Dry Erase Calendar

I have printed calendars but I tend to change things all the time so I decided that a dry erase calendar would be easier.  I didn't want to spend the money on one though and I wanted it to be large enough to do two months at a time so I made my own using an extra dry erase board that we already had.

Shredded Pork Tacos

We love Mexican food around here and this recipe was an instant favorite!  Full of flavor without being too spicy and it is really easy to make.  I often make a double batch and we happily eat the leftovers for days.  :)

Candy Cane Kiss Cookies

Alright, I think I am done with eggnog recipes for the year.  Time to move on to candy canes!  :)  Last week I made our usual White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge and I was still hungry for some candy cane flavor so I decided to try out these Candy Cane Kiss Cookies.  I have been wanting to try them for awhile now but I always eat all of the kisses before I have a chance to make the cookies!  

Fleece Blanket with Blanket Stitch Tutorial

One of my favorite things about winter is snuggling up underneath a cozy fleece blanket.  Not only is it comfy for a lazy evening of tv watching but with a cost of around $10/each it is a lot cheaper than cranking up the heater!  I picked up this Christmas fleece because I thought it was really cute then we all loved it so much that I ended up making two more in colors that we can use all winter.  

Frosted Glass Candleholders

These were inspired by Bliss Images and Beyond and were a really easy way to add a pretty glow to our "mantle".  I already had everything on hand which was a great bonus!

Eggnog Sugar Cookies with Eggnog Cream Cheese Frosting

You might have already figured out that I have a thing for eggnog.  First with the Eggnog Cheesecake and last week with the Eggnog Truffles - I just can't get enough of it!  So I came up with this recipe and I am in love with it.  This one also doesn't use any actual eggnog which means you can enjoy it year-round.

Word Search Wrapping Paper

My husband originally sent me the idea for this word search wrapping paper that he saw here.  I couldn't find anywhere to buy or download it though.  Besides, the other one was for all holidays and I wanted one that was just Christmas themed.  

So I made my own and I'm sharing it with you!  Just right click and save the image below then print out as many as you need to wrap your gift.  

I've Got You Under My Skin...

I don't know why but every time I think of surgery that song pops into my head.  Weird.  My surgery went well and I want to thank you all for your prayers and kind words.  You have no idea how much it means to me.  It turns out that I don't have Endometriosis which is great since that would be a long battle.  They found a couple of ovarian cysts that had to be removed though.  I'm sure that is way too much information for some of you but it always drives me crazy when bloggers give you just enough of the story to make you curious then are vague on the details leaving you wondering what actually happened.  So there ya go.

This has been a long, drawn out ordeal and I am really happy that they finally figured out what was wrong.  Now we are praying that this will take care of everything and that there isn't anything else wrong.  It would be really nice to be done with doctors for awhile.  

Is It Too Late To Be Good?

"Dear Santa, Is it too late to be good?"  Sounds like a letter that my son would write.  Actually it's probably more like my husband!  I used my Silhouette for this one too.  Sorry for those who don't have one.  I swear this is the last Christmas project I will be using it for.  :)

Candy Swirl Garland

I have been wanting to make a candy swirl garland for awhile now and it gave me a reason to finally use my Silhouette for a project!  To be honest, I hate learning new software and the Silhouette scared me a little bit which is why it took me so long.  I messed up a few times and actually cut straight through the cutting mat at one point. :(  I'm getting the hang of it though and I can't wait to find more ways to use it!

Eggnog Truffles

These are SO good!  Seriously.  Just looking at the photo makes me what to whip up another batch.  The nice part is that while they taste just like eggnog - they don't actually have any eggnog in them.  Which means you can make them any time of year.  :)  

Snowman Fridge

I haven't had a chance to finish up any of my Christmas tutorials yet so today's project is a quick one.  It took literally two minutes!  Introducing our Frosty The Snowman fridge:  

Chicken Fried Pork Chops

My husband and I like turkey when it is cooked in something but we aren't big fans of plain roasted turkey.  Since our nearest family is eight hours away Thanksgiving is usually just the three of us so we don't really have a reason to stick with the traditional turkey.  The first few years we made ham but the last couple of years we went with chicken fried pork chops and they perfectly compliment the other traditional Thanksgiving sides!

