Whooo Knew?

I cannot even put into words how much fun I had this past Saturday with my friend, Amy, and all our girls! We piled into her van with a few paper crafting supplies, snacks, and our girls, Shelby, 1, Madelyn, 9, Graci, 10, and Addison, 8. An hour later we arrived at her aunt, Linda's house, and the fun began!

Linda had invited us down to learn and play with all her piles of punches and paper and it was a punch extravaganza! We learned all sorts of fun new ways to use our old Stampin' Up punches but by far, our favorite is the old Owl Builder punch! One punch and endless possibilities! Seriously!

This hefty punch has been sitting in my barely used pile for ages...

Owls are fun, of course. But so are all sorts of other little critters and I learned from Linda that this owl punch can be used to create every critter you can fathom! Here are just a few of my creations...

Monsters and ghosts just in time for Halloween,

penguins and reindeer in time to start building up my holiday card stash,

...and turkeys to be thankful for, mischievous minions and mice! There were farm animals of every size, safari creatures like lions and giraffes, and Graci even came up with her recent favorite creature, a unicorn! I consider myself creative but Linda...you are a creative GENIUS! We can't thank you enough for your kind hospitality and sharing your gift, not to mention the yummy turkey dinner you cooked up to top off our evening!

Can't wait to craft in Vermillion again and even more excited to host an Owl Punch Extravaganza sometime this winter for anyone who would be interested! I love creating something new using what I already have on hand! Happy Wednesday!

Routine, Halloween, Buffets, and Pop-Tarts...

Yesterday Addison and I were making an early afternoon run to the fabric store to get the necessary items to work on her Halloween costume. I LOVE Halloween! I don't know how this is possible because being the token kid with type 1 diabetes in a rural community the best item I ever received trick or treating was a bag of sunflower seeds. All the good stuff consisting of chocolate, caramel, colored magical powders, and any other yumminess that had sugar as an ingredient was divided among my two older brothers, who probably don't even remember that! But I think because of those memories and because my daughters do not have this non-Halloween friendly disease I go all out now to make up for some of those childhood losses. We have fun creating costumes, decorating, and we spend the month of October coming up with a unique, gory menu to eat before hitting the streets to collect candy!

So we're ready for costume creating as I hear the beep-beep of my DexCom while I'm searching for a parking spot (it seems I'm not the only one into costume making five days before the big event!) and I see that it is informing me I'm 68 and dropping. Parked and thinking as rationally as one can, I realize now I feel lower than 68. I check and my meter tells me I'm actually 49. Damn! Where did that come from? I dig in my purse and have an almost empty bag of Stingers that I chew. I dig in the counsel thingy that I keep stashed with goods and find a tiny crunchy Peep from last year's Easter that I gnaw on... I'm frantic to find more and am coming up short. Suddenly I hear from the back seat, "You can have my Pop-Tart from church, mom." Yes! She digs with confidence through my purse and uncovers the cookie dough studded treasure that Kellogg's recently added to their repertoire of flavors. Addison added a final suggestion of, "You need to build your stash up again, Mom!" Such a wise 8-year old I have!

After a few minutes I started feeling better, my mind wasn't as lost and I confirmed with a true 72 on my meter, and we headed into the fabric store. As we wandered through the tulle and sparkle I wondered what caused that low...we had gone to the earlier church service this morning because Addison received her 3rd grade milestone Bible. We are 11:00ers always but they were honoring her class at the 8:45 service so we switched things up. Typically Sundays we have a nice breakfast at home and lounge in our PJs before getting ready for our final day of the weekend and attend church. Routine demanded to be switched and we went with it and after church, Addison selected a local restaurant that has Sunday brunch to celebrate her milestone. This was my big mistake, routine switches happen often enough where my diabetes handles them smoothly, per my DexCom line, but buffets? Oh, those baffling buffets that we seldom attend are a whole different kind of culprit! I'd bolused for a high amount of carbs because they're hidden in every item on that line other than the eggs and bacon. The problem was I filled up on eggs and bacon before adding the carb goods to my second plate and had little room left to eat them. I double did the math to decide what I could add in to take up some of that insulin now on board and had Graci grab me two teeny weeny Special K treats. They were delicious and I figured they had plenty of carbs to do the trick.

