Friday Fragments: Halloween Edition

I have sad news to report on my candy corn wreath. Apparently, even with an insulating layer of modpodge, it was no match for the weather. We have had several big rainstorms and my wreath dripped down the front door into a pile of sucrose on the porch. I am too sad to post photographic evidence. RIP little wreath, RIP.

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We have three Halloween parties to attend this weekend. BG is excited to dress up as Jesse (from Toystory). I made the mistake of mentioning using red hair spray/dye on her hair before deciding against it. This morning she was literally in tears over not buying it. I'm worried that it won't come out of her blond hair - yes I'm that vain over my 4 year-old's hair.

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Ever have one of those rushed mornings where you finally get out the door when you realise you have forgotten something? I had one of those days this week - I forgot to put on deodorant. Sorry office mates!

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My parents grew GIANT pumpkins in their garden this year. Seriously. Hundreds of pounds pumpkins. I stopped by this week to pick one up. I managed to get it from the garden, around the front of the house (up huge hills) before being bested by the beast. I couldn't get it into my trunk. IE I couldn't physically lift it into the car - I think it would have fit. So I left it on their front porch instead and took two smaller ones.

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If anyone smashes my pumpkins this year, I will be very upset.

Family Pictures

We got some family pictures taken a few weeks ago and I just got around to looking at the CD. Yes, life is crazy. I'm really happy with how they turned out! Here's just a few of the ones I like. The hard part comes when I have to narrow it down to one to hang on the wall. Suggestions?

Profile Pic

I must apologize to my readers out there who have been faithfully coming even though "Mystery Man" has been my profile picture since the beginning. I have finally joined the masses and added a picture for you all to enjoy. So... enjoy!

Curly Curly

Blanche has some curl in her hair. I've been a bit excited about try to style her hair curly since both my and BG's hair is stick straight. Neither of our hair holds curl very well without excessive amounts of effort and product.

I wet down Blanche's hair and added some mouse and it stayed cute and curly for quite a while.

So fun!

Candy Corn Wreath

Many of you know about my love of candy corn. I'm pretty much addicted and I buy a large supply early in the season - usually when the stores first start selling them.

I've seen around the blogosphere many crafters making wreaths out of my favorite fall sweet and I knew I needed one too. So, I busted out my stash (I did buy more just to be safe), the hot glue gun and some modpodge and set to work.




I didn't bother making a tutorial because there are several already out there. But, in case you haven't seen them, here is the short version.

1. Dry out candy corn by leaving out for several days.
2. Assemble supplies: candy corn, floral wreath, black duct tape, hot glue, modpodge.
3. Wrap wreath in duct tape (kind of optional, but I did it).
4. Glue candy corn on as desired. I put them on the inside and outside of my wreath also.
5. Modpodge everything. I did this to ensure I can re-use for many years without worrying about bugs.
6. Tie on black ribbon and hang!

I LOVE it! Can I leave it up all year long?

Halloween Topiary

I mentioned that I have been crafting. I am so excited to show what I did! I have a topiary that sits by my front door - pretty much year-round. I had been looking at it wondering what I could do to make it a bit more festive for the season. I also wanted to decorate my porch a bit. After thinking for awhile, genius struck. I was so excited! This is what I started with. (Sorry the pictures is crappy.)

I used scrapbook paper and modpodge to cover the top two balls on the topiary. It was incredibly messy and took a while since the surface wasn't flat. I really hope that modpodge is water-soluble (like someone told me) since I would like my topiary back at the end of this process. After I finally got the surface paper attached, I used more paper for a pumpkin face and cardboard for the bat wings. This is a mid-craft shot.

An the final product....

Ta Daaaa!!


I used white fabric for the ghost and ironed on the face. I love the way it turned out.

Do you think the scrapbook paper and modpodge will come off? I'm a little nervous about it now.

Linking to:

Mama's Kat Writer's Workshop

Bits and Pieces

I'm not feeling the blogging mo-jo lately. My brain has shifted from thinking in blog posts to thinking in facebook posts. And facebook posts are really short and don't justify an entire blog post. Apparently I'm not good at managing two types of social media at one time. In an effort to update, here are a few things going on our our house.

Blanche is getting really good at crawling. She loves to stand up and regularly pulls herself to standing now. She is even able to stand on her own for a few seconds at a time. We had to lower her crib mattress because she now stands up in the morning. She loves eating shoes and I'm constantly pulling them away from her. Maybe I should get in the habit of putting my shoes away instead of kicking them off wherever.

BG wants to be a princess for Halloween. At one point, she wanted to be a cowgirl and she insisted on cowgirl boots when we bought new shoes at the store. I bought Blanche a cow costume and think it would adorable to have a cowgirl and a cow for Halloween. When I showed BG, she screamed "NO!! I want to be a PRINCESS!" At least she knows what she wants.

We are taking family pictures this weekend. I'm really excited because it's been two years since we've done them. I've shopped and we all have matching outfits. I hope the girls cooperate and they go well.

Last weekend I did some serious crafting. I took a few before pictures and am excited for the afters. The projects are not quite done yet, but I will post when they are! One of my projects was a candy corn wreath, which I love! I need to stop at the fabric store to finish up the other.

We have decided to buckle down and get serious about paying off our debt. I am reading the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsy and trying really hard to get excited about it. I love the idea of not having payments, but that means no more incidental spending. I'm sure once I get in the habit, it won't be a big deal, but I'm a little sad to let it go.

What's going on in your world?