Trick or Treating 2011

The last day of November and I have one more Halloween layout! 

I know another holiday has come and past, but I'm still stuck in Halloween at least when it comes to scrapbooking. Must switch gears today though. I'm making another Christmas/Dec Daily album this year and today we're going to see Santa which to me equals the start of the season & our album.

Supplies: Robyn Meierotto's Cupcake patterned papers; Sara Schmutz's Back to Basics frames; Rhonna Farrer's Celebration kit; Miss Mint's Kooky Spooky elements; Jen Allyson's Halloween Free kit; DHD Digital Scrapbooking Day 2011 Blog Hop collaboration; Just the Way You Are font.

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Shoot and Edit: Thanksgiving

We spent our Thanksgiving holiday in Virginia visiting my mother, stepfather and brother. One of Dylan's favorite pastimes was playing with their dog, Tia. The two of them were so funny and completely wore each other out daily. I caught this moment of pause in their outdoor play of chasing and sticks on Saturday morning.

ISO 100, ss 1/400, f5.6

Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings and Photos:

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Funny Faces

Dylan had so much fun last month playing with the Mr. Potato Head pumpkin decorating kit and fake pumpkin I bought for him. It's now stashed in the attic with our other Halloween goodies for next year, but I'm still enjoying the many photos I took of his creations. It'll be fun to see how they compare to what he makes with it next year. :)

Supplies: Robyn Meierotto's Oceanside papers (recolored); Tia Bennett's Fit 2B Tied alpha; Karen Funk's Sweet Life papers; Gennifer Bursett's No Tricks, Just Treats elements; Miss Mint's Momitude kit; Karla Dudley's Digi Essentials 2; Antique Typewriter font; Instagram app. Inspired by Shannon Dombkowski's Good Eats layout.

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Green Level Gourd Farm

Found these photos from last year when when Dylan & I joined Allison & her son for an afternoon of fun at a local farm. I can't believe how much our boys have grown! Dylan's bucket hat (that he wore almost constantly then) can barely fit on his head now. So thankful we have these photos and the fun memories though. :)

Supplies: Robyn Meierotto's Fashionable Fall papers; Karen Funk's Simplicity elements; Jen Allyson's Real Simple Polaroid Frames; Karla Dudley's Digi Essentials 9 brushes; Another Typewriter font.

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first Christmas

Forever playing catch-up on Dylan's album, I got into the holiday spirit a bit this week creating a layout about his first Christmas.

I used the latest digital kit from Sara Schmutz - Jolly. Sara's entire shop at Design House Digital is on sale this weekend so whether it's Jolly or another gorgeous kit of hers that you've been eying, now's the time to shop! And stop by the DHD blog too for chance to win Jolly.

Supplies: Sara Schmutz's Jolly kit; Simply Tiffany Studios 52 Thursday Template No 9; Script MT Bold font.

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Infant Car Seat Cover

When Dylan was little, I used to cover his infant car seat with a receiving blanket when we were out and about. Since he was a summer baby, the lightweight fabric worked well at protecting him from the bright sun, helping him to nap and just plain keeping out nosey people (it's amazing how strangers think they can just stick their face up in your baby's!). The only real downfall was when it was windy and the blanket would blow off.

Knowing that my friend Allison's son is due to arrive in December and colder weather, I decided an infant car seat cover would make a great gift. I used a cotton print lined with a cozy flannel to help keep the little one warm but not too warm as I imagine he'll still get a nice blanket tucked in with him. :)

And it has a pair of ties to secure it to the seat so it won't blow away.

I based my design on a couple of tutorials I found online - Sutton Grace: Infant Seat Canopy Cover and Make it Do: Baby Car Seat Cover Tutorial.

Supplies: 1-1/3 yard of each fabric, thread, velcro.

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Pumpkin Tea Shower

On Saturday my playgroup moms had a shower for our friend Allison who is expecting her second son in mid-December. We really enjoy tea time (Tea & Trucks Baby Shower and Afternoon Tea) and with a small party of 7, decided that an afternoon tea at the Washington Duke Inn in Durham was the perfect setting. Afternoon tea there is elegant on its own, but this was a party so we added a few little fall details with a pumpkin theme.

The place settings were little pumpkins painted in glittery blue spray paint topped with ribbons (credit to Stacey for this incredible idea and making them reality!). Each also had a small tag attached with a ribbon. The tags initially marked each seat but then were used to mark our tea pots so we could easily tell which tea was which.

The seat of honor was designated with balloons.

Alicia worked her magic again and made a spectacular diaper cake that functioned as the table centerpiece as well as a wonderful gift.

