Bee Happy and Carry On!

Just had to share a little something that just came in the mail.....

Can you guess why I liked it?

You can get your own at 

The Blog Guidebook.

Thanks for buzzin' in!

Falling Leaves and Hot Chocolate!

After the warm temperatures we've been having today started to feel like autumn again.  The sky was gray and we were sprinkled on several times today.

Baby Bee had Jazz Bee (her BeeFF) over today and for a sleep over.  It was windy last night and the leaves really came down so of course the girls had to play in the leaves.

They also made necklaces and bracelets in the studio.

Jazz Bee (Baby Bee's BeeFF) made a bee necklace.

Baby Bee made a planet bracelet.

After dinner tonight we decided to watch and oldie but goodie - Monster, Inc.  I think that's my favorite Pixar movie and that's saying a lot 'cause I LURVE them all!  

I think we all wanted a sweet little treat and what's one of the best things to look forward to when the weather gets chillier?  Why hot chocolate of course.

Wanna' know how I make hot chocolate?

4 simple ingredients

1.  powdered chocolate (I buy Ghiradelli in a big can from Smart and Final)

2.  milk (we always have 1% so that's generally what I use)

3.  shaved chocolate (I love the bittersweet bar that you can buy at Trader Joe's)

4.  whipped cream (fresh is best, but I'm happy to use a can so I don't make too big a mess)

Shaved chocolate makes the best garnish and it's so easy to do.  I just read on Pioneer Woman's blog that she loves chopping chocolate - well I love shaving chocolate!

I use my vegetable peeler to make shaved chocolate.  

Yum!  Yum!  Yum!  Here's a nice freshly shaved bowl of bittersweet chocolate.

After shaving a good amount I store it in a little spice bottle for future mochas and hot chocolates.

I microwave, steam, or heat the milk on the stove.  Put in about 1/8 of a cup of the powdered chocolate in each cup.  Add the hot milk and stir to blend the chocolate that has now melted into the hot milk.  Squirt the whipped cream and then garnish with the chocolate shavings.

Here's the finished hot chocolate.....

Doesn't that look scrumptious?

We enjoyed our warm for our tummies drinks while we watched Sully save Boo from the evil machinations of Mr. Waternoose.

What are some things that signal the change from summer to fall for you?

Oh I hope you can come enjoy one of these with us soon!  I'd be happy to make you one any time you can come by for a visit.

Twins!

No, I'm most definitely NOT pregnant, 

but I wanted to share with a pair of twins separated by about 25 years.

This pair of suitcases belong to me and my mom.  I have the pink one and my mom has the blue one.

The one on the right is mine from about 1970 and the one on the left is mom's from 1945.

Now these are not quite identical twins but you might call them fraternal twins.

1970s version....

Not quite disco stars but still 70s.....

1940s version....

Pink and sweet on the inside (just like my mom)!

I always thought my handle was cooler than hers when I was a kid.  Now I prefer mom's leather one.

Hinges are identical - just different patina.

Mom's is slightly larger than mine.

I can remember mom's being up on a tall shelf in a hall closet in our house when I was growing up.  She kept her embroidery in it.

I remember using mine for sleepovers at my cousins' house and stuffing it to bursting.  I remember feeling so sad when my clothes would no longer fit in my suitcase.

I also used it for storing my doll, Kitty's clothes.  My parents watched Gunsmoke and I think that's where my doll's name came from.  

I asked Mom what she remembered about her suitcase and she remembers getting it when she was maybe 8 (1948) and it had a little hand tied quilt and matching pajamas.  I have that little quilt somewhere......I'll have to find it now.  I just called Mom to ask her the name of her doll and she couldn't remember.  (Thank goodness I wrote my doll's name in this blog so when I'm 70 and Baby Bee asks me my doll's name I'll be able to tell her!)  

So you are lucky - two vintage thingies for the price of one (and I'm NOT referring to my mom and me as the vintage thingies)!

What are you treasuring these days?

Thanks for buzzing in!  

How's your weather?  We have gotten HOT!  85 degrees tomorrow!  I'm losing my autumnal feeling and that is NOT a good thing.

I enjoyed seeing you today.  I'll be making a nice breve latte tonight.  Would you care for one? 

You can drink it while you go visit all the delightful vintage thingies at Suzanne's at Colorado Lady.

And if you're coming by for

from

How Sweet the Sound

I'll be happy to make you some yummy pumpkin waffles and a cinnamon dolce latte!

Doesn't that sound like a yummy breakfast?

Martha? I'm (Glue)Gunning for You!

I don't think it's any secret.  I've been aiming to be the next Martha Stewart for years now.  The content of my blog is clearly comparable to Martha's and I knew it was only a matter of time before the masses came calling.
(tongue firmly planted in cheek there)

Why am I calling myself the next Martha?
Why am I so full of myself?  

Well, I recently received a phone call from a reporter from our small town newspaper.  She had seen my entries at the Big County Fair.  She started talking to me about my fair wins and asking if I was a crafty person.  I replied that I was most definitely a crafty person.  As we continued chatting she asked me if I had a space where I created.  I mentioned how our guest room had started to morph into my "Craft Studio."  Then she asked if she could come and photograph my space.  Before I even could think about it, I said, "Yes!"

