GIVE THANKS

Once again, I have something my Mom gave me that she was just going to get rid of! These HALLOWEEN blocks were made by me and my Dad years and years ago. I originally was going to redo them for HALLOWEEN, but I was lacking in Thanksgiving decor. I thought it would be a fun challenge. Here is how I did it...
First, my little helper and I sanded down the white letters. They were a little raised and I didn't want them to show through the new paint color! He's only 2 years old and already wanting to do projects with Mommy...I love it!

On all of the Black blocks, I painted the front an off-white color. I wanted to leave the edges a different color. Plus, it saved a lot of painting time. On all the Orange blocks, I painted the front brown.

Since they had a coating of spray paint years and years ago, it took them a while to dry.

This is where I wish I had some stencils or some vinyl letters! I looked online at some fonts I liked and tried to free hand the lettering. It could have looked a bit nicer, but it works.

I painted all the lettering black then let dry before I sanded the edges and a bit over the lettering. I really want to try Distressing Ink, but for this project all I had was my black paint. So, I put a tiny, tiny bit of black paint on the tip of my finger, dipped it in water and tried to distress it myself.
Not too shabby for some paint and my finger!

A close-up shot of one of the blocks. I'm really happy with how they turned out!

Finally finished. I think it turned out pretty good for a FREE project. This is my very first Thanksgiving decoration! More to come.
I linked up to these parties:

I'm in LOVE with a website called

PICNIK.COM

You can edit your photos with lots of fun tools, fonts, effects and frames.

ALL FOR FREE!

Free is a wonderful thing now days.

You can also upgrade to premium effects for just $24.95/ year. Let me tell you, the free stuff works just fine!

Check out some of the things I've done with my photos.

I gave this photo of my boys fishing a color boost with a bit of softening!
This picture and the next I gave a vintage, sepia color! Check out the leaves in the background. Isn't the coloring and lighting beautiful?!

I loved these ones so much, I sent them to Costco and had them blown up to an 11x14 for my living room. Who needs to pay to go to an expensive photographer when there are websites like these to doctor up your photos!

(To my photographer family members, I still LOVE your work!)

How gorgeous is Baby Alexis! With this effect, you can turn the photo black and white and then go back and color in some specific colors you want to show off! Add and little softening, and viola. I love the bright orange and rosy cheeks! What a cutie pie.

Last, but not least...My adorable twin nieces, Abbey and Bailey! How precious is this picture? This would be cute to put in a chunky white frame and hang in their room!

I hope you'll give PICNIK.COM a try.

I promise you'll be addicted.

Classic Popcorn Balls

(but even better)

My husband found this recipe on allrecipes.com. They are a classic, yet updated version of the popcorn ball. My uncle Jack used to make them around Halloween time, so they always remind me of this time of year! Here is the list of ingredients:

3/4 Cup of Light Corn Syrup

1/4 Cup Butter

2tsp Cold Water

2 5/8 Cup Powdered Sugar

1 Cup Marshmallows

5 quarts or 20 Cups of Plain Popped Popcorn

Set the burner on Medium and slowly melt the butter.

Add in 3/4 Cup of Light Corn Syrup
Add 2tsp of cold water and 1 Cup of Marshmallows
Make sure to stir continually

Next, add in 2 5/8 Cup of Powdered Sugar

Heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Take off heat and stir in 5 quarts of plain popcorn.

*Make sure to let the mixture cool for about 10 min before handling. If not the sugar will burn your hands!! A good tip to make sure it doesn't stick to your hands is to spray them with a non-stick cooking spray.
(notice the hairy arms and freckles, that's my husband!)
They are ready to eat and ENJOY! Sweet, crunchy and super YUMMY!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN
I linked up to these parties:

Pumpkin Mousse

(Weight Watchers Friendly)

If you're anything like me, I really look forward to some great Pumpkin Pie this time of year. I was introduced to this recipe several years ago, but decided to try it again because my Husband and I are counting our points. This is another fabulous 2pt. recipe and alternative to regular Pumpkin Pie.
This is super simple and very fast. Here is the recipe:

2 small packages of Sugar Free Vanilla Pudding

combine with

2 Cups Nonfat Milk

*Whisk together till nice and thick

Next, add in:

16oz Can of Pumpkin
3/4 tsp Pumpkin Pie spice

*If you don't have Pumpkin Pie spice, it consist of: 1/2 tsp Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger, 1/8 tsp Cloves, 1/8 tsp Ground Nutmeg Add in 8oz or 1 cup of Fat Free Cool Whip..combine well.
Finally, crumble up one whole Graham Cracker, put half on the bottom of your serving dish

(or a coffee cup like I used)

Layer on top 1 Cup of your Pumpkin Mousse, add a dollop of Cool Whip and the other half of the Graham Cracker. Eat and Enjoy!!! This is so delicious, you just have to try it. Only 2 pts per serving(serving size is one cup+graham cracker)

I linked up to these parties:

Polka Dot Pumpkins

My Mom gave me two of these pumpkins that she's had for years. They were a bit worn out and scratched up, but I knew I could make them cute again. The little one in front is from the Dollar Store that we bought a few months ago. This was a very frugal project and didn't cost me a thing...I had everything on hand.
I wasn't sure if I wanted to paint the stem a color or just leave it green. So, I taped it off with blue painters tape. (in the end, i actually painted them black)

Next, I gave them all a coat of white Krylon spray paint. It's the kind that dries in 12 minutes, so this step went very quick! Next...the black circles! I used a champagne cork to stamp on the circles, but it wasn't working out so well, so I just used a brush to finish them off.

I wanted to keep some of my nicer looking pumpkins orange and stack them with my new polka dot pumpkins. I just love the mix of black, white and orange. Very Halloween!!!!

Very fun, easy, frugal project! In the front of them, I put my very first Halloween decoration given to me by my parents in 2004...a little snow globe that plays, Ding Dong The Witch is Dead. It matches my new pumpkins great!
I linked up with these parties: