.:Market Yourself Monday - Halloween:.

Happy Monday!

And Happy Halloween!

I hope you all have some spooktacular plans to celebrate this last day of October!

While I have to admit that Halloween doesn't really do it for me, it is pretty fun experiencing it with kids. We've had a lot of fun wearing our costumes as much as possible!

We did a homemade Halloween this year, but we kept it pretty simple. My three year old is really into Ariel and Disney princesses in general right now. So we went with a mermaid costume for her, red hair and all!

Original idea from Pinterest.

Not bad, eh?

And since I wanted my girls to match, my one year old got to be a dolled up, girlified Flounder. She really hated the fin on her back, so I'd have to distract her as soon as we put the shirt on so she would forget about it. I'd say she makes a pretty cute Flounder, yes? Okay, she looks a little rough. No matter what I do, her hair is always crazy.

And my husband and I went with skeleton shirts, ideas courtesy of Make It and Love It. I'm not going to lie; drawing those templates and cutting them out took a long time! But it was worth it, no?

Here's a little Halloween round up from some Halloween ideas I've shared in the past:

Bat Wing Shirts

Decorative Pumpkin

Trick or Treat Bag (original idea from Sister's Stuff)

Now, before you head out to get more candy and endure the craziness of Halloween, go ahead and link up what you've been up to lately - tutorials, crafts, recipes, giveaways, shops - just go for it!

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

.:Sponsor Sunday - Janey's Jewels:.

Time to take a peek around Janey's Jewels again!

Now that Halloween is almost over, that means it's about time for Christmas shopping to be in full effect. I sure wouldn't mind if Santa brought me a thing or two from Janey's Jewels.

I love the band on this Natural Portuguese Cut Aquamarine Ring. Stunning!

I've mentioned I've had a thing for purple lately. Isn't this Uruguayan Amethyst Purple Pendant pretty?

This Ruby and Pink Sapphire Tension Set Necklace would make a lovely addition to my jewelry collection.

I think every gal could use a pair of these White Topaz Post Earrings. Simple and classic.

That's just barely scratching the surface, so head on over to Janey's Jewels and take a look around for yourself!

.:Showcase Saturday:.

Go here to enter the Creative Carseat Designs giveaway.

What a great linky party this week! I had a really tough time narrowing it down to five ideas to feature.

Rock on!

Here's what I'm loving this week:

Eek! Witchy Jars

Hankie Dress

Bedroom Makeover

Halloween Glam Topiary

Chandelier Makeover

Be sure to grab a featured button if I showcased your idea this week!

See you back here on Monday for another par-tay!

.:Feature Friday - i---create:.

Go here to enter the Creative Carseat Designs giveaway.

Hey everyone! I blog over at i---create and I love every minute of it. On i---create, there are a variety of crafts and pictures I love. I hope you can come by and take a look! Thank you so much for having me.

here i am! :)

These clothespin flower magnets are very cute and fairly quick to make! They are great for hanging up artwork on the fridge or lockers at school. From start to finish to make 3 will take about a hour.



Here's the tutorial!

Step 1: Paint the tops of the clothespins. I had to do 3 coats of white before they were opaque.

Step 2: While the clothespins are drying, cut out 9 circles of fabric. They should be about 1 inch wide. (the cap I am using is from a large tide bottle)

Step 3: Fold the circle into quarters

Step 4: Put a dab of hot glue onto the clothespin and press the petal down. If it pops up like it did in the picture, just place a little hot glue on top of the petal and press it down.

Step 5: Repeat the petal process until there are 4 petal on the clothes pin. Next, add a second layer of petals and place them as shown in the picture.

Step 6: Make the center petal as shown in the picture and place it in the middle. Make sure you have a large portion of hot glue in the center before you place this petal. Aren't these flowers getting cute!?

Step 7: Add a magnet if you like. My magnet is from a large roll of magnetic tape. You can buy it at a craft store for under $5. Magnet dots would also work.



I hope you enjoy making these and thanks again to Sumos Sweet Stuff for having me!

P.S. Here are some more of the magnets I made. Some would say I have an obsession! :)Currently they are in my locker and they make it look super cute!

