Halloween Party

OK, it was for 8 year olds, but we had a great time. My son has been asking me for a Halloween party for the last few years (he has always had and obsession with this holiday). This year I succumbed and let him make invitations. Almost twenty kids attended his 'First Annual Spookfest'> My house looks pretty cool - and my son did most of the planning and decorating. Old masks, costumes and decor created creepy guests in the living room and around the dining room table.

We served Halloween shaped sugar cookies with frosting, icing, and other decorating toppings for a DIY snack; 'finger' sandwiches (turkey on whole wheat bread shaped into fingers with an almond finger nail); jello mold brain; fruit kabobs stuck into a pumpkin with gummy worms;

and a cake that my son decorated on his own. We sliced the cake in half and tucked some gummy worms inside before frosting. He used Milano cookies as tombstones. This crafty mommy has one crafty son!

This was a kind of old fashioned party. The kids ran around like lunatics, we had some Halloween and skull beads on a table to make necklaces and bracelets, and we had a mummy wrapping contest. We'd better start thinking ahead to the Second Annual Spookfest!

Rockin' T-shirts

I love funky t-shirts. It's another way that I manifest my immature adult side. (Not that wearing t-shirts are immature, it's the japanese cute or grotesque monster ones that make the other moms look at me strange - but you know I don't care. And they wish they had them.) Owl Movement creates limited, artist designed t-shirts that are so fabulous! They have create series of high quality tees whose designs run from the strange (my monsters) to the cute (diving playpus) to the simple (pair of owls). I discovered them at the Stitch Rock craft show and have visited their website to start planned my holiday shopping.

How Cool is This Bird?

This hawk is just chillin' on the rocks around my hot tub. It seems the local wildlife adapts to the suburban sprawl in style.

Lament of the Swapper

You may know I have participated in swaps in the past, often through Craftster. I love crafter and am often too lazy or unorganized to photograph and list a craft to sell. Or perhaps it is too 'handmade' (I admit to being a bit self depreciating and feeling that my handmade items should always look very professionally crafted. Yes, I know slight imperfections add to personality and the aura of handmade authenticity. It is my problem.) Swapping with other crafters let me make stuff to give away and I get something from a like minded individual, or so one hopes. I have received some incredible things in the past. One of my favorite weekender bags (that are day bags for big-bag me) came from a sewing swap. I have received cute pin cushions, hand bound journals, and collage supplies. My most recent swap, however, seems it may be a disappointment. I signed up to do a swap, received the gal's info., received a very nice email from her, and never heard back or got a reply from my emails. And I put together such a nice package for her. Oh well, you swap some you lose some. Anyone out their collect opera things?

Go Sox!

Searching for Halloween Treats

I am insane and allowing my son to host a Halloween party for his friends next Sunday. My house is full of dust/residue from the decorate netting and web that we purchased at the Spirit Halloween store. Is that stuff healthy to breath in I wonder? Hopefully the kids will be retro enough to play some games like pin the nose on the pumpkin and bobbing for apples (or biting them from a hanging string so I don't have to worry about the wet costumes and mess. Some parents are just not that cool about letting their kids get messy these days.) Need snacks. Need snacks other than popcorn in rubber gloves and peanut butter crackers with pretzel stick legs to make spiders. Finger sandwiches (something to be shaped like a finger?) I have been looking for something creative - the Make/Craft Halloween edition had amazing group of cakes with white chocolate 'ribs' that are way too sophisticated for 7 and 8 year olds and where I live the parents don't generally eat cake in public. Direct me, please, or I will be forced to shape rice krispy treats into pumpkins. Need ice cream now.....

Too Cute

During my typical blog-surfing procrastination time, I am often lured to Cute Overload. Being a pet lover I love seeing the cutesy little bunnies and puppies. This weekend they had the funniest cartoon animation video listed under "Caturday" of a cat trying to wake up it's owner. Check it out if you like the animal stuff. Here's my cute:

Procrastination (Sing it with me!)

I have too many things coming up here in the coming weeks - a bunch of families coming over for a dinner party/get together, a Halloween party that my 8 year old decided to throw, and a leg of a progressive dinner for my children's' school. I have made no plans for any of this. I need to come up with creative snacks and entertainment for a bunch of energetic, sugar laden, Halloween-hyped kids and a lovely seafood dinner for a dozen adults. I sat down on the computer for divine online inspiration and found these cute measuring spoons by Beehive Kitchenware on Poppytalk.

How is this going to help me with my entertaining plans? It's not. They are just cute. And I am procrastinating and surfing the creative websites linking each other for my own enjoyment. No Halloween or seafood recipes here. The spoons do help the cooks. I will be baking my low fat oatmeal cookie crust apple pie for my friends - I just have to find the time to shop and bake in between my art class, substitue teaching Spanish to first graders and shuttling my kids everywhere in the afternoons. I am procrasinating again. Time to find that recipe for dipped pretzel sticks that look like fingers.....

