Getting into Halloween!

I really enjoy Halloween. Not the spooky, scary, creepy Halloween. The fun, dressing up, being silly, cute decorations... type Halloween! Here are three fun ideas that we have done that I wanted to share.

Hannah's Halloween Shirt:
My friend Andrea emailed me a link to make a cute Halloween skirt and an applique witch hat shirt. They were so cute! I knew I wouldn't be finishing the skirt in time, but decided to give the shirt a whirl. I didn't do so well on the sewing part. That is definitely a technique I'll need to work on! (eek!) But it was really fun and simple to make and I'm excited for further possibilities! (Thanks Andrea. I love getting ideas!)

Free Halloween Skirt Tutorial
Halloween Applique Pattern


Fun Halloween Nails:
Hannah and I had a little nail party. We did jack-o-lanterns and spider webs. Sorry some of the pictures are blurry... and yes, we went a little crazy taking pictures!Halloween Sugar Cookies:
We made some yummy sugar cookies with glaze frosting from Our Best Bites. They were a bit time consuming, even more so than regular sugar cookies because of the drying time. But they were really fun. I really enjoyed decorating them... and eating them!

Sugar Cookie Recipe
Glaze Recipe
Tutorial on how to make the spider webs


What are some of the fun Halloween things you are doing? Any Halloween traditions? Next year, I'd like to do a Halloween Countdown with books, found at Brown Paper Packages.
Do you have any favorite Halloween books? (Wouldn't this be awesome for Christmas too!? We already collect a different Christmas book each year.)

Anyway, Happy Halloween!

Nic's Low Key Birthday

We celebrated Nic's birthday almost 2 weeks ago now. It was very low key... just the way he likes it. I threatened that one of these years I am going to throw a big ol' bash. But this year her got his own birthday wish.

We didn't go anywhere. We didn't have a party. We opened a few gifts, just the four of us (new brown dress shoes, golf balls and tees, and a frisbee). I didn't make a fancy dinner. He wanted Pizza Hut pizza (which we hadn't gotten in years) and an ice cream cake. It was my first attempt at an ice cream cake. It was very rich and I used too much ice cream (it was running over). Nic's dad and step mom stopped by to wish him a happy birthday (and give him his bday $), so they helped us sing and eat cake.So there you have it, simple and low key. (We are so different in this respect!) Happy Birthday Honey. Love you.

Refinished Childhood Desk

I grew up with this desk in my room. (It was actually a "vanity" with a mirror over it.) My parents offered it to us a few years ago. It sat in a back room unused for quite a while. But when we started our new company, Epic, Hannah needed a place to "work" too. So we pulled the desk out and put it in our office area. It is her special desk and her own little work space.So far our basement has the basics (shelves, coaches, end table, paint on the walls, etc), which are all neutral colors, browns and tans mostly. But as I'm sure you know by now, I LOVE color! I have envisioned bringing in turquoise as a fun accent color. I really wanted to paint this desk turquoise and after doing the kitchen table and chairs I had a new found love and confidence to keep on refinishing!BEFORE:

PROCESS:
I sanded, primed, painted, applied glaze... then wiped the glaze off, then poly-ed, painted my hardware and recovered the chair cushion.


It was my first time covering furniture as well. And thanks from a tip from my dad to use spray adhesive to help position and pull the fabric tight before stapling, it was really quite simple. (I love the polka dots!)

Before:After:THE FINISHED PRODUCT:Okay, one more look!
Before:After:What do you think? Thanks for the fun new desk Mom and Dad! (Next up, painting a mirror to hang in the family room... oh, and painting a rocking chair. Nic says I'm not allowed to look at KSL anymore!)

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I have been wanting to try homemade laundry detergent for a while now. I've looked up and seen several recipes, but my cousin Rachel recommended this particular one. She's used both powdered and liquid. This one was quite simple, so I gave it a try.

We've used it for about a month now and I have been pleasantly surprised at both how well it works and how it smells.

Here is the recipe I got from Rachel. (I actually 5 times-ed it.)

Homemade Powder Laundry Detergent
1 bar Ivory soap, finely grated (It is a soft soap, so it grates very quickly)
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup Washing Soda (Be sure to buy Washing Soda, not baking soda.)

Mix well. Use 2-3 tablespoons per load. (I stuck a 1/4 measuring cup in my container and fill just over 1/2 full.)

Fire and Rescue Field Trip

October 6th, 2010
We went on our second field trip today with Hannah's preschool class. We headed to Orem to an expo-type event put on by the fire department. There were a lot of people there and I was worried about losing the kids I was responsible for: 4 little preschool kids that I drove, plus Bryson. It was very informative and fun. And made me realize we have some things to talk about and practice at home.

Meeting Smokey the Bear:Ambulance tour:Miss Tiffany putting out a fire:The kids got to see a play house that was on "fire" and a firefighter told them what they should do and how to get out. We also got to crawl through a trailer home that was on "fire" and had smoke throughout it, to practice crawling if there is smoke.

Just as we about to leave we heard that a helicopter was about to land so we stayed and waited. We had front row spots. How fun to see a helicopter so close. It was so super windy and loud! (Bry got scared!)Hannah's class in front of a fire truck, then our car load of kids, and just Hannah and Bryson: