What I Made Wednesday {Spark Linky Party Features}

For today's W.I.M. Wednesday, I just wanted to give a shout-out to my favorite link-ups from last month's Spark Linky Party! Thanks so much and take a look at the ones that caught my eye.

Wow, Debbie, from Painted Therapy. You need to market this, girl!

I see this on a Thanksgiving table in my future, from Marty's Musings.

A wreath made from tea-stained coffee filters? Me like, from The Nut House.

And, let's not forget to add some yumminess to the season from Pocketful of Memory Cards.

 Again thank you SPARK for inviting me to guest co-host with all you lovely ladies. It was so much fun. Now, the SPARK party continues with this month's theme.

Come Party!

What I Made Wednesday {Halloween Costume Upgrade and a Linky Party}

Happy Halloween you ghouls and goblins! Our Trick-or-Treating has been postponed until Sunday due to the bad weather brought-on by Hurricane Sandy. No complaints, though; I wish it was on the weekend every year. Gathering up candy door-to-door on a school night kinda dampens the whole experience.

My son was kind this year in choosing an easy-peasy costume: a 1950's Greaser. We had the jeans, the belt, the socks, the shoes, the white t-shirt, comb, and the hair gel. What we didn't have was the leather jacket, which I had the awesome luck of finding on my first stop at Sears (thank you)! He wore the whole outfit last Friday at a Halloween Party but his first run had people wondering if he was The Fonz. What?!?!

 It is missing that no-guess element, right? So, with some Avery blank labels, a T-Birds logo from the movie Grease, and my trusty Xacto knife, I got to work. I think it turned out great! And now, there's no question. You won't be looking for a motorcycle or Richie Cunningham when my little Greaser enters the room.

Trace the logo onto the sticker paper. Cut with knife. Stick onto jacket.

 And, because we already had the Avery label paper, this upgrade cost me nothing! The jacket looks so much cooler, now!

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

And before October slips into November, take some time to enjoy all the wonderfully-creative projects from this month's Spark Linky Party I guest co-hosted. You guys are simply amazing! 

 

It's October, that means a whole new theme for SPARK!

Last month was wonderful, so many fantastic links!

Let's do it again by adding your Fall inspired recipes, stories, outdoors ideas and games, photography, crafts, Etsy items, and more.

A warm welcome to our sponsor this month-

 Cutting Edge Stencils is a growing business that designs, makes and sells decorative stencils

They're offering one lucky winner $50 plus free shipping to their online store. For more information and project ideas, be sure to check them out on their blog, or you can click HERE for a full product review of the Bon Apetite! extra large stencil.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SPARK is Co-Hosted by these lovely blogs-

And our two October Guest Hosts

 SPARK Participation Guidelines

1. Become followers of each of the co-hosts as well as our guest hosts. We all have a variety of follow options on our blogs to make it easy for you.  
2. Only family friendly links 

3. Feel free to link up your Etsy items (not your shop), but no more than 5 items per Etsy shop 

4. NO giveaways or linky parties  

5. Link up to the original post, not your main blog

6. Please grab a party button (found at the end of this post) and display it on your blog somewhere. If you're not a blogger, a shout out on your social media sites is greatly appreciated. The more the merrier!

October Theme

    Remember, each month has a special theme, and we ask that you only link up with posts and projects that are relevant. 

Going Local: Patterson's Family Fun Fest and a Linky Party with SPARK

An apple a day keeps the blues away.

Is there any other time of year that warms our hearts with sunshine, feeds our bellies with one-pot meals, embraces our souls with over-sized sweaters they can hide so much, overwhelms our eyes with brilliant golds, reds, and oranges, and tingles our ears with the rustling of leaves underfoot during an afternoon hike? Like many of you, Autumn is my favorite season. I love the transition of the world, going from active and vivacious to slumber and rest. It comes at just about the right time where we could welcome a little hibernation.

But before you settle down for your long Winter's nap, don't let Fall pass you by without visiting Patterson's Fruit Farm and experience their Family Fun Fest. If your family is young, this place is so perfect for the littles to run around, sample all kinds of apples, and just have a wonderful afternoon. The Family Fun Fest is located on Mulberry Road (not Caves Road, their other location) but it's good to visit both places in one day. Hay rides, corn mazes, pumpkin pickin'; it's all about Fall and Patterson's really does it right, in a simple way. We've gone just about every year since our son was born, had the apple fritter and apple cider and stocked up on our Honey Crisps (you've got to try one if you've never had one). YUM!

Patterson's over the years.

__________

I am over-the-top excited to be on the same web page as these wonderfully talented women bloggers. I'm co-hosting their SPARK party and it's going to be a fun one!!! I can't wait to see all the Fall inspiration about to be linked. I've got my Pin It button at the ready. Have fun clicking and exploring around the blogosphere. And, thank you, Molly Wagner and the whole SPARK's team for inviting me to co-host today. It's truly an honor and I appreciate it immensely. Talking about my favorite season, a giveaway, and a SPARK's Linky Party; what could be better?

It's October, that means a whole new theme for SPARK!

