Mommiedom

My daughter came home yesterday from school in a tizzy that her Elf hadn't arrived and was going to address the issue with a letter to Santa right away about it. She told me that  a lot of the kids had gotten theirs over the Thanksgiving break and she needed to make sure to ask Santa for one especially a naughty one which I found so cute.

So she went to work writing her note to Santa and stuffing her stocking with it and candy to lure the elf here. So she went to bed and well so did Mom but at 1 am, I remembered the elf needed to come so I trekked out of my nice warm bed.  He was going to come on Saturday anyway but I just couldn't deal with seeing her disappointment after all the effort she put into writing to Santa for him.

So Herman arrived this morning with candy wrappers all around. The first thing out of Miss O's mouth was wondering if her elf had arrived. I swear that kid ran down the stars so fast and of course Herman went to school with her today to show all her friends. Lumpy on the other hand was indifferent about him and wanted more to do with his cow puppet.

So let's see how much trouble Herman will get into the coming weeks. I am sure as my husband becomes more involved with it tat we will have an escalation of arms of the naughty stuff the elf will do . I love that we can give them the "magic" of Christmas!

I so was in to mod podging things  when I got this chipboard witches hat. I took some fun SU Halloween paper, tore it up and mod podged it all over it. I than sealed it with the mod podge and after it was dry added the ribbon and bats on it. I want to get a candle stick, pumpkin and stack it on top. I think that would be cute.

Last week I showed the mod podged witches hat and this week I have the mod podged Haunted House. These chipboard houses were on the clearance rack on SU and I scooped some up (there will be a Christmas one as well).  I just mod podged on the paper, cut it out and sealed it. I than built the house according to the directions and using some hot glue. I than added some vellum paper to the windows, bats and some other accents. I plan on putting a electric tea light in there to light it up when it is dark.

The other day I was at the craft store and saw the cutest Halloween Apron with all these ruffles in black and orange. I was so in love but put it back because it was expensive. I thought I will get it when they go on sale.

Than I was at the other craft and fabric store when I saw this really cute fabric. I love when you walk in and bam the seasonal fabric is right there for you to see. I saw one pattern I really liked but than these two coordinating fabrics in bright Halloween colors hit me. I loved the cupcakes on the one and the dots just complimented it so nicely. I thought I could make a apron out of this like the one I saw at the other store plus I really liked this fabric way better.


I took a fat quarter of basic black and hemmed it up on all four sides which is the base of the apron. I than took and cut the length of the fabric (about 36 inches) at a width of six inches for two of the cupcake patter and 2 five inch of the dots. I also cut one more cupcake at 36in long and 5 in wide. I than started at the bottom and pinned from the middle out to make the ruffles (just do any search for ruffled apron and directions should pop up).

I just layered up the top starting with cupcakes (6in width), than dot (5 in), Cupcake (6in), dot (5 in) and finally the cupcake (5in).  When I was all done I cut two 24 inch long by 5 inch wide stripes of the dot to make the tie back. I folded that over in half and than folded each side about  1/4 inch in. I ironed it flat and straight and than positioned, pinned, and than sewed it one. These are general directions and I highly suggest doing a search which I did. I wanted to give general directions and I should have taken way more photos but I got going in the process and well had so much fun creating.

I have to say this turned out way better than I thought it would and I love it. I also got a request for a smaller version and I think I might have enough fabric to create it for Miss O.

Enjoy my new favorite apron- I think a Christmas one may be needed to which means Miss O and Nana will need one as well!

Today is a no sew project and use I use the same fabric from the quilt I still have some left- maybe for another pillow (we will see).

I just cut tons of strips ad tied it on to a wire wreath frame (I bought a dozen online a few months ago). It is going to be so cute up on the wall when I finally start decorating for Halloween. October 1 is right around the corner.

I had a bunch of the fabric left over from the quilt and made this cute pillow. I just made it the size that was left over from the fat quarter so I would guess it is about half the fat quarter. The front is a cute Halloween print while the back is stars (hard to see in the picture). It fits perfect on my chair. Now it just has to meet its friends that I made last year!

I have a subscription to Fons and Porters Love Of Quilting and the October rIssue arrived a few weeks ago and I totally feel in love with the Table Top quilt that featured pumpkins all over it. I than like the next day got my Connecting Threads Catalog and saw the Halloween fabric they had and well I got to thinking how much I loved the Quilt and how much I loved the fabric and well the quilt was born.

It was pretty easy to put together though I hate the purple in it and if I did it again, would have left them out. It just didn't turn out how I wanted it to but everything else did (I like the purple and would have used it else where.  Now I have to find a place for it for Halloween.

So this is a sneak peek at the Halloween tabletop quilt I am working on. Once I have it done and the in place I will be taking lots of pictures. I plan on it being a big part of my Halloween decorations. Have I said how much  I love Halloween and have been getting ready for weeks with all of my fun projects I am making. I am so ghoulishly giddy with all the fun things I am planning. Stay tuned but for now a peek!

I have to say the Fourth is one of my favorite holidays of the year. Halloween is first and Christmas is second so the Fourth is like third in that list. I love the red, white and blue colors and well I went to town doing up my buffet in my living room. I love to showcase my fun designs and well holidays make it so much easier.

