Fanciest Spider Web EVER!

Over in my i heart fall class I won a giveaway!! The lovely Janel took doilys, put them in an embroidery hoop and added a little spider. Boom...cutest and fanciest spider web I've ever seen. This was the giveaway I wanted to win the most and I was soo soooo happy to learn that I did. I receieved this adorable guy in the mail yesterday (I looove getting mail) and immediately found a new home for him.
I think this is the cutest idea. This year at the VNA Sale, there was a whole pile of doilys that I was looking at but put back because I thought to myself "What are you gonna do with these, they're just going to collect dust?!" Needless to say I am kicking myself for not buying at least 2 or 3. Next year I want to make a whole bunch of these to hang around for Halloween!





In his new home...


I wish Halloween wasn't over =(

i heart fall Journal Prompts 20-22

I did 3 more pages last night!! And I painted 3 others to use for future prompts.

Journal Prompt-Dia de los Muertos
"To celebrate dia de los Muertos, today I would like you to pay homage to any of your loved ones who have passed away. It seems like a sad prompt but it's actually a great way to celebrate their life and to take one day to remember them and all of the wonderful things that they brought into this world while they were here :)"
I miss all my grandparents so much =*(



Journal Prompt-List of Recipes
"Today I would like for you to create a page where you can document all of the new recipes you have tried this fall. If you haven't tried any yet, maybe you can make a page for ones that you would like to try out in the future."
These are not recipes from all the recipes prompts the rest of the class did, these are just new recipes I happened to try on my own this Fall.



Journal Prompt- Create your own Spooky/Cute Creature!
"Create a cute/spooky monster in honor of the fall festivities ahead :) Get creative, use new materials, take a picture of your creation or just draw one instead!"
I painted this page before I knew what I would do with it and I think it came out so cute!



I'm really loving doing more than one page a night!

i heart fall Journal Prompts 15 - 19

I blasted through 5 more journal pages last night! I kind of like doing a few pages at once, I feel really accomplished (even though I'm totally behind) and I get more and more creative with each page.

Journal Prompt-Today I...
"This page is all about what you did today. It doesn't have to be anything fall themed or related, just a little documentation of what you did today!"
Nothing too exciting, work, grocery shopping and cooking.



Journal Prompt-Found items...
"Today I would like you to collect at least five found items. These can be anything just lying around in front of you at the moment, or materials you have been saving for something but you just don't know what...anything.
I want you to create a page, just using those things that you have found. They don't have to have a theme, or anything, just randomness. For the prompt, you can write about whatever is on your mind at that moment too!!"
I found all this stuff in my craft area, I've had this jelly fish picture for yeeearrs. I took it at the Adventure Aquarium like 5 years ago! Everyone at my job just found out 2 weeks ago that we lost the contract with the company we take calls for and will be out of jobs soon...no clue when though =(



Journal Prompt-Fall Crafts....
"What are some crafts that instantly make you think of the autumn season. They could be holiday crafts, seasonal crafts, cooler weather crafts, anything!!!"
I mostly think of warm yarn and halloween decorations.



Journal Prompt - Extra Prompts...
"Document what you look like and what you are interested in during this season of your life."
I'm always in skinny jeans, a top, cardigan and flats these days. I've been dyeing my hair colors again and trying to wear more earrings. My ears are stretched and I always just wear steel tunnels or black plugs, so boring considering how much other jewelry I wear and all the fun earrings out there! Plus I paint my nails a lot, but I always have.


Journal Prompt-Things I have made...
"What crafts have you created so far this season? There are so many things to be made, and this page is THE PLACE to document everything that you have made thus far :)"
Lots of crocheting this season! This is my favorite page right now!



Phew got a lot done last night. I don't know if I'll get any done tonight but definitely tomorrow!

i heart fall Prompts 11 - 14

I've been slacking hardcore on the i heart fall journal class. I really hated my last journal page and so I had a sour taste about the whole thing in my mouth. Last night I got really inspired and banged out 4 pages!

Journal Prompt-magical...
"The best word to describe fall for me is "magical." There are so many magical aspects of the season ;) This page is all about the magic of it all!! What are some other things that are magical to you?"



This picture is of a wall in Minneapolis I took a few years ago while on a road trip with Liz. It was this giant brick wall covered in awesome graffiti.

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Journal Prompt- Favorite Fall Traditions
What are your favorite fall traditions? What are some things that you do or create each time fall rolls around. Are there places that you go with your family?
Tell us about them. Document them for your family!!



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Journal Prompt - Halloween Costume Ideas!
What are your plans for dressing up this year? Who or what do you plan on being?? Document any costume ideas that you have for you and your family members :)



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Journal Prompt- Fall Playlist
Today I would like for you to create your perfect fall playlist :) What tunes are currently listening to this season? I think this one will be really fun to look back on someday! Also, try using a new medium on your journal page today!!

i heart fall Prompt 10

Journal Prompt: What are your fall fashion faves?? Fall is a great season for fashion and the colors and textures absolutely fab :) What are your faves?

