Merry Monday in December!

I know it's late!

I had a bit of vertigo and it threw everything off for me yesterday and today.

But I'm better now and I don't want to miss posting.

I hope you had a very

I love October and November, but this month is truly special to me.

Not only do we have cooler weather and Christmas, but this is my birthday month!

I'm not one of those people that think" it's just another day" or they don't want to celebrate.

nope, not me!

I love it!

The mood, the cake, the gifts, the candles!!

Hell, I'd wear a tiara if I had one, lol.

I'm happy and grateful to spend another year with such lovely friends and my family!!

And you know how I like to celebrate every little thing..

Did you see the full moon last night?

It looked so gorgeous!

My friend Bernie took a picture of it for me, my phone just doesn't take 

pictures as good as his does.

It was 58 degrees and there was a breeze!

We made this cocoa the other night, 

Helena got it from the Great Pumpkin and we waited to try it.

It's very rich..

Since the night was chilly we made gingerbread to go with the cocoa.

They turned out okay..not like last year when I made sugar cookies for Santa.

I put them up on the fridge to cool & I bumped my arm, involuntarily jerked it back

and all the cookies flew to the four corners of the earth, much to the delight of the dog and cats!

It took forever to sweep up because we couldn't stop laughing.

We sprinkled these with pink sugar..

These are funfetti cupcakes Helena and my niece made yesterday.

We were going to decorate our stockings while they baked, but that's one of the times I got very dizzy.

The cupcakes were decorated while I took a nap. The stockings had to wait.

Remember all the neat stuff I got on black Friday at the thrift store?

Here's some of it...

sheet music to use in art projects for .75 cents

A one dollar frog made of what feels like cast iron, he's very heavy!

These hanging crystals..They were terribly tangled and after I spent half an hour untangling them

I hung them on this heart ornament I already had. Can't tell from the photo but they go all the way around the heart, it was a set of two but the other one had torn chains, so now I have a bunch of loose crystals to craft with. They were .25 cents

This desk organizer for $3.50

Old Christmas lights..I bought them to use in crafts..I'm too afraid to use vintage light strings.

.50 cents

I also found vintage cupcake liners and tart tins..

.25 cents each

I made this with one of the bulbs..

This is how she looks on the tree by my bed...

some of the other ornaments I've made recently...

I made this with an old ping pong ball and a light bulb bottle from Michael's.

I also used the vintage cupcake liners to create the little tree she's holding!

fold the liner in half...

roll it into a cone, add hot glue to keep it from unrolling, then decorate or paint them.

For this centerpiece project

We used clear plastic plates leftover from Thanksgiving..

covered them in glue & glitter and added cupcake liner trees.

that tiny Santa was .10 cents, I painted him pink and glued him down.

The house was a gift from Helena, two years ago

(she knows I LOVE gingerbread houses)

Isn't it cute?!

Here's a glimpse of my lovely assistant.. thinks he's helping when he gets on my lap and falls asleep while I try to craft:) He has purple glitter on his nose!

This is what Helena made for our abandoned art this week.

We left it on a bus bench..

Do you have any events or parties coming up?

I was fortunate enough to meet the most incredible person last February..

Her name is Christie Troxell, 

she's an amazing Designer, Artist and Brand Ambassador

at Ritzy Parties..

 

" Ritzy Parties is a full service design and coordination firm offering luxury event products and services, professional styling and merchandising, fresh florals, interior décor consulting, and custom, commissioned art. We bring style to story, and dreams to life.

Ritzy Parties is headquartered in Southern California, and serves esteemed clients nationwide, 

providing meticulously planned, curated events that are creatively and uniquely conceptualized, 

and elegantly executed."

 Christie Troxell, CEO, Creative Director

I hope you get a chance to look at her website.

It's filled with eye candy and art projects too.

Well, thank you for stopping by this week.

Sorry it was SO late.

I'm going to leave you with this...

See you soon..

Merry Monday!

Hello, How was your weekend?

