I did it

My goodnees . . It's sure been a long last 6 months. Working on actually getting my cleaning products to fruition has been an adventure!
Insurance, labels, terminology, PO Boxes, ideas, trial after trial, discovering that I am apparently very partial to citrus scents and that cedarwood enhances the scent of a lot of things . . its not just for moth balls! Hahaha.
I've had so much fun and felt so nervous about getting it right that I almost got to the point of talking myself out of keeping this up. The more info I find the more confused I get as to what I can or can't do.
But, I decided to take the leap a few days ago and listed 2 of my cleaning products on Etsy. My best mistake ever the Intense Clean that was a mess up, then we decided, what the heck, let's try using it for regular cleaning and discovered the awesomeness with-in and I made it on purpose and it's SO cool . . cleaned up rust, iron build-up and hard water stains better than some big-name brands (which shall rename nameless), which isn't to say that it was spotless with no scrubbing, but it was darn nice!
And the Get Fresh scent for my all purpose cleaner. I've been using the formulation in my house for over a year and a half, when I realized that the cleaners I was using were making my stomach sick and the kiddos were coughing and yucking for half a day after I cleaned big-time or did a bathroom . .. I knew I had to work something else out.
Now Aphia and I make the soap base, using her soap-making knowledge and reading, lots of reading and experimenting.
So, leia clean is officially launched! And I am SO excited with major butterflies in my stomach at the same time (in a good way) :-) Yeay!!!

The EB is on his way!

Ohhhh .... I'm so excited. Just got my Etsy purchases in for EB presents for the kiddos. Miss Thing is the lucky receiver of an adorable Flutterby necklace by bellabuttondesigns. And for the first time, she will actually be able to have her name on the lovely. The only regret I have in giving the minies unique names is that finding personalized items is very unrealistic. That just means they will get unique personalized items, too right?!
And the D-man is getting his very own first of the series Dragon egg with a hatching whelpling. The lovely Angi of ajoydesigns made a very special order for me!! And she has decided to make more of the cuties and post them on her Etsy store .. .lucky to all of you! Here another one of her Dragon's Eggs, which inspired me to ask for a very special egg.She was so quick to come up with something and it's just perfect for him. I know that I will have to keep him from playing with it, though. But I am sure he will understand that it is to look at - he has several look-ats, but they are just SO hard to keep your hands off of :-)

So, the bulk of my EB shopping is in the basket (hahaha, couldn't resist), since we don't do big presents from the EB. They might also get some special candies from Etsy if I don't steal them before they go into the baskets and I am getting them choc bunnies from the local newspaper staff - -they are selling them to raise money for their Relay for Life team. (BTW - if anyone has any fun ideas for a cake to make that would go with the Back to the Future theme for the cake contest/ auction, drop me a comment. I really need some ideas and I volunteered to make the cake again this year for their team).

Have a wonderful weekend!

since you've been gone

So, missed me much?! Hahaha!

Been doing the physical life thing lately .. hubby is working on his last semester of school and he will officially be Total Math Geek and have his coveted math degree ... hehehe. Truthfully, this big-time math stuff is major confusing, I remember being the 'can I try to explain this to you so that I can understand it better' monkey back when we were both in school and just zoning out because if I really tried to understand it would have been hours of explaining and I would have not had time for my school work. So, in the words of Ren and Stimpy "Happy, happy, joy, joy - we're almost done!"

I am currently looking for some super Easter finds for the kiddos and have found a few .. a fellow BSMET member is custom-making a dragon egg for the D-man and the pics I saw so far are unbelievable! Have also found the sweetest necklace for Miss Thing that is serving a better purpose, as it is for the Cora Paige Project (read more by clicking on the link). I will have to show off the goodies after I get them purchased in the next few days, so they are not snagged up by someone else :-) and so that I have time to ask the artists.

Have a wonderful Tuesday, all!!

Blowing my top!!

So, I have a few issues that I am very peeved about recently, but this one has topped my list for sure. The new Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act is out of control!!
The CSPC has decided that the law will apply retroactively for all children's products made and sold prior to Feb 2009 - if there is no certification label you can be (according to the written law) fined and convicted for merely GIVING AWAY your children's used clothing. All used clothing and toys will end up in landfills.
And many, many home-based and small businesses will go out of business! The testing is outrageous and each item has to be tested. They are considering exemptions for wool and wood, but currently no exempts for cotton, hand-made, or even made in the USA or Europe where there have not been findings of lead added to paints or phalates added to plastics. If this law is supposed to be directed at the lead additives, etc from Chinese manufacturing plants and large-scale menufacturers then THOSE are the places that need to be affected by this law, not everyone. Or there needs to be realistic and AFFORDABLE testing. $4000 or even $500 per item is NOT reasonable for small businesses or handmade.
I understand that there is a chance that something may get into cotton (fertilizer, sprays, treatments, chemicals), but think about how many chemicals our children are exposed to by breathing the air after it is sprayed with a room freshener or after a suface is cleaned with a chemical-based cleaner (which most are).
So ... to save anyone who might be crazy enough to read this from more of my tirade, here are a few places to check out:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/264507
http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/ComponentPartsComments.pdf
http://www.wileyrein.com/docs/publications/13763.pdf

http://www.cpsc.gov/about/cpsia/summaries/101brief.html -- this is understanable, but give us better testing methods, please.

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia

The time for snow

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas ...

While I am a fan of the white Christmas thing, I am NOT a fan of driving in 'near emergency' road conditions in order to go to a meeting for a fundraising event. Leave the house, all is merry and bright . .then 3 miles down the road . .. slushy, slippery, icky gooey . .. just plain yuck!
Then, after marathon meeting . . with children who although remain rather well behaved, have bumped around under table, hit their heads, sung exceedingly loud and just been their normal goofy selves are totally sick and tired of being at said meeting and 'just sitting there' ... go out to car to brush over 2 inches of wet, oooey, gooey, slush snow type crap off of car.
Have trouble backing up because I am unable to convince husband (who rarely drives said car) to get snow tires, have trouble pulling out of sloped parking lot (double ugh) and still need to go to grocery store. Make it through that lovely place with only 2 floor cleaning incidents - meaning one child or the other decided to plop self on floor therefore transferring floor dirt to said child's coat, pants and most likely at some point into their mouth, because even 6-year-olds still lick everything!
One of said incidents involved both children on floor at register *I give up and we only went in for 5 things!!* wrestling, with daughter squishing son and an store employee walking past giggling and asking lovely children of mine if they were practicing making snow angels.
It's January 2nd and I have officially already won the mom who gives a rip if her children are dirty, laying on the floor being total dorks award. Yipppeeeee for me!!

After grocery store adventure, we get the drive home adventure. 45mph max on the highway - my idea of a super fun time, let me tell ya! Make it home without slipping off the road - phew, some other people apparently didn't see the slushie crap on the road and were no longer on said road.

Now I must remind myself why snow isn't always that bad . .and skiing is not a factor, could care less about that sport - hurtling down the side of a mountain with to sticks on my frozen feet, well, no appealing to me. I peeked through the photos from this winter break so far and found this one - our giant snowman (hubby had to stand on a chair to put his head on) and the sweet smiles of the dirty, floor crusted children!Then there is the recently discovered by floor cleaning kiddos sport of snow dodging! Let's see if Daddy can hit us with the foot of snow he is shoveling off the roof.
I wonder if Sarah Palin did this she could hit Russia with the snow? Oh, naughty, but I could not resist that one.
Happy snow day!!

Too much, too little

I feel like lately I have way too many things to do and way too little time and am therefore accomplishing very, very little. Then it dawned on me that, it's the Holiday season and I am so not the only person that feels that way right now.
So . . .off for some BSMET shopping goodies, I am deciding on what goodie to get for myself after the holiday rush!
Check out this little Treasury of goodies, until the 18th, that is!
I want it NOW

Have a great night!
Cheers,
Jamie

Getting a handle on the gifts

I did manage to get a few gifts for the holidays before now and I so thought I was getting ahead of the game, then I realized CRAP! Christmas is less than a month away! I have a ton of stuff to get done before then and I had promised to make the kiddos new stockings this year. Grandma K had made some the Christmas each of them were born, but after 4 or 5 years of abuse, they are not so happy looking anymore.
So, Miss Chatterbox and I went to the fabric store yesterday and picked out a lovely sparkly pink for her to go with some fabric I had at home. She wants a bird on hers, too . . so we bought some cute little dove buttons and she also ga-ga'ed over some cute pink roses that 'exactly match' her pink fabric and a butterfly. I want to convince her to let me make her a bracelet from the butterfly - its a wooden button with the raised back, so perfect for a cute bracelet.
She picked out a fun green star print and an off-white w/ light gold snowflake print for the other stockings. I will make a fun applique for D's stocking if he wants, so that his is special, too. And I have some fun buttons to add to his.
Will have to post pictures after they are done.
I did get a fairly decent amount of shopping done over the past couple days. *phew*!!
Check the fun pom-pom/ marshmallow guns from BoyToys - I got for a whole slew of giftees and they're handmade to boot!!
Awesomeness :-)