.:Review - Creative Carseat Designs:.

Have you entered the Creative Carseat Designs giveaway yet?

You'll want to if you haven't already!

Amanda was a doll and sent me some items to review.

I got a couple braided headbands, as well as three sets of flower clips - each set included one flower for each of my three girls! Talk about generous!

My oldest does pretty well leaving headbands in her hair now, and she was really excited to wear this white braided headband. I thought about adding a clip, but I really liked how it looked on its own. It is well made, and easily withstood a couple of hours of pre-school with a bunch of three year olds! That's saying something! I think it adds just a little something to her outfit without overwhelming it.

For my one year old, we tried out the flower clips. She wore this zebra clip with her zebra sweatshirt, and it couldn't have been more perfect! I got tons of compliments at all of the stores we hit that day. I love that I can clip these clips onto headbands, or just stick them directly into my ladies' hair.

Bottom line? Great quality, great selection - go enter the giveaway now!

.:Things to Try Thursday - Dyed Doilies:.

Go here to enter the Creative Carseat Designs giveaway.

I saw these dyed doilies over on minimoz last week, and I about died!

I'll admit, I haven't been on the doily craze like a lot of people have. But when I saw these, dyed to bright fun colors, and then used to embellish shirts, I fell in love. I can't wait to try this!

Go here for the tutorial.

.:Mouth-Watering Wednesday - Pumpkin Pancakes:.

Go here to enter the Creative Carseat Designs giveaway.

It's another oldie but goodie, tried and true fall recipe. Actually, you may want to stock up on pumpkin so that you can make these throughout the year. You won't be sorry you did!

These pancakes are delicious. They are moist and just heaven in your mouth.

MIX:
1 1/2 c flour
3 T sugar
1 1/2 t baking powder
3/4 t Allspice
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 T cinnamon

ADD:
1 c milk
1 c canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 t vanilla
3 T melted butter

Put them on the griddle and enjoy! I'm not a huge pecan fan, but a lot of my family likes to put chopped pecans and syrup on theirs.

It's fun to put chocolate chip faces on them, especially for kids. The chocolate chips were a great addition - I love pumpkin and chocolate together!

.:Giveaway Winner - Cait + Create:.

Ready to see who won the $20 shop credit to Cait + Create?

I might be a little jealous. And I would mind if someone used that credit to gift me the Keep Calm and Sew On sign.

Just sayin'.

Okay, if your name is

Aimee Lee

you won!

Congrats!

Send me an email at sumossweetstuff@gmail.com to claim your prize!

.:Tutorial Tuesday - Holiday Neighbor Gift:.

Go here to enter the Creative Carseat Designs giveaway.

I shared this idea on Positively Splendid a couple of weeks ago while sweet Amy was out on maternity leave with her new baby boy.

If you are looking to jump start your neighbor gifts this year, try this out!

I thought it would be great to combine some crafting with some sugary goodness. I mean, what is Christmas time without a bunch of sweets?

Let's start off with the crafty and functional part of the gift. You'll want to pick up a charger plate somewhere. I got this fun, rhinestone rimmed one at Michael's a few years ago. Use your digital cutter (or have a friend cut it for you!) to cut some sort of holiday saying in vinyl. I chose Joy. I liked the simplicity of it, and then it's not too busy on the plate. Apply the vinyl directly to the charger.

Next, you want to pick up a couple of glass mugs. These babies are from IKEA. You can again use vinyl, or if you want to do some etching, you can use my etched glasses tutorial. I went with vinyl, and cut out Hot Cocoa and applied it directly to the mugs.

Don't they look nice?

(You'll want to let people know to hand wash these only!)

While this would make a fabulous gift on it's own, it would also be fun to include some tasty holiday treats.

Enter my candy cane whoopie pies.

Not only are these delicious, but they are quite easy to make!

Here's what you need:

- 1 box chocolate cake mix

- 1/2 c oil

- 2 eggs

- Andes peppermint crunch baking bits

- 1 can frosting

- red food coloring

- peppermint extract to taste

- crushed candy canes

You'll start off making cake mix cookies. To do this, combine your cake mix, oil, and eggs. Then stir in your Andes baking bits.