Whipped Potatoes

This recipe is actually one that my husband, Shelby, came up with!  He has been making these for family gatherings for years now and I finally got him to measure things out and write it down so that I could share this deliciousness with you.  :)  They are basically mashed potatoes but so much fluffier and creamier.

Guest Post from Space 46

Hi Polish The Stars readers, I’m My. My home is over at Space 46, which I recently started to express my love and passion for crafts and decors. I am very excited to be here today to introduce myself and my blog and to share with you a couple of my first projects as a newbie DIYer . You probably already know this. Crafting is so addicting, and the joy of completing a project is way beyond imagination. Especially when someone stops by and leaves a sweet comment, it means the world to me. So I hope to see you soon over at Space 46 . Happy holiday to you and your family! 

If you love turquoise and jewelry, you will love this jewelry storage solution that I came up with to display my long necklaces and to store a few of my bracelets.  Super easy!  No elbow grease needed!

Kool-Aid Wallet

Yes, I am 28-years-old and I carry a Kool-Aid wallet.  What about it?  :)  I started making these about ten years ago but back then I was using packing tape and they didn't look as good and weren't very durable.  Recently I decided to reinvent them with some clear vinyl and I am really happy with the results!  

They are a lot of fun and you can make them super girly or appropriate for the guys in your life just by picking a different colored kool-aid packet.  These wallets cost less than $2 each to make which is always my favorite part of a project!

22 Awesome Pumpkin Recipes

I am a huge fan of pumpkin recipes and thanks to blogging and pinterest, I have accumulated a large collection of recipes that I want to try.  Unfortunately I don't have the time to try all of them and even if I did, my husband and I would probably end up weighing five hundred pounds.  I still wanted to share them with you all though and if you try any of them I would love to hear what you thought of it so I know whether or not it is worth trying.   :)

First up are a few from my own blog in case you missed them.  These are our tried and true favorites so I can personally vouch for their deliciousness!

Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes by Polish The Stars

Decor Hacks

I recently came across an amazing site!  I'm sure most of you discovered it a long time ago but in case you haven't, let me introduce you to Decor Hacks.  As soon as I opened up their page I was in love and spent over an hour browsing their archives.  I just love how everything is so bright, colorful and FUN!  Most of the ideas are a bit too crazy for our house since we will be putting it on the market next year but I will definitely try some of these projects in our next house!

Some of my favorites are the unusual (and inexpensive!) floor treatments:

Rainbow Stripe Floor

This would be so fun in a game room and you can use any color scheme you want.

Slow-Cooker Chicken & Dumplings

A nice hot bowl of Chicken and Dumplings is the perfect comfort food on a chilly fall evening.  This recipe was super easy and delicious; even my picky five-year-old loved it!  

Lone Star Steak House Cheese Fries

I love the Amarillo Cheese Fries from Lone Star Steak House but we don't get to eat there very often so I came up with my own recipe. I think it is just as good as the original - if not better!

Flesh Eating Zombies

Shelby found this cheerleader costume when we were at Goodwill and I reluctantly agreed to wear it but only if I was a flesh eating zombie cheerleader.  :)

Halloween Party Food

Our Halloween party on Friday was a lot of fun!  It resulted in some property damage which surprisingly enough was not caused by drunk people but instead was the result of a couple of malfunctioning props and the three dogs that we had in the house.  It's not a party without some property damage though, right?  Lol!  Attendance was a little low due to the world series but we still had a great time and partied until 2am...well I guess it was around 10am if you count our overnight guest.  :)  You know it's a good party when someone drives 3 1/2 hours to attend!

I'll get to the costumes and some of the last minute decor tomorrow.  Today's post is all about the food.

