That time of Year

When my thoughts drift to Grand Pumpkins, apples and cider, fuzzy sweaters, cool sunny days and the beauty of the color in the trees.

 I thought it would be fun to share through out the month some crafty ideas to get you started for your Fall and Halloween decorations.

Tip Nut has a collection of DIY Halloween  tutorial projects collected from around the net.
  Here are just a few of projects that you will find on this link.
You may also click on the photo to go directly to the project.

                                      Silhouettes "The Pink Peony of Le Jardin"

                                     Tree Silhouette "Folding Trees"

Halloween Garland " Kansas City Etsy"

Cupcake Stand "The Swell Life"

Have fun and Thanks for stopping by :)

A Little Boot

Been some time since I have posted.
Oh well, I am sure you all know how that can be.

I thought I would share a little Witches boot Template I had been working on ,while we had a visit from Irene last weekend.

I have a link at the bottom of this post if you would like to try the Witches boot for yourself.

The template is pretty much self explanatory, but here are a few tips.

I used a Cornflake Box to trace my template unto as I wanted a sturdy boot. You may use card stock, Patterned Paper or whatever your heart desires.

Using the fold lines as your guide assemble your boot template.

DO NOT GLUE!! the 2 front Boot Tabs together until after you have inserted and glued the boot insert. Then go ahead and glue the tongue template to the toe and the inside of one of the tabs on the front of the shoe.

After this step you may glue the tabs together and add the Outer Toe Template.

Now you may choose to decorate or paint your template before assembling or after it is all up to you.

Here is where you will find the 4 parts needed to create this boot.
Have fun and Thanks for stopping by :)

Happy Halloween

Wishing you all a safe and Happy Halloween

Spooky Blog Haunt

Thought I would share with you , this "Spooky Blog Haunt" going on at Paper Secrets.

Well worth spending the time to visit all the Haunting happening on this Hop.

All kinds of Holiday inspiration to get you started in the Halloween spirit.

Not to mention all the Treats that are being offered along the way.

 Thanks go out to Rochelle one of the Sisters on the Sisterhood of Scrap and one of the stops along the way.

Having a great time and finding plenty of inspiration!

you can start your Haunted hop here.

Have fun :)

Happy Halloween

A Happy and Safe Halloween to you all

A Valley Haunting

A trip to my ancestral and childhood home this past weekend, led to a road trip with my cousin in search of our Duesler ancestors.

Armed with the family history records , a GPS and my lovely cousin to share my adventure with , this was one trip I had been looking forward to making.

A visit to the early churches and burial grounds of my ancestors, whose roots run deep in the history and heart of the Mohawk Valley Region of NY .

A video, I put together of the churches and grounds that they married in , baptized their children, built their frontier homes and came to their final rest.

Now in this area that is rich in Indian and early American history there are bound to be many tales of ghosts and haunted grounds.

One such place is Beardslee Castle, now converted into a restaurant.

Stopping by Beardslee in search of a bite to eat and to talk over the days events.

We found the Castle to be at full capacity with two weddings being hosted and a full house of diners the waiting would be 1 - 2 hours even in the dungeon are of the castle.

Leaving Beardslee Castle I did manage to click off a couple of pics.

Clarity is pretty bad in these photos, it was an after thought to snap these pics as we were leaving in search of a quicker meal.

Hey, you never know...you just may find you have captured something unusual.

As you can see...nothing of an unusual nature here :)

In this first video , you will find a brief history of the Castle .


The next two videos will tell the story of Beardslee Castle haunting.



Here you will find a link to a list of live web cams were you may catch a glimpse of ghostly haunting's .

Hope you all have a fun filled week as we approach this years Halloween Celebration.

Batty Napkin Ring Holders

Fast and easy little project to help add that extra touch to your Halloween table.
Batty Napkin Ring Holders!


Using Eco friendly adhesive backed felt.

Using the template provided, cut four bats from black card stock

Using template again cut four bats from adhesive backed felt.

With right sides down slowly peel back paper backing from adhesive bat and apply down card stock.

Wrap around napkin attaching through with the notches.