The favors were cookies with little pumpkins on them of course! (Lauren is a whiz in the kitchen!)

Finally, the invite. Ok, confession, I only made one and it was strictly made as a keepsake for the little guy's baby album. We're all very much looking forward to meeting him in just a few short weeks! :)

Supplies- Invite : Recollections white cardstock; Script MT Bold font; Micron pens; watercolors; Die Cuts with a View patterned paper.

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Shoot and Edit: Macro edit

I was quite pleased with my SOOC shot this week. I kept my edit very simple - ran Ashley's Nice & Easy action and adjusted the layers to taste.

Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings and Photos:

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Wordless Wednesday: A Leaf for You, Friend

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Eight

Blessed to be celebrating eight years of marriage today! :)

Supplies: Stampin' Up! cardstock; October Afternoon patterned paper; Die Cuts with a View adhesive backed cardstock; Making Memories rub-on.

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Shoot and Edit: Macro

Technically, I don't think this is a "macro" shot. I don't own a macro lens. Instead I experimented with the lens I have, manual settings and simply getting as close as possible.

ISO 200, ss 1/50, f5.6

My subject - one of the beautiful flowers in an arrangement my husband surprised me with on Friday. An early gift for our 8th anniversary tomorrow. :)

Join in the fun with Jill Samter Photography and Ramblings and Photos:

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Friday Freebie: Toy Story Halloween

If you've been around my blog this week, you know that the calendar may say "November" now but I'm still enjoying Halloween! For once I have had some great creative mojo to get pages done immediately after an event (versus last year's Halloween Party layout that I just finished last week!).

Today's post is no exception - here's our family all decked out in our Toy Story costumes:

Supplies: Celeste Knight's Have a Hoot solid papers; Agnes Biro's Photo Overlay No 2; Gennifer Bursett's No Tricks Just Treats elements; Sara Schmutz's Trick or Treat patterned papers & Nursery Rhymes elements (staple); Janda Everyday Casual font.

And in honor of Digital Scrapbooking Day tomorrow, I created a template of the above layout to share with you for free! It's for personal use only. The template is 12x12 with 11 layers including editable shadows.

Click here to download the Halloween 2011 template

Enjoy!

Have you missed one of my previous digital freebies? Click HERE to find them. And, don't forget to subscribe to my feeds so you won't miss future freebies!

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third annual Halloween Bash

A little glimpse of our fun last Saturday night:

Supplies: Jen Allyson's Spooked solid papers; Sara Schmutz's Trick or Treat elements; Karen Funk's Photo Frame Clusters Vol. 1 & 2; Just the Way You Are and Century Gothic fonts.

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Ganyard Hill Farm 2011

Last week, Dylan, Lily & I joined friends for a morning of fun at Ganyard Hill Farm. Our playgroup tries to make an annual event out of it. After multiple dates set and rainy weather, we finally got a sunny day but only our 2 families could make it. Hopefully next year we can get the entire gang there again!

Supplies: Deena Rutter's Maybe Vol 6; Jen Martakis's Roar kit; Just the Way You Are & Mesquite Std fonts.

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Jack O'Hummus

For our playgroup Halloween party, each family brings a dish to share. Inspired by a dish I saw on Pinterest with a pumpkin used as part of the display, I specifically picked a small pretty pumpkin when visiting a local farm with friends last week.

On Saturday morning, I washed the pumpkin in cool water with dish detergent. Yes, I gave it a bath! Knowing the pumpkin would be a on platter touching food, I wanted to be sure it was as clean as possible. :) Then I set up a little carving area for Dylan & me on the kitchen floor since it was cold & rainy outside.

This was Dylan's first pumpkin carving experience. He watched me carefully as I cut a circle and pulled out the top. Then I handed him a spoon so he could help me scoop.

He scooped seed by seed. Very slow. Inspecting each bit and then putting it into the "trash" bowl.

Once we had the pumpkin cleaned out, I sketched a face. Dylan approved except for one thing - it only had eyes and a mouth. "Nose, Mama. Nose." So, a nose it got.

Our Jack O'Lantern turned into Jack O'Hummus later as I dropped in a container of hummus and surrounded it with pita wedges all from a local Mediterranean deli.

I placed the Jack O'Hummus and the pita wedges into one of my 'fancy' Dollar Tree serving platters (love those!). And the hummus stayed well chilled thanks to a great idea by Trent - after the carving in the morning, we placed the pumpkin in the fridge. We pulled it out to add the hummus and take to the party. Four hours later when we were packing up to leave, the pumpkin and hummus were still cold!

Halloween may be over for this year, but I think this could still make a great fall party idea without the face. :)

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