Holiday Cheer

I woke up with a cough and low grade fever- boo hoo! But I wanted to be one of the first to say Happy November! Can you believe we are on the downhill slide to the holidays? 

 
 I've started on my Christmas cards and wanted to share this easel ornament version I made using Treasured Times stamp #616-S, called Sweet Christmas. The November Challenge at Treasured Times, which runs through the 14th, is to use four different shades of the same color and some bling. 

  I used a variety of greens on my 
ornament easel card - sage, lime, grass, evergreen - and colored the image with my Zig Water Pen and Distress Inks.

 

 I also used a snowflake punch with gold glitter paper and a pine needle border punch on the card. 

I cut the ornament shape out with my Cricut in 3 graduated sizes to layer behind the cute Christmas boy and girl. The flowers are K & Company and Prima, and I found the narrow gold tinsel string at Target. If you want to see more Design Team cards go here.

Anyone else working on home crafted Christmas cards or gifts?

Happy Halloween

The countdown is over!

Halloween is here. October flew by so fast it was scary! Here are a few of the decorations around our home.

 One year I was able to talk Handyman into going to the feed store and buying a bale of hay. After the mess it created, he said never again. Haha! Oh, well. He had a point. It made me sneeze and itch being around it! So now I use pumpkins and Indian corn on the porch.

I added fall leaves and a raven to this summer wreath, which gives it a nice autumn feel. Notice the black feather for added panache?

Jack is happy to keep my Mickey Ears safe until the next time I head to Disneyland. He is doing his best as a stand in for our annual jack-o-lantern, which we have yet to carve! College Girl has been so busy with mid terms and papers that the days crept by without even deciding on a design.  Plus, she shared her crummy cold with me and I have not been up to working on the pumpkin. Not to worry, we will carve and scoop before Trick Or Treaters arrive. Below is the pumpkin we carved last year~

College Girl has talked about the upcoming Thor movie for weeks now, so I have a feeling our jack-o- lantern will have a Marvel theme!

photo from asking asgard dot tumblr

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On Days Like These

Pale amber sunlight falls across
The reddening October trees,
That hardly sway before a breeze
As soft as summer: summer's loss
Seems little, dear! on days like these.

Ernest Dowson

photo by Vintage

I can imagine the steam from hot tea spiraling up from this gorgeous leaf-strewn teacup, can't you? It is a Royal Chelsea Red Leaves  teacup and matching saucer. The trade name Royal Chelsea was used from c.1943 especially on teaware for the North American market. Marks do not include the company name, but have the script ‘Chelsea’, ‘New Chelsea’ or ‘Royal Chelsea’ trade name above an anchor.

photo by Vintage at zibbet

On this crisp, foggy morning what would be better than scrambled eggs, fresh berries and hot cinnamon rolls?

 

I even dusted the freshly iced rolls with a sprinkling of more cinnamon. Mmm! While we ate breakfast I decided to do some gardening afterwards, which meant a spruce up for the waning Fairy Garden. A sweet friend of mine recently sent me mini pumpkins and I knew the perfect place for them.

Some of the Irish Moss has dried up and the flowers have shrunken since our North facing yard is getting less sunlight now. A scarecrow has taken up residence near the pumpkin patch to keep the Fairy company!

Are we not better and at home
In dreamful Autumn, we who deem
No harvest joy is worth a dream?
A little while and night shall come,
A little while, then, let us dream.

E. Dowson

Enjoy the last of October~

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Fake Spiders and Scary Movies

Our newest family member is getting right into the spirit of things. He likes playing with the fake spiders we use to decorate at Halloween. This spider looks a little too real for me! 

We watched the 1968 black and white version of Night Of The Living Dead this past weekend. I don't usually watch horror films, but I can handle one from the '60's - that's my speed!  I made a 12" x 12" scrapbook page on it for a Halloween challenge awhile ago - It was fun to make a page about a scary movie! I cut out the trees with my Cricut and did some stitching around the photos I got from google. I used a Martha Stewart punch to make the fence, and added metal corners to the edges of the smaller black card stock.

I can still hear Barbra's brother teasing her and saying,"...they're coming for you, Barbra!" Ewww, gives me the shivers! What movie scares you? 

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Bittersweet October. The mellow, messy, leaf-kicking, perfect pause between the opposing miseries of summer and winter.  Carol Bishop Hipps

The Santa Ana winds are gone for now and the days are lovely. We woke to fog this morning, which was a nice change. I happily sipped my steaming cup of Yorkshire Gold that Handyman made for me...gotta love a man who will make you a perfect cup of tea! 

Pictured above is another charming home I happened to see on my Tuesday afternoon walk. Which one do you like better - this one or the Yellow House? Would you consider this a Craftsman or California Bungalow style home? Either way, it's certainly a beauty.

 

A Yellow House

I took a walk yesterday and snapped some photos of houses in our area to share with you. I love these 100 year old homes with charming porches, original windows, and tall old trees in their yards! This  one had a festive banner hanging above the front door.

 “October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace!” 

Rainbow Rowell, Attachments

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King Arthur in The Kitchen

Ah, banana and pumpkin. Can I hear an "oh, yeah!"? College Girl finished up her mid-terms and papers and decided to do some baking. She found the recipe for King Arthur's Easy Whole Grain Pumpkin Banana Bread online and was soon measuring and mashing bananas! Here is the ingredient list. The directions can be found by clicking on this link.

