FREEBIE FRIDAY: Last Minute Halloween Treats {FREEBIE}

I decided at the last minute that I wanted to make some treats to hand out to Gabrielle and Alaina's classmates on Monday.  I didn't want to do candy - I know they'll be getting plenty of that! - and since we're still in our rental apartment, I didn't have any of my baking stuff.  I needed something simple but still scarily fun, so I went with Witches Hat cookies I so over on Explore Dream Discover.

All you need are fudge stripe cookies (I used the supermarket brand), Hershey's kisses (if you're a Kiss connoisseur, you probably noticed I went with the caramel ones - yes, I'm sassy like that!) and orange frosting (I bought mine in the baking aisle).

Then you just flip the fudge striped cookie upside down, add some icing to the bottom of the kiss:

And press it over the hole in the cookie and you have a Witch's Hat!

It doesn't get much simpler than that!  Then I wrapped them in clear cellophane, tied them with a ribbon and added a little tag that reads "THANKS FOR BEING A WICKED GOOD FRIEND!"

So what do these cookies have to do with FREEBIE FRIDAY?  Good question!  I figured there are probably other mamas out there making last minute treats for their kid's classes this weekend, so I'm offering the labels I designed as a free download!  

Printable Halloween Treat or Favor Labels

You can write your child's name in or import the file into Photoshop or upload it to Picnik.com and add it there.  They're formatted for a 2-inch punch, or you can cut them out too.  If you have any issues downloading them above, you can go HERE.

Hope you enjoy them and for more fab freebies, check out my Haunted Halloween and Freebies and Printables Boards on Pinterest!

ANYTHING GOES THURSDAY: Chalkboard Pumpkin How To

I know, I know, I've been completely MIA lately and I am sooooo sorry!  We're finally moving into our new house next week and the last minute details have been taking up all of my time.  But with Halloween just a few days away, I wanted to share a quick and easy DIY project that your kids will love - chalkboard pumpkins!

Gabrielle and Alaina had a blast picking out pumpkins at the pumpkin patch:

And they loved decorating them.  Until..... they were decorated.  Then they wanted to decorate another one but the last thing I wanted to do was buy an endless supply of pumpkins.  And then I remembered seeing chalkboard pumpkins on Pinterest (where else?) and I decided to give it a go.

The process was super simple.  I bought a can of Krylon Chalkboard Spray Paint for $4 (you could also use the kind you brush on):

Then I taped off the stems of two pumpkins (you could spray paint them, too, if you want), laid them on some plastic:

And got to spraying.  After two coats, they looked like this:

I let them dry overnight and surprised the girls with them the next day after school.  They were so excited!

And can't get enough of re-decorating their pumpkins over and over again.

I posted about this project on Facebook last week and one of our readers, Heather, made a great point - be sure to use stick chalk, not chalk pens, or else you'll get "ghosting" and the images won't completely erase.  As you may be able to tell from the pictures above, we used sidewalk chalk on ours since it's what we had on hand.

Hope you liked this little Halloween how-to and I'd love to hear how you decorated your pumpkin this year!  Did you carve it?  Paint it?  Glam it up with glitter?  And for more Halloween crafts and ideas, be sure to check out my Haunted Halloween board on Pinterest!

Linking up here:

Getting Spooky With It - Day 5!

Today is one of my favorite posts in the Spooktacular Countdown at Nickelodeon's Parents Connect!  I'm sharing some frighteningly fun foods from Hungry Happenings, Better Homes & Garden, Not Martha, Martha Stewart and more.  And here are a few more freaky food ideas you're going to flip for.  Brooklyn Limestone gives a cold cut platter a creepy spin:

These sand-witches from Lisa Storms are a less-scary great way to serve up some Halloween fun.

And last but not least - it doesn't get easier than this Boo-ghetti from Jeanne Bennedict.

Find more crazy ways to cook up some creepiness over on Parents Connect, and while you're there, be sure to answer their daily question to be entered to win a $100 gift card to Halloween Express.

Getting Spooky With It - Day 4!