We had a very nice one with temperatures no higher than 80 degrees.

For us, that's nice, Summer lows are usually 90 degrees at 4 am!

Are you ready for the very first 

I'd like to say again, that this is a lot like Haunted Humpday..

without the creepy stories, haha!

I want to write about things that bring me joy,

how there is magic in almost everything..

and gratitude is the secret to happiness.

I have a recipe to share,

some craft ideas,

 and a couple of books I think you should take a look at if you can.

.......................................

A few years ago I had a weekly post called Guerrilla Friday.

I created small pieces of art,

 (little dolls, cards, tiny birdhouses..)  

I'd write inspirational messages on them, and "abandon" them somewhere.

I've left trinkets at parks, bike trails, parking lots, bus benches...

my theory is, what if someone is really down, or wondering if they need a sign of some sort...

and they just happen to find a little card that says

'Believe in yourself"....well it might just help them out in some small way.

If nothing else, it might provoke a smile.

I always write:

'this is for you' 

on the back..just in case someone feels like

 they are taking something set there for someone else.

So we started the weekend with a walk at a nearby park.

We took a small paper mache heart we painted, with us.

We added a couple of phrases to it.

(stand tall/you got this)

I hung this on a large rose bush, then we ran off!

You'd be surprised how good this makes you feel!

Have you ever had brownies with Andes mints in them?

It's super simple to make

You need some brownie mix, I use this one:

And these mints,

prepare according to the directions on the box,

 mix in a teaspoon of peppermint oil.

then add half the batter to an 8x8 pan, 

press in as many mints as you want across and down.I usually use 20.

Cover them with the remaining batter and bake.

(via pinterest)

They taste like mint cocoa & are perfect for the holidays!

By now, you all probably know that I greatly admire

Lisa Kettell.

Her awesome book

inspires me every time I open it.

I bought this book one day (about 8 years ago) at Barnes & Noble..

The colorful story book projects and the easy to follow instructions 

captured my imagination.

After pouring through the book several times, I was curious to see

who this author was.

I found her beautiful blog and just could not get over how 

cute her creations were.

I was very happy to find out she had an etsy shop

selling many fanciful items.

After purchasing a few, I found out that

Not only is she incredibly creative, she's kind.

Over the years we have become friends,

and a couple years ago, soon after my dad passed away,

 I was able to go visit her and her wonderful mom, in New Jersey.

It was an amazing trip that helped me clear my head

and shake off the grief that was surrounding me.

We went sightseeing,

visited the jersey shore,

We crafted.

I also learned that family doesn't have to be people you are connected to genetically.

I'll always be grateful.

..........................................................................................................................................................

Ready to create some fun?

These ornaments are super easy to make!

This is Marion Macaron:

 

To create Marion, you need

 a Charlotte doll head from Lisa's shop

A soft squishy (foam) macaron backpack charm from Michael's craft store 

4 pink pipe cleaners

pink fabric paint

white glitter

pink glitter

white glue

hot glue

pink beads

tooth picks

scissors 

scrapbook paper

ribbon

_________________________________

Remove the clips from the macaron charm

insert pipe cleaners through the macaron, to form arms and legs.

 since it's foam, the pipe cleaner wire should be easy to push in. 

cut to size

hot glue the Charlotte doll head to the charm

cut out a chef hat from the scrapbook paper 

hot glue to Charlotte's head

Add hot glue to tips of the 'hands' secure a pink bead to it.

Do the same to the other hand.

put a small amount of hot glue on a toothpick that has been cut in half,

add to pink beads to create a 'candied apple' look 

dip feet in white glue

sprinkle pink glitter on them.

cover hat in white glue and add white glitter.

use fabric paint to cover the gap between the head and the macaron.

when she's dry, hot glue a short loop of ribbon to the back of her head to display her.

