Thinking about Christmas

I can't believe that it is almost time to think about Christmas! The weather has been getting cooler, I've even had to bring out the winter coats. But it was last weekend that I saw the first true sign of Christmas approaching... no it wasn't all of the retail stores selling their Christmas wares, it was..... the local Fire Station setting up their Christmas Tree lot!!!

So now that we have started thinking about Christmas, I want to remind everyone to try not to get caught up in the retail Christmas but to think about the true Reason For The Season!

Halloween Happenings

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Halloweeen. Although my children are too old to participate in trick-or-treating, I still enjoy our Halloween traditions. The kids, my husband and I watched a scary movie on television (Shutter Island) last night with an interruption here and there to answer the door for trick-or-treaters. We received an assortment of little ghosts, gobblins and little witches with some teenagers hoping for a candy windfall as well :)

This is a photo of my son dressed as a girl, my daughter-in-law dressed as a man and my sweet little grandbaby dressed as a strawberry!

Make Your Own Crayons Tutorial



 

One of my favorite activities to do with my children when they were younger was to make our own shaped crayons. It is a great way to recycle their old, stubby crayons.

All you need is a metal form - like an old muffin tin, preferably a disposable one or recycled one you could throw away after the project - and a low temperature oven.

 

Prepare the Crayons

1. Remove the paper wrappers from the crayon pieces. (To make this easier, put the crayons in a bowl of cool water. After about 20 minutes, the wrappers will loosen. Lift the crayons from the bowl and remove)

Melt the Crayons

1. Preheat the oven to 300F
2. Spray the muffin tin with a light coat of cooking spray.
3. Put the muffin tin on a baking sheet and then place the crayon pieces in the molds. You may have to break some of the crayons to fit. Fill the molds nearly to the top, leaving as little space between the crayons as you can.
4. Bake the crayons for 5 to 8 minutes, or just until they are melted enough to blend the colors and hold them together. If you cook them until liquefied, they could meld into one dark color. Be sure the room is well ventilated whenever crayons are being melted. Overheating wax crayons during the melting process may release irritating fumes.
5. Remove the molds from the oven. This should be done by an adult with pot holders. Put them on a heat-resistant surface and let them cool for 30 to 60 minutes. The time will depend on the size of the mold.
6. Remove the crayons from the molds. They should pop out easily. If not, tap them gently on the counter.

Pumpkin Decorating Ideas

My family and I are going to the pumpkin patch this weekend. We look forward to this event every Fall and no matter how old my children are, they enjoy the hayride and picking out their very own pumpkins!

This year, I thought it would be fun to introduce some new ideas for decorating/carving our pumpkins. I have included some photos of inspiration.

These bats would be fun on the table at a Halloween party.

Easy to do and very spooky!

I think my son would want to make this one.

I LOVE the mice and I know my cats would love them after Halloween!

Easy to make and would be a great way to use my ribbon scraps.

I want to make this for my Thanksgiving table.

Now this is just disgusting!



My First Attempt at Newborn Photography

Well there they are, the results of my first attempt at being a Photographer. I will say it was fun and very Quick! Little babies have such a small attention span.

Things that I will do again:

• The background, I like how the white fuzzy fabric looks in the photo but will try other backgrounds in the future
• Work with a baby that has a full tummy and a good demeanor

Things I will do different:

• Make sure the room is very warm before you start
• Use more natural lighting
• Utilize some sort of wedge under the blanket as to not have the baby lay so flat and straight
• Edit my photo so that it looks better in a thumbnail image (ie. ETSY)

Newborn Baby Photos

(My inspiration, a beautiful photo by http://heatherculleyphotodesign.com)

This weekend I am going to step out of my comfort zone and will take some newborn photos of my new Granddaughter. I have been added several new Solid Color Bloomers with matching Fabric Flower Headbands on my website and really need some good modeled photos of them. I have been searching online for instructions, suggestions and inspiration and now think I am ready to give it a go!

I am already planning on stopping of at the fabric store on my way home to purchase some soft furry fabric for the backdrop. Keep your fingers crossed for me that baby Avery will be sleepy and cooperative!!!

My Baby Girl is ENGAGED!

Well, its now two down and two to go!!! My second oldest child, Jaime, announced to us last Saturday that she and Nick Ownby are engaged!! We couldn't be happier! They have been dating for four years now and we all have been wondering the same question, "When are they going to get married?" It looks like a June wedding. Jaime has commissioned me to make some things for the wedding. If you have any good ideas for a hand-crafted wedding, please let me know.  I'll post my creations here...stay tuned.

New Year, New Blog, New Grandbaby

Since I am having the hardest time trying to figure out Facebook, I am going to try my hand at blogging. Just ask my daughters, I think that they are relieved that I have moved on to greener pastures :

My first post will be an announcement that I am now a GRANDMOM!!! Yes, my oldest son (Joshua) and his wife (Jillian) gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on 1/8/2011. Her name is Avery Elizabeth and she came into this world at 7.1 lbs and 19 inches. We are all very happy and can't get enough of her already.

Hopefully she will like the camera and will pose for her Grandma Lana so I can take some photos of her in Bloomin' Bloomers clothing. Stay tuned...