I got this ad from a newpaper I bought at the VNA Sale (post about that to come!) and it is from 1948!
I love that it's for a plaid dress that is perfect for autumn!!
Besides the old ad I don't like this page too much. I wanted to make it look like what I wrote was part of the newspaper, it looked alot better in my head =(

i heart fall Prompt 9

I've been slacking with the Blog posts. The wi-fi I "borrow" hasn't been working to well and then I had no batteries for my camera!! Ugh!
I think I've got everything figured out now though!!

Journal Prompt: Come up with 4-6 simple, accomplishable goals for the month of October. Keep them specific and fun!



Pretty self explanitory!

Fall Recipes

I was slacking this week on keeping up with the Journal Prompts for the i heart fall class.
I knew exactly which recipes to use for each but I knew they were kind of long and would need almost all handwriting on the pages, and it sounded boring. Plus I have horrible handwriting.
Finally I buckled down last night and did all 3 at once.

Journal Prompt: What is your favorite meal type/appetizer recipe?
I just recently started making these Stuffed Peppers and I am in love with them. They are so easy and Jeremy LOVES them, he's always asking for more. I think I loved them even more because the first time I made them, after he had eaten 3 he said "those were really good. I didn't think I was going to like them because my Mom made them when I was little and they weren't good. I don't know what you do different but they're great!"
I definitely get satisfaction out of feeding him stuff he likes!!



Journal Prompt: What is your favorite Fall Sweet Treat Recipe?
This is so, so good and I had never even heard of Pumpkin Roll until I moved to PA 5 years ago. Maybe it's a Dutch thing? A lot of people out here make it (I've had it at office parties mostly) and it's always so good. I haven't attempted it myself but I really think I am going to bring it to Thanksgiving this year.



Journal Prompt: What is your favorite fall drink??
This is sooo delish, I just wish I had more occasions to make it for. I live in a little studio so not too many parties =/



Enjoy!

i heart fall Recipe Book

This is such an awesome part of the i heart fall group that I am in.
We are all creating Recipe Books and then this week each prompt will be a different type of recipe and we can print each others and have a great big recipe book full of everyone's!!
I am so so excited about this!
I only started cooking about a year ago when Jeremy moved inwith me and I'm really starting to enjoy it.
Here is my cover. I wanted it to be different but still similar to the actual journal.



And here are the pages on the inside before adding any recipes.



I can't wait to fill it up!!

i heart fall Prompt 8

Journal Prompt: The lovely smells of fall! What are some smells that trigger memories of fall for you??

This one looks all 70's to me...I think it's the brown and orange =)

i heart fall Prompt 7

Journal Prompt: The sounds of fall! When you think of fall, what are some sounds that you think of?

Pretty straight forward list.
I would like to clarify "screams"...a big part of my Fall Activities involves Haunted Houses. I scream bloody murder whenever I get scared so...it's a major sound of my Fall.
Oh and the "thanks" is during Thanksgiving, duh!

i heart fall Prompt 6

Journal Prompt: The tastes of fall. What tastes do you think of when you dream about the upcoming season? Are their certain things that you wait all year for? I know I do!!

Of course after making this list I though of a bunch more things I should have added.
-Apple Streusel
-Stuffed Peppers
-And I wish I had elaborated more on Thanksgiving Dinner.

Thanksgiving is a pretty important holiday with my Dad. My step mom, Lonnie had a lung transplant 8 years ago this Thanksgiving. It was only a few months after I had moved in with them and it was a really scary, amazing time.
The holiday now REALLY makes us all appreciate the things we have. And even though Lonnie had such a serious surgery, she still makes the most delicious Thanksgiving Dinner!! Lots of turkey but I don't really eat too much. There's mountains of mashed potatoes, green beans with almonds, turnips, cranberry sauce (yum!), broccoli with cheese, corn, salad, almost always burnt rolls and the one thing Jessie and I brought to our new family when my Dad and Lonnie first got married is Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows melted on top. Lonnie had never heard of this but she has always made it for us and it is definitely my favorite!! And of course there's always pumpkin pie, applie pie and other assorted desserts.
Ever since Lonnie's transplant we also started a new tradition of going around the table and everyone saying what they're thankful for. There's always tears and big smiles and it honestly does remind all of us to be thankful for what we have and that we are all part of such a loving family. I love holidays at my Dad's house, it's always mayhem because there's so many of us (Soon to be one more!! My step sister Karyn is having a little girl!!) to begin with and we always have the boyfriends/girlfriends/family friends, etc. The house is so full of noise and love though, I'm getting all choked up thinking about it now.

