Halloween Wrap Up

Each year we have an adult Halloween party.  When we started, none of us had kids, so it made sense.  I just wanted to share with you some of the projects my sister and I did for the party.  Thanks to my Aunt Stormy for taking the pictures as my camera is out of commission for good.

My sister, Kari, carved these the very first year.  They are fake, obviously but they look really cute all lit up.

Remember the stuff I posted here and here?  This is how I put them together.  Cute bowls, foam and moss form the Dollar Tree.  They looked nice on black table covering.

 

We made these from cardboard (thanks to Uncle Sean).  Kari cut the shapes, I painted the basic color and she added the pizazz, as she always does.

 

This giant spider is one of my favorite decorations.  The pennant, I just printed from here onto yellow card stock and hung with orange yarn. I got the bloody background at Walgreens for 99 cents.

 

Kari really wanted to make her own pinata but after 2 attempts, she had to go buy one.  We were trying to do things on the cheap so she bought a yellow happy face pinata at the discount grocer, spray painted it orange and added a jack-o-lantern face.  It was a hit, literally!

 

Here are the trophies.  I got the idea here and then we ran with it.  We used chunks of wood, Dollar Tree skeletons, gold spray paint and vinyl letters.  It was actually quite hard to get them to stay how we wanted but I think they turned out great.  Here is a closer look at all the trophies.

 

This is Molly and her amazing Peacock costume that won Best Overall.

I also flexed my sewing skills a bit and made my husband, Roger's and my costumes.  Here they are:

This is Roger with my cousin Chelsey.  He was Fat Bastard from Austin Powers.  I sewed the kilt and hat.  I also made the dangle balls on his hat and socks.

And finally, here I am as Honey Boo Boo.  I took a t-shirt and bedazzled it, made the sash and the tutu.  It was a really fun costume to wear.

Only 116 Days Til Christmas

Laying in bed last night, my mind drifted to Christmas.  Then the panic set in.  It's almost September, which means Christmas is right around the corner.  I am a planner.  Usually by this time, I have lists made, days scheduled and at least half my presents bought and stored in my closet.  I hadn't even thought about it until last night and I feel behind already.  It seems the older I get, the less time I feel like I have.  The days haven't gotten shorter and neither have the weeks months or years.  So why do I feel this way?  Needless to say, I couldn't sleep until I had at least started my list.  I will just quickly share how I set up my spreadsheet and maybe you too can get a jump start on your holiday planning.

Its really basic.  My Column Headings are:
Recipient        Gift       Bought       Wrapped

Whenever someone gives me an idea of what they want, I just enter in and once it is bought, I place a check mark in that box.  It is amazing how checking off those boxes can make you feel accomplished.

Hope this has helped you out a little bit, I know I feel better and am online shopping as I post this.  I am having camera issues so that's why I haven't posted anything new lately.  I do have an awesome Fried Chicken recipe to share and in preparation for my Bunko hosting duties next month, I will be trying out a bunch of other new recipes.  Stay Tuned!