kandeland

Another reason I love my town

Can you believe how ugly and scary sweet little Scarlet looks?! She was loving her role as a creepy zombie last night!

She fit right in the zombie scene. The dance company where she takes hip-hop class puts on a street party/dance every Halloween right in the middle of the street in the village! The police shut down traffic, DJs play music, kids dance, parents guzzle beer and wine sold on the corners, and the dancers perform Michael Jackson's Thriller!!

We had SUCH a fun time!! I love that our town knows how to have fun! Make sure you turn off the playlist music on the sidebar before you play the video:

 

Wishing everyone a safe and FUN Halloween!!!!!

Pumpkin Mania!

1080 pounds of big fat pumpkin! I bet if I scooped out the insides I could crawl in there!

And another biggie...

(bring back any memories Sandy? HA!!!)

and aren't gourds so fun?

 not as fun as getting my 65 year old Nepali student to go down the tube slide at the pumpkin farm!!

good times!

"What are you bringing back into the country?"

That's always the question at the U.S./Canadian border when I'm heading home. And this time I had to laugh to myself as imagined what the border guard would think if he rifled through my bags!

What would he find the most disturbing?... the junk I got from Aberfoyle?...

"what's the deal with the ugly dollhead lady?"

And how to explain this decrepit old photo album...

I'm sure he'd be concerned for the mental health of the country when he came across this muffin tin that Sandy made me!

And of course he might consider pulling me over for a more thorough check when he discovered this beauty in Scarlet's booster seat...

"Come on officer! Don't you ever make ugly dolls and bake them in the oven?!"

"....and make them scarves, and cute hair?..."

Well, luckily I didn't have to have these conversations, because he was pretty easy going and bypassed sorting through my contraband! ...or else he spotted this doll in the booster seat and just wanted me to move on! Anyway, I'm guessing the items I was crossing back into the country with weren't the ones they were looking for, or for that matter, had ever seen before!

Fall Fun in Canada!

I'm back from a jammed-packed fun weekend in Canada! Friday afternoon I headed up to Sandy's  and arrived at her beautiful new home. Every detail was exquisite!

We poured some wine and hung out in her pretty kitchen while she cooked me a fabulous Italian dinner.

She made me "naked ravioli" which was incredible!

And just look at these cupcakes we indulged in afterwards! Best toppers ever!

After relaxing and eating and catching up, we grabbed some Dracula's Kiss vodka drinks and headed upstairs to Sandy's art room.

It was so fun to take in all the wonderful details of Sandy's room! I just love it!

So many awesome displays and great treasures....

And an armoire packed with goodness!

So our late night of crafting began! We made super fun Junker Jane style "Ugly Dolls" in celebration of Halloween. We sewed and laughed into the night!

And Sandy showed me how to grunge them up and bake them! (what would the neighbors be thinking if they glanced into this scene?!)

The next morning we headed off to a day of fall fun! First Sandy took me to Black Creek Pioneer Village to enjoy a nice walk outdoors and go back in time to Pioneer Days! (a time I decided I would definitely NOT want to live in!!)

The day was gorgeous. It was so quiet, relaxing and refreshing.

It was like you stepped right back in time.

Especially walking into this house....

It was so beautiful walking out here in pastures...

hello big friend!

We even saw a working mill...

After our jump back into the past, it was straight back to the present when we hit the city and stopped in Bizzy B's Scrapbook store where I picked up some great papers for my journaling.

Then it was on to the Yorkdale mall to meet David Rocco! Sandy has been cooking along to his last book over on her cooking blog and was so excited to meet the man behind the recipes!

Then it was on to Autostrada...the best Italian food ever!

The inside is spectacular and modern...

And the food was incredible. I would love to live closer to this place!

When we were nice and full and the sun went down we headed up to Canada's Wonderland amusement park which was all decked out for Halloween.

They had all kinds of creepy haunted houses set up throughout the park. It was SO packed...I've never seen anything like it!

The lines were at least an hour long each, but we managed a few haunted houses which were very fun!

After such a fun-filled day we got some sleep because the next morning was Aberfoyle Antique Market!!

We couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. An absolutely gorgeous fall day!

We roamed for a few hours, loaded up on some great old treasures and had a good lunch. Such fun!

After that awesome weekend I was exhausted as I hit the open road to drive home. But I was happy to see this smiling face when I returned!

Now it's back to work! Hope you all had a great weekend too. xo

And the last of Halloween crafting for another year!

