boo!!!! {don't be scared!}

Introducing Sully & Boo {from Monsters Inc.}

The pictures of both kids were taken on Friday before the school party.
The pictures of Conner alone were taken a little earlier in the week before I shortened the horns and added the claws on the hands and feet.

Her outfit is just a large tee & pants from Old Navy.  I knew she wouldn't put up with the whole expanded Boo costume (when she is being smuggled around the factory) so we just went with the Boo pajamas, put her hair in pigtails & called her Boo.  It's her favorite word to say right now!

Conner's costume was a little more work.  I took turquoise fuzzy fleece and appliqued purple fuzzy fleece spots all over it.  I used the wrong side of the fabric for the contrast tummy panel.  It was a "simple" monster pattern that I adapted for our purposes (added the horns, changed the tail shape, added extra scales on the back).

His gray felt scales went down the hood, down the back seam, and tail.  I also added some claws on the feet and hands (which you can see better in the last picture).  The pattern didn't call for it, but I added elastic straps to go under his feet as well.

The sweetest Monster I know...

Happy Halloween to everyone!

indian corn

I have a couple beaded Indian corns in my fall box (craft project from when I taught), and Conner wanted to try making his own.  We grabbed some beads, pipe cleaners, and corn husks from the uncle's farm.  When I taught I used raffia instead of corn husks and they turn out just as cute!

Thread the beads on the pipe cleaner.  Make sure to twist a little extra around the first one so they don't all slide off.

Take a few pieces of corn husk and twist them on top.  Then enjoy being a scarecrow or making silly faces at your mom!

sorting apples

We got busy with some Sculpey clay and made ourselves a bunch of mini-apples.  The red and yellow clay blocks were a lot harder than the green.  Not having had a lot of experience with Sculpey, I was a little disappointed!  It made it much more difficult to make the apples - that's why there's less yellow and red ones.  I mixed together red, yellow and green bits until I got a brown I liked for the stem.

We baked them.  I love the swirl one!!!

Then we sorted, counted, arranged, improved our math skills and played!

{Thanks Roots & Wings for the idea.}

tool quilt

I realized I never showed off my mom's handiwork!  She made this fun quilt for Conner using a kit she bought while on vacation.  Each square is a different tool.  She even embroidered his name on the toolbox square.

Isn't it fun and bright and colorful?

Just a little close-up of the borders.

Thanks again, Mom!  You know Conner loves it!!!  He rotates between the tool quilt and the rock star quilt, sometimes even uses both at the same time.

caramel apple cupcakes

Have you ever had Caramel Apple Hershey's Kisses?  Have you ever tried Duncan Hines Caramel Cake?  They're the special ingredients for my latest experiment!
Grab some of your own and make something delicious...

There are so many reasons I'm not a food blogger.  Here's one.
If I was a fancy baker or food blogger, I would know you should put your batter in first before you put something in your cupcake.  Even if unwrapping the kisses and putting them in their spots keeps the kids occupied while you mix the batter.

I would know not to cut the tip quite so large, and that way I would make skinnier, more realistic looking trees that didn't fall over two seconds after I took the picture. (got the tree idea from here)
I did find a great Caramel Buttercream Icing though - and was pretty happy with how it turned out!

Even if I still have a lot to learn, I do know that the kitchen smelled wonderful, the cupcakes tasted delicious, and the kids and I had fun baking together!
What are you making this fall for a special treat?