Witches and Wizards and Ghosts...Oh My

My Halloween village is my pride and joy come fall. With the exception of trick-or-treating, putting out the village is the most aniticipated Fall tradition for the kids and I.
It's only been the last few years that I started collecting these little guys, but I am totally addicted. Can you blame me?


The beginning of the month was my birthday and look what, er who, I got. Meet...
Jack, Jack Squash. As you can tell, he really, really loves candy...and donuts and pie and cake and...

And this little darling is Eliza. Isn't she enchanting? Don't get too close, she might put a spell on you...if she hasn't already.

The artist who creates these charming and whimsical figures is Lori C. Mitchell. She is an American folk artist from Georgia and her inspiration comes mostly from children's themes and literature and old illustrations and toys. I absolutely love her work and look forward every year to her new creations.
And in case you didn't get enough, cause I never do, I'll leave you with some more of her ghoulish delights.

Captian Kidd

Candy and Corny

Becca's Broom Ride

Bat Boy Triplets

Adorable Dora

Flirty Gertie

Esperilla

Draco

Dinky Dinosaur

Little Boo

Little Alien

Funny Bones

Fraidy Cat

Precious Pumpkin

Piper's Pumpkin Ride

Mummy Boy

Little Frankie Stein

Little Devil

Witchy Hazel and Helen

Trick-or-Treat Clown

Sweet Pea

Simon the Sorcerer

Robby Robot

Little Girls Room- Redo

Recently I revamped my little girls' room. We've been in our house almost two years and their poor, neglected room had yet to be completed.
I was going to go with a shabby chic theme initially, but decided to go in a completely different direction. (My girls are not really the shabby chic type...they are more "freespirited", like little finches). So bearing that in mind I decided to do a tree top/bird themed room instead.
The whole redo took me six or seven hours total...I did it while the girlies were at school so I could surprise them. (I am so wishing I had been a good girl and took some before pics, but this was prior to me documenting all of my projects.)
Thankfully the walls had recently been painted, so I didn't need to repaint them. However, they had been painted a very soft pink, Barely Pink is the color actually. I didn't mind the color, but thought they needed to be brightened up a bit.
This is where it got a little scary.
I decided to try painting my first ever mural on the wall. I really wanted it to feel like the girls were sleeping up in the trees.
I tried drawing the mural on the wall first, but I soon realized that is was easier just to freehand it than try to paint within the lines.
So, I threw all caution to the wind and let the paint fly. Here's the end result.


Instead of painting each of the little birdies on by hand, I cut little paper birds out of scrapbook paper. I used modge podge to adhere them to the wall. I also did the same thing with the leaves. I like the idea of the birds and leaves having a pattern rather than just being flat paint. It's hard to see, but the leaves have a subtle polka dot pattern

as do some of the birds, along with some more vividly printed birdies.

I bought some unfinished bird houses at the local craft store and painted them in fun, bright colors. I also mod podged scrapbook paper on the roofs of them to add a little pattern and to also tie everything in.


I found the bright green quilts ($30 each) and sheets ($17 each) at Target. I also found the owl pillows ($25 each) and lamp($40) there. (Oh how I love one stop shopping.)



I think I spent an additional $20 on scrapbook paper, birdhouses, craft paint etc., but that was it. In total I spent just over $200 to completely redo the room.
Pretty good for a days work.
And look what I just found. You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'? Oh ya, new pendant light out of this stinkin' cute little bird cage. (More on that when I get 'er done).

Like, totally, thanks.

So, the homegirls kidnapped me last night for a little post bday celebration. All I was told was...dress eighties.
Kay, I can do that. I love the eighties...except for when it comes in the form of hideous wallpaper and gray carpet. But anyway...
I turned on the INXS and channeled my inner Madonna/Debbie/Tiffany.
I think my ensemble turned out pretty radical...and yes, that is my seven year old daughter's pettiskirt I'm sporting. Are you all wondering how I squoze my curvalicious self in it...well so am I? But I did and I didn't even tear it. HOLLA!
Here we all are...

The girls were especially sweet and I got some wonderful gifts.

Like this yummy candle...it smells so good I wanna eat it.

And this darling apron...just in time for Hallween. Look! It even has a spiked tail.

Oh, and this cute idea. Those are gym socks. I know, they totally look like cupcakes.

Oh, and my favorite...this awesome fork. I can't stop staring at it. I have wanted a ginormous fork for, like, ever! If anybody body knows where I might find his companion, spoon, please contact me.


I'm serious about the fork. He looks so sad without his concaved counterpart. If you know where I might find her, give me a holler.
I'll just be in the corner sniffing my candle.

Numbers, numbers everywhere.

So, today I needed an easy little project...something I could do with a three year old and one year old glued to my legs.
Then I came across this photo and I was inspired.

He comes from the land of Sweden. He's fine the way he is, but I think he could use a little spice.

I found a font I liked on the computer, blew the numbers and letters up and cut them out.