1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) soft butter

2/3 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons honey

2 large eggs

1 cup puréed pumpkin

1 cup mashed banana, the riper the better

2 tablespoons orange juice or water

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups King Arthur's Premium Whole Wheat Flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup diced pecans, toasted

2 tablespoons Praline Pumpkin Seed Crunch or 1 tablespoon coarse white sparkling sugar, to sprinkle on top

 

We like making a loaf instead of muffins so we can slice and toast pieces for breakfast and tea time. This recipe has a soft crumb and mildly sweet flavor, which I really enjoyed this morning.

I worked on another Halloween card yesterday using a skull stamp I found in the Micheal's dollar section. I used pigment ink and gold embossing powder on the image, which shimmers in the light. To finish the card up quickly I simply added several mattings and tied some black and white bakery string around the harlequin print. I punched the 'October 31' circle from a piece of patterned card stock.

 

Now I am working on Christmas cards and have one ready to share with you  on November first when the new Treasured Times Rubber stamps Challenge begins. This challenge had me using 4 colors in the same family and a bit of bling- wait till you see what I've been up to! 

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Have you met Blanche?

I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it 

all to myself than be crowded on a velvet cushion.  

Henry David Thoreau

 

Here we are in the midst of October and the Girl Scout in me says I better start Christmas shopping. I picked up a few items this past week and need to pull out my holiday binder to start writing down my shopping and to do lists. 

Meanwhile, all the fall decor filling the stores makes me happy. I love this time of year! Our temperatures are still summer-ish, however, and I can't wait until after Halloween when it'll be cooler and I can wear boots, scarves and jackets. Although I drink tea year round - but, you knew that! - it will be nice to clasp a warm cup in my hands on a chilly afternoon. I just became aware that I don't own any Halloween themed teacups. How did that happen? I spotted this charming handmade cup on etsy.

  I like the vibrant orange web on the saucer and the crisp white porcelain teacup with dangling spiders....eeek!

And speaking of orange, have you bought pumpkins yet? Because of the heat we don't purchase pumpkins until the third week of October. I'm buying pumpkins from Trader Joe's this year as they are only $2.99 each! My sister lives in the mountains where it is much cooler and already has pumpkins displayed in her yard. Here is a photo of her Garden Witch~

My sister is quite crafty and likes making the outside of her home as festive as the inside. I wonder what the local bears think of 'Blanche'? 
Look at all those leaves on the ground! The leaves are only beginning to turn color and drop in our neighborhood. I love walking through them and hearing them crunch underfoot. 

Clothes make a statement. 

Costumes tell a story.  

Mason Cooley
 
 

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Cottage Style Party 

Lend Me Your Comb

We've just had one of our first fall Santa Ana wind storms and it had gusts up to 80 miles per hour! In southern California we get these winds throughout the winter season and into the beginning of spring.

 Here is a scrapbook page I made awhile ago with photos taken after one of these blustery days. Notice in the divided picture that there is a large tree branch on the ground? After the winds howl all night we wake to find twigs, leaves, branches, birds nests, etc., scattered all over the ground.

  I don't like the Santa Ana winds one bit. These pesky winds have blown tiles off our roof, screens off our windows, knocked down part of our backyard fence, and have tossed branches and pine cones onto our car as we drive down the road. Years ago the winds struck during College Girls' birthday party and lifted the rented moon bounce in our backyard off the ground! 

However, there is one funny thing about the winds. Do  you know who Domo is?

He is the official mascot of Japan's public broadcaster NHK, appearing in 30-second stop-motion sketches shown as station identification during shows.

 

We have to laugh after each windy session when we drive around town and see piles of pine needles that look eerily like Domo. I half expect a pile to move and look at us with this big grin!

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Tonight You Belong To Me

I just have to share this video: it's so sweet! I've watched it probably ten times. I dare you to watch and not smile! I bet you will find yourself humming this charming tune over the next few days. Have a lovely Friday~

Getting Punchy

O hushed October morning mild,

Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;

Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild,

Should waste them all.

The crows above the forest call;

Tomorrow they may form and go.

O hushed October morning mild,

Begin the hours of this day slow.

Make the day seem to us less brief.

Robert Frost

I am so excited that it's finally Fall. Yahoo! It is my favorite time of year. Happy October - where the days begin to cool and more time is spent indoors with family. All I can think of is cinnamon apples, pumpkin biscotti, gorgeous boots, pretty scarves, hot pots of tea and decorating for the holidays. More reading, too, curled up on the sofa with kitties. Speaking of cats, our newest member of the family is adjusting well. 

 

Sleeping in his cardboard scratching cube

Yesterday he fell asleep draped across my foot as I worked on this 'Boo' card. Treasured Times has a new Challenge starting October 3. The guidelines for this month's challenge are:

•   use the color gold or mustard
•   use a punch
•   twist= use a spray ink or mist

I used Treasured Times Boo Witch Clear Stamp #515-S and Distress Inks. To fulfill the Challenge I used harlequin patterned card stock behind the witch which is mustard and orange. I also used three different punches on this greeting card. Can you spot where I used a corner punch, bat punch and house punch?  I did the twist! I used Perfect Pearls mist on the spiderweb and it glistens in the light. The spiders, jack-o-lantern and red star are adhered with foam to give them dimension.

Join us at Treasured Times: Make a card for autumn, use the Challenge guidelines, then upload your entry here. 

Hearts not averse to being beguiled,

Beguile us in the way you know.

Release one leaf at break of day;

At noon release another leaf.

I am entering this card in the 2 Creative Chicks Halloween Challenge, which ends October 31!

 

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