A FANCIFUL TWIST - HALLOWEEN PARTY

Welcome to my Halloween party sponsored by A Fanciful Twist. My treat for you is an I SPY Halloween game. What can yoooooooooooooo find? If you want to look at other Halloween items I have already posted, go here, here, here, and here, if you dare! Now have a great day and don't forget to eat your vegetables!

Mmmmmmm... Corn... I Love Corn!

Or maybe you prefer pumpkin?

S.W.A.K.

P.S. - Don't forget to check out all the other Halloween participants - you can find the list at A Fanciful Twist. Hey, that rhymes!

JEN, THIS ONE'S FOR YOU!

Before I put this into the mail, I just wanted to show everyone what Jen (who has waited ever so patiently) won in my First Annual Halloween Contest/Giveaway. Jen, this was made with love and I hope it was worth the wait! Enjoy!

S.W.A.K.

P.S. - For anyone else interested, I have several more of these bead-knitted purses made and they're just waiting to go into their frames (in a variety of different colors) - they are even more beautiful in person and make lovely gifts - oh, so feminine, not to mention, one-of-a-kind, and I would doubt that anyone else already has one. I'll be posting them soon - just so you know! E-mail me at CuteStuffInside@hotmail.com if you'd like one created in a specific color - the price will vary depending on the frame.

AND THE WINNER IS...

Hey, before I get to the winner, I just want to thank everyone who entered the "I Want Candy!" giveaway. I hope you will all come back again and again to visit. Heads up - there'll be another giveaway before Thanksgiving, so be on the lookout! And now, without further ado... drumroll please...

Ratatat-ratatat-ratatat-rat...

And the winner is... Miniature Quilter!

Let's give it up for Miniature Quilter... clap, clap, clap, clap... hip-hip-hooray!

S.W.A.K.

WE INTERRUPT...

...this regularly scheduled blog update for an important... cupcake break?

Mmmmmmmm... slurp, slurp... Mmmmmmmm...

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blogging.

S.W.A.K.

YOU'VE GOT TO BE IN IT TO WIN IT!

Mmmmmmmmore CHOCOLATE!

Mmmmmmm

So you love chocolate, do you? Well, here's a great, EASY, recipe for some yummy, moist, melt-in-your-mouth watering, saliva drooling, chocolate chip muffins. You will need:

2 Cups Flour (all-purpose - and don't bother to sift it)
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
2 Eggs (I use large)
4 Tablespoons Butter (melted - I use salted - use what you like)
3/4 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup Oil (I use canola)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
1 Cup Chocolate Chips (I like Nestle's Mmmmmmini Chips - use what you like - save a few to sprinkle on top)
Large Bowl and a Fork

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put first four ingredients in bowl and mix together with fork. Make well in center. Add eggs, milk, butter, oil and stir together. Mix in vanilla. Stir in chocolate chips (reserving a small amount to sprinkle on top). This batter usually makes 12 regular-sized muffins, so divide your batter evenly (I use an ice cream scoop and paper liners, but whatever works for you) and sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top of each. Bake for 25-30 minutes (mine usually take 25 - you know, insert pick and if it comes out clean it's ready). Now wait until they've cooled, if you can (at least give them a few minutes so you don't burn your tongue!). Enjoy! You can make Texas-sized if you want or the minis, but you'll have to adjust the baking time accordingly.

Here's what they look like going into the oven.

S.W.A.K.

GET YOUR CHOCOLATE FIX HERE!

WITCH WITH ATTITUDE!

Look at those shoes. Aren't they sassy! They must belong to some hip witch. How about that touch of glitter, not to mention those bows!

I had requests to make five more pumpkins, so here they are, only this time I added some witch legs to the brew (I mean crew). :) You've got to admit that those pumpkins look real. You have to lift one up to discover the difference. You can get the pattern for the shoes here. Only thing I did different from the actual pattern was to paint the entire design instead of carving the yellow stripes and then I added a yellow/orange glitter for some sparkle.

S.W.A.K.

Chocolate!... Chocolate Here!... Get Your Chocolate!

CUPCAKE CAFE

Spent some time up in the attic this past weekend looking for Halloween decorations when I came across the high chair I decorated for Frannie. It was a lot easier to bring the camera up to the attic than it would have been to bring the chair downstairs and then back up again, so pardon the background. After I had my little girl, I felt that a pretty high chair was in order, not one of those plastic things, and it's so much more attractive in the kitchen. I purchased a new, unpainted chair with the appropriate seat belt for safety, and then got right to work. I chose a light pink color with a periwinkle blue accent.

I wanted the high chair to look as though it were always set for a tea party so I got out my scissors, paper and decoupage medium. If you look closely, you'll see that I threw in a few thoughts of love (conversation heart next to cupcake says "true love", biscuit next to tea cup says "je taime", and there are heart-shaped cookies pouring out of the teapot). You'll also notice that I put periwinkle blue polka-dots around the edge of the tray (I wanted to make sure that I started Frannie out of the right foot). :)

I didn't want to overdo the polka-dots, so I controlled myself and put some stripes and letters on instead. The letters were created on the computer (I personally like Illustrator). After choosing a fun font, I sized it to fit on the back of the chair, then inversed the type and printed it out on the back of a polka-dot (whoops) paper, cut them out, and glued. A temporary glue stick works great for positioning, then just remove one letter at a time as you go along with the decoupage medium.

