Making it Monday...

I made this yesterday while a cake was in the oven.  Neither the wreath nor the cake were the best work I've ever done, but they both were passable.  I took them with me to Kasey & Beau's for Sunday family supper.

I saw this tutorial on Youtube, and I just really wanted to make one.  I don't usually decorate with wreaths, so I figured if Kasey didn't want it, maybe one of the girls might want to hang it in their room.

And it's a good thing I had intended all along to give it away, because it drove Rudy crazy!  He wanted to tear into it SO bad!  LOL  I think he thought it was a toy for him, because the legs do bear a striking resemblance to his Monkey Love (of which he has had many).  🙈  

Making it Monday...

I showed this little peak at my most recent cross-stitch project back in early October.

Then I showed this close-up sneak peak last week.  Now that it has been received, I can show you the whole project.

The cross-stitching part of the project went SO quickly!  "Why a skull?" you may ask.  For Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), of course!  It's a big thing in this part of the country.  If you happened to see the Disney movie Coco, you get a sense of the traditions and celebrations that are all about remembering and honoring loved ones who have passed.  The skulls are called 'calaveras' or 'sugar skulls,' and a sweet friend of mine collects them.  

Here's where the progress started to slow...when I had to start adding those itty-bitty beads.  The challenge was the tiny eye of the beading needle...it was a smaller beading needle than I have ever used.  And, no, it wasn't just that my eyes are getting old!  A needle threader wouldn't even go through it.  I tried every trick in the book, and then I tried anything that came to mind.  Seriously, threading the needle took way more time than doing the actual bead work.  

DONE!  

Here's a close up that really shows all the beads in place.

Once I finished all the stitch work, I trimmed the excess perforated paper away and added a card-stock backing and a loop for hanging.

Since I was mailing it, I built a card around it.  I tried stamping the card, but the busy-ness of the sugar skull's design fought against any stamping, so I just used punches to make a flower crown (another tradition of the day) which also holds it in place on the card.  The sugar skull can be easily removed and hung in a window or added to other Dia de los Muertos decorations.

I naively believed I could get this finished and in the mail in early October so it could be used to decorate, but sadly I was late getting it done, and didn't get it in the mail until November 1, so it was received late...but it's the thought that counts, right?  :)

Can't squash this...

My normal abhorrence of grocery shopping is greatly mitigated by the presence of these beauties greeting me at the market door this time of year.

The variety is amazing.  I only bought one.  I don't have a photo of the one I bought, but it is rather smallish and a sort of yellow and orange variegated.  It is sitting on my mantel.  Yes, it spurred me to take down the summer mantel decor finally, so that is worth the $2.49 cost of the pumpkin, surely.

Of course, was I meant to be decorating today (or blogging I might add)?  No!  I am meant to be getting ready for the quilt retreat.  Ah, well, it will get done...probably.    

In the meantime, just looking at pumpkins makes me smile.

I want to go here:

photo credit: herald-dispatch.com Huntington, WV

More Monster Cookies...

That may look like a roll of paper towels tied in ribbon, but in actuality it is an oatmeal box.  If you remember my Monster Cookie recipe called for a 42 ounce box of oatmeal.

That happens to be the perfect size to contain a dozen or so of the cookies!  I prettied up the box, and stacked some (thoroughly cooled) cookies inside with a disc of waxed paper between each cookie...perfect circumference to keep them stacked neatly!  

It would be really cute, and fairly easy, to decorate it as a Frankenstein head, but I kept it really simple.

All ready for gifting.

Sunday Desserts - Monster Cookies...

I cut this recipe out of the newspaper probably 25 years ago.  My kids were little, and it was a fun thing to make for Halloween parties.  It makes a big batch.

A *BIG* batch.  I had to buy that bowl just to have something large enough to mix the whole recipe up in.  I put the gallon of milk next to it so you could have a reference as to size.  :)

And you bake them into big cookies.  BIG cookies.  MONSTER cookies.  :)  

I'm sure they would taste the same if you made them smaller, but I'm not sure they could be called MONSTER cookies.  

