My Twilight Birthday Party!!!!

Yes, that's right! I am that much of a dork..and though I won't mention exactly how old I am (trust me..it's too old to be having a tween novel-themed party) but like I said, I'm all into Twilight and it's my Birthday... so I can "Twi" if I want to (did I mention I'm a dork?

Bad pun intended lol)

So My friend, and fellow Twigirl, Kalena and I had a joint Twilight party...(that's what friends are for, right? To share in dorkdom and have Twilight B-day parties together~ we would have never had the courage to throw one on our own..so we did it together..it was less embarassing if we did it together? maybe not..)

Between the two of us we have had way too many years of Martha Stewart Living subscriptions and with my crafty blogging..the decorations got kinda out of hand..but I loved it all!!!!

We framed favorite quotes from the books...and used satin red ribbons ala New Moon for deocrations...

Me and My Edward Cullen a.k.a Matthew, the bestest husband in the universe and all around Super hero...He loves and accepts my crazy twilight obsession...gotta love him.

Kalena's gf's brought her Edward for her birthday...well he's two-dimensional...but it was AMAZING!!! I can't even post the pics of the things that happened to him throughout the night...let's just say~ bringing a bunch of women together and giving them a safe space to share their love and devotion of all things Edward Cullen lead to some inhibitions being let loose...lol

Kalena's so damn clever! She used the cards from her Borders DVD set to make a banner for her mantle...and we set the books out to tie in the theme...

and here's me, I finally got the New Moon tshirt!!! I also got a LOAD of twilight gifts~ amazing!!! I can't wait for the movie to come out..Nov.20th!!!

and since we went everywhere begging for someone to make us a twilight cake..and no one would- (somethng about copyright laws.. I looked online and saw tons of people with twilight pics on cakes??? In NE Ohio- I guess they take copyright laws seriously as I swear the lady at the Giant Eagle bakery almost screamed at us...lol)

We decided to make twilight cupcakes.and honestly, I think they came out better than any store-bought cake!

They were Red velvet cupcakes~ with red and black dyed butter cream frosting..I got the silver glitter edible sprinkles and silver cups at Michaels...

I made the cupcake pics with popsicle sticks, some of my favorite twilight pics and little black satin bows..I loved the way they came out..and they tasted as good as they looked :)

and last but not least..the presents! We got so many neat things..and Kalena and I made each other twilight gifts...and yes, those are pics we framed and put out from our trip to the twilight convention in Chicago..We got "professional" pics with Ashely Green and Peter Facenelli (Alice and Carlisle)...at the time we were psyched, but upon receiveing them we were both too embarassed to put them out in our homes(see, we do have some boundaries...lol) so we used them for our party!!!

So, I hope I didn't embarass myself too much by posting my obsession all over the place here..I guess that's the advantage of getting older..you kinda just don't care what other peole think as much lol

I suffer from O.C.D. (Obsessive Cullen Disorder) ...I admit it.

I'm Still Around...

I liked this outoffocus picture of us best of all.

April 5, 2009.

Many of you sweethearts have written me in the last few months asking if I was okay. And here's the proof! Sorry for being so MIA.

I am alive and doing well. I don't know what happened really~ I never made a conscience decision to stop blogging.

I just sort of got burned-out crafting ...etsy sorta took over my life and I found myself totally unbalanced and not really even enjoying the things I was making~ pouring all my creativity and energy into stuff and not even really feeling good about it.

So I took a break.

And on my self-induced seclusion from all things crafty and etsy. I found myself completely taken over by a new Obsession, Twilight.

As I have read on some other crafty girls' blogs, I know alot of you have found a little slice of heaven in Edward and Bella as well.

My sweet husband and I, in the absence of crafting have found a ton of time to do stuff together. Which is awesome~ missing him was part of the issue. So instead of being holed up in my craft studio all weekend burning myself with my glue gun~ now I spend the weekends doing things with him. And I of course wanted to see Twilight~ and he of course obliged. And then I hungrily read all 4 of the books...Well, and that's all She wrote(well what Stephanie Meyer wrote) lol

I made some new girlfriends also during my time away. And I am even taking a few trips this summer to go and visit with some old girlfriends that I haven't seen in forever.

This time my friends and family has meant the most to me in these past several months. I didn't realize what a hermit I had become. I do enjoy crafting, but at heart, I am a people person. I missed having other people in my life to go out and do things with.

