A Fanciful Twist

Printable Halloween Treats

On a day where summer is trying to morph into fall, and dispositions strive to be jovial at all cost, there is only one thing a person can do...

BAKE CUPCAKES!  Of course, there is something in it for you, for being super wonderfully kind.

I made these fun lil' cupcake toppers for you.  Although, you can use them for anything at all.  You can even wear the mustache if you so wish ;)

All you have to do is download, print, and cut.  Tape them from behind to toothpicks or popsicle sticks, then slide them right into your cupcakes...

CLICK HERE for the printable PDF sheet.  (you must click on the link for the printable version)

I printed mine out on thick card stock.  I was thinking about all the different kinds of things you could do with these Halloween cutouts as I was cutting...

From gluing them onto homemade (or store bought for that matter) trick or treating bags, to using them as gift tags or window decals.  I think you will be able to find many uses for them...

I think I need to make oodles of these wicked little treats ;)

I love when the pumpkin time of the year rolls around.  Last night it was so cool here, it was unbelievable.  Pumpkin love abound...

The mornings are chillier, which I love because it inspires me to start cooking again.  We rarely turn on the stove in summer, which I miss.  Baking and creating culinary art is one of my greatest joys..

Cool mornings, hot coffee and crisp lovely potato latkes...

For my potato latkes I grate one large potato using my cheese grater.  After I have grated the entire potato, I squeeze all of the water out of the potato pieces.  I then pop the grated potato into a bowl, adding two eggs and salt.  (Have hot olive oil heating in a pan on the stove)

Take a standard patty size of the mixture in your hands, and carefully drop/slide it into your hot olive oil.  Let the latkes get golden brown and crispy on both sides.  Pop them on a plate lined with a paper towel before you serve them.  Then, serve with sour cream and jam, or ketchup and basil (one of my fave ways to have them). 

Tip: You will have unused egg mixture left over in your bowl, which you shouldn't worry about...

One potato makes 4 latkes, so you might want to use two potatoes.

Yummy yumm...

So, that's my tale for today.  I feel much better than yesterday.  I am not hanging on to any feelings from yesterday.  I learned a ton from the whole fiasco.  I am still a little noodly, but that will pass soon, I am sure...

Your words and support made a world of difference to me.  Thank you ever so much.  Truly...

Now, let's go bake some cupcakes ;) 

See you super soon!!

♥,V

ps:  I used my method for making paper flowers, which I shared with you in this tutorial, to make the black pointy doily underneath my cupcakes (above).  Oh and, I used black tissue paper...

pss:  My lovely friend Rhonda Roo is holding a peace party on her blog on the 21st.  Yes, a peace party is just what the soul needs!!  YAY!  See details here...

Harv's Appliance Service {Antique Sign Missing}

I don't like sad posts.  I don't like whining posts.  But I will burst if I don't say something about this...

Mister Lovee and I are ridiculously private people, and we never have visitors.  Ever.  We live on a safe, sleepy, dead end street. 

Yesterday we found that we were missing a huge, handmade antique sign.  As far as we know, the only people who have ever seen that sign are me, Lovee and someone who did work for us.  No one else knows this sign exists...

Luckily I took a picture of it last year, when I was thinking of hanging it in my studio.  It is huge, solid wood and heavier than heavy...

      

Sue & Jerry's Ranch Store ~ Oracle, Arizona

 {Art, Antiques & Bliss}

For years and years, I have wanted to share one of my favorite places to visit.  It is truly an amazing Arizona destination point.  A place so magical and unique, that I go there just to refuel my soul.  Of course, I can't ever leave without a few treasures.

It is the enchanting art and antique filled wonderland belonging to Sue and Jerry Parra.  They are a handsome and kind couple, who allow you to step into another place in time when you visit them.

Sue & Jerry's Trading Post.  Oracle, Az.

30 minutes north of Tucson Arizona.

