Halloween fun project!

 

This week I got an idea for a Halloween banner. I found some fun ghost templates and printed them out on card stock. I left them uncut until I painted them, to save on mess. I used glow in the dark acrylic pain and brushed 3 coats on them. When dry, I added the faces and then cut them out. Simple and fun to do.

I used yarn and threaded it through the tops of the ghosts until I covered the area, I was using.

And this is how they look in the dark. And this is where you can find the templates. 

Last weekend we took the boys to the orchard to pick apples. It is always more fun with the boys.

I let Nick have his own bag, he loves apples. Alex wasn't in a good mood and he wanted a pumpkin, so I let him pick his own and he was much happier after that. 

Another day we got to walk on a new path. The path goes by a camp and has a path along the fence line. It also goes along a beach area. 

It is a beautiful area, very quiet and I could see the lighthouse on the island, a new perspective.

At the end we spotted a few fishermen, braving the surf.

Last night I was hoping to see a bit of the lights from the Aurora. I didn't expect it to be so bright and so beautiful, it was mesmerizing and I could see it in all directions from my porch. This is one of the photos I captured, with my iPhone.

And another with a different hue.

Today we got to camp. As usual it was windy, very windy. Since I seem to have caught something else, I am taking it easy, no biking or paddling. We went to the fishing area to see the sunset tonight, something we can do from the car or the hill, without walking too much. The clouds turned the sky into beautiful hues of yellows to red.

Looking to the light, the sun cast a reddish glow. Luckily we got a waterfront spot so I can enjoy relaxing and enjoying the views. I did bring some sewing so I can work on that. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Friday Finish and Fun!

 This has been a whirlwind week, with the extra days Bill took for the holiday, we have been going more than usual and I only had a few days to catch up before the weekend is here again. I have been working on my hand quilting, for my Christmas stockings and making good progress, but I wanted to make something quick for fun.

I use regular pillows for my back on the couch and decided to make up some quick halloween covers. They are simple to make and fun for a little change. A great way to whittle down my stash. This is fabric a friend sent me and perfect for halloween.

One good thing is, Connecticut has no hunting on Sundays, so it was the perfect day for a hike. We went to a preserve that has five waterfalls and walks along a river. The bad thing was, with the drought, the smaller falls were mostly dried up. It was a nice hike, but a lot a hills, so I got a good workout.

They also had a Fairy Trail, lots of makeshift houses but winds and weather beat them down to the ground. They did have fun, carved animals along the way.

Along the river, were pops of color.

On the way home, we stopped to enjoy some local views.

On Sunday we spent the afternoon with the boys. We took them to the owl sanctuary, a wonderful place to walk and explore. We found a baby snake under a log.

It's a great place to let boys get out their energy, lots of trails to explore and rocks to climb.

We enjoyed one day at the beach. Our weird find was a bowl that looks like something from a restaurant, or maybe it fell off one the the cruise ships, across the bay.

Tomorrow is photo day for the kids. They have me take photos that they can use for Christmas cards and send to family. I hope everyone had a good week and enjoy the weekend ahead. Hopefully I can relax and catch up on blogs this weekend.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I got the stitchery of the month, from Kathy Schmitz, so of course I had to make that. I decided to make myself a pillow to enjoy for the season. I love how it came out, but it really clashes with my primitive pieces, so not sure if I want to stain it darker.

Last weekend we spent a day at the ocean. We still had winds from the hurricanes, so the waves were up at the lighthouse area.

This week, Bill took a couple of days off for a long weekend. We had plans to head to New Hampshire and a friend said we could park  our rv at the house is is Renovating. But, I had a bad spell this week and it took a few days to recover, so I didn't have the time to get everything ready. So, we decided to do some trips from home.

We headed to the Airline trail In Connecticut, along the Salmon River. Along the way I stopped for a few foliage photos, lots of colors popping in some areas.

The trail was really nice to ride and I was able to do over 7 miles. Just a few gradual slopes, and nicely graded trails, that ran along wooded paths and waterways.