When this posts, I will be in Canada with my BFF Sandy having loads of fun! So I thought I'd show you a couple things I made for her to put in her hostess goodie bag...The last few things I crafted for Halloween!

I made her this little shadow-pumpkin, rather than shadow box...

These little faux pumpkins are fun to carve and decorate.

I used this very "storybook" witch image to make a little hangable ornament:

But the thing I made her that I kind of didn't want to part with was this witch-in-a-boot....

I've had this ceramic boot for awhile...it was hand-painted and glazed by my 80-something-year-old step-grandmother! It was one of those oddball things that you wouldn't know what the hell to do with if you didn't love Halloween witchy crafts!

So I found this pretty girl and witchied-her-up and nestled (glued) her into her new boot-home, along with some flying bats for company.

I feel much better about this ceramic boot now! I hope Sandy likes her as much as I do!

Be back soon with lots of pics of our weekend adventures! xo

Fabric and Lace

That's what the theme was for Tuesday Trading! I received this beautiful ATC from Kimberly ....

and this sweet one from Kayner...

For them I made these two cards:

Kimberly will be taking a break from Tuesday Trading, but as always, if you are interested in doing a one-for-one or two-for-two Artist Trading Card swap with me just let me know!

desk view

oh yes...I have been scoring some serious moments of journaling time down in the newly-organized art room....

loving it!

 

Soup weather

Hello! Happy weekend. It's a rainy, windy, cold day here and that means one thing: Soups weather is here! One of my favorite things about fall and colder weather is making soup. I have been eating lots of soups lately....

Beef and Barley. Got this recipe in a recent magazine and really liked it. Yummy way to indulge in a meat dish.

Miso Soup. I eat this a few times a week, usually in the morning! I prefer to get this at Japanese restaurants, minus the udon noodles, but when in a pinch the instant ones will do!

My mom made this really yummy Spicy Sausage Stew last week as a first course for Scarlet's family birthday party dinner. Love this!

And then there's one of my favorites that I just made and ate for days on end: Moroccan Harira with hot Harissa! I make this a lot.

What's your favorite fall soup?

A cupcake, journals, and a winner

Well, I found my new favorite cupcake! Thai Lime Chili filled with Thai Custard filling and fluffy vanilla frosting.

I thought it would be a bit much, but it was so mild, not too sweet, and had the perfect balance of flavor. SO good! I got it here:

Today was another beautiful day. I was able to work the morning and not the afternoon, so I had time to grab one of these cupcakes and have tea at an outdoor cafe with a special-someone. My only problem was my sniffly-sneezy nose! Argh!

Anyway, the past couple days I have found myself working on more journals. Awhile back I showed you this threadbare antique photo album, and planned to make it into a "hidden-binding" journal (Mary Ann Moss Method ) but as I tried to take it apart, I realized that "threadbare" didn't even begin to cover it, and it quickly became an open binding journal!

I really wanted to keep it assembled on the outside, but there was just no way. The binding was practically dust! But thats' ok! I used my vintage Brunschwig & Fils fabric and two favorite antique buttons on it.

And loaded it up with fun paper.

The photo block that I took out of the album became a completely different journal. The ever-talented Mary Ann  of course had a plan for that!

It got covered in paper, and on the binding I used this super thick texturized paper that Lee had sent me. It was perfect and sturdy enough for it.

And for an extra touch I added this (is it 7 Gypsies?) "OPEN" knob to the cover.

So that's what I've been up to!

Before I go I must announce the winner drawn from the basket for the Halloween faux cake! ..........................the cake goes to.............

JoAnne! of Vintage Dragonfly

I will be back soon! xo

3 reasons to blog today

Hello there! I just had to pop in quickly for 3 non-earth-shattering reasons.

1. To remind you to enter my giveaway ...(name to be drawn tomorrow)

2. To tell you that last night I had the most divine homemade ice cream at a shop in the city: Rosemary-Fig-Honey!!! If you ever come across Rosemary-Fig-Honey ice cream, you must try it! SO good!

3. To show you my latest witchy creation:

In the midst of making some Halloween goodies for Sandy , I decided to make myself a little hanging crafty witch.

I started off with this perfectly-hued vintage Bingo card and the rest just happened!

But it was really the image of this girl that inspired me. She wasn't a witch when I found her, but I know that every sweet girl can be turned witchy with a little help from me!

Wishing you a Happy Wednesday!