MAKE YOUR OWN OUIJA BOARD PILLOW

How fun is this? Believe it or not.... you can make this cute ouija board pillow yourself! No, really you can. It can be a bit time consuming, but it's not too difficult.

Now all you'll need is some fabric, fabric paint, paint brushes, poly-fill for stuffing, and your sewing machine.

If you think you've got some decent painting skills, take the fabric paint and recreate the design on the fabric you want to use for your pillow. The best part about this is, it's mostly lettering (you know how to print the alphabet, right?) and you can add the moon and stars.... maybe a jack o'lantern or two, and it's your own original design!

Or you can simply hop on the www and buy some fabric with the ouija board print. Either way is just fine....

Once your fabric has been washed and dried.... it's ready to go. This is where you cut it (remember to get enough fabric for the back of the pillow, too!) to the size of the pillow you want.... remember to leave about a half inch or so around all sides, for sewing.

Take the front and the back pieces you just cut, and be sure to place the design side and the back side pieces facing each other.

Once agian, make sure the front and the back sides you want to show ARE FACING EACH OTHER. This is important, if you've never sewn pillows before.... because after they're sewn together, you'll flip them right-side-out, and the pillow will be ready to stuff. (Believe it or not, when the Queen was first starting out.... I made this mistake, and actually felt quite silly, once I realized what I had done!)

Make sure both pieces are even, and run all 3 sides through your sewing machine. Once you get to the last side, this is where you flip the fabric inside out. You'll see your pillow start to take shape. Add your poly-fill stuffing, and sew the remainig side (trim off the excess fabric) to complete your pillow.

Now most people will do a fancy edge to finish it off, so you can hand stitch the last section, or run it throught the sewing machine and add a fancy trim with some lace or fabric. Take a few pieces of your scrap fabric and play with it, and see what look you like best.

The best part, when someone asks where you found this amazing pillow, you can smile and say, ""I made it!"

CAN I INTEREST ANYONE IN SOME SQUID INK PASTA FOR DINNER?

Well you just got the little monsters off to school, and you've got a busy day ahead of you, I'm sure. So, what are you planning for dinner tonight? The Queen is here to help!

If you are looking for a simple Halloween (or any night of the week) dish that makes a big statement, then you have to try this!

From what I hear, this is a favorite recipe from expert Halloween Homemaker Morticia Addams....Prepare some squid ink pasta and serve it with a simple, red sauce. (Monster marinara is my personal favorite)

Now don't fret....if you just don't have the stomach to serve up some squid ink pasta, just use black food coloring. All you need to do is, cook the pasta according to package instructions.

Then once you drain it, put it in a zip-lock bag and add a few teaspoons of food coloring. Shake it up a bit, and let it sit for a few minutes, for the color to soak in. Remove it from the bag, give the pasta a quick re-heat in the old microwave, and you're good to go!

But if you want to give it a try, you can  find Macchiaiolo Traditional Squid Ink Pasta on Amazon.com!

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!

Finally! The end of the summer will soon be upon us (thank goodness!) in a few days.

No more bright, sunny days, the smell of charcoal, and all those pesky mesquitoes! They'll all be gone... and you know what that means.... The Halloween Countdown has begun!

Only 62 more days to get ready! So let's hop on the ol' broomstick and get going, shall we?

With the Halloween season getting closer, you really need to think of creative ways to haunt your house for the big day! How fun are these wispy ghosts?

All you need is some white mesh fabric, white balloons, black acrylic paint, rubber bands, craft needles, white thread and clear fishing line.

Blow up the balloons and paint spooky faces on them with the acrylic paint, let dry. Then wrap 4 long pieces of the mesh (several different lengths to make wispy effect) around the balloon to form ghosts.

Tie rubber bands at the base of the neck, cover and secure with white yarn or thread. (secure it so it doesn't show too much)

Using the fishing line, make a knot and push through the mesh at the top (the "head" of your ghost) and hang from branch.

Then on the underside make another knot in another long piece of fish line, and push up to form the "arms" of the ghost. Repeat on the other side. Hang from tree branches.

BOO! You're done!

Today is the 13th and Jason will be grinning in his goalie mask by the light of a full moon.

And did you know? It's such a rare occurrence on the calendar, and so creepy.... that it hasn't been seen in 14 years — and will not be seen again until 2049.

