Free Halloween Clip Art

Halloween is on my mind! I have found so many awesome free printables, and wanted to share. These are all coming from different places, there's so much talent out there!


http://www.howdoesshe.com/free-exclusive-halloween-printables


These guys are giving away 20 free printables! And they're all very cute.
http://www.tipjunkie.com/free-halloween-printables/





http://papercrave.com/free-printable-halloween-goodies-part-1/







http://www.i-do-it-yourself.com/category/freebies-downloads/page/8/

http://www.southernaccentblog.com/2011/09/never-too-early-free-halloween.html


And last but not least, an adorable vintage alphabet. Not for Halloween, but I couldn't control myself and I had to lump it in with the group.

http://www.rookno17.com/2009/10/free-vintage-alphabet-clip-art-and.html

Wishing you a happy Autumn!

Cause my friends are smokin'

So I have some pretty decent looking friends. Like, they're up there on a scale from one to ten. I love it when they ask me to take pictures of them because we always have so much fun. Recently, different projects have come up for them to need a few pics, and here's a little taste!

Here's my fav from Dana's shoot..

Love the chairs! And if you knew Dana, this backdrop just works for her!

Another fav.. I like how the edit turned out for this guy..

Meet Jessica, one of my most favorite roommates of all time.. We had an adventure finding this spot, but once we found a way in we had our own enchanted fortress..

Here's my fav of her for the day..

Love the light..

Thanks for being gorgeous! Love you gals.

Photobooth It Up!

So we pretty much have an awesome neighborhood. I do have to specify...Of the whole block, I live on the coolest street, but the surrounding area is cool as well. When Jess and I were looking to buy a house, this one was the only one where all the neighbors came out to talk to us as we were looking. They invited us to their block party right off the bat. Needless to say, it has been a tradition on our street over the years, and this year expanded to the rest of the actual "block". We had neighbors who rented a water slide, a rock climbing wall, a magician, and had an awesome band play. I had to pitch in somehow.. I figured these little photo booths with props are all the rage, and who am I to turn down a trend?

I look at myself and I think.. I would've made a fugly man..

Rockin' the paper beard!
Yeah, you read it right. Bomb.com
Love the extra hand.. Brian demanded too many props and then proceeded to demand an assistant..

Love it!

Don't let the group scare you off! There are currently homes for sale.. Just sayin'..

If you are thinking about doing a photobooth, Do it!! It's super easy! I just found a fun large piece of fabric to hang on a fence. The props are all cut out of paper, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't do it an hour before the party. Think of how cute they could be if you didn't procrastinate! I just looked up ideas on pinterest and etsy. These were some of the ones I used as my inspiration:

A word of advice is to keep your sticks on the side. Some of them I taped right in the middle not thinking about the fact the stick would be placed in the middle of the person's face. Probably most people would think about it, but not me. Check it out, you can learn from my dumb mistakes. I used barbecue skewers and cardstock and just cut freehand. The kids loved this, and it was a lot of fun. I will definitely be doing it again.

Do it at your next party! Tell me how it went!

The Catch Up Begins

So many pics to post! Here's a little shmidgen of what I've been up to...

How cute is this family? Their kiddos were such good sports in the blazin' summer heat.. and so photogenic!
Can't get me enough of this door...

Such cute couples!

Much more to come!

Do-It-Yourself Antique Spoon Herb Markers

I've been doing some summer traveling and camping, and it feels good to be back to my blog! I thought this was a project worth sharing, although I haven't quite mastered it myself.

These are stamped, which is the part that can be tricky. But aren't they cute? I made them for my "secret sister" at camp. But I can't keep a secret, so she knew from day 1 I must be hers. I wanted something fun to give someone who gardens.. and this cute idea came up. First, I started by looking at the local thrift store for interesting spoons.

Notice how I started with twice as many? That's how many I messed up. Make sure to buy extra, and start with the spoons that are your least favorite.

You're going to want a metal stamp kit. There are a few different options at Harbor Freight. Your first step is taking a sturdy hammer and flattening out the arch in the spoon. You really won't get the result you want unless you set it on concrete (if you're working on concrete you're worried about chipping, put it on top of wood or something else on top of the concrete). Anything that is not really hard underneath it will absorb your hit, when you really want the stamp to get as much of it as possible.
So once you've flattened out your spoon, it's time to stamp it. Now we all know I struggle with the details, and this will sound funny, but make sure your stamp is facing the right way before you pound. Try your hardest to give yourself enough room for all your letters. I like the look of the letters being a little crooked, so I don't worry too much about that. If you want them straight, I would bet sticking on some painters tape would help guide you. A mallet packs a lot of punch, which getting one good hit is the easiest way to achieve the best look. If you're punching an "L" and you feel like it's not a very deep engrave, it's hard to line that "L" exactly up again, but it can be done. You have to hit hard. That's why it's good to practice, you don't really realize how hard you have to hit. Some spoons are softer than others.