Clearly I was wrong. That was my mistake. Routine was off, partly timing, but mostly my non routine of consuming Special K bars and guessing on carbs. That was the biggest problem. Lesson learned, under bolus for a treat I assume is higher in carbs, much easier to correct than treat this damned low! Other lessons duly noted: cookie dough Pop-Tarts work fine in a pinch but that flavor was definitely intended to satisfy a 3rd grader, not so much her mom, and the lady at the fabric store rocks because she taught us how to make an adorable tulle skirt for Princess Elsa on the cheap!

The girls and I spent the rest of the day working on their costumes and I'm excited to show off our final creations and share our ghoulish recipes once the excitement of Friday has come and gone so check back!

Papertrey Ink October Blog Hop

 Happy Saturday! Papertrey Ink has their monthly challenge and this time there are unique color combos to get started on holiday anything. I created a card using the inspiration below...

As soon as I saw the colors I knew I wanted to use the Winter Penguin set and had this sparkly kraft snowflake from a Stampin' Up card set from my stash a few years back. The background on white or any other color just didn't do it justice to so I took out the Building Blocks set and decided creating my own background would be a fun way to incorporate more of the colors. Although the inks are from SU, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Smoky Slate and Baja Breeze, I think they matched up to the inspiration ones quite well and this is what I came up with...

Stay cool and thanks for stopping!

Fall Favorites!

My favorite time of year is here and I 1.absolutely adore everything about it! Although it's been unseasonably warm, I'm embracing the idea and wearing cozy sweaters and boots that the gorgeous colors covering the trees have inspired. Along with all the fun autumn attire, I've been trying out pumpkin and squash recipes and also reading a great book so here are my fall favorites to share!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Seriously one of THE best uses of canned pumpkin yet! So, so good! From The Girl Who Ate Everything, who now has a book out that has made its way onto my Christmas wish list. Love her blog for fun recipes for any season or reason! You can find the yummy recipe here.

Pumpkin Noosa Yoghurt

One more pumpkin pick...if you haven't tried Noosa yoghurt, you need to...soon! I've gotten on and off the Greek yogurt bandwagon for various reasons but once I tried this stuff, there is just no going back. Warning to my friends with diabetes...not the best yogurt for your blood sugar so be ready to bolus for this little spoonful of heaven, worth every unit, in my humble opinion! :o) I typically use one container for three separate servings so it doesn't pack such a punch but regardless of blood sugar, lots of healthy protein and my absolute favorite yogurt for a treat. Lemon is my fave but the seasonal pumpkin is available only at Target and so worth its own trip to the store. You know you'll find something else you need while you're there anyhow so I'm technically just helping you out with this one!

 The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

 I read What Alice Forgot and enjoyed it but this book is so many levels above that read! If you've seen the movie Sliding Doors from years back where the simplest choice or chance, such as whether you make it in time to board the train or the door closes too quickly and you have to wait for the next one could change your entire future was brought to mind while I read this. Couldn't put it down and if you read it, you MUST read the epilogue! A perfect book to read by the fire on a lazy Saturday...you can find details here.

Finley Top by Matilda Jane Clothing

I bought this in September and literally have already gotten my money's worth in a month! You can dress it up or dress it down, it is loose fitting for a warm day and you can add a sweater or wrap to cozy it up as winter approaches. So comfy and just love the vintage feel and little details Matilda Jane always adds. You can buy direct or from a home party, more info here.

South of the Border Chicken and Butternut Stoup

I was skeptical of this as I wouldn't consider my family squash fans but this came together quickly and everyone enjoyed it. I love all the apple, squash, pumpkin recipes that fit this season but a Mexican flair to an otherwise autumn vegetable was a perfect way to mix up the menu this week! Recipe is here.