Lastly, the toe rail needed a little something - "Step Right Up" seemed to foot the bill (he-he-he). Another good thing about this chair was that the tray could be lifted over to the back which then made this a great youth seat when Frannie was ready to eat at the table, but still needed a little height. This chair is a keeper. Maybe someday Frannie's little girl will sit in it.

Here's a tip, after you decoupage, be sure to put on several coats of urethane. I use a water-based product. The tray was wiped clean again, and again, and again, and you can see that it still looks great!

S.W.A.K.

Mmmmmm... Chocolate

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEN!

Today is Jen's birthday - go on over and send her some best wishes!

S.W.A.K.

I WANT CANDY!

Mmmmmm..... Chocolate

Do you have a sweet tooth? Do you need a sugar fix? Do you crave chocolate? Well then, you've come to the right place. Have I got the giveaway for you! All you have to do is comment on this post and tell me what your favorite Halloween treat is (I'm talking candy here). :) If you do, you'll be entered to win this fabulous Halloween pail chock full of chocolaty treats. And I don't mean those little snack size teasers. You're going to get those old-time Halloween size bars. The kind that required a pillowcase to hold all your loot.

This adorable pail measures approximately 7-1/2" tall and 9" in diameter at the top. Here's a sampling of what you could win: M&M's (dark chocolate, milk chocolate and peanut), Mounds, Almond Joy, Baby Ruth, Reeces Peanut Butter Cups, 3 Musketeers, 100 Grand, Milky Way, Kit Kat, Butterfinger, Nestle Crunch, Hershey's and Hershey's Caramel, Russell Stover Dark Chocolate Covered "Marshamallow" Pumpkin and Orange "Marshamallow" Pumpkin, and a small package of Orea Mini Chocolate Sandwich Cookies. Did you notice that I didn't stick in any of that candy that I don't consider to be a true Halloween treat - like Starburst or Sweet Tarts? We're going chocolate all the way!

Mmmmmm..... Pure Chocolate!

Now, just to sweeten :) the pot a little, if you post this link and/or "I Want Candy" icon to your blog (you can do this by right clicking on the "I Want Candy" picture and then "save picture as" and upload to your blog), should your name be chosen, you will also receive this, just back in production for the cooler weather, box of scrumptious Mallomars. YUM!

I'm changing the date of the drawing to coordinate with the Fall Into Fall giveaway - let's make it Wednesday, October 15th, at 8 PM Eastern Time - Frannie will stick her hand into a plastic pumpkin and pull out a winner. It could be you!

Don't forget to check out the Fall Into Fall Quilters Blog Giveaway!

S.W.A.K.

HERE KITTY KITTY

Meow!

Just finished these two pumpkins. I did this same design on a real pumpkin last Halloween, but I had to throw it away at the end of the season. So, this year I went to Michael's and purchased two of those craft pumpkins. They look real! And they're so much easier to paint on, the surface is not quite as slick. One of these pumpkins is for Frannie's classroom and the other is for home.

2007 Issue

The idea came from the 2007 issue of Halloween Tricks & Treats by Better Homes & Gardens. I enlarged the pattern to the appropriate size, traced it onto the pumpkins and painted. I tweaked it a little by adding glittered eyes and a sparkly, glittered moon. I also elongated the necklace and used stick-on rhinestones in an amber color. They'll look just as good next year!

STARTING TOMORROW!

Tomorrow I'm going to post another giveaway - check back!

S.W.A.K.

DRUMROLL PLEASE...

...ratatat-tatatat-tatatat-tat...
...and the winner is... Jen? Hey, look everyone, it's Jen! Jen, you won! It just goes to show that persistence pays off. :) There were only two correct guesses as to what Frannie was going to be this Halloween. Deb of Cucaroo made the other correct guess. Great try Deb!

The correct answer is Glinda from "The Wizard Of Oz". I am using Simplicity pattern #4139. Here are most of the components for the costume. I didn't include the interfacing, thread, wooden dowel or cardboard. Now I just have to get started. It has to be completed by October 24th as that is the evening of the school's annual Halloween party. The part I like least is cutting out, not to mention how I feel about tulle! Does anyone like working with tulle?!! But that crown - OH, how I love to make crowns! And this one is so sparkly, and how about Glenda's magic wand - I'm looking forward to that too! Progress reports to follow.

Have You Seen These?

Mother-To-Be Crowns

I want to thank everyone who entered the contest. I'm going to do another giveaway (a quickie) - probably starting tomorrow or Friday and going over the weekend - winner to be picked on Monday, 10/6. It will be very short and "sweet" - hint, hint. So, please, please, please come back and sign up for a holiday surprise - my "treat"!

S.W.A.K.