My Fall Leaf Project

I saw this posted on my pinterest page a few months ago and have wanted to do it ever since.  Of course anything I copy comes out......well.... different, lol.

THEIRS

MINE

Well...what better place to do a leaf project then in Ohio with my sister-in-law Andrea.  First I had to convince her it would be a fun craft.......she caught on right away, lol.  (Of course she loves fall, loves leaves, and loves crafting, so I did have an unfair advantage.  :)    )

So first things first Step 1:  Drive to Pat Catans to find something glass to put our leaves on.  Step 2:  Drive around to different parks gathering leaves, take them from random strangers yards, or from the trees at the school.  Step 3:  Press the leaves for at minimum of 36 hours.  (If you are as excited as we were to do this project it will be a very long 36 hours. lol)  Step 4:  Focus on a craft project longer then 5 minutes so we can actually get it completed, lol.

So Step 1:  Check 

Step 2: Check, (oh ya, and maybe at a cemetery that had some with good color.)

Step 3: Check

Step 4:  Well that one was a little bit harder to pull off, but we were finally able to focus long enough to do it.  We painted mod podge onto a leaf, put it on the glass (I used a blow dryer to help lay it down and speed up the adhesion process)  repeat until the desired end result is finished, as long as the leaf is covered in mod podge you can layer them on top of each other.  Then apply a coat of mod podge over the entire jar. (We used gloss, watered down to achieve a more clear and even finish.)  It is more time consuming then we first thought it would be, so plan for that.  We are also thinking it needs.....GLITTER SPRAY, that will happen tomorrow, 'cause we have to go buy it.

 Aren't they amazing?  I absolutely love them.  The tallest one is Andrea's, I love how she was able to space them out and leave more "white" space.  

I also love the ring of leaves around the bottom we got from a Burning Bush.


They turned out so good we are going to make another Pat Catan run for a few more smaller ones for Andrea to put on her mantle.  If I didn't have to fly these things home I soooooo would make more of them.  


I am going to work on painting a small block with a cute vinyl saying on it for one of the short ones, to make it just taller then the medium size one.  I LOVE IT.

At the Park

There are lots and lots, (I mean a way lot) of parks here.  One of Andrea's favorite things to do is take us to the parks so the kids can play.  On our second day here she took us to a park that has water to play in..........within minutes both of our sons were completely soaked.  Boys will be boys.......

Thompson Park  also has a a very cool covered bridge that the kids love to play on.

I love watching the kids play and building a strong bond.  It constantly melts my heart.

 And I love the way they love on me!!!!

Ohio in the Fall

I love, love, love Ohio in the fall.  It is so beautiful.  I have taken lots and lots of pictures already.

There is just something about it..........I just love it.  Click on the link below to look at more of my Ohio photo's.

My Ohio Photo's

Halloween in Ohio, yes, it is different

Well here we are in Ohio.  Andrea is so excited to go trick or treating, I don't get it.  Then I am informed that trick or treating is from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  

"What?  You have scheduled time for trick or treating?"

"Yes" (as she is laughing at me)  I just don't get it.

And let me tell you, these people are serious about Halloween.  Really, really, really serious about it.


It is time to start trick or treating.  We walk down the street, and everyone is standing outside in their front yard or on their front porch handing out candy.

No door knocking, nothing, just streets full of people standing outside waiting for the trick or treaters. I am not kidding you, these people are very serious about Halloween

Yes, I am holding Trevor's tiger costume.  He would not put it on.  Even after we told him he could get candy, nope, no way.  He wanted nothing to do with it.

Trevor wouldn't trick or treat until Cami showed him that he could candy.  People would ask where his basket was, he would point to Cami and say, "She is sharing her basket with me.  She is so nice"


This nice person just left the candy on the front porch.

I LOVE THESE KIDS!!!!!!

Oh, and did I mention it was raining!!!!!???!!!  And it was cold!!!!  And raining!!!!!.  So no, the drowned rat look was not a costume, lol.

And here is Trevor in his costume about 3 months ago, when he wouldn't leave it alone, played in it, slept in it, ate in it.....go figure.

Shhhhhh, it's a Surprise

So, I have really been missing my sister-in-law Andrea, and she has really been missing me, and our Face Book posts to each other were so pathetic, lol, that my husband told me to fly out there for Halloween.

So I started watching plane ticket prices, and they went up, then up again, and again....then suddenly, they dropped, then while I was waiting to book the flight they dropped again.  WAHOOO!!  Ohio here I come!!

A few select people knew I was traveling, a couple of friends one or two family members and Andrea's mom, that's it.  The less people in "the know" the less chance of the surprise getting leaked.  So I kept this secret for a week and half.  The hardest secret I have EVER had to keep.  I couldn't post anything about the preparation or the trip on Face Book, and for that week and half I had to be careful about what I did post on Face Book.

Andrea's mom almost couldn't take it anymore.  It was killing her to keep this secret because she was so excited because she knew how happy Andrea would be.  The closer it got to my arrival date, the less and less she talked to Andrea, lol.

The day started at 3:40 a.m. when I had to wake up so I could be ready to leave the house by 4:30 a.m., so I could be at the airport by 5:00 a.m. for our 6:00 a.m. flight.  (We had to leave early in order to be there in time to go trick-or-treating)  The hardest thing about the day was not posting to Face Book any of the days events.

