Paper Plate Jack-O-Lanterns

This project is a must for October.  It worked out perfectly because we have been focusing on the color orange.  They know the drill.. "Please paint away ALL of the white!"  They do such a wonderful job!  

Next, glue stem, eyes, nose, mouth and google eyes.  We used a pipe cleaner to create a twisty vine just for fun.  I attached the "vine" with the stapler.   Now our art wall is a pumpkin patch!  Have a wonderful day today! ♥♥♥

Happy 13th Birthday Stephanie!

My baby is now 13!  She was only 5 lbs 9 oz. when she was born.  I was scared to change her diaper because she was so small.  (She was even two whole weeks late!)

Stephanie was always bright eyed and happy.  My whole universe revolved around every move she made. ♥  She had some serious cowlicks and always had pony tails.

When she was 4 years old, she took a dance class for a while.  She was ready to perform!

She was happy to be a big sister when she turned 5, and has been consistently fun for both of her brothers since they were born. 

She's a thinker.. I'm so proud of the way she works things out!  Always planning ahead- always looking forward to the next exciting thing!

She has recently started painting.  It's a new hobby!

Her walls are looking colorful these days!  These are all originals by Steph.

 Instead of princesses, Steph loves Batman.

Happy Birthday to our Stephanie!  We love you so much and are blessed to have you!♥

Here she is this morning in her new Cat Woman sunglasses.  Happy Monday!♥♥♥

Chalk Dust Ghosts

I love this project- it is soo easy, yet really creates a neat effect.  All you need is black construction paper, a piece of white chalk, and a ghost cutout.  I always use file folders to cut out my stencils and shapes for tracing.  It is firm and lasts use after use.

First, take the chalk and generously color the ghost shape.  Make sure it is completely covered.

Next, firmly hold the shape onto the construction paper.  Using a tissue, gently wipe the chalk off of the ghost and onto the paper.  Make sure to go all of the way around the whole shape.

When you remove the shape- as if by magic, the ghost appears!  The kids LOVED the element of surprise.

Let them add faces and a "Boo" if desired.  To keep this art project from smearing, I spray the paper with a coating of aerosol hairspray.  The hairspray secures the chalk in place and prevents smearing.  This project took each child LESS than 5 minutes.  Happy Friday!♥♥♥

Autumn Adventure

It is October- and the rain paused for us yesterday and I am sure it was because we wanted to go to the pumpkin patch!  We are blessed where we live with at LEAST six farms to choose from within 15 minutes of our location- and this time we chose Craven Farm.  We dusted off our large supply of rubber boots in the garage and set out for an autumn adventure!

Here we are!

So much to see, lucky for us all in the same direction. ☺

 Craven Farm had lots of Mother goose pumpkin head nursery rhyme scenes set up all over the place.

This scene was designed after the "Up" movie that the kids love so much.  I love it too, it's a great one if you have not seen it.

We took turns flying to space in the rocket!

I loved the festive little decorations outside of the gift shop.

Here was my FAVORITE part of the trip- the girls spent a good 5 minutes wandering around the table looking for "the rest of the witch."  I had to hold back my laughter-- it was sooo funny!

Off to explore the pirate ship!

Next to drive the speedboat!

We took turns playing "scarecrow".

It was finally time to choose our pumpkins!

We meandered through some corn to find the pumpkin patch that held the larger pumpkins.  How exciting to feel so small in that tall corn.

Each of us carefully chose our perfect pumpkin.  They were all looking for a square one- like the story 'Spookley The Square Pumpkin'.

It was very beautiful!

Some scenery from our drive home.  Look at all of the beautiful flowers!

We especially enjoyed the changing leaves.  It was a fabulous time! ♥♥♥

Scrappy Aprons

I L♥VE APRONS!  A friend made this apron in the photo above and gifted it to me.  I think the crazier an apron is, the more I love it.

A couple of weeks ago, another friend blessed my socks off by bringing over two large garbage bags full of fabric.  I could not believe my eyes as I began to dig through the wide variety of fabrics- so many different designs- so many colors!  This was my lucky day because I had recently decided that I would like to make scrappy aprons to give out as Christmas gifts.  I would need to start NOW, because as  you may have noticed, I get very busy.

 I made it a point to find fabric that did not match- some scraps that would really grab some attention.

Strips were being cut out.  Just laying them out was very exciting to me.  Look at those awesome designs!

Honestly-  I may need to make one for myself and one so I can do a give away- ( Isn't that the blog thing to do?)

I found some fabric for the back of the aprons, too.  I love the stripes!  That fabric will also provide ties and ruffles for the bottom of the aprons.

 When I sew, I can't start until all pieces are cut out.  If I do it any other way- it will not be completed.  Everything is labeled with sticky notes so I don't get confused.  Organization is key.

SO much fabric to play with STILL! 

Meanwhile, my niece arrived yesterday morning with these cards in hand just for me because Monday morning I had a bit of an upset stomach.  She drew me some pineapples with arms and legs.  I feel much better now. ♥♥♥

My Handsome Hubby

This is my husband Adam and I.  I must tell you how wonderful he is when it comes to having a house full of children.  He has saved me on so many occasions- I cannot even count them!  It is because of his encouragement and support that I have been able to stand up for myself at times, or collapse in exhaustion for 15 minutes while he plays something fun with the kids.  I think he can see when I'm about to break!  He's great with kids.  Something funny always comes out of his mouth towards the kids that breaks the ice and draws them to him.  "What's for breakfast?" someone asked him.  "Scrambled Chloe.", was his immediate response..  (Chloe is our cat, and no we didn't scramble her.. but it caused laughter.)  Adam takes over for me when I go to the doctor.  I don't know many men who would do that- it can be a daunting task to control a house with ten children in it.

Thank you for being so amazing, Adam!  I love you to pieces. ♥♥♥

Foot Ghost

Boooo! Watch out- this is a messy project!  A friend recently commented on my blog about how hard it is to allow a mess.  That hit so close to home- I struggle with allowing messy projects.  I have a tie die kit sitting in my garage because I am sure at some point we will tie die something cool, but not today because it's so messy... I suppose that is not one of my best qualities!  I am working on it and have gotten a little tiny bit better about messy projects.  Usually the messier it is, the more fun it is. (For them.)  THAT is what counts! We decided to make feet ghosts.

We laid out some newspaper and took off our socks and shoes.  "Are we REALLY going to step in paint?"

"Yes we ARE!"  Lay out a black piece of construction paper.  Pour some white paint onto a paper plate and spread it around on the plate with a paint brush to evenly coat it.

"Ok, now step.."

"Lift, and print!"   We learned the hard way that we needed a chair to hold onto to avoid losing balance with paint all over our foot...  Giant mess averted.

Each child created three foot ghosts in honor of the number three.  I then helped them sit down so I could use baby wipes to wipe off the painted foot.  It worked beautifully! (Yay- I get to clean!)

On to the table our ghosts went.  They would now receive eyes and a yowling mouth.

Each child wrote "Boo" on their papers- the letters looked beautiful!  We noted that the word boo has three letters.

It's good to make a mess sometimes! Have a wonderful Monday, we enjoyed our rainy morning bus stop. ♥♥♥