Everyday Should Pop!

If you are a big cake pop fan, you should check out Everyday Should Pop!  They say that nationally each day is recognized for something and Everyday Should Pop comes up with a themed cake pop to match each of these "special" occasions.  Check out their Halloween themed cake pops:

Spider Cake Pops

The Mad Scientist's Room

The Mad Scientist's Room is coming along!  Here is what we have so far:

Mad Scientist Specimen Jars

The bookcase in the living room is where the mad scientist keeps all of his specimens and chemicals.  It still needs a little work but it is coming along.  I hung one of my creepy canvas prints above the bookcase and placed the worm hole generator beneath it...

Brooklyn Limestone

Another amazing source of Halloween inspiration is Brooklyn Limestone.  A few weeks ago I contacted "Mrs. Limestone" and asked if she would consider doing a Halloween themed guest post.  I figured it was a long-shot and that I wouldn't even get a response.  She promptly responded and although she was too busy this time of year to write up a guest post (which I expected) she was still awesome and gave me permission to use her photos for a feature post!  

She has some of the most amazing parties.  I love the themes that she puts together and how her invites, decor, food and costumes all work together in that theme...  

Quoth the Raven Dinner Party

Mad Scientist Light Box

This creepy lighting for the mad scientist's room was inspired by one on Instructables seen here.  We picked up the wooden box for $3 at a surplus store and I used Early American stain on it.

Poisoned Apples

The witch's area wouldn't be complete without some poisoned apples for Snow White!  They were really easy to make too.

Vampire Killing Kit

I have been wanting to make this vampire killing kit for a year now.  Ever since last Halloween when I saw one on Auction Kings.  I meant to work on this throughout the year so that I could get everything just right but I ended up not getting started on it until a couple of weeks ago.  I'm really happy with how it turned out especially considering the fact that I rushed through it.  It was a lot of fun to make and I will probably build an even bigger and better one in the coming years!

Bubbling Cauldron

We picked up a larger cauldron for the witch's area this year and I decided to modify it by combining ideas from Dave Lowe, Through My Looking Glass and Make It Do.  I ran into some problems with this one so it's not exactly how I envisioned it but I'm still pretty happy with it and I can improve upon it next year.

Guest Post from Love Manor

It's October 13th... The Halloween spirit is in the air. From carving Jack O' Lanterns, watching horror movies, consuming a vast amount of sweets and fall-inspired food to completely renovating the home into a haunted mansion, this season certainly is a busy one for us over at Love Manor.

Worm Hole Generator

A mad scientist's lab wouldn't be complete without a worm hole generator!  I mean, why wait for a worm hole to appear on it's own and put your time travel plans on hold when you can just create one of your own?  This was inspired by one I found here.

Eyeball Cake Balls

After seeing these cake balls and these cookie balls, I decided to combine the two and came up with my own Eyeball Cake Balls.  I did a test-run to make sure they were good enough for the party and I am really glad that I did because I ended up having some trouble with them.  I'll explain all of that a bit later though.

Edward Cullen's Ashes

I didn't have time to finish any of the big props like I had hoped.  So today's project is a quick and simple joke decoration.  Sorry to any Twilight fans out there...

Guest Post from Creepy Cupcakes

Greetings, y'all! My name is Carrie Mae and I maintain a blog called CreepyCupcakes (Life & Times of a Happy Halloween Homemaker). With unintentional irony, I must admit that it has very little to do with cupcakes, although I do love to bake!

The more fall-flavored or creepy, the more I love it. One of my favorite blog-related topics is food, and I'm down for making just about any and everything--whenever I can, I tie it back in to Halloween because that's how I roll, Witches.

This holds true year-round; you can't limit your spooky to just October!

Peopled Pop-Tarts

119 Creepy Halloween Food Ideas

When it comes to Halloween party planning, food is one of the most important things to consider. To help out with that I have compiled this collection of creepy, gross, and cute Halloween food. 