And these so adorable butterfly origami hair ponies for Miss Chatterbox and niece Princess, from Asianexpressions
She also made a gorgeous set of cranes that I am turning into a mobile for above the MIL's new spa tub. They match perfectly with her decor and theme! And, Asianexpressions is a member of The Big Sky Montana Etsy Team.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving - I have to get some more cleaning done and clear out a shelf to take out of the livingroom before tomorrow, because then its the start of the cooking marathon. Turkey, ham, green bean casserole, coconut cream pie . . .on and on for 15 people! I'm really excited, though. I think it will be fun to have everyone over.

Have been so forgetful!!

I have just been plain not willing to let the time pass or just forgetful - not sure which. Thanksgiving is a mere week and 1 day away and I have 12 people coming over for dinner! Just rearranged the livingroom to better suit company and open it up a ton! The kiddos woke up this morning like it was Christmas (seriously just about that excited .. but they are pretty excitable) jumping around and D saying how much he loves it. LOL.
Now I have to get to the pile to go to storage, go through my craft stuff - fabric is done, now it's to beads, wire, scrapbooking extras, computer parts, odds and ends, and thread & needle stuff. Gah! I seriously have a craft issue.

I am going to try and go as handmade as possible, but the boys in my life are not making that easy at all! Miss Chatterbox is easy, though!! She wants fairies, a lamb from Judy Liz, and a white deer from Fantastic toys. She also wants a fairy house and I will be searching for one for Gramma Kathy to get her. Should be fun!!


The D-man, however, yearns for a Nintendo DS - yikes!! Starting the hand-held electronics thing a bit early. I think I may look into Leapsters, too, though. Hubby says the DS does have educational games, but not sure if I'm ready to sink a couple hundered into a game for 6 year-old who is getting a lizard for b-day that isn't cheap.

And daddy is asking that the kiddos pick out his present all by themselves. I asked them what store they wanted to go to and they said WalMart and I almost choked. I told them that WalMart is the answer to all the shopping one can do . .that we could go to a more electronis-type store, we could look on-line and we can keep thinking about it. So, changed tactics and asked what they want to get him. D answers, "Daddy like pirates, cause he was going-ta be one for Halloween. So, pirate stuff." And Chatterbox goes off on a Halloween tangent and we get home, so conversation turns to what snack is. I will keep working on them to ditch the WM idea and shop elsewhere. I do understand the need for big-box stores, but I want them to appreciate the other things, too.

Off to do something in the way of going through beads to take to girls group tonight.

Later!!

Turkey Day Contest on Etsy

Gooble, gooble! Yes . . .it's coming - the attack of the turkeys and relatives!!
AHHHHHH

Hahaha! I am trying to get ready for the housefull in less than 2 weeks (yikes! Not even close to cleaned-up) and meanwhile procrastinating on the cleaning thing by playing and making stuff on Etsy! I am so in love with all the wonderfully fun, interesting and absolutely AMAZING things I find on Etsy. I already have a few Christmas items bought and picks for hubby to get me. Gah -- back on topic.

MissKnits and sarahinflorida are running a Thanksgiving Contest here at this forum thread.

Stop by and vote for your fav by giving it a heart - yeppers, that means that if you do not have and Etsy account of your own - shame on you!!! - you gotta get one so you can VOTE FOR MY COMP-U-COPIA (completely shameless plug).

Check out all the listings at once and MissKnits awesomely fun blog at: missknitsetsy.blogspot.com: Etsy Thanksgiving

And hop on over to Etsy to get your hand-made on!!

So excited

Woooo!! yesterday I finally got to see my friend make some soap and it's for my new laundry detergent, too!! I was so nervous about it . .. soap making is so not something that I would ever attempt on my own, no matter what, but with her help and confidence, we'll be cooking up tons of stuff soon!

I can't wait to get really going and get labels, stamps, ingredient lists, packaging and all that fun stuff for this cleaner line! WOOOO-WHOOOO! I don't think I have ever been so excited about something in a long time - well, something that didn't have to do with the kids.

Soon we will be making the liquid soap and I can whip up the spray cleaners and then move on to the other sprays I am working on.

Yeay, and yeay, yeah!!

Have a wonderful Saturday night!