Last month was wonderful, so many fantastic links!

Let's do it again by adding your Fall inspired recipes, stories, outdoors ideas and games, photography, crafts, Etsy items, and more.

A warm welcome to our sponsor this month-

 Cutting Edge Stencils is a growing business that designs, makes and sells decorative stencils

They're offering one lucky winner $50 plus free shipping to their online store. For more information and project ideas, be sure to check them out on their blog, or you can click HERE for a full product review of the Bon Apetite! extra large stencil.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SPARK is Co-Hosted by these lovely blogs-

And our two October Guest Hosts

 SPARK Participation Guidelines

1. Become followers of each of the co-hosts as well as our guest hosts. We all have a variety of follow options on our blogs to make it easy for you.  
2. Only family friendly links 

3. Feel free to link up your Etsy items (not your shop), but no more than 5 items per Etsy shop 

4. NO giveaways or linky parties  

5. Link up to the original post, not your main blog

6. Please grab a party button (found at the end of this post) and display it on your blog somewhere. If you're not a blogger, a shout out on your social media sites is greatly appreciated. The more the merrier!

October Theme

    Remember, each month has a special theme, and we ask that you only link up with posts and projects that are relevant. 

What I Made Wednesday {GoGo Valentine and a Crafty Linky Party}

Today's W.I.M. Wednesday craft comes a day late, I know, but I had to share this beacon of inspiration I had while under the gun and if you Pin It, you'll have it for next year, so look, you're a year ahead. Man, you are efficient, girl! Be sure to check out the Linky Party at the end of this post and meet my wonderful bloggy friend, Jaime of Crafty Scrappy Happy!

While driving my son to school on Monday, groggy and overly tired from the weekend's festivities of fun, I realized the next day was Valentine's Day. YIKES! We had not prepared a thing, not one valentine, for the next day's Valentine's Day party. I frantically stated this fact in a panic to my son who replied, "You'll think of something, mom, you always do," as he sauntered out of the minivan and into school with not a care in the world. His confidence in me made my throat tighten and my hands sweaty, but off to Target I went. If I couldn't feed my need for valentines, I could always feed my soul at Target. Am I the only one that uses Target for therapy?

I arrived at Target and shot straight to the back of the store where are the seasonal merchandise live out there short days, moving shelf location like a downtown building's revolving door at quitting time. I panned the half-empty shelves sparsely adorned with red and pink  looking for something my 4th grade kid could give to his classmates without embarrassment. (Kids this age embarrass quite easily - it's a slippery slope.)

I wasn't finding what I was looking for and everything looked so boxed up, so ordinary. Nothing was calling out for my attention. I turned around to leave and decided to check the front of the store in the trading card aisle to see if there were any packs of GoGo's I could get for my son for Valentine's Day (just a little something). If you are unfamiliar with these plastic gems, click here for enlightenment. I didn't find any small packs, but what I did find was sent from heaven above, along with inspiration! There was an 18 pack of GoGo's, last package left, just waiting for me. This was highly unusual as GoGo's only come in a single pack of 3 characters. What was this bulk pack I had mysteriously stumbled upon? I went to check the price, the determining factor as to whether this idea was going forward or not. $9 - BINGO, in like Flynn!!!! Now, the inspiration started. How do I capture the word GoGo in a Valentine's Day greeting?

Well, here is the result! We added Starburst Candy and a GoGo's sticker (included in the pack) to every GoGo. I made the little card and one prototype to show my son after school. He absolutely LOVED IT! When we got home, he handpicked each GoGo (each one is different and unique - how cool is that?) for each friend, packaged it up, and handed them out during the Valentine's Day Party. So cute, so unique: thank God for inspiration striking you down in a Target store when you're under the gun, whew! The kids absolutely loved their new little friend. For some, it was their first GoGo - aww! Parents, please don't kill me as your kids will want tons of little GoGo friends for their new little guy. You don't want him to be lonely, now do you?

On to the second half of What I Made Wednesday. I'm co-hosting a Craft Linky Party with the adorable, ever-so creative, beautiful spirit, Jaime Lyn from Crafty Scrappy Happy. I encourage you to visit her wonderful blog, just click here and be amazed (seriously). I am so honored to be co-hosting during her 1-year bloggy celebration. Caring for a blog as amazing as Jaime's is no small feat and creating, posting, and dedicating days to blogging for one whole year is truly something to be celebrated. Go ahead and celebrate with us by linking up and sharing your own crafty ways. It's fun to be had by all, just like Jaime to share the love of crafting with as many people as she can. The other co-hosts are just as talented as Jaime so go ahead, do some blog hopping, too, and enjoy!


And, no, I am not a GoGo sales rep! They are just so darn cute!

Feel free to link up anything and everything Crafty, Scrappy and/or Happy!  No giveaways or etsy shops please.Check out other links, be inspired and make some new friends!Grab a button if you would!And check Crafty Scrappy Happy for features all next week!!!!

<center><a href="http://jaimelyn11.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j449/jaimelyn11/button4.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" /></a></center>