Lighted X-Ray Boxes

I always have trouble choosing just one theme for Halloween so this year each room will have it's own theme!  As you already know, the kitchen is the Witch's Lair.  Now the living room is being taken over by a Mad Scientist.  The inspiration from this particular project came from Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and it is not only decorative but will provide some of the eerie lighting in this room as well.

200+ Halloween Ideas

This Halloween link party will be open all month long and there is no limit to the number of posts that you can add. The idea is to make this party your one stop for Halloween inspiration. To kick things off, here are a few of my favorite projects that have been shared around blog land over the last week:

Witch's Hat by Swinging on a Star Creations

Snow White Spell Book

I made a spell book similar to this last year using the spell from Macbeth.  This year the witch's brewing area is themed around the witch from Snow White so I made pages using those spells and my potion bottles include the necessary ingredients plus a few extras.

Mod Circle Art

Our stairwell has been in desperate need of some art for awhile now.  Not many people go up there so it wasn't worth spending a bunch of money on so I came up with another $1 piece of artwork!  (This is the tutorial that I shared over at Davis Domestications last week in case you missed it.)  I wanted something bold but simple with a bit of a mod feel to it.  I'm not sure if I pulled it off but I'm happy with the results nonetheless.  :)

Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes

I know, it's another donut hole recipe.  I can't help it!  I'm addicted to the darn things.  They are just so easy to make in delicious fall flavors.  At least I have finished up with the apple recipes and moved on to pumpkin.  That's progress, right?  :)

Apple Cider Donut Holes

I think baking might just be my favorite part about fall.  :)  You can't get any more fall than apple cider.  I just wish that I was able to pick up some apple cider from the apple orchard we always went to when I was a kid.  Eight hours is a bit of a drive for cider though so I had to go with the store-bought kind.

Comic Book Art

Lately we have been working on the "Man Cave" and I decided to surprise my geeky comic book loving guys with some artwork.  For this one, I turned my son into a comic book character!  This effect can be used to blow up any image though so you can use this for any style of artwork.

Enchiladas Verdes

Enchiladas Verdes is my favorite dish at my favorite Mexican restaurant back in my hometown. Living eight hours away, I don't get to eat there very often so I have to whip up my own version every once in awhile. They are enchiladas made with salsa verde (green salsa) which is mild but has lots of flavor. It is a nice change from the regular old enchiladas.

Potion Bottles

It's time for the first Halloween post of the season!  I'm so excited.  I was going to wait and have the entire month of October full of Halloween tutorials but I started seeing Halloween posts as soon as September 1st rolled around and I just couldn't wait.  I had a poll on my Facebook page to make sure people were ready to see these kind of posts already and 62% of the people who voted want them now so here we are!

Techniques For Printing On Fabric

You may remember this How To: Print On Fabric tutorial from last year.  Well, it has been getting a lot of traffic lately there have been quite a few questions.  I decided to do a little experimenting and hopefully get everyone the answers they are looking for.

Guest Post from Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe

Why, hello there! I am Shealynn, the teenaged artist/crafter behind Shealynn's Faerie Shoppe.

I'd like to thank Megan for inviting me onto her blog to do a guest post! She deserves a round of applause and a sprinkle of fairydust. :)

Now, before we begin, I have something very important to tell you about myself...

Apple Pie with Crunchy Cinnamon Topping

This has been my go-to apple pie recipe for over ten years.  I make it at least once every fall so I started craving it as soon as the weather turned cooler.  I added more apples this time to make it thicker and made the crust from scratch.

Fabric Swatch Ring

I don't know about you but every time I go to the fabric store I see some fabric that I like and can't remember if I have anything that would coordinate with it.  So I made up this swatch ring that I can take with me and know exactly what is in my stash at home.

Mini Polaroid Necklace

This mini polaroid photo necklace is kind of my version of the old photo locket.  It was really easy to make and uses the same basic method as the photo magnets.  This would be a great gift for Grandma!