Happy Halloween

Free clipart from Clipartix.com

Halloween Ice - Fast and Easy

If you are like me, you are happy to do holiday decorating if it is fast and easy but still has a big impact. Well, Halloween Ice does just that and you could throw it in an ice bucket or in a punch bowl and it will instantly up the creepy factor to it. Just make sure you make these a day in advance.

Nothing special, just water in ice cube trays with plastic spiders and bugs in them (pick them up at Dollar Tree) and gloves filled with ice to make a floating hand in your punch bowl.

Easy Halloween Manicure

This will probably be the easiest Halloween manicure you will find on the internet. All you need is black fingernail polish some googly eyes and some quick dry glue.

Simply paint your nails in the black polish and allow them to dry completely. You may need to paint two or three coats to get a solid black depending upon the brand of nail polish you use. Once the Polish is completely dry put on a drop of quick dry glue and press on some googly eyes. This will take a minute to completely dry and then you can go about your day showing off your creepy googly eye fingers.

Easy Halloween Cupcakes

I bought this as a kit from Aldi's, but as you can see they would be pretty easy to recreate without the kit. You just need some food coloring, print off some clipart and instead of "bones" sprinkles you could use crushed oreos around the clip art limbs sticking out to make it look like the had just freshly emerged from the ground.

Halloween Milk Jug Lights

This is a quick and easy way to decorate your lawn or porch or just outside your door. Grab an empty milk jug and using a permanent marker draw a Halloween design or scary face, tuck in some Micro Starry Lights (like these lights on Amazon) and you have a quick lighted Halloween display that you can have inside or outside.

Here are some other ideas to use those LED lights for:

• Haunted LED Tombstone
• Coffee Can Star Light
• Bottle Light

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is a place I have wanted to go visit and see for a long time. I am sure it is One place that is on many people's travel bucket list. Even though I have captured these awesome images on my camera and some on video as well it is hard to really grasp the hand massiveness of the Grand Canyon. Once you are there you are overwhelmed with how expansive it is. We had only done the southern rim and went to the stops on the southern rim. Someday we may get there and tour the northern rim and do some hiking in the canyon. When we were there in June it was quite hot and even though we had our hydration packs doing a lot of hiking was not on our agenda.

We took full advantage of The Trolley system that they have that runs through this National Park. I was very impressed with all of the signage and busing that were in place at this National Park. They were very sure to make sure that people were aware where the trolley stops were, bathrooms that were available, and water Outlets. It seemed there was enough places to fill up water as needed along the Route. Again we wore our hydration packs and throughout the strip we learned that my daughter drinks a lot of water and had to continually refill her hydration pack or she would drink out of hours because she consumed so much water. 

We arrived early enough that it didn't take too long to get into The National Park and find parking. I had read the tips about getting on the bus transfer outside of the park and we had attempted to do that but didn't make it quite in time and didn't want to wait for the next one to show up so we took our chances had to getting there and finding parking for ourselves. By 10 a.m. there We're many buses of tour groups that had been showing up. We had gotten there before them so we didn't have to wait as long and places because we started on our trolley stops before they got there.

We didn't just do the trolley stops we did do some hiking in between a few of the stops because we wanted to be able to see some of it from the trail perspective rather than just from the stops.

Getting in was really quick and easy because we had our national parks pass. We bought one when we went to Death Valley National Park. After our Fall Road Trip to the Badlands National Park we will probably be breaking even on the cost of the national parks pass. We were also able to use our national parks pass when we were touring the different rock formations in Sedona, as they accept that pass for payment.

Silhouette Heat Transfer Vinyl Created Gifts for Tweens

This is another fun use of my Silhouette machine to make some birthday party favors and and birthday gifts for my tween daughter.

She had a "Spa" birthday party and so I did Silhouette Heat Transfer Vinyl on headbands to give as one of the party favors at the birthday party. They were an awesome addition to have as they needed to pull their hair off their face when they had the clay masks on. I also made my niece one that she will be opening up as a birthday gift in another week.

I also put Swim down the side of a pair of pants I bought for her, so she can wear it with her growing collection of swim championship t-shirts I buy for her when she attends these earned meets with swim team.

And finally, I also made her some Lllama-Corn pillow cases. I knew she would think these were fun and quirky and would  love them.

Last Minute Halloween Food Ideas

Just a couple ideas if you are trying to round out your Halloween party menu. You don't have to always make it look like something, but instead rename it or play off the name.

Tombstone Pizza  - use the name brand and insert some Halloween toothpicks
Maggots & Cheese - you guessed it, it's Mac&Cheese
Severed Fingers - Just hot dogs with some cuts and slices in them and some ketchup (blood)

Some other Halloween found ideas include:

• Jack-o-Lantern Puke 

• Jack-o-Lantern Krispies 

• Brain Treats  

• Vampire Donuts 

• Witch's Brew

•  Vampire Slush 

• Corned Beef Face Dip

•  Halloween Sugar Cookie Cut Outs 

•  Halloween Marshmallow Popcorn Balls 

• Vampire Blood, Zombie Drool, Chopped Toads  

• Spooky Lunchbox Ideas 

Next week, I will share some easy Halloween Cupcake ideas with you too.

