A Marvelous Mess and Features!!!

Here's what I have been up to this past week:

Needle Felted Gnomes! Inspired by these gnomes at Laura Lee Burch.

We had some great posts this last week! Thanks so much much to all of you for linking up. Here are my fave's:

Votes for Women from Crystelle Boutique. I hope you all did your duty and made your voice heard by voting!!! So many sacrificed so much so that we all have that right. 

And, the post I'm going to feature on my sidebar is...

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting from Sweet Southern Blue. Um, Yum?!!

If I featured you in this post, this button is yours:

<br /><center> <a href="http://marvelouslymessy.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="A Marvelous Mess" src="http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad256/MarvelouslyMs/buttonbackground1-2.jpg" /></a></center> Now, on to the par-tay!

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A Marvelous Mess and Features!!!!

We spent the day with family today. Traveled an hour and a half by car to get to a remote camp in northern Maine and it was well worth the trip. Gorgeous views and the cutest little camp!!!!

My family has done a great job in renovating and redecorating this new camp. Here is one of my favorite little additions:

A simple lamp shade painted by my mother with india ink to show animals tracks you might see around. Something else my mother painted in the camp:

She's a fantastic artist!!! 

Here's the most important piece of equipment for a northern camp:

A wood stove. No doubt about it, this lady gets put to good use. Love the little rack above on the wall for drying mittens. There's a moose antler on a shelf above it as well. If you're lucky you can find those, and deer antlers in the woods. 

On our walk in the woods we were shown a recent (possible)bear markings on a tree:

After a morning and afternoon at the camp, including a long walk through the woods with a *very* happy Buddy and Chloe, we drove back in the direction of home....but instead of stopping there we went straight to the other side of the family for some nice warm dinner and dessert. Grilled salmon, a Lebanese cracked wheat dish, fresh from the garden potatoes, and green beans. Dessert was a spiced pear cake with vanilla ice cream. Yum!!!!

What did you all do this weekend????

Here are my fave's from last week:

American Teacher by Todd and Lindsay. This is a great (and very important) read. Please take the time to read about her job and consider watching the movie by Matt Damon!! Teachers are constantly overworked and underpaid in my mind. 

Pet Costumes from Creative Lady of the House. Love the ideas!!!!

Frankenstorm Frankenpatties from My Sisters Pantry.

And, the post I'm going to feature on my sidebar for a week is....

Poop Factory by Turtles and Tails. This one totally cracked me up!!!!!!!

If I featured you in this post, this button is yours:

<br /><center> <a href="http://marvelouslymessy.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="A Marvelous Mess" src="http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad256/MarvelouslyMs/buttonbackground1-2.jpg" /></a></center> Now, on to the party!!!!!!!

Paper Bag Haunted House

Here is a super quick craft that young kiddos will love. A paper bag that's been turned into a 3d haunted house!!

You'll need:

brown paper bags

brown paper

black no-slip material (found mine at the Dollar Store)

black paper (trimmed to rectangles, large triangles)

yellow paper (trimmed into rectangles, ovals, circles, etc)

black crayons

Halloween stickers

stuffing (newspaper, tissue paper, etc)

scissors

stapler

gluesticks

~Take your paper bag and lay it flat in front of you. Start glueing yellow triangles for windows, black shapes for a door. use your imagination!!

~Take the black crayon and make lines across the windows.

~Flip it over and do the same thing to the other side.

~Put some stuffing inside the paper bag and fill it near the top.

~Take same brown paper and make the shape of a roof for it. Trim out some of the no-slip material to be the same size.

~Pinch the paper bag together (like you would to fold it for a lunch bag)...instead, lay the brown paper roof over, then the black material, and staple it on.

~Add black paper shapes to be taller chimneys and roofs if you would like.

~Put some halloween stickers on that house!!

Have fun and Happy Halloween!!!!