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a ghoulishly fun week. : )

Boogie with the Boogey Man

How about some free Halloween Tunes and Spooky sounds to go along with your Halloween Celebration ?

Here are some links that I came across in my search of some scary sounds.

Have fun creating your own personal Haunted music !

All About Halloween

Halloween Carols

I thought the Carols would work with my Free Halloween Digital Border, to print off for a Halloween Sing Along with little tricksters.

Halloween Sounds

Some creepy sounds here to mix

Scary Music

you will find some old favorites here.

And last but not least, a little something to help set the mood : )

RIP Pumpkin King

A Creatively Green Project Challenge.
Using a box create a Halloween themed project for under $5.oo.

Here are the bones for my project.
Styrofoam ball .50 from my personal supplies
Free Newspaper
salt flour & water from my kitchen
Paint ,Mod Podge ,hot glue and Ink from my supplies.
I will estimate between $1.25 - $1.75 worth of supplies to complete this project.

The end result... a Paper Mache Pumpkin King Tombstone.

I used the hot glue to create my inscription and added dimensions

While I am on the subject of tombstones.....it is the Halloween Season after all !

What better than a Graveyard for a Halloween delight or fright !

My Great Grandfather was a Stone Mason.

Entering into business with his brother they carved a living, out of Memorials for the deceased.The above monument photograph was sent to me, by one of his Grand daughters while researching this branch of my family tree. What a treasure to come across.
The story goes that he carved and was particularly fond of this piece, so the photo continues on today.

It's resting place, the rolling hills of Forest Hill Cemetery Utica, New York.

A beautiful landscape of hills and valleys surrounded by trees .On this video at time marker 1:32...not positive but I believe you may see this Stone Angel .

Next trip up North I think I will have to check this out.

One can not discuss Cemeteries with out mention of the "City of the Dead"to be found in the City of New Orleans.very interesting history behind these Crypts.

Another unusual cemetery is located in London, England.

The grounds and the carvings are stunning.

You may read a little of High Gate Cemetery's history here , you will also find some additional hauntingly beautiful images.

Here you will find some tombstone Epitaphs of some famous people.

For a little Halloween fun stop by here and create your own Epitaph.

Thanks for stopping by :).

All Hallows Eve Menu & Digital Freebie

In my hunt for the perfect seasonal dishes for this years "All Hallows Eve" Dinner.
I put together a menu that reflects the bounty and spirit of the season for me .

You may download this Free Digital Halloween Menu Border I created if you would like.

In a png format with no background.

bat credit - Halloween Border Font

Doesn't this salad look tasty !

By clicking on the links you will be directed to the recipe.

"Spinach & Pumpkin Salad" image credit from Sunset /my recipes.com

Spiderweb Brie En Croute image credit and Recipe by Britta "Web Mistress of the Dark".

"Boil & Bubble Soup" image from Sunset/ my recipes.com

"Butter Beer" a traditional Hogsmeade -Style recipe image & recipe credit /Britta "Web Mistress of the Dark". WITH alcohol WITHOUT alcohol .

"Stuffed Pumpkin" image credit Southern Living /my recipes.com

"Eerie Eyeballs" credit & recipe Bretta "Web Mistress of the Dark"

The eyeballs add the perfect touch of Ghoulish atmosphere to the celebration !
Britta has posted a video in 2 parts to help guide us along in the making of these Eerie Eyeballs.
video 1
video 2
You will find some Spooktacular Halloween recipes by Britta that will add the perfect touch to any Halloween Gathering.
Britta is also the Author of "Eerie Elegance" a reference book and guide for planning the perfect Halloween Party !
Thank you Britta for permission in posting your images and recipes !
Hope you are all enjoying this changing of the Season.
Thanks for stopping by my world : )

Are you Ready ?

For Halloween that is !

Thought I would share some creative ideas and links I have come across, in the spirit of this coming Halloween.
Look for more creative links now throughout the coming celebration.

If your hosting a party this year,
how about some lovely free Vintage Halloween Party Invitations !

Courtesy of "Living Locurto"



Love the idea that she started with a free Vintage Music Sheet Graphic found on the Graphics Fairy Blog to create these Spooky yet elegant invitations.