In New York, the honey moon — as astronomers call it — will be unveiled at exactly 12:11 a.m. Friday, right around the time the werewolves start stirring. It will usher in a day on which some superstitious folks will be thinking twice about walking under ladders, stepping on sidewalk cracks or crossing paths with black cats.

The last time the moon was full on a Friday the 13th was Oct. 13, 2000! Wow, that's pretty amazing! (And a bit romantic too, if I must say so myself) So do make sure that you get a peek at the full moon tonight!

Wonder why you're so spooked by Friday the 13th?

LEGEND HAS IT: If 13 people sit down to dinner together, one will die within the year. The Turks so disliked the number 13 that it was practically expunged from their vocabulary (Brewer, 1894). Many cities do not have a 13th Street or a 13th Avenue. Many buildings don't have a 13th floor. If you have 13 letters in your name, you will have the devil's luck (Jack the Ripper, Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Theodore Bundy and Albert De Salvo all have 13 letters in their names). There are 13 witches in a coven.

Though no one can say for sure when and why human beings first associated the number 13 with misfortune, the superstition is assumed to be quite old, and there exist any number of theories — many of which deserve to be treated with a healthy skepticism, please note — purporting to trace its origins to antiquity and beyond.

It has been proposed, for example, that fears surrounding the number 13 are as ancient as the act of counting. Primitive man had only his 10 fingers and two feet to represent units, this explanation goes, so he could count no higher than 12. What lay beyond that — 13 — was an impenetrable mystery to our prehistoric forebears, hence an object of superstition.

Have a Frightful Friday The 13th!

WORDS OF WISDOM

Happy Friday to All!

I thought today would be a good day to pick up the old embroidery hoop, and start a new cross stitch project!

I'm always looking for cute stuff that I can frame, or put on a decorative pillow....

Now don't be intimidated.... it's really pretty easy to do.

But if you've never cross stitched before.... or don't trust your own design skills, just surf the www and you'll find lots of free templates and instructions, to all kinds of cross stitch projects!

I've even seen tutorials on line, with step-by-step video that'll teach you how to do it! Come on give it a try.... what have you got to loose?

Now this would be perfect for the kitchen, wouldn't it? It'll make 'em think twice, before they complain about what's for dinner...

PINTEREST PROJECT DAY

I looooooooooove Pinterest! So many amazing ideas out there that people just want to share, and I for one, am all about the sharing! That's what our little corner of the web is all about, after all....

My Pinterest Pal Jen sent this to me, and I thought it was a perfect for our Project Day!

DIY Aluminum Candleholders - made from sheets of decorative mesh aluminum, cut into strips. I've used this kind of mesh before with other projects, and you can usually find it and your favorite home improvement store.

You'll need a pair of wire snips, a Sharpie marker, floral wire, and a yard stick. Also a can of black (matte or gloss) spray paint.

Here's what you do:

Lay out the mesh on a flat surface.

Using the yard stick and Sharpie, measure out the amout of mesh you want to use, and draw a line where you'll need to cut. Carefully, using the snips, cut the mesh on the line you just made.

Wrap the mesh around containers, (like a soup can or vase) to figure out the size you want. Secure by twisting wire through the mesh at the top, middle and bottom of the seams.

Turn edges of wire inside and spray paint. (Two light coats seem to work best) Add candles.... Perfection!

Happy Project Day!.... And be sure to spend some time on Pinterest today, for more fab-boo-lous ideas!

A MONDAY MAKEOVER

Well, it's another dreaded Monday. You've got a long To-Do List around the house, I'm sure. And some days.... you just get tired of looking at the same old decor, am I right?

As a Halloween Homemaker, one thing you can always count on, is working some new magic on old stuff you've got laying around the house.

Not only is it recycling.... but it's giving some new life to that old décor. I love that!

Here's a great example of that. We can take those old candlesticks and make them look brand new! No foolin'....

All we need is some glossy black spray paint, some ribbon, and a few dabs of hot glue.

Spray paint the candlesticks, and let them dry completely. Then set the white candles on the top of the holder. Measure and cut the ribbon the fit around each candle. Secure with a few dabs of glue.  Then it's time to add the spiders.... using more hot glue.

As you can see, when you group them together, they make a real style statement.

It's so simple, it's scary.