Place scoops of dough on your cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes at 350.

Allow cookies to cool before continuing on!

In a bowl, scoop out your can of frosting. Mix it with red food coloring and peppermint extract to taste.

Take a cooled cookie and frost it generously. Roll the edges in crushed candy cane, and add another cookie on top to sandwich it.

Now you've got some tasty treats to deliver on that charger plate!

You could also stick some hot chocolate packets and marshmallows in your cocoa mugs before delivering your gift.

Your neighbors will thank you for the yummy goodness, as well as the plate that can serve as a plate or a decoration! Now they are set to snuggle up to watch White Christmas (best Christmas movie ever) with the Christmas tree lights on, warm mugs of hot chocolate in hand, and tasty treats to enjoy.

Linking up here:

Sugar Bee - Craft Edition

Topsy Turvy

Today's Creative Blog

Funky Polkadot Giraffe

My Craftie Life

Blue Cricket Design

Shanty 2 Chic

Someday Crafts

Seven Thirty Three

Whimsy Couture

Trendy Treehouse

Sew Much Ado

Creations By Kara

Somewhat Simple

Crystal's Craft Spot

It's Fun to Craft

Fingerprints on the Fridge

Lil' Luna

Night Owl Crafting

Fireflies and Jellybeans

504 Main

Creation Corner

Naturally Me Creations

Kojo Designs

Tip Junkie

Life In My Pj's

The Train to Crazy

Katie's Nesting Spot

What Allie's Making Now

Mommas kindacrafty

Be Different, Act Normal

A Vision to Remember

Craft Envy

A Little Lovely

I Heart Naptime

All Thingz Related

Creative Jewish Mom

Under the Table and Dreaming

Women Who Do It All

Peppermint Plum

A Glimpse Inside

Young Nester

Not Just A Housewife

The Creative Crate

Thirty Handmade Days

Oops, I Craft My Pants

The Idea Room

.:Giveaway - Creative Carseat Designs - CLOSED:.

** GIVEAWAY CLOSED **

Another giveaway?

Yes please!

I was so excited when Amanda contacted me about sponsoring a giveaway here. She created Creative Carseat Designs, and her shop is full of adorable items for babies, the main item being, of course, car seat covers! Let's hear a little bit more from Amanda.

Hey everyone! My name is Amanda and I am so excited to host a giveaway for you! I check Sumo's blog every day, and I can't believe my shop is being featured. How exciting!

Here's a little about me...My husband and I have been happily married for 6 years and we have 2 beautiful children. I am a stay at home Mommy with a crafting itch and a new-found love for sewing! I started making my car seat covers as baby gifts, and they were a hit. With lots of support and encouragement from friends and family, I decided to form Creative Carseat Designs, and to make my covers available for purchase. Plus, I have some great news! We recently added some new items to our store. We have fabric flower hair clips (in 2 sizes), braided ribbon headbands and woven ribbon headbands. Now you can coordinate all the lovely girls in your life with matching accessories! You can even order flowers/headbands to match your daughter's school uniform colors. Check out my website and online store at http://CreativeCarseatDesigns.com . We are also on Facebook, so be sure to stop by and say hi!

Please feel free to email me at Amanda@CreativeCarseatDesigns.com with any questions or comments you may have.

Thanks so much to Sumo for having us! Good luck everyone!!

Isn't she a doll?

Here are a few items from her site that I am loving:

Braided Ribbon Headbands - Love the texture, and love that they won't overwhelm an outfit, but still give it a little sass.

Bold Red Carseat Cover - This fabric is fantastic!

Green Argyle Carseat Cover - What a great color combo for a boy!

Fabric Flower Clips - Fun for accessorizing your little lady AND her car seat!

Lots of great stuff, huh?

Today, Amanda is offering one lucky reader their item of choice from her store!

Here's how you can enter to win:

(Each entry requires a separate entry).

