Children's Halloween Books, Round Two!

Here are a few more books for Halloween you and your kids are sure to love!

"Monster Museum" by Marilyn Singer, Illustrated by Gris Grimly.  (This is the other book I told you about in my last book post that's illustrated by Gris Grimly.)  Like I said, big fan of his work!  This book doesn't have a real story line, but rather super fun/cute little poems describing each monster.

"Liza Lou and the Yeller Belly Swamp" by Mercer Mayer.  Everyone knows who Mercer Mayer is, right?!?  If you know of the "Little Critter" books, then you know of Mercer Mayer.  He's certainly one of my top favorite author of picture books of all time.  I haven't seen/read a book of his I didn't love!  Now, Liza Lou isn't  strictly a Halloween book.  Infact, it may even be more for an "everyday read."  However, the way Liza deals with a "gobblygook" "witch" "Haunt" and more, I'd say it fits in rather nicely with my Halloween collection.  This book is definitely worth reading, so clever and cute!

"We're Off to Find the Witch's House" by Mr. Krieb, illustrated by R.W. Alley

this book was a gift to my daughter from her grandmother (my mom, the one the magnificent library to behold)  Fun fact: Mr. Krieb was an elementary school teacher for thirty years!  So I think it's safe to say he knows how to capture the hearts of children.  This was his very first children's book, and it does not disappoint.  You start chanting the words in a rhythm without even trying!  :)  (As if you were singing along to "We're going on a Bear Hunt")  Everyone knows of that, right?  If you've never heard of that, I'm so sorry you didn't get to grow up alongside me.  My mom introduced me to many fun things growing up.  :)

So there you have it!  3 more books to add to your Halloween "must read" list!  :)

Liebster Award!

I'm feeling super loved today;  My friend Megan over at Galumphing in High Heels nominated me for one of those little blogger awards called the Liebster Award.  It may not be a huge deal, but I was honored nonetheless.  Thanks Megan!!  So here are the rules, because you know I am so participating!

"Liebster" means dearest in German, and it's awarded, blogger to blogger, to up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers.  The rules for accepting and giving the award are pretty simple.  Once you accept the award, you just have to do the following in a blog entry:

Answer the 11 questions posted by the nominator on her blog

Give 11 facts about yourself

Nominate 5-11 other new, up-and-coming blogs with less than 200 followers

Make up 11 more questions to pass on to the bloggers you choose to nominate

Thank your nominator by linking back to her blog

Upon your post going live, contact your nominees about your nomination for them

The questions I am to answer:

1. What is your favorite vegetable?

  Corn on the cob, green beans, and grilled asparagus.  YUMO!  And potatoes.  Potatoes are a veggie, right?  Don't answer that, dumb question, I know.  :)  On the opposite end of that question, I can't stand carrots!!  Unless they are super, super cooked.

2. What is your favorite childhood memory?

I had an awesome childhood, so I don't know if I can pin it down to just one favorite memory.  I guess I'll go with getting snow days in Maryland.  (You don't get snow days here in Utah.  Well, you do, if there's 8 feet of snow on the roads and still dumping.)  (slight exageration, but not really)  One snow day my older brother packed snow onto our slide, and we all slid down it on some plastic sacks.  So much fun!! 

3. What is one thing you cannot go a day without using?
My toothbrush.  :)

4. Which season is your favorite and why?

All growing up my favorite season was winter!  Infact, I dreamt of a winter wedding... January should've been  the perfect winter wedding, but alas it was 70 degrees on our wedding day, in the middle of January!  Yeah, no snow I know of sticks around in 70 degree weather.  Oh well.  Ever since moving up to the mountains, winter is no longer my favorite season anyhow.  I now love spring the most.  Definitley spring.  :)

5. What is your favorite movie?
I LOVE too many movies to have a favorite!  But some that I could watch over and over again: Ever After,  A Little Princess  (not the version with Shirley Temple),  The Secret Garden,  the Harry Potter series, Lord of the Rings series,  Mavrick, The Count of Monte Cristo, Second Hand Lions, The Italian Job,  A Knights Tale, Oceans Eleven, all of the Pirate movies... WOW, I got a little carried away, sorry.  I guess I'll stop now, I could probably go on for a while. 