The struggle

hmm . .so I have really been struggling to try and work on my time and scheduling myself time for this, that and the other. I get a good plan worked out and BAM, something comes up.
Miss Chatterbox has a bad day and needs constant attention, I need to take so and so to this, hubby has a ton of homework and cannot help with anything, a volunteer gig takes way more time that expected, taking someone to the airport and on and on. I absolutely have no problem doing those things - this is not me complaining about having a gazillion things to do. This is me wondering what on Earth I am going to do to make a schedule work?!
Agghhh! I seriously have all these wonderful ideas and fun projects ... things I need to research for the cleaning stuff and books to read to get even more info on herbs and essential oils ... new items to put together for my Etsy store and blogs, networking sites and social sites to keep up with ... kids to take to appointements and take to and from school ... kids to rad to and spend time playing with or crafting with ... dishes to do, rooms to clean, clothes to fold ...
In otherwords all the gazillion things every mom has to do everyday. I just can't see to get a schedule to work for me! And if I don't schedule then there are certian things that I just simply don't get done and those things tend to be the creating things.
Anyone out there in mommy crazy land have any ideas?!?!?! It almost seems like now that I only have one at home it's harder to get things done.
Anyway, I would love some hints and ideas that you might do to try and get things done.
Timers, charts, hour-by-hour time schedules . .etc. Then how you work around big interruptions ie taking 4 hours of your day to do something to help someone that you had not planned on.

Yummy muffins

Alright .. I got the picture of the yummy muffins. Don't think they look so yummy in the picture, but really, they are very good - not too sweet, nice and moist and pretty good for you as far as those things go.

getting my act together

Ok, so once again I totally bombed the blog test - if there is one.
I am not giving up, though! There are so many fun things going on that I forget to stop by and do my bloggie ... well, maybe if I knew there were people sitting there, waiting for me to post I might be a bit better - ROFL!!

So today I am going to be totally random and share a recipe for some yummy pumpkin muffins. It started as a pan of bars recipe I found and have switched up a bit to put more good stuff in it and still keep it kid-yummy.
Here it is:
1-1/2 cups pumpkin pie filling
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups applesauce (unsweetened is best)
1/2 cup safflower oil (or a vegetable oil)
4 eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons (or to taste) cinnamon
2 cups wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans *optional
1/4 cup white or vanilla frosting *optional
about 48 pieces of candy corn *optional and you may need more
orange food coloring *optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line 2 muffin tins with wrappers or lightly grease. I have only one good tin, so I have to do this in 2 batches, but they bake better when you only do 1 tin full at a time.
In a large mixing bowl, beat pumpkin, sugar, applesauce, oil, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a meduim to small bowl; gradually add to pumpkin and applesauce mixture and mix well. If adding pecans, stir in by hand after pumkin and flour mixtures are well mixed.
Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. If you do 1/2 instead, you will end up with about 28-30 muffins, instead of 24, but I think the size is better for little ones.
Place, one pan at a time in preheated oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center muffin. Cool while you bake second pan full.
** (optional part - helps to make the muffins more kid-appealing) While your last batch cools, combine frosting and food coloring in a small bowl. Place orange frosting into a small piping bag, or resealable ziplock and snip off a small tip on one end. Pipe small dots where you would place the eyes, then place candy corn over the frosting dots so they stick. Then, pipe funny pumpkin mouths onto the muffins. Serve for a snakc, breakfast of special treat.

These muffins could also be given a more Thanksgiving flare by making little turkey-type decorations of pilgrim hats on top. Or decorate for fall by piping a leaf shape on top. My son absolutely loves them and his classmates the past 2 years devoured them, too!

I will try and post a picture of the yummies tomorrow!

been off in too much land

My goodness - -so sorry I have not been updating!
I am going to get myself over here and add some too fun Halloween things tomorrow, so tired right now!!
Sleepy time. Have a great Thursday and Spook-filled Halloween!!

