Do YOU Have Googly Eyes?

Oh Martha... You have done it again!

How CAUUUUTE are these shoes and bangles?! They would be perfect for any Halloween Party!



If you want to create your own, go here for instructions.

Wordless Wednesday - Vampires

Stairway to Heaven AKA The Project of the Century

After 3 months of VERY hard work on the weekends, our "Project of the Century" is FINALLY complete!

I am not sure I'd take on a project this big again; however, the result of all of our blood, sweat, tears and frustration was absolutely worth it! Not to mention, after being quoted $150 per STAIR (I have 17) to remove the carpet and install wood, I knew that I would be forced to tackle this project... just me and the Hubby. This project cost us a TOTAL of $125... SCORE!!

There are a FEW blogs out there with a step-by-step guide on how this is done (I wish I had found them prior to starting this project) and I thought I'd share one that was posted very recently.http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2010/10/finished-staircase/

Now... Here's a few before and afters

Before
Don't judge! We think it's as disgusting as you do and that is why we HAD to do something!

Removal of the Carpet (The easiest part)... After we removed the carpet we looked at each other and wondered what we had done.

Wah-Lah! I am in LOVE!

Do these look like $125 stairs to you?! I'm sure if we paid the Professionals $150 a stair, they wouldn't have the slight imperfections that I am loving!

We WILL be staining the handrails... Hope the Hubby is ready for another project. ;-)

And a little bit of Halloween Fun!

**I will warn you that if you tackle this project, it will be extremely frustrating throughout the process. However, the results are more than worth it. We sanded each step prior to staining (what a process) and continue to find dust in places we'd rather not. ;-)

Now... onto the next project.

*Tiffany

Halloween Rag Wreath

I absolutely think this is the greatest Halloween Wreath... There is just something about it that I LOVE!! (Probably the lime-green lettering... it always catches my eye!)

A. Find some super cute holiday fabric. I got a total of 2 yards in four different patterns and had a little left over. You could probably get away with a yard and a half, but it would be close. Also, the original inspiration used a metal hanger as the form but I found a wire wreath form for only $1.99 at the craft store. Since it has four rings your wreath will turn out much fuller. Then just cut strips of fabric, about 6" long and 1" wide, and tie in a random pattern around your ring. I doubled knotted because I didn't want my hard work to come undone.

B. Take a piece of ribbon and tie a loop about the top of your wreath to hang it from. I tied it around the second ring.

C. Next I made a bow to attach to the loop. I made two simple bows, one larger then the other, and then hot glued the two together. Take a small piece of ribbon and wrap that around the middle to finish the look. (D)

E. Glue the bow to the loop.

F. I wanted to attach the word "BOO" but the craft store was out of "b" so I went with "EEK." I painted them green and then topped it with sparkly silver paint.

G. Attaching the letters to the wreath ended up being a little more tricky. I ended up hot gluing a opened bobbi pin to the back of the letter. (Glue it at the top, not the middle like in the picture.) Make a small hook in the end of the pin.

H. Use that hook to hot glue the letter to the back of the wreath. I also had to add a few drops of hot glue to a couple fabric pieces to keep the letters where I wanted them.And your done, just hang and enjoy!

Isn't it the CAUUUUTEST?! Just think of the other wreathes you could make using this same idea! Christmas, Spring, etc... Now, GO GET CRAFTING!!

Check out this rag wreath featured at A Little Bit of Everything

**I always like to give credit where credit is due, so if anyone in Blogland knows who featured the "Eek" Wreath, please let me know so that I can add a link to their post on this one. Thanks so much!

Boo!

Check out this FABULOUS project from Everything I Love and More

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the Holidays? Fun crafts like this one make me LOVE the Holidays even MORE!



The wood was all unfinished and she painted everything with Americana acrylic paint in Lamp (ebony) black. The canister lids were silver, so I did 4 coats of paint on those little guys.

She filled all 3 canisters with colorful candy corn.

...and this is her finished project.

Aren't these just the CAUUUUTEST?!

For Christmas just change the candy and ribbon and paint red letters to spell JOY.

Pop the Pumpkin

Did you see this cute Halloween party game idea from Martha?

Gotta LOVE Martha... She is AMA-A-ZING!



Wouldn't this be great for a back to school party? Just switch the orange for red balloons & you have an apple pop!

Halloween Decorations

Shelley Smith from House of Smiths and Wonderfully Wordy (two of my FAVE Blogs) has done it again!

Is this awesome or what?

I'm having my Sorority's Annual Halloween Party at my House this year, so I better get going on my Halloween decorating!

thank you so much Shelley for sharing all your creative goodies with us on your blog. You are pretty Spectacular!

Happy Halloween!!

Wishing everyone a Happy Halloween!!

Our evening will consist of Trick or Treating, a Goosebumps Movie & "Popcorn" Cupcakes

Fun! Fun!

Mummy Dogs

Mummy Dogs

This recipe has been passed around quite a bit & I thought I'd to make my own.

Ta-Da... Mummy Dogs!!



Creativity in the kitchen ROCKS!!


Wishing you & your family a SPOOKtacular Halloween, from my Spectacular family!

It's PUMPKIN time!!

You can't have Halloween without carving PUMPKINS!!

Here is a quick pic of the pumpkins my boys & I carved.



Do you and your kiddos carve pumpkins?!

The trick or treating and doorbell ringing begins in 2 days and I can't wait!! I love seeing the excitement in the kiddos faces and the creativity in their costumes. I think Halloween is as fun for me as it is for them!!