Phone: (520) 896-9200

 

Jerry Parra is an unbelievable artist.  All of the metal sculptures you are about to gasp at, are made by him...  Yes, all by him.  His work astounds me every time I see it, no matter how many times I see it.

      

I love visiting with Sue and Jerry.  Sue is a beloved friend, with such a kind and nurturing soul.  She has quite the eye for the antique treasures she fills her shop with.

Right now she has a slew of German chocolate molds that made me swoon!  But before I veer, come on in for a visit.  Sue and Jerry are allowing me to be your tour guide for today ;)

 

This is a huge space, with many things to look at.  I am sharing a mere snippet of what you would see in person...

   

Mister Lovee feels that this place has a true museum quality, and I wholeheartedly agree.  The art treasures Jerry creates are enough to blow your mind...

This sculpture below is taller than the building it stands next to, and truly emits movement and life...

 

It's funny, the nooks the earth holds, with treasures untold.  There should be a television show discovering such places, if there isn't already...

Everything Jerry makes is for sale, I personally, would go bonkers if this was in my garden...

      

Imagine?  Filled with lights??  Oh me, oh my!

Or, a guardian outside my love-shack palace?  I think this should be at a hotel, although in the front garden of a home, it would guard to perfection.  Don't you think?

      

As you walk farther onto Sue and Jerry's property, you feel compelled to want to run home, grab all your belongings, and move in...

        

This little house rocks my dream-waves.  My brain wants to explode with the idea of living in this tiny house...  

It fulfills every one of my adult-childhood desires... (click on any images for ore detail)

  

Just look at it.  Bliss Sigh...

Can you see why I escape to visit this place and then lose myself in dreamscapes? 

      

Oh precious wheel, with your glorious peeling paint, how you make the wheels in my mind turn round and round...

If you feel like someone is watching you, well, you are probably right ;)  Nothing like a skelly lounging around...

      

   

I wish you could just stand right here and stare with me...

  

I was just there this past weekend, however, last month when I was there I got to dance around giant sunflowers...

      

They were gracing the front yard of one of the many buildings you will find here...

  

Beyond lovely...

 

Real flowers and metal flowers abound...

   

So, if you ever are in Southern Arizona, you might want to make sure to stop in. 

Below is the facade of the antique shop, where you will find Sue and her beautiful smiling face...

  

Dare I tell you my secret?  I love visiting a wheeled treasure that I have had my eye on for a while...

 

I just love it!  Happy Trails indeed!!

        

So you see, there are many reasons to love visiting Sue and Jerry.  You will find that their personalities match their magical place perfectly...

        

A truly special place, Sue and Jerry's Ranch Store Center...

Location:  Oracle, Arizona

Phone:  520-896-9200

Website:  JerryParra.Com 

 

~ I told Sue I was going to share her and Jerry's place here with you.  I told her how extra wonderful you all are, and how you would be just as enchanted as I about such a place...

I hope you enjoyed your wee tour ;)

 

♥,V

 

ps:  I had the most insane weekend.  I hope yours was good?  I made 3 trips back and forth into town with my SUV full to the brim.  It is so strange to say SUV.  I have had two convertibles in my past, and I used to fill them up too, with the top down ;)  (I miss my convertibles) I am making great progress on my office and other fun things to come!  I can't wait to share. 

Much Love!  ~ V

Of Spells and Incantations...

There was once a girl, who slept on a heap of leaves, in a garden filled with curious enchantments...

      

One evening, a particularly haunting moon loomed over the little secret garden...

        

The girl thought that for certain, such a moon, was sure to bring voyages through dreamscapes.  So, she cozied up, upon her heap of leaves, and drifted off to sleep...

Not soon thereafter, she felt a little flurry of butterfly kisses on her brow and nose.  She slowly opened her eyes and found herself not in her secret garden, but in a dark vast landscape that was covered with unusual trees...

And in the distance, a golden light glimmered through the trees...

 

What could it be she thought, as she peeked through shrubs in the darkness...

   

Such beautiful lights glimmered and glowed, and entranced her inquisitive spirit...