6. What has been your favorite Halloween costume?

Um, I dunno.  I love getting to mix it up every year.  Halloween is so FUN!  But one of my most memorable costumes is when I dressed up as a pirate with Mr. B.  Why was it so memorable?  Well, it's the only time I can recall when Mr. B WILLINGINLY dressed up with me, AND it was also the same costume that my then future mother-in-law told me I looked like a sex kitten.  Yes, you read that right.  Should I be admitting that??  I was dumbstruck when she told this to me.  I think it left Mr. B speachless too.  LOL.  Not to fret, I absolutely LOVE my MIL.  This comment just made me rethink my costumes from then on.  haha!  And I don't know, I didn't think my cosutme was THAT scandalous  what do you think?  

Ok, forget I asked, don't answer that.  But man, look how young we were!  This is also the night we announced our engagement to the family.  And no, Mr. B didn't style his hair like Alfalfa, that's a split in the curtain behind him, no time to photoshop at the moment.  ;)

7. What is your favorite physical feature?
  I'd have to say my eyebrows.  So I think I have nice eyebrows, that's not weird or anything.  

8. Where is one place you'd like to visit?
Seriously, Megan, what's with all the questions that can't be narrowed down to one!?  ;)
New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland, just to name a few.

9. Chick Flick or Action?
Depends on my mood.  But generally a Chick Flick.

10. What is your most embarrassing moment?
I'm going to go ahead and count the answer to question number 6 as a double answer for this question. ;0)

11. What did you want to be growing up?

It changed all the time, but usually jumped from an artist/children's book illustrator/writer, Librarian, or Animal Trainer at Sea World.  I'm obviously none of those today, but I couldn't have lucked out any better in life.  Being a Mom is the best job in the world!  :)

Eleven facts about myself, (because you didn't learn enough about me already)  ;)
1.  I have favorite letters.  If you're curious, they are: E, Q, R, and S.
2.  I'm a big Disney Fan.  I've only lost once, or twice, to the game "Disney Seen It."  true story.
3. I wish I could go to Disneyland twice a year.
4. I should add a "Disney Princess" to the list of things I want to be when I grow up.
5. I love it when I suceed in making Mr. B laugh.
6. My favorite sound is the sound of my children laughing hysterically.
7. I'm HORRIBLE at spelling, and grammar for that matter.
8. I am a Mormon.  I know it, I live it, I love it.
9.  I'm well known as the "dumb blonde" in my family.
10.  Mr. B and I only knew each other for roughly 6 months before we were married.  (3 months of dating, and 3 months to plan the wedding)
11.  Mr. B and I have "matching" middle names.

My Questions for my Nominees:
1. What's your favorite smell, and why?
2. What was your favorite childhood toy?
3. Would you rather live in a cozy cottage, or an extrodinary castle?
4. Sweet or Salty?  Or both?!
5. Have you ever broken a bone?  If so, how?
6.  What has been your favorite age thus far in life, and why?
7. Were you named after anyone?
8. What is the first thing you notice about people?
9. What is the farthest you have been from home?
10. What was your favorite subject in school?
11. What is your favorite home cooked meal?

I'm going to go ahead and follow Megan's lead and nominate some bloggers who I think check this blog every now and again :)  Some of them may have more than 200 readers, but I'm going to break the rules here, infact, I'm going to allow my nominees to break some of the rules too if they wish to participate;  this took me a little longer to complete than I anticiapted (still grateful though!!), so feel free to cut back on how many questions you answer, how many facts you want to share, and how many questions you ask to those who you nominate.  And I promise I understand if you don't have the time to participate!  Just know that I love you, and your blogs!!  :)  Ok, so my nominees are:
Catherina at Catherina's Creative Corner
Lindsay at Country Girl Home
Nikkie at Adventure is Out There
Kelsea at Cody and Kelsea Our Happily Ever After
and last but not least, Susette at Heart Strings by Susette.