FREE Home Depot Kids Workshop on 11/4/17 : Military Appreciation Humvee

Register now to help the child in your life build a Military Appreciation Humvee!!

The store may be set to one local to me, so you may need to search for one nearest you. 

Road Trip T-Shirts

We are off on another road trip soon and will probably take along these shirts I made for our summer road trip through CA, NV & AZ on our fall road trip through MN, SD, and WY.

These were the shirts I made for our family by importing images and text that I learned working with text in an image can be very tiresome and difficult. The complexity of some of the images was difficult to format and edit, and after lots of putzing around I learned that it is worth it to spend $3 to buy some new font so you get the look you want and not have to spend hours editting the font.

You don't always have to buy images and fonts though, below is information my mom emailed me about free images and fonts to use with your Silhouette machine. I thought I would share the info so my readers can see it, and I can easily look it up when I need to and not have to search through old emails.

http://www.fontspace.com/

http://www.dafont.com/

These both have preview boxes, so if you are looking for a particular look for a word, you can type that into the preview box and all the fonts will show what your message looks like. Be sure to do a search for the theme of your project.I have used these among others: http://www.fontspace.com/donna-j-morse/dj-kitchen, http://www.fontspace.com/nymphont/nymphette These are just your basic letters, unless you buy a commercial font. 

The following font place has a free font every week and it includes a "Premium Font License", so you get ( PUA Encoded meaning that it is fully accessible to everyone and all glyphs are available in Character Map on Windows and Fontbook on Mac.). These are swashes and flourishes you may want to add to some letters. 

https://fontbundles.net/free-font-of-the-week?ref=livesearch

If you have the current version of Silhouette software, Designer Edition, like I have, you can do this right in the program. This gives you the rundown on the new features. http://www.silhouetteschoolblog.com/2017/08/silhouette-studio-v41-released-update.html

https://apexembdesigns.com/cuttables/subject/all?keys=&commerce_price_amount=1&field_font_type_tid=All

This has a free design several times a week. I usually check it every day, and download the ones I think I will use at some point.

https://www.misskatecuttables.com/products/freebie-of-the-week/

This used to be a free one every day, but went to a freebie of the week.

http://freesvgs.blogspot.com/

This one has a lot of free files and you can do a search to see if there is something that works for your project.

https://www.silhouettedesignstore.com/ 

Don't forget the Silhouette store. They have a freebie every week and it goes directly into your Silhouette program. If you computer crashes, you are able to get back all of the files from the Silhouette store, usually automatically.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Dinosaurs at SMM

Looking for a different slant on a spooky activity to do for the month of October and Halloween, then go check out all the bones of the dinosaurs at the Science Museum of Minnesota. Nothing says Halloween like skulls and bones.

Two days before school started the kids that I decided to go check out the Science Museum and get some learning started early. I know I have shared images of the Science Museum of Minnesota before but it always serves as a nice reminder of this valuable resource we have in our state. My son loves the dinosaurs. And this was his choice of where he wanted to go for sure when we visited this last time.

While we were there we watched an Omni Theater presentation of Journey to the South Pacific but it is leaving there soon and a new movie is coming.

The Pixar exhibit has just left and a new exhibit is coming as well. You can see from the picture I took both the movie and the new exhibit are coming October 13th.

Easy to Root Spider Plants

How about a Spider Plant for Halloween!

Want an easy to grow plant that gives you baby plants that can easily root and grow more.....then you definitely need to check out growing spider plants. They are great for helping cleanse the air in your home and are very tolerant of many growing conditions, as long you give them some sunlight and remember to water them at least occasionally.

This is a container filled with about 6 babies. I put them in water (about 1/4 way up the plants) and set it in the window and after 2 weeks you see they have rooted and are ready to be transplanted in to their own pots.

Fall and Christmas Reversible Blocks

A friend and I had a crafting afternoon and each made our own set of these reversible blocks. We wanted to be able to see the grain so we watered down some acrylic paint and basically made a stain.

We did this to each side in the colors we wanted for each block. When it was dry we used the vinyl letters and images I had created using the silhouette machine. My job was the make the vinyl pieces and she cut out the blacks from leftover 2x4 pieces.

I then covered the edges with duct tape while she chose to sand them down smooth and paint them.

DIY Glow in the Dark Halloween Tote!! 15% OFF Code!!

