That Thing Called Life...A Day in the Life of a Crafty Mom

Today's post is going to be in reference to some of our local area haunted attractions in North Carolina and South Carolina.  I will also try to do a post soon with some of the nation's best haunted attractions.  For now, here is a list I have put together for the Carolina's: Booger Jim's Hollow Blacksburg, S.C. Opens October 1st The Fear Farm Blacksburg, S.C. Opens October 1st Wompus Woods Cowpens, S.C, Opens September 24th Field of Scream Gaffney, S.C. Opens October 1st The Haunted Pyramids Lawndale, N.C. Opens September 23rd Bar H Haunted Hayride Boiling Springs, N.C. Opens October 14th Last but not least, the Carowinds Scarowinds spectacular event opens this weekend. Located on the N.C./S.C. border near Rock Hill and Charlotte. Know of any other local Haunted Attractions?  Feel free to share in the comments below.  Please comment as well if you have been to any of these locations and what you would recommend.  I look forward to...

We all have those Pinterest ideas that we want to try out.  Some are fails, but some are a great success.  Check out these super cute cement pumpkins my friend Amanda tried out. Plastic pumpkin pails are filled with concrete mix and then left to dry.  Once they are completely dry, you do have to cut away the plastic pail, but the result is adorable. The only catch is that they are heavy, so I would suggest making these close to the location you will be displaying them if you can.  The cost is very reasonable, especially if you buy up extra pails in the clearance section after Halloween. Otherwise you can usually find these for around a dollar each during the season.  Amanda said that one 80 pound bag of cement mix was less than $5 at our local hardware chain, and made about three pumpkins.  What you see here would cost less than $20 to make, and could be used year after year.  You could even paint these different colors and decorate them t...

These are some super cute craft and snack ideas.  For the first one, I have used medical gauze before as well.  And the cupcakes?  Love them!  I just want to know, where do you find those little sugar knife toppers? Until next time, Amy~The Dixie Diva (This is not my video, just a cute video I found on YouTube.  Please give credit where credit is due.  I would love to hear your feedback, as to whether or not you've tried any of these, or if you want to keep seeing posts like this.  But most importantly, if you like the video then please give the YouTube video creator a thumbs up and leave them a comment.)

To start off our holiday countdown, I thought I would share this cute video I just found on YouTube.  These are four great treats that require no baking.  The only pre-prep required in one is to make jello, and another you melt white chocolate.  Simple, quick and easy.  These would be perfect for a Halloween party. I love Halloween.  Possibly more than Christmas?  My friend's and family would scream "YES" to answer that question, but I really do love Christmas time as well.  Especially seeing the light decorations and listening to Christmas music.  It's so calming. Okay that's it for now.  Short, sweet and to the point. Until next time, Amy~The Dixie Diva (This is not my video, just a cute video I found on YouTube.  Please give credit where credit is due.  I would love to hear your feedback, as to whether or not you've tried any of these, or if you want to keep seeing posts like this.  But most important...

Let the countdowns begin!  I am so ready for a fun season this year.  Last year my pregnancy and complicated delivery slowed me down from doing quite as much, but now I'm ready to be back in the game!  Tomorrow I will be pulling out the Halloween décor and getting it set up.  It will be interesting this year, as my almost ten month old is in to EVERYTHING.  I may have to try that whole hanging a tree from the ceiling deal. ;-) To get the season kicked off, here are a few of my favorite ideas, Pins, and links. DIY Large Outside Halloween Spider Turkey Cupcakes Vintage Christmas I also follow along with 100 Days to Christmas on Facebook , viewing and sharing with other readers some of our favorite ideas. (Website link here .) Tomorrow I'll be posting about my month's worth of cooking in one day, including recipes.  A good start to the hectic and busy season ahead, is to get your dinner time routine simplified.  After some research, I decide...

Every year I decorate my mantle with a mix of fake and real pumpkins, spider web and other trinkets.  This year, I may have to do something a little different.  With a just crawling infant, I may have my hands full.  Right now, the front of the fireplace is where I keep her box of toys and things.  Not how I want it for the holidays.  So, in searching for new ways to express our Halloween spirit, I'll share with you some really cute and scary finds from Pinterest.   All of these can be found on my Pinterest page here , with links to their original sources.  I apologize if I am posting someone's photo that doesn't approve: please email me and I will remove asap. Keep counting down to all the holidays with me and let me know what you'd like to see! Until next time, Amy~The Dixie Diva

