Randomly speaking

Day of the dead & Spidery Witches= lots of Halloween fun!

Miss Maddy....getting ready to spook the neighborhood as a spidery witch.

 Got to love having a few extra Creative Imaginations self adhesive rhinestones to put in the spider body. I have lost track how many spiders and black make-up faces I have done over the years on my three daughters.

Went a little crazy with my pumpkin this year. I love Day of the Dead art, so I decided to carve my favorite sugar skull art into my pumpkin. My linoleum cutter and I became pretty close friends after hours and hours of carving.

Love the glow....

Miss Sophia's....he is so cute!

Tyler's...there's some skinny details here...I am impressed!

Maddy's pumpkin was a bit hungry

Kennedy's was a cute pin-up witch, but my photography sucked and the photo did not turn out. If the pumpkin survives the day I may try again tonight.

A Love Struck Class--- in Huntington Beach

I must admit I do have favorites....my  Love Struck tattoo product is one of my favorite collections i have designed to date. I still try and find ways to use it and incorporate it into new classes. Here's a few photos from Saturday

Gotta love a happy crafter....and she also loves to go to target practice (dont let that sweet face fool ya!)

sweet little books (in process)that will go inside the Danelle Box that was used in class.

And this is the super cute Tran....my facebook friend I finally met in person!

I do have Several kits left over from this weekend...I kinda went haywire prepping for this one :)

Kits Available Here

Oh Crap! Is it already time to think about Christmas?

Camille at Ever After Scrapbook Store in Vista and I are already thinking up some great Holiday Ideas to get your creative juices going...because it is never to early to get started on your holiday list.  Would love to hear what you would like to see as a class---nows the time to speak up! Dont be shy.

Make Your Voice Heard. Vote!

I honestly don't care who you vote for, I just care that you do. Our vote is our voice....your voice should be heard!

Simply The best time of year

Yesterday I was out doing errands with Kennedy and we made a stop at Michaels, To pick up some more paint for a project I am working on. Being the Halloween fanatic that I am, I could not possibly leave Michaels without a detour down the halloween isle where I found these totally awesome wreaths. I bought one for myself and one for Jack (gee I wonder what made me buy his?)

I have dozens of these ornaments drying all over my kitchen right now because i am getting ready for a Holiday Boutique that I am participating in next month, and of course i will be posting some on etsy as well, since the first round already sold out.

One More Thing....

If you have a My Space....come be my friend!

Fire-

This past week has been undescribable (not sure if that is a word but it fits regardless) I looked on youtube to try and find a video that would most convey the look, the smell, and the fear. This video is shot about 15-20 minutes from my area. The color of the sky is what i was trying to describe on the phone to my friend...it looked like dusk in the middle of the day. You could n't go outside for days without coughing or in the first few days almost gagging. My kids spent the entire week indoors....absolutely no going outside unless we needed to leave the area.

Last Monday was probably one of the scariest days----The Santa Ana winds had picked up over night, no humidity in the air at all, not a cloud in the sky. I knew there were fires the next town over, and at first i really thought nothing of it. Then i turned on the news and saw the devastation begin. I remember getting a chill, the kind you get when your blood runs cold because you just know something is going to happen...something bad. 7:00am the phone rings-school is closed. Our schools never close....unless theres fire. I grabbed my keys went straight to the grocery store...funny every mom i knew from my girls school was there talking, trying to calm eachother....buying provisions. I bought different than i have ever bought before cases of water, batteries, dry food, canned food....what if we had no water, no electricity, how would i make my kids feel the safest, calm them....all this running though my head while buying beef jerky, peanut butter, nuts, dried fruits.

I came home. all the girls were up....we were glued to the TV. Watching. Waiting.....

Finally i heard something i have never heard before...The sound of the Emergency Broadcast Signal, followed by instructions. I have never heard that sound followed by instructions. That made me feel sick to my stomach.

The winds were still strong...on TV you could see embers flying acoss the sky like a gorgeous firework gone sideways....huge embers flying . The winds were making the fires hop entire freeways----the 15 is not small by any stretch. i figued if it can hop freeways it can hop neighborhoods. I told my girls to pack, just in case. I did not want us to be one of those stories we hear so often out here , where they had no time to grab anything but the clothes on their back. I wanted so at least have something saved should the worst happen.

Vista( the little city i live in) was spared the devastation- many of our friends in surrounding cities were not. Every single person in this county was affected 950,000 homes evacuated....many lost. Please keep those that need help in your thoughts and prayers, please continue those thoughts long after we are no longer thr front page news...it will take years to rebuild what was lost. Today after 8 days of constant reminders of devastion and destruction, school is back in session and San Diego is moving on. That is a good thing, a good feeling, a blessing.

There are no words.

I am at a loss for the right words to explain what San Diego county looks like right now. There is so much smoke outside it looks like dusk. When you breathe in you can taste ash....what is the ash from? some ones home, their memories up in smoke. It makes me want to cry thinking about the devastation so many families are having to go through right now. There are over 250,000 people evactuated so far, and counting. There are over 100,000 acres in the county burnt and there is no sign of containment anytime soon...this makes me feel sick to my stomach. The uncertainty. The knowing that people are losing everything. The unpredictability of the next few days...My girls and i are safe, yet prepared. please keep So Cal in your thoughts and prayers...please keep the fire fighters who are risking their lives for everyone, in your thoughts and prayers.


I took these photos a little while ago from the High School parking lot two blocks from my home. ***edited to add there is no more blue sky and sunshine...it is now gray and dingy. So Surreal!

Spooktified!

I absolutely love Halloween. The spookier the better. I cannot get enough decorations....I love gizmos and gadgets, sound makers and foggers,strobelights and black light. I love it all!
We have a tradition that every year the first weekend in October we "Spooktify" out front yard. After 4 hours....this is what our yard looks like.

Tonight we went and rented a couple of movies---are we a house full of Chicks or what?

A surprise.

and i am still speechless. This is an amazing gift. Thank you!