Candlelight Cozy and Comfortingand a Thank you

This time of year just says cozy to me. We light candles all year long in our home but during the fall and holiday months we use heavier scented candles, like cinnamon, pumpkin spice, warm vanilla, etc. They smell like "home" to me. I love the mesmerizing flickering flame, the way the light dances on the various surrounding
surfaces. The scent smells like warmth, like fresh baked goods which draws you in. It's sweater weather here, now.
Stay warm and cozy.

A very special Thank you to all men and women whom have served or are serving our country.  
XO, 
Tammy

"Frosty" Submission

This is my submission for Inspiration Avenue's Weekly Challenge "Frosty". He is made of paperclay and mica chips for his snowball look. Frosty is an ornament measuring approximately 3" tall. He hangs from a heavenly piece of off white colored yarn. I just love that yarn. It is so soft.  If you would like to see the other submissions, pop over here. You can join in the weekly fun, too. All art mediums are welcome and it gets you entered into a monthly giveaway.

Swap, Winner, Giveaway

This looks like a really fun swap. It's based on the 12 days of Christmas with each artist creating 12 of one day and getting 12 different days in return. If you would like to find out more, click here.

Drum roll please...and the winner of my 100 followers celebration is Angie of Artangel! Woohoo! The Random Number Generator chose #15. If I knew how to do a screen shot I would but I tried to save the page as is and it did not work. Anyone have a simple tutorial on this? Love to know how to do it for my next giveaway. Angie, I need your address please. Email it to: tlsprinkle@yahoo.com. Congratulations!

**If you would like a chance to win a Christmas themed blog banner for the month of December, click here and follow the directions. Lulu of CoastalSisters is offering it up.**

*New* Free Image Thursday

I thought I would start giving you a free vintage image every Thursday. You can do anything you want with it just not sell the image, alone. This is Mary Margaret in the flower garden. What a sweet little girl, huh? This photo dates back to 1930. Enjoy! Oh and I would love for you to share a photo with us of anything you create using this image. It's so much fun to see others' art work.
If you want  a chance to win a pair of my earrings, click here and leave a comment on that post. 

Glue on my fingers and glitter on my face

This is the way my hands look when I am having some fun. Usually there glue, paint and stain from ink pads, to boot and then a stray string or glitter hanging on. I still don't know why I insist on keeping my nails painted my favorite shade of red. I have to redo them often.  I sometimes find glitter on my face and wonder how long I have been walking around like that. I would understand if it were you walking around like that and you me but does the average stranger understand why we have glitter on our faces and stains on our fingers? ;D

You know I just read a tip on a blog the other day and please forgive me if it was yours, because I can't remember where I saw it. The tip was that she used an old phone book to do small projects on and when the page got sticky or paint on it she just tore it out and tossed it. How clever of an idea. I use pieces of cardboard from shoe boxes, cereal boxes, shipping pkgs, etc and then recycle them if they are not too full of glue. I have a large piece about 3'x2' that I work on over and over again. Keeps the table top clean and I like seeing the colors on it. Silly, huh?

Well, I must go back to work. Stopped home for lunch. Hope you have glue on your fingers and glitter on your faces. Makes for a happy heart!

If you want a chance to win a pair of earrings, click here. Just leave a comment on that post telling me what keeps you going back to a blog.

Autumn has come to stay

Fall is here. We have leaves dancing down the streets and a crunching under foot. Piles are being scattered by happy little people jumping in them. Today was a breezy day, so I knew if I stood still long enough I could capture some falling leaves for you. The colors of the trees have mostly turned brown but there are still a few here and there that have rich colors. You know what that means...time to feather our nests. One of my favorite things to do. What do you do to make your home cozy for autumn/winter? Please share.

Hallowen night at our house

Our daughter and her boyfriend were indians. Very cute. It was only 50 degrees, though. This did not deter them, from going door to door for treats, though. I love this flag. The little gypsy and her friends are so cute! The fun paper lanterns hanging over her head are just darling. Our front porch was decked out and we had eerie music playing and a fod machine going. The kids loved it. One little girl was so excited she told us ours was the most awesome house and she wanted to come back again next Halloween, lol. We had fun handing out candy and seeing the cute little people.
If you want to enter to win a pair of earrings, go here.

HaPpY hAlLoWeEn & a Thank you Giveaway

 Time seems to be flying by these days. We will be decorating the front porch for the trick-or-treaters, today.  I love making it fun and whimsical for the little people. ;D I will take photos and tomorrow will be my last post on Halloween. Promise.

I wanted to say thank you to all of my followers. You all are so sweet to take the time to read my blog and leave warm and friendly comments. I have enjoyed meeting you through your own blogs. See when you leave me a comment, I click on your name and pay a visit to your blog to return the love.

Eye candy, tutorials, adventures and eloquent words are what draw me into your world. What draws you into a blog? What keeps you going back again and again?

My followers have reached 100! I'd say that is cause for a celebration. So to celebrate it, I am giving away this pair of earrings. They are freshwater pearls and strerling silver ear wires. Just leave a comment and let me know what keeps you going back to a blog. Next Saturday the 7th I will announce the winner which will be chosen by the Random Number Generator. Good Luck and Thank you!