Here's my page. I kind of don't like it at all...it looked way better in my head.
Meh.

i heart fall Prompt 5

Journal Prompt: The colors of Fall. What do they look like where you are from? Which colors stick out, which colors amaze you? Document it :)

I'm pretty lucky where I live, we have all the seasons and Fall is absolutely beatutiful. Jeremy's family lives farther west into PA and it really is the country. It's breathtaking driving out to visit them, there is sooo much land and rolling hills everywhere. In the autumn the trees are my absolute favorite part, reds, oranges, gold...it's beautiful!
The leaves have just started changing around here even though it's been pretty warm!

I just used markers, scrap book paper, ribbon and rick-rack for this page.

i heart fall Prompt 4

Journal Prompt: Why I heart fall? What are the reasons behind your love for this season? Why is fall so amazing to you??

This was easy, I just made a list of all the things I love about Fall. Afterward I thought of about a million more things.
Apple Cider
When it's cool out and you get in your car and it's nice and warm
Pumpkin Roll
Corn Mazes
Jeez...the list just goes on and on!

i heart fall Prompt 3

Journal Prompt: Today I would like you to create a page dedicated to all of your ideas for autumn decor.

I used markers and some yarn as an accent for this page.



* I've wanted to crochet little pumpkins and gourds for a while, I really wanted to last year but I never did it.
* I have a big blank wall in my living/bedroom and I see these cute banners that Janel and some other girls make. I think a fall themed one would be lovely up there!
* I showed the primitive raven pattern a few weeks ago in a Wanna Make Wednesday post, I still reeeally want to make him!
And last but not least
* I want to carve pumpkins. My sister and I have been carving pumpkins together since we were kids. There were only a few years in there when we lived states apart from each other that we didnt.
Two years ago we even taught 3 of our friends (Jeremy included) how to carve pumpkins because they never had! I had an ex boyfriend who never carved a pumpkin either, it blew my mind! I knew it'd be trouble when he just jammed the knife in to carve out an eye without even gutting the thing first, LMAO!!
My sister and I have also decided that when we have kids, we will all carve pumpkins together. We have a serious love for Autumn and Halloween and it's just something that we've always done, sort of a tradition that we want to carry on.

i heart fall Prompt 2

Journal Prompt: Today I want you to come up with 3-5 simple, accomplishable goals for your journal. These goals are a great way to keep you motivated throughout this little adventure.

This was pretty simple. I already knew what my goals were going to be. I used some fabric that I've had forever and love but haven't done anything with. And some buttons from my huge button stash!
I want this journal to be more creative than the last one I did
I pretty much only focus on my birthday and Halloween when it comes to Fall, I want to remember that there is alot more awesomeness to Fall!
On that note, there are more Fall decorations possible than just Halloween ones!
And I just want to enjoy Autumn as much as possible!

i heart fall Prompt 1

Day One Journal Prompt: Today I want you to create a Welcome page for your journal. Welcoming the new season, welcoming your readers, welcoming the idea of journaling :)



This is mostly markers and the green leaves are cut out of fabric. I don't know the last time I used markers but it was fantastic! I felt like a little kid again in Arts & Crafts camp. I am definitely going to be using them a ton in this journal!

i heart fall

So I started a wonderful online class given by the lovely Janel from RunsWithScissors
She is the one who organized the 30 Day Challenge that I was doing last month. This time the whole class is centered around Fall and it's 13 weeks!! There won't just be journal prompts but also crafty projects, recipes, decor ideas, etc.
I was really on the fence about doing the class because unlike the 30 Day Challenge this class cost money. Only $25 but for a broke bastard like me, $25 could mean gas for the week or not!
Janel and her husband Adam are in the process of adopting a baby so all the proceeds go toward all the crazy fees they need. I've been following Janels blog for a little while now and she is an absolutely wonderful person, so full of love and happiness that I know any child would be blessed to have her as a mom. So I decided, $25 ain't nothin and it's going to a fabulous cause so I signed up!!

Last night I made my Journal (yes made) I didn't have any spare cash to buy a journal so I went to the dollar store, bought a pad of drawing paper, cut it in half and tied a cover of cardboard to it. I actually really like it better than any journal I could have bought, mostly because the edges are a little rough and uneven from cutting the paper by hand. I also had to hole punch all the pages and oooweee did my hand hurt after that!
I had so much fun digging through all my stash of craft supplies looking for things to decorate the cover and also for the rest of the journal prompts. The last journal I only drew, wrote, and sketched. This time I want to try my hand at a bit of an "Art Journal" with some extra touches other than pen, we'll see!

So my cover is felt that I glued to the cardboard, little felt leaf buttons I sewed on, I embroidered the 2010 in the top corner and I glued the little metal letters. I really love how it turned out!!