Butterfly Fairies and Spider Bites

Happy Halloween!

We have been working on Halloween for a full week now... I am glad to finally have the big day here! Let's start with a picture of my girls in their full costumes (from last week's party at the rec center):

They are butterfly fairies. The best part of these costumes: BOTH cost us less than $15 to make! Thankfully, we had a bunch of the pieces in the girls' toy boxes (including the two leotards, pink tights, Kayla's pink tutu and Emily's antenna). I bought the wings and shoes (which are worn over their tennis shoes) at the dollar store and I made Emily's tutu out of about $3 of tulle and a bunch of free ribbon left over from my SIL's wedding. The last touch: makeup and glitter hairspray!

For lunch I wanted to do something fun. And I also wanted to use my kitty halloween plates. Here's what I made:

SPIDER BITES and MONSTER BOOGERS!!!

Gross! But so fun! Everything actually tasted fine because the boogers is just mac & cheese with green food coloring. The spiders are pretty cool. I found the idea online somewhere (sorry I didn't bookmark the link) and I have been waiting to do this for today. Here's how you make them:

Easy! Before you cook anything: cut the hot dogs into small pieces (wouldn't cheesy dogs be super cool?) and take uncooked spagetti noodles, break them in half lengthwise and poke four through each piece of hot dog. Then boil them! See? easy! If you like this idea but don't want to make "spiders" then put a whole bunch of noodles through and toss them in an alfredo sauce that has been colored green (or blue, or whatever). Wouldn't that make a fun dinner at a Birthday party??

So... time to bake a pumpkin crunch cake (pics will be up in the next few days as well as a link to the recipe bc it is crazy delicious) for with dinner tonight. Have a safe and FUN Halloween!

Monster Cupcakes

Today is my daughters' class parties. I am excited to be able to go into Emily's 2nd grade class and help "run" the party (I am her classroom parent). We can't use anything that's related to Halloween so we chose a monster theme; goofy, cute monsters. Last night I stuffed treat bags for both Emily and Kayla's classes (44! ugh!) and decorated the cupcakes that I baked up the night before. I made monsters for Emily's class and Cookie Monsters for Kayla's class. I am very happy with the way they turned out. What do you think?

Sneak Peak

MMMMMMmmmmMMMmmmm.... Have you seen the new Nook & Pantry line by Basic Grey?? It's nummy! This is a sneak peak for my Nov 20th LO for Dotty Divas. I want to show you sooooo badly but... alas... Katy is a meanie and said that I have to wait. So here's a little tid bit to make you drool!

oooh! Look!!

Check this out!

She has the most gorgeous stuff on her blog. Take a minute to dig through... You will definately be bookmarking this site! (Click on the pic to go to Blue Cricket Design)

Dotty Divas, Advert Challenge #4

A new challenge is up at Dotty Divas! Let's start with the advert that prompted this challenge:

The challenge is to make something (anything really) that was inspired by the advertisement. I chose a few elements; the word "love" obviously, the two people, the concept of home and a few of the colors. To start, I took an cheap-o wall hanging that I bought at the Dollar Store:

And covered it with all sorts of nummy papers and embelishments!! This will be a wedding gift for my friend Beth (her new last name will be Smith). So, here it is.... The house that love built:Here's a few close-up pics:

Get your entries in (details on the blog) by Nov 20th for your chance to win a Lilly Bees kit (photo on the Dotty Divas blog) and Cardinal Colours Cardstock!

Cards for Soldiers

My friend Adrienne is collecting cards to send to soldiers in Iraq. She needs 10 cards, Holiday themed, blank inside with envelopes. These are the 10 that I made to send to her, using the new My Mind's Eye papers and die cuts that I just bought. I love the yummy colors!! I am hoping to get inspired enough to make another 10 (she needs them mailed to her by Oct 23rd). Can you help? Email me at erin_manning_ @ hotmail.com and I will get you in contact with her. I am so thankful for our soldiers and this is such a wonderful way to use my "hobby" to say Thank You.

Funny Mummy

The current challenge at Caardvarks is to use ribbon on your card. They have a fantastic sponsor with a very generous prize, May Arts. I have tons and tons of May Arts ribbon and I adore them. I love that I can buy just a yard and bc there's no packaging, the price is so much lower than other manufacturers. Plus, their stuff is seriously stunning. I have two big boxes of ribbon (I'm a bit ribbon obsessed) and couldn't wait to try this challenge.