All the glitter, pretty vintage wallpaper and ribbon in the world can't make up for good girlfriends. I am right now in the process of moving my craft studio from upstairs to the basement...I really want the space to make a guest room. I can't believe I am packing away all my most precious craft supplies, but I am doing it with love and care. And extreme organization. I plan on crafting for me, just for me, like the good ol' days once I decide to pick up my gluegun again...it still calls to me everytime I see it.

Anyhow, just thought I would peek my head out of the blog-door and let you know what I have been up to lately...

So just a few recommendations of things that make me smile lately too....

1. Robert Pattinson~ no need for an explanation, just look.

2. Ray LaMontagne's music....

3. and a local Kent, Ohio girl~ with the voice of an angel...alt-country heaven.

Jessica Lea Mayfield

So, that's it for now.

Oh and for all of you that commented forever-ago on my New Kids on the Block post~ my friend Kelly are going to see them YET AGAIN on June 23d...I'm so freekin' excited!!!!

Catch you on the Flipside....

A Sleepy Hollow Christmas shop Update

Cottage Style Christmas Box w/ Pink Putz House and Bottle brush Tree

I have been a crafting fool since Thursday!!!!

You can't even imagine how much glitter is on my dining room floor and how many emergency runs to the craft store there were...too many to count~ and I must also apologize if any of you that live in Northeast Ohio saw a frantic woman with NO make up on~ but tons of glitter in her hair and paint on her shirt driving like a mad woman trying to make it to Michaels craft store with 5 minutes till closing, LOL!!!!

The saddest thing was~ no one at Michaels even looked at me funny~ they must be used to dealing with our kind.

Anyhoo...I got crazy-crafty for Christmas on Halloween weekend...

I made some fabulousness happen, let me tell ya, I was in serious craft mode!!!!

I made a BUNCH of stuff and my etsy shop is FULL!!!!

So Fun!!!!

Cottage Style Snow globe Collage

I made some "snow globes"...this is an idea that I have been working on for awhile. I am in love with the glass dome look after seeing so many neat apothecary jars and fun Victorian domes in Romantic Homes magazine~ so I played around with the idea for Christmas~ I think they came out super cute. Though~ any of you that have ever tried to take pictures of something with glass, you know it is a pain in the - you know where! I did my best :)

Cottage Style Shabby Chic Aqua WISH Christmas Garland

These garlands were born of necessity~ I am doing a white Christmas tree this year and I want it to be full of romantic, cottage style ornaments and garlands~ so I have been working on some things for our tree, I made some of these garlands and I loved the way they were coming out so I popped some in my etsy shop.

Cottage Style Pink Christmas Collage

Last year I joined the Pink Christmas group on flickr~ it is full of AMAZING photos of the cutest PINK Christmas crafts and decor!!! I was inspired again this year~ and made a ton of PINK stuff for Christmas~ who says we have to stick with red and green???

Cottage Style Christmas Box w/Putz House and Bottle brush Tree

I have a few of these putz house boxes that I got as a gift from my husband a few years back(I think he got em' at Target) Anyhoo~ I adore them, and I leave them out all year long.

I was lucky to find some of these little houses at Michaels this year and started playing around with them~ they were originally on jute twine~ supposed to be ornaments. I altered them and made them box-toppers. Voila'!

And last but not least....For those of you who TRULY LOVE the HOLIDAYS...

a cross-holiday tree topper

(how fitting that I made THIS on Halloween???LOL)

Cottage Style Christmas Witch Hat Tree Topper

I just love love love stuff that mixes holidays~ like a bunny holding a pumpkin bucket or a Santa dressed for 4th of July!!! Anyhoo! this is my version~ this would look so neat on a feather tree full of vintage ornaments~ I am really tickled with the way it came out.

So besides crafting like a maniac I spent Saturday hitting some local craft shows and picked up some AMAZING things for myself and of course, some Christmas shopping!!!

I can't believe it is already on it's way...and it is going to be here before we know it!!!

My mother- in- law was already asking me what our plans were for Christmas Eve~

so, yeah, it's officially here.

Have a FABULOUS CRAFTY VOTING WEEK!!!!

Shop Update and Trick or Treat

It's hard to believe that in a month Thanksgiving will be here!!!

These were part of a group of collages that I made for a custom order. I just loved

the way that they came out!

I was thinking about making some more for my etsy shop but I wasn't sure how many people

decorated for Thanksgiving. Do they ????

Thanksgiving is the one holiday we didn't do BIG at our house growing up.

It was just a day to eat (a lot!) and discuss Christmas plans with family.

Leave a comment on this post if you care to~ do you decorate for Thanksgiving???

