Halloween Frames

Here is my first Halloween project! I love decorating my mantle for the different holidays...and one of my favorite parts about my "regular" mantle is having pictures on it but the frames don't quite fit in with Halloween theme! So I decided to make some that would! :)

I hit up Michael's with my Sunday coupon which was 20% entire regular price purchases and 50% off one regular item. I picked up some $1 unfinished wooden frames, some Halloween ribbon, and a package of Halloween themed scrapbook paper. I already had paint and modge podge at home.

And here we go!

First i picked out the paper I wanted to use and traced the frame shape onto the paper and cut them out. Disregard all the other stuff in the background....those black canvases and pumpkin are for other projects I am working on! ;-)

Then I painted the edges and inside of the frames black.

Next I glued the paper to the frames with Mod Podge.

Then with an exacto knife, I cut the inside of the frames out. This was a little more difficult than I thought it would be so I would welcome any suggestions on how to do this step more easily. Once the inside was out, I used a file to sand down the edges.

And then mod podged some more...

After letting them dry, I embellished with some Halloween bows and that was it!

What do you think?

I filled them up with pictures of the boys from the past Halloweens...I made them all vertical in the late night and when I went to put pictures in I realized I needed 2 landscape....

This one I think I can make work if I turn mr. pumpkin to face the right way.

This is my fav Halloween photo. I LOVE how Z is peering into the window waiting for the next candy giver to show up! He was so little still last year but caught on quickly to the whole trick or treating thing!

And baby Mark, only 2 weeks old and out at our church pumpkin patch/fall fair. I forget how tiny he once was! Time passes too quickly!!

And finally...my favorite frame (LOVE the giant bow...who says moms to boys cant still do girly sometimes??) but alas, no way to turn the ribbon without ripping the paper on the frame.

Anyone in need of a cute Halloween frame? Perhaps I could do my first give away! :)

I had fun making these and looking forward to trying it out with different holidays and themes!

Linked to:

Feeling Crafty!

Not quite sure how it started, blog hopping I think....but I am on a craft kick! I think it began by me looking for ideas for a good Halloween party for the kiddos. Since Mark's birthday is smack in the middle of October, we decided to have a costume party for his first birthday!

Anyway, in the search for the perfect party ideas, I have come across all KINDS of creative ladies out there! There are so many great and inexpensive ideas out there. Of course I don't sew or knit so things of that nature are out, but anything that involves paint or a glue gun I think I can handle! :)

Friday night, totally un-Halloween related, I made a book wreath. I came across this tutorial awhile back and always wanted to make it and finally decided to do so. Only one minor glue gun burn and it turned out great! I proudly hung it in my study downstairs to show it off during Kelly's and it was a hit (or at least they played nice and said they liked it, lol). I will take a picture tomorrow so you can see my finished project.

Next up are a couple of Halloween projects...I am working on one tonight and prepped one for the boys to participate in tomorrow. I hope they turn out cute. Then there is this awesome ribbon wreath from Tater Tots & Jello that I have my supplies and I hope to create in the next couple weeks. So many great ideas out in blogland...stay tuned to see how mine turn out! ;-)

In family news, Markey started taking some steps this week!! I have seen him take about 5-6 at a time before falling so I think in the next month or so, he surely will be walking. Other than that, life as usual! Hope you all had a good weekend!

Sweet Mark

The Many Faces of Z

Just a little cuteness and other random thoughts

Nothing new to report...except that I think Mark must have like 4 more teeth coming in right now! Poor little dude, he had a tough time sleeping last night.... It is really weird too, I can see the outlines of his teeth behind his gums, so strange!


And theresa commented that she thought my "#3" title from the last post meant I was announcing my next pregnancy! hahaha, that one gave me QUITE the chuckle!! Not quite time for that yet!! :) It is weird to think that if we were sticking to our age gap though, I would be pregnant again in the next few weeks! Oh my! Think I will enjoy the holidays first and then ponder that next year! :)


Oooh, guess what tomorrow is, people???????

It's 90210 DAY!!!!!!!!

So channel your inner Donna, Kelly, or Brenda and catch an old episode to celebrate today!!

And then just a couple pics of my sweet boys....enjoy!

The boy loves the spoon!

Z is reading Mark Elmo's potty book....too early to potty train? ;-)

Sporting his Aggie cap!

#3****tooth! :-)

Little man finally got his 3rd tooth! We now have 2 on the bottom and 1 on the top and I am pretty sure another on the top is on its way! This could explain why he was more than a little grumpy at times over the weekend.

In other news, the boy is SO close to walking. He is cruising everywhere behind Zachary's shopping cart and totally reminds me of a little old man puttering around behind it. Only problem with Mark's new love of the shopping cart is that it means Zach now has a new love of the shopping cart. I swear, Z has hardly played with it in ages but now that Mark wants to play with it, its "mine!" Of course this happens with many toys these days but the favorite ones to fight over are this fire truck and the grocery cart. I need doubles!!

gentle joy

that's my new nickname for this sweet #2.... just such a kind and loving little boy!

School Days, School Days

*First off, happy to report that the middle of the night crying seemed to just about stop right after I made the last post, thank goodness!! Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself but I think we seem to be getting back on track!

Thursday was Zachary's 1st day at his new school! We decided now that we have a reliable nanny, we would move Z out of daycare and into a more traditional Mother's Day Out twice a week. It is a church school and where he will more than likely continue through preschool too.

He was SO excited about his new backpack and lunch box. We went to meet the teacher on Tuesday night so he was already familiar with his teacher and classroom. When we left the class, he let out one dramatic cry but stopped before we had even left the room :-) When I picked him up, he was happily playing on the floor with some other boys and I was able to watch him for about 5 minutes before he even realized I was in the room. Love that! We are really excited about this new change for him and I hear we got the best teacher too, yippee!

please oh please just be a phase

Oh ya'll, I am at my wits end with Z and the bed time drama.....the "going to bed" isn't terrible, but it used to be so easy! Seriously, we used to just do our routine, shut the door, and he would go to sleep til the morning! Now, I just have no idea.

Last night was the worst. We decided we would by no means go up to room in the middle of the night. And sure enough, he was up at 3am...screaming. We had the monitor turned off and could still hear. Finally I went out into the living room and closed the door to our bedroom in hopes that Matt wouldn't be able to hear it quite as well and get some sleep. Z cried for over an hour. I sat on the couch, looking at the moon, and praying praying praying for the Lord to ease my little guy's fear, stress, restlessness, or whatever it is that seems to be going on with him right now. About 15 minutes into praying, I had the 23rd psalm in my head, he finally just stopped. It was weird, but I was beyond thankful. I truly am at a loss as to what to do about this situation, but am hoping that maybe after a couple of awful nights of me not going up there...it will stop??

Has this happened to anyone before? I feel bad but I also know the boy needs to sleep....and so does this mommy!!

New Dinners

First off, happy birthday to my sweet friend, Kerri! She turned 35 today and I know its been her BEST birthday yet because now she has sweet Madeline in her life! Happy birthday, friend, you deserve it!! :)

So I have been trying to cook more "real meals" lately (which means less skillet sensations and other frozen stuff) and had some good luck with some new recipes I snagged off fellow bloggers sites this week!

So far this week, I cooked 3 meals and ate 1 meal leftover. On Monday Matt requested one of his favorite ww meals and since it was so easy I obliged. It is Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella Pasta (ill post recipe at the end). I never have smoked mozzarella and rarely fresh basil, but it tastes just as good with regular mozzarella and dried herbs. I like this meal because it is soo easy and is a good leftover too. Pairs nicely with a salad!

Tuesday, I got adventurous and tried out Giving Up on Perfect's Cheesy Beef Enchiladas. Yum-o! One thing I look for in recipes as a working momma is fast, easy, and ingredients that are regularly found in my pantry! I did tweak this recipe a little, just using about 1lb ground beef, 6 tortillas, and then to make this cheesy meal a little more healthy, I used light Velveeta, 98% fat free soup, light sour cream, 2% Mexican cheese and Mission’s 96% fat free tortillas. I figure every little bit helps! I also used a can of rotel instead of just the green chilies. This meal was SO tasty and easy. I was able to make it quickly while the boys were playing and eating their dinner, and then I put it in the refrigerator until we were about to put boys to bed and then popped it in the oven while we settled them in so it was ready when we were finished! We had a side of blacked beans with this and it was perfect. Even better, with just the 6 enchiladas, we had another 3 left that we were able to enjoy Wednesday night with a side of the fat free refried beans. It was just as good the 2nd day!

And then tonight, I snagged a recipe off Kelly's Korner recipe blog...Artichoke Chicken! It was very tasty too. It was a little salty so I think I would cut the garlic salt down but even with that, it was still really freakin good. As always, we used lite mayo and tasted just fine! **Just went through the comments and seems like several people thought too salty, try a tsp not a TBSP of garlic salt**We served it with a salad and rice and was delish! Tonight I did add a glass of white wine to meal because, you know, its been that kind of week! ;-)

Hope that maybe you will enjoy some of these recipes too. Seriously, they were all quick and easy and tasty and it makes me happy when I am able to actually make a good meal.

On the Z front....about 20 minutes of crying after I left tonight, door lock is working well. Fingers crossed and a few prayers said that he sleeps through the night. And very thankful Mark again slept through it all!

Tomato, Basil and Smoked Mozzarella Pasta Salad il main meals POINTS® Value: 6 Servings: 6 For an interesting flavor boost, add sun-dried tomatoes to this recipe. Place 1/4 cup of dried sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl and cover them with boiling water; set aside for 10 minutes to allow the tomatoes to plump up. Drain well and substitute them for half the cherry tomatoes in the recipe ngredients 1/2 cup(s) part-skim mozzarella cheese, smoked, diced 1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste 1/2 cup(s) basil, fresh, chopped 1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste 2 tsp olive oil 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar, or more to taste 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1 cup(s) cherry tomato(es), or grape tomatoes, halved 16 oz uncooked fusilli, or other spiral pasta Instructions Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add vinegar, oil and oregano; toss to coat. Fold in tomatoes, basil and mozzarella; season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm or chilled. Yields about 1 cup per serving.