   

It looked like a wagon with canopying trees hovering above it.  Could it be?

   

She crept closer, unaware of what she might find.  She searched for a sign of people...

 

She was certain she could hear music playing.  The sound of a record turning, and song seeping through the darkness, called her name...

       

What was this place, she asked herself?  Then, she caught a glimpse of a sign...

   

How intriguing...

    

  Oh my!  The sign read "Spells, Herbs, Miracles & Magic..."

 

She thought that perhaps she should run away as fast as she could.  But it was too late...

        

She had been drawn in by...

        

Magic itself.

        

An old woman, came out from what seemed like nowhere.  She said, I know just what you need my pretty...

You need...

Love.

Quickly the girl replied, "Oh no, I don't need lo--..."

But before the girl could finish her sentence, the old woman had taken a wooden bowl, and thrown in a dash of this and a pinch of that into it. 

And just like that, a dashing man walked towards the girl, bathed in the glow of the moonlight . He took her by the hand, and twirled her in dance, without uttering a word.

      

They danced for hours and hours, and just when the girl thought she could dance no more the charming fellow vanished.  As did the old woman.

The girl was confused and tired.  She decided to find a cozy place to rest her head, just until morning.  As she was certain this was just a dream.

The next day, as the sun slowly emerged over the mountains, the girl opened her eyes.  It was then, that she realized...

 

She had not been dreaming at all.

 

She stepped out of the little bed she had slept in, and felt strange.  Quite strange indeed.  Perhaps, even more than strange...

      

She felt a bit warm, and thirsty.  Her ear itched tremendously.  Standing was quite strange also.  She tried to rub her eyes but she couldn't.  She felt as though, she had been transformed into another creature...

It was then, that she caught a glimpse of herself in a glass frame.

She was stunned beyond words.  She tried to speak, but she couldn't...

She had been turned into...

      

A dog.  

A furry friend.

What ever would she do?  She ran outside, and searched for someone.  How could she even ask for help?

 She stood outside, still shocked when...

 

I rode up on my bike.  I was looking for some herbs for a love spell of my own.  This blonde pooch came up to me, wagging her tail, running all around.

What a curious pup I thought.  And went about my business... 

Hmmm, what did this witch's apothecary shoppe have for me today??

A giant bowl of herbs straight from its own garden!  Just what I needed...

      

I put my giant wooden bowl of goods in my bike's basket and rode off...

  

As I was working on my own edible delights that would be infused with love and magic, I couldn't help but think...

      

That furry pooch at the herb stand, sure did have a human aura about her.

 

So you see, if you happen upon said wagon.  Beware.  You just might find your self tailed or even winged ;)

Have you ever met an animal, that you are certain could understand you?  That you feel has something about him or her, that is just a little unusual...

Who knows?  The creature may have had an encounter of its own with...

   

If you have a furry or winged or even a reptilian friend with a personality that exudes, do tell.  What would their human form and character be like, if they could be anyone?

My friend has a dog named Max.  I am quite certain that Max was a snobby, super fab food critic, once upon an enchanted moon... ;)

~ As you can tell, I am still playing with my potion labels (big time).  I had the most wondrous magical evening last night.  Too bad you weren't there to twirl under the moonlight with me.  It was beyond words lovely and breezy and enchanting...

But wait, I made you a silly rotten little video, so you could get a feel for the night spells.  Nevermind my deadly backwards steps at the end. 

I think I need a little more video practice.  It's the thought that counts, as they say ;)  The music was a record playing on my record player, and it wasn't playing loud.  Wild how you can hear it so vividly... (Barber Violin Concerto, second movement - Louis Kaufman )

 

See you soooon!  And, super duper thanks for being so much fun!

♥, V

ps:  I hope you know that this is just a bunch of nonsense going on in my front yard.  I am not really casting spells and such.  ;)

pss:  Lots of Halloween treats in my shoppe...

psss:  A bit of Mad Tea Party 2008 Love.  I love those memories!