Today is Creepy Cookie Day on the Spooktacular Countdown at Nickelodeon's Parents Connect, and I'm sharing terrific tricks for making some tasty treats from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle, Better Homes & Garden, How Does She?, Martha Stewart and more!

And here's one more you won't want to miss.  Ashleigh from Bee In Our Bonnet shared this fabulous idea for a Jack-o-Lantern in a Jar on The Girls from Eighteen25.

It's filled with face-shaped cookie parts:

That can be used to make jack-o-lanterns.

So fun, right?

Check out the rest of the cookie goodness over on Parents Connect, and while you're there, be sure to answer their daily question to be entered to win a $100 gift card to Halloween Express.

Getting Spooky With It - Day 3!

It's Day 3 of the Spooktacular Countdown at Nickelodeon's Parents Connect, and you won't want to miss today's post because I've got a round up of 11 frightfully fun free Halloween printables from Anders Ruff, eighteen25, Living Locurto, The Crafting Chicks, Centsational Girl and more!  And here's one more goodie I know you'll love - printable Halloween paper dolls from Gwenny Penny over on The Idea Room.

Check out the rest of the treats over on Parents Connect, and while you're there, be sure to answer their daily question to be entered to win a $100 gift card to Halloween Express.

TEN THINGS TUESDAY: Halloween Edition

Here's my round up of a few of my favorite ideas for Halloween.

Food for the Kiddos I'm Loving:  This spooky spider sandwich from Cute Food For Kids.

Hair 'Do I'm Loving:  Seeing this cuteness from Babes in Hairland made me so glad I have girls.  Now if I can just get the two of them to sit still long enough to do it.

Craft Project I'm Loving:  Who else but Martha Stewart would think of making skeleton stamps from potatoes?  She's even got a template so making yours will be a snap!

Free Printable I'm Loving:   Design.wash.rinse.repeat designed these frightfully fun food labels.  Use them if you dare!

Scary Snack I'm Loving:  What could be more fun than these Frank's Nuts-n-Bolts?

Sweet 'N Salty Tricky Treat I'm Loving:  Cookies & Cups has my mouth watering with this Candy Corn Bugle Snack Mix.  And yes - those candy corn in the picture are actually chocolate covered Bugles.  Y-U-M!

Cute Candy Corn Project I'm Loving:  Speaking of the tasty treat, how adorable is this outfit from Positively Splendid?  And it's so easy to DIY!  

Boo-tiful Beverage I'm Loving:  Who says Halloween is just for the kiddies?  This haunting Hallow-Rita from Lime Tree Cove is my kind of treat!

Crazy Cute Costume I'm Loving:  This little lobster is so cute, I could eat him up!

Halloween Decoration I'm Loving:  The Holiday Snobs came up with a witch-tastic way to welcome trick-or-treaters!  And it's so easy to do.

I would love to hear about the things you're loving right now!  Share the app, movie, book, craft idea, TV show, whatever that's got you giddy in the comments and your picks might be included in next week's TEN ON TUESDAY feature.  And for more of my Halloween picks, check out my Haunted Halloween board on Pinterest and my Spooktacular Countdown at Parents Connect!

Please note that this list is made up of things I actually use, read, watch, try, etc. and truly enjoy.  These opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way to share them here.

Getting Spooky WIth It: Day 2!

It's Day 2 of the Spooktacular Countdown at Nickelodeon's Parents Connect, and today I'm sharing some inspiration for creepy cool cupcakes.  Wouldn't you just love to sink your teeth into these from The Icing On the Cake?

Head on over for eight more scary sweet ideas, and while you're there, be sure to answer their daily question to be entered to win a $100 gift card to Halloween Express.  See you there!

FUNDAY MONDAY: Lilsteinstyles Typeset Tees {GIVEAWAY{

If you read AFOMFT regularly, you know I'm a fan of the tees from lilsteinstyles featuring sam-n-i, and the latest addition to their shop is as adorable as always!

The custom typeset tees feature your kiddo's initial in a sharp lower case font.  So cute for a little dude:

And equally darling on little divas, with ribbon ties on the sleeves!

