Pumpkins and Spice...

What a busy Halloween!

For some reason I was taken over by some crazy drive to pull everything out of my Halloween bag of tricks like some kind of superwoman. Not sure where that came from or what I was "possessed" by!

This is what I took on as my way to celebrate:

1. Craft time with the girls in my family:

2. Caramel Apples: using Werther's Originals and Honey Crisp apples...yum!

3. White Chocolate Ghosts for Sophie's Halloween party: (it was supposed to be treat-free, but when her teacher told the class that, Sophie piped up that I already had all the ingredients and would be "disappointed" if I couldn't send them in. Lucky me!

4. Craft time with some of Sophie's friends (too busy to take many photos!):

We made little Halloween trees with paint and glitter!

Annual Pumpkin Carving Party:

We had my spicy chili, rolls, delicious chicken soup and apple crumble pie made by one friend, and this decadent chocolate cake made by another friend:

 And the annual stoop shot, posing with their pumpkins:

 And last but not least, Halloween itself!!

Busy, but happy...

Happy Halloween!!!

It's that time again!

 Well, it took me long enough.

Poor Sophie. What is becoming of her mother?

I finally dragged the Halloween totes upstairs and we set to decorating the house for the holiday.

I only used about 1/3 of what I own, though.

Now THAT"S scary!

I did keep with tradition, though, and had a little craft session with my mum, sister, and our little girlies.

I scoured the aisles of Michael's (love that place!) and picked up some 50% off Martha supplies and a few other ditties to make our crafts.

This is what my mum and I made (from an inspiration photo I found on the web, but forgot to mark the source! Drats!):

Easy peasy: A little glue, glitter, craft paper, and my mum's talent at paper cutting (she can draw anything!). It looks just like the inspiration photo, which I really wish I could show you but can't find it!

(my witch's get-away!)

Oh, and here is my spooky tree which lights up my dining area: 

And some of these adorn the tree. We made them last year:

Lots of Halloween activities left to conquer this week! Sophie wants to make a craft with a few friends and we will likely host a pumpkin carving party on the weekend.

What are your Halloween traditions?

Old-School Halloween...

Back when Halloween was about dressing my babies in adorable, silly costumes, I even channelled my own silliness and donned a costume or two. My kids thought it was fun and no eyes were rolled (well, maybe a few adults'). Check out these old photos of my cuties when they were little... and game for whatever their mummy would encourage them to wear: 

Sophie, aged two: Aren't her curls wild?

A nerd and a ninja:

And their foolish mother. I felt really silly in this get-up, and cannot believe I thought this was a good idea.

Of course, it's probably not a good idea to resurrect this photo, is it?!

~Sigh~

Times were simpler in the old days...

Happy Halloween!!!

Halloween Crafting Party...Matthew Mead style!

When Matthew Mead sent me his newest Halloween magazine, a few pages in and I was already planning a Halloween crafting party for my daughter and her friends.  Sophie loves to create, and although I always do a seasonal craft with her, I could always stand do more. When I pull out the craft supplies I also like to keep it simple. Same day Sally is definitely a good moniker for me. There will be no quilts or knitted sweaters in my future...

What I love about Matthew's ideas are that they really are quite simple and utilize supplies and ingredients you can find readily. In fact, for this party, a quick trip to the supermarket and Dollar Store rewarded me with all I needed to get the party started. On Matthew's suggestion, I baked cupcakes for the girls to decorate using some of the fun ideas in his magazine. Living in a fairly small town, I realized finding fondant would be an obstacle to making some of the cute toppers Matthew molds for his cupcake projects. Initially fretting, I could hear Matthew's calming voice in my head reminding me to improvise, which is a tactic he embraces and encourages his readers to practice when need be. So, a quick scan of the junky candy at the Dollar store gleaned some gummy mummies which rested nicely atop the girls' cupcakes. We also attempted to re-create the bats atop them that Matthew made using black squeezable icing (again, couldn't find the recommended black gel!). The icing didn't work so well, although it was done by a little girl - if I had done it, it would have looked way better...I have a real knack for icing!

Here are our improvised gummy mummy versions:

Then I gave the girls some polished black stones ($1/bag), some chalk to write spooky words on them -again, one of Matthew's wonderfully simple ideas -and a black shadow box style frame which we glued plastic spiders and flies into. Again, it was a project straight out of the magazine!

Behold some works of art:

Matthew also embellishes some of the beautiful embossed Petit Ecolier chocolate biscuits. In the magazine, he piped an icing mask onto the young man, but we didn't have the skill to execute such intricate detail. Instead, we completely changed the tactic, with mixed results:

Mine turned out much better (it's always rewarding to compare oneself to eight and nine year olds). I used more junky bone and pumpkin candies to mimic Matthew's more refined icing versions:

The main thing is that the girls had fun, right? On my own initiative, I also made them Halloween necklaces with scrapbooking charms and bought them a trick-or-treating bag to tote their loot home. Thanks to Matthew and his can-do inspiration, I can go carve another "good mother" notch onto the mantel.

Now go buy Matthew's magazine and earn yourself some kudos!

Matthew, are you proud of me?!

Winner, winner...

Whew!! That took a while! Sorting out so many entries (and double entries) was quite a job, but I managed to pull it off with the help of the trusty random number generator!

Matthew obviously has a lot of fans who are very excited about his new Halloween magazine, and rightly so! Because he is a fair and generous sort, Matthew is giving away a copy of his magazine to five lucky winners. And they are:

Lisa, of The Coastal Nest

Tracy of I Stamp Too

Jennifer of Rosy Little Things

Laura of Piece of Cake

 and Marsha

Congratulations, ladies, and please send me your mailing address (linda@restyledhome.ca). Matthew will ship the books out to you once he returns from the Bonanza! 

