Bookshelf Facelift

A few days ago, I posted about a nifty idea I saw over at Rhoda’s site. Got a note from Rhoda that she’d stolen the idea from another blogger. It’s what we bloggers do! We re-use… we recycle… we re-invent. So I gave the bookshelf facelift a go, and here is what I ended up with - it’s not nearly as well executed as Rhoda’s. I was pretty haphazard in slapping the paper on, I must admit. Some of my close friends may be surprised by the fact that I did not even attempt to match things up and make patterns repeat. I just couldn’t be bothered!

Oh yeah, there’s a story about the cat in the first photo. I’m sitting here at the computer, shortly after I’d said goodnight to Michelle via IM, and all of the sudden, the cat went absolutely NUTS because another cat came up to the glass door where my cat was sitting. She went SO nuts that she lunged and ATTACKED the door, which was apparently - and unfortunately - not completed closed. So kitty went flying out the door after the rival cat.It is now 6 hours later, and kitty has not returned. I looked for her for about an hour, in the middle of the night. She is nowhere to be found. She’s an indoors-only cat, but she isn’t declawed, and I suspect she can defend herself. But I just don’t know where she’s off to, or if she’s hurt, etc.

I’m putting her food & water bowls outside the front door and hope that she’ll find her way back. “Wow” (my kids named her) was a Katrina rescue cat, so she’s been through much worse!

After losing a cat I had for 15 years a few years ago and then starting over with this one that’s now disappeared, I have to say that if Wow doesn’t show up, I think I’m done with cats. I am more of a dog person, and I have two of those. It’s not that I don’t like cats; they just don’t like me… or they like me too much… or they become mentally challenged.

I think a nice, calm tree frog might make a good alternative.

On with the photos!  I used 9 sheets of scrapbook paper and some sort of rolling adhesive thing that broke, twice, mid-taping (GRRRR! so then I ended up switching to craft glue).

Before & After:

Halloween Link-o-rama

Here are some pretty spooky (and easy) prop ideas for your next Halloween party or haunted house.

If you’re having trouble coming up with anything, check out 101 Halloween Ideas for inspiration.

Looking for FREE pumpking carving patterns? Look no further.

Here’s an awesome Halloween zombie prop that you can make for just 20 bucks!

Who knew there were so many different ways to make fake blood?

For the true DIYer - how to make your own tombstones.

Make a cheap, motion-activated coffin.

LED ghosts: tiny lights give a new twist to an old trick.

This is not your father’s jack-o-lantern!

If you’re looking for an alternative to cutesy pumpkin-carving this Halloween, have we got a link for you: the folks at ExtremePumpkins.com are into shocking, gross, and funny pumpkin carving designs, and they’re not afraid to show it.

They’re also into power tools, and with good reason. Have you ever tried to carve a pumpkin with one of those little plastic carving kits? I don’t know what kind of pumpkins the manufacturers of those things got their hands on, but I’ve yet to meet any pumpkin I could cut with a dull, plastic pick.

Here is what little girls use to carve a pumpkin. The small blade prevents them from spraying pumpkin guts on their plaid skirts and from spilling pumpkin seeds into their loose socks. It is OK if you want to use a little girl’s pumpkin carving set. I won’t judge you. I also won’t make fun of you for spending two hours carving a pumpkin that everyone else can do in 3 minutes using a jigsaw. Nope. I won’t say anything. Besides, this pumpkin carving set has some advantages. For example, when you are done using it, you can store all of the parts in your powerpuff girls pencil box.

Obviously, ExtremePumpkins.com is not a site for little girls. It’s pumpkin-carving for adults. (My little girl won’t be using a jigsaw any time soon, that’s for sure.)

Check out the pumpkin-carving contest winners from past years, and submit your own entry for the 2006 contest!

I would like to add a photo with this post, featuring one of the many cool jack-o-lanterns from the site, but I haven’t been able to get in contact w/the site’s owner for photo reprint permissions, and I’m not chancing it.  So go check them out!

Cannibal-themed Halloween dinner party

I remember visiting “haunted houses” as a child, and I don’t know if it was just where I lived or what, but it seemed like almost all of them had a mad scientist’s lab, and sometimes, said scientist passed around bowls of “body parts”, which we were told to touch and taste.

Dipping my hand into a bowl of Spagettios in a dark room (while someone in a lab coat and Einstein wig tells me to FEEL THE BRAINS) would probably not provide much amusement at age 34. But as an 8-year-old kid, DUDE! - it was totally cool!

If canned pasta doesn’t cut it for adults, how do you freak them out with food? Well, how about a dinner party with a menu like this:

• Icy Hands Punch, Chilled Brain Spread, and Peppered People Pate
• Alien Autopsy Shooters
• Eyes in Blood Sauce
• Brain on a Plate, and Roasted Long Pig
• Chilled, Bloody Heart

That’s what worked for the project master at imakeprojects.com, who served up a freaky feast for his Halloween party guests last year… and he details the diabolical dinner so you can try you hand at it, too!

Food and Halloween props have something in common - a large part of success is the presentation. So it’s a natural combination. For my 2005 Halloween party I hosted a creepy supper - everything was guaranteed 100% edible and tasty (in other words, 100% “real food”) but those with weak constitutions might find out just how much the presentation affects their perception of food…

Click here to check out details, recipes, and more photos of this great project for Halloween.

Photos Copyright 2006 by imakeprojects.com

My IKEA Hacks

I may have mentioned here before how much a fan I am of “the” IKEA… I may have mentioned it a lot.An IKEA-related site I stumbled upon recently has really become a favorite of mine. Jules runs the fantabulous IKEA hacker site - a blog featuring cleverly “hacked” items from IKEA. We exchanged emails recently, and I told her that I have a few hacks planned - because I do - but then I realized later that I have already hacked! Sure, these don’t compare to some of the ingenious ideas that you can find over at IKEA hacker, but they are hacks nonetheless.
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