Lisa Storms

halloween eyeballs

I figure I can squeeze in one more Halloween post before the big day.  So I might as well pack it full!  This one's all about eyeballs.  They can be made so many different ways which makes them a very versatile, classic Halloween icon.

Let's start with a super quick treat.  Have you ever needed to bring something to a Halloween party, run out of time, and need something easy?  This will do the trick.  Twist open an Oreo (these are double-stuffed) and twist on a Lifesaver candy at the center with an upside-down chocolate chip or dab of frosting in the middle.  Pair them up on a dark platter and you're good to go!  Add red decorating gel to make them bloodshot if you have time to amp up the gross factor.  Tip:  Use the "empty" side of the cookie to scrap off any brown leftover on the white.   Then, of course, dip in milk and enjoy.  If you like Oreos, that is.  Which I don't.  But I'm weird.

Here are a few other eyeball projects I've done that are sprinkled around the web.  First up, turn apple prints into eyeballs like this Halloween bag I created for Better Homes & Gardens.  You don't have to make a bag (though you have to admit this one is cu-ute) ... just have the kids stamp with regular paint on black paper!

Another fun way for the kids to make eyeballs is using fingerprints like this Halloween invitation I made for Parents.

For simple, last-minute decorations, tape cardstock eyeballs to dark furniture like I've done here for Fiskars.

And one more project I couldn't help but share isn't just plain eyeballs, but instead illustrates another way eyes can be creepy.  When I was young, my grandma had a painting in her living room that seriously creeped me out.  I felt like the eyes would follow me.  This inspired me as an adult to create spooky Halloween framed photos where the eyes really *are* mischievous.  The directions for how to turn innocent photos into haunting decor can be found here at Better Homes & Gardens.

I won't ramble any further, but as you can see I love using eyeballs for Halloween!  Now that I'm getting the hang of this blogging thing, I will have much more to share soon for Thanksgiving!  I love this time of year where the holidays are lined up one after the other.  Always something fun to look forward to =).

halloween lunch

Yay!  Typepad helped me fix the things that were bugging me in my design.  Soon I will sit down and get the rest of it set up. 

But since Halloween is almost here and gone (blink), I wanted to share the kids' lunch from today.  Since my youngest is in kindergarten and only goes to school three days a week, I made their Halloween lunch a day early.  Does anyone else have fun with lunches??  I figure I am going to make them anyway, might as well enjoy it!

The coloring is kind of odd due to indoor lighting since the SUN wasn't up before they left this morning.  Who am I kidding ... I live in Oregon so the sun won't be up until May.

I made candy corn pizza, ghost yogurt, and a jack-o-lantern "cutie" orange.  For the pizza, I bought three different cheeses and placed them in circles before baking so when cut into wedges would form candy corn stripes!  Their yogurt simply has two raisins for eyes.  I like to keep things very simple.  And the pumpkin face is drawn on with my trusty Sharpie =).

I plan on sharing the kids' lunches from time-to-time in hopes that there are others out there who are on the lookout for inspiration like I am.  My goal is to share well-rounded crafty inspiration on this blog, from clothing to parties to lunches to scrapbooking to cards to home decor to anything-I-can-make-a-little-cuter-with-some-glue-or-scissors =).

While I'm at it I should share a couple more lunches I thought to actually photograph this year.  The first day of fall called for busting out the leaf cookie cutters and leaf sprinkles!

And to prove I don't alway do pizza (in fact it's pretty rare), here was their lunch on the first day of school, in star-theme.

a blog

I might be (quite) late to the game, but I have finally gotten around to starting a blog.  It will likely be a couple weeks before I will have time to play around with it (just trying to put up a super quick banner proved too difficult for me ... not sure what that line is up there).  But getting this far is a step in the right direction.  It will soon be my little place on the web...