A Marvelous Mess!!

Howdy!

Thanks for visiting. 

My biggest project this week was showing you all how to make a Halloween Witch:

You can find that post HERE....

And, all of you were up to tons of stuff! Here is a fun one:

Peanut Butter Snickerdoodle Sandwich Cookies

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

Oooooooo, you've got to go read about Antibacterial Soap at Brown Thumb Mama.

She did a great job researching and giving reason against the use of it..... and it is totally scary.

Thanks to all of you for linking up! 

I love seeing all of those fall themed projects out there. 

This time of year is so fun!!!

Now, on to the party:

Make A Halloween Witch Craft

Here is a little treat for you..... 

I made my first Halloween Witch for my Etsy Shop and I'm going to show you how I did it!!

Here is what you need:

Black Roving

Peach Roving

Hair Color Roving

Green Roving

Brown Roving

Needle Felting Tool

Needle felting is just like sculpting. It's a total blast, but it is *not* for children..... these needle are huge an they are incredibly sharp. This craft if for ADULTS.

 ~To start, get a handful of black roving and wrap it around and around itself until it is a cylinder shape. Then use the tool to bind it together, making it kind-of candy corn shaped (tighter on the top, with a wide round base for balance). 

~Take two smaller bundles of roving and make some sleeves for the witch. Candy corn shaped again, and at the ends where the hands will be going you can use the tool to indent the a little bit. 

~Then, attach them to the rest of the outfit like this:

~Now, it's time for the head. Take a ball of peach roving and use the tool to make it head shaped. 

~Attach it onto the top of the black outfit.  

 ~Add some hair to it, leaving the face clear.

Now, you can get some green roving and make some little elf shaped shoes out of a wrapped cylinder of green roving. 

~Attach those to the bottom of the outfit, pointing out.  

 ~Out of just a little bit of roving, shape some mitten hands and attach them inside the Witch's sleeves.

~Then, you can start to work on the face. Make a small ball of peach roving for the nose and attach it to the face. Leave it kind of soft, as you can take some extra time with the tool to sculpt nostrils. 

~Next, gather up a ball of peach roving for each cheek and attach it. You can also pull out the chin to make it more pointy if the roving on the witch's face wasn't too worked. If it is, just get another bit of roving and sculpt it onto the chin. 

~We need the hat! Take some black roving and wrap it around into a cone shape. Then, with the tool, work it so that the tip is gradually pointy and that the base is wide.

~Attach it onto the head of the witch through the brim being careful not to bother any of the face. 

~Yeah, you just totally made a witch.

Now, if this looks like too much work.... feel free to go to my Etsy shop HERE and buy one that I made!!!!! 

I shared this post at the following parties (and all those listed in my tab above):
Fiber Arts Friday

The Inspiration Exchange
Between Naps On The Porch

I Need The Best Lawn Service Around

This is a sponsored post written entirely by me. All opinions in it are my own.

You remember how I moved, right?

Well, since I moved we have been renting out our place. Everything is taken care of by the rentee..... except of course, the lawn.
For some reason, we take care of the lawn. It was my grand idea. I thought, "Hey, let's just do the lawn ourselves!" Then, I tried to follow through with it.... and it has been a complete flop.  Our lawnmower is in terrible condition. It came with the house when we bought it and has been fixed numerous times. It just isn't getting any better. I feel like I'm riding on a broken tin trampoline. We feel (and hear) the effects of every bump on this mower. Soon, the leaves will be falling and we use the mower to mulch the leaves instead of gathering them up, as it's so much better for the ground (it's like making a little compost). Also, Martha Stewart told me to take care of the leaves that way. Okay, her magazine did. The problem with all that is that this mower isn't going to be able to do that!!!!

I've tried borrowing other mowers.

Remember how that turned out?

Not so well. 

Our old lawnmower went back in the shop this week and just came out today.....but traveling the distance to get to the place without the guarantee of a lawn mower that will actually mow makes it a bit daunting. We're honestly thinking it's time to hire someone who can take care of our lawn, not just the grass, but the perennials and even the outdoor water features. Now that we are renting, it really matters to us that the house looks and stays in good shape. We need to find some Lawn Connections. 

To really fix our lawn, it would be nice to work on the stone wall up front. We have a half built stone wall (I suspect it used to be a full wall, as the land was farmed for a couple hundred years, but it was taken apart) that would look lovely finished. The stonewall is in the shade, so we have some hosta's along it, but I was thinking about adding something in between each of them. Astilbe is a shade plant (I believe) that might look good. Or, daffodils..... someone told me once to plant daffodils next to hostas because they bloom first but then look kind of yucky once they are done blooming and it is then that the hosta grows big enough and covers up the daffodil leaves. 

Of course, I live in the North East. All of my choices in plants and the hows and whens of landscaping depend on the weather. If I lived in a place like Southlake Texas, my hostas would always be full. I do envy the foliage of sub tropical zones. Then again, I love the season up here. As I said earlier, the leaves are just now changing:

And, it's time for apple picking:

I love our seasons up here. I've lived out west before and it was nice.....but I missed all of the green and all of the water. When you're out west they say "river" and it looks like is a small stream. I'm used to rivers that are much bigger than that. And, that is what I could never get used to; the lack of green and blue colors around me. So, we moved back to Maine and eventually bought a house. And now I have to take care of it (even though I don't live there)..... I think it is time to find someone to take care of our lawn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!