Trick-or-Treat

Happy Halloween from my Ninja Turtle and Little Monster!

My Ninja Turtle with his ninja turtle pumkin

Trick-or-Treating at my old sorority, KKG

My boys being very generous handing out candy to the trick-or-treaters

Happy Halloween!

Happy Champagne Thursday!

Cheers!

Burlap Halloween and Thanksgiving Garland

I decided to make a Happy Halloween pendant to go with my more darker, skulls and crossbones Halloween decor.  As opposed to my bright and happy candy corn decor.  And while I was at it I made a Thanksgiving pendant too.  I figured burlap is pretty thanksgivingish, right?  Plus, I don't have any Thanksgiving decor and I like to have a little something for most holidays. 

What you will need for the pendant garland:

Burlap - 1 yard was enough for me
Scissors
Black Acrylic Paint
Paint Brush
Letter Stencils - Mine were 4 inch letters
Twine
Glue - I used a hot glue gun

Steps:

1.  Make a template for the pendant.  I found the largest letter I would be using, for me it was 'W' and went from there.
2.  Determine how many letters you will need.  I needed 26 for both Happy Halloween and Happy Thanksgiving, using the 'Happy' only once.   I like to write out the letters I need and then cross them out as I finish them.

H A P P Y - 5
H A L LO W E E N - 9
T H A N K S G I V I N G - 12

Total - 26

3.  Trace your template on the burlap and cut out all your pieces.
4.  Grab your stencils, black paint and brush and stencil your letters onto the burlap.
5.  Let dry and then lay out your words and glue to your twine.  Make sure to measure your twine so its long enough.
6.  Hang up and enjoy.

One week until Halloween...I don't have much time left to finish Parker's costume.

Happy Champagne Thursday!

Cheers! 

Color Block Coat Rack

I found this great coat rack at the Good Samaritan in Helena, a little over a month ago.  Everything is 50% off the first five days of the month, so I got this rack for only $6.  I love a good deal!  A similar coat rack sells for around $50 at Target.  It's a great metal, sturdy coat rack.  It had a few small scratches, so I dressed it up with a couple coats of paint.

First, I wiped down the coat rack to get any dust off.  Then I sprayed a couple, light coats of Rust-Oleum metal primer.  Next, I sprayed a few, light coats of Krylon Brushed Metallic spray paint in Satin Nickel on the upper portion of the coat rack.  It was actually very similar to the original color, but I needed to get rid of a few scratches and I wanted the top to be the same color.  Next, I taped off a section so I could spray the bottom and get a nice clean line.  Again I sprayed a few, light coats of Krylon Short Cuts spray paint in hot pink.  I removed the tape as soon as I was done with the pink to get a straight line.

The coat rack is in our guest room/office most of the time.  I thought it would be nice for our guests to have somewhere to hang a coat or clothes up, since our closet is full of other stuff.  I love it and the pink ties in nicely with my pink desk.  Plus, I can bring it downstairs when we have people over, for extra coat storage.

Happy Champagne Thursday!

Cheers!

Candy Corn Wine Bottles

I know I recently posted about my candy corn jars, but I couldn't resist making these fun candy corn champagne/wine bottles.  I like to reuse some of our champagne and wine bottles and paint them for holidays and decorations.

These were easy and done in a few quick steps.

Candy Corn Bottles

1.  Remove labels from wine, champagne or any other glass bottle.  I try to peel the label off and then soak the bottle in hot, soapy water to remove any remaining label.

2.  Spray entire bottle with white spray paint.  I used a few light coats.

3.  Spray the bottom third of the bottle with a couple light coats of yellow spray paint.  I used Valspar spray paint in Gold Abundance, from Lowes.

4. Spray middle of bottle with a couple, light coats of orange spray paint.  I used Valspar spray paint in Island Orange, from Lowes.

5.  Let dry and enjoy your candy corn bottles for Halloween.

I loved the blurred lines and how the colors blend together on the bottles.

*Always use spray paint in a well ventilated area.  I usually spray in my garage, with my the garage door and window open. 

My Fourth of July bottles are probably my favorite, but these candy corn bottles are a close second.  I've also done some Valentine bottles and some chalkboard bottles.  I am currently using the chalkboard bottles for Halloween decorations too (picture below).

Chalkboard Bottles

3 Weeks Until Halloween!  What are you doing to prepare?

Happy Champagne Thursday!

Cheers!

Raising Awareness: A Story of Inspiration

This isn't one of my usual posts, but I wanted to share this inspiring story. Heather contacted me and asked if I would share her story with my blog readers. So please take a minute to read and watch Heather's story.

