HELLO HALLOWEEN ...

The end of September is almost upon us ...... Wow where has this year gone!!!!
I do love this time of the year though - the oppressive Texas heat is a thing of the past (well at least it should be ..... 94 Deg today!!!), and I can start concentrating on preparing our home for the many hours that will be spent tucked up indoors, as Fall arrives and then gives way to Winter.
Halloween marks the beginning of all of this for us ..... a holiday still relatively new to our family, but one we really enjoy, just because it's FUN !!!!

It wouldn't be complete without some Halloween crafting ..... just a few little odds and ends. Both my Halloween Swap Packages are on their way (Zombie Doll all the way to Finland ...... how exciting is that. And my Witches hat, a little nearer to home). I'll be able to share their contents just as soon as their recipients get them. But in the meantime I've got some bits and bobs to share with you .....

If you've visited my blog before, you'll know that I love pincushions, in any shape and size. Everyone should have a pincushion for every holiday !!! Here is a Halloween one. They're quick and easy to make, and a great scrapbusting project. The Jack O Lantern started life as a place card holder. I whipped out the metal "thinggie" and there he was. I decided to have some sculpey fun too. The result these little pins to keep "Jack" company. They were really easy to make, and I forsee a host of different characters in the future.

Next up, a Halloween dishtowel. Another quick and easy project.

I keep a stock of plain dishtowels on hand all the time - you just never know when you may need a quick gift. I gathered a length of Halloween fabric and stitched it to the bottom of the dishtowel. I finished it off with a length of ric rac.

At our front door, Trick 'n Treater's get to choose from homemade items - some crafty, some edible, it all just depends what takes their fancy. What better way to get into the Halloween spirit, than by popping on a Halloween apron. I love this Simplicity pattern (the number escapes me right now), but it could well be my new "go to" apron pattern. REALLY quick and easy, but I love the little flounce in the skirt ...... very girly!!!

So we've cooked and baked up a storm ......... yikes, there's dishes to be done!!!! Fear not, for I have a fun solution for that too ....

Some hand knitted, 100% cotton dishcloths. I will have to go back and search for these again, so that I can give you the blog of the lady who designed them, and offers the patterns for free. Quick and fun to knit up. I prefer using these over those disposable cloths you can buy - and so much more eco friendly. A great gift idea too. I used Sugar n Cream yarn to make these (the big balls), and I could get another dishcloth of this size out of what I have left over in each color. Think of the lovely Christmas sets you could knit up and give as hostess gifts ...... Hmmm, time to stock up on those Christmas colors I think:-)

So there you have it friends ..... a few little Halloween crafting ideas.
Until next time ...... Keep Crafting.

LET'S TALK FRENCH TOAST ....

Pecan Praline French Toast to be precise ............... a truly Southern breakfast dish I've been told.

Super easy to make .... laden with calories ...... and just simply delicious !!!!
So would you like to know how I made this ...... well here we go.

1 (16oz) French bread loaf
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp maple syrup
3/4 cup chopped pecans
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup 2% reduced fat milk (OK, so there's something about that "reduced fat" that makes me chuckle)
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cut 10 (1 inch thick) slices of bread.
Stir together brown sugar and next 2 ingredients. Pour into a lightly greased 13x9 inch baking dish.
Sprinkle with chopped pecans.
Whisk together eggs and next 4 ingredients. Arrange bread slices over pecans.
Pour egg mixture over bread. Cover and chill for 8 hours.
Preheat oven to 350 Deg F. Bake bread for 35 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

I took this to a get together with some friends a little while ago - not a crumb was left !!!

I've also been busy with some crafty stuff too - mainly for 2 Halloween Swaps I'm taking part in. One is a Zombie Doll Swap, and the other a Witches Hat Swap. I have almost finished up both, and will post pictures once my partners have received their packages ....... Don't want to go spoiling their surprises now do we :-)

The smell of Fall is in the air (can you hear my chuckles of delight !!!!) ...... that means scarves and shawls will be needed in the not to distant future. I've never knitted a shawl before, I've always found them a little intimidating. However I found Stephen West's pattern for The Boneyard Shawl and decided to give it a go. I am so glad I did ..... it's simple to make and I love it.

I've had to stop for the moment though - my circular needle wasn't long enough. The longer one I've ordered should be in the mail and arriving soon ........... Oh, I can't wait to carry on with this beauty !!!!

I'm really glad I've been able to post ...... I'm having to take my memory card to Walgreens, and I'm having the pictures downloaded onto a CD. I then bring my CD home and get the pictures onto hubby's computer that way ...... a bit of a round about way to do it, but hey, it works for me:-)

Until next time ..... Happy Crafting !!!

I'M STILL HERE .....

Hello..... Hello

I thought I'd just pop in to say that I'm still around. We're having a number of technical disasters at the moment. My computer has died ..... finished, broken, can't be fixed!!!! It's not possible for us to replace it, so I pop onto hubby's when I can ...... in the little time slots that exist between the demands made on the poor thing by Middle Schoolers, who need to print off reams of homework daily.
Perhaps my biggest disaster though, is our inability to download photo's from my camera onto the computer. My mom kindly left me her old camera when she visited in June, so that I had one after my camera packed up ...... despite hours of trying numerous different things, we can't get the pictures to download onto the computer ............. and it's frustrating me SOOOOO much, because I have tons to share with y'all!!!!
We'll continue to search out downloading solutions, or wait for a great camera deal to present itself.

I'm still visiting all of your blogs regularly, and hope that I can be back to my spot in Blogville soon ......... I miss it so much!!!!

Have a lovely day:-)