Halloween Eyeballs

OK. So who doesn't like to eat yummy treats on Halloween? I know I do, especially when it is fun making them. Well, Jake and I love to make Halloween Eyeballs. Yep, they look like bloodshot eyeballs. And, they are super easy to make (oh, and delicious!).In the photo, they are not quite set, so after about a half an hour in the freezer, they will be ready to serve.

Here is the recipe:

1/2 C butter

1 1/2 C peanut butter

2 C confectioner's sugar

1 tbsp vanilla

white melting chocolate

crisco

chocolate chips

red gel

In a medium bowl, mix the butter, peanut butter, confectioner's sugar, and vanilla. Form into balls. Place on wax paper and put in freezer for at least 1/2 hour to firm. In small saucepan, mix about 1 TBSP Crisco with white melting chocolate over low heat. Stir constantly and until smooth. With a toothpick, dip the balls into th echocolate to coat. Place on wax paper. Remove toothpick and insert upside down chocolate hip into the hole form the toothpick. After they set a bit, make squiggly lines going from the chocolate chip to make the eyeballs look bloodshot. Place back into freezer to set. After they are set, take a wet paper towel and smooth out the edges from the white chocolate.

To serve, cover a plate with lettuce and place eyeballs on them. Enjoy!

Halloween Party!!!

A Fanciful Twist is having a Halloween party tomorrow (Saturday, October 18)! How much fun. Check out her blog here, and then link to the other blogs that are also playing along with the party. There will be lots of fun.

For my part...I found these silly videos on you tube. Perhaps they will bring some fun Halloween memories from your past. I know I remember watching some of these.

Popeye's Halloween: click here

Donald Duck - Trick Or Treat - 1954: click here

A Scooby Doo Halloween: click here

Betty Poop Halloween Party: click here

Mickey Mouse Haunted House 1929: click here

Skeleton Dance: click here

I will try to have a tutorial on how to make chocolate peanut butter EYEBALLS...but, since I have to work, I might have to add that a little later for you.

Two More Digi LOs

Remember my post with the pictures of the Elizabeth Gardens? Well, I created the following LO using those pictures plus a few others that I had taken on various other trips. Amanda Probst was the guest designer for the AMR crop this past weekend. She issued her own challenge for us. She asked us to lift one of her pages using one of her sketches. I chose a single page LO from her November sketches. Her LO was perfect for using many pictures on a single LO.

I also created this LO for the crop. I just love these pictures of Jake at Grandmas's house. His face and the way he is wearing the bathing cap is just adorable. And, I really think the orange stands out with the blue. What a cutie he is!

Hopefully I will have some more LOs finished soon. I'm sure with football and cub scouts and Halloween and fall festivals (and everything else, LOL), I'll have a lot of photo opportunities.

(Finally) Some New LOs!

So, as many of you know, I have not been able to scrap lately. AMR had their monthly crop this weekend and I was not only able to participate in it, but also able to crop. Woo Hoo! Here are 3 of the LOs that I was able to finish so far. Each is a digi LO. Oh, and check back for (hopefully) some traditional LOs, too since the challenges are not due until wednesday. Maybe I can scrap tonight.

This first LO is of Jake. He always looks happy and has a great smile. The challenge was from the member spotlight (Sandy), who challenged us to take 3 colors from the photo and use them and only them in the LO. I chose black, tan, and white for my three colors. I really wanted the colors in this terrific photo to stand out.

This next LO was Debbie's challenge. She asked us to create a LO of a life altering event. I chose my arthritis and many surgeries. Since I didn't want to gross anyone out by photos of replacements or scars, I chose to make it simple and do the journaling on the back. There's been a lot of pain...(but I'm still walking). Isn't that the truth! And, you know, I'm happy that I can still function on my own. Somethings are a little difficult (and there is the constant pain), but I can still manage!

In this last LO, we were challenged by Heather to scrap our favorites. Funny how I love the color purple and didn't use that in my LO. Oh, and I just love older movies as you can see. Danny Kay, Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney...well, you get the point. Maybe when I reach another milestone age I will change my mind. :)

I Found It!

Woo Hoo. Three years ago, when I moved to the Outer Banks, I thought I lost a drive with a lot of my pictures on it. Sadly, many of them were just digital and only on the drive. Others I could scan and, though it would be some work, wouldn't be a problem. Well, way down in the bottom dark corner of my laptop bag was my drive. On the drive were many pictures of Andy as a baby and throughout his younger years that his mother gave me, various pictures of Jake, and pictures of different trips to places like Disney and Ireland. Here are some of my favorites that I found on the drive.

This one is of Andy and Jake catching the big fish in Oregon Inlet. It reminds me of this one of Andy when he was younger. It was taken somewhere in the OBX during a family trip.

I just love these of Jake playing in the ocean.

Love this one of Jake dancing at Disney. He used to get a very serious look on his face and squat down to dance. So cute!

I also love these ones from Disneyland.

Someone is Having a Birthday!

My wonderfully talented scrapbooking friend, Chris, is having a birthday today! Check out Chris' blog. She has a really neat tutorial about typography. And she, of course, used lots of pictures for us visual types.

Chris has recently had some wonderful scrappy news. She has been published in various places, she was the guest designer for AMR, and she was named to the DT at The Scrappin' Supply Shack.

So, visit her blog and leave her some love. Then, have a piece of cake in honor of Chris.

A Few Tidbits

Do you ever find a good book that makes you love the author again? Well, this summer, I refound Michael Palmer. Loving his books! I own two and then this summer, Dad gave me The First Patient and The Fifth Vial. Over the last month I've also read Miracle Cure. I'm now reading Critical Judgment and The Society which I borrowed from the local library. Have I said how much I love these books? I read pretty much any genre of book, but I love thrillers and mysteries. Michael Palmer writes medical thrillers. The thing that makes his books believable, and in my opinion great, is that he writes about things that could happen to any of us. His books prey on our fears. For instance, do you ever wonder what happens to the blood when you get bloodwork? Why do they need so many vials when a drop might surfice? What if they take an extra vial for their own purpose? The Fifth Vial uses "fear" as a scenerio in the book. Check out his books! Read for yourself. I'm sure your local library will be able to borrow it for you if they don't have one in their collection. My friend, Angie, gave me this blog award a few weeks ago. Thanks! I love getting them. Funny thing is that I need to give it to 7 people. But, as my scrappal, Chris (who also got one), mentioned, everyone already has one. So, I'll give this award to everyone whose blog I read and love and any new ones that I come across.

So, I haven't been blogging as often. Well, if you didn't know, we moved a few weeks ago. Love the house, hate to unpack. School started, as well as football. Jake also starts cubscouts tonight. I started teaching a class for the CC here. Love it! But, it is a night class, so I often come home exhausted and don't get much of anything else accomplished. I've also been interviewing for FT jobs. This week, I have a second interview with the director here. Wish me luck! And, fortunately, Andy's business is picking up. Even though it is still pretty hot here, people are thinking ahead and either buying fireplaces or servicing the ones they own. I've been trying to do the alphabet POTD at the AMR board, but haven't been able to scrapbook. Maybe some day soon I will be able to scrap. I have the mojo, but not the time. Here are a few of my alphabet pictures.