Etsy Update Sneak Peek

Etsy holiday update coming soon!

Holiday Joli Paquet: Day 2

~ Photo Courtesy of Cindy Gilstrap ~

You can make a set of these adorable crepe paper Christmas trees designed by Cindy by following her tutorial at Joli Paquet right here! Don't you love the festive pastel color scheme? But you could make them in any color to fit your holiday decor. Have fun!!!

Holiday Joli Paquet Begins!

Photo Courtesy of Brandy Faulkner

Brandy has a tutorial to make these amazing "mercury glass look" ornaments on the Joli Paquet blog. You've got to go take a peek - just click here.

And don't forget - There's only a couple of days left to sign up for our Vintage Stocking Swap here.

They Serve and Protect. . .

Vintage Stocking Swap!

We're hosting a sweet little swap over on the Joli Paquet blog. If you'd like to join us then click here to read all the details. Sign ups are being taken by November 14th.

Good Advice

Enjoy Today! See more here.

The Morning After

Did you all have a fun Halloween? We didn't have one single trick-or-treater come to our door! Can you believe that? Well, that's ok - there's more candy for my DH and I - not that we need all those extra calories. We didn't buy that much candy to begin with because it seems like there are fewer and fewer goblins coming around each year. It's kind of sad :(

But we did have these two cuties stop by wearing their Halloween attire. Hank was a hot dog this year.
And Shooter was a big orange pumpkin. They were so disappointed that no kids came by to see them in their costumes. But they went home with Busy Bones, so they forgot about the lack of visitors real quick!

Now it's time to take down the Halloween decor and start crafting and decorating for Thanksgiving. By the way, all Halloween items in my Etsy Shop have been marked down - be sure to check the sale out by clicking here.

Happy Halloween!

1. Vintage Halloween Postcard, 2. Vintage Halloween Postcards, 3. 10-28-09_1431, 4. Bucket-of-Rattles, 5. Cat in pumpkin patch, 6. Sideboard #3 of 3, 7. Happy Halloween!, 8. Scary?, 9. Halloween Handpainted Canvas Art - Pumpkin Cat, 10. When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, May luck be yours on Halloween., 11. 'Tis now the very witching time of night,, 12. Two Kids, 13. Pumpkin Dandy, 14. Little Witch and Cat, 15. Joyful Halloween, 16. Cross Your Fingers

Shopping and Crafting

Free Shipping on all Halloween Items in my Etsy Shop!!!

Art & Crafting Books - $5.00 each! Click here for all the details.

Great Prices on Cookbook Destash! Click here for details!

~ Photo Courtesy of Cindy Gilstrap ~

Learn how to make these lovely paper-crafting accessories for your Thanksgiving table by following Cindy's tutorial on the Joli Paquet blog here.

Need Some Creative Inspiration?

I did a little bookshelf detashing over the weekend. And I've decided to part with the books shown below. If you are interested in any of these, they are $5.00 each + shipping via media mail. Just leave your email address in the comments section below, along with whichever title(s) you are interested in and I will send you a Paypal invoice. For a closer look and a brief description of each book, just click on the highlighted titles at the bottom of this post. All books are soft-covered, in excellent condition and regular prices range from $12.95 to $35.00.1. Celebrate Your Stories, 2. Making Greeting Cards with Rubber Stamps, 3. Making the Most of Your Scrapbook Supplies, 4. Creative Embellishments, 5. The Watercolourist's Garden, 6. Painting Flowers from A to Z, 7. Water Color Basics, 8. Unique Handmade Books, 9. Creative Collage for Crafters, 10. The Big Book of Decorative Painting, 11. The New Photo Crafts, 12. Beyond Metal, 13. Making Gifts with Rubber Stamps, 14. Stamp Art

Do You Dare?

~ Photo courtesy of Cerri Campbell ~

Cerri says it only takes 30 minutes to make this sweet sparkly Halloween shadowbox. Who can resist a challenge like that? So get out your stop-watch and give it a try! She has all the directions for you on the Joli Paquet blog right here.

Fall Color

~ Photo courtesy of Kelly Green ~

The fun continues over at Joli Paquet. Kelly from Blue Bird Nest shows us how to make this beautiful autumn collage which you can display all season long by clicking here!

And it's not too late to pick up some fun Halloween goodies in my Etsy Shop. I am shipping out items within 24 hours of receiving orders, so you still have time left!

Halloween Shopping

Finally, it's here!!! My Etsy Shop update for Halloween is up and running.

And the special feature is my brand new Joli Paquet Kit available here.

And be sure to hop on over here to see what the other Joli Paquet artists have brewed up for you!

Sneak Peek!

Here's a little peek at my Joli Paquet kit for 2010. You can see the entire line of Joli Paquet kits for this season by clicking here. All the girls have really outdone themselves this time!

Kits go on sale bright and early this Thursday, October 14th!

Happy Birthday Sweet Girl

The photo above was taken 27 years ago ~ right after our daughter was born.

Here she is 24 hours old.

At two years old, she's the sweetest little pumpkin at the Pumpkin Patch.

She is married now and on her own, but she will always be our little girl.

Happy Birthday Honey!

Lots of Love,

Mom and Dad

xoxo

Joli Paquet: Day 2

It's MY turn to teach you something over on Joli Paquet. Click here to learn how.

Spooky!

~ Photo courtesy of Brandy Faulkner ~

Isn't this Halloween project fabulous?

Brandy shows us all how to make it over on the Joli Paquet Blog.

Note: I hit a teeny-tiny snag with my shop update, so look for it later in the week.

Bewitching Time is Here!

It's hard to believe, but Halloween is right around the corner. And to help you make some crafty decorations for this haunting holiday, my friends and I have been brewing up some special fun and frightful projects for you. It all starts tomorrow, October 5th at Joli Paquet. Don't be afraid. . . click right here, if you dare!

And look for an update in my Etsy Shop tomorrow too!

Fall Baking

It's a nippy autumn day here today and I felt like warming up the house by doing some baking.

Our favorite basic cookie around here are Oatmeal Raisin cookies. Over the years I've tried many different recipes for this type of cookie.
Mixed the ingredients all together with a wooden spoon hundreds of time. Using the same wooden spoon I used since I was a newlywed.
And dropped them by evenly spaced rounded tablespoons on a cookie sheet. But throughout all those recipes I've tried, I always come back to the same one.
My secret recipe can be found under the lid of the Quaker Oats carton. I never have to search high and low to find it or try to recall which recipe box or cookbook it is in. I can always rely on Mr. Quaker to keep my favorite recipe safe and sound for me under his hat!