October (aka Halloween Month) is finally here, and just about anyone who knows me can tell you that I would not be caught dead or alive in a haunted house. But this Flickr steam kinda makes me want to change my mind. 

                                                                                                                 

Nightmare's Fear Factory photostream is priceless. Take a look at some of the hilarious photos of patrons caught in the fear of things. I especially love the "manly" men screaming their little heads off. Teehee. Check it out.


Now that Halloween is just around the corner, stay tuned for updates on Halloween crafts and costume ides. 

SweetHearts

What's better than biting into a sweet treat on Valentine's Day. As a rule I try and bake and or make something for just about every holiday. Helps spread the joy and who doesn't love a cupcake? 


While cruising the internet for fabulous valentine ideas I came across this gem from Bake it in a Cake. What a fantastic surprise for those you love most. Just make sure you have them facing the right way. 

Bake It in a Cake • Bake a Heart in a Cake

Now I have to say I tried. Diligently. But with limited time and certain unforeseeable circumstances, my cupcakes did not look like this perfectly sweet rendition above. Mine just ended up looking like white cake pots with little pink buds emerging. Needless to say, not perfect. So instead I did what I could with the two dozen fail-cakes I could.

Decoration, it's all about the cover up when it comes to failing. Making something beautiful out of something that just isn't what you expected. 

White chocolate was my cure. With these fantastic neon food colors from McCormick. 

Hearts and swirlys make any cupcake whimsical. You can pipe them out on parchment paper, or wax paper. Attach two pieces together with a small dab of chocolate.

Late night cake decorating gone right :) I was so please to be able to pull this off after my frustrating afternoon of baking.

Three colors, two heart sizes, swirlys...combinations galore.

Some cupcakes for my kin as well, gotta please the family...can you tell I was  running out of icing?

Well not everything in life turns out the way you plan...especially when you start at 7pm and need cupcakes for work in the morning. Baking is not something you can rush, but I have to say the results still got the Oohs and Ahhs I was hoping for. 


Try it for yourselves. I would suggest reading the comments on the Bake It in a Cake article, there are a lot of helpful suggestions on how to tackle some of the mistakes I made. 

Love Created.

Ok Ok I know I'm about a month late to be posting things about Valentine's Day, but it has been a chaotic month. I'll catch up within the next week or two. Promise.

This Valentine's Day I really wanted to use my hoards of craft and paper supplies to create something beautiful that my friends and family would love.

This is what I decided on.

The pattern for this card came from Craftzine. 

I started off printing out the PDF file from the Craftzine website....but unfortunately the template has unsightly black dotted lines that will show up no matter how you fold it. Unless you are so precise in cutting them all out. I decided to use my first cut out as a template, and then trace the design onto my final paper choice (cut inside the lines to get a good fit when the piece is folded. 

After a little wrangling, all the pieces finally came together into a sweet silhouette.  

The template is simple and easy to fold...you will need a bone folder or something like it to get the clean edges. I opted for using a slim double sided tape to hold the piece together, glue just doesn't dry fast enough. The card has a great silhouette structure to it, a little forest of love.

Just adding a cute $1 stamp from Michael's makes the an adorable card cover uber-delightfull. 

I added an inscription on the backside of the card...I would suggest doing this before folding. Yeah. I learned that the hard way. 

I loved the idea of using other colors besides red or pink, this one went to my nature loving coworker. Very appropriate green casing and of course the forest hidden inside.

The little peak-through heart window makes this valentine all the more unique.

Now you have a fantastic homemade valentine that anyone would be overjoyed to receive. Check out the full article on Craftzine for ideas on what your recipients could do with this little jem... like frame it? 

Postcards Ahoy

My mailbox has been very sad for a very long time. With the evolution of e-mail, Facebook, etc... I very rarely receive any actual mail. And no, junk mail and bills do not count. So I decided to cheer my mailbox up. The solution... Postcrossing.com
This clever site has created a haven for people looking to add a little joy to their lives, and receive some handwritten love from a perfect stranger.
Who doesn't love receiving those colorful and unique cards from all around the world. Reminds me of all those glorious pictographs mailed by my grandparents from the random places they would visit.

So far two cards received...one from St. Louis and the other from Münster, Germany.

Writing about my town and lots of other interesting things. This one is headed to Russia!

Finished postcard ready for mailing. This postcard showcases a huge mural on South First St. and is actually titled "Austin Postcard". 

Off to Russia...funny thing was I had written "it might snow tomorrow" on the card...and it did :)
A very rare snow day in Austin, Texas.

