It's my first anniversary...blogging, that is!

It's been getting a little cooler here in sunny San Diego!  Needing a sweater to keep the morning chill off the arms is a sure sign that Fall has arrived. You can't count on the beautiful change of color in the deciduous trees, at least not anywhere close to home.   I've wanted to bake, but can't seem get away from my cleaning/purging stretch.  It's probably because I have so much to do.  But I have been doing a little hunting (bargains) and gathering (supplies to bake), so when I get sick of cleaning, I'll move on to baking.  Which brings me to my last trip to the 99 cents only store…  These cute little pumpkins were just a dollar and brighten up my front porch.  I might try to cook one so I can make the pumpkin cookies from scratch.  But if I'm not in the mood, these little ones will do until I get big ones to carve.   Don't you just love orange?&#

I'm so happy that Fall is almost here! It's pumpkin time!

  CHILD of the pure unclouded brow And dreaming eyes of wonder! Though time be fleet, and I and thou Are half a life asunder, Thy loving smile will surely hail The love-gift of a fairy-tale.   I have not seen thy sunny face, Nor heard thy silver laughter; No thought of me shall find a place In thy young life's hereafter — Enough that now thou wilt not fail To listen to my fairy-tale.   A tale begun in other days, When summer suns were glowing — A simple chime, that served to time The rhythm of our rowing — Whose echoes live in memory yet, Though envious years would say 'forget'   Come, hearken then, ere voice of dread, With bitter tidings laden, Shall summon to unwelcome bed A melancholy maiden! We are but older children, dear, Who fret to find our bedtime near.   Without, the frost, the blinding snow, The storm-wind's moody madness — Within, the firelight's ruddy glow And childhood's nest of gladness. The magic words shall hold thee fast: Thou shalt not heed the raving blast.   And though the shadow of a sigh May tremble through the story, For 'happy summer days' gone by, And vanish'd summer glory — It shall not touch with breath of bale The pleasance of our fairy-tale.   Lewis Carroll Aren't the illustrations fabulous?  I love all things

 So I got the chance to play with the Graphic 45 Hallowe'en in Wonderland paper a little more.  It is so much fun!  And as I said before, it screams to be dimensionalized!  There are just not enough hours in the day!  Isn't DJ a cutie?  I mentioned that I wanted to do some cards, so here are a couple of those as well.  Here's the first… and here's another.  I love the Manly Boys graphics! I will definitely be doing more with this paper.  It is too fun to put away for very long!  &#

I’ve never actually gone to confession, not being Catholic and not having done anything serious enough to go to my Bishop about…in recent years, at least…but I’ve seen it enough on television to know that this is what I feel like I am doing right now.  I feel the need to do penance! It has been surprisingly busy since that last post.  I’ve had visitors and I’ve been trying to get certain things done before I blog again, but I can only see this dragging on for many more days unless I get back into the habit again.  I’ve had some specific projects to do and now they are completed, I can get on with the fun stuff. A few weeks ago…not sure exactly how long – I loose track of time these days and I’m sure that my daughter will read this and tell me exactly how long ago it was.  Anyway, a while ago, Megan sent me a message regarding this cool new paper line from Graphic 45…Hallowe’en in Wonderland, which I promptly looked up on their website and oh my goodness!  It is so to die for cute!  I promptly passed the message onto Deb, who ordered it for an upcoming kit.  I, of course, couldn’t wait until her order came in, so I called Cool Scrapbook Stuff to see if Gena had ordered it – of course she

(I am trying to get everyone that comes to this blog to also visit the new justhelenscrafts blog…more ideas, less chat!  So if it doubles up for a little while, please bear with me!)  I am a fairly frugal person.  I can be kind of tight when it comes to spending money on paper crafting supplies, mostly because I already have so much that I will never use it all up…EVER!  If I can buy it at Michaels, I will use my 40% off coupon to build my stash.  But I love it when I can find something super cute that and find it in the dollar bins!  I think the key is to find it early, when they first put it into the bins, although if you don't mind using it next year, you can often find it 50% or more off after the current season is over.  But if it comes from the dollar bin, I don't mind splurging!  So this year I found this darling cupid.  On a previous trip to Tall Mouse up in Orange County, I found the little Studio G clear stamp pack that had the phrase on it.  They were a perfect match.  I don't use my chalks very much anymore, but just a little color seemed appropriate for the project.  For a finishing touch, every winged being should have a little sparkle on their