Denim and Daisies is a brand new online scrapbooking store that features challenges, giveaways, wonderful kits and digital kits,as well.

"Travel" Weekly Challenge

"Travel" was this past week's Challenge at the Inspiration Avenue Blog. This is my piece. I stuffed the balloon with tissue paper before decoupaging it onto the canvas. The basket has a pocket in it to insert a photo.
 

I couldn't resist cutting out a photo of my kids and placing them in the hot air balloon basket.My daughter just rolled her eyes when she saw it. lol

Pumpkin picking and carving

12 fun projects by some wonderful artists. The online class tutorials will be up from today through February, giving plenty of time to do each one. The following is a list of the artists and there may be more added. Click  the button on my sidebar to learn how you can join in. It makes for a fun winter. 

Beth Leintz

Dawn Edmonson

Karen Watson

Karla Nathan

Lisa Madden Bass

Lori Karla

Nerissa Alford

Robin Kesner

Sandy Babb

Tammy Sprinkle

Tia Storm

We went to pick pumpkins this afternoon. It was a pretty day. Sunny and 60.

This little fellow was so darn cute pulling his wagon of pumpkins half his size. 

We went home and carved the pumpkins. **Note to self...do not buy a gourd next time. Mine is the one on the far right, supposed to be 3 bats over a bell tower. Well the skin was so thick, after breaking 2 knives on it my husband decided to go get the scroll saw to help me out. So needless to say we lost the ears and part of the wings on my bats and as you can see there is no bell in the tower. lol Oh well, we thought it was a cool pumpkin because it had bumps all over it. Well, it was not a pumpkin after all but a gourd. 

We roasted the pumpkin seeds for one hour at 250' tossing them every 15 minutes. I used Sea salt on them while they were still damp. 

Masquerading

Click on the image to be taken to the blog with a lsit of wonderful masquerade parties. Fun! Fun!

 

Great masks can be found here Lady in the tower 

 

 

Merimask is a great mask maker.

The tradition of Masquerade balls dates all the way back to Venice Italy during the 15th Century Renaissance.

Masquerade ball in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera.

There's something alluring and mysterious about a masked person. Intriguing even.

There are so many gorgeous and unusual masks to suit anyone's fancy. This shop is full of beauties.

There are even Murder Capers that host masquerade balls. 

So many masks can be found on etsy. Support Handmade buy etsy this holiday season.  This one made by effigymasks

Tomorrow the Inspiration Avenue's Weekly Challenge "Travel" will be posted for all to see. The artists submissions are wonderful and so diverse. Pop over there to see after noon EST.

Artist Classes start this Sunday

The Artist Class is beginning this Sunday, October 25th. Yay! I can't wait to get started. There are some wonderful artists with so many fun projects to keep you creating. The classes will be up and open for you to continue to work on  through February. Winter can sometimes be blah so this is one way to keep those creative juices flowin'. The cost for all 12 projects is $59. but if you use my discount code: ArtandInspiration, you will receive $10. off, making each class around $4.00. Great deal! Just think of the gifts you could have fun  making.
Anyway, you can click here to find out what the projects are and who is teaching them. I added embellishment kits to my etsy shop for anyone participating, that may not have a bunch of odds and ends to use. If you have your own goodies to use that is great. I just made these up because if you are like my mom, she likes easy. She does not like to be bothered with the details. lol She is so fun to do projects with. I love her. She makes me laugh. If there's a short cut she will find it and then encourage you to do it that way too. ;D

Help...My posting tool bar is missing

I have photos to share but the tool bar above my post here is missing. I tried clicking on Edit HTML but nothing happens and the only other option is Compose and when I click on that nothing happens, either. Waaaah!!! (Insert Lucy of I Love Lucy here) Help... Anyone else having this problem?

We have 2 WINNERS and some fun Halloween projects

Find the tutorial for these ADORABLE cat pillows here.Make these scary Spiderweb Cupcakes by following the recipe here.

Learn how to make this Treat bag tree here. Isn't it too cute!?
This lantern is spooky. You could use bats too. Learn how to make it here. It reminds me of the moon so maybe a witches silhouette on a broom would be cute, too.

We have two winnners. The Random Number Generator selected numbers 40, If the Hat fits by Jackie and 22, Karen Harvey Cox. CONGRATULATIONS, Jackie and Karen!! I will pop your BOO banners in the mail Tuesday.

Inspiration Avenue's Weekly Challenge "Pink"

This weeks challenge was to create something "Pink". It could be any type of medium. I chose decoupage. This piece would be perfect for keeping pens and pencils togeteher, Paint brushes, crafting scissors, anything you need handy on your desk or crafting table. I am listing it in our team shop, today. Please hop on over to Inspiration Avenue's Team blog to see all of the other participant's submissions. Each week we are seeing new faces and fun art. Come play with us. The more the merrier. You'll get exposure for your artwork and blog/etsy shop. This coming week's challenge is "Travel". You can use any medium you want; paint, clay, photographs, paper arts, jewelry, etc.