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?!

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.

The results of the give-away: signed, sealed and delivered by Matthew Mead!!

I have the best blog readers ever!! I have said it before, but it bears repeating! I asked, and you delivered, and now it is time to reveal the ten winners of the Matthew Mead Halloween Tricks and Treats give-away contest!!

Without further adieu, here are the top three winners (as selected by Matthew Mead himself), chosen for their detailed and, often, innovative posts:

Amy of One Day at a Time blog (whose photo of Matthew is shown above!)

Lianne and Paul of The Swirly Designs Blog

and, Cammy Of Freckled Farm blog

Congratulations folks, you will receive a signed, hard-covered collector's edition of the magazine, along with an additional "surprise prize" from Matthew Mead!

The winners of the remaining seven signed copies of the magazine (collector's editions, too) are:

Paige @ Simple Thoughts

Anne @ Cupcakes and Sunshine

Mary @ Be Mary

Erin @ Welcome to the Motherhood

Blueberry (non-blogger, but Matthew Mead fan)

Julia @ Hooked on Houses

Melissa @ The Holiday Queen

**Winners, please send me (linda@restyledhome.ca) your full name, mailing address, and the name you would like the book signed to, by Matthew. For those who didn't win this time, don't fret: Matthew and I will be sponsoring another fantastic give-away very soon!! Watch for it!!

A final word, and message of thanks, from Matthew: "Creating a project like the Halloween Magazine really means nothing unless I can share all of my ideas and creativity with readers. The most joyful thing about technology, and my friend Linda at Restyled Home, is that I actually have the opportunity to connect with all of you. I can't thank you enough for sharing your enthusiasm for TRICKS AND TREATS and hope that its popularity leads to more projects that will bring continued joy and creativity to all of our futures. "

Want an autograph? It's a treat, not a trick!!

Matthew Mead (photographed by Ken Williams)

I warned you. This is command central for learning all about Matthew Mead Halloween Tricks and Treats. But, I didn't tell you that this is also the place to come to win one of TEN autographed, hard-covered collector's editions of the magazine!!! Who needs candy when you can have that in your hands?

Now, you're going to have to do a little work for this prize. In addition to leaving me a comment, you are going to help me spread the word. You see, if you are like me, and want to receive Matthew's magazine monthly, then we have to get all bloggers and blog readers to buy a copy!! What's a magazine without booming magazine sales?? What good are great ideas if you can't have easy access to them? Don't get me wrong, Matthew's website is wonderful, and chock full of inspiration and projects. BUT...wouldn't it be lovely to flip through the crisp pages of his magazine every month - clipping favourite ideas, and inserting them into an inspiration folder...keeping special seasonal and holiday editions and bringing them out each year... easily discovering something you missed the year before? This is where you come in...

To be eligible to win a copy (I repeat, there are ten prizes!!!) simply write a post on your blog, announcing the magazine. Include a photo of, or from, the magazine (see below); Matthew's image (see above); note that it can be purchased at news stands across the U.S. and Canada; include a link to Matthew's website ( http://www.matthewmeadstyle.com/index.php?option=com_flippingbook&Itemid=142); and send me the link to your post (via your comment)so that I can verify it is up, and includes all contest criteria.

Now, because Matthew doesn't do anything halfway, he also wanted me to come up with a way to choose three top prize winners. What do these top prize winners receive? In Matthew's own words: " The top three prizes will include a book and other fun stuff from the production of the book." Hmmm...sounds vague, but very interesting...(I told him we could throw in some of my blog pages autographed by moi, but he didn't bite...)

So, how do you win one of these "major awards"? This is what I came up with: in addition to writing your post announcing the magazine, also leave me a comment stating what your all-time favourite project/idea of Matthew's has been, and/or how you discovered him and what made you become a fan. Now, you don't have to sing my praises too much, because Matthew has taken pity on me and is sending me a collector's edition of the magazine, too. Just a perk of the job...I guess he figured I had blathered on and on enough about him to earn one!!

Oh, and don't worry! We didn't forget those of you who don't have blogs!! We set aside a book or two for you, also. Simply leave me a comment telling me which project/tip/recipe you loved most in the magazine, and a winner will be randomly drawn. Remember, this part is just for those without blogs! And no cheating...I know Matthew has a preview of the magazine on his website...!!

***One last note: this contest closes by the time I wake up on Monday morning, September 15th - at which time I will close the comments. The top three prize winners will be selected by Matthew Mead himself, and the rest will be selected by the random number generator. I will then announce the winners later that day, and the prizes will be mailed out by Matthew Mead.

Now...go spread the word, and earn your chance to win!!!