Candy Corn Cupcakes

I LOVE Candy Corns & I LOVE Cupcakes, so what's a creative girl to do?!

Candy Corn Cupcakes... AWESOMENESS!!



Doesn't this picture make you want to dive in?!



Ta Da! Candy Corn Cupcakes!

And the best part....

They are Oh-So-Colorful!!

Candy Corn Cupcakes

1 box butter cake mix

3 eggs

2/3 C water

1/2 C softened stick of butter

Yellow Wilton Color Gel

Red Wilton Color Gel

Directions:
Prepare cake batter as directed. Combine all ingredients until incorporated (about 30 seconds).
Scrape sides of bowl and then beat on med-high speed for 3 minutes.

Divide batter into 2 separate bowls.
I used yellow and red (no taste) Wilton Color Gels
Use food coloring to color batter to desired intensity. I used approximately 1/4 t and they were very bright!

Fill cupcake liners halfway with yellow batter first and top with the orange batter. Bake as directed and top with white buttercream frosting and a candy corn.

I can't get enough of the Wilton color gels... Try them out in this recipe or your next recipe.

Enjoy!!

Modern Monster Table Decor

Modern Monster Table Decor

Denise Baker from Little Ant Design sent in some pictures of her new Halloween table… and – seriously – how fun is this?! I’m especially loving the bony silver hands that are “holding” the utensils (clever!) and the cool skull & crossbones labels wrapped around the soda bottles…

Where does one get those cool modern trees used in the centerpiece? At IKEA…

Here’s a view the entire table… looks fabulous!

For details on how to recreate a similar table at home, visit “get your spook on: someone set the table”.

I would LOVE to see the table ideas of other bloggers!! If you've blogged about or have creative ideas, let me know... I'll definitely check them out!!

LOVE IT!

Ghostly Goodies

Ghostly Goodies... Genius!!

Every year for my Dad's birthday, I make a chocolate brownie layered trifle. I decided to take the recipe I use, switch it up a bit and created these YUMMO Ghostly Goodies!!

Here's what you'll need:

1 can - Eagle Brand Condensed Milk (a can of AWESOMENESS)
1 box - chocolate pie filling (I used Jello)
1 - 16 oz of whipped cream
1 pkg of Oreos
1 small pkg of chocolate chips (mini would be best, but use what you have)



First you make the mousse...

Step 1: In a large bowl, pour entire can of Eagle Brand into the chocolate pie filling.
Mix until completely combined.

Step 2: Add 1/2 container of whipped cream into Step 1 mixture.

Step 3: Mix until completely combined and fluffly. Now you have your mousse!

In a large ziploc bag, crumble the package of Oreo cookies. This step is simple and the kiddos love to help!

Now you can begin layering your Ghostly dessert.

Layers:

Layer 1: Sprinkle cookies on the bottom of a glass.
(I used a clear glass, because I love the look of the layers.)

Layer 2: Chocolate Mousse

Layer 3: Top the mousse with crumbled cookies

Ghostly Topper:

Snip the corner of a ziploc bag with a pair of scissors and fill halfway with whipped cream.

Top the layers with whipped cream and add 2 chocolate chips for the ghostly eyes!

Enjoy!

Pina Ghoulada

Check out this FUN cocktail recipe from the one & only HWTM!!

PINA GHOULADA

**Insert Evil Laugh Here**

Full recipe & garnish details below…

*****

PINA GHOULADA

20 oz pineapple juice1 can cream of coconut – (15 oz)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup orange juice

10 oz rum (optional, but who am I kidding... Totally using the rum!)

Whisk together pineapple juice, cream of coconut, heavy cream, orange juice and rum. Place 2 1/2 cups ice in a blender, then and add 1 cup drink mixture. Blend until smooth, and pour into prepared glasses. (If mixture is too thick, add more pineapple juice before serving.) Repeat process with remaining ice and mixture.

OR – Make it Quick: Just use frozen or pre-mixed pina colada mix for the drink.

*****

For the “BLOOD RIM”:

Corn Syrup “Blood Rim”(a Martha Stewart recipe)
3 tablespoons corn syrup

1/4 teaspoons red food coloring

Pour the corn syrup in a shallow bowl. Dip a toothpick into the food coloring, and stir a very small amount into the syrup to combine. Hold a glass by the stem, dip rim into the syrup mixture, and turn glass, coating entire rim. Turn the glass upright, allowing mixture to drip down sides. Dip the remaining glasses. Set aside.

*****

For the EYEBALL GARNISH:

Ingredients:canned lychee in syrup, drained (available at most Asian markets)strawberry (or other red-colored) preservesblueberries (fresh or frozen, thawed)
Directions: Dry lychee & fill cavity with red preserves. Insert blueberry, blossom end facing out. Spear with a toothpick or cocktail skewer. Gross!

And there you have it... the PERFECT Halloween Cocktail!!

Enjoy!

Glowing Ghouls

I am LOVING these Glowing Ghouls from Not So Idle Hands!!

I cannot get enough of ALL the fun Halloween crafts and decorations. These goblins really top it off... SO simple & SO cute!! I am definitely trying this out over the weekend!!

See below for the tutorial...

Glowing Monster Jars @ Not So Idle Hands (These are too cute! Tutorial here.)

Witches Brew-ha-ha!

How cute are these invites?!

Seriously...they make you want to throw a Halloween Party, just so you could make them!!

Heartland Paper posted this invite on their blog...WITH....
DIRECTIONS & A PATTERN!!

Complete AWESOMENESS!!