So, I saw a woman wearing a pin like this~ but with Halloween-inspired fabrics~ So CUTE!!!

I decided

I would try and make some romantic-style versions of my own~ now available in my etsy shop!

I think these would make adorable Christmas gifts!!!

Also, I can't shake my love of vintage cowgirl themed stuff...

I have it all around my house and I just love making it...so I decided to make some

ornaments for our Christmas tree this year~ also made some for etsy :) Now available.

Back to LIFE~
Today is our 6th Wedding Anniversary!!!!

And it was trick-or treat in our neighborhood!!!

Does it get any better than that????

I had a house full of friends and family~ kind of a "Halloween Open house" it was a blast~

I hurried and snapped a pic of the table before people got here (and all the food was out!)

I just love Halloween! It looked so festive!

"I'm with Creepy"

Happy 6th!!!

More Thanksgiving collages for the custom order...the more I see em', the more I love em'!

At a garage sale this summer I bought a big box full of old trims and lace (it was THE BEST find!!!) anyhoo, in the bottom of the box was this pretty old blue floral fabric~ that is what I used for the largest layer on this Posie. Now available on etsy!

Vintage Cowgirl Award Ribbon Ornament

I just LOVE those old horse prize Fair Ribbons~ I am always trying to win them on ebay to no avail. Someday....

Anyhoo, till then I will make my own versions :)

One more posie before I go...now available on etsy.

Happy Trails...Craft On!

Welcome To Sleepy Hollow's Autumn Gathering Celebration!

Thank You to Kari a.k.a. Artsy Mama for hosting this AMAZING Autumn Gathering!

Go over to her blog and see the grand list of all the BEAUTIFUL blogs that are participating today!!!

Now on with our "Autumn Gathering" here at Sleepy Hollow Craft Company...

as many of you have read here, I am a HUGE Halloween collector(really, it's a sickness, I see orange and black ANYTHING and I have to consider buying it LOL) and FALL is by far my favorite time of year!!

I love decorating the house for Halloween..and we, I am not ashamed to say-(because I read so many Blogs that reveal many of you feel the same way about Halloween)- we get REALLY into it around here :)

I spend a day or two putting everything out and then I tweak it about everyday :)

But, just like many of you, I LOVE decorating...especially seasonal decorating!

The ritual of unwrapping tissue paper bundles to see what treasure lies within...

and then finding the perfect spot to display a treasure...it's all so FUN!!!

So...sit back with your make-believe mug of Hot mulled Apple Cider~ and let us see what Autumn has brought this year to my home...

I just love this vignette~ it has brought me many smiles this year!

The crow tree was a "borrowed" idea that I saw in a booth at the CL Fair this year.

For the life of me I can't remember the name of the store that was using it in their display, but I thought it was just too-neat!

I wanted to do a theme this year for my Halloween decorations~ usually I just go with what I love~ anything vintage or vintage-inspired~ and always CRAFTY.

But after reading about the Sweet and Sinister movement(can I call it that?) I fell in love with the romance of the black and cream...the doll heads and crows..apothecary jars full of pretty yet scary tidbits...

ooo...I just love that.

Well, I am starting out small with this theme~ and this was my BIG attempt, so no wonder I have shown this picture a bunch because I just love it.

I can't wait to Flea Market and garage sale all year long to pick up more sweet and sinister pieces so next year I can spread this "look" around a bit more...

Oh, Oh, Oh this next pic is of one of my FAVORITE Autumn surprises of ALL TIME! By one of my favorite Blogger/artists..Jenny Heid of Everyday is a Holiday!!!

I was so fortunate to have Jenny as a partner in HopHopJingleBoo's Halloween Black Cat and Pumpkin Swap a few years ago and this was one of my swap surprises that I received, I just adore it!!!

Isn't it just too FABULOUS???

And so now I want to show you my freshly painted "green" cupboard :)

Well, It's not so green anymore..I painted it a favorite Martha Stewart shade-buttermilk biscuit. And then I glue-painted old sheet music and book pages in the back~ looks pretty neat if I do say so myself.

I leave this guy full of Halloween collectibles all year round. I just can't bring myself to put these sweeties away.

Some close-ups of the little treasures I keep inside...

I have a REAL love affair going on with Nicol Sayre's All Hallow's Eve Line...this "kitty ride" is one of my Favorite pieces.

This little scarecrow is a Bethany Lowe I picked up at a gift shoppe before

I even knew who Bethany Lowe was...I cherish him. He reminds me of me and my husbands' 1st Halloween together...