At the pond, we stopped to watch a Heron, when he caught a snake for lunch.

Today we went up to another part of the trail and started in Willimantic. The trail starts along the railroad and runs past the river and into the woods. We only did 5 miles today. Bill forgot my juice drink at home and the food in the car, so I had nothing but water and my energy died out. It was still a nice ride though.

On the way home we stopped at the apple orchard and filled another bag. On the way back, we stopped at Lantern Hill and hiked up to the first ledge, always a nice view. A long the way back, we pass several farms. Tomorrow we may take a break to get some things done and maybe a few hours at the beach. The weather will be cooling down again, so perfect days for hiking or biking. I hope everyone has a nice holiday weekend and enjoy getting out and finding new places to enjoy, in your area.

Friday Finish!

 I am still working on finishing my two quilts, but almost there, just the binding left. I decided to take a break and try an idea I had. I was thinking of making penny ornaments with needle felting and fill them with balsam. Not so sure they will work with balsam, it might fall out and what I had thought in my head, didn't quite work out, a bit cutesy. I tried to put too much in a small space and didn't have enough room for detail. But, it was fun to do and helps me to decide on what to try next.

Last weekend we spent a day with the boys. On the way to the farm, I remembered the alpaca farm had an event for the weekend, so we stopped there first. The boys loved seeing the alpacas and I got myself a few bags of wool felt, from the alpacas.

Nick got to try out weaving on a loom, he loved it.

Then we went to the apple farm, always a fun place for the boys.

The boys got their own bag to pick and take home. Nick loves apples and Alex enjoyed helping him by picking out of a few of his own.

On the way home we stopped at the mill. Next month they will open for demonstrations, so we will go back.

The boys had fun exploring.

Sunday we decided to go  to Groton, Connecticut. We stopped at the point and enjoyed watching the boats and ferries.  Then we went for a walk at the boardwalk that follows the river. It was a nice walk without crowds.

We also spent some time at the beach this week. So much nicer without the crowds, even though it can get a bit chilly. Today I found some nice treasures, a piece of pottery and the top of a red glass bottle, probably from an old perfume bottle. 

I hope you are all doing well and safe from teh storms that have come through. We are getting the rains tomorrow, so a good day to stay in and finish my quilts. 

Friday Finish and wanderings!

This week I tried a stitchery from a free painting design at Deco Art. I modified it a bit so it fit into a smaller square, since it is something I will give away as part of my DSmiles4miles group on facebook. The material was horrid to work on and the photo makes it look, even worse.

I think it is a fun design to give to people during the holidays, we can all use a smile. It is a painting on wood, so I maybe see if I can find some mini wood pieces and paint some, It is a fun design and easy to do, even if  you are not a painter. It could also be adapted by making the bird with applique, which I will try too.

We also got an extra day this week, since my husband had to work on Sunday. I picked Tuesday since the weatherman said it wasn't going to rain. It didn't rain but it misted all day, so it was damp and wet and we got out for a ride, but most visits to places had to be quick, so we couldn't enjoy any long walks.

One place I had seen online was Pumpkin town, we took a little detour and I got a few shots from the road. It wasn't worth going in, since it was too wet, but it would be a fun place to take the boys, next year.

This guy was hitch hiking on the side of the road.

We were lucky that the mist stopped long enough to visit the falls. I found a new function on my camera, so I was able to take a nice photo with a smooth look to the falls. It was gorgeous and the area was surrounded by color, but too wet to hike up the hill to the view point.

And no visit to the park would be complete without a photo at the covered bridge.

I got photos of churches and grave yard stones along the way and our last stop was the castle. I really wanted to see the views from above the river and the castle would give me some cover from the mist. Well, it was closed for repairs, so no castle this time. We went down to the ferry landing and watched the ferry go back and forth, this one is fast and always on the move, since it is easier than driving to a bridge area.

I thought it was fun that they decorated the area.

