InstaHalloween

Hi there friend.

Happy day after Halloween.

Here are my superheroes.

I could not talk them out of these generic costumes.

They could not be more pleased.

Joshy's first time trick-or-treating.

I don't mean to brag but I'm going to anyway.

I did 6 loads of laundry today.

six.

and I got rid of tons of plastic shiny toys

after reading this post.

 Feels so good.

I've been a little obsessed with illustration lately.

are you kidding?

so pretty.

 Making, making and making.
I'm working on a calendar.
For 2014.
I probably should have started last summer because it's taking for stinkin' ever
but I'm already knee deep and I've kind of got my heart set on it.
So, I'm trying to finish this week.

We'll see how that goes...

Painting with mama.
"Don't yook at me, Mama. Nevah, evah."

My friend Kelley has the gift of hospitality.
The gift of details and making you feel really special and loved.
Look at how cute she is.

She's makes me want to be more mindful of making people
feel loved and special and celebrated.

And she's a great cook.

And she's super crafty.
We made these bee's wax candles.
I've always wanted to make candles.

Aren't they cute?

And here's my dream farm house.

We finally had our first taste of Sonic!
It opened and we went and had a party in the van.

The boys were fully entertained watching the rollerskating waiters.

We ended up going to the pumpkin patch a few times.
First with friends

It was 500 degrees outside.

I promised them candy for one good smile.

We went with my mom.

Isn't she cute?

And they played in the pumpkins forever.

 And just like that Halloween is over.
Let the crazy begin.

Press on Brave souls.
I'm linking up with Jeanette this week.

Halloween Banner Tutorial





Here is a last minute Halloween banner

(in my world I'm right on time,in blogland

 internetville I'm always 5 months behind.)

because sometimes you just gotta make stuff,

even when you know you need to go to

bed and you just keep going anyway

because you don't know when you'll get another chance

to cut little colored shapes of canvas and sew them onto wonderful

little black fabric and drape them around the house

because these kids are only 5 and 2 once and

when they wake up it's like magic.

How did this happen, Mom?

Seriously. excitement around here is so simple these days.

Hearing the ding ding (railroad crossing) go off.

Jack (5):Roll down the windows! It's our lucky day!

Going through the car wash.

Finding yogurt covered pretzels with black and

orange sprinkles in the snack bowl.

Mom, I can't believe you got these for us.

Squirting whipped cream right into your mouth.

Um, I don't think you're allowed to do that.

Okay, on to the tutorial.

Here's what you need:

1/2 yard of canvas (any kind. mine was pretty thick.)

1/2 yard of orange and black fabric scraps

Black acrylic paint

Letter Stamps

Orange thread

*Warning: these are approximate measurements.

I have no patience for measuring things.

Try to make me. I won't.

1. First, cut 11 canvas triangles.

Cut 2 strips of canvas about 2 inches wide,

then cut the strips diagonally,

from top to bottom, to create the triangles.

2. Cut black and orange triangles to go

behind the canvas triangles.

I traced around each canvas triangle onto the colored fabric about a 1/4 inch.

Alternate black and orange.

3. Stamp each letter on the banner with black acrylic paint.

I used basic letter stamps from Michael's.

If you don't have stamps, you can also paint the letters on,

or write them in Sharpie.

4. Sew long 1 inch wide strips of fabric together.

I actually ran out of thick black ribbon, so I decided to try

just sewing strips of fabric together, and it worked.

I don't do hems either. They bore me to tears,

so there are some frayed edges, but not many.

5. Iron the big, long, sewed-together strip in half.

6. Place the triangles on top of each other

and stuff them in the fold together.

Now sew like the wind. with orange thread. and a zigzag stitch.

Here is the secret to getting it centered...

(And here is why I make the big bucks)

Are you ready...start in the center, then work out.

Brilliant, right?

7. Smile because you just made something out of nothing

and you feel satisfied and your kids are going to like it, too.

Happy making, friends.