Some New Projects! and Plans in the Works!

Good Morning on this very beautiful day from Long Island! The humidity level has dropped significantly, thank goodness, and it is actually cool this morning! The whole week is only going to be in the high 70's -low 80's! Yippee! In my mind, it's already Autumn! I am dying to start my Fall decorating but I'm holding off till school starts on September 7th. I have started many Fall crafts though and started shopping for my supplies for my Halloween party. If you don't remember from last year's blog, every year I hold a kids Halloween party with friends and family and have done so for more than 15 years. It's been a great part of my life and something I look forward to more than I can put into words. It's amazing how the party has transformed from a small gathering of 6 in my original kitchen back in house Bill and I had in Smithtown in 1989 to it's most extreme with 93 people back in 2003 and now to a relatively workable number of about 25 which I much prefer. The party has evolved from niece and nephews who are now approaching 30 to my Caitlin and a whole new generation of cousins, friends and people I love. Every year I do many of the same favors for the party, which I will show in future posts, but I like to add at least one each year to keep it fresh, and I happily already found one. Hint: I need red cellophane...A simple craft but so much fun for me to create and Caitlin will help me too. Even Billy, at 12, still looks to work with me on the party, and he is now running the games for me! We even created two new games this year. My neighbor's daughter who is now Billy's age said something very sweet to me a number of years ago when I was crafting for the party and had thought of retiring one of the party favors I do every year (the ghost lollipop), thinking I need to eliminate some of the old standbys. She said "It wouldn't feel like your Halloween party if things are missing." That sure showed me how much she depended on consistency besides some new additions and it meant the world to me that she would even notice or care or realize for that matter! From the mouths of babes......Well, before I go on and on about my party, which I tend to do, let me move on to what I have been doing.
Like I always say, my blogging friends are huge inspirations, and seeing blogs such as Gina's -Cat Nap Inn Primitives, is always what gets me rolling! First off is my big reveal....drum roll please...I picked up this wide -seated chair at that house my husband is working on, remember when my sister and I were rummaging in the garage? Well, it's kind of beaten, the pictures don't show the damage so well and the seat cushion was damaged and dirty and smelly :( soooooo I recovered the seat and did a redo of paint in my favorite burgundy w/black and there she is!
I also did a redo of this little pumpkin planter that I picked up at a garage sale replacing the plastic flowers with silk leaves, The pumpkin guy has the cutest face! Coming up, I plan to use these little felt farm animals for a craft. I picked them up at AC Moore about three years ago, forgot I had them, found them and have decided to either blanket stitch them to a pillow or I have been studying some Amish crafts that are pieces of material to create scenes. I can use them in that. You've seen these projects before; I actually showed one of my favorites many posts back...they are a scene inside an embroidery hoop. These farm animals were so cute I couldn't pass them up at the time and knew I would find a use for them. They have strings attached to them as if they are ornaments so I think when I bought them I thought I might make a lighted themed farm tree. I love making decorated, lighted table top trees.
My Girl Scout Daisy Troop doesn't meet until October but that didn't stop them from being creative and generous. I mentioned before how our troop is working on the service project making doggy gift bags for the dogs who responded on 9/11 to search for injured and deceased when the towers collapsed. The dogs and their handlers are being recognized for their valiant efforts. Our troop,along with many others, decorated bags filled with treats for them. They are going to be shipped to the canine units. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of their artwork before I drop the box off at Girl Scout Headquarters.

That's about if for me! Time to start my day! Hope you have a good one!