Heather is a wife, mother and a mesothelioma survivor.  When her daughter was 3 ½ months old, she was diagnosed with this rare and deadly cancer, and given 15 months to live.  Heather's prognosis was grim but she knew that she needed to beat the odds for her newborn daughter, Lily.  

Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that occurs in the thin layer of tissue that covers the majority of your internal organs.  Mesothelioma is an aggressive and deadly form of cancer. Mesothelioma treatments are available, but for many people with mesothelioma, a cure is not possible.

An individual may be at risk to develop mesothelioma if he or she was exposed to asbestos in the workplace or at home. Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos and the inhalation of asbestos particles. In most cases, mesothelioma symptoms will not appear in an individual exposed to asbestos until many years after the exposure has occurred.

Heather is using her personal story to help raise awareness for this little known cancer, and to provide a sense of hope for others facing life’s difficult challenges.

I clung on to hope throughout my whole journey with mesothelioma. When you have hope, it makes the battle easier.  I want people to be inspired by me, I want to make them fight; give them something to hold on to when all else fails. That is why I do it.  If I inspire one person, I've done my job. - Heather

Here is a video of Heather's story.  Please take a few minutes to watch.

Cheers to Heather and everything she is doing to make a difference!

Happy Champagne Thursday!

Sources:

Heather Von St. James

Mayo Clinic

Mesothelioma.com

Candy Corn Jars

Fall is officially here!  I turned my heat on this morning.  I was really hoping to wait until October, but I was freezing and I caved.  Once the weather gets cooler I start getting in the mood for Halloween.  The boys and I got our Halloween decorations out the other day.  I saw these cute candy corn jars on Pinterest and thought they would be a fun and easy Halloween project.  Plus, I had everything I needed already, so it made it even easier.  Keeping a stockpile of jars pays off sometimes.

Candy Corn Jars

What you'll need:

• Small Jars or Vases
• Orange, Yellow and White Balloons
• Scissors
• Battery Operated Candles or tea lights (optional)

Directions:

1. Cut the skinny tops off each balloon and cut the bottoms off your top two colors.  I used orange on the bottom, but after buying candy corn, I see orange is in the middle.  Oops!
2. Start with the white balloon at the top and pull it over the jar. Then work your way down with the yellow and orange, overlapping the balloons slightly.  I went to the top of the jar, but you could start below the lip of the jar.  The bottom balloon, in my case the orange balloon, covers the entire bottom of the jar.  
3. Add a battery operated candle for some Halloween ambiance or you can use real tea lights if you didn't cover the top of the jar with balloons.  

If you are having a Halloween party, these would be really cute as utensil holders.

Happy Champagne Thursday!

Cheers!

Fresh Salsa!

We have an abundance of grape tomatoes growing in our garden.  We have one tomato plant and it is out of control.  It's huge and it is taller than me.  It's growing over and around our fence (thankfully we don't have neighbors on that side of the fence yet).  In past years my tomato plants haven't done very well, so this year I decided I would only plant one and not waste precious garden space.  Little did I know it would take over a huge portion of one of my raised garden beds.  Last Friday we had about 4 bowls full of tomatoes so Chris and I made salsa after the boys went to bed.  Neither of us had made salsa before so we were kind of winging it with the recipe.  I do have to say it turned out pretty tasty!  Plus it was something fun to do together.  A good at home date night idea!

Fresh Salsa

Out of control tomato plant

Salsa Recipe

6 Cups Tomatoes - We used grape tomatoes, because that's what we have growing in our garden, but any tomato will do.
3/4 of a Medium White Onion
1 Green Pepper
3 Teaspoons Garlic
1/4 - 1/2 Cup Cilantro - This was two handfuls chopped up finely.
2 Jalapenos with seeds
1 Tablespoon Sea Salt
3 Teaspoons Sugar

Dice tomatoes, white onion and green pepper put in large bowl.  Chop jalapenos and cilantro finely and add to bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and mix together.

We used the seeds from both jalapenos and I would say the salsa is medium-hot.  If you want a medium salsa add seeds from 1 jalapeno and no seeds for a mild salsa.  If you are concerned about the heat, set aside all the seeds from the beginning and then slowly add them in after combining all other ingredients.

We diced all our ingredients pretty small, so it isn't too chunky.  If you prefer a smoother consistency you could put all the ingredients in a food processor.

I will definitely be making salsa again!  These pictures make me want chips, salsa and a corona.

Happy Champagne Thursday!

Cheers!