Halloween is SO my fav holiday

I think I have finally realized why it is my favorite. While dressingup in your choice of crazy costume ranks high and getting tons of candy (pass the chocolate and ditch the smarties, K) is up there, it's not quite it.
I am not big on the being scared thing - I remember liking that in about middle school, staying up and watching creepy movies (when Freddy was, like, so scary - hahaha), but now it is definately not for me. I help out at the annual haunted house by making goodies and helping manage the line, but I will not go in. The lady that does it does a crazy scary job!
So, anyway, I finally figured it out! It's a holiday of sorts - I try to remember it as less to do with commercial stuff (make our own costumes here) and more of a harvest celebration, the coming of winter and all that. But, it's no stress. You get to just have fun, be silly and don't have the big "holiday" hoop-la. Makes it so much more bearable.
Speaking of no stress - I have yet to start making costumes, so I am feeling a bit out of sorts on that. But we do have just about all the parts for the fairy and all we need are black clothes for bat-child. I am going to be a geek - so get to dress up like hubby - -hahhaha!!!
So, up until the big day I will be posting fun finds from Etsy for Halloween.
Look for a few later today.

the bleach debate

Seriously wondering if bleach really does any good. I know that it destroys everything, but really think about it - it destroys EVERYTHING! Your nose, your clothes, your carpet, anything it touches. Kiddos and I have been sick on and off for about a week now - I think mine is mostly just plain exhaustion - and I have still yet to bring on the nasty stuff.
Been trying to keep up a bit more on vacuuming, dusting the floor with baking soda before, cleaned up the bathrooms from head to toe with my homemade cleaner and double-duty on the kitchen counters.
Then I found myself this morning thinking - should i suck it up and get the bleach out?! Then I realized that Miss Chatterbox was sick at the beginning of the week, but has not gotten sick again. Little Dude has not been feeling superb for a few days, but has not actually gotten sick, sick. So maybe he was taking so long to get rid of it because he just couldn't get it out - if you catch my drift.
Hubby is still unaffected and I truly think mine is just plain not being able to sleep and in pain from lame shoulder issue.
So, I will hold out and wash sheets to get rid of beddy germs, clean kitchen floor and wipe up bathroom doors and counters again. Then we will tell if bleach really is all it's cut out to be - or if plain old non-hazardous cleaning and waiting it out for a reasonable amount of time is really where it's at. I have no desire to deal with super bugs and all that crazy stuff - so I will not do the mommy panic and go overboard and spread more chemicals and yuck through my life.

Now, off to cleaning a bit and contemplating the joys of cleaning with stuff that I do not need a mask, gloves and goggles and crappy, ruined clothing to use. And relish in saving all that rinsing water and not poluting my front yard with my septic draining nasty chemicals into it because I had to have the germ free zone.

wack jobs in the book store

So, went to the "big town" that actually has a CostCo, Target, Ross, etc for the day to shop with little sis and goofy nephew with little chatterbox daughter and we were there to witness the wack-job of the day spout about socialist freaks and bleep bleep bleep yelling at a poor clerk in Big-Box-Bookstore about the books from and about "those stupid liberals" on a SMALL table display which were accompanied by books by and about . . .guess who? the apparently only sensible ones out there, the conservatives.
Gah . . .dude was seriously off his flipping rocker. Swearing up and down, making insane accusations that the bookstore was trying to brainwash the general public into believing "that socialist bullsh**". He even went on to make comments that would have him under investigation as a terrorist or at the very least someone of 'interest" to certian persons on protective duty to presidential candidates Granted, no direct threats as to what he would do, but the desire to see some one no longer alive. Yikes!!!
If said wack-job had not appeared so unstable, self would have walked up to him and told him that he was harming my child by using offensive language and wishing some one no longer a member of the planet Earth.

Wack-job even asked the poor clerk who just wanted to get him out of there before he made a huge scene (poor, poor guy) to give him the number and address for the corporate office so he could tell them how said chain bookstore was dissillutioning the public by having those books on display and should not allow this store to display or carry said books. It was apparently not even a matter of opinion. Cannot recall exactly what wack-job said, but it was along the lines of the ideas were so harmful that freedom of speech did not even cover them. WOW! So wanted to tell him then his freedom of speech should be revoked for being such and idiot!!!

I will say that said clerk did a very good job in not even responding to wack-job other than to ask him to step out the door and "have a good day" and give him the info he wanted. I seriously doubt my ability to be that calm while I was being yelled at like that over something I had no control over . .. and being the crazy liberal I am would have given him a piece of my mind.

