Halloween update and beyond...

Well since Halloween our computer crashed and we are finally back halfway working again.  We restored a lot of stuff from our external drive and still trying to clean out a lot of stuff we don't need.  No need to worry, no pictures were lost!  :)

So onto a Halloween update...

We carved our pumpkin the night before trick or treat night.  She found a kitty face pattern on the internet, so that is what we went with.

We poked a glow stick through it to light it up.

Hope dressed up as the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland and Taylor was a minion from the Despicable Me movies.

And of course, when Hope got home she took inventory of all the candy she got.  She came home with 255 pieces of candy.  Good grief!  We have limited it to 3-4 pieces a day, so we have plenty of stock for a while.  LOL!

It was a great Halloween and we were lucky the weather held out and it wasn't too cold.

Harvest time always makes me think of dad and in our new neighborhood I drive past a lot of fields where the crops are being harvested.  I love seeing the combines and tractors working.  I remember many memories of harvest time growing up.  Taking meals out to the fields, etc.  I even had to stop along the side of the road to take this picture.

This was a very familiar childhood scene.  Miss you dad! 

Well, now that the weather is getting cooler, Hope has already started talking about snow and Christmas.  Her list from Santa is a MILE long.  Oh my!  I am actually hoping that this is the YEAR (if you know what I mean) where the meaning of believing changes.  :)  We will see.

Actually right now she is watching videos on you-tube about domino "tricks" (not sure what it is technically called-where you line up dominos and then push them over to cause a chain reaction).  She has now added the request for 500,000 dominos so she can work toward breaking the world record.  WOW!  Talk about ambitious goals.  LOL!  So if anyone has any dominos they would like to part with let me know.  It does seem like something she would like to get into, but maybe on a smaller scale to make it realistic (for now).

Well, speaking of Christmas, the December issue of Paper Crafts and Scrapbooking recently came out and I have 4 cards in this issue.  The call was for a set of 4 cards using just a 6x6 paper pad and one stamp set and minimal other embellishments.  I can only show one card here, but you can check out the issue HERE, if you have a subscription.  It is on pages 46-47.  Stay tuned because I have cards coming in the February issue, March issue, May issue, which are all digital magazines and then a special print issue later this year.

This was my favorite one out of the four cards...

I used the Pink Paislee Winter Village 6x6 paper pad and a Christmas stamp set from Stampin Up.  For this card, all I added was a few random sequins and a twine bow to the deer, which was part of the pattern paper collage.  Super easy.

I don't want to skip completely over November and Thanksgiving, so I will share a few cards to show my gratitude for you visiting my blog. 

Have a great night!  Hopefully Joe will be able to get the computer going at full power again and it won't be so long between posts.  Later!

Darla

Loving this FALL weather

How about you?  We actually turned the heat off and opened the windows.  LOL!

I have been waiting for my mums to get more blooms on them before sharing my fall flowers...

One day I was getting my oil changed, so I walked over to Earl May and saw these really cool purple fuzzy plants (I don't remember what they are really called), but I knew I wanted to plant some this fall.  They got a little beat up from the sheets covering them.  It got really cold a few days after I planted them and had to cover them so the frost wouldn't get them.

And of course the other fun activity we do each fall is go to a pumpkin patch.  We tried a different one this year and really liked it.  It wasn't as big as the other one we have been to the past few years, but that meant we didn't have to stay as long.  LOL!

On the way there, we stopped at one of the covered bridges of Madison County.  The girls hadn't seen one before, so now we have another trip to make when we get the chance to see all the other bridges too, including the one made famous in The Bridges of Madison County.

Once we got to the patch, Hope had a great time on the playground (all I could think of in this photo was the Miley Cyrus song).  

The corn maze was much harder at this pumpkin patch and we got lost in it, mostly because I let the girls have the map.  LOL!

While I took the girls in the maze, aunt Dawn saved our spot in line for the horse rides!

In the corn maze, Ally found a fuzzy willy worm and Hope wanted to keep it and bring it Hope.  Here is a family portrait of her and Kylie (that is what she named it).  LOL!

I got to hold the worm while Hope went on the zip line one more time.

