Thanks again to  Karen, The Graphics Fairy  I have a little pre Christmas decor in my kitchen. I desaturated and printed her Christmas Tree music overlaid with the Christmasy Bird Tree and tied them onto an old book with the cover removed. The bells are attached with crochet cotton - so easy and so sweet. Linking up to: ...

Just hours after I hung this 1860's Natural History print yesterday it started to snow... and it hasn't stopped. Like everything from Karen, The Graphics Fairy , it was free! Someday I want to paint on the reverse of this antique tray, but right now I'm loving the way these reindeer warm up the nook in our kitchen. This print is beautiful... there are soft aqua tones in the snow that you just can't appreciate on your monitor. Find the image  here . Before... And after. It is good incentive to finish the three pane window. This project was totally free. I printed the image at home on 13x19 matte photo paper and professionally slapped it onto the back of the tray with four teeny pieces of Scotch tape. Everything used I had on hand: photo paper, the reproduction antique ornaments, mason jar, dead ribbon grass from my garden, jute, and ribbon.  My EAT sign  was free too. Thanking Mother Nature for the snow and The Graph......

Spell book pages are now available  here! It is FREE FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY We just added a much needed Witch's Spell Book to our Halloween decor. It was  in the family for years  found at a thrift store but it started out with a slightly different look: It was a Reader's Digest hardcover that someone had made into a wedding, ahem, gift or prop? The pages were already curled and sealed; all I needed to do was remove the silk cord, paint it, and add the spells and ink. Holy glue gun Batman! I needed a rest after finally getting that silk cord out of there. Painting it was a breeze by comparison. I have a bit more blending to do on the pages, but we love the result. I decided on a Frog to Prince and All Purpose Potion  and used 1/2" black elastic for the ribbon because that's what I had on hand. Total cost: $2.99; the landfill was saved and a bride somewhere was spared. Just in case someone flips it over... I have a plan t......

My favourite Halloween craft this fall is this witch silhouette of our daughter. I was so excited to find the perfect frame (at the perfect price) at my favourite thrift store that I totally forgot to take a photo before I got out the spray paint. It is some kind of moulded foam and the opening is 11x14. I prefer the digital 'no cut' silhouette method. No matter how careful I am with the scissors I always make a 'whoops' and the person ends up looking not quite right. After extracting Macy from the photo I added a clip art witch hat and the spider (Tangie Baxter, Hallow's Eve).  The background paper is from Michelle Coleman , recoloured.  I gave the image a slight bevel and printed on my beloved Cannon i9900. Total cost was only the $2.00 for the frame as I had the photo paper and digital bits already. I filled in the silhouette a bit with Photo Shop in this shot as it is impossible to get a photo in my kitchen without reflections. *Note to self: clear c......

It is year three for our Paranormal Portraits and I look forward to them every fall. Set up was a breeze after last years improvements. Click  here  for instructions and the link to the source. One of Martha Stewart's crow cut-outs pulls the creepiness together. The not so attractive side. This is a little time-consuming and fiddly, but so much fun to have your own family in a spooky Halloween display. I think it's definitely worth the trouble! Thank you for stopping by! Linking up to:  Funky Junk Donna's  Saturday Night Special and Gingerbread's  Sweet Saturday !...

Miss M and I have been happily working on our 2011 Halloween mantle. We started with my very first auction purchase, circa 1979 -- the 400 pound desk drawer. Back then I cleaned it up, stained it walnut, and it hung in a couple of kitchens and craft rooms over the years. We just painted it Meeting House white, gave it a scuff, and it is now home to our Halloween apothecary jars and bits. **Please try to ignore the Canadian Tire sconces. They came with the house (as did the green tile fireplace) and they are on our long list of items to replace. So, just squint and pretend they aren't there. That's what I do. I love  The Grapics Fairy's  goodies. The skull and bat are from her site. The 'Pure Canadian Garden Gnome Heads' label was my creation last year. I was so happy to find fake earthworms at Walmart this year!  The label can be found here . Our jar is now complete and topped with vintage crocheted lace made by my great grandmother. I wond......

Miss M and I have so much fun adding to our Halloween apothecary jar collection. When your assistant and chief advisor is nine years old not every jar has to be scary. We used a $1.00 jar from the dollar store and made the label with help from  The Graphics Fairy  of course (blank label and pumpkin). I was going for a pumpkin silhouette but Macy insisted on a coloured vintage pumpkin and I think she was right. We filled the jar with the cute little putka pods (from Michaels, with a coupon). One 3.8oz pkg will easily fill 4 jars. Our jars are almost 6" tall including the lid and I did make the label a bit smaller so that more pumpkin would show through. Update! My new for you 2017 updated Fairy Pumpkins label is available free  here. My free printable labels are FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY PLEASE   © If you would like to make your own jar of Fairy Pumpkins please feel free to use our label (for personal use only please). Just click to enlarge for bes......

The end of September means it's time to plan for Miss M's annual Halloween lunch & crafty hangout party. We made the invitations last night; thanks to BH&G  for the photo inspiration! Macy held a rose haired tarantula in class last year and loved her, so a relative makes an appearance here. These were easy peasy and cheap! Quarter page invites made and printed at home, glued front to back on black cardstock. Fonts used were LD Count Fontula and Muffaroo. Ornate frame and spider image from the web... he he he. Cost: $0 (with photo paper and two sheets of cardstock on hand). This means $$$ saved for food and craft supplies for the party! Linking up to Funky Junk Donna's  Saturday Night Special ...

This spring good ole Grandma Audrey made us four BIG hooded towels for our boat. They are made for big kids (or adults) with a bath towel and hand towel (lots of tutes out there). The burgundy is pretty, was on sale, and does not show sunscreen or snack smudges. Miss M and her friends LOVE these big towels and how warm they are with the hood. I'm not saying it's cold in Alberta, but September 6th 2010 we were tubing with touques on. That was a bit crazy. Anyway... I wanted to add something to the towels so the kids can always grab their own towel. I've been crocheting for about two years now and wanted to do an edge but the thought of using a tiny steel hook to pierce the towel and worsted weight yarn was a bit daunting. Then I happened upon  Shell's crocheted pillowcase edge  via Funky Junk Donna's Saturday night special and I knew how I was going to edge the towels! Thank you Shell! With Miss M back in school and the very best September weather......

A belated Canada Day display in my kitchen:  I made a flag yesterday with a piece of my recently acquired old fence board. I love how the old thickly painted boards leave blobs when you sand -- can't get that with new wood!  I am usually only a fan of red if it's Canada Day (July 1st) or it's paired with turquoise (in my craft room), but I did have a few pieces on hand to put together with my flag. Our daughter loves the new blast of colour on the shelves.  A pot from the deck came in for the photo. I was happy to find white marigolds but disappointed when they bloomed more yellow than white. I copied a Canadian flag from the net, adjusted the size to fit the width of my fence board, and transferred the lines with graphite paper. I have found it transfers so well that I quit fooling around with pencil rubbing and the newspaper method. With the Michael's 40% coupon it worked out to just over $4 for a jumbo sheet that will last and last. I painte......