I was sad to see Valentine's come and go. I love the reds, pinks and whites in all the decorations. I figured it was time to move on to the next holiday in the Queen Mommie's house so slowly shamrock green is creeping in. I took my wreath  that I created back in January and pulled off all of the hearts. I let it dry out some from hanging on door for the past month in what seems like constant rain here in Houston. I than punched out some of the pennants using the petite pennant punch. I also punched out 8 hearts to form the shamrock as well as the little letters to spell out Happy St. Patty's Day. I think it turned out really cute and I was happy that I could the wreath again to create another holiday centerpiece for my door.

I saw this wreath over the holidays and so wanted to make it but I had no place for another wreath, so I put it in the back of my mind.  I was thinking about a Valentine's Day Wreath and this repopped into my head. It was so fun to make and you will never guess what it is made out of!!!

It is coffee filters yep good old coffee filters. I saw it on the Lowe's Creative Ideas website which has so many awesome ideas. The tree and our new bar table were both off of that site as well (they also have a magazine they deliver for free).

I folded and hot glued about 100 filters onto a quilt ring. I than punched out the hearts and glued those on as well. I added the ribbon to hang and it was done. It took me about an hour to make because of all the folding and pulling apart the filters. I have enough filters to make one more wreath so maybe I will for someone.

Last night I prepped my turkey and put it in a cooking bag. I have never used ti before but everyone swears by them so I thought I would try it. Turkey is a food I have always been successful with but I am one of those people that baste and baste until I can't baste anymore. My turkeys have always turned out really good so this year, I am excited to try the cooking bag and not have to baste like crazy. I am planning on doing other things with the time not spent basting.

I also made green bean casserole which is not one of my favorites but the rest of the family loves it so I made it. It might actually turn out good and my keep it healthy trick was using WW cream cheese in it instead of the full fat. My pumpkin pies are done too- yes we have two and I plan on freezing one because we don't need two but I had so much filling, I had to make two.

So the only thing I have left is to make the sweet potatoes. This are always super easy to make. I just take the canned ones, drain, and add some pancake syrup and brown sugar. I just bake it in the oven and it comes out great. I have in the past made it my mashing them and adding a banana but this year I just want some traditional  ones.

All this good food for us is awaiting us. The meal is a good one but even better is spending time with my three favorite people. We sit together and just enjoying have some good conversation and watch Mr. L give his food to the dog!

Yes when I was walking through the mall the other day, they were putting the finishing touches on Santa's area. Santa arrived down in Galveston over the weekend and he usually sky dives into the opening ceremony of Moody Gardens Festival of Lights which is a great holiday experience.

Santa seems to already be everywhere and it is like the second week of November but honestly this is the time t take the kids to see him there are no lines to see him. Last year we were at the mall during the day and walked right up but I refused to pay for the pictures with him. They are like 20 bucks for a tiny 5x7. I am glad that they let the kids see Santa without making a purchase and I think they do allow like one photo to be taken with your camera.

Though there is a great secret Santa that most of us can go see and get a free picture with the kids plus if you like the picture, extra ones are pretty reasonably priced (at least last year they were). I highly suggest taking the kids to Bass Pro Shops for a photo and lots of great activities. They have created a wonderful Santa's Wonderland which has trains, activity tables, crafts, and plus a free kids meal in their restaurant.

We have gone the past few years and have gotten one of the nicest photos with Santa. Last year it was the only photo with Santa that Mr. L didn't cry in. I was also allowed to take a bunch of my own photos with my camera which I liked. It was a great experience overall and I highly recommend taking the road trip over to them for this great opportunity.

Stay tuned for more free Santa photos as they come up. I know of some in my local area and if I know in years past Walmart and Petsmart offer free photos with Santa as well. So enjoy your start to the wonderful holiday season.

The weather is finally livable outside here in Houston which means it is Fall here. The calendar says so but the fact is it is the middle of October and I am still wearing shorts. This cooler weather was what I basically grew up with during the summers in Wisconsin but I finally think I have come to terms with that this is what Texas is like.

I think the pouring driving rain we finally had on Sunday in which Miss O and I got stuck in at the Girl Scout Camp outing, made it feel cooler. We were both soaked to the bone and of course cold. Miss O was so excited to come home after to have a hot chocolate (It was till like 80 some degrees out).

I do miss the fall colors changing so far north of us. They really don't change here or if they do it is so fast, that you never see it happen, than you realize that the leaves are now on the ground. The issue this year is that we have been in drought so the leaves have been falling for months because of the lack of water.

Fall to me has always signaled the cool down of weather and all of my favorite holidays which kick off here on Oct. 31st. The house is in full Halloween/Fall mode but still wearing shorts and sweating each day I walk to get Miss O doesn't help.

I have excepted fall now is warm weather. I have to pick costumes for the kids that they won't sweat to death in rather than when I was growing up, trying to figure out if t would fit over the snow suit. Mr. L has two this year to wear (One for cooler weather and one for warmer weather). Miss O keeps changing her mind, so no costume has been purchased yet but she needs to decide soon on it.

As the fall ends and winter arrives, I am really thankful for the warmer weather. It makes it easier not to have to bundle the kids up (It was a pain for the week last Xmas when we were up in WI). The kids can play outside far longer than they can up North. Bike riding and all those summer activities to hot to do, are now in prime.

Yes I miss the fall I grew up with but admit, I finally have learned to love the fall down here. But I am not going to complain if it gets cool enough to wear a coat.