I wanted to do something totally different than the conventional use of ribbon stretched across the card or turned into a ruffle. I came up with the idea that I used while sitting in a Marketing Class (yes, I should have been listening to the lecture, I know. LOL). I didn't use my May Arts ribbon just because I wouldn't dream of cutting it into pieces/strips, freying the edges and distressing it. Ack! The horror! Could you imagine?? I actually have a few pieces of their ribbon that I have had for months but am yet to find a LO or card "worthy" of such beauty. I'm nuts like that. :o)

Well, here's my "outta the box" ribbon card. I made it with a left over roll of ribbon from my SIL's wedding (so there was no guilt in cutting it all up). The mummy is layer up layer of individually laid strips. I think he turned out great! It was quite a bit of work but so worth it. What do you think?

Banner Challenge

I have finished my card for the banner challenge on the Card Trends Blog. I went with another Halloween card (because I'm a sucker for Halloween papers and embellies!) and spiced up my banner with little individually wrapped button candies. I seriously wrapped each button in tulle (that matches the tulle at the bottom of the card) and tied the ends with a bit of embroidery floss. I'm not sure if you can tell by the photo but the green circle is actually a cut-out window. The green paper is on the inside of the card. Does that show?

I love how the little guy looks like he's watching the banner, hoping some of the goodies will fall into his waiting treat bag! Without further ado, here it is:

My candy banner up close: Wish me luck! I completely adore Card Trends and was so honored to have them spotlight one of my cards last week. Let's hope for two in a row!! :o)

Cards for Friends

I sure do love making cards for no other reason than to show my friends that I am thinking about them. No challenges, no sketches, just outta love. :o) So here are my two newest love notes. The first is for a friend who had a major challenge and accomplished it! I can't go into more detail because I just mailed it today. I don't wanna ruin the surprise. But here it is:

This next one is for a friend who just had two little boys. *Awe* twin boys. How precious! This is what I sent to her today:

What do you think? The pictures never seem to do the cards justice. But I am happy with them both. :o) TFL!

Blushing with Pride

I am just overflowing with pride! I love the Card Trends magazine and blog and check in on them often. This past week they posted a challenge to use flowers on your cards. I thought.. what the heck...let's send one in and see what happens. Well... Lo and Behold... I check the blog today and this is what I see:

"It’s All About the Candy by Erin Manning – Flowers on a Halloween card? Undeniably cute."

How exciting is THAT? I am so honored. Want to see the post for yourself? Click HERE.

Craftastic Challenge part 2

Here is my LO for the second half of Kristin's Craftastic Challenge #7. The LO challenge... du du dun. She has a great sketch posted as well as a "shopping list". I used 6 of the shopping list items. The tree paper with a polka dot background is by My Mind's Eye:Let's get a close up of a few of the elements! Here is a closer photo of the detail at the bottom of the photograph. I made the flower by stacking rings of scrap paper that matched the flowers on the tree then finished it off with two nested buttons. The ruffle is a whole lotta ribbon that I hand stitched down. I LOVE the look of this but it was a pain in the rear to actually do. But I think it's worth it: A close up of the tree and all of the buttons/gems. I brought my mom's button box back from Washington after her memorial service in July. So this holds a particularly special place in my heart:

Last, but not least, a close up of the title made with Pink Paislee alphas:

And there you have it! My entry for Kristin's Craftastic Challenge #7. Wish me luck!

Craftastic Challenge

I am scrapping today! That makes me SOOOO happy!!! Here is a card I made from the sketch on Kristin's site for her Craftastic Challenge #7. Here's my card:
The orange patterned paper, skull die cut and skull border sticker are from My Mind's Eye. The word stickers are from Reminisce. And the background paper (with skulls) is Bo Bunny. *sigh* I love Halloween!

JuJu Bee Blog Buzz

Isn't JuJu Bees just fun to say? Two gals I know (Kristin, a good friend from Tally and Amy, a fellow DT member at Dotty Divas) are constantly posting about JuJu Bees. I have been meaning to check it out for a while and now is the perfect chance..... they are having a Blog Buzz!! Click HERE to head to their blog and check it out!

