Halloween has arrived at our house. Hooray!! We devoted most of today to decorating and crafting for this special holiday. Halloween was the first holiday that my hubby and I spent in our very own house, so Halloween holds a special place in our heart. So we've always decorated our home, inside and out, with extra joy and affection. And then to make the holiday even more special, our first baby girl arrived on Halloween, our dear Rebecca (I've always wondered what the trick-or-treaters must have thought that year when our house was dark). So Halloween is treasured at our house. Much of the day, we pulled out decorations and crafted new ones. A great deal of my inspiration this year came from the blog Eighteen 25 's Spooktacular September. For instance we started the day with Spooky Pancakes . Rebecca and I tried our hand at the Spirit Jugs  (which I had also seen in Family Fun magazine ). The girls and I made wreaths inspired by several projects I've seen online, inc

I can't begin to tell you how happy this little cash register makes me. Every time I walk by it I smile. It is still new to me but it's been on my mind for quite a while. A few weeks ago my mom and I discovered the Antique Trove where one could spends hours lost in antiques bliss. I have never been one for collecting antiques but between my grandma and a few blog friends, I decided to take a second look. Unfortunately when we discovered this place we were tight on time so we had to peruse quickly, barely scratching the surface. As we were leaving I stopped to take a closer look at one of the seller's booths and this little cash register caught my eye. I didn't think too much of it as we hurried out, but it's image kept popping up in my head ever since. In fact, I found myself designing a whole kitchen around it.   I do have a beautiful kitchen that I love. It's just in a house that is about 25 miles away from my work, the girls' schools, the girls' e

In the tradition of my family growing up, today I was inspired to make a special Sunday morning breakfast. Lately we've been in a bit of a pancake rut so I searched for something different. One breakfast I remember enjoying a lot as a child was Dutch Babies . I don't know exactly where our recipe came from (my grandma found us lots of yummy recipes out of magazines and books, which I also enjoy doing) but it definitely found its way into our permanent collection. But today I even wanted that to be a little different. So I did a quick internet search for "pumpkin dutch babies" (I am loving fall and what says fall more than pumpkin?) and I found this recipe on Baking Bites . It was a bit different from our recipe but I was up for the adventure. And they turned out wonderful, like a bite of pumpkin pie. Then add some maple syrup, whipped cream, and Halloween sprinkles and it was almost sinful. So if you're looking for a new breakfast adventure, I highly recommend t

Just like I thought, I didn't get back to my blog last night. I just couldn't help myself with Glee being on (so much fun). But here I am now. I was going to show you some of the creations from this weekend but I just haven't had the time to take photos. So instead I feel like sharing a couple books I have borrowed from the library recently. You may remember my If your heart could speak post. I had found that quote but forgot to write down the name of the book. Well I figured out the book's title was Live What You Love  by Bob and Melinda Blanchard . So I requested it from the library and got it today. But a week or so ago I was able to check out another book by the same authors: Changing Your Course . I can't tell you how wonderfully inspiring this book has been. It seems to give me permission to dream and believe that anything is possible, as well as give me the tools to go after my dreams. So I was excited when their other book came today. Just reading the fir

These past couple days have been wonderfully crafty. I've been able to create quietly by myself as well as with my girls and our friends. I will try my best to get back here and share tonight, but then again Glee starts tonight. I am all caught up with Season 1 thanks to Netflix and I am ready to go! So if I don't get back here with crafty goodness tonight you know where I am.....loving Glee!!!!!

So here it is! I am so excited with how my "subway art" turned out. When I went to bed last night it was still unfinished, untouched. But then for some reason I couldn't sleep at 4am so I got up. I cleaned up my workspace and got to work painting. And then I had to see the finished piece. So I carefully peelled away the football (or leaf shape) and I was thrilled! I see more of these in my future, including the negative of this project using the pleasant surprise left behind. Now it's on to my next project..... I've got my creative "mojo" back!!!!

Work in progress , originally uploaded by byjen . Yesterday I finally unburied my craft room and put it to good use. The project I am most excited about is my version of Subway Art celebrating the wonderfulness of Fall. Several days ago my BFF sent me this link and I was hooked. I had never heard of Subway art so I hopped from blog to blog viewing different samples. I knew I needed to make one. So I dusted off my Cricut and used the vinyl sheets I had purchased for the Cricut but had never allowed myself to use (I do that a lot. I'm a bit of a craft supply collector/hoarder). So here's a peek at the start of my Subway Art. I plan on painting over it and then pulling off the words to reveal the negative. Wish me luck. If it works out I have many more ideas to add to my growing to do list. At least I should never grow bored with all the inspiration that surrounds me, right? In looking up my links for this blog post I have found yet another adorable project to add to my to do

Give your dreams wings , originally uploaded by byjen . I am a planner, or at least I try to be. I'm always planning something. Planning the next shopping trip or the next birthday party, or even my next blog post. There are always ideas swirling around in my head. I've got list after list: to do lists, shopping lists, wish lists, gifts and crafts to make, etc.. But then I often fall short when it comes time to "do" especially regarding my creative time. I mean I get all the mundane, day-to-day stuff done, but when it comes to creative "me" time it's a different story. Like when I get the girls to bed and have time for myself, what do I do with the time? I often squander it away (lately it's been watching Glee on DVD, but is that truly a waste? Glee is just so much fun!). When am I going to do all thes e creative things I "plan" on doing? I keep finding the inspiration (there's almost too much inspiration out there) and I feel I have

If your heart could speak... , originally uploaded by byjen . Life has distracted me from my computer once again. And here I am again with zillions of ideas and plans swirling in my head. It's sometimes overwhelming to be inspired by so much. Recently my hubby and I went on one of our typical dates--we hung out at a local bookstore. As usual, he finds one or two books and plants himself at a table and I roam the bookstore in various different sections and come back with a huge stack of books and magazines. This night was no different. I looked through craft books and puppy books (I have to add that life with Sprinkles is wonderful. She is such a sweetie) and I flipped through craft magazines and holiday idea books (by the way, my Christmas "Believe" did not make it into this year's  Somerset's Holiday & Celebrations issue . Maybe there's hope for a December issue). But I also found a table with inspirational books. In one of the books (silly me, I did