This is Beulah Bon Bon

You will need 

Bon Bon back pack charm from Michael's craft store

 A China doll head from Lisa's shop

(you can get her pre painted or ready to paint)

light brown pipe cleaners

silver tinsel

red glitter foam

scissors

ribbon

hot glue

clear glitter

green glitter

small cookie eraser or a sticker that looks like a sweet

__________________________________________________-

Same as before, remove the clips from the charm

push pipe cleaners through the foam

cut to size

hot glue the china doll head to the bon bon 

cut out a hat from the red foam

hot glue in place

hot glue silver tinsel to tip of hat and both feet

add glue then sprinkle green glitter to hat

add sticker 

or

hot glue little cookie to her hand.

you can also make teeny little sweets out of oven bake clay

cover cheeks in white glue

sprinkle white glitter on her face

hot glue loop of ribbon to back of her head

Has anyone read this yet?

If so, did you enjoy it?

If you read the Practical Magic book,

 I've heard this is a must read.

The amazing Ricki Jill at The Sketchy Reader is going to 

write a review soon and I cannot wait,

Her book reviews are thorough and honest.

you should give her blog a visit if you can,

it's filled with photos of her gorgeous home too.

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Okay, that's all for today..

Thank you for stopping by..

If you would like to participate by writing your own

Merry Monday post

you can leave a link in the comments.

Remember,

this is just a weekly post on people/things that bring me joy and make me feel grateful.

you can post anything you like, a photo of something that makes you happy

a recipe you would like to share..

some artwork, 

something neat you bought..

or a story about someone or something that inspires you.

Also, if you decide to abandon some art, let me know!

I'm going to end this with three things I'm grateful for:

1.Helena

                                  2. The current book I'm reading

            3.Cooler weather

See you later!

Skeletons and Gratitude..

Hello!

How was your Halloween?

We had a pretty quiet one, only six trick or treaters showed up!

It's okay...

We watched The Amityville Horror, ate candy and snuggled up under a blanket on the sofa.

Look at this!
I won this adorable wreath from Lady Caer Morganna at The Wiccan Life 
She also sent a pumpkin dish towel and a super cute Halloween card!!
Thank you so much!!

 

I also participated in an artcard swap with an instagram friend.

She sent me this..

 

 I sent her these..

It was fun..I hadn't done a swap in a long time and I'm hoping to do more in the future.

Anyone? anyone? lol!

.........................................................................................

For Dia de los muertos

I set up our altar like I usually do..

Helena and I made some salt dough ornaments to add to it later too.

I had a dream about my dad, which was great..

I seem to dream of him on days that are significant.

I miss him so much.

In the dream , he looked young..about 60. 

We made plans to go shopping then have lunch.

It was nice to see him again.

..............................................

So, it's November!

I'm pretty excited about it, I love the Holidays..

But there's something about November..

Obviously, I look forward to Thanksgiving.

I love roasting the turkey and preparing all the food.

But this month reminds me of fairy tales and magic.

There are 

bright yellow leaves on some of the trees that rustle around,

Deep velvety skies filled with shimmering stars

&

The cool, crisp air sparkles with an energy that other months don't seem to have.

Maybe because here, in Arizona, it finally starts to cool down, 

and you can actually tell that there is a season other than Summer.

Anyway, all this fills my heart with hope and my thoughts turn to gratitude

Gratitude for so many things! 

So....

I want to start a new weekly blog post..

I'm going to post recipes, crafts..a lot like HH , but more of a holiday vibe to it..

It's going to be about gratitude, magic, blessing, inspirations and joy.

You can join in, or just come by to visit.

If you do a post, it can be:

 a story about a person that inspires you,

a picture of something that makes you feel grateful,

an incredible recipe,

your art or living space,

anything that makes you feel the magic of the season. 

We are including our abandoned art in these posts too.

Helena and I make something...usually something small  that has an inspirational theme to it,

then we leave it somewhere.

(I used to do this before, you can read about it Here)

 

I'm going to start this week and

it's going to be called  Merry Monday! 

I hope you will join me!

I'll post something every Monday.

Have a beautiful weekend,

See you soon.

(feel  free to display this button on your blog if you want)