major brainstorming

So, Aphia and I are getting down to business, although she already has a pretty good head start on me, we are both really excited to just get things going for our new ventures.
She has a name picked out and is ready to go, I have a HUGE list of potential names, but none really feel like the name. I have narrowed it down by doing some online research for something that has a similar name, or even if I thought of a name already out there - want to get my bases covered.
Now, I will have to find some good info as far as natural products and what is good, bad, better .. and still waiting for government yoo-hoos to give a rip about what I asked and get back to me.
Also wondering if I am wasting my time when I do Etsy store upkeep and such. I know that I will still be doing a few things here and there for itsiebitsies, but just not sure what the time scale will be. Really why I don't want to just ditch all the work I've done. And I know that I still want to do some of those things and have fun making my creations.
Then, I keep taking time off from thinking to watch things like debates (they are all so peeving me off!!!) and other less politically important, but oh, so much more sensible (haha). Like Top Design, What not to Wear ...
And I just had to watch Project Runway last night - - of course LeAnn would win - - I mean, duh. Korto does marvelous work, but I could just tell after the episode that Joe got the boot it would be LeAnn. She did fabulous work on her collection and was horrahed for almost each piece.
I would LOVE to see if Korto does work that she sells, but alas, I am probably too chunky for her stuff - size 10?! huh, what, that's a large, don't you know?! Blah. And I don't think I would be able to to fork over what she is worth to have her make something for me . .. wouldn't I love to, though. If the business venture takes off ... tell you where I'm shopping. Weee-whooo!
Kenley's collection had a few really fun pieces, too. The pinkish dress with the painting on it . .. LOVE!
Seriously, they all did something far beyond me and totally amazing .. Major congratulations to all 3 ladies.
Alright, off the PR tangent.

And on to my fun finds tonight:
The toys made by FantasticToys are just so wonderful! These fawns are so cute. Makes me wish I was little so I could have all of them. My daughter loves the butterfly puppet and mushroom house she got for her Birthday from FantasticToys!

And of course, the to-die-for-geekieness of GeekCentralStation!! Hopefully I can snag a Luke, or *hint* an Anikan for the little dude for Christmas!! This one is a pattern for the clothes, but I need the little guys - just do not have a crochet skill to try to make these guys.

Halloween has begun

The yearly scramble to get costumes done is coming close - hopefully I can get started early enough this year, though. I think I have everything for kiddo costumes. Just did a hardware store run for supplies, but may need to go back for more heavy wire. We'll see how far I can get.
DD wants to be a "scary fairy with purple and a little black" - I did not realize that at 4 years old you would want to be a Goth Fairy, but, hey, I think I can still make it cutsie and get away with it. Just won't use dark, dark purple and only a small amount of black. Apparently the 'scary' part is to be accomplished using fake vampire teeth, too. At least that is what I was told.
Then, DS wants to be a bat with scary teeth and claws. I think the major desire to be a bat stems from the desire to run around all day and night making horrible high-pitched screeching noise he makes when pretending to be a bat. And, no, not Batman - not even a little, a real bat. Will have to invest in glow-tape or glow-in-the-dark fabric paint for these costumes. Have not yet had such dark ones that we need to worry as much. So far has been more of the ghost, princess, Bob the Builder costume set - -ack! does this mean they are growing up?! EEEEKKKKK - -now that is mommy's Halloween scare.

And DS wants to make a spooky house for Halloween, too. We are going to make some skeletons and bats out of the wood left over from grandparent's remodel and bought some cheap black and white spray paint today and some cool chain to hang them with. I am really excited to have a DIY Halloween this year. It should be so fun! Plus, I am making a goal to make an entry for the DIY Halloween Contest being hosted/ sponsored, what ever you call it by instructables.
Halloween is one of the best holidays, and I really use it as a chance to showcase my creativity, rather than spend a boat-load of moola.
Look for my entry in my Etsy store: itsiebitsies



These awesome shadow puppets by orangemoontoys would look too cool in a Halloween Decoration. I can picture them set up on a spookified table by being placed in different sized bottles and jars - all painted black.
Brilliant idea, if I do say so myself!









And this guy might just be batty enough for the DS, but I doubt I can get him to wear a necklace. Would make a superb addition to a vampire or witch costume! Made by RockPaperSilver.










Happy Halloweening!! Catch you later.

Road trippin by my lonesome

Get to have some real chill-out time to myself this weekend, too bad it's all going to be driving and driving over snowy mountain passes at that.
Alas, I think I will be ok .. .been driving in the good old Montana since I started driving. Back roads, dirt roads, snowy roads, wet roads . .. all good. Just keep me away from those big old, nasty bridges and don't make me look down the steep drop-offs and it will be smooth sailing-ish.

Haha. Did record some of my tunes - no listening to that country stuff!

So here are some fun finds for you to enjoy while I'm driving away.



DoSiDough makes some awesome looking playing dough. I am afraid to buy it only because it really does look good enough to eat and I can so see some people here giving it a nibble.














This little guy is just cute and scary and all Halloweenie! Love him! Check out curlsofsunshine for patterns and cute little toys!