I also LOVE Autumn because this is the season of my Wedding Anniversary too!

We both LOVE Autumn so much~ it was the perfect time of year to get married.

Our Anniversary is October 26th~ this Sunday :)

I love it because we trade Halloween cards and Halloween-inspired gifts in celebration of our Anniversary...these little black cat and pumpkin cars were a gift last year!!!

More Nicol...her witches make me swoon...

I also collect the Spooky Town village by Lemax (I get my pieces at Michaels craft stores). It is so magical! I really can't wait to put it out every year...and I usually just take this one down right before we put up the Christmas tree...and I make way for my Christmas village...

Village collections~another sickness LOL

And Before I leave you to join other Autumn Gatherings...one more piece from

Jenny of Everyday is a Holiday...Autumn Fabulousness!!!!

I hoped that you enjoyed my Autumn Gathering tour...

Celebrate this beautiful time of year!!!!

My Favorite things about Autumn...

the colors of changing leaves

crisp cold apples from the orchard

the smell of burning leaves

celebrating our Wedding Anniversary

having to zip up my hooded sweatshirt

decorating - goes without say :)

Apple Cider

Carving Jack-o-lanterns

Remembering Halloweens from my childhood

watching OLD scary movies

Charlie Brown's The Great Pumpkin

Candy Corn and those little candy Pumpkins

And it's the Unofficial Beginning of the Holiday Season...

Thanks again Kari for hosting this FUN party!!!!

HAPPY AUTUMN!!!!!

It's a Halloween-Party-a-Go-Go!!!

It's A Halloween Party sponsored by A Fanciful Twist!!!

Welcome to our SPOOKTACULAR HOME...

YOU'RE IN LUCK!

THE WITCH IS IN!

(PLEASE PARK ALL BROOMS AT THE DOOR!)

Walk Into My Parlor

- by Mary Howitt

"Will you walk into my parlor?"said the spider to the fly;

"Tis the prettiest little parlor that you ever did spy.

The way into my parlor is up a winding stair,

And I have many curious things to show when you are there.

""Oh no, no!" said the little fly,

"to ask me is in vain;

For who goes up your winding stair can never come down again."

PLEASE, TAKE SOME CANDY....

BUT BEWARE!!!

THERE IS DANGER AS THE CROW FLYS!!!!!

NEXT....

STOP AND TAKE A MOMENT AND

FEAST YOUR EYES ON SOME "EYE"CANDY...

GHOSTS AND GOBLINS AND BLACK CATS~ OH MY!!!!

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT!!!

On Hallowe'en the thing

you must do

Is pretend that nothing

can frighten you

An' if somethin' scares you

and you want to run

Jus' let on likeit's Hallowe'en fun.

As spirits roam the neighborhoods at night, Let loose upon the Earth till it be light...

joke break:

Do zombies eat popcorn with their fingers?

No. They eat the fingers separately.

MMMWWWAAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!

AREN'T I THE GHOSTESS WITH THE MOSTESS????

DON'T BE AFRAID OF THIS SPOOOOOKY DISPLAY...

GHOULS JUST WANT TO HAVE FUN!

LET'S SAY A CHANT!

Five Little Pumpkins
Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate.
The first one said, "Oh, my, it's getting late!
The second one said, "There are witches in the air!"
The third one said, "But I don't care!"
The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run."
The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun!"
WOO-ooh! went the wind and out went the lights.
And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

From THE RAVEN

Once upon a midnight dreary,

while I pondered weak and weary,

Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,

While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,

As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.

`'Tis some visitor,' I muttered,

`tapping at my chamber door -Only this, and nothing more.'

-Edgar Allan Poe, 1845

AND NOW, MY BOOTIFUL PARTY GUESTS...

LET'S SIT AND WATCH ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES WITH ONE OF THE MOST MAGICAL AND SPOOKTACULAR HALLOWEEN SCENES OF ALL TIME...

MEET ME IN ST.LOUIS!!!

AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT SOMETHING A LITTLE MORE

FRIGHTFUL...

WE CAN WATCH

BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN!

"OH FRANKIE!!!"

THANKS FOR ATTENDING MY LITTLE SHIN-DIG!!!

GO TO A FANCIFUL TWIST TO "ATTEND" OTHER HALLOWEEN PARTIES...

BATS ALL FOLKS!

Trojan Horses, New Finds, and Winnings!

Before I get into the meaning of the strange title to this post~

I have to first say~ the NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK concert was so so AMAZING and

SO SO Fun!!!!