I recommend you check out the wonderful free vintage Graphics that are hosted on the Graphics Fairy!
A host of treasures for those Heritage Scrapbook Layouts you may have in mind to create.


EHAG , an amazing collection of Professional Eclectic Halloween Artists who's creations reflect the spirit of Halloween.

Have fun and happy haunted Crafting ; )

Going Green for Halloween

Fall is here...maybe not on the calendar...but defiantly in the air.
Which means, for those who join in, the spirit of Halloween will soon be upon us.

A fun little green project to try
Using an empty cookie tin.




a tree branch, scrap pieces of card stock and some fishing line.



Some paint, favorite Halloween stamps, Distress stickles, bling and of course some Mod Podge to seal.

and you have a fun little Halloween Decoration !

For those crafters who are leaning toward incorporating your toss outs in to your projects.

There is a new store online called Creatively Green where you are able to locate Eco friendly craft products for your Scrapbook pages and projects.

Creatively Green also hosts a Message Board, where you will find inspiration to help in your efforts to craft green.

Stop by and check out their blog and find some great tips and projects.

Take care and thanks for stopping by : )

Cookie Recipe With Character

Time for another Recipe Card Challenge .

This weeks challenge is to use a character on your Recipe layout.
Searching ,through my Stamps, I sadly realized I do not have any characters so to speak.
A little frustrated over this, I turned to the Internet to find some inspiration.

I happened upon a blog called Creative Dreams and found a freebie of Halloween Digital Papers that had the cutest Halloween characters.
I knew right away they would be perfect for my Witches Fingers Cookie recipe.

Sized down to suit my needs and colored over with some glitter gel pens.

I also added some witches fingers to the sides of this hybrid layout.

Always a favorite treat at my house on Halloween !!

Thanks for stopping by My World : )

Local Paper Goes Green

It has been years since I have played with good old fashion paper mache.

After reading through our local Bargain paper, instead of tossing it out ...I thought why not make this my next Go Green project.


I have had these Styrofoam balls that had been left over from my son's wedding decorations a few years back that we did not use.

Also a wooden skewer from my kitchen.



The local bargain paper after I was finished reading it.

Paper Mache Mix

1 cup flour

1 cup hot water

Tbs Salt

The end result is a Halloween Tower of Pumpkins.

Finished off the end with adhesive backed felt.

Here is the basics of how this came together if you would like to give it a try.

Slice off the bottom ball to lay flat.

Push the wooden skewer through the Styrofoam, dab with hot glue to hold them together.

Using 3 layers of Paper Mache to cover the Styrofoam....make sure each layer has completely set and is dry before applying the next layer of Mache.

Acrylic paint for the first layer

Next a layer of sponged on alcohol Ink, a spritz of Glimmer Mist.

Paint on your faces.

Finish off with sponged on Distress Stickles and Mod Podge.

Most important !!! Let each layer dry thoroughly before moving on to the next step.

Lots of fun to create!!

Thanks for stopping by : )... have a great weekend .

Going Green & Grungy

Here's the Grunge.....



and here's the Green !

Week One- Day One "Going Green Challenge"

Create a project with an empty container.

Rescued 3 glass containers from making it into the county landfill this week.

A pickled egg jar, was my first rescue and started me looking out for others through out the week.

An ice tea bottle and an empty canning jar also made there way into this project.

With fall knocking on the door....perfect time to begin thinking about Halloween Decorations for the home !

I came across these wonderful spooky labels while surfing around the web , and knew exactly what I would do with my bottles.

Not sure on how to begin grunging glass, I surfed around the web and came away with the basic idea of grunging .

Taking the basics and throwing together my own personal products of choice.

I ended up with what I think are fun Halloween Decorations for a kitchen pantry or shelf.

Witches Jars!!! Spooky ?? Yes?... I think so to : ) ...But what fun to create !!

Now I have my eyes peeled out for more jars to grunge !

embellish tops of jars to suit your taste.

Placing battery operated tea lights from the Dollar store inside the jars.. help lend an extra spooky touch !

Close up of the small details that are in these labels.

Here are a couple of links I found helpful in creating this project.

