What is it about bitchy grown women that think they are still in high school? You know who I mean, the ones that always have some kind of drama going on, the ones that belittle those around them, the ones that can't seem to have a mature relationship without it involving gossiping about others.

I call these kinds of women poison people. They are those that do not bring anything positive to a relationship and must lie to make themselves look better. I know many women like this, in fact I'm related to one. A warning to those bitchy women...be very careful lest you burn all your bridges and become a very bitter lonely old lady.

Photo Op. - Mom and the kids

I love how these pictures turned out of the kids and I. Ayla had asked if she could take a picture of me while I was sitting at the computer desk, next thing I know Matthew and Emily have come in to see what's going on and wanted to take pictures too. I grabbed the camera and tried to take pics of all of us around the chair. You can see Emily trying to hide in some of the pictures.

Let's start at the beginning...

In September I was surfing around Halloween sites looking for ideas for the tombstones I wanted to make this year. I stumbled up the Monster List of Halloween projects and caught site of some of the fences and columns that other people had put together. Some people go all out and if you're looking for great halloween projects you'll find something there.

Needless to say I convinced DH that these would be a perfect addition to our cemetary and work began. We started the wood frame using 2X4 and 1x2 lumber.






We were going to purchase brick panelling but it turns out that's hard to find...who knew! When we did find it it was to discover that it was $35 per panel and we would need two. Of course Perry thought we could build it for cheaper ourselves so we went the foam insulation route.

I first started carving the foam using an exactor knife and it was hard so I ran to Zellers and bought a butane powered heat gun that has a couple of different accessories, one of them a knife. The heat knife goes through the foam like butter...it melts it so fast so there is a bit of a learning curve.

It took me hours and hours...days of working on the foam brick that I think I was stoned from the fumes for at least a week. Good times! LOL Of course there's no picture of me working on the walls.



Clearly the first red was not the right one. We're going for realistic looking props so we really wanted the brick to match our house.

We found the gargoyles at Party Packagers and thought they would be ideal for the tops of our pillars with just a few touchups...ok so I re-painted the whole thing grey and then applied speckle spray paint. LOL They match the top "stone" perfectly.





By this point Perry was getting excited about how well they were turning out and decided that we also needed a fence to to with our pillars so he quickly threw one together using PVC pipe and 1x2 lumber. He found some whistles at Wal-mart and with a little creative altering fit them into the top of the pipe. The larger end-post skull we found at Party packagers.

Paint it all black and voila...wrought-iron fencing.




I used my new butane tool on some foam tombstones. As long as you prime the foam you can do pretty much anything to it paintwise and so I tried a couple of new techniques and I'm pleased with the way they turned out. In all the reading I did online about carving tombstones, every website recommended a dremel tool so guess what DH is getting for Christmas. LMAO!








The pirate gravestone was made using a pumpkin carving pattern that I traced with an exacto knife and chipped the white styrofoam out. I used spray paint directly on the foam which gave it an effect that looks like stone. You don't want to spray too close to the foam because the chemical in the spray paint will melt it quickly.







And Finally...some pictures of our scary house.







In hindsight there are some pictures that I would have liked to have got but of well, ya live ya learn. ;) Next year...we're working on smaller props!!

I really need to make blogging a habit. I haven't updated my blog in over a year even though I've thought about it countless times but I guess I just got busy with life...renovating the house and raising the kids seems to take a lot of my time.

I also wonder if anyone is even interested in what I have to say...I know my kids don't listen to me! ;)

Creative Scrapping becomes...

Scrappin Goddesses. A new home for a great group of ladies. Creative Scrapping is a message board where I spend a lot of time, it's my online home and I've come to really appreciate all the ladies that I've met there. There's always a kind word about a layout, a game going on or an enabler on the loose and it's a great place to hang out.


We've been anticipating the new home for us that Georgia has been working on for quite some time and tonight is the grand opening! I get to to be the first person to preview the site because I won the name game contest where we had to guess the name. The funniest part is that after I won I couldn't figure out which of my guesses was right so the name has been a surprise to me as well. If you would like to visit our new home you can find us at this site.

Happy Holidays
And Merry Christmas as well! We spent Christmas at home this year and I can't tell you how great it has been not having to drive anywhere. My in-laws came and spent Christmas eve with us so it was nice for the kids to have them here. The best part of my Christmas was my 8 year old son's excitement! I've never seen him so happy! He was up by 1:30 am and had already checked into his stocking and excitedly woke his Grandpa and told him what he had found! It must have been a very long night for him because we stayed in bed until almost 7:30 when we let him wake everyone else. Everything was over and done with shortly after 8 am! The rest of the day was spent putting the 967 piece lego castle that Santa brought DS, the Stroller for DD5 and the dollhouse for DD2.5. Why doesn't Santa bring all the toys assembled already??

Blinkin' Blinkies!

I've been all over the net looking for these things called blinkies. They are not a new craze, just one that I had never heard of before and I find that I can't stop collecting them! I've saved a tonne to my computer and have added some to my blog so that others can enjoy them as well. Got any cool ones? Send them my way!!

Today was my turn.

You know when you're out at a store without your kids you always notice other people's kids misbehaving? Secretly, aren't you thinking, oh I would never put up with that yet you feel sorry for the Mom because you can completely relate to how she's feeling. Inside I'm always thinking to myself "I'm glad mine are at home." and laughing a bit. (What does that say about me! LOL)

Today, I was that Mom. I'm sure that many felt sorry for me and there were probably just as many that thought they could have done a better job. Maybe they could have. DD2.5 decided that she was going to lay on the floor at swimming lessons and whine/cry for 20 minutes because she didn't get treats. Now this child has stamina, she can cry and cry and cry, she was never one to cry herself to sleep, she would just cry. Had we been at home she definitely would have gone to her room but at swimming lessons there's nothing I can do but grimace and bear it. I repeatedly pick her up and set her on her chair and she would get off and lay back on the floor, after a while I stopped picking her up. On the way out as we're walking by the candy machine she decides to do the noodle on me, ya know the move they do where their legs give out on them as they're holding your hand. I had to pick her up and carry her out of the building as she was screaming and crying then I made the mistake of telling her that if she didn't stop I would spank her. Of course being as vocal as she is she starts yelling that she doesn't want a spanking! She's up in her room as I'm writing this and yes, still crying.

Are you laughing yet? If it hadn't happened to me I would probabnly be laughing too! Fun times with the kids!!