Happy Halloween!

I saw these cute embroidery patterns on whip up and knew they'd be adorable as finger puppets. Happy Halloween! Or, should I say "Hoppy Halloween?"

thirsty witch

Halloween papercut thanks to the Good Neighbor!

Tiki

Sublime Stitching Tiki pattern, for part of a Christmas present.

# 9!

We had the 9th birthday party, I can't believe it! We had so much fun. It was all about the pretty things of being a girl. Which by the way, when was the last time you watched Flower Drum Song? I really love that musical. Anyhow, we made pretty hair things and painted nails. I'll post pics of the pretty hair things at some point. We glued ribbon to alligator clips, wrapped headbands with yarn and glued felt flowers to them, made pom poms, all in all we had a great time. I do have to say it was the most quiet birthday party we've ever had with 10 little girls all in one room, they were all so focused! I was so thrilled how the cake turned out. I made the silhouette out of white chocolate. It was a little too big for the cake, but as it warmed up to room temp it just lay down flat on the cake. Cherry cake, chocolate frosting and white chocolate, how can you go wrong?

Corn maze

Really this should be the last picture. It's of D freaking out because he didn't want to leave. We took Grandma and Grandpa up to Rock Creek Farms just 45 min north of here for a day of pumpkin picking, corn mazing and picnicing. We had so much fun, I think it's now a new family tradition!

My Favorite Felt Sweets

Check out these images of some of the 106 mouth-watering felt replicas of delicious sweets! I can't wait to have a lull on the project list to make some of these.

Apple Pies

Baked in a muffin pan for tomorrows picnic at the Pumpkin Patch.

Little Mermaid

Fall Muffins

Herons Nest had this amazing recipe for Pumpkin muffins. I tried it and forgot to take pics. Then I saw Emeril make these and knew I had to take a pic and share it with you because they are so fabulous! Here's what he does:

2 cups water
3/4 cup dried cranberries
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup pumpkin puree (canned solid pumpkin)
4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate, chopped
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, melted
12 ounces white chocolate chips, melted
12 plastic spiders
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-muffin tin with paper liners.
In a saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Place the cranberries in a medium bowl and cover with the boiling water. Let sit until plumped, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain well.
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt into a medium mixing bowl. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, milk, pumpkin, melted butter, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix just until incorporated, being careful not to overmix. Fold in the drained cranberries. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake until golden brown, 22 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the tin for 10 minutes.
In a small saucepan, scald the cream over medium heat. Place the chopped chocolate in a medium, heat-proof bowl and cover with the cream. Let sit for 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth. Spread the warm chocolate glaze onto the muffins.
Splatter both of the melted chocolates onto parchment paper with a fork. Place in the freezer and freeze until firm, about 5 to 10 minutes. Break the hardened chocolate "webs" into 6-inch circular shapes. Place a chocolate "web" on top of each muffin. Top with a plastic spider.

These were so easy to make. Next time I think I'll omit the chocolate glaze. That way they'd be great for breakfast. I also did these in a mini muffin pan, so I had plenty to share with the neighbors! Of course, the best part about the whole thing, is licking off the chocolate!

Argh!!!!

This is so frustrating! I am making these gifts that are embroidered. I already have all the material cut with no extras. When I ironed on this pattern I forgot to cut off the copyright so it was ironed on with the pattern of the snake. I had to go with it, seeing as how there are no extras. Now I have this cute pillowcase that I'm working on with backwards copyright words on it that can't be washed off. So Obnoxious!!

Tomoyo

We were so blessed this week to have an Exchange student with us from Japan. Tomoyo was so much fun to have here and such a sweet person. She made having an exchange student everything I could ever want it to be. She brought us beautiful stationary, bath salts, Hello Kitty toothbrushes, Japanese chocolates and yummy snacks. One night she also brought spices to make a tasty dinner that is apparently the favorite food to the people of Osaka. I don't know how to spell what the name of the dish is called, but it was basically like a pancake with cabbage, bacon and corn inside. I have to admit, one reason I was so excited to have her was to translate my craft books for me. Unfortunately her English is not quite good enough to tell me the interpretations. Maybe someday. For now I am just grateful that she came to see us. Our lives are better for having her in them for a moment.

Pocket Friend

She was so easy and fun to make, I plan on making a little clan to play outside in C's fairy house.