Happy Halloween!

Happy Pumpkin Day! Here are a couple of pumpkins I spray-painted white to add to the pumpkin decor. I left the stem in its natural state, but I have seen others paint it and it looks nice too.

The smaller pumpkins were hand-picked by my almost 2-year old daughter during our yearly pumpkin hunting at the pumpkin patch. I think she did a pretty good job of choosing some extraordinary pumpkins, don't ya think? :0)

Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!



[Jen]

[Motivational Monday: trick or TREAT!]

Since many of you may be hosting Halloween parties or just enjoy making ghoulish treats, here are some fun ideas to add to your holiday recipes list for this scary season!

1. Giant Black Widow
2. Haunting Hot Chocolate
3. Eye-Scream Sweets
4. Monster Mouths
5. Fresh from the Lab: Bubbling Cocktails
6. Wicked Witch Cupcakes
7. Orange Jack-o'-Lanterns with Sorbet

Sources:

Better Homes & Gardens

Martha Stewart

Parents Magazine

Parenting Magazine

[Jen]

[Scrapperday: I Heart My Aunts/Uncles]

This week I added these pages I made for my daughter's scrapbook. I already have "I Heart Mommy/Daddy/Grandparents/Cousins" pages but was lacking a page dedicated to her aunts & uncles. Now, you are probably wondering why I have a white piece of paper over the photos. I did that to protect the privacy of her aunts and uncles since I am not sure if they would agree having their picture posted on the internet. So I am posting this page to show you the layout & embellishments I used.

 [The collection pack that I used I bought at Target in their $1 section (my fave part of the store!), and it's called "Woodsy Wonders Collection". I cut out the little trees and birds from the pattern paper in the pack and adhered them onto the page with dimensional adhesives.]

 [To create the bigger trees, I used a circle cutter and made the trunk out if some brown stitched ribbon. I thought the trees might represent the 2 "family trees' that came together.]

 [The clouds are all hand-drawn, cut out, and outlined with feux stitching. With the letters I used a mixture of rub-ons and cardstock stickers. Then I used a black journaling pen to create the dashed lines for added interest.]

I think both pages turned out well. It's a little different than the pages I normally create, but it was nice to sorta jump out of my comfort zone. :0)

Linking this up to these parties! 

[Jen]

$35 Cerificate to CSN Stores GIVEAWAY over at Scrappy Gifts!

I am excited to share with you that Scrappy Gifts is hosting a fabulous giveaway on her blog featuring a $35 gift certificate to CSN Stores! If you haven't heard of CSN Stores, you should hop on over to their website to check out everything they have in "store". They have everything from furniture to kitchen appliances to craft supplies...you name it, they've got it! My personal favorite is this ADORABLE mommy/daughter aprons:

Trend Lab Paisley Park Print Apron

Isn't that just the cutest?! Anyways, Scrappy Gifts is a super cute blog. She has a ton of fun, crafty ideas and always hosts the most fun weekly scrapping parties! Feel free to go visit her blog here!

[Jen]

[Frame Friday: Embroidered Children's Art by Stephanie Lynn]

Recently I was so inspired by Stephanie Lynn at Under The Table And Dreaming when she posted this adorable little Embroidered Children's Artwork.

[She started it by asking her child to draw a picture with black crayon. Her son drew her a little smiley face. Isn't that cute?!]

[After she transferred it onto a piece of fabric with an iron, she began to outline this masterpiece by embroidering it with dark-colored thread.] 

[Then she displayed it in a simple frame. What a clever idea to turn a child's drawing into a sentimental work of art! And, best of all, this is something that she and her son both will cherish for a long time. Great job, Stephanie!]

Hop on over to her blog to check out the full tutorial on this fun project! Click here.

For more ways to cleverly display your children's masterpieces, go here.

[Jen]

Jack-O-Lanterns! Oh my!

My husband and I carved these pumpkins when we first got married (been married for almost 6 years now!). We wanted to make our first Halloween special. :0)

 [This little guy is supposed to represent our little hamster, Caramel Apple (R.I.P. August 2007). We got her on Halloween that year (hence the name), so we carved out a cute little hamster pumpkin. See the 2 front teeth?]

[This goofy jack-o-lantern I carved out using a face template I found online. Thought he was kinda cute. It was pretty simple to make. Just printed out the template onto some plain ol' computer paper, poked little tiny holes along the lines, and carved it out based on the pattern of the holes (e.g. "connect the dots"). Such fun!]

Happy Pumpkin Carving! :0)

[Jen]

[Motivational Monday: Decorating Pumpkins]

Recently been to a pumpkin patch or plan on going soon? Well, here are some very creative and festive ideas on decorating your prized pumpkin (s).

 [Etching pumpkins always looks so nice. Plus, by not carving it all the way through, your pumpkin will last much longer. I love how this is displayed on a stairwell with some tea lights and other pumpkins and gourds.]

 [A pumpkin topiary! Wouldn't you love to have this on display at your front door? I am sure there is a way to secure the pumpkins together, but I love this whole look.]

