More Costumes

Kellen, the Geico Cave Man

Ammy, aka Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers

Tyler, the Amish Leprechaun (it is very difficult to find green clothing the day before Halloween)

This Is Why I Drink

Giving Well

I have been taking a class called "Giving Well" over at http://www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com/. All of the assignments are able to be completed in 2 hours or less. Our first assignment was to take a basket and fill it with things that we love and then we were supposed to give it to someone. Since I am not the best rule follower, I created several variations on the assignment. The first "basket" I created was for an 8 year old's birthday party (Hi Cooper).

I made a pirate using a bucket and bucket pals (foam shapes and patterns) from Michaels. I then let the twins pick out a bunch of Halloween stuff at the store...you know, all the things we never let our kids buy for themselves. They picked pirate lights, a scary music cd, a skeleton, a skeleton goblet, a flashlight, and glow sticks. We filled the bucket with the stuff and attached a tag with the birthday boy's picture on it.

The second "basket" I created was for my brother's 40th birthday. Let me just say that paybacks are hell!

I took a deep dish tub and wrote a quote onto the tub--I printed it on computer paper and then taped it to the tub. Then I took a sharpie and went over the words on the paper. The sharpie left a slight outline on the tub so then I traced over the letters and filled them in with the sharpie. I filled the tub with all sorts of "old age" supplies: adult diapers, prunes, Ensure, a magnifying glass, reading glasses, hair color for men, denture cleaner etc. Around each thing I tied a tag with an old age quote.

I then wrapped the entire tub in cellophane and tied it with a big bow and a list of signs that show that you are getting old.

I taped pictures of my brother at various times in his life all over the box and wrote plenty of obnoxious things on it--this dude is old, if you see me wish me a happy birthday, etc. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of the box to share.

I have been working on several other class assignments and I will post them when I am finished. If you are interested in scrapbooking or you are already an avid scrapbooker, you should check out all of the projects and classes that Big Picture Scrapbooking offers. You could be busy for months!

Halloween Party Recipes

I had several requests for recipes from our Halloween Party this past weekend.


Fright Bites (those little cheesy bread thingies)
1 1/3 cups shredded sharp cheese
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (2 oz)
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened, cut up
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper sauce
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Line large cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper.
2. In medium bowl, beat all ingredients except parsley on medium speed until smooth. Stir in parsley. On lightly floured surface, knead dough 10 to 12 times; shape into ball.
3. Roll into 24 balls, using about 2 teaspoons dough per ball; place on cookie sheet 1 1/2 inches apart.
4. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown and set. Serve warm.

Slow Cooker Cheese Dip (slightly spicy)

1 pound ground beef

1/2 pound bulk hot pork sausage

2 pounds velvetta, cubed

2 cans (10 oz. each) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained

Tortilla chips

In a large skillet, cook beef and sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Transfer to a 5 qt. slow cooker*. Add cheese and tomatoes; mix well. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or until the cheese is melted, stirring occasionally. Serve with tortilla chips.

*while it was nice to be able to set this up ahead of time, a microwave would have been just as easy to use.

Check out the photos from the party at http://picasaweb.google.com/sportzmom5/HalloweenParty