A little bit of Halloween

Last night I finally finished my Halloween craft for the church auction (and one for me too)

I found the instructions for this at Keeping It Simple.  The author of the blog, Kaysi, does 

a great job of giving simple instructions for this craft. 

Here is my rendition

I purchased a 10 foot 2*4 and that is long enough to make two of these crafts.  

The super nice guy in Lowes looked at me a little funny when I carried him 1 piece of wood and asked him to cut it into 10 pieces.  But he complied.  

I sanded the ends good to decrease the chance of splinters and then I got to work spray painting.  

 I didn't have any craft paints on hand so I bought outdoor spray paint when I purchased the 2*4.

The spray paint was easy going.  I painted one wide side plus both skinny sides of each block one night (2 coats) and then flipped them to finish the other sides the next night.  

Kaysi used vinyl for the hair on Frankenstein's monster.  I taped off my hair line and spray painted the hair.  

My way - was the wrong way - I should have either a.) used vinyl like the instructions said or b.) used paint marker for the hair.  Lesson learned! I did however use spray paint for the black behind the mummy's eyes instead of vinyl and that worked fine.  

I painted the face on Frankenstein's monster with a medium tip black paint marker.  I replicated from the blog because I have no imagination when it comes to drawing.  The paint marker was very easy to work with. 

As per instructions (didn't I say I love easy peasy instructions) I ordered vinyl from Expressions Vinyl to use for the facial features of the ghost, pumpkin and mummy.  I was scared.  I cut out with punches or scissors all the facial features.  I have never used vinyl with my Cricut but I knew that I had to in order for my wording to look like anything.  I had heard of Cricut Craftroom where you can design your image or wording on an online "cutting mat" and then send it to your Cricut to cut.  I decided if I was going to do it I was going to do it all in.  No need not to jump in with both feet.  I downloaded the Cricut Craftroom software to my laptop - it did take a while - and upgraded the firmware to my Cricut and I was on the go.  Doing the vinyl transfer was super easy.  I can't wait to order more vinyl and do more vinyl crafts as well as using the craft room to make scrapbooking tags and background easier.  

YAY for Halloween crafts and all the good new things I tried and loved.  

Thanks again to Kaysi at Keeping It Simple for doing just that. 

 

Pickett Off Road

Well - I say Pickett as in Pickett State Park but I think we were actually riding on private land that is part of the forest - if that makes sense.  We drove one weekend through BFE to a stop sign and went another 15 miles...Seriously we bypassed the place we were parking at we were so far n the middle of nowhere.  

 With three trucks and five people who all left from different places to end up at this same place is beyond me but we all got there.  It was a perfect day for riding.  Cool and comfortable. No need for a jacket yet we weren't dripping with sweat either.  

With Missy's GPS we found the car hauler (below)that was made into a bridge.  Seriously...how did they get a car hauler way up here???  

We experienced a flat on our RZR and a small mishap (of Russel shooting on down an overgrown unmarked trail) that caused a fair amount of curse words to get us out of.  We survived, got muddy, got chiggers, got tired and had a blast.

As we were leaving we decided that there must be a better way home.  Sure enough we were less than 10 miles from HWY 90 that leads right on over to the Parkway in Glasgow.  Next time we go....that will be our route there and back. 

Robertson County Dairy Show

It's been over a month since the Robertson County dairy show but it did happen and we did have a good turn out.  5 farms participated this year.  With three youngens running around showing this year and big E really getting big enough to want to show in a lot of the classes it was rather hectic...but I loved it.  I wouldn't trade it for the world.  All three kids did a great job showing.  Little E and R aren't really big enough to show in lots of classes but big E is and she is very good at showing.  We had to have the talk about - NO you are NOT going to win every class but that is because Nanny and Papa and aunt Stacey don't have enough time to get the calves up as babies and feed them to be HUGE calves in the class.  You will have classes that you win and classes that you lose but the fun is in the showing.    And WE HAD FUN!

The heifers and cows all washed and waiting...the one picture of Russel and I.  It was hectic and we didn't get as many pictures as I normally do.  

All three kids in the ring practicing with their heifers before the show.  

The kids in their classes.  Big E won showmanship for her age group.  R placed 2nd. And in little E's class they give out first place to all the kids that show.  So proud of all three of them. 

In other Fair news - mom and I both placed in the fruit and vegetable classes. 

I placed with 3 of my photos in the photography section and with both my stuffed owl and my baby bib in the sewing section.  YAY!

Fall Festival - Won't you come???

Our church's fall festival is on Saturday October 27th.  

There will be:

Activities for the kids from 3 to 5 pm including a hayride, games and face painting.  

A BBQ supper from 3 to 6 pm - $6.00 for people 11 and up, $3 for 10 and under
Trunk or Treat at 6:00 pm 

AND immediately following Trunk or Treat will be our church auction.