MANDATORY

1. Visit Creative Carseat Designs and comment back with what you would choose if you won.

EXTRA

2. "Like" Creative Carseat Designs on Facebook.

3. Follow Sumo's Sweet Stuff.

This giveaway will run through Monday, October 31st at 11:59 p.m. MST. The winner will be announced on Tuesday, November 1st. It will be YOUR responsibility to check back and see if you've won.

.:Market Yourself Monday:.

Go here to enter the Cait+Create giveaway. Today is the last day to enter!

Happy Monday!

Did you have a good weekend?

Our was nice! I got some more Christmas shopping done, finished up some projects for guest spots I am doing, indulged in some Cafe Rio, and spent some time with some friends we don't see very often. Can't complain, right?

This week is looking to be pretty busy with a neighborhood Halloween playgroup, helping host a baby shower, doing a pinterest party with some friends (I'll share details after, it's going to be a blast!), Halloween storytime at the library, Boo at the Zoo...whew, I'm exhausted just thinking about it!

If you follow me on Facebook, then you know that I've been sending out the call for some help come December. Baby girl is due at the beginning of December, and I've got a month FILLED with fantastic and amazing guest posters! Seriously, the line up is incredible. I haven't scheduled anything for Sundays during the month because I wanted to have those days be giveaway days. I'm looking for businesses to donate for the giveaways. I've got a couple people on board already (awesome, thank you!), but I'd like to have some more! It doesn't have to be a big, huge, major prize, anything will do! Go ahead and send me an email if you want to help out - sumossweetstuff@gmail.com

Well, you'll have to accept my apologies. I am not sharing anything with you today, but I'll still have a little something to share tomorrow.

Really, all I wanna do today is see what YOU have been working on! Let's see it: tutorials, crafts, recipes, giveaways, shops! Be nice and link back where you can, I really do appreciate it!

Here's to a great week!

Now get linking!

PS - Another giveaway coming your way in a few hours!

.:Instead of Showcase Saturday...:.

Sorry for no Showcase Saturday today. My week has been crazy busy, and this next week is looking to be even worse! All full of good things, though.

Instead of featuring some ideas, I'd like to share a way that at least some of my local buddies can help support a family.

I used to work in the youth program for our church, which meant I got to work with the teenage girls in our neighborhood. As I mentioned on facebook and twitter earlier in the week, a girl I used to work with was killed in a tragic car accident. She was just as beautiful inside as she was outside.

Today, at the Jordan Landing Subzero, they will be donating 50% of all sales to her family to help with her funeral costs. If you are looking for a nice family outing today, why don't you go grab some ice cream and help celebrate this beautiful young woman's life? Her parents were so gracious at the viewing this morning; in fact, her mom was comforting my blubbering pregnant self. They are just good people, and it is so heartbreaking to think of losing a child ever, but especially to something so unexpected.

If you are interested in reading more about this beautiful girl, you can see her obituary here.

The Jordan Landing Subzero is located at:

7689 Jordan Landing Blvd.

West Jordan, UT

.:Feature Friday - Thrifty 101:.

Go here to enter the Cait+Create giveaway.

Hi Everyone! I'm Michelle from Thrifty 101 and I'm so excited to be guest blogging at Sumo's Sweet Stuff today!

I'm the only girl in a household of boys! (help!) I have 3 pretty cool little boys and a pretty cool husband too. :) My family and I enjoy spending time together and I LOVE finding ways to save money elsewhere so we can travel and build memories together.

I started Thrifty 101 to share money saving ideas like; DIY projects, budget crafts, furniture makeover, vacation planning on a budget, and how to get the most out of coupons and internet deals. Basically, if you can save money doing it, I blog about it. :)


Every Thursday I host the DIY Thrifty Thursday Link party where amazing DIY-ers post everything from home remodels, makeovers, sewing projects, crafts and recipes.


A few of my most popular posts are:

How to build your own Garden Box Planter tutorial

DIY Glitter Toes tutorial

Kitchen Table Makeover


My most recent project was my Bathroom Makeover:

Thank you Sumo for letting me share a little of Thrifty 101 with S3 readers!

Come see how easy it is to live the Thrifty life!