The last step is to rub the spoons with antique glaze. I like the glaze I got from Lowe's.. you don't have to mix it with anything.

It's a really fun project.. not expensive, and once you learn to stamp, there's so much more you can do with them! I'd love to know if you're going to try it!

weLcoMe dAisY

Some of our friends recently adopted this beautiful little gal.. And she is in neighborhood demand.. I have plenty other friends wanting a sneak peek.. So here it is! I know I said I was going to show you my cute 4th of July bags, but that'll be tomorrow, and a sneak peek of this girl is even better!

Since her Mom and Dad wanted to do some pics in her traditional Chinese dress, I thought it would be fun to do some Chinese architecture, too. I found some at the International Peace Gardens in downtown Salt Lake. I'd never been there before, and thought it was worth visiting..

aaaand here she is!

I think the right word for her would be "spirited." She was so cute and spunky.. I was in love automatically.

I can't believe how perfect she is for her new family.. she's the perfect fit. I loved seeing them all together.

And we are so glad to welcome her to our neighborhood family!

to a sPaRkLy juLy: music mix

I always have to make my music mixes for different occasions.. and it doesn't take much for something to be an "occasion" for me. I thought I'd share my July mix with ya.. and if ya like it, let me know and I'll keep sharing different mixes. If you don't like my sweet Indie/Pop/Oldies taste then I apologize.. but not really.

For me, a July mix should be summer nights and summer drives fun that you can see yourself listening to while you watch fireworks and eat salt water taffy..

Hope you enjoy!

Come back tomorrow to see my oh-so-cute 4th of July goody bags!

My Gorgeous Gals

Here's a little preview of our trip to the local orchard. This local orchard just happened to be full of long, wet grass that rocked my allergen world.. like no allergen ever has. I had a Hitch moment when my face and eyes got super swollen and my legs welted and were covered in hives. I learned my lesson... getting older=worse allergies. Also.. if your face and legs are swelling, go home and get out of the way of anyone with a camera-yeah, I'm talking to you, Marielle!!

I have been called to the Young Women in my ward longer than I was in Young Women's, myself.. and I love it. We thought it would be fun to get some cute pics of the girls before girls' camp.

Love the apple trees..
Such a cute smile!
Times two!
Times three!
This one's got the photoshoot down.. Seriously!
Love this one!
So photogenic!

"Ah, You girls just keep me young. I just love you so much."
- Mean Girls quote... but you already knew that.

FaTheRs DaY

Here's a little example of the differences between Jesse, my husband, and Me.

Me: I wanna get you an Ipad for Fathers' Day. You deserve something nice, let me spoil you, pleeease?
Jesse: You going and spending money that I'm just going to have to earn back is not my idea of being spoiled.

Plan B. Actually, plan E...F? I always dream of surprising Jess with something unexpected.. but my plans never really pan out. My biggest dream? To one day surprise him with a big giant truck with some 4-wheelers in tow. Seriously.. I think about it all the time. Now... where do I get and then hide the 60,000 dollars to do so? Since I didn't quite reach my goal and lavishly surprise him, I had to go looking for some other ideas. And when I'm looking for ideas, I always look to my hero, Marth, first..

How cute is this? Bentley is my little artist, so she would love to give this.. and I think it would be something Jesse would use.
I always love a full basket of goodies. And once again.. practical. This guy might come from me..

On Martha's website, you can print off these labels. Count me in. I love you, Martha.

I also thought about some personalized gifts for my daddy-o, Big Bad Bruce.. I found this artwork on Etsy from sodapopcorleone. This may blow your mind for a sec, but there isn't a lot of Tab soda gifts out there. My dad drinks it like crazy, and yes... they still make it. And no, I don't think he's the ONLY one who still drinks it. He could be, who knows. Here's something I didn't know until a year or two ago.. Tab was originally marketed as a woman's diet drink.. pink can? Tab fact. My dad wears womens' wal-mart shape up's too. He's a complicated person to shop for.

My dad loves his tractor. He's always out working on it.. ordering things for it.. but never really using it? I plugged in "tractor" to Etsy and found this guy amongst thousands of kiddie tractor things. I don't see my brother or sister spending this kind of time looking for the perfect gift. And I'm the least fav?

Now for the Husband of mine who wishes he were raised on the Jersey Shore.. I thought what would be better than a Pauly D pendant? It would go perfectly with the dog tags he often wears, possibly on the same chain. You may think I'm kidding, but my husband would be stoked. Wish I would've thought of it in time!

Look at that stare. Right into your soul.

Last, but defintely not least comes the plaque that I know Jess would love. It's lyrics from one of his favorite shows. Also found on Etsy, from luciusart.. again. Wishing I would have gone diggin' sooner!

Happy Father's Day to all the amazing Daddy-o's in my life! I'm so happy my kids have such a great dad!