happy halloween!

Happy Halloween from my bunch of ghouls to yours! Candyfest '13 was a doozy. My hot dog, ninja, and minion increased their candy intake this year probably two-fold. Heaven help me. Thank goodness for the ongoing "candy tax" imposed by Mom and Dad.

My big boys with their cousins headed to school this morning. Heaven help those teachers!

My favorite part about Halloween this year was my front porch. All the color made me so happy! I stole the Ikea orange and white polka dot rug idea from cute Jen at Tatertots & Jello, and the wagon full of pumpkins from Miss Sassy herself, Tausha at Sassy Style Redesign. Thanks for the inspiration, ladies! If you don't already follow them on Instagram, you should.

my allergy defense {kleenex}

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Kleenex but all my opinions are my own. #KleenexAllergy #pmedia http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO

I have a home filled with people suffering with allergies--big and small. My son suffers from asthma and last year we decided to have him allergy tested so we could know exactly which pollens trigger his asthma. Well...the poor guy was allergic to EVERY single weed and grass he was tested for. Man, that's the pits! My husband also suffers from allergies but not as severely as my son, at least not now that he is an adult.

I have learned over the years to put up a good defense against these allergens because I just don't want my poor family suffering more than they have to! I have allergy medicine constantly stocked in my cabinet and I make sure to keep my son away from freshly mowed grass and other weeds when they are really circulating outside. But one of my biggest defenses...Kleenex. The truth of the matter is that you just can't avoid allergens all the time. Especially with kids who love to run and play and be outdoors! I don't want to miss out on fun family memories at such fun times of the year because I am worried about allergies. So I keep my Kleenex close at hand and we don't have to!

I have Kleenex all over my house. Let's be honest. When you feel a sneeze coming on, you need some Kleenex very nearby, otherwise all that junk is ending up in your sleeve or on your hand. Kleenex has such nice patterned boxes that I don't feel bad keeping it around my home and it is so gentle on those little runny noses.

The Kleenex pocket packs are my best friend. I carry them everywhere I go. Seriously. Ok, I will prove it. Look inside my purse.

I didn't just put those in there for your benefit. I actually caught a friend peaking in my purse one time and when I asked her what she was looking for she said, "I just wanted to see just how many Kleenex packages you had in there!" After several kids sneezing, having runny noses, and watery eyes, I just learned it is best to keep these in my purse all the time. They are a real lifesaver. The adorable patterns don't hurt anything either.

halloween burlap table runner {tutorial}

Easiest. Project. Ever. This Halloween burlap table runner doesn't need much of a tutorial. It honestly took me about 10 minutes to make. And it really makes my Halloween table display pop.



I found this printed burlap fabric at Hobby Lobby and bought two yards. I bought 3 yards of pom pom trim from the upholstery section of the sewing department, but I only used about 2.5 yards. The rest I used on my burlap Halloween banner.



Using this easy cutting method from my burlap wedding banner tutorial, I trimmed the short edges to make sure they were straight and even. Then I overlapped the pom pom trim over the short edges and zig-zag stitched them in place. The edges were already frayed a bit so I left them that way. That is seriously it. It doesn't get much easier than that, my friends.

One of my favorite parts of my Halloween centerpiece is this adorable "Frank" doll made by my friend Dana Engemann. I love the bolts coming out of his head and the little zipper "cut" above his eye. Her owls are adorable, too! (If you're a Utah local you can also take amazing classes from Dana--check out her Web site.)

My other fave is this vintage Halloween book page art I made. Just take a piece of dictionary paper or other book page and print a vintage Halloween image in the middle and frame it. This bat image is from The Graphics Fairy (I used it on my Halloween tea towels, too!)  I love fast and easy projects like this! I think you'll be seeing something similar on my Thanksgiving table. . .

You still have time to decorate for Halloween--I put together this Halloween centerpiece using mostly stuff I already had, plus a few super fast projects like these. Happy Halloween!

michaels dream tree challenge

This post is sponsored and written as part of a campaign with Michaels, but all opinions are my own.

I was recently asked by Michaels to participate in a dream tree challenge this year. I know, it seems a little crazy to start thinking about Christmas already, but you know it will sneak up on us...it does every year! And if you are going to be inspired to decorate your own tree, I need to give you time to do it!

I went to Michaels today to start getting inspiration for how I want to decorate my tree and boy is this going to be a true challenge! There are so many wonderful items and you could decorate a tree in so many different ways. Michaels already has many aisles of Christmas decor so it was fun to get some ideas.

 

See what I mean? Christmas galore!

Look at all those ornaments!

If you want to get inspired for the holidays, Michaels is definitely the place to be. Stay tuned for my Christmas tree reveal on November 1st. I will post the items that I found and how I went about decorating my tree so you can get inspired and have time to design your own tree for Christmas!

burlap halloween banner {tutorial}

More last minute Halloween DIY decor! I saw the cutest burlap Halloween banner in the Pottery Barn catalog recently, but it's no longer available. So what are you going to do? Make it yourself, of course!

I decided to stencil the letters on burlap for an aged look. I used the same method as I showed on my burlap wedding banner with a few additions.

halloween pumkin cauldron {tutorial}

I know I can't be the only one still looking for fun Halloween ideas, am I right? One of my favorite Halloween resources for years has been Martha Stewart's Halloween issue. I am amazed that her staff is still coming up with such gorgeous and creative ideas. I am especially loving this pumpkin cauldron from the 2013 Halloween issue, and Martha is letting us share the fun tutorial with you!

 Photo by Lucas Allen. Courtesy of Martha Stewart Halloween Special Issue. Copyright ©2013.

spooky spaces decor {from JoAnn}

The following is a sponsored post as part of Jo-­Ann Fabric and Craft Stores® Celebrate the Season campaign. All opinions are my own.

Halloween is right around the corner! My kids have already been wearing their costumes around the house in anticipation of all the festivities coming up. I wanted to feel as festive as my kids, so I decided to get going with some new Halloween decor. With a little help from Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft, I set out to create a spooky space in my home.

Have you visited the Halloween section of Jo-Ann yet this season? They have some really fun, festive decor. Here are just a few of the things I picked up.

I love this tablecloth I found. I decided to use it as a runner on my console table to set up my spooky space.

halloween burlap mini banner tutorial {how to print on burlap}

Most craft bloggers will probably tell you that it's not hard to create a project for a post (because that's the part we love), but for some reason that last step of actually creating the blog post takes a Herculean effort. Take this Halloween "boo" bunting I made as gifts for some friends I visited in Seattle last week. I was so proud of myself for getting 17 of these babies done before October even began, but it's now a week in and I still haven't posted the tutorial (editor's note: it has now taken me three days to finish this post!). Maybe I need to hire an assistant. . .



Anyway, you will be amazed at how quick and easy these little burlap Halloween banners are to create. I have been wanting to print on burlap for ages, but I was afraid it would gum up my printer and my husband would ban burlap from our house. I'm here (and so is my burlap stash) to say it was a success! I ran over 50 pieces of burlap through my printer and didn't have so much as one piece get jammed. I printed on paper right after and it was smooth as silk--no burlap fiber stuck in the ink or anything. Printing on the burlap saved me hours of stenciling like I had planned. Here's a quick tutorial for printing on burlap--you are going to love this!