That Seventies Thing - Halloween Style!

My father emailed me this photo today. He has put all of his old photos on CDs so he can pull out random and entertaining pictures easily. He thinks I was around 7 years old when it was taken. Are you digging my costume? And the bag I used to trick or treat with?! Flower power!


My kids think this scene is hilarious. The low tech costume baffles them. Yes, boys, our costumes were cheap plastic masks, easily cracked, and secured around your head with nothing but a piece of elastic threaded through the sides. We peaked out of little eye holes and breathed through little nose and mouth holes. The body costume was a mere printed sack. They all came in colorful little boxes. I wish I still had that weird looking bunny costume in it's cardboard box - it would be worth something today.
(side note...wasn't my mother's car sweet? I wish I had that, too!)

Fine, Fabulous Serving Pieces

For those of you who regularly read blogs, isn't it amazing how you cruise from one site to another and find the most interesting things by clicking the links you see? I have found some of the coolest things by doing this!

I landed at the Reform School site by clicking around, and knowing they are in Los Angeles, decided to explore. I found these most incredible serving pieces by Lorena Barrezueta. Made of porcelain and painting in colors that look like they'd coordinate with anything, they are created to look like take out containers and pie tins! I can re-serve the various side dishes that I purchase at Whole Foods in the little compartmented take out container in a fancy one that looks like it!

Timmie has arrived!

Or I should say "Timmies" because there are two. I have been admiring the cute work of MPatrizio, especially her little green crocheted tadpoles called Timmie. They are numbered and it seems adopted by people who treat them very well and take them on trips. The artist has a Timmie flickr pool where photos of trips and adventures can be posted. My son, who I often mention is a creative kid who loves stuffed animals, had a little stuffed alien from NYC that he wanted to photograph in various locations on our trip there. I showed him the Timmie flickr photos and he HAD to have a Timmie and take pictures. We had to wait a bit but the Timmies finally arrived this past week (yes, I got one for myself). Timmie is taken everywhere! He is well fed (we love the little Japanese Rement mini foods!) and even has his own set of wheels! He is snuck in my sons backpack and we made him his own felt backpack for his maps and things.




I think I buy my kids all of these cute and cool things because I really want them for myself.

Stitch Rock Rocked!

The first indie craft show was held in my area yesterday and it was so much fun! Held in a real vintage former school gymnasium, the event was sold out at 40 vendors. It received some good press and when I arrived about an hour and a half after the doors opened it was pretty crowded. Attendees seemed to be a mix of the cool, hip young adults that are familiar with the indie scene (that included the friend that I invited along) along with folks that wanted to check out new and different craft show. It was overwhelming to see all of the creative offerings from the artists and crafters at their booths. Lots of fun jewelry, vintage and created-from-vintage clothing, t-shirts, soaps and cosmetics, vegan doggie treats, collaged tables, artwork, handbags and more! And very popular cupcakes. I got to meet a fellow Etsyfest member (many of the vendors had etsy stores)and I discovered there was not one but two awesome stores in the Fort Lauderdale area that sell the funky things I like to collect. I will be visiting the Pink Ghost and Tates very soon. Tates has a boutique and gallery upstairs called Bear and Bird. They have art shows regularly. I picked up some of the new little Munny's that were at their booth. I realized when I left that I was so overwhelmed with the interesting assortment (and my ever popular thoughts that "I can make that") that I didn't buy that much.

My friend and I each bought a tshirt from Owl Movement. They print artist tees and they are awesome. We had a hard time choosing. Given the month we are in, I chose a kinda cute monster tee. I also visited the Pink Ghost booth and picked up a cute pink plushie (I think it came from Australia. I can't remember. The plushie just wanted to come home with me.) I picked my son up a little ugly doll on a clip for his backpack. My friend picked up this little hat reminiscent of a ladies hat from the 1940's. I'll have to sift through the cards I picked up to see where she got it. When the weather cools a bit she will look totally hip when she pairs it with a black blazer out on the town. She can pull this off (I don't think I can.) I might have to step up my jewelry and stuffie production a bit and get a booth next year. My friend really wants me too as well. She wants to be part of the scene. Who can blame her. Creativity was in the air (as was the smell of cupcakes) and everyone was so nice!

California, here I come!

My husband has (kinda) surprised me with a getaway to Los Angeles, CA! I haven't been there since I was 20, working at a conference for two weeks with very little free time and even less money. Needless to say I am very excited. I have been online researching cool places to go. I was a little disappointed to find out the the Rose Bowl flea market won't fall on the weekend I will be there. Searching for craft shows did result in my discovery that Felt Club's Holiday show will be there! I'm going to have to get the details and go - so many indie crafters that I see in the cyber crafty world will be there. My search will continue for the next month. Any suggestions?