So I signed up and sent off my first few postcards. Let me just say that it is just as fun going out to look for postcards to represent my hometown as it is to open the mailbox and find my very first postcard. You know you wanna...get to it!

To The Moon

Why in the world anyone would pick "Space Janitor" as their back up job? Because it's freaking awesome that's why, and this is exactly what my co-worker decided would be his alternate profession.

This coworkers was not thrilled about coming into work around Christmas so I thought I would make him a "coming into work even if you don't want to" survival kit for his present... Including this adorable (if I do say so myself) space custodian figurine.

So Playmobile doesn't make an astronaut figurine or even a janitor... So I had to adapt one of their deep sea diver pieces. Hand painted shirt and sleeves. 

In his full suit he looks pretty astronautical.

With his ring of keys and wrench he's ready for a working day on the space station.

Had to add a dirty rag...how else is he gonna keep all those windows clean.

And of course he wouldn't be complete with profession badge and the National Space Custodian Association logo :) 

The completed kit included McDonald Happy Meal cookies, masking tape, OCD hand sanitizer, pretty princess bandaids, Red Bull, Hello Kitty pen, Sharpie pen, Kleenex, staple remover, Space Ice Cream, and of course the little man himself. 

So with everything together it all go wrapped up in a stainless steel box and emblazoned with a big red survival cross (hand painted of course). With a big bow of red tulle this was one of my favorite Christmas presents to make and put together. Now I just need to find more friends with interesting back up job ideas. 

Etsy...Here I Come!

After a long struggle with my arch-nemesis procrastination, I have finally taken a moment to sit down and open my Etsy store. You would think after countless hours rummaging through the endless listings of gorgeous Etsy items I would have come to this "make your own store" conclusion earlier. But no.

I feel like a proud mama. May I now present...my Crafternoon Etsy Store!

Ta-dah! Ok ok so there is only one thing on it right now but I'll get to that. There is only so long I can stare at my computer screen on a day like this. 

Just wanted to give ya'll an update.

*shop now*

** Update - 4 checkbook covers now...hoping to branch out into passport cover soon too.**

Cutest Checkbook

Hate carrying around that atrocious black plastic casing your lackluster bank burdened upon you? Well I certainly think that this might spark your little creative brain. Let your checks travel in style.
Now I must say that this pattern is not mine at all. I actually did a little online research and found this simple yet positively charming check book cover pattern...and don't you dare think you only have to carry your checks in it.  


This is how I spent my crafternoon...

Cut two pieces according to the pattern, one from your choice of internal fabric, and one from external. I like using a fun outer layer and a plain inners, cause you don't really see the inners.  

I used a medium weight fusible interfacing (cut 2 from the pattern), it gives the little booklet some heft. Gotta protect those paper Benjamin's.

Sew the two long sides of the pieces (right sides facing) together with 1/4" seam allowance, then turn the tube right side out and press.

Not to give out too many details from the rightful owners pattern, here's what I ended up with. Super cute. 

Cute inners too. Yay :)

This little booklet is the one I made to carry around in my very own purse. Ooo tropical...this little booklet fits a regular size check book (or two), but even better that that...my iPhone.

Folds up slim and is great for little purses, big purses, or rock it solo for a night on the town. This thing can hold it all. Use as you wish. Beware of drooling jealous friends. 

Gracie's Card

I work at a paint your own pottery store...and we "creative consultants" rarely get our recompense. But the other day I was closing down the store and found this little jem tucked in the receipt drawer.

 So of course... I decided to send her a Thank You and You're Welcome card in return. Themed in her favorite thing for the moment... BARBIE. Trust me, this was just as much fun for me as I hope it will be for her. 

I cut a square 9.5" wide x 9" tall. This was actually an envelope I received some time ago, decided to use it as a template. I found an online template that should work just as well. My best suggestion is to draw a 7.25" x 5.25" rectangle in the center. Score along those lines and cut out the triangles that remain. 

I drew out my rough template and picked out paper that I wanted to use.

Sparkly Purple and Hot Pink... is there anything more Barbie? I'm using purple for the envelope...trace with the template and cut out.

Cut a rectangle out of your card paper a little smaller than the one you drew on your envelope piece. 

Design as you please. Just got new artist pens for Christmas, with several widths...YAY. :)

Place your rectangle card inside the envelope. Fold the sides in and then the bottom up. Then fold the top down to create the completed envelope. 

One super sparkly purple envelope ready for the mail. Yes the mailman at my neighborhood PostNet did smile a little when I handed him this seriously effeminate envelope. (I suggest some glue on the seams if it's going through the mail system, just in case.)