WIP Wednesday with Half a Finish

I meant to write this blog post this morning but somehow the day just got away from me.  Today was my son's first day back to school.  He's a 10th grader now.  It makes me so sad but at the same time, I'm so proud of him.

Anyway, I've almost missed WIP Wednesday since I'm posting so late.  I'll make it short and sweet, how about that?

For the past few days, I've been working on a Halloween table runner.  I know most people could have finished this little project in a day or two but I'm super slow.  
I do finally have the top finished though so now comes the fun part of making the back, basting and quilting it.  I'm taking Jackie Gehrig's Quilting with a Walking Foot class on Craftsy so I'm thinking about using a technique from the class to quilt it.

This pattern is called Granny Square Stars and I got it in a little book I picked up at my LQS a couple of weeks ago called On the Run Again by Heather Mulder Peterson.  It has lots of little table topper projects in it.  I used Riley Blake's Witch Hazel charm pack to make it but since there were only 21 charms in it, I had to add 3 squares that I cut from my stash and 12 solids to coordinate.  I think it turned out pretty good.  I usually like brighter, happier colors but this is for Halloween so I guess I'll live.  :)

 I think the problem I have with it is this dark green I used.  I should have gone with the orange to brighten it up.

I'm not usually a fan of the Granny Square though I've noticed it popping up on several blogs, kind of like Trip Around the World did last year.  But I do like this block with the star in the center.  It was also easy to make and I like the end result so I can definitely see myself using this again especially for a table runner.

So, that's my WIP.  A partially finished WIP. 
**Linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced for WIP Wednesday.**

Tales from the Crypt

My son helped me decorate for Halloween this year.  He also answered the door every single ring.  Of course, he did it by running up to the door and slamming into it and acting like a monster.  He scared some of the little kids really good.  One kid was shaking so bad he could hardly hold onto his candy sack. 

The older kids (8 and up) loved it though. 

The signs were my son's idea.

It was scarier at night with the lights and all.  Plus we have this skeleton head that is motion activated.  It wiggles it's eyes and makes this aweful noise.  We have it on the porch where people don't really notice it until it scares the crap out of them.   MWAAHAA

Happy Halloween!

Look what my mom and dad brought me back from the pet store today! 

It's Mr. Frankenstien!!

I love Mr. Frankenstien!

I like to chew on him and play tug of war with him.  He's a fun guy.

Happy Halloween from Mac the dog!
(Ugg!  I had no idea the dog hair on my son's rug would show up so bad in pics.  He vacuums his rug every Sunday but his fat little dog sheds like nothing you've ever seen before - but we love him anyway.)

New Fabric!

Fresh from fabric.com just in time to make up into aprons for Halloween and Christmas!

I love getting new fabric in the mail!

Trick or Treat!

My little family at the Fall Festival last weekend (at my son's school). See how he's pulling away as if he's ashamed to be seen near his weird parents? Funny huh? Considering the whole Mario theme was his idea. By the way, I'm Princess Peach who gets rescued by Mario - or so I'm told. My dress is pink but you can't really tell in this picture (I got it for $20 at a used Wedding dress store!!)

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!! And have fun Trick or Treating! Go easy on the tricks ;)

You've been BOO'D!

I've been thinking about Booing some of my neighbors this Halloween. I've heard and read about doing this and I think it's a really cool idea. We have two neighbors with little bitty kiddos and a retired couple across the street. I think I'll even include a big old doggy bone for the neighbors dog. He needs to be boo'd too, don't ya think?

Have you ever heard of the Boo game? It's where you make up a bag of treats and leave it on your neighbor's doorstep with a little picture of a ghost and a poem. The poem basically says that the person has been boo'd and that they should now boo someone else. However, I don't like the part about making the person feel like they have to boo someone else. I just want to leave treats for some of the neighbors. So I started looking on the internet and found several people who had the same idea as me.

Crazedparent.org has a post about Booing and there was a great poem left in the comments for people who don't want to make the recipient feel as though they have to continue the Booing.
Here's the poem:

The air is cool, the season fall,
soon Halloween will come to all
With Ghosts and goblins, spooks galore
trick-or-treaters at your door
The spooks are after things to do,
in fact, a spook brought this "Boo" to you
The treats that come with this short note
are yours to keep, enjoy them both!
You don't have to spread this cheer
but if you do,
do it to someone you hold dear

Here is how to make a Boo:
Place a goody bag beside the door
include this poem and one thing more
A special treat or something fun,
now your Boo is almost done
Don't sign your name, don't leave a clue
cause that's the magic of a Boo!
Happy Halloween!

This website - organizedchristmas.com has some really great Booing signs and more info about it.

So go out there and BOO someone. This would be a great way to raise the spirits of an elderly person in your neighborhood or anyone else that needs a little fall cheer!

The Etsy Texas Crafters Design Challenge for this month is Halloween/Autumn. Tomorrow is Design Challenge Monday and we will be promoting our own and other members items that match this challenge. To find the design challenge items, just search "teametsytx" and "designchallenge" on etsy.com or click here!





Here are some of my challenge items!


OOOH! Spooky spiders and pumpkins - oh my! Perfect for Halloween!

Halloween is only 3 days away!

Can you believe how fast time is flying? Halloween is only 3 days away and I haven't even started decorating my yard for the Trick R' Treaters. I absolutely must do that today! LOL After that it will be time to get out the ol' Christmas decorations. At least I have already started my Christmas shopping - so I'm a step ahead of the game.

I was at our local mall a few days ago and JC Penney's already has all their Christmas decorations up. Wreaths and little trees and everything. The employees looked a little embarrassed by the Christmas finery when we haven't even had Halloween yet. Sad how retailers try to hurry the time up even more. It just makes us all older. Sigh.

It's Officially 1st Monday!

My big weekend sale continues through today in my etsy shop. I have over 20 items on sale 20% in my special sale category! Many of the sale items are fall items, so check them out!

I added some cell phone/ipod charms to the sale yesterday. They are just waiting to decorate your phone!
Here's the link to my sparkly frog cell phone charm:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6186773

This sweet girls bracelet is also on sale:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6348553

Hurry, the sale ends at midnight tonight!