HALLOWEEN IS OVER, BUT . . . .

     Yes, I know that Halloween is over, but I'm still working on a Halloween (Tim Holtz) alterations box and am posting a picture of the inside.  The most difficult part was lining the little boxes.  Nothing is square and even though I measured, trimming was still necessary and I almost ran out of paper just to make matters more interesting.  The little ghost, mouse, and owl were handmade by Dot of Dot's Pots in Moline, IL.  She does a lot of whimsical things in clay and I also have some of her creations in my printer's tray in the kitchen.  I just finished painting some little black legs for the box and the next step is attaching them.  Hopefully that will be done very soon and then I'll post a picture of the finished box.
     We've had some very cool nights along with rain in the past few days and the combination seems to have made the colors of the trees really "pop".  I'm posting a picture of the maple in our backyard.  This past Monday was our 46th anniversary and we took a scenic drive up to Galena, IL.  The hillsides were colorful, although there didn't seem to be much red, but I just don't think there are many native trees that turn that color in our area.
Am ending for now, but am hoping to post more soon.
                 

     The little mouse is my favorite piece.  As you can see, I've also included a couple of Tim Holtz pieces.

WHAT'S YOUR POISON?

     That sounds like a really strange question, however it's the current theme at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge where "green" is to be the featured color and no "orange" is allowed.  For the background on my Halloween tag, I used Peeled Paint and Mustard Seed Distress Inks.  Next I stamped a cobweb down the right side of the tag and "Trick & Treat" at the bottom.  I cut an Ornate Frame with a Tim Holtz/Sizzix die and embossed it with fine black embossing powder which gave it a nice shiney appearance.  I then stamped the witch's head, colored it with several Distress Markers, including Crushed Olive, cut it out and popped it up in the center of the frame.  The rubber stamps were all from Tim Holtz collections.  I finished off the tag by sticking a glittery spider on the hat and at bottom right side.  I really like this tag and hope you enjoy it too.  It's been entered at the following challenge:
         http://frillyandfunkie.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/whats-your-poison.html
                                 

"OCTOBER SNOW"

     Winter is sneaking in way too early -- we had accumulating snow on Tuesday and it's only 32 degrees as I write this at 10:30 this Thursday morning.  We haven't had Indian Summer yet, so hopefully it will warm up in the coming days and we can enjoy the colorful trees without being bundled up for winter.
     Yesterday I finally made a few Halloween cards and a couple of tags.   Now all I need is a friendly ghost to come and clean off my kitchen counter, so I can start another project.  Nothing very exciting to report which I guess is a good thing.  We did venture out in the snow/slush Tuesday for lunch and to see the classic movie, "Vertigo" at the Putnam.  It was a typical Hitchcock and of course, Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak were excellent.  These "old" movies are really fun to see -- much different than the currant ones. 
     We brought in my big, beautiful, geraniums for the winter -- they're sitting in the family room in front of the big window where they get morning sunlight.  One of them is still in full bloom and another one has at least 7 buds on it. 

                                  

"FROST ON THE ROOF"

     Yes, there was frost on our roof this morning -- it was 33 degrees.  I really don't like to see it this cool already as it may be a sign of a very cold winter ahead.  We've had a couple of pretty mild winters and I would like another one since I'm not a winter person.  We've had a couple of windy days as a front moved through and the leaves have really been falling.  Hope the really pretty leaves hang on for a while so we can take a day trip up north and go "leaf peeping".  Last week we visited a local nursery/gift shop and found a lot of pretty Fall and Halloween arrangements, so I'm posting a few photos.  I've been working on a Halloween project and hope to finish it before the big day.  Will post pictures of it as soon as it's finished. 
                      

               

"SIGNS OF THE SEASON"

     You can sure tell that we've moved into a new season.  The days are much shorter, leaves are gradually changing color, the squirrels are busily burying their supply of food for winter, robins are flocking, and the countryside has turned from green to brown and farmers are hard at work harvesting their crops.  It's a really busy time of year for everyone and there are always lots of fun activities connected with this time of year. With many of the trees shedding their leaves, there always seems to be a pile of leaves for kids to play in and that's why I enjoyed making this card -- it depicts a little girl having fun in the leaves!
     The card base is a piece of Basic Grey paper on brown card stock from my stash.  The stamp is a Magnolia which I colored with Copic Sketch markers.  To carry out the theme and "the colors of Autumn" I embellished the card with some silk "leaves" and flowers.  I also used a Tim Holtz ticket saying "Giggle" as a final touch.  I am entering this card in "The colours of Autumn" challenge at:  frillyandfunkie.blogspot.com.  I hope you enjoy this card and I appreciate any comments you may leave. 
                  

"HAPPY OCTOBER"

     Here it is, the first of October, a month that I really do like even though Winter isn't far behind.  We've been having beautiful weather -- cooler temperatures with low humidity and clear blue skies.  We've even had the heat on a few days -- just long enough to take the edge off.  The leaves have just barely started to turn color, but hopefully we'll have some good "leaf-peeping" this year.  Farmers are busy harvesting their crops, taking advantage of the nice dry weather.
     I've been busy sorting through some of my stash in preparation for a garage sale coming up at a local scrapbooking store.  Hopefully a lot of items will find a good home with someone else.
I did find time however, to decorate a kraft tag with pretty leaves cut with a Tim Holtz die.  With Halloween coming up at the end of the month, I can't wait to create some fun tags.  Hope you enjoy my October tag.
       

PLAYING CATCH UP

     Where, oh where, has September gone?  I can't believe I haven't posted or created anything during September until today, which is the beginning of AUTUMN.  We started off the month by driving to Backbone State Park (near Strawberry Point, IA) on Labor Day (Sept. 2) for the Mock Cousin's Reunion.  We arrived at the park nice and early, but by the time we found the Beach Shelter, we were about an hour past lunch time.  We didn't know about a third park entrance and found out that almost everyone else had a problem finding the Beach Shelter.  It turned out OK, but was rather frustrating!  There were 6 cousins there along with spouses.  It was a beautiful day after having a heat wave!
     Irv attended his retiree's luncheon on Wed., Sept.4, and REC Day on the 5th.  We drove to Story City, IA on the 6th, where we stayed at the Comfort Inn overnight.  We went out to dinner that night with 3 other couples, Irv's sisters and brother and their spouses.  The next day, we helped Irv's brother Bill celebrate his 80th birthday, along with about 50 of Bill and Zola's family members.  It was quite a group, and we all enjoyed a very nice luncheon followed by a picture-taking session and then birthday cake. 
     We haven't done very much of note the rest of the month, but it has just flown by anyway.  We did see a couple of good movies, "Blue Jasmine" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's", an oldie but a goodie, that neither of us had seen before.
     We are having some rather cool but beautiful weather, so will have to get out and about this week and enjoy it.  I need to get my creative juices flowing again, so maybe I need to go pumpkin hunting?  The picture of the two little scarecrows was taken in LeClaire, IA a couple of years ago, so maybe I need to see what they have decorating their main street this year.