Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! I'll post more details about my decorations and projects this year but wanted to at least get some pics up today.

Nerstrand Woods and facing the inevitable

We went for a nice fall walk in Nerstrand Woods State Park (down by Northfield, in, well, Nerstrand). We haven't much in the way of fall foliage since the weather was very warm in September and suddenly cold in October. It was a nice little hike, only to wake up on Monday to.............

.............our first major snow in the Twin Cities! Ugh. Way too early. It reminded me that I need to get out and enjoy any decent weather we get.

When Pigs Fly

These pigs may have wings, but I doubt they could fly. They weigh a bunch - mainly because they are made of cast iron.

Melanie and I decorated these pig banks for a fundraiser for Articulture (www.articulture.org). They auction these banks in November to raise money for their programs. They also have art classes that you can sign up for; Melanie and I are taking a drawing and painting class on Monday nights. They also have a cute retail space where we're selling some of our art cards.
It's a great organization and the two women who run it are really cool people.

The black one is mine and Melanie's RoboPig is shown in the pic at the bottom.

Apples and a Giveaway Winner!

First things first, thanks to everyone who entered a comment in my Halloween Giveaway contest! The winner, chosen by the random number generator, is.......Ashley! I'll be sending you an e-mail to get your mailing address.

Here are some pics from our recent apple-picking outing at Fireside Orchard (in my family, we call it Apples Cider Cheese Fudge - for obvious reasons) I've never picked apples before and was surprised at how easy it is. I mean, if you are picking bushels of apples I'm sure you would work up a sweat but we only picked a peck and it was a cakewalk. These are Haralson apples which are ripe when fully red. They look fake, don't they?

At the bottom is a picture of the baked apple I made for dessert that night. Low carb means no apple pie, alas, but I did cheat by toasting the marshmallow on top. Delicious!

Halloween Giveaway!

*************The giveaway has been extended until Wednesday since there haven't been 30 posts. Tell your friends!***************************************

Okay, as promised (although a day late!) I'm having the first giveaway on my blog. Pictured above is the Halloween goodies that will go to the winner. Included:

• Halloween Stickers
• A skull ice cube tray
• A cool black metal notebook
• A 3-D Halloween card
• Spooky bottle stickers
• Skeleton platter
• Halloween colored pencils
• A copy of Country Living's Halloween book

In addition the winner will get a hand-crafted owl ornament made by me. I posted a picture of a similar ornament below. I haven't quite finished the actual ornament for the giveaway.

How to Enter: In the comment section, tell me about your favorite Halloween costume of all time (either your own or someone elses). If I have comments from 30 people by next Friday, I will randomly draw a name as the winner. So, please forward to your friends who may be interested in this blog.

Good Luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy 2nd Blogiversary to Me!

Today is the second anniversary of this little blog. I have to say that I still enjoy it as much as I did at the beginning. It's nice to have a place to put photos of all my projects for people to see and to look back on. Publishing a blogs helps motivate me to finish projects and paintings and to try new recipes.

Above is a picture of one of the random heirloom tomatoes my sister, Emily, is harvesting from her garden by the bucketload. I guess it's been a pretty good year for tomatoes, although they ripened a little later than usual.

Big News! In honor of two years of blogging, tomorrow afternoon I will be announcing my first ever

GIVEAWAY!

That's right - a cool prize will go to one lucky winner. Check back tomorrow to see how to enter.

Halloween is right around the corner

Oh, okay- I know Halloween is still almost two months away. And I love September so I'm not trying to rush it. BUT.....I love Halloween. It's such a great time for creative, crafty types. Here are some awesome Halloween ideas/decorations I found around the web:

Above: Halloween stencils on www.fancyflours.com. They also have a ton of cute picks and sprinkles.

Below: Creepcakes by Martha Stewart. It would be a fun activity with a kid, wouldn't it?

Above we have some cute mummy pops from Oriental Trading....

....and here we have some awesome vintage-looking Halloween cards from Plum Party.

Or maybe you like your Halloween stuff on the gory side? No problem. Above is a candy blood treat from Oriental Trading, and below is a drink dispenser from www.spirithalloween.com

I like my Halloween cute or atleast cheesy-scary (not really scary, though. I hate those Scream costumes). The ornaments above are also from Plum Party.

And finally, here is a cool decorating idea from Country Living. Just creepy enought, right?