So (after massive clean up and a big reason why I haven't posted or visited much lately) I spent a delightful afternoon with the Reporter Bee.  She was so charming!  I felt completely relaxed and comfortable with her.

Well all this led to my 15 minutes of fame!  I (and my craft studio) were featured in our local newspaper.  A section, page 3!

This is my exciting news!

My favorite quote, "I don't know why I love dishes," she said.  "We had them as a child, so it's not like I was deprived."  

So do you want to see my "studio"?

Work in progress!

My niece, Reader Bee, wrote this on the studio chalkboard and I liked it so I haven't erased it.

Storage central!  (I really want to paint that armoire - SOON!)

Aren't these aprons sweet? They are such an inspiration!  Found the cute little clothespins at Michaels. They are from a fun little swap Cindy put together over at Rick-Rack and Gingham this summer.

I use the quilt as an inspiration board.  I just pin things I find inspiring on it.  Easy!

This is my favorite room in our little cottage.  It is always relaxing and comfortable in there and I can really get my craft BUZZ going!

So......now you know my exciting news!  It has been so much fun!  

Thank you so much Reporter Bee!  

I appreciate what a lovely article you wrote.

What would you do if you got a phone call like I did?

Would you say yes?

Thank you so much for buzzing by today!  

Just a Little ME for Halloween

I have been meaning to share these all month long so of course I waited until the last day of the month to share these.

I don't have a lot of ME Halloween, but what I do have I dearly love.

Her Royal Pumpqueen!  Don't you love it?  I think I grabbed this out of the hand of either the Singing Bee or the More Creative Bee.  Shame on me!  

A couple of fun tins.  The cat is my favorite.  I can just imagine our little Sam cat getting to work on his own little pumpkin.

I have also made (or really had help from the Sewing Bee) a few Mary Engelbreit Halloween costumes.  But I'll just have to tease you with that because those are now put away until next Halloween.  

I also have a bit of exciting news - at least exciting for me - to share with you. Hope you can come back to share it with me.

Hope your Halloween was wonderful!

Well, of course, I'm linking up with the talented Vicki over at Cherry Chick

for

Hope to see you there!

From Kitchen Garden to Haunting Graveyard

Transmogrify!

That's exactly what I told my kitchen garden.  Your season is over (for now) little kitchen garden and you need to get with the program.

Here you are in all your summer glory!

But some new folks have moved in....

I'm not sure I'll want them stay for long.  You know what they say about house guests and fish - they both start to stink in 3 days.

Why.....are those the ghosts of Sweet Bee, Worker Bee, Baby Bee, Sam Cat, and Brody Cat?

Are they.......dancing???

They won't tell.  Their lips are sealed.  FOREVER!  (cue the spooky music)

Okay...here's what it took to create this spooky spot.

Gothic looking fencing from Home Depot.  They're just plastic.  Purchased last year for the big parade in our home town.

Tombstones from Dollar Tree this year.

Ghosts created from really cheap sheets from Walmart, black marker and some glow-in-the-dark paint.

Ghost supports are tomato spirals - they're supposed to support your tomatoes, but they don't seem to work well for us - but they're perfect for ghosts.

Little (misshapen) ghost heads made from plastic store bags and newspaper.  Heads are tied with a ribbon.

It's windy here today and the ghosts just look like they're floating above the garden.  I hope I don't jump if I see them moving out of the corner of my eye.  

I have to say I love how the orange nasturtium pops against the black of the tombstones.  What a happy accident!  

Such a treat to see you again!  We'll be having the annual Halloween bakeathon very soon and you're invited to come along.  It's always so much fun to sample all the treats.

Here's where I'm linking up today!

Between Naps on the Porch

Cottage Instincts

The House in the Roses

My First Collage!

More Creative Bee?  Singing Bee?

Do NOT read this post until after the Halloween Bakeathon!  

Okay, did they leave?  You'll let me know if they come back, right?

Well, I'm just dying to show you what I made for my friends for their birthdays.   All three of us have birthdays within a month of each other and we usually exchange our birthday gifts at the annual Halloween Bakeathon so they tend to have the same theme....Halloween!  We all love this holiday, especially the More Creative Bee.

So I decided to try my hand at some collage art with the help of my newest Cricut cartridge "Pumpkin Carving."  

I started off by painting some art canvases with black acrylic paint.  Now I just used regular old craft paint which might not have been that great an idea.  I had to put on three coats to finally get everything covered.  

Then I took some scrapbook paper and tore the edges to make the background.  

(Love my bone folder!)

The Graphics Fairy came in handy for this next step.  I took a couple of scary looking ladies and added the Graphics Fairy witch hat to them.  Thank you Graphics Fairy!

I cut out a pumpkin and a "boo" with the beloved Cricut.  

Tucked my new little witches behind the pumpkin and Mod Podged it all together.

This is Boo 1!

This is Boo 2!

So what have you tried lately?  A project?  A new recipe?  

I'm also going to make some Cinnamon Dolce syrup for lattes today!  I made homemade vanilla syrup the other day and it was so delicious.  

Would you care for a Cinnamon Dolce latte?  I'd love to make one for you in a pumpkin mug!  

Thanks for stopping by!

I'll be linking up with

at the always charming

The Graphics Fairy.