The pic above is of Kelly and I at the show~ we had a great time!!

It's so weird that we look so old in this pic because I swear, I felt like we were twelve years old again LOL!

The show was so good~ they played all the songs I would ever want to hear them play~ from "Please Don't Go Girl" to new faves like "Dirty Dancing" and they ended with a super great version of "Hangin' Tough"!!! I highly recommend going to see them if they come to your city! Even if you weren't that into back Then...they have grown up ALOT and have grown musically and are super hotties too :)

They put on a great show~ and the people-watching in the lobby of the venue is priceless.

As you can see, I wore some of my old buttons~ and I gotta alot of compliments~ but I saw tons of girls in full-on 1990's NKOTB gear!!! LOL! It was awesome!!!

Kelly and I are still texting each other about how magical the night was :)

I HEART NKOTB!!!!

And so...

This might seem like a strange title for a post but OMG! what a Freekin' week...I have to tell ya!!!!

We got a "Trojan Horse" Virus(says the IT guy at my "real" job) on our old computer and it killed it in the most slow and painful way~ it was so hard to watch.

Matthew and I are both kinda web savvy but both sorta idiots when it comes to the inner-workings of one of these machines. We gave it a shot, tried to save it~ but alas we spent Tuesday night at Best Buy with Kevin, out customer service specialist, and we broke down(literally-we're broke now LOL) and got a new computer!!! Woohoo!!! And I must say it is a top-of-line beauty. So shiny and new...feels so nice.

But I gotta say there is a part of me that misses the old one~she wasn't pretty and was really noisy, but we had a comfortable working relationship~ RIP old gal.

Anyhoo~ look at ALL these new FINDS!!!!

After taking a good portion of the Summer off from our usual haunts we headed back

down to our favorite antique stores last weekend and had a blast!!!

I got a whole bunch of little things (pictured above). I was in a little stuff mood I guess.

I did manage to find this AMAZING old barbers cabinet at the Paradise Flea Market in Navarre, Ohio. And you know~ I love the Johnny Depp Sweeney Todd movie and also my great grandpa was a barber too~ so it was just meant to be. I love the old chipped white paint and the little glass window. I am going to display some special things inside.

It is a bit stinky though so I scrubbed it out this morning and it is sitting in the sun on our back porch to dry out. I think I am going to spray it with Febreeze a little later too.

I have read that is a good way to get STINK out of wood.

I have seen so many ARTSY bloggers using old baby dresses in their decor and I guess after looking at pics on their blogs and flickr sites I fell in love with the idea.

I spotted this old little girls cotton dress at the Rt.57 antique mall and just had to have it.

It is absolutely beautiful. The picture barely does it justice.

I am looking for a smaller old wooden hanger for it but for now I hung it from an adult-size wooden hanger. I love the little cabinet card hanging over it.

It has a couple condition issues~ a small green(marker?) stain and a little tear. The stain I would like to remove but I kind of find the little tear endearing~ so I am not going to mend it. Any suggestions for how to clean up the marker stain? Just a good hand washing??

Or some other product? Your suggestions would be highly appreciated as I know many of you have done this sort of thing before.

Also last weekend I painted some cabinets that I have had for a long time and always meant to paint...well, I finally did it!!! Old with the old..and in with the new...

BEFORE

AFTER

After: WHITE PIE SAFE!!!

I love it :)

I also painted this cabinet~ because of the virus I lost some of my old photos~ and I don't really have one of this guy when he was green~ but I know I posted pics of it on here a few times.

CORRECTION: click here to see the "BEFORE" of this one

I love it this creamy color~ and then I decoupaged old sheet music and papers on the inside of it~ it looks magical!

Lost and Found kit necklace

I posted a few posts ago that I had got some neat little kits from JoAnns to make jewelry~ well, this is the necklace :) It was so easy to make and it looks so pretty..I also made a little charm bracelet for my friend Kelly~ go to JoAnns and get yourself some of these ~ it is a fun FALL craft :)

And LAST but NOT Least!!!

MY FABULOUS GIVEAWAY Prize from Scrappy Jessi came yesterday!!!

Isn't all this stuff great???

She is great!!!!

Thanks Again Jessi!!!!

and...she included these YUMMY glass ice cream cone ornaments~ too cute!!!

I just LOVE THEM!

I can't wait to hang them on our Christmas tree!!!

Well~ this has been a long post!!! I felt so lost without a computer~ I felt so disconnected and I missed blogland so much!!! It feels great to be back :)

I hope everyone is having a lovely FALL weekend!!!