I love the idea of putting your kids in the typeset tees for family photos - it's a fun way to have them match while still expressing their individuality.

They come in sizes ranging from 0-3 months to 10-12 years, and at just $13.99 each, they're an inexpensive option for gifts too!

And two of you are going to be scoring typeset tees of your own!  That's right, lilsteinstyles featuring sam-n-i has generously offered to give away one Typeset Tee to TWO different AFOMFT readers!  To enter, visit lilsteinstyles and post a comment here telling me what your favorite item in the store is besides the Typeset Tees (this is mandatory).  For additional entries:

• Publicly follow the lilsteinstyles blog Then There Was Five
• "Like" AFOMFT on Facebook 
• "Like" lilsteinstyles on Facebook and leave a comment that A Few of My Favorite Things sent you.
• Follow lilsteinstyles & AFOMFT on Twitter (@lilsteinstyles & @AFOMFT or click the birdie icon on the sidebar) and tweet this post by clicking the graphic above or this giveaway:  #Win an adorable Typset Initial Tee for your kiddo from @lilsteinstyles at @AFOMFT- http://tinyurl.com/AFOMFT
• Blog or post on Facebook about this giveaway with a link to this post (worth 2 entries so please post two comments) and make sure your comments include a link to your status or blog post.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry (two if you've blogged about the giveaway) and make sure to include a link to your tweet, blog post, etc. All entries must be posted on AFOMFT as a direct comment to this post.  Comments on Facebook will not count as entries.  This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. only and ends October 10th at 11:59 pm EST. The winners will be selected by random.org and announced on AFOMFT on October 11th. If the winners don't contact AFOMFT within 48 hours, a new drawing will be held so be sure to check back to see if you've won!

Images: lilsteinstyles

Getting Spooky With It - Day 1!

October is here and I'm spending the month over at Nickelodeon's Parents Connect sharing some frighteningly fun ideas for Halloween in their Spooktacular Countdown!  Head on over to check out today's post on DIY Family Costumes, and be sure to answer their daily question to be entered to win a $100 gift card to Halloween Express.  See you there!

PINSPIRATION SATURDAY: A Girly Girl Room For Two

In last week's PINSPIRATION SATURDAY post, I mentioned that we're hoping to be in our new house in about a month.  I spend a lot of my time these days picking finishes, hardware, paint colors, floor stains and more, and while it's a lot of fun, it's also a little stressful.  What if I pick the wrong thing?  What if I don't like my choice in six months?  Is this tile too trendy?  This wallpaper too grandma?  Will it all go together?  Without look too matchy matchy?  As you can tell, I'm taking these decisions very seriously!

The girls' room will be one of the biggest challenges since we'll be decorating from scratch now that they've kind of outgrown everything from their old nursery and their space in the house is a lot bigger than it was in our condo in New York City (yay for the 'burbs!).  So of course I've been pinning ideas like crazy for inspiration.  Here's a look at a few of my favorite finds:

I love everything about this room by Palmer Weiss, featured in Lonny.  Everything.

My pin from Caitlin Creer Interiors

This bed by the Project Nursery team is beyond swoon-worthy

My pin from Project Nursery

This is almost the exact color I picked for their room.  

The contrast with the white moulding is so pretty!

Pin from Deapatz.tumblr.com via RubyJu

Can you tell I have a thing for patterned headboards?  I think they look great in pairs too.
My pin from Decor Pad

I adore the hot pink dresser and the bold mix of patterns and colors in this space.

My pin from Decor Pad

How great are these refinished nightstands?
Some furniture re-purposing is definitely on the horizon for us!
Pin from Natty By Design via Cheryl at Tidy Mom

This is such a great example of how to mix patterns and create a room little girls can grow into.

My pin from Effortless Style

Could you just die from the cuteness?  Gabrielle and Alaina's room just got painted and I chose the fabrics I want to use in it last week so I'll post some sneak peeks very soon.  In the meantime, tell me - what does your little girl's room look like?

For more kid's room projects and ideas, follow my Decor for the Kiddos board on Pinterest, and if you're on Pinterest, post a link to your profile or your user name so I can follow you too!