I Am a Hallo-Weenie!

Could it be because my parents lacked the holiday spirit that I too have little spirit when it comes to Halloween? I do remember being little, wishing I could dress up and wishing I could go trick-or-treating... but I don't remember going on very many outings for Halloween, or carving a pumpkin, or putting up decorations.

I've tried to do things different for my kids.  Since they were little, I went over and beyond on birthday parties and holidays.  I tried to buy all the spooky decor and all the orange and purple lights and decorate our home, inside and out but my boys weren't really interested.  And as they grow older, the interest in the mess of carving a pumpkin has reduced... the interest helping decorate has reduced... and so has the interest in dressing up.  Does it bother me?.............nah... not too much.  I can tell you that I have NO problem not throwing down $40+ on a Halloween costume that they'll wear for only 2 - 4 hours or breaking my back over a sewing machine for a week sewing up intricate costumes.

With that said, what I do enjoy about this month is the drop in temperature and the smell of apples and cinnamon.  Then it's NOVEMBER!  That means it's baking time!  Thanksgiving feast with loved ones! And taking a moment to be thankful for all that I have in my life!  Then it's DECEMBER!  Shopping!  Christmas trees! Going to the craft stores and looking at all the amazing new Christmas decorations! (possibly buying a few more too! LOL)  And of course Christmas day... Watching my sons with my husband and being so thankful that he has made it possible for us to provide our children with so much more than we ever had.  Not only gifts but heaping amounts of LOVE that we show them everyday!

I guess you could say that the month of October and Halloween are just a "warmer-uppers" for what's to come!

We get very little change in color in AZ until January usually.

One of my favorites... Cold M&M's!

"Jack" From Nightmare Before Christmas

My Halloween costume that I wore to a contest at a nearby

Grill and Cantina....... I won second place!! $50!

Fun Nail art that I did on myself :O)

2012 Fall Wreath

Although we are still in the high 90's here in AZ, I can't help but feel excited about the Fall.  All the stores are filled with Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas decor.  I figured, since we are officially in the Fall season now, why not make a Fall wreath?

Here's a super simple wreath that I put together in about an hour or less:

I bought a medium size wreath a few months back.

Ribbon $2.79 ea (sale)

4x6 Letter "S" $2.99

Velvety Maple Bouquet  $1.99 (sale)

2 - Daisy/Mum Fall bouquet  $3.49 ea. (sale)

Supplies needed:

Glue gun

Diagonal cutting pliers

Thin wire

I wrapped one spool of ribbon loosely around

the wreath and secured it in the back.

I created a bow with the second spool of ribbon

and secured it with thin crafting wire.

Make sure to leave a little ribbon at the end

to hand you letter from.  This ended up being

too much so I simply made a few more loops

in my bow :O)

Attach the bow to the wreath with wire.

Cut the flowers off the bouquet as close to the

base as possible.

Arrange the flowers on the wreath simple by

weaving through the twigs of the wreath.  This is

where you might need your glue gun.  There

were a few flowers that were loose and not

fitting snugly through the vines of the wreath

so I just put a little glue and secured them

into place.

I wasn't planning on putting all the flowers

on but it just kind of ended up this way.

I could have gotten away with not wrapping

the first spool of ribbon around the wreath

since you can't even really see it.  I could

have used both spools on making a

larger bow.  (lesson learned!)

I spray painted the "S" with gold paint,

created a loop with the remainder of 

the ribbon and secured it in the back...

Hung the "S"...

and Taaaaa-Daaaaaa!

Here you have a monogrammed wreath for Fall!

Hope you enjoyed :O) xoxo