Party Supplies - reasonable prices for birthday parties and sleepovers with Colortime Crafts and Markers coloring pillowcases, t-shirts, backpacks, permanent fabric markers, and more. New special glow-in-the-dark ink items available! Clean, easy, and affordable crafts activity that doubles as a unique keepsake! For savings, join our "Birthday Club" and receive 20% off and a free backpack, with your order at http://www.colortime.com/


Click On the Link Below for the Latest Online Special offers and promo codes to Colortime Crafts and Markers http://usfamilycoupons.com/coupon.php?regionid=75&bid=10978&dealid=3413 .@usfg

Grow Your Own Avocado Tree!!!! FREE S/H & 20% OFF Coupon Too!!!

AvoSeedo from Daniel Kalliontzis on Vimeo.

GROW YOUR OWN AVOCADO TREE AT HOME! Save 20% on any AvoSeedo avocado grower or other product and enjoy FREE shipping too. Visit the AvoSeedo Shop today and get growing today! Visit: http://www.shop.avoseedo.com/ Use Code: sp20 #avoseedo

AvoSeedo avocado tree germinator bowl that makes it easy for everyone to grow their own plant at home from a simple avocado pit. Easy to use for all ages of amateur avocado arborists.

Clever AvoSeedo bowl design keeps the avocado pit immersed in just the right amount of water to grow effectively. Made for durability from recyclable, non-toxic materials and is reusable for other vegetables like lettuce, celery, carrot tops! Germinate and grow an avocado tree in your own home, whatever the climate. Fun family (Millennial parents, their young kids, grandma/grandpa) project to make a tree sprout and watch it grow from the pit of a common avocado. Increase kids' understanding of ecology, interconnections in nature, responsibility and care for the environment in a participatory and concrete way.

GROW YOUR OWN AVOCADO TREE AT HOME! Save 20% on any AvoSeedo avocado grower or other product and enjoy FREE shipping too. Visit the AvoSeedo Shop today and get growing today! https://shop.avoseedo.com/ Use Code: sp20 #avoseedo




AvoSeedo from Daniel Kalliontzis on Vimeo.

Fall Colors in Minnesota

We have approached peak fall colors in parts of Minnesota, mainly northern MN at this point. Use this guide that I picked at on of the MN State Parks as a way to plan your weekends to see some fall colors. Sunday is supposed to be beautiful this weekend and would be a great opportunity to get outdoors and enjoy some fall colors.

Pottery Eyeglasses Cup

So, I made this quite a while ago as a Christmas gift for my mom. I haven't done much pottery in the last 2 years as we are still working on setting up a studio here. Hopefully this winter we get it figured out and I can get back to slabbing, which is what I did to make this eyeglass cup. She can put her glasses on the hook and have it filled with pens and scissors and keep by the computer so she can easily reach for her reading glasses and know where they are.

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Gilby's Apple Orchard

There is still time to do apple picking in Minnesota if you are looking to enjoy this fall activity with your family. We went picking in early fall which yields different varieties of apples that are available in later fall. We had gone to Gilby's apple orchard in Aitkin Minnesota while we were up North for Labor Day weekend.

At this apple orchard you can go on a hayride, Venture through a corn maze, feed the chickens, pick your own apples or buy them pre-picked, do a ninja course and get your picture taken at lots of different photo opportunities.

Free Car Seat Rental through Hertz

Here is another perk of your AAA membership. If you have the need to rent a car and do so through hurts, you can get a car seat included free in your rental. This can save you almost $14 a day. 

I don't know if they include more than one if you have more than one child in a car seat at a time but it is worth asking if this is a service you need. 

In the past we have always checks a car seat or a booster seat to bring along with us and now we are almost out of the booster seat Fay as in Minnesota you are required to have a child in a booster seat until 8 years old. There are a couple of exceptions to have them be out of the seat earlier that include meeting a height or weight requirement but my kids will be in it until at least 8 and typically until they are the height requirement.

Clean Eating Mini Meat Loaves (Paleo Too!!!)

This recipe only used 1 pound of ground meat and makes the perfect size to serve a family of four (like us!) and not have a ton of leftovers. Often, meatloaf recipes call for 2-3 pounds of meat and you end up with a lot of leftovers. I like that making mini meat loaves gives us smaller portion sizes that the kids prefer and cooks up a lot faster than a large loaf.

You could make this ground turkey if you like or get the leanest ground beef available from the meat counter at your supermarket or butcher. You can also choose to use just egg whites instead of a whole egg as well.

If you are looking for a different meatloaf recipe than this one, then try these other two I have created:

• Easy 3-Ingredient Mini Meatloaf
• Double Your Meatloaf with Beans

Clean Eating Mini Meat Loaves
1 pound of lean ground beef or ground turkey
2 eggs whites or 1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 onion, chopped
2 T Italian Seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
2-3 oz tomato sauce (rest of 8 oz can will be used in the topping)

Topping
5-6 oz tomato sauce
1 tsp Italian Seasoning

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Mix together all loaf ingredients in a medium bowl
• Mix together topping ingredients, you can do this right in the can
• Split up the meat mixture among 10 greased muffin cups
• Top with the tomato sauce mixture
• Bake for 20 minutes
• Allow to sit for 5 minutes before