe and got to work.

Let me tell you, it was a very simple recipe to follow and came together just beautifully!

Here is my result: 

It was a perfect Fall comfort food.  I think you should try it.

Head over to Mrs. Happy Homemaker for the recipe!

Linked up:

Round 1 Voting is up!

Alright, lovely bloggy friends.  The round 1 voting is up over at Naptime Crafters is up!

You can vote for your 3 favorites.  Mine is the Monster Wreath and I would be ever so grateful if you would include me in your vote.  I desperately want to make it to the next round and the competition is pretty darn stiff!

If you don't mind, do what you can to spread the word (Facebook, Twitter, blogs, whatever).  I'm so nervous, can you tell?

Also, I'll have a tutorial up tomorrow for the wreath I made!

Thanks!

Hi!  I'm featured/introduced over at Naptime Crafters today.  Go check it out if you want to!

Thanks!