When I came across this tutorial by Smile Mercantile for making pumpkin luminaries out of paper bags, I knew that I wanted to give it a try. The tutorial was very thorough and easy to follow. The project seemed simple enough. I had all of the supplies on hand. And I loved that the pumpkins are generic enough that I could use them for Halloween and for Thanksgiving! I was ready to get started! I pulled out my supplies, got to work and in a short time, I had two pumpkins ready

I came across this pumpkin decorating idea as I was browsing through Pinterest and I knew that it was perfect for me for three reasons... 1. I had a not quite ripe pumpkin in my garden that needed something besides the traditional carving. 2. I had lots of crayon stubs left over from years of elementary school projects. 3. I am not artistic so painting a pumpkin and carving a pumpkin are not my idea of fun. But melting crayons? I can do that! So I set about gathering my suppl

A couple of weeks ago, I did a paper crafting post about Monster Corner Bookmarks. I mentioned that they were fun and easy to make and that maybe I would teach my daughter's 4th grade class how to make them. Well, today I did just that. In less than 30 minutes and with nothing more than colored paper, scissors, glue sticks and markers, 32 students plus my dauther, the teacher, made these cute and unique bookmarks. I was impressed with the creativity of each and every student!

Several years ago I went on a Mexican Riviera cruise with my sisters and my mom. We loved having a few days of girl time but being moms and wives, our families were on our minds. We were constantly on the lookout for the perfect souvenier to bring home to each of our loved ones. Mexico was full of little trinkets but we wanted something that wouldn't be discarded and forgotten shortly after we got home. As we were walking the streets of Ensenada, we came upon a lady who had h

Recently, I was asked to teach a soap making class for a group of about 30 ladies but due to time constraints and the concern about the dangers of working with lye, I couldn't actually make soap with them. My solution was to create a video tutorial in which I explained and showed the soap making process. I tried to be as thorough as possible and as a result, the video is a bit longer than I would have liked...15 minutes! I'm not a fan of seeing and hearing myself on video so

Aren't these corner bookmarks so cute? When I came across the tutorial, I knew that I wanted to try to make one. They were so fun and easy to make that one quickly turned into two! Now I need to teach my kids how to make them. Maybe I'll even volunteer to teach this to my daughter's 4th grade class! What kid couldn't use a bookmark like this? I am always looking for ways to use scraps of paper. It seems like the more projects I do, the more scraps I create and I hate to throw

Makes 4 Small Loaves or 2 Large Loaves 2 Eggs 1/2 Cup Applesauce 1 Cup Sugar 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar 1 Cup Canned Pumpkin 2 Cups Flour 1 tsp Baking Soda 1/2 tsp Salt 1/2 tsp Nutmeg 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon 1/2 tsp Allspice 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger 1/4 Cup Milk 1 Cup Chocolate Chips 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. 2. Mix eggs, applesauce, sugar, brown sugar and canned pumpkin until smooth. 3. Add flour, baking soda, salt, spices and milk. Mix until thoroughly blended. 4. Ad

My son and I went hiking in the mountains near our house the other day. It was a beautiful fall day with a bright, blue sky, comfortable temperatures, a slight breeze, and vibrant leaves everywhere we looked! The colors and shapes of the leaves were so varied that I couldn't help but pick some up as we walked. I love the rusty, brown and the unique shape of the oak leaves, the reds and oranges of the maples and the yellow of the aspens. Some of the leaves were mottled along t

Makes 12 Apple Pops 3 Granny Smith Apples 12 oz Bag Milk Chocolate Wafers 12 oz Bag White Candy Wafers 11 oz Bag Caramel Candies 1 TBSP Water Assorted Candy Toppings 12 Craft Sticks 1. Wash and dry apples and remove stem. Cut into four 1/2" to 3/4" slices. Using a knife, cut a slit into the center of the bottom of the apple slice. Insert a craft stick into this slit. 2. Place milk chocolate wafers in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave at 50% power for 30 seconds. Remove bowl fr

My daughter took a ceramics class in 7th grade and one of her assignments was to create a whistle that looks like another item. She chose to make her whistle look like an old Polaroid camera. These cameras were quite popular when I was young so I recognized it right away but many of her classmates had no idea what she had created. A cross between a digital camera and a hammerhead shark with a top hat? Haha! It does look a bit like that but I think that she did a great job esp