Happy Halloween!!

Good morning! There's a new sheriff in town, and his name is Tony Rigatoni!! ;) Happy Halloween, y'all!!

(Sorry for the grainy pics...they were taken, (quickly - lol!), with my phone...)

Mummy Card Tutorial and Pics From Justin's Elk Hunt...

Good morning! I decided to whip up a few quick and cute mummy cards to send out for Halloween...here's what I came up with:

These had to be some of the easiest cards that I've ever made, and I LOVE how cute they turned out! Here's how I made them...

Start out with a piece of gray card stock that measures 4 1/4" x 11". Score at 5 1/2 inches to make a nice, clean fold:

Gather the rest of your card supplies...I tore some muslin into strips and grabbed some google-eyes from my stash of craft supplies. I also cut some jagged teeth out of black card stock and punched a heart shape out of pink card stock...I turned that heart into a pair of mummy lips as shown in the photo above!

Using a Glue-Dot, adhere the end of one of the strips of muslin to the backside of the card front:

Wrap the card stock around the card, leaving spaces for the eyes and mouth. Randomly secure the strips with Glue-Dots as needed:

Once you've gotten the card all wrapped up, attach the eyes and teeth or lips with Glue-Dots. I also added a diagonal strip of fabric above the eyes for a little extra dimension:

To age the muslin, apply some dark gray or black chalk using a cotton swab or your finger:

Stamp the inside of the card with a spooky sentiment...I used a stamp set from Close to My Heart:

Sign your card and pop it in the mail to a friend! :)

Last but not least, Justin made it home from his Colorado elk hunting trip safe-and-sound on Monday evening. He was pretty pumped that he'd bagged a 6 x 6 bull elk weighing an estimated 700 lbs. Here are a couple of pics from his trip...first off, the elk:

Next is the "selfie" that Justin took with the elk...he was by himself when he got the elk, so no one was there to take the pic of him with his prize - LOL! I LOVE that big 'ole grin on his face...he was one happy fella!

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Cutie-Patootie Halloween Treat Bag Tutorial...

Good morning, friends! Can you believe that it's already the end of October...where on earth has the month gone??? The temps here in NE Oklahoma have been unseasonably warm...yesterday's high was almost 90 degrees - UGH! I am soooo ready for sweater weather! Thankfully a cold front will arrive this evening, and is supposed to bring with it a little rain along with cooler, more "October-ish" temps...just in time for Halloween this Friday! :)

Speaking of Halloween, today I'm going to show you how to make an adorable felt treat bag to give to your favorite little ghost(s) or goblin(s)...

Here's how I made it...

I started off with a cute Halloween card and a pre-made felt tote. (A canvas tote could be used as well...you can find small, inexpensive felt and canvas totes at Hobby Lobby.)

Using my paper trimmer, I cut off the back part of the card:

With a pencil, make  1/4" spaced marks on the back of the card image to use as a guide to pre-punch stitch holes:

Punch tiny holes on the guide marks...these holes will be used to stitch the card image to the front of the bag to decorate it:

Center the card image on the front of the bag. Thread a needle with 6 strands of embroidery floss and whip-stitch the card image to the bag:

Tie several strands of the embroidery floss to the stitch at the top of the little witch's hat to form a tiny pom-pom:

Lastly, I tucked some green tissue paper and Reese's cups inside the bag, and now it's ready to give to my favorite 9 year old friend, Heather F. (Reese's are her FAVE!!)

Thanks so much for dropping by today...be sure to check back on Wednesday for a tutorial on how to make some fun "Mummy" cards! Have a FANTASTIC week!

Quote Sunday

Silly Saturday

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Recipe of the Week: Dutch Apple Pie

Hi, all! The hubby of my friend Megan F. celebrated a birthday on Sunday, so I baked one of his favorite desserts for him - a Dutch apple pie:

Here's my recipe:

Pie Ingredients:

• 6 tart apples (I used Granny Smith apples in this pie)
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 unbaked pie crust (I like to use Jiffy Pie Crust Mix...it's super easy and the results always turn out great for me!)

Topping Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup cold butter, sliced
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 2/3 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel, core and thinly slice apples. Place slices in a large bowl and add sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour. Gently stir to coat apples and set bowl aside. 

Roll out pie crust and place into pie place, crimping edges as desired.

In a medium-sized bowl, combine topping ingredients. Using a fork, mix together until crumbly. Sprinkle crumb mixture over the pie, being sure to coat the top as evenly as possible. Gently press topping into pie with your hand. 

Bake for 1 hour, possibly 5 minutes more if needed, and remove from oven to cool. Slice and enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired...DEEEEELICIOUS!!! :)

Have a blessed day!

Happy 25th Birthday To My Sweet Son, Justin!!

Good morning, friends! Today is my wonderful son's 25th birthday! He is in the mountains of Colorado on an elk hunting trip at this time, so Mike and I won't get to celebrate with him until he comes back at the end of this month.

Justin is an amazing young man..kind, hard-working, honest and true...we couldn't be more proud of the man he's become! Here's a fun little video tribute to celebrate his 25 years...

Create your own photo slideshow

Thanks for dropping by today! Enjoy the beautiful fall weather and have a FANTASTIC week!

Quote Sunday

Silly Saturday

Enjoy your weekend & take time to laugh!!

Quote Sunday

(Image & quote found on the internet)

Silly Saturday

Hee! Hee! Have a super weekend, friends!!

A New Blog For You to Check Out...

Hey, all! My pal Ann Bacon, (who just so happens to be one of the craftiest people I know!), just started a new blog called The Apple Street Cottage. Our decorating and crafting styles are very similar, so if you enjoy reading my blog, please check out Ann's new blog by clicking on this link: http://theapplestreetcottage.blogspot.com/. 

Thanks for dropping by...have a super day!

Ribbon Butterfly Tutorial and Projects...

Good morning, friends! I hope that you had a fun and relaxing weekend. We had another GORGEOUS fall weekend here in Oklahoma...mild temps and sunny skies!

Today I'm going to show you how to make little butterflies out of scraps of ribbon. Each butterfly only takes a 3" scrap...so it's a great way to utilize those ribbon pieces that you just hate to throw away! ;) Here are a couple of the projects that I made using my ribbon butterflies...first off is a birthday card:

I decorated a fun little gift bag with a ribbon butterfly too:

Let me show you how I made them...

Start off with a 3" piece of ribbon:

If the ribbon you are using is wired, slide the wire out of the ribbon and set it aside. Trim the ends of the ribbon as shown:

To prevent the cut ends of the ribbon from fraying, apply a little Fray Check and allow to dry:

While the Fray Check is drying, take a piece of the wire from the ribbon and insert into a button as shown:

Once the ribbon has dried, pinch it in the middle like this to form a butterfly shape:

Slide the pinched ribbon into the wire loop with the button:

Crisscross the wire back through the holes; bring the wire ends to the underside of the ribbon, and twist to secure:

Using a toothpick, curl the ends of the wire to form the butterfly antennae, trimming as necessary. If desired, you can glue a pearl in the middle of the button to cover up the wire...

That's it!! Here are several of the butterflies that I made before attaching them to projects:

Thanks so much for dropping by to check out my blog today! Have a FANTASTIC week!