Halloween at the Abla house . . .Chilling Indeed.

Fall Drive II

I wanted to do a purple/green halloween book last year and found the perfect paper at BigLots. This is the first result - "Monster Mash!"

Here are some of the monsters locked inside . . . Dracula the Vampire . . . Frank-n-stein . . . and a Mummy.
I used glitter and popdots on practically every page, so it really isn't that scary, but I think it turned out pretty cute. I used the extra scraps from the pages for a couple witchy tag albums. 6 pages per album, these had a lot of glitter and pops too.
I think tag books would be great for grandma or auntie brag books. Or they could hold favorite and fun halloween recipes and notes.
These are currently posted on etsy, but if they haven't sold I'll have them at the craft shows in October and November.

Fall Drive I

This is my latest tag book project, "Apple Red Happiness" which had Evan unconsciously whistling the tune the other day. he he. The papers are from the Fall Stack DCDW(?), and I love the candy apple pinks, oranges and browns with the lime green.

I got the stickers a couple months ago and this went perfect. Hopefully I'll have enough tags to do 2 books. I've also added some apple quotes which help fill it out. Little Daisy Alt font.

I also posted some fall paper piecings on etsy last night. Here are the little acorns that are a part of the offering. Even though this has been a mild summer, I'm looking forward to autumn.

More Secret Llama

O Christmas Tree

We weren't going to get a Christmas tree since we had sold the ones we had in Guymon. But toward the end of last week I thought, "Hmm, I think I do want a tree." So Evan agreed and we ventured out to Meijer over treacherous and snowy roads on Saturday night and finally found this pretty narrow one. Evan wanted LED lights because they save energy and I wanted white ones. So as you can see we both got what we wanted. A lot of my ornaments and Christmas stuff is at my mom's. But here it is with the birds and butterflies and vintage ornaments I could scrounge up.

Christmas Album - Frosty Pink - Sold!

I've already sent this one away -- It's my Frosty Pink Christmas album. I just finished it last night and took pix of it. I've also got some pix of my Christmas deer. Speaking of deer -- ask Evan about the one that was dead in the parking lot a couple weeks ago. I think Keith has a picture of it.

Just Finished!

Well, this is just because I'm in a Christmas mood.

This is the latest pb album . . .
and my little birds.
Enjoy

Holly Daze

Thanksgiving is over and I made my first run at Christmas decorating tonight.

We also got a hide-a-bed couch from Ralph tonight. This is the second time I've gotten a couch from someone I work with. A new collection! Anyway, that brings our sleeping arrangements up to 8! No excuse not to come. . .

Muy Bien! Great Value!

Evan and I went home to Decatur over the holiday, and my Mom and Dad met us there. We had a good time and I got my Christmas present early -- a Cricut. That was a surprise, but we got it for $120 - which was cheaper than even the pricetag. I also got quite a few things at Big Lots and Hobby Lobby, so I'm hoping to get some of my pending projects finished so that I can start on new ones.

I've been working on a Christmas paper bag album this week, but I think I also have a few orders from home since I took my autumn pb home with me. I'll post it's outcome soon.

I'm also getting ready for the Christmas musicals this coming weekend -- we had our final Pre-school rehearsal Sunday night, with parents helping make their costumes and crowns. We had a good turn out and I think it's going to be really cute. More pics on that too.

I'll be starting my Advent meditations on the parkviewnaz.org site next week. Michaels has a nice size wreath suitable for an advent wreath for $1.50. Hobby Lobby has advent candle packages or you can make your own with votives.

Turkey Chicken

Do you like my turkey? See above.

I have a hard time decorating or even enjoying Halloween, but I love autumn. So most of my fall decorations tend toward Thanksgiving. True, it is secular and latently patriotic, but at least it reflects some better qualities than pretending to be someone you're not (costumes) and gluttony (candy). If someone can name them, please post them here.

I think we, as Christians, should choose to celebrate All-Saints Day instead, but our Protestant selves seem to be more scared of our own (read Catholic) Christian saints than devils and witches.

Of course, I do love Buffy. . .

So, out come my turkeys.

The other good thing I can say about Thanksgiving is that it does provide an open door for explaining The Great Thanksgiving, or Eucharist, to our children. They can immediately identify with the feast and the familial elements of the seasonal celebration. This makes a simple transition into the eschatological and celebratory aspects of the Lord's Supper.

Ahh, Christ is indeed redeeming all things. . .