Spooookkkkyyyyyyy Luminaries

This is a great way to reuse your glass spaghetti and pickle and mayo jars and make them into something fun for Halloween.

So simple...  Have your little one paint the inside of the jar a solid color, depending on which creature they are making. 

There are a few different ways to do the face.  For my 2 year old, I took a permanent marker and drew the face on the front of the jar.  For another of hers, I cut out face pieces, and she put them on the jar.  For my 4 year old, I drew face pieces on black construction paper.  Then, I gave him scissors, let him cut out the pieces, and using a glue stick, he put the pieces on the jar.  And obviously, we had to grab the googly eyes for one.

Add a candle and there ya go.  Such a fun use for old jars!

Bringing the Beautiful Fall Colors Indoors

Our yard is sooooo covered with leaves already.  Its crazy! 

Coming in from school today, the kids decided to collect a bunch of their favorites.  They brought them in and put them on the table.  Sooo pretty... So we decided to decorate with them.

I took out some thread (my son made me get thread to match each different colored leave) and tied the leaves to the light over the kitchen table.  What an easy way to bring the fall indoors.

Halloween Worthy Lunch - Hot Dog Spiders

I am really excited that Halloween season is finally upon us.  To kick-off my favorite time of year, we had super spooky (ok, not really) hotdog spiders for lunch.  Umm, can you say, "Cool"??

Cut up some hotdogs, stick some spaghetti noodles thru, boil in a super-big pot for 10 minutes, lunch is served!!  (Thank you whoever originally pinned this.  Ive seen it a few places and always think its soo darn cute.)

I feel I should add:  yes, our hotdogs ARE pink.  They are Valley Dale... mmmmm  the best. 

My picky eaters loved it, although, one ate the noodles while the other ate the hotdogs. 

Thanksgiving By Candlelight

I guess I should have posted this a little sooner so everyone could have saved their Halloween pumpkins, but with the kids being sick lately I am a little behind.  My friend Sarah and I like to make these candles for our Thanksgiving tables.  They are super easy to make and look oh so cute next to a big, fat turkey.

Take some little pumpkins or goards, cut them open on top, and hollow them out. 

Next, melt some wax.  If you don't have a big block of candle wax (I'm sure most of you don't), take all of your old candles you don't like anymore and all of the left-over pieces from candles you've almost burned out.  Melt the pieces in a double boiler.  If you don't have one, you can fill a pot with water & float a smaller pot inside of it.  Add the pieces to the inside pot.  Be sure to use a pot that you no longer use for food, though.  To color the wax, add old crayon pieces.

You'll need to get a wick (either a new one or one out of a candle you no longer need).  Spoon a small amount of the wax into the bottom of the pumpkin, and then push the end of the wick into it.  When it hardens, wrap a pencil around the top of the wick and lay it on top of the pumpkin.  This will keep the wick from moving when the wax is hardening.  After the wick is in place, fill the candle with the melted wax.  The easiest way is to use a disposable cup. 

Once the wax hardens some, the top of the candle will sink in a little; you will need to add a little more wax.

These candles are soooo easy to make and are such a nice touch to your holiday table!!  Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

My little angels, I mean cowboy & indian!

So, I decided awhile back that Russ and Lexi would be a cowboy and indian for Halloween this year.  I had a picture in my head of what I wanted them to look like.  The costumes were totally "make-able" but finding the material would be a little difficult.  I decided I wanted to use real suede, and once I get my mind on something there is no changing it.  Suede is a little pricey, so I searched thrift stores, and second-hand stores, and family members closets and finally found an old men's coat at Good Will that was the perfect color.  I was able to use the coat for both Russ & Lexi's costumes.  I did some creative cutting, lacing, and riveting, and their costumes came out great!!

The vest is made of the front sides of the jacket.  The chaps are made of the back of the jacket.  I took one whole sleeve and turned it into the indian costume.  Finally, I added rivets, hooks, beads, and accessories to finish off the costumes.  I'm very pleased with the end result.