Win TEN packages of Thickers!!

yes, TEN!! I am so envious... I wish I could enter! Wanna know how? Join the Dotty Divas in their new advert challenge! Here's the advertisement:
The challenge is to makes something, anything using this advertisement as inspiration. You could turn it into a sketch and approach it that way, be inspired by the grass, clouds and butterflies, or you could use the gorgeous colors. I used the colors and nature elements: Here's a close up of some magic mesh (from the post a few weeks ago), a felt cloud, stickle scallops and of course the beautiful butterflies! The butterlies came from a sheet of die cuts and were flat. I folded the wings up and attached them to the page at their "bodies". Then I rolled the edges of the wings under to give them some "movement". I added lots of clear stickles to the wings, distressed stickles as their bodies and tucked in some twine as the antenna. Also, notice that gorgeous embossed paper in the background! This was a recent find at my LSS. It is also made by Bazzill. The floral pattern is embossed in the most perfect glossy finish. It's yummy!Inspired? I hope so!! Head over to this post to see the prize pack (did I mention that along with the TEN packages of thickers, you also get a 25 piece stack of Bazzill Cardstock!) and how to enter. You have a whole month so get crackin'! :o)

2S4Y - Laura's Sketch 34

Don't you just love these sketches? This sketch was the perfect excuse to use my new Halloween products from Bo Bunny. I love Halloween!! Here ya go:

I hand-made the flowers, added a touch of bling and embroidery floss stitching:

Haven't been to 2 Sketches 4 You yet? What?!?! Go! Go!

Caardvarks Sketch Challenge

The second sketch on Caardvarks current challenge inspired me to try this layered scallop technique that I saw on one of Adrienne's LOs. I used mostly My Mind's Eye products with Reminisce sticker for the greeting. Here it is:

A package from London...

I received a very cool package from Katy this week. Look at what was inside:

Look at all of that beautiful Magic Mesh!! Here's a close-up:

Can't wait to play with it!! Thanks Katy! And a hint to all of my blog readers, this stuff will play a role in the October challenge at Dotty Divas so be on the lookout!

Dotty Divas Ad Challenge 2

I love this site! I have seen people use magazine advertisements as inspiration and thought it was a great idea but had never tried it. This is your chance to try it! Each month Katy (the owner/creator of Dotty Divas) chooses a new advert and offers up an awesome prize pack. Here's this month's advert:

Gorgeous, huh? And you can make ANYTHING inspired by this ad. A LO, mini album, card, altered item - whatever! Just get it made and sumbitted by September 20th for your chance to win:

How cute is that cupcake album?? I WANT!!! And those fairy stamp... and those thickers... and those Prima flowers... and.. and...and... Am I eligible to win this?? what? no? bummer. LOL! This is a fantastic RAK and right now she has only received three entries so your chances are awesome. Head on over to DOTTY DIVAS and check it out!!

Crafastic Boutique

I am loving the stuff in Craftastic Boutique's shop on etsy!!
The bottle cap bracelet as well as the spring coil bracelets in bright colors are drool-worthy! Check them out:
What are you waiting for?!?! Go! Buy! And feel free to pick me up that lime green coil bracelet for Christmas... *wink*

If It's Groovy...

Guess what? I'm a Groovy Chick! YAY!
Today is the reveal over at If it's Groovyfor this term's IIG Team! There are so many crafty ladies and I'm so excited to part of the team! I am on the "cards team"! Each month she (Deb, the head groovy chick) asks the DT for one LO and one card. September is a "Funny Face LO Challenge" on IIG! Here is my funny face LO:

And this month's card challenge is a Birthday card. The inside of this adorable little bunny card says "It's your Birthday":

The bunny rub-on and pp are from the Twitterpated line from Imaginisce:

And here's the "icing on the cake": They are looking for more DT members. Interested? Please Email Groovy Deb at: groovydeb@yahoo.com with a layout using this sketch and answer this question..."I know I am a Groovy chick because..." and you too may find yourself working with some of Lissa's beautiful sketches and having your work featured on If it's Groovy!

Here's the sketch:

I haven't made a LO using it but it looks really fun. So for some eye candy and inspiration, here is a LO by my friend Kristin (who happens to be a Groovy DT member, too!):

Thanks for looking!!!