So I figured I had better prep Trevor.  So on the plane I said, "Honey, when Aunt Andrea sees us, she might cry."   "She won't cry mom, she will be so happy to see us."  "Absolutely she is going to be so happy to see us, and because she is so happy, well, she might cry."  He just looks at me, shrugs his shoulders and gives me a look that says "I will never understand you mom" and goes back to reading the emergency evacuation plan.

Andrea's mom goes in the house first.  Then a couple of minutes later we go in.  Westley was sitting at the kitchen table.  His mouth drops open, he gasps loudly and points our direction.  I cover my lips with my finger as a signal to be quiet.  I am waiting with my camera in hand for Andrea to come around the corner.  I hear a "No.   No way."  Then Andrea comes into view.  (Trevor had peaked his head around the corner, and she had seen him)

"Are you serious?"

"Serious!!!!!??!!!!"

(I love the stunned the look on Cami's face, and the big smile on Westley's)









"You guys!, how did you do this."







"Not many people are able to get me, you guys got me."

Cornbelly's 2011

My friend Paula and I decided to take the kids to Cornbelly's for some Autumn fun.  It was soooo cold, however the kids loved it.  They were so excited they could hardly stand it.  There are so many wooden structures to play on, the boys kept running from one to the other, then back again.  It was fun to see them have such a good time, even if I did freeze.

Doilie Envelopes??? I love it.

I saw this on-line and absolutely love the idea.  I make a lot of cards and how perfect would it be to send out bridal shower invites wrapped in a doilie envelope.  I LOVE IT!!  Can't wait to try it.

Step by step guide to doily invite

Here is a step by step guide to making the invite with suggested dimensions:

a) Select a doily that can fully cover your old cardstock when folded on 4 sides. I used found cardstock, which is really just an old library card measuring 4 and 7/8" by 3" (124 by 77mm) and a doily 7" (178mm) in diameter. I love it that old paper stock usually comes in round imperial measurements.

b) Fold in the flaps by the sides first, followed by the flap below.

c) Fold down the top flap and seal it with a kiss. In this case, I used Herma Self-adhesive label No. 2213, 8mm in diameter.

d) Turn card over and addess with another adhesive label. I typed guest names on Herma adhesive label No. 2253, 19mm in diameter. I could use a round label as guests to this party did not have long names.

Play around with sizes and textures. Cardstock with colour works better than white ones as the contrast enhances the pattern of the doily

http://www.flickr.com/photos/designmein/3382052067/

To Save a Life

Well I did it.  I registered on BE THE MATCH to become a bone marrow donor. My sisters friend has a 5 week old baby with SCIDS.  The baby will need to have a bone marrow transplant very soon.  In the mean time it will live in a sterile environment at Primary Children's Hospital.  My prayers go out to this family who is going through this, and I am praying that I can be a match and make a difference in this baby's life.

 

http://www.bethematchblog.org/2010/01/take-the-pledge/

Breakfast Pocket Stromboli.....thingy

So my friend Paula taught me how to make stromboli.  (Thanks, by the way Paula, they are amazing)  So I took the general idea of a stromboli, and decided to make breakfast ones for Rick.

I scrambled eggs, cooked some ham, sauted onions, green peppers and red peppers, and made hollandaise sauce.  Next I took a Pillsbury Grands Biscuit, seperated it into two pieces, layered it with scrambled eggs, cheese, ham, veggies, spinach and hollandaise sauce.  Last I put the other piece of biscuit on top, wrapped it underneath the bottom biscuit and pinched them together.

I then put some butter on the top, popped it in a 350 deg oven for 14 minutes, and whalaa. 

A beautiful Breakfast Pocket Stromboli, thingy, lol.  Plus breakfast is made for the week and I don't have to try and cook Rick breakfast and wake up at the same time.  

I Forgot to Mention.......

You might be asking yourself the same question I was asking myself..........I've been down here in the craft room for a long time now.........where is Trevor?????????

YOU ARE DOING WHAT????!!!!!

Get that Bunny out of there and I mean NOW!!!













No, wait, wait wait. (Taking a deep breath) Leave him there for a minute, (grumbling - take pictures, grrr. This will be funny......grrr. grumble grumble.) (Deep breaths)

"Look mom, I got him bath toys. :) So he has some toys to play with in his bath :) :)"














"I see the bath toys Trevor, however, you are not supposed to give bunnies baths, especially not baths in cold water. You are going to give the bunny phneumonia."

(I then get a funny look and shoulder shrug)

"Mom Look he likes it."
"I don't think he likes it Trevor. It's time to get him out."

"But moooooom. He does like it, see......, look. I got him toys :) :)"
"The water is freezing cold Trevor, get him out!"

"Mmoooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmuh"

"NOW!!!"

"Okaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyuh"

"And just so we are on the same page, you do not ever EVER give J Bunny a bath again. E V E R again.'

"Unless he's dirty, :) right mom? :)"

sigh. "No Trev, not even then."

"But if he is dirty, he needs a bath."

"Yes, if the bunny gets dirty and needs a bath, then I will give him one, not you, ok?"
":) Okay mom. But I'll help."

Sigh. "Just go hold the bunny so he doesn't freeze to death, please."