LABELS designed by Johnny Love of Love Manor

GRUNGING tutorial by A Primitive Place

As always thanks for stopping by and a big thanks to all those who generously share their inspiration and the " how to do " of crafting !

Wicked Halloween Crop

I joined in the fun this past weekend on WeScrap.com, they hosted a Halloween crop.

I was only able to fit in 3 of the challenges and a couple of games.
Real Life has been pretty hectic here.

But,it is a good start to motivate me to get done some of my fall celebration photos and I hope to continue in this mode.

This first lo was created for the Batty Bingo Challenge.
Based on the same principle as Bingo only Scrapbook supplies to be used instead of Letters and numbers.
2 different ribbon,13 of the same embellishment and the use of something Black was my choice.

My son and his little family at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Fair.
We had a fun family outing last Sunday.
Lot's of spooky fun to be had there.
The three layouts I completed are from that outing.

Halloword Challenge,pick eight Halloween words from the list provided before the day of the crop,supplies announced at the beginning of the crop.

Here was my supply list
3 Patterned Papers,3 Ribbons,the word believe,six brads or eyelets,3 circles,stamp,doodles and rub ons.

(Edited to give credit to Sketches R Us for the great sketch)

This is the end result.My beautiful Granddaughter Addison.



Now this was a fun Challenge !! Simply to make a face for your layout!

There were many more challenges that I would like to have tried ,but time would not allow me,
I hope to be able to go back and use some of the other fun Challenges to help motivate me to complete the rest of the photos that I have in mind to do.

Hope all is well in your World !! Thanks for stopping by :)

Halloween Videos

Looking around Youtube.com came across some Halloween videos that I would like to share for those who celebrate in the Spirit of Halloween.

By ticking on the bottom right hand corner of video player you may choose the video you would like to watch.

"Skeleton Dance"early Disney Cartoon

Donald Ducks "Trick or Treat" 1954 version

"Vincent" by Tim Burton Narrated by Vincent Price.

"Broomstick Bunny" I just love this witch !

"Tribute to the Salem Witches" another sad page for the history books.

"Thunder Belly Hop" What a fun Halloween song !!

Sept.15 Card Reveal

Here is my DTM contribution to the September 15 th Sketch Challenge hosted at " Am I a Scrap Addict Sketches" Blog.

Keeping with the Fall theme of my Blogoversary Celebration ( I am almost at a 100 posts !)
I decided to create a Halloween Card with the sketch provided by Deanne Burton.

The 2ND and 15 Th of each month you will find a new Card sketch by Deanne..also on the 1st and 14Th a new Layout sketch is posted to help you with your Scrapbook pages.

Check out the different Layouts and Cards that have been created by the DTMs using Deanne's sketch.
So many different interpretations !!
Way to go ladies !! Good Job !!

Haunted Halloween House

Due to bad Internet connection, I have been unable to update my blog for the last few days.

Just wanted to shout out to all you ladies who are celebrating with me on my Blogoversary Celebration Challenge..Thanks for playing along and Good luck!

Some fantastic Fall ideas have been coming in and hope you will find something fun and inspiring to take away with you in honor of the season.

I know I have !!
I went and bought some Macintosh Apples from our local orchard and hope to try the Yummy Apple Crisp Recipe that has been shared .
( Just a little hint ; ) of what wonderful ideas have been posted ) !
Check it out in the next post down !

I wanted to share with you a Haunted House Printable I came across and a link for this fun fall project.

Here you will find printable images to construct many different Haunted Houses already embellished and ready to print.

Would make a fun project for the family on a cold rainy fall day.

A whole village of Hunting's!!

They also have a template for constructing a Gingerbread Haunted House, with template, visual and written instructions.

I wanted to decorate my own to fit into my home decor.

I used the cake template provided for the Haunted Gingerbread House adding tabs to the template to help bind it all together.

How do you like that chimney smoke, BATS !!! ooh noooo!!

Inkadinkado has this wonderful Halloween Flourish in a clear Stamp!

If you try this project please let me know,would love to stop by and see what you have created :) !

Have fun !

EDITED: to mention I left the bottom of my Haunted House open, so I could place a battery operated candle underneath.