Hope you're loving autumn as much as I am! What's your favorite part of this incredible season?

  

Make It Monday

Ok, so these creations were actually made on Sunday but make it Sunday just isn't as catchy! :) Back to the work week but can't deny it was an incredibly fun girls' weekend here. Eric was off for his annual pheasant hunt and the girls and I crafted and ate snacks for dinner and went to a movie with my mom, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Soooooooo funny, whether you have children or not, this movie was hilarious! A must see in my opinion! During our crafting I had fun playing with the 2015 Stampin' Up colors to create this card...

Love the rich autumn colors and die cut burlap with a steel die and used gold spray paint to add more of a vintage look to the button. Next up I used a circle punch to add a ton of circles to this simple PenPal card and a few embellishments from my stash...

And lastly I stamped a bunch of circles with a mix of yellow, pink, and orange and used a circle scribble stamp from Papertrey Ink to add interest in black as well as black die cut letters for happy and a black stamped birthday sentiment. I finished it off with some random glitz using sequins that were in my last Studio Calico kit!

Hope your weekend was a good one and Monday has started off a great week ahead! Gorgeous weather here with the sun shining and all of autumn's colors so glorious right now! Just love it! I've got some upcoming challenges so stop back soon!

Crafty Hunter's Widow

Growing up in North Dakota, there was a term that women came up with for themselves when fall approached and hunting season started. Being a hunter's widow wasn't necessarily considered a positive when you are in a rural area with not a lot to do, which is why I joined the hunting party as I entered junior high. However, now that I live in a larger town with places to go, people to see, not to mention a few more shopping options:), the girls and I look forward to our time together crafting, baking, shopping, and relaxing.

Today we spent hours crafting and had so much fun! I'm always trying to talk Graci or Addi into sewing with my machine but it hadn't occurred to me to do hand stitching until we came upon these adorable sew-your-own kits at Michael's, selfies not included...

We got home from our first shopping trip, curled up in my bed, and I taught the girls how to sew a button on and do basic running stitches to put together these adorable felt treasures. And they both loved it! So much, in fact, that neither could put it down until completion! Graci made an owl ornament...

and Addi made a cupcake with sprinkles...

A few hours later we made a quick run to Hancock  so I could do a little stitching with my sewing machine to work on this Halloween table runner...

I plan to create purple and black witch legs that dangle from the side of the table, hopefully sometime before the season is over, and more importantly, there is Addi modeling her sister's Anna hat since she didnt' get the Elsa one. The big topic in our house while we crafted was what Addi would be for Halloween this year, a baby, her initial idea, or Elsa to match Anna, which Graic has decided to be since we found the hat with an insanely long braid...

A perfect end to a great day until Graci reminded me that today is Columbus Day so no school for the girls and after looking at my calendar, I realized I had requested a vacation day a few months back and forgotten (which is typical for me :) so we have another day today to do whatever we wish! And since by 7:30 this morning, Addi has been sitting across from me randomly sewing buttons onto fabric for fun, I think I know what our day will entail...even better? My mom is coming over to join us today and bringing fresh cinnamon rolls for the girls! Could life be any sweeter?!?!?!?! Hope you have a crafty Columbus day, too! 

Little Tangles Blog Challenge #46

Anything goes, this is difficult for me because I tend to be a bit indecisive when looking at all the supplies I have but I knew I wanted to use the Ink Splash stamp to create something spooky. I embossed that with Zing Apricot and cut a sweet little spider with my Silhouette, added some googly eyes and some Scotch washi tape from my stash. I found this Halloween sentiment from an old Close to My Heart set and added that with Jet Black StazOn...

Had fun being indecisive and proud of myself for coming up with this one after rethinking just a few times! :) Anything goes, what a novel concept...love it!

Diabetes Vacation...