I positioned them on the drawer (in the lower, left hand corner) and stensiled the numbers and letters on in black craft paint.

Here's the final result.

(Sorry this picture kinda looks like poo. It was the best I could get with kids climbing all over me. Hopefully you get the idea.)
Nothing crazy or drastic, but definately a little cooler.
This little project took me around forty-five minutes...the bulk of which was spent cutting out my stensils. The actual stensiling probably took only fifteen minutes. And the best part, it was completely free.
Should you choose to try this project at home, I would suggest sealing your paint with a polyacrylic/polyurethane top coat. The paint will wear off quickly with high usage if you don't.
Numbers seem to be a big thing right now. I've seen them everywhere from furniture, to throw pillows to wall art to storage baskets/bins. And they just happen to be my favorite accessory currently.
I am curious to know if any of you have some cool number themed projects you would like to share. I'm always looking for some good inspiration.

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Kitchen Facelift

Okay, this post is for all of you d.i.yers who have toyed with the idea of painting your kitchen/bathroom cabinets but have been too scared to.

A year and a half ago the fam and I moved to a new house. We have been slowly renovating her and welcoming her to the 2000's. (She was just a little outdated, grapevine wall paper, pink counters...gah.) Of all the renovations, the kitchen has probably been our biggest transformation.

The bones were there...good, solid oak cabinets, but a little "1980's" and definately a lot blah.

I knew that I wanted to paint the cabinets white. As much as I enjoy look of wood, the cabinets and floors combined were a little too much.


That's Avery...eating a bowl of cereal.

I started the process by taking the doors off in sections. I figured if I did a little at a time I wouldn't feel quite as overwhelmed. I bought all of my paint and primer at Sherwin Williams. I would totally recommend the products I used. It was a little expensive, but worth every penny. Besides I only ended up needing a can of each...primer and paint. (The primer I used was called Adhesion Primer. The stuff is freaktastic. It creates an awesome foundation for the paint to stick to. The paint I used was designed specifically for doors and trim. It's called ProClassic and it dries super hard so there's no need to apply a protective coating. BONUS!)
Here's what it looked like after my first section was done.



My kitchen cabinets were quite plentiful, so I ended up painting about four different sections over the course of two or three days. I would paint and then reattach my doors as I went along. (I actually rolled the paint on with a small door/trim roller. This technique helped the paint go on nice and smooth and even.)

Once I had all of the cabinets painted I reattached them, then added hardware. Adding hardware, in my opinion, can drastically change the look of your cabinets alone. But, if you decided to paint and change hardware you can make your kitchen look completely transformed.

And look, when you turn them upside down they make a smiley face...which is exactly how they make me feel every time I look at them.

Here she is finished.

Before :(


After :)


I ended up spending $50 on primer, and $50 on paint. I bought 28 knobs for my cupboards and 14 pulls for my drawers and spent just under $300 on all of the hardware. That's a grand total of $400.
When I called around for bids, the lowest one came in at $3,000. By doing it myself, I saved $2,600...BOO-YA.
So...if you're thinking about giving your kitchen a facelift, I say do it. It's not as hard, scary or expensive as you think.

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Halloween Spell Books

Did any of you see the awesome post at Be Different...Act Normal about Halloween Spell Books?
I thought they were fabulous. Granted, I think anything Halloween is fabulous...but I thought these books were so fun, festive and creative.
So, I had to make myself some.
They didn't cost me anything to make. I had some old books just hanging out collecting dust, and some mod podge and a brown paper bag. That's pretty much it.
What do you think?

Would you think less of me if I lied and told the kiddies they were real. And that if they get out of line I'm gonna turn them all into cockroaches? Oh, good. You must have kids too.
Guess I'll go put my spell books somewhere very prominent where the kids can see 'em. You know just as a reminder. ;)

Halloween Inspired Pillows

Okay, I promise I will stop posting about pillows. I just love them soooo much...and they are so cheap and easy to make. But I promise, I'll give it a break.
But first...

Awesome, right?

I used painters canvas again. The stuff is super cheap and the paint really clings to the rough texture.

I made my own stencils from images I found on the "net" and a font off the computer that I enlarged.

Then all you need is black paint and a stipple brush.

Stipple the paint on carefully...remember, up, down, up, down (channeling Mr. Miyagi).


Remove the stensil and let the paint dry.

That's it.

Did I mention that these gems cost me $1 a piece to make? I think I might make some extras to give out to friends.

I may have to put this fella on my bed all year round.

and possibly this guy too.


I love Halloween because it's the only time of year that "over the top" is acceptable. But I have to say, that I am really loving the simplicity of these Halloween pillows. They aren't in your face, but rather chic and elegant.
Give 'em a try. I think you'll like it.
(Wanna know a little secret. Instead of sewing up all four sides, I like to leave one unstitched. Then I use adhesive velcro on it so that I can make the case removeable. Just an idea. I like being able to reuse the inserts if I need them.)

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