More Halloween to Share...

So you may be partially aware of how much we love Halloween over here, but seeing how I'm not done sharing more 'lovelies' of Halloween, perhaps now, you'll realize the full extent of just how much we {I} love it!  I generally put all of my Halloween decor up sometime in September, but then as it goes into October, I usually end up finding, and/or making new things to add to my ever growing collection.  :)  Ok, so I have the same problem with Easter and Christmas... (Just a heads up)  And I get so excited about such little things, that I just can't hold off to share the "new" stuff with you till next year.  I. Must. Share. Now!  :)

Today I went to Black Island Farms with my family.  Fun hay ride, fun hay slides, fun train, corn pit,  bouncy house, corn mazes... (you get the point)  ...AND LOVELY pumpkins!!  Of all sorts of shapes, sizes and colors... I was especially drawn to the tiny white pumpkins...

 (The large one is plastic, I was surprised when I got home to see how spot-on the color was to the natural ones!)  Aren't the darling?!  They fit in the palm of my hand.  And that white is just sooo perfect.  I glitterfied just a couple...

 Gold glitter on white pumpkins.  Yup, I'm in love.  :)

I was stoked to find a black pumpkin too!!  Ok, ok, so I think the actual color is a very deep green, but, I say it's close enough to black to just go ahead and say it is.  :)  The stem on the yellow pumpkin made me snatch it up real quick...

 I think they look lovely paired together.  The black pumpkin would look amazing with some silver glitter too.  I just didn't have any on hand.  Crazy, I know, coming from me the 

Glitter Queen.  I guess I use it more often than I realize, and used mine all up.  :(

And they of course had the classic orange Pumpkins.  And we couldn't resist a green speckled one either...

 Wow, who knew I could go on so much about pumpkins?!  But they're pretty, no?  Ok, enough of the pumpkins, I still have more I want to share!!

My latest embroidery project!  Have I mentioned I'm related to some crazy talented people?  I'm pretty sure I have at least once in every post... My sister drew the pattern up for me.  She's pretty awesome like that. :)  I had the easy job of turning it into some needle and thread art.

 EEE!  I just love it!  Here's a better close up...

 And when I "pan back out," you'll see the next item I want to share with you!  (We're more than half way there, please, stay with me!)  Do you remember that local seasonal boutique where I got my witches hat?  Well I went again this year, and returned with adorable potion/poison bottles...  This green one on the left is a bottle of "Baby Dragon Scales"  The two tiny vintage medicine bottles are a variety of "poisons"  I should have taken a close up of those... dang!

And here is the bottle of witches brew... don't you love the feathers, and that chevron burlap ribbon?!  I could NOT pass these babies up.  :)  I did however, add the bit of twine around the neck of the bottle, the one my sister bought had that detail, and I thought this one needed it too.  :)  My sister was originally planning on making some of these bottles on her own, but after finding such an awesome variety at the boutique, she graciously gave me a bottle she had saved.  (that would be the "Witch Hazel")  Mine isn't nearly as fancy as the ones I purchased, but I figured I had enough going on this little shelf, that less would be more.  I just slapped on a free label, messily added some twine, and called it good.  :)

Ok, that's all... for now.  Yes, I seriously have more Halloween fun to share; including more of my favorite Halloween children's books.  So be sure to check back in, friends!  :)

Halloween Books...

My love for children's books, is more like an obsession.  I have been collecting children's books since before I ever even had any kids.  If I could choose any job in the world (other than being a mommy) I would be a children's book illustrator/ writer!  Of course, that's a far-fetched dream, seeing how I lack the artistic abilities, so I enjoy other talented folk's work instead.  ;)  My more realistic dream is to one day have a library like my mother's.  You should see her collection.  It's fabulous!!  :)  My 6 year old's closet is already reaching it's capacity to hold all of the books I've accumulated over the years... and my bookshelf in the playroom has reached it's limit as well.  But, the way I see it, you can never have too many books.  :)
     For each different Season/Holiday, I love to take out and display my books that go along with that Season, or Holiday... Today I'd like to share with you a few of my favorite Halloween books!

At this moment I have them displayed in this fun wire basket.  I'd like to make an actual box, to fit them better, with more room to grow over the years, but this'll do for now.  :)

 Today I'm only sharing 5 of my favorites, I have many, many more.  Let me know if you're interested in learning more of my favorite Halloween reads!  

"Cinderella Skeleton" by Robert D. San Souci, Illustrated by David Catrow

Such an absolute darling take on the "Cinderella Story" and the illustrations are just lovely!!

"Boris and Bella" by Carolyn Crimi, Illustrated by Gris Grimly

This was a new find for me last year.  I am in love with Gris Grmily's artwork!!  I have one other book illustrated by this artist.  The storyline is fun too.

"Room on the Broom" by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler

This is probably my daughter's absolute favorite.  So Dang Cute!!  Enough said.  ;)

"Scary, Scary Halloween" by Eve Bunting, Illustrated by Jan Brett

This has been a favorite of mine since I was a little girl myself!

"Little Goblins Ten" by Pamela Jane, Illustrated by Jane Manning

Oh, I just LOVE this one!!  You just need to read it for yourself. Well, all of these that I've listed, for that matter.  ;) 

What are some of YOUR favorite Halloween books??  I'm always on the lookout for one I haven't read yet, I'd love to hear some that you and your kids love to read.  

Halloween Decor...

I love decorating for Halloween!  But when it comes to Halloween decor, I'm definitely more of a "cutesy" decorator vs. a "spooky" decorator.  I love anything with an old, or vintage feel, and even little creepy crawly things.  (Fake ones, for decoration only.  Not the real deal of creepy crawly's)  I mostly don't like anything with blood and guts, things like that.   ;)

This was my Halloween mantle from last year:

 And this is it today:

 There aren't many big changes, just few.  But I like to mix it up a tad from year to year. 

 I got the adorable "Halloween" banner from an etsy shop.

 I can't remember where I got all of the other little nicknacks.  Things I've been collecting over the past 5 years or so...

 I do remember, however, that I got this darling "Raven Tonic" apothecary jar from Rod Works, a cute home decor store here in Utah.

 The wreath, I made last year, with my sister.  Inspiration was found on Pinterest, you can view it HERE.
And here's a better detailed picture of my own:

 I used a straw wreath form, and wrapped it up with burlap ribbon.  And embellished it with fabric and burlap rosettes.  And of course the raven and little beaded spider.  The little spider is a find from my sister, I don't know where she found it.  The raven was purchased from Amazon.  The tiny "spooky" banner was cut out of painters cloth and the letters were simply drawn on with a pen.

 I seriously love these Martha Stewart window clings!  (found on Amazon) I used one on a ceramic plate last year for my mantle as well.  (Pictured in top photo)

 I kept the shelves on my entertainment center pretty simple, again with just a few nicknacks I've been collecting over the years:

 This was the plate I used last year with one of the spider window clings:

 I thought this tiny autumn wreath looked adorable hanging in front of it this time around.

My corner shelf is holding a few of my absolute favorite things:

 My "grateful" sign that took me a few years to complete, due to procrastination.  ;)  The idea came from my ever-so-gifted SIL over at Catherina's Creative Corner.  I am completely SMITTEN by hers.  But so glad to have mine finally finished.  I love to keep mine up year-round.  :)

 I got this cool witches hat from a seasonal boutique here in Utah.

And the framed embroidery work was made by yours truly.  :)  I found the pattern from an etsy shop.  I started obsessing with embroidery just a couple of years ago.  I hope to finally finish some Christmas pillows I've embroidered this year.  But it's quite possible that they may get put off for one more year, as I am currently working on a large project:  revamping my Master Bedroom!  I'm INCREDIBLY excited for it's reveal!  It's undergoing quite the make-over, clear to painted ceilings.  :)  I can't WAIT until it's finished!!  (both because I've never had my own bedroom decorated how I've wanted it, my whole married life, AND because I'm sick of camping out in the play room.)  haha!