I posted the recipe several years ago over at What's Cookin' 4 Miles North of Nowhere.  And I didn't forget anything...there really is no flour in this recipe.

I only needed enough today for dessert with the family and some for the kiddos lunches, so I only baked about 2 dozen today.  Luckily the dough freezes well.  I formed logs of dough onto large sheets of waxed paper, then rolled them up, and placed them on cookie sheets to place in the freezer.  There were more logs than would fit on one cookie sheet.

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After they had been in the freezer for a couple of hours and were chilled firmly enough to handle without bending, I used a Sharpie to write the baking instructions on Zip-lock bags.  Then I placed one or two rolls in each bag.  I plan to give some to Kasey to keep in her freezer for quick treats for the kiddos, and some to a friend of hers who I've been wanting to do something nice for...actually I want to adopt her, but so far she hasn't given the okay.  :)  Jared already took some home for his freezer, and I'll keep some in our freezer, too, to bake later.

They are fun to package (after they are completely cool).  They look really cute wrapped in cellophane and tied with ribbons.

Today I made them a little ghost-y, with tissue paper and googly eyes.  

Trick or Treat...

Happy Halloween!  A quick post to show a couple of photos of the girls' costumes I've been working on.

Chloe (along with many million other little girls) wanted to be Elsa from Frozen this year.  I combined several ideas I found on Pinterest (here, here, and here) to put together her costume.  I used a tee-shirt to make the top portion so that she could wear it later with shorts or jeans.

Caitlyn wanted to be Pocahontas...or as she gleefully says...PocaHAUNTas.  :)  I seem to remember making a similar costume for her mother at about the same age.  I probably still have it packed away somewhere...but wouldn't begin to know where to look.

I went over after the girls got home from school today to put on the finishing touches and/or help them know how things went together.  As I was leaving, the boys were getting off their school buses, so I absconded with them (with their mother's permission) and took them for a treat before they headed off to their dad's for the weekend.

Hope all are getting treats and no tricks this year!

Brace yourself...

I saw this cute jack-o-lantern on Pinterest the other day.  I wish I could give credit to the original poster, but I couldn't track it back...and I really tried.  But the minute I saw this smiling fellow, I knew I had to make one for our boys in braces.  

Bobby, Jack, and Diego

Awww.  Aren't they cute?  I think the carving was easier than getting a picture of them all in toothy smiles.  I've been forbidden from putting it on Facebook...they didn't say anything about emails, texts, or blog though.  :)

Bat-tastic...

Here's a little project I've been quite looking forward to.  You may have to enlarge the photo to see it well.

It's a Martha Stewart idea that I first saw on Pinterest.  (If you need an invitation to Pinterest, just let me know in a comment.) 

I needed Carey to 'help' me put up some file wall pockets at the office this weekend, so I figured he could 'help' me put this up too.  What can I say?  He's my partner in crime.

Mr. B is bat-phobic.  I can hardly wait to see his reaction in the morning. 

And just why do I like it so much?  Because for me, it's all about the pun.

It's a bat mobile!  :)

Cute as a bug...or two...

Yesterday I took Diego shopping for his birthday present and out to lunch in San Antonio.  When I dropped him back at home, Caitlyn wanted to come home with me.  It worked out well for her and Chloe to spend the night with me, so over they came.

A week or so ago, I was walking past the storefronts near my office, and I saw the cutest little bee costume in one of the windows for Halloween.  I really wanted to buy it for Chloe, because she is my little Honeybee.  I called Kasey to see if they already had new costumes for this year, and to run the bee costume by her.  We discussed the possibility of my making a lady bug costume for Caitlyn (because she is my little Catiebug).  Then when I went back to the store to get the bee, there was a ladybug costume on the rack too.  Score!

They got to try them on and play in them last night.  And I got to snap a couple of photos.