All proceeds benefit our church's general fund.  

Here are some of the auction items:

Miranda Lamberth autographed cd

$25 certificate for BB Kings
Hooters Gift Pack

Robert Duvall auto photo

2 single day passes to Dollywood

$25.00 game card to Dave and Busters

Cross Earrings and Necklace from $10 Boutique

A Therapy Pillow from Relax Wraps

Free exam and x-rays from Brett Winchel Chiropractor

Buy one get one free at Grand Ole Golf

Cook book samplers and cd's from Lifeway

Cuts and other services from Rodelles styling salon 

Shampoo and Conditioner from Fantastic Sams

Hunter Hayes signed CD

4 tickets to the Nashville Zoo

20% off at Free Will Tattoo in Nashville

$50.00 gift certificate to Melting Pot

6 Large Pizzas coupons from Papa Murphy's

10 free visits to Monkey Joes.  

Lap Quilt by Stacey Stoddard 

Halloween craft by Stacey Stoddard 

We would love to see you, your children and family  on the 27th for our fall festival.  A good time is always had by all. 

We are still getting donations daily for the auction.    

AND if you would like to donate an item for the auction we would be very grateful.   

If you would like to come and need directions or see something you want to bid on please let me know.

Happy Fall Yall!

What were they thinking???

What were they thinking at Victoria's Secret when they sent me a BLACK VIP credit card?????

I know the picture is a little blurry but it is so shiny you can see me smiling at my black credit card in the reflection. 

PLEASE someone tell me that ALL the new VS credit cards are black and that I didn't get a black one because of my bad bra, panty, & bathing suit spending habits!

That's all...I am heading to the mall going back to working hard.  ;)

What have you been up to????

It always seems like August and September are super busy months for us.  

We are busy in August getting ready for the Robertson County Fair.  

I don't know what makes September so busy but it always is.  

Here's a few pictures of our month (and I promise to get fair pictures up eventually):

 On September 22nd Lacey, Tracey and I did the women's 5k in downtown Nashville.  There were tons of women there getting their groove on as this was a 5k and a half marathon.  Out of the 551 women running the 5k, Lacey place 38th with a time of 30 minutes and 3 seconds, Tracey places 82nd with a time of 32 minutes and 25 seconds, and I finished 174th with a time of 36 minutes and 49 seconds.  You may know me and KNOW that I only run when something is chasing me so this time was a Personal BEST for me.  I was only trying to finish is less than 40 minutes which would have also been my best time ever but with all the women and the enthusiasm (and knowing that Tracey and Lacey would be waiting forever at the finish line for me) I got my groove on.  It was great.  I hurt for a week after that but it was great. 

I also have found myself being super crafty this month.  Who knew???
I bought this dry sink at an estate sale for $30.00.  Now it isn't an antique but it is older.  I pulled the back and doors off.  Russel will have to make a new back and help me repair the doors so this is as far as I have gotten thus far.  I have painted with chalk paint that I made myself and once everything is put back together and painted I will distress this.  It is going on the back porch.  

For this portion of the blog I want to give a shout out to Sue and Margie at Wright Way Estate Sales where I bought the dry sink  Sue is a great family friend and if you need any estate sale help she would be a great choice.  Also shouting out to Annie Farrar of The Farrar Four who is also a great friend and has been answering my endless questions about painting and distressing wood....with no complaints might I add. 
If you are interested in the paint colors, the blue is French Riviera and the "off white" is toasted almond both by Olympic Paints. 

 As I said - I have been crafting and these are my latest.  I made a few onesies for friends having babies - and there has been a baby boom for our friends as of late.  

Leslie at work asked if I would make a bigger version for her youngest Jacob for his school pictures.  She tried on his outfit last night... he insisted on the house shoes and trophy.  If you are interested in a onesie or shirt of your little boy let me know.  I may get into making these for sale. 

 I don't have any pictures of Russel and I for the month but I have pictures of a dozen donuts that we destroyed one weekend.  I normally LOVE Shipley donuts but we went to Krispy Kream because the hot and ready light was on.  The blue donuts are cotton candy...yes I said cotton candy YUMMY!
The others are a mixture of caramel apple and maple donuts.  Now the cotton candy and caramel apple are seasonal so get them while you can.  Both were delish.  But my go to donut is always a maple and these didn't disappoint. 

September is also a HUGE birthday month in our family.  This is my niece Rachel with her genie pig that she got for her birthday.  She is so excited. 
And Happy birthday to the rest of our crew celebrating their birthday's this month:
ME!  Issac, Sarah, Hudson, Brad, Ruby, Yolanda, and Mark....and also my friend Kristie who is like family too.