Happy Halloween!

What a spooktacular day and the night is not over...

I worked a half day today and encountered "Chicagoween" on my way to the train to head home...

The Midnight Circus was performing and I had to stop for a moment and take a peek

The fountain in Daley Plaza was pumpkin orange.

Once home, the pumpkins were placed outside. The boys designed/carved the pumpkins.

Then it was time for Trick or Treat. As I said before, our neighborhood loves Halloween, and we all have such a good time!

It's a family event and as many adults dress up as kids.

Even the cars get in the act.

Sometimes I wonder where they find these neat decorations...

As it got darker, it's harder to take good pics, but this graveyard was "haunted" by a grim reaper and Dracula.

At the following house, the candy comes shooting out of the mail slot. You can hear the kids squealing with delight from blocks away.

Don't you just love all these pumpkins?! On the other side of the entry were all the teeny tiny carved pumpkins, but I ran out of battery power.

Now I'm waiting for the crew of boys that will be spending the night here...

Better start getting the snacks out now...

Hope you all have a spooktacular Halloween!

Blessings, Patti

Welcome to my haunted house!

We love Halloween at our house. Luckily we live in a neighborhood with lots of Halloween lovers.

Why don't you come in for a visit...

(Just remember, I'm the mother of two boys, so there's not any cutsie Halloween ;-)

We just went to "El Dia de los muertos" at our local art gallery to learn about the culture and art of this Mexican holiday and now I love my calaveras (skeletons on the left in this photo) even more!

This little shelf is on our mudroom. I didn't realize that I had a small collection of witches on brooms until I looked at this photo! The "Spells" pillow is by Stacy Nash and the papercutting on the bottom left is an antique from Halloween 1913. The lantern is a new purchase from Wildberry Gatherings.

This little corner shows another new purchase - my wonderful sign from GoldieLoo Woodworks.

I love these pillows that I made from two Stacy Nash patterns. The one on the right features a homemade key made by soldering two keys together - a neat antique flea market find.

These candles are on the windowsill above my kitchen sink. I love to light them and listen to the soundtrack from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" while washing the dinner dishes...

Another spooky corner featuring an incredible papercutting by Notforgotten Farm and a great tombstone ornament by Samplers Country Collectibles.

We love "The Nightmare before Christmas" and have the entire town on our mantel. (Like I said, I am the mom of two boys - no pretty pictures and flower arrangements in this house ;-)

You gotta love that bad boy, Oogie Boogie!

Well, you have stayed so long that I must offer you some treats! If you dare...

When witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers, ‘tis near Halloween.~Author Unknown

Blessings, Patti

Tag! You're it!

Life has been keeping me busy and away from my blog. All those things that need to get done... laundry, paying bills, etc. Tonight I'm sneaking away from my obligations for just a few minutes...

The very talented Barbara Shores, of Village Folk Art, was so kind to bestow me with a sweet blog award:Be sure to see her lovely artwork at her brand new gallery: Village Folk Art Gallery. Isn't her art just beautiful?!

Now I have the opportunity to pass this award on to other Kreativ bloggers that you may not know:

1.turkey feathers - this is one of the first blogs that I ever viewed. It inspired me to start my own blog one day... It's simply lovely. She has a new book coming out soon - Blanket Statement - and I just can't wait!

2. My Yellow Farmhouse - a woman after my own heart - wool! She just recently opened her own online shop Farmhouse Woolens

3. The Twist Family - Beth is a multi-talented artist that shares the joys of her young family. Her posts always remind me of cherished memories of my own sons from when they were little. I am so blessed to own her first papercutting.

Take some time to visit these inspiring blogs. I have also been tagged for the very first time by Suzanne, Painter of the Past, of Pear Tree Primitives.

When I read her post for this tag I certainly giggled. When I read Cathy's responses at Tadpoles and Teacups I truly lol'ed! I'm not feeling very funny tonight, but let's see how this goes...

Here are the rules: I have to answer the following questions with one word answers...

1. Where is your cell phone? Purse

2. Where is your significant other? Asleep (I do this late at night)

3. Your hair color? Natural (I haven't colored it ....yet)

4. Your mother? Perfect

5. Your father? Outgoing "people" person

6. Your favorite thing? Love

7. Your dream last night? None (just a nightmare about a spider)

8. Your dream/goal? (O.k. one word is impossible!) Retire from my "real" job and spend all my days with family & creating.

9. The room you're in? Kitchen

10. Your hobby? Creating

11. Your fear? Spiders (I'm a true arachnaphobic. See #7)

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Here @ home

13. Where were you last night? Home

14. What you're not? A cook

15. One of your wish-list items? More time

16. Where you grew up? Chicago area (5 generations of my family have lived in this city.)

17. The last thing you did? Checked email

18. What are you wearing? pajamas

19. Your TV? On (Nightline)

20. Your pet? Turtles (Two three-toed box turtles. My sister happily pointed out that they live 60+ years.)

21. Your computer? On

22. Your mood? Content.

23. Missing someone? Parents & Grandparents (My parents now live 3 1/2 hours away. My grandparents have all passed, but I had all four thru college.)