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All things Fall lead to Halloween...and a give-away!!

This morning as I headed out to the car to drive my son to school, I had to blast the heat for a minute to clear the windshield. That, coupled with the fact that I needed a sweatshirt, was a stark reminder that fall is inching in and scoffing at the date on the calendar. My favourite TV shows are returning - with a double header of America's Next Top Model last night - and I will have to remember to stock snacks in my hiding spot for my family's Thursday night gathering to watch Survivor. All of these little milestones have gently prepared me to surrender summer and all its glory.

Because we Canadians see Thanksgiving arrive in early October, we don't really get into the swing of Halloween decorating until after we eat the turkey and sleep off its effects. That doesn't stop us, however, from devouring the fun Halloween magazines that taunt us from the newstands. And, of course, it wouldn't be fall without seeing Matthew Mead's second annual Halloween magazine. Like everything Matthew does, this edition is gorgeous...beautiful photography, writing (by Sarah Egge), and simple but fun projects that leave you marvelling, "Why didn't I think of that?!" I had my own surprise when I opened up the book for the first time: in it, Matthew included me in his acknowledgements! It is the first time my name has ever been in print...I feel quite famous!! : )

Have a look at these lush images, direct from the magazine, and head on out to get one before they are all snatched up!

(all images, courtesy of and photographed by: Matthew Mead)

Now for the really fun part:

Matthew has generously offered up five copies of the magazine to be given away to my readers! Simply leave a comment to enter the draw and if you want to better your odds, write a post about the magazine letting your readers know it is on newstands now. You can simply copy the magazine cover photo (found above) and cut and paste this info:

Check out Matthew Mead's newest Halloween magazine: Hundreds of Spooky Treats and Clever Crafts for the Best Holiday Ever! Beautiful photos of easy, creative and fun projects and straight-forward directions and patterns that will appeal to crafters of every age. On newstands now throughout the U.S. and Canada!

...Or write your own!

Leave the link to your post in the comments below and you will be entered twice. If you would prefer to Tweet about it or tell others about the magazine on Facebook, that counts, too. Just be sure to let me know you did so!

***I will draw for the winners on Sunday night and announce on Monday. The magazines will be shipped out after we all return from the Bonanza...just in time for your Halloween decorating!!

The Witch is In...Happy Halloween!!

Taking a page from Matthew Mead's new Halloween magazine, I copied him directly (although not quite as lovely) and staged my own ready-to-wear Witch ensemble in my front entry. This was a fun and easy Halloween display: a pointy, velvet hat with shiny buckle; cape; witchin' shoes;, keys; pet crow; and of course...broom! Every witch needs a broom...

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Traditions are very important to me, and some things just need doin'. In sickness or in health, with brothers or not. With a generous assortment of pumpkins, a bad chest infection (me) and two boy at basketball practice, Sophie and her little friend and her brother (their sister, too, was sick), their mum (my good friend and Scrabble partner) and I decided that pumpkin decorating just can't be skipped.

After a nice supper and some goodbyes to the men in our house, we started carving our pumpkin masterpieces. I made a skeleton, Sophie a scary Jack-o-lantern. Not very creative, I know, but better than nothing, right? I even toasted the pumpkin seeds, which are always a hit with the main man in the house.

After carving, we took the annual porch shot with our pumpkins. It is a bit sad that the boys didn't join in, but it just worked out that way this year, and my oldest had no interest anyway. ~Sigh~

To cap off the evening, the kids decorated some cookies from a kit I bought, and this was a big hit with the girls!

Can you believe I just remembered to dig this great runner out of storage? It is from Pottery Barn (last year).

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**Check out Tanya's (Sunday Baker) post about her take on traditions. She invites you to share yours, and has posted a very special photo of her very own pumpkin carving memories. Tanya is my go-to gal when I don't know what to make for dinner, and I always enjoy each and every one of her posts.

All Hallow's Eve...

Doesn't everyone have a pet crow? I have had this "caged crow" for a few years, now, and love hanging from my porch.

I plopped this wig on this glass head and it is one of my kids' favourites. Easy peasy decorating!!

It's almost here...soon bags of candy will be stuffed in our children's closet - wrappers will be found under beds, on every flat surface, tucked under pillows, stuffed into pockets. Pumpkins need carving, candles bought, costumes need to be rustled up. For kids, it is a magical day. Honestly, could it get any better than being out after dark, endless treats, and a good game of dress-up? For me, the fun is also in the planning: pizza for a quick supper, costumes layed out on beds, and decorations of course...

A rather unassuming Mona Lisa...

...and her more sinister twin:

(I got this at Zellers (Cdn), and the image changes as you pass by)

I had promised to show you what my mum, Sophie and I made on our annual girls crafting night. Normally, I am very prepared with all the supplies in order. This year, I was betwixt and between over what to make. I saw this fun skeleton over at Julie's blog, and decided on the spot that it was perfect for us: a little glitter, a little happy spookiness, and easy to boot. I hunted down some miniature skeletons and ended up buying a garland of them at Walmart for $4 each. I cut up my garland and decided to instead hang them individually on my Halloween tree, and this is what I ended up with:

I used my crown stamp on some cardstock, and then cut it carefully out, glittered it, and hot-glued it to my skeleton. I have three with crowns, each wearing a framed B or O to spell BOO, of course! For the others, I used a witch hat stamp and also glittered the bones a little to give some added sparkle.

Here are some more "pretties" hanging on my tree:



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Don't forget about the pumpkin decorating contest with Ki...awesome prizes...yours for the taking...and only four days left!!