Linking up to:  Thrifty Decor Chick

Little Boy Sail Boat/ Whale Party...

 The cool vintage whales were digital art that I purchased from THIS etsy shop.  LOVE her stuff.  I just printed them off my home computer unto some nice card stock, backed them with some decorative scrap paper and put them in some 5x7 frames.

 The paper sail boats I folded myself, stuck a dowel in the larger one, and a toothpick in the smaller one for the smash cake, and the sails are just folded paper glued to some jute string.

 Cake inspiration was found HERE.  I made my own sail boat using a cereal box (my sister drew out and cut the shape out of the cardboard, and taped it all together for me.)  I then mod podged paper from an old book onto it and painted the edges, and added buttons.  I hot glued some small dowels together and cut out the sails and flags from fabric.  I hand stitched the "S" and other details.  So the wet frosting wouldn't ruin this boat, I covered the bottom with plastic wrap before placing it on the cake.  (I wanted to display it in my baby boy's room when the party was over, because this boat took some work.)

 This "ONE" banner was a no-sew project.  I just cut a bunch of ribbon and strips of fabric and tied it onto some jute string.  The banner part I cut out of painters cloth, and painted the "1" with some acrylic paint.  After the paint dried, it wrinkled up the fabric a bit, but I didn't mind it.  If you were picky about the wrinkles, then I would suggest cutting out your number with fabric and sew it on like you would with any appliqué.

 The party hat is made out of paper.  I just googled "party hat template", and found a pattern to cut out the shape I needed.  The #1 I printed from my computer and punched out with a scalloped circle punch, and behind that I just folded a piece of paper like you would make a paper fan, and taped the ends together to make a circle.  The pom pom on top I made from yarn... (Just wrap a  whole bunch around two or more fingers (depending on how large you want it) and have someone help you tie off the middle nice and tight; cut the looped ends, and wala, a pom pom!  I then glued some wide ribbon for the straps to keep it on my baby's head, and called it good.  I didn't feel like any further decorating of the hat was needed.

 I got this idea for the "First Year Banner" from one of my many very talented sister-in-laws over at Catherina's Creative Corner  I hung it on the wall using clear command hooks.

 The burlap banner behind it, was another no-so project.  Cut the little flags out of burlap and hot glued them onto some jute string.

The little sail boat jello cups were such a fun idea, found HERE.  And the "Live Bait" are swedish fish.

Butterfly Party...

I know I haven't been very elaborate in explaining all of these parties I've hosted, I'm really just trying to play catch-up; so if there is anything that I missed, or you have questions about anything, please ask! :)

 Decorations for this Butterfly party were fast and simple.  My (then 5 year old) daughter helped me make all of the garlands.  We just used a butterfly punch on some old book pages and colored scrap paper and I ran them through my sewing machine.  I hung them in my windows using command hooks (on the sides, not the glass) and a string going across.

 My sister found these awesome huge gummy butterflies at Winco.  They weren't just pretty, they were also very yummy.

 Strawberry cupcakes with just a little cream cheese frosting.  I attempted to pipe the icing to make them look like little flowers.  I don't know what they look like to be honest, but I still thought they were pretty.  Haha!  The butterflies on these cupcakes were cut out of homemade marshmallow fondant using butterfly shaped fondant cutters.  (found on amazon)

 Pink raspberry lemonade was also served.

 The goodie bags for the guests were also quick and simple: again using the butterfly paper punch, and stapled on a folded paper doily and a "Thank You" tag onto a brown paper lunch sack.  Inside the bags were simple goodies like a "flying butterfly" (sort of like a paper airplane, but shaped like a butterfly) candy, a small notepad and tiny colored pen.  All found at Zurchers.