Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

On this Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for my grandchildren.
I love this picture! So sweet and so special. Big brother and little sister.

Pilgrim, Nick, and his helper, Girlie, handing out programs for the
Thanksgiving Play at Porter Gaud School.
Nick is thankful to be handing out programs and Girlie is thankful to be helping him!

To my family and friends;

I sincerely hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday with family and friends.

My daughter, Deb, and family are here visiting from Charleston, SC. They will be staying in San Clemente, CA with my son-in-law, Steve's family, the Glazier's (who really live in Alexandria, VA but have rented a house on the beach to spend the holiday with family and friends on the west coast!)

My son, Robert, and I will join them for the big feast on Thanksgiving Day. I'm so looking forward to the turkey and all the goodies but most of all to spending the holiday with family.

Actually, my biggest treat for the day will not be the turkey, but being able to spend the time with my grandchildren Nick and Girlie who are waiting to see Nana! I miss them a lot. I just saw them for Halloween in SC, but it seems like it's been so long ago! We'll get to spend time together while they're in town for the week. I'll fill you in on the festivities soon~

.

Fun Halloween Books

Don't you just love Witches?

I love a "Good Bargain"! In fact, I think it might be my middle name! While shopping at Michael's Craft Store I spotted some real bargains, cute little note books marked down to .50 cents....

As a child of the Depression, I learned at a very young age to be thrifty. It has never left me! One day I will share my memories of that time, but today I'm crafting some fun Halloween Books for my grandchildren (and myself!)


With tons of scrapbook papers, stickers, die cuts, alphabets, google eyes, distress inks, Prismacolor pencils and my good old Golden Gel Medium, I started out to create some fun books for the kiddies to write, draw and sticker. I plan to use mine as a journal and notebook for the upcoming holiday (I also made one for my daughter, Deb...we both use notebooks every day to keep track of to-do lists and important events).

It was fun to cut up scrapbook papers with unusual Halloween Monsters and Ghosts and Witches (most of the papers that I used were from (Rusty Pickle, Pinecone Press, and DaisyD's). Stickers were from several companies available at local scrapbook stores and Michael's.

After cutting out the "spooky characters" that I wanted to use, I got out my Gel Medium (using it as glue for the papers and for a finish top coat to protect the artwork on the covers).

Once again, I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks to tone down the color of the books and add some dimension and interesting contrast. I added lots of google eyes in odd sizes to the characters making them even more whimsical. The finishing touches were ballpoint pens with skeletons and ghosts which I purchased at Walgreen's.

The 4 books I created

I opened the books and layed them out flat so I could photograph the front and back covers.

Nana likes Witches and Black Cats!

Nick loves Skeletons and Frankenstein!

Girlie loves Pumpkins and Kitties!

Mommy likes Frankenstein's Bride and Bats!

A closeup of the Bride!

I'm off to pack my suitcase with all the important things...Halloween Books, Creepy Candy Critters, Bats, Spiders, Halloween Recipe Book, Wax Lips and Fangs....It just wouldn't be Halloween without them! TRICK OR TREAT!

Halloween Fever Has Struck...

Good Evening....

I bid you "Welcome".....

Come in and sit a spell! I've been so lonely since last Halloween. My friend, the Raven, and I are looking forward to a ghastly long chat!
Rest your bones awhile. We have so much "dirt" to dish, so many old chums to "dig up" for a visit!

We'll light the lantern to keep you warm. Maybe it will shed some light on the subject of Halloween's past. We so love to reminisce!

The Raven, says "Nevermore".....but I say "Evermore", the more the merrier!

It's always so special spending time with you, but now it's time to rest. The big night is coming and we all want to be ready to frighten the little goblins who come to the door looking for treats!

So for now, we'll say "Good Night"....... and "Lights Out"!

Sweet Dreams......hmmmmmmm!
AAaaaggggghhhhh!

R.I.P.

..

Halloween Fever.....

Oh yeah, it's autumn and that means Halloween! I've been a busy little bee making my Halloween wreath and decorating....I just couldn't resist.

I'll be in SC for the holiday so I have to decorate in CA early enough to be able to enjoy it for a few weeks before I leave for the east coast. I have been storing up nuts (not really, just bargain items to make my halloween decorations) and my nest is full. Remember the Victory gardens that people planted during the war, well because we are in a recession and money is tight, this is my thrifty, Victory wreath!

After finding the last group of crows at the Dollar Tree Store for $1.00 (duh!), I couldn't rest until I made my wreath for the front door. I purchased a grapevine wreath from Michael's Craft Store, on sale for $1.99! After scurrying over to Walmart to purchase flat black spray paint, only .97 cents a can, I hurried on home to get to work. I sprayed the grapevine wreath with several coats of the paint until it was a nice shade of black (my favorite color!)

The berries in the wreath came from my "Mock Orange" bushes in the front yard. Lastly, the flowers and leaves in the wreath are from my old summer silk flowers that were ready for the recycle bin (but they still had one more season as the dead, painted black flowers adorning the wreath!) After painting almost everything in site, I heated up my trusty hot glue gun and set to work creating....and the rest as they say is history.

The wreath turned out great...I JUST LOVE IT! (stay tuned....more pictures to follow....the decorating has only just begun!)

Well, I'm adding another picture today (October 14th) because the berries that I used (from the Mock Orange bushes in my yard) for my wreath have all opened up to expose their seeds! The wreath looks even better than the day I made it!



...

Let's PLAY !

~

(Click on photo to see the collage canvas up close and personal!)

There's nothing more fun than a collage, except maybe an Encaustic Collage! Today was fun, I had a PLAY day! I made an Encaustic GAMES Collage Canvas. The photo I used for my project was my school snapshot taken in 1947! I printed a copy on photo paper, cut it to size, and used a black mat.

I LOVE TO PLAY!

As a child I loved to play.....I still love to play.....and as I always like to say, "I hope I never grow up"!

Remember Monopoly, Old Maid, Go Fish, Kick the Can, Checkers, Bingo, Chinese Checkers, Dominos, Marbles, Button-Button-Who's Got the Button, Hide and Seek, Hangman, Clue, Tiddly Winks, Puzzles, Jump Rope, Rummy, Simon Says, Pick Up Sticks, Scrabble, to name a few? We didn't watch TV very often, but actually played games to amuse ourselves!

My initials are B.A.D. for Betty Ann Decoteau, the name I was called growing up and all of my old schoolmates still call me that today!

To start the project, I colored my canvas with Tim Holtz Distress Inks, and heat set the ink. Then I created a layout that was appealing, using the photo, old game pieces, napkin, ribbon, ephemera, and set it aside.

To begin layering the pieces of the collage, bees wax was heated in a Melting Pot. Using a small paint brush dipped into the wax, adhere pieces to the canvas board, applying thin layers of encaustic wax. Embed objects in the hot wax and then paint another layer over the top. While applying the wax and layering pieces, the buildup may become too thick and can be melted again with a heat gun (Ranger's Heat It Craft Tool is preferred) by gently blowing some of the wax off the board or away from the thick areas.

This was a fun project and brought back a lot of fond memories. Playing with my 5 brothers and friends, from the days of Howdy Doody and The Lone Ranger......a simpler time, when no one worried about setting their Tivo.

We were too busy PLAYING!