Tomorrow we are going to try another ride, this time going down the coast to an old coastal town, then up river and back across, and hopefully the castle will be open. I plan out our route online and look for interesting things along the way. So, a few old cemeteries, ocean views and hopefully some eagles along the river. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and made it through the last storm without damage.

This is what I woke  up to, but at least no trees fell this time. Bill had started putting up new sides and they made it through, but all the old ones are gone.

Friday Finish!

I have decided that if I want to get things done by Christmas, I better start now. I know I will never finish all the projects I would like to do, but hopefully a few of them. I also start making gifts, so it is good to get started early.

I received the new issue of Primitive Quilts and Projects and I loved Tonya's of Mad Hen Primitives, rug pattern and decided to do it in punch needle. It was fun to do and I was able to use up scraps, on most of it. I also used Lopi wool yarn on his beard in a higher height. I separated the strands to get a smaller piece for punching, it is white with gray flecks. I wish the colors and antiquing showed up better.

I received a nice surprise in the mail this week. Brenda from Rusty Thimble sent me two beautiful, velvet pumpkins. The stems on top, are real pumpkin stems, I love them. She has been making new things again, so hopefully she will have her Etsy store, up and running soon.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I am hoping to go exploring again and find more foliage in the upper areas of Connecticut.

Friday Finishes!

This week I was able to work on a few fall pieces. I got last years issues from Punch Needle and Primitive Stitchery. It is nice that you can get back issues at a reduced cost and be able to store them on my computer, instead of finding new spaces for magazines. And I don't have to dust them.

One of the patterns I liked was by Teresa Kogut. This was a fun and simple piece to do and I could use up some scraps. I wish I could figure out how to get better photos, this one I like more in person, than the photo. I did antique it, so it is with brighter colors, but all dulled down with walnut stain.

Another piece I made was a stitchery with a design by Kelley Belfast. I joined a new facebook group called Uncounted Cross stitch. Perfect for someone like me, who cannot count tiny stitches. I traced the design on with a washable marker and filled in, the best that I could. I missed a few holes, and I know I went over the same stitches in some places, but it was fun to try and relaxing, since I didn't have to be perfect.

I made black facial features and realized I couldn't make a black cat, so I did white around the face and then ended up using a dark shade, so that is why he has a weird face, lol. This was on 32 count, I think if I do it again, I will use a 14 count.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Last weekend we did get out, but the foliage isn't peaking yet. We did get to see a bit of color and explored some new areas for fun. Hopefully we can get further out this weekend and find some foliage.

I also love to find old towns with mills and churches, so I will be on the hunt for some new towns, we haven't been in. I also need to remember not to move when I press the shutter, my photos always come out crooked and it makes it tough when I am doing close ups of churches.

Weekend Wanderings!

We had a beautiful weekend for getting out, so we took advantage of the weather and the lower tide. We spent a few hours at the beach on Saturday and of course I was happy I found more glass this time. There were other collectors who had gotten there earlier, but they tend to look for glass that is at the shore, I went for the rock piles and found a lot, hidden under the pebble beds.

And while we were there, we spotted about 100 sailboats coming toward us. I found out that it is an annual charity event, that was started after 911. They do it every year and the money goes to local charities, one is for sailing lessons, for wounded warriors and a kid's sailing program.

On Sunday, I was still feeling sick, but the boys wanted to go out, how could I say no. The plan was to take them to the park for a short walk and some time at the playground. But, Bill went by the exit and we ended up at the beach. I am glad he messed up, the weather was so warm, I wished I had put on my suit. But, we still got wet with the crashing waves. Nick enjoyed playing in the sand an all Alex wanted to do was stand in the water and have the waves hit him, I loved seeing him playing and laughing so much.

We finished the day with a trip back to the playground and then we took them to the farm for some ice cream. They have a play area for the kids with a giant sand pile for them to play on. They also had great displays outside and in a barn, for picture taking. Of course no one could sit still long enough for a nice porttrait photo.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I seem to have over done it, so I crashed today. Some housework got done and lots of sewing on my quilt.