And Hope took the worm with her down the slide.  I am pretty sure at this point the worm had met it's demise, but Hope was determined to bring it home.  When we got home she built it a home and put it in the fairy garden.  It still hasn't moved, so I think she has accepted that it died.  Of course, it was all my fault because I wouldn't let her bring it in the house.  :)

This coming weekend will be busy with fall activities too.  Our church has a trunk or treat event the kids can dress up and get candy and I think Hy-Vee has an indoor event too.  

So to keep the fall theme going, here are a few layouts I made recently of past years at the pumpkin patch.

This layout was inspired by a project life layout I saw in a magazine.  I don't do the typical project life scrapbooking, but I loved the look of the overall layout and it was a great way to use several full size 4x6 photos.

This layout was a near replica of one created by one of the Fancy Pants designers.  When I saw the colors of the papers I knew I wanted to create a fall layout.

Here are a few cards too...

Since fall brings hunting season.  I created this one for a magazine call, but it wasn't chosen.  I thought it was funny.  LOL!

Recently I received a call to make a specialized card for a nun that had been involved with the Servants of Mary for 50 years.  Here is the card I created.

As I mentioned above, I don't really do "Project Life", but I do like a lot of the products.  Here are a few cards I created using it.

And one final card to make you smile!

Until next time...

Darla

Decoding Dyslexia

Sunday I walked with my sister Dawn, my mom, my aunt Bonnie and a LOT of others in support of Decoding Dyslexia-IOWA.  I am so proud of everything my sister has done with her career and her passion to help others with dyslexia.

If you think you have dyslexia or know of anyone that might have it...please visit one of these websites:

http://www.decodingdyslexiaiowa.org

OR

http://www.truepotentialed.com/home.html

After the walk, Hope and Ally had fun climbing on the playground.

In other news...

Taylor likes to wake up Hope each morning.  Too bad she wasn't waking her up in her own bed.  Every once in a while, we get the bed all to ourselves.  I hope before she graduates from HS she is sleeping in her own bed ALL THE TIME!  LOL!

We have discovered that Taylor likes to snuggle up in grandma's quilts just like we do.  LOL!

Hope has been reading the Harry Potter books.  She is currently reading book #3, so the other day she requested to watch the 2nd movie.  I think she got a little involved in it.  Makes me so happy.  :)

We told her when she finishes all the books we would go to Florida to visit Universal Studios and visit the Harry Potter park.  Oh, she needs to hurry up and finish them because I cannot wait to experience the Harry Potter in real life!!!!

Other Hope photos...

Apparently she had a hard day...I loved this because she had dressed up both of my Curious George's.  These were my Big and Little George when I was little and the last time she visited Grandma D's house she brought them home with her.  And of course she can't sleep without her GIANT horse.

After dance, we visited Cherry Berry.  She got a gummy frog.  Gross!  As you can tell, she gets a little bit of the frozen yogurt and LOTS of toppings, which is WHY we don't go very often.

Apparently, another rough day.  LOL!

Finally, our neighbor Miles and Hope hanging out in a tent they built in her room.  They attempted another sleepover, but Miles decided he wanted to go home.  I really think he was tired and wanted to go to sleep and Hope was just getting her second wind.  LOL!  they had fun playing together.

So this past weekend a friend of mine was hosting a retreat for a group of friends.  I volunteered to design some cards for them to make together during their time together.  Here is what I came up with...I hope they had fun putting them together.  I do ask that you pray for these ladies.  They are all going through some difficult times and would appreciate you lifting them up in prayer.

And here are a few more cards...just for fun!

My sister Debbie recently broke her leg, so sending out healing thoughts for her too.

Well, until next time...

Darla

Best Taco Night EVER!!!

This is what Hope declared as she ate the taco I made her tonight.  Which is kind of funny because as I was cooking the meat I realized I didn't have any taco seasoning.  Pinterest to the rescue.  I looked up THIS recipe for home made taco seasoning and had everything except one ingredient.

Joe liked it too!  So I guess it is a keeper.

Here is another tip I got from Pinterest.  If you rinse bacon before cooking it doesn't shrink.  I know BLT season is pretty much done, but when I cooked bacon this summer I tried it and it did actually work.

Well, it is about time for one of my favorite shows, so here are some cards to share with you in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month!  Have you had your mammogram this year?  Go!  What are you waiting for?  :)

And here are a few cards to celebrate the Best Taco Night EVER!  LOL!

Until next time...

Darla