...not to be confused with "Vacation from Diabetes." That would be a cure, which, unless I've been misinformed or didn't get the memo, doesn't exist. I remember the first time someone responded to the idea of a cure for Type 1 diabetes with, "Isn't that what insulin is? A cure?" No, moron, that would be insulin, not a cure! Just to clarify!

I'd had a good two days since my last site change and was due for another one in the wee hours of dawn the next morning. I try to get every last hour physically possible out of my pod as well as my real estate where the pod sticks before changing sites but was craving an insanely hot soak in the tub with some Epsom salts. I try to reserve these soaks for when my pod is high on my stomach or, better yet, on my arm, so my insulin doesn't cook. Of course, on this night my pod was low as can go on the stomach to still be considered stomach in my world of real estate.

I filled our tub up with hot water and added salts without thinking twice and slid into the closest thing to bliss I could find on this day. After lounging for the 3 minutes I usually get to relax before there was a quick knock and chaotic entrance of both my daughters into my bathroom, I guiltily ripped my site off and had thoughts of vacation.  Sun, sand, tropical waters, and a cocktail that doesn't affect my blood sugar on my mind as I thought of a break from this world of diabetes. How would that look? How would it feel? Not even for a week in a balmy paradise, even just a day right here at home? Even just an hour? I don't let my mind go here often. But it was hard not to as I saw this...

My devices get a break, I don't know that I ever will, in fact, it is likely that this is as close to a vacation from diabetes I will ever get. So odd, but the thought of this little pod with its insulin cooking internally holding a tropical cocktail to cool off almost made me smile. But even with this pod enjoying its soak, I was worried about getting out, drying off, and putting a new pod onto some fresh real estate. Good thing I can count on my girls to remind me to come back from my mini escape! I've accepted that I will more than likely never get that vacation but it doesn't mean I'm okay with it!

For those of you wondering if your pod floats, it does not. If you notice an odd line around the bubbles that would be the Tupperware I'm mysteriously holding underneath! :) 

Spooky Decor

My incredibly crafty neighbor has tubs of scrap wood from a friend who works at a cabinet making shop. She has done all sorts of fun things with these pieces in the past and when I saw her spray painting what appeared to be the grass in the yard a few days ago, I had to stroll over and see what was up. No, she wasn't painting the grass, she was painting random blocks of wood that had been glued together. She took pieces from this...

and glued them together with wood glue so that they lined up on the bottom. Next she spray painted them on all sides...

She had a "spooky" and "frosty the snowman" already created and seeing those and my eyes light up, she invited me to jump in to create with her in her yard! Let me just pause right here and explain how amazing it is to have such a great neighbor! Kind, genuine, and crafty, too! She let me take the set above that she had already glued together and I spray painted it black. Then I took it home and found some fun Halloween papers and started setting up my design. Here is where I attached with adhesive all my pieces but in retrospect, I would strongly recommend Mod Podging this layer as well as each layer if adding paper on top of paper as I did. I didn't do Mod Podge in this first step and it started bubbling up a bit so all future ones, even though it takes extra time, I will be putting an entire coat on each unique layer. Here is my paper pieced blocks.

I just had to do the eyeballs as my two O's and adore how it turned out! It would be fun to do a creepy one with veiny eyeballs using some red spritz but my mantle is a bit more fun so this fit perfectly.

Next up I did the Mod Podging using Matte but you could use any style you are going for but again, remember to do it with each layer for best results!

And here is the project adding a little "Spooky" to our mantle! So fun and easy to make and the possibilities really are endless! I spray painted a 3 block one gold for Joy and need to think of one for Thanksgiving. Thinking this one, which is currently black on the other side, could have some Valentine themed paper and a sweet word and hearts added so it could be reversible for my Valentine decor in February! Hope you're off to a fabulous fall start to your weekend! Freezing here (literally below freezing with windchill in October!) and it is Homecoming game tonight so my hubby and our girls and their friends are off to the game while I snuggle in for a cozy, quiet evening. I cannot lie, very much looking forward to it!