[A simple yet classic way to decorate with multiple pumpkins. This Halloween, carve your pumpkins with a sharp, stainless steel cookie cutter. It takes the guesswork out of designing it yourself and looks very clean. Line your jack-o-lanterns up with some candles lit in mason jars, and you're all set!]

[I love this "hairy" pumpkin! Just too cute! Turn your pumpkin on its side, using the stem as a nose. Carve out the face, and place cooked (or uncooked for a spiked look!) spaghetti inside the pumpkin. Great idea when pumpkin decorating with the kids!]

[all photos courtesy of Southern Living]

[Jen]

Happy Columbus Day!

We all know the saying, "In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue." I think I learned that in elementary school, and it has stuck with me ever since. :0)

Happy Columbus Day everyone! 

[Jen]

Happy 101 Blog Award!

I received this "sweet" award from Scrappy Gifts! Thanks a bunch! :0)

10 Things I Like:

1. Jesus Christ
2. My Hubby
3. My Daughter (who is turning 2 next month!)
4. My Parents & Brother
5. My In-Laws
6. My dog, Snickers (my 22 lb. Yorkie)
7. Frames
8. Scrapbooking
9. Blogging
10. Dancing

10 Blogs I Like:

1. Beauty 4 Ashes
2. Buttons & Bling
3. C.R.A.F.T
4. Dear Madelyn
5. It's a Hodgepodge Life
6. Lisa E. Design Blog
7. The Paisley Cupcake
8. The Scrap Shoppe
9. Whimsical Wonderland Cards
10. Young & Crafty 

Rules for the award:

1.Post who it was that gave you the award.

2.List 10 things that you like.

3.Give this award to 10 other blogs and let them know with a comment!

P.S. Happy 10-10-10!! :0)

[Jen]

[Scrapperday: A Pumpkin and A Ghost]

[A fun little card that I made to add to the pumpkin-filled festivities during this season. It may look intense but is super easy and fun to make! I downloaded and printed off the template from KWerner Designs (okay, I'm aware that I have an obsession). Then I just followed her tutorial as usual. The materials I used were:

• Jolee's Boutique Parcel Dimensional Sticker letters
• ColorBox Chalk Ink in Chestnut Roan
• Pentel Sunburst white gel pen (which I love!)
• black journaling pen
• tape runner
• dimensional adhesives
• orange, green, white, and textured brown cardstock

Easy peasy! :0)

[Boo! Scary little ghost. Another card inspired by KWerner Designs, but mine has a few different touches of detail. Again, I simply downloaded the template from her blog and printed/cut it out (mine ended up being a bit shorter since I was low on black cardstock). The materials I used were:

• Close to My Heart tinted embossing pad and clear embossing powder (with a heat gun, of course)
• the letter "O" from Martha Stewart clear stamp letters
• acrylic block from Inkadinkado
• ColorBox Chalk Ink in Charcoal
• chipboard letters by Recollections
• Pentel Sunburst white gel pen
• white embroidery thread
• dimensional adhesives
• mini glue dots

You can make these cards too! Follow the steps in Kristina's video tutorial on YouTube! Have fun! :0)

Hope you've enjoyed this week's Scrapperday!

Linking up to these parties!

P.S. Did you know that last Saturday was "World Card-Making Day"? News to me! Oh well, Happy Belated World Card-Making Day! (rolls right off the tongue, huh?) :0)

[Jen]

[Framed Friday: New Frames in Etsy Shop!]

Wow! This week has just flown by for me! Sorry for the lack of posting. I have been busy working on some frames for my shop. I have added THREE new frames to my Etsy shop! A couple of them were custom-made, and the other one I just thought I would add just for fun. :0) Go take a look-sy!

[Frame Fanatic Etsy Shop]

And remember, if you have a theme or a frame idea in mind and would like to order a custom-made frame from me, please feel free to email me at framefanaticblog [at] yahoo [dot] com!

[CORRECTION: The "Pretty in Pink" frame is on SALE 50% off! So it's only $10 (not $15 like I said in a previous post). This sale is only going on during Breast Cancer Awareness Month!]

[Jen]

[Scrapperday: Halloween Treats]

Okay, so I know this is probably the 100 billionth time I have re-created one of Kristina Werner's cards, but I seriously can't help myself! They are so cute and so extremely easy to make! Watch her tutorial on how to make this card here.

This is the perfect card to make this time of year. Normally I don't really make any Halloween cards, but I thought this would be super cute to pair with a little bag or basket of treats.

Isn't this card just the "sweetest"?? :0)

Linking up to these parties!

[Jen]

SALE in [Frame Fanatic] Etsy Shop!

Since October is the month for "Breast Cancer Awareness", I've decided to put my "Pretty in Pink" frame on sale for $15 (which includes FREE shipping)! It will be on sale during the entire month of October, so go grab one while it's still available!

Visit my Etsy Shop!

I also do custom frames for $20 (FREE shipping) to help you design a frame that will go along with any particular theme. For example, if the theme for a room in your home is ladybugs, I can make a frame that would include a ladybug pattern to match that theme. So if you have a particular theme or design in mind and would like to order a frame, please feel free to email me!

[Jen]