Peppermint Bark Snowflakes

I fell in love with this pretty way to make peppermint bark with a snowflake mold. I saw the idea on Pinterest, of course.



So I set out to make mine this year using the Wilton Bite Size Snowflakes silicone mold.


I like how they came out. The Wilton mold I found was a little less detailed than the pretty ones I saw on Pinterest, but I'm happy with them. For the larger ones in the center of the bags, I used a regular snowflake cookie cutter, placed on parchment paper. Here they are, all wrapped and ready to go to my husband's office, the neighbor's house, the mailman, and anyone on our list that deserves a special-something at Christmas.

HoliDaze

Our family has always loved halloween. The kids were really looking forward to it this year, because we are in a big, family-friendly neighborhood now. Rumor was that we would get over 200 trick-or-treaters, a neighbor up the street would offer hayrides to the kids, and there was a special house that gave out humongous candy bars.

Unfortunately we were the victims of storm Alfred here in the northeast. On Saturday night before Halloween (which was Monday) we got a very heavy, wet snow that wreaked havoc on the trees that were still covered in leaves. So many trees fell and caused damage to power lines- over 800,000 people lost power here in Connecticut alone. And to think, we were some of the lucky ones that got power back after six days. My friend just a mile away suffered on for eight days.

This is my pumpkin on my front step at the beginning of the storm. I love it- I bought it a few years ago in our old town. It is made out of a recycled propane tank. It's heavy and it can't be smashed!

Here is the morning after, and what was left of a pretty dogwood tree in our front yard. The whole tree is lost now. So sad. I'm not going to cry over this one, though- dogwood trees make an awful mess in the Spring.

The kids ended up losing 4 days of school, and halloween was cancelled. So many power lines were down in our neighborhood that it wasn't safe for trick-or-treating. We slept by the fireplace in the living room all week, kept our food in coolers covered with snow, and cooked as much as we could on the grill before the food spoiled in the thaw. We all became characters from "Little House on the Prairie" and told funny stories by candlelight at night.

Over a week later, we've put that sad holiday behind us and we're looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. I've put all of my halloween decorations away in hopes that next year they will be enjoyed a little more!

I've been busy getting some new holiday items listed in my Etsy shop. I missed having power for six days- I couldn't make much of anything, and I was having withdrawals!

I hope everyone else had a nice Halloween. I'm enjoying a quiet week before I start thinking about holiday baking and Christmas shopping next week.

Hello Kitty!

Here's a Hello Kitty bouquet listed on Etsy. The last one I made lasted only about an hour before it was purchased, so if you want this one, go grab it quickly!

October 19 Giveaway!

Click "like" on my post over on Facebook today, and your name will be put into a drawing for a free wool felt flower from my Etsy shop...pick one, any one. If you are the lucky giveaway winner, you can choose your flower to be placed on a clip or headband, or even a pin brooch, ladies!

So go here and click "like".
Ladybug Bowtique on Facebook

And then go visit my shop on Etsy and decide what flower you might choose if you are the winner!

I'll choose the winner tonight at 8:00 EST.

I love horses. And purple.

I've neglected blog posts, I know. Here's why. 1. Soccer. 2. Soccer. 3. Soccer. We are on the other side of town at the soccer fields 7 days a week. Sara is on a rec team and a travel team, Adam is on a rec team, and Julia is on a rec/travel team. That means practices Monday through Friday, and three to five games on the weekends.

I don't know what we'll do when November comes- I wonder if I'll be bored to death!? As busy as we are, I wouldn't change a thing. We enjoy being out on the fields in the cooler weather.


I had Julia in mind when I made this bouquet. She loves horses, and she loves purple. So I combined the two into a bouquet. Now I have to hide it, because she'll surely want it for her room when she gets home from school! It's available on Etsy, and ready to ship. :)

Pretty in Pink

Summer vacation is coming to a close...this is our last week off before the kids go back to school on Monday the 29th. It has been such a fun summer visiting friends, traveling to Cape Cod and Maine, and some trips to MA and NH. Fall brings us routine, but too much of it. We are bracing ourselves for a full schedule of soccer, with all three kids playing again. On top of karate, girl scouts, etc, etc, etc.

I'll be back in the swing of things next week with new fall designs as well. But in the meantime, this might be my favorite set of clips- so pretty in pink with cotton crochet flowers. Am I too old to wear these?

Pink Ladybug

Here's a pretty custom bouquet I made for a customer with a ladybug theme in green and pink. I never get tired of this color combination.