I'm a little late posting this, but wanted to share it anyway.  I decided to do a 13 Days of Halloween Countdown activity with my kids this year.  With the new baby coming very soon, I feel like they are getting left out of a lot of our normal Halloween activities.  Mommy just can't do as much at 8 months pregnant with a chance of going early. :-( So, after doing some searching I came up with a plan.  13 days started on the 19th.  I wrote down the dates and days, then compared to our schedule.  That allowed for easier planning.  Here's what I came up with: Sat 10/19 -Movie Marathon.  I had DVR'd all the Halloweentown's on Disney during the week so we could watch them all at once. Sun 10/20 -Decorate Sugar Cookies.  We bought a really cute kit at Wal-Mart for $6 that included 12 sugar cookies, icing and sprinkles all ready to go. Mon 10/21 -Library.  We went and picked out some Halloween books to read each night over the next week...

I cannot believe it's been since May that I wrote anything.  We've just been extremely busy and consumed with the pregnancy.  However, I have finally gotten back in the swing of things with crafts and sewing.  Here's a quick glimpse at what I've been up to.   I reorganized my crafting/sewing station.  Not sure how much longer it will work though.  I have about a 10" opening to squeeze through and the bigger the belly gets, the harder that will be to manage. Halloween dresses for sale on my Facebook page and Etsy shop. Loopy Scarves now available in school colors too! So I've been a busy little mama these past few months.  We've also been working on some home improvement ideas to get ready for our newest edition to arrive before Christmas.  I can't wait to get started making holiday outfits for my 8 year old daughter, 5 year old son and the new born baby girl when she gets here! Oh, and we also started our very f...

Happy Halloween!!     How excited were your kids this morning?  Did mentioning it's Halloween help get them moving?  It sure did for mine!  We are all looking forward to tonight.  As soon as they are home from school we will start the makeup and dress up process.  I'm just as excited as they are, this is truly my time of year!!  Finally the wind has calmed down and hopefully we won't freeze our tush's off tonight, but just in case we will be layering up under the costumes.   Oh and remember the Zombie Costume I made my daughter ?  Here's what she looks like in full costume and makeup.   I'll post some more at the end.  For now, let's talk about all that Halloween candy they will get tonight.  What do you do with all of it?  Eat it?  All of it?!  My kids end up with 2 trick or treat buckets slam full and I don't want them consuming ALL of it.  Here's what we do: 1 -INSPECT Always, alw...

I can't believe it's been a week since I got to post last!  I've been busy making necklaces and ornaments, getting ready for an upcoming craft fair, as well as photographing everything along the way for this blog. Today I want to show you a really fun and easy craft that you can make together with your kids.  But, be prepared to get messy! Mummy Pail You need: A Pail (this could be a beach bucket like I used, or an old paint can or extra Easter bucket you may have lying around) Mod Podge Paper/plastic plate Large Google Eyes Thin white cotton fabric or gauze Take the white cotton fabric and hand tear it into strips.  This creates a more "mummified" texture.  Or, you can also use a roll of cotton gauze. Take some of the Mod Podge and pour onto the plate.  Take the strips of fabric and run it through the glue. Then start wrapping it around the pail. You can also use an old paint brush to smooth on some of the g...

DIY Halloween Accent Pillow Made with Scrap Fabric.   I had a completely different idea in mind when I started this project.  My first idea came from another blog I saw, making slip covers for existing accent pillows (of course I can't find that blog anywhere now and could have sworn I pinned it.)    I started out with scrap pieces of fabric and cut various widths, 9 inches each.     Next I started lining them up on my cutting board to get a pattern.   I stitched them together length by length, 2 sets, and then stitched the widths together.   Next I folded it in half (right sides together), right on the width that I just stitched together.  I stitched the bottom, long side and half of the top side.     Clip your corners.     Grab the stuffing-mine is a polyester fiber fill.     Here is a good tip if you have never worked with this before:   Ope...

I told my husband I wanted to throw the kids a Halloween party this year.  His response: "Are you crazy??"  Well dear, yes, but that is way besides the point! I don't know why but I love party planning.  Even though when it gets down to "the day" I may be overly stressed and things will be chaotic, I still love it.  I am high strung, I realize that and embrace it.  I don't like to sit around and wait for things to happen: I make them happen.  And I can do this in a very affordable way. Here are some links to a few great Halloween party favors I wanted to share with you today.   Jack-o'-lantern Party Favors by Martha Stewart   Pumpkin Treat Bags also by Martha Stewart   Witch's Broom Treat Bags by Martha Stewart . (Yes, I'm a HUGE fan.)  Laughing Jack Cups at Free Kids Crafts   Halloween Treat Cone (HGTV ).  This would be great for any occasion, just switch up your card stock! These are just a few of my pers...