happy halloween.

second star to the right, & straight on 'til morning.

images courtesy of ana brandt

want to see the entire costume parade?
check out last year's buzz & woody, & the year before's pirate family.

pumpkins, candy, & skully's, oh my!

the decorations are finally up (about time, eh?
all i can say is, it's been one of those kind of weeks months).
does it surprise you that the candy dish is already empty?
check out my whrrl story HERE, for a peek at some of my favorite
 halloween touches. how do YOU decorate for halloween?
leave me a link, i'd love to do a little blog-hopping this weekend!

it's beginning to look like halloween.

finished. yep! costumes are finished (at least the kids' are. costumes for me & the mr. are still in the works.) however, the house is still covered in a mess of glitter & tulle. any guesses on what we are going to be for halloween?

halloween i spy

pumpkins
black cats
spidey webs
candy corn
witches hats
falling leaves
silly bats...

what do you "spy?"

you've been BOO'ed!

around halloween, one of our favorite family traditions is to ding-dong-ditch friends & neighbors. we pack up several plates of goodies, attach the following poem & watch as the ghosts take over the neighborhood...

you've been BOO'ed!
the air is cool, it’s time for fall,
soon halloween will come to all
ghosts and goblins, spooks galore,
tricky witches at your door.

the spooks are after things to do,
in fact a spook brought this to you!!!
the treats that came with this short note,
are yours to keep, enjoy them both.

the excitement comes when friends like you,
will copy it & make it two,

we'll all have smiles upon our faces,
no one will know who BOOed our places!

just be sure that you don’t tell,
keep it secret, hide it well.
please join the fun, the seasons here.
just spread these "BOO's" & halloween cheer.


want to start the tradition in your neighborhood as well this year? print out your very own "you've been BOO'ed!" template HERE.

happy fall.

the temperature outside may once again be in the three digits,
but it is officially fall. have you broken out the candy corn yet?

this is halloween, this is halloween...

to infinity & beyond...

images courtesy of ana brandt photography

mod podged halloween frames

i was looking through pictures this morning when i realized i had never posted pictures of this years mod podged halloween frames. i love the fact that $1 frames from michael's, some halloween-inspired scrapbook paper, a little wood stain & alot of mod podge can create such a fun little addition to my halloween decor. & i love being able to display each & every one of our halloween pictures from past years. i have to admit... i'm going to be a little sad, when it comes time to take it all down & pack it away for another year.

impromptu halloween party.

i love get-togethers, gatherings & parties. but i'm no martha stewart. my soirees rarely proper invitations, or even decorations. they're usually spur of the moment events, that just sort of happen. today is an example of such an event. on monday i realized i had wednesday afternoon free. emails were sent & suddenly we had a party on our hands. at this exact moment of life, we are still deciding on menus & activities, but the following are definitely in the running:

veggie skeleton dip
creep crawly drinks
mummy dogs
lollipop cookies
spider pops
mini pumpkins
apple bites
horr-edible hands
pipe cleaner spiders
oragami bats

creepy crawler halloween treats

THESE look like a perfect afternoon craft & treat to make with my boys.... you can't go wrong with cookies & frosting! if these creepy crawlers don't interest you, you'll find plenty more ideas HERE.

any spook-tacular ideas out there?

yesterday i signed up to help with gavin's preschool halloween party. all the easy stuff was taken, so i'm bringing the main dish/ sandwiches. i've been doing some "research" & thinking up some ideas. i may just end up going with basic sandwiches cut into fun halloween shapes using cookies cutters, but i was looking for some new & exciting ideas. here's what i've come up with so far.

bologna pumpkin head
ritz spiders
coffin sandwiches
spooky eyeball tacos
mummy dogs
breadstick bones
witches finger sandwiches
meatball creepy crawlers

anyone out there have any brilliant thoughts or spooky ideas out there? i'm sure i'm not the only one bringing halloween themed sandwiches to school this year! i'd love to hear your ideas.

image via kraft foods.

eye ball soup

i can't wait until the weather cools down enough for soup. THIS quick & easy recipe is perfect for the halloween season. thanks martha!

paper pumpkins

over the past couple of days ghosts, witches, a few pirates & lots of pumpkins have taken over the house. last year we had so much making these paper pumpkins, that we decided to do them again. you & your kiddos want to make a some too? grab some paper, a paper punch, some floral wire, & a few fake leaves and you'll be making pumpkins in no time. (click on the pictures on the right to enlarge them.)

1. start with a piece of paper. i prefer card stock, but really, any paper will do. & the size really isn't important. different sizes of paper will create different sized pumpkins, so have fun with it & be creative.
2. cut your paper into strips. i usually make the strips 1" wide, but again, be creative. experiment with different widths, or even a mixture. there is no right or wrong way to do this.
3. after you've cut your strips punch a hole in each end of your strip, resulting in two holes per strip, one at each end.
4. stack all the strips on top of each other, line up the holes, & thread a piece of floral wire (about 5" long) through all of the holes. make sure to kink or coil one of the ends of the floral wire to "anchor" it.
5. after you've threaded the floral wire through one set of the holes, fold the paper in a u-shape & thread the wire through the other set of stacked holes. make sense? when you've done it correctly the paper will make a tear drop shape.
6. now, kink or coil this end of the floral wire, once again "anchoring" it. how much space or wire you leave between the two ends of paper is up to you. again experiment with the length of wire you leave. the more wire, the taller the pumpkin will sit. just play with the shape.
7. using some excess floral wire attach a couple of leaves, fan out your pumpkin, & ta da! you are all finished.

this is a quick & easy project, & my kids love to help. they get a kick out of punching holes & helping "thread" the pumpkins. try different colors & paper textures... it's fun seeing what you can create.

bubble bubble toil & trouble

fillet of a fenny snake,
in the caldron boil & bake;
eye of newt, & toe of frog,
wool of bat, & tongue of dog,
adder's fork, & blind-worm's sting,
lizard's leg, &owlet's wing,—
for a charm of powerful trouble,
like a hell-broth boil & bubble.

double, double toil & trouble;
fire burn, & caldron bubble.

unlike the witches in macbeth, this witch's brew isn't made of toads and lizards. instead, i used spray foam insulation. after it was dry and hard i painted it green & hot glued in some toy eye balls, spiders & skulls... care to have a taste?