24. Your car? Minivan

25. Something you're not wearing? I rather not say (but I am wearing pajamas, draw your own conclussions...)

26. Favorite store? Antique

27. Your summer? Gone.

28. Love someone? Family

29. Your favorite color? Depends.

30. When is the last time you laughed? Today

31. Last time you cried? Today

I'm not going to tag anyone as I don't want to stress anyone out, but I would love to hear what Cookie has to say...
"If they obey and serve him, they will spend the rest of their days in prosperity and their years in contentment. -Job 36:11

In this time of economic chaos, I prefer these definitions of prosperous:—Synonyms 1. thriving. 2. wealthy 3. fortunate

Blessings, Patti

Boxwood & Berries Gathering

What an incredible, wonderful weekend! Spring Green, Wisconsin is located in Central Southern Wisconsin in a lovely valley. The Wisconsin River runs through it. Spring Green is home to Taliesin, home of Frank Lloyd Wright and his school. The autumn colors were at their peak and it was lovely to behold.

Spring Green is also home to my absolute favorite quilt/cross stitch/wool/home decor shop - Country Sampler. The Second Story is where our classes were held and where I stayed with five other kindred spirits. Four days and three nights spent working on fantastic projects created by two extremely talented designers. What more could a person ask for? Great food and shopping? we had that too :) Jeanne, owner of Country Sampler, thinks of every detail including an inspiring trunk show.

It was delightful to hear Maggie describe the inspiration for her projects.

Our projects for the gathering were just incredible. We started with Maggie Bonanomi's 1835 Bed cover - the largest project that I have ever attempted. It will definitely take me quite some time to complete. This is in Maggie's stellar first book - "With these hands". Maggie's second project was also from her book - a reproduction puzzle ball. (It's on the far right.) I have always wanted an antique one, but couldn't afford the ones that I found. I'm so thrilled to create my own. This is also in progress, but not completed... yet.

Stacy Nash also brought phenomenal projects - an exclusive Country Sampler 1883 Sewing Roll, matching peacock pinkeep and a surprise companion peacock scissor pouch. (Isn't her little sewing box sweet as well?) It was so fun to see her aging and distressing techniques in person. We all learned so much!The best surprise was Stacy's debut book - A Simply Early Christmas.

Wow! I'm going to be busy trying to make all my favorite pieces from Maggie and Stacys' books!

Each and every person at the gathering was so caring and fun. The fellowship of kindred spirits from across the states was uplifting. Thank you Jeanne, Maggie, Stacy and all the ladies for such an inspirational gathering.

All I can say is WOW! Can you tell that I am still on cloud nine?

"Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding." -Romans 14:19

"Trust in the Lord forever, for in Lord God you have an everlasting rock." - Isaiah 26:4

Blessings, Patti

I'm ready! (well, almost...)

It's time for my favorite creative function of the year!

The Boxwood & Berries Gathering at my absolute favorite store Country Sampler in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

I am literally running out the door as soon as I post this. I feel a little guilty and selfish as this is all for me. (I'm sure my husband and the boys will be fine without me, but still...) I go alone and do what I want to do when I want to do it. I enjoy my trips with my family and girlfriends, but here since I am alone I get to meet new friends.

The teachers this year are Maggie Bonanomi of Butternut House and Stacy Nash of Stacy Nash Primitives. It's going to be awesome!

I finished this make-do from Maggie's newest pattern so I can use it in class:

And I finished this pinkeep from a Stacy Nash pattern:

I had hoped to finish this scissor fob from The Prairie Schooler, but it didn't quite happen. Too bad someone else isn't driving, then I could finish it!

I'll be sharing lots of stories and pictures when I return!

Blessings, Patti

A TDIPT Swap

I just participated in my very first swap ever. The TDIPT artists had a secret swap. You are assigned another artist to make a hand-crafted item for and to put together a little gift box. This was a trick-or-treat swap with an autumn theme. It was so much fun. No one knew who anyone else had except for the organizer. I was a little nervous since I had never done this before, but it was a lot of fun.

I received my swap box from Carol Roll of Nostalgic Folk Art. Wow! I hit the jackpot! When I saw Carol's return address on the box, I started to hyperventilate! I've wanted one of her pieces for a long time and stroll through her website on a regular basis. Carol was so generous - and each and every item is so special. Did you see the antique wooden blocks that spell out my name and the wonderful antique tin?! You don't see the delicious dark chocolate candy that I ate before I could take a photo. When I saw the piece that she had made, I couldn't believe it. If I could have had my choice of any item on her website, this is the one that I would have chosen! And now she is all mine! (Carol even inscribed the piece to me on the bottom, making it even more special!) You must see a close-up of her sweet face: I'm so lucky that I didn't receive just one handmade, but two! Did you notice the great primitive ornament in the photo too? Be sure to see Carol's "Moonlight Outing" on TDIPT - isn't it something?!

My package was for Diane of Tallowberry Primitives.

I had so much fun putting her package together. Here's what it looked like when she opened the shipping box: And this is what was inside:

Wishing each of you a week filled with unexpected blessings, Patti