The Smallest Jack-O-Lantern

My large beautiful pumpkin bit the dust before I could carve it. So I grabbed this little guy off of our living room table centerpiece and did the unthinkable! The trick is to use a melon baller to get out the insides. Seriously, I could have probably finished 10 of these in a half an hour.

We are going to a "BOO BOWL" tonight at the local bowling alley. The kids get to dress up in their costumes and bowl for a couple of hours. I was thinking of bringing these little jack-o-lanterns to decorate our score tracking display. Could you imagine the kids faces when I pull pumpkins out of my purse? Haha, I love pulling the ridiculous out of my magically, mysterious, Mary Poppins-like, mother bag. They eat it that stuff up!

Spooky Spiders

This Sunday, we decided it was time to tackle the house decorations. This is what we did and what a piece of cake too!

SUPPLIES:

• Bag of Black Pipe Cleaners

• Bag of Cobwebs

Gather 4 sticks of black pipe cleaners. Place them one of top of the other. Then take another pipe cleaner and wrap it around the legs but this time in the middle of the bunch. Forming a total of 8 legs (4 on each side). Continue wrapping more wire around the center of the legs to create a fuller looking mid-section. Then bend the legs as desired to create the perfectly spooky spidery effect.

For the webbing, keep in mind a little bit goes a long way. Stretch and pull over your chandelier (keep away from the bulbs which can be a fire hazard). Pull down some webbing and attach your spiders. It's a snap!

Pretty ghoul, right?...aaahh I mean, pretty cool, right?

Good Times.

p.s. Incase you were wondering...Yes, the lightbulb is out. Just keepin' it authentic!

Honorable Mention

Alright so I am a little behind in the Bloggin' thing. Last May is when this beautiful artwork was rendered by my "Little Picasso." We knew of a local art show that was accepting junior entries and we just had to go for it! The theme: Children helping children. But that wasn't good enough! He wanted to show how he helps his Bubbie (a.k.a. Grandma). The one on the right is the one that we submitted. "Max helping Bubbie run errands in her car." The other, hangs in my studio and is his very own self-portrait. I am so proud!

This year my son wanted Speed Racer to be his BIG Birthday theme. It was held at his daycare so that the task of parents being notified, waiting for RSVP's and gift giving was eliminated from the equation. (My kiddo has more toys than we have room for, so it just made good sense).

His daycare was gracious enough to give us the "big room" as so I could decorate undisturbed while his class was in session down the hall. The kids were all buzzing with curiosity as I hung racing flags from the ceiling and marked the floor with masking tape creating a miniature track. I also hauled my son's toddler race car bed in to use as a pit stop (minus the mattress). I know, I'm crazy but it was so worth it! I also wanted to create & donate a prop as a thank you for giving me the space "free of charge." So a bean bag toss came to mind. Yay, a chance to use my power tools! Max even helped paint. Gotta brag here, the kids got talent.

Anyway, the birthday party took place just before lunchtime. They came into the room with their eyes as wide as saucers and they had open play for about an hour. We finished the party off with chocolate tire donuts and a Speed Racer storybook. Great smiles came out of that day, great memories and big hugs. Can't believe that he is 5. *sigh*. What a cutie.

By the way, he was all sorts of excited when we spiked his hair up to look like he had been racing. Haha, way too funny!

My son had a friend at daycare who was turning 5! Of course, all of the boys at this age are HUGE into Transformers. I too, once, was a huge fan. This little boy has a name that I am sure was not on a monogrammed bicycle license plate or a snazzy little WB mug or toothbrush. So, why not a personalized stamp? It turned out really neat. I found a little starter kit at Michael's and I think I am addicted! My son already expects his to have "The Batman" on it. How precious is that.