Saturday, October 23, 2021

My Weekend Post-This and That

Happy weekend everyone!

Tonight we're going to have a birthday celebration at my house. My daughter and her beau are coming later today, and  we'll be celebrating both my daughter's and my husband's birthdays. Although their birthdays are later next week, my daughter is not going to be around for hers, so we'll have our little family party early. 

I made a key lime dessert as it is my daughter's favorite. My husband will get his own cake on his birthday even if it will be just him and I to celebrate. 

I really want to try out a Halloween decorated cake I found the recipe for, but I doubt my husband would like that. He once told me all he got for his birthday as a kid was Halloween cakes as that was all his Mom could find at the store. And he didn't tell me that because he'd loved getting Halloween cakes every year for his birthday either. 

Speaking of Halloween,  I want to share some Halloween art with you today. Both pages are in a journal I put together earlier this month.

The face of the woman in this first spread is one I saw in a high fashion magazine my MIL didn't want anymore. I think my MIL got the magazine from one of her granddaughters after she (the granddaughter) was done with it, and now I have it to cut apart. There really are some interesting people in this magazine as it is  runway style fashion.


I wanted to make an Egyptian themed page  using the face you see on my spread. I also recently watched the 1932 version of The Mummy film starring Boris Karloff. That got me thinking I could make an Egyptian style page in my Halloween journal, and so I did.  That lady does look like she might be possessed by some ancient Egyptian spirit.

The background is the printed paper I used for my page. Most of the stamped images I left uncolored for contrast. I did fussy cut them out of the white paper I had stamped them on. I  colored the eye of Horus though. On the left hand side I used a mummy's tomb playing card I had. On the opposite side is the playing card info, and the back is this cool looking sarcophagus.


I don't think this Egyptian spread fits Tracey's My Favorite Colour is October theme at Art Journal Journey, but this next page which has some more traditional colors and Halloween themed pieces does work for that challenge.


This page is also in the new Halloween journal I made. This time I added a scrap of painted wax paper on the background, as well as a printed rectangle of paper. I also added a stamped and fussy cut broom, the TH zombie looking lady, some plastic gemstones,  a paper spider web, a quote stamped on acetate (so it would show up better) and finally this fun old witch that I've had a couple years and was just waiting for the right spot to use her. 


I don't know if the zombie looking lady is under a spell that the old witch cast upon her or if she is working really hard to  resist the witch's spell. You can decide how that story goes. 

And there's a few other things going on.

The deck project is coming along. I took this photo  before several more deck board were nailed in. You can see handsome Mr. Pete is so comfy he was yawning and getting ready to roll on his side for a nap.

There's a few more deck boards to go and then the steps and the railing needs to be completed. Let's see how much more gets done this weekend.


I had a crazy visit with with the bees yesterday. I'll be closing up the hive for the winter as soon as it cools down a bit more, probably in a week or 2. This past week I made some bee fondant for them. It's similar to cake fondant, but not exactly the same. I don't know if mine didn't come out quite right, but it was a little more crumbly than cake fondant would be. I added some lemongrass and mint bee syrup I have to it also. The fondant is a substitute for honey that isn't in the hive, and I will be putting more in to keep them fed for the winter. 

The bees went nuts for it.


They weren't even letting me put it in the hive without starting to cover it. The 2 brown patties are the protein pollen patties I've been feeding them for a few weeks now since there hasn't been much in bloom.

 You can see the bees swarmed all over the bags before I had a chance to bring them inside to be washed.


And when I picked up the bag (I moved it over to an more out of the way spot), a few crumbs of the bee fondant fell out.


They found those spots too. I guess maybe I should have made and feed them the fondant a few weeks ago.

The other exciting thing was I noticed this wasp that was trying to get into the hive. These bees weren't going to let that happen.


There are always small adventures going on if you stop to look around, isn't there?

That's all for me today. Have a wonderful weekend!



 

22 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

Your journal pages are all fabulous, I especially love those black and white ones, so stylish and just a bit creepy - great. This book will be a treasure! Love the colourful Halloween witchy one, too, just great for AJJ. Glad the deck is coming along so well. I was fascinated by he bees, they were really keen on the goodies you made for them! And they are very watchful with intruders like the wasp. Thanks for showing he pics! Have a fun weekend and enjoy the birthday celebrations with your daughter and her Beau! Hugs, Valerie

Barbara said...

Your deck, screenedporch and pup look so much like ours, all 3! Amazing! Have a good weekend!

Barbara said...

Cannotcomment! Its being returned. 😥

Angie's Recipes said...

Happy Birthday to your husband and daughter, Erika. Hope you have a wonderful celebration and family time today!

David M. Gascoigne, said...

What a great sequence on the bees. There is more to this than meets they eye! I am glad to see that the bees were successful in repelling the invader wasps. Enjoy your birthday celebrations and have a great weekend!

Jeanie said...

Your bees fascinate me. I hadn't thought about what happens to them in the winter when it is cold and there is little if any natural food. It dawned on me that I have never seen a bee in the winter so I guess that makes sense. They sure are wild about that fondant! They'll be happy little productive fat bees with all that! You're a good bee-mom!

Happy birthday to your daughter and husband. The Halloween cake sounds like a fun project! It also reminds me that I have my little nordic leaf pan and I should make some muffins or cupcakes or something. I'm getting itchy to bake again. It has been too long.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Divers and Sundry said...

Happy Birthdays Observed! My mother's birthday was in late October, and she wouldn't even get out Halloween decorations 'til that was passed lol I feel your husband's pain.

I had forgotten -if I ever knew- that feeding the bees was a thing. So cool! You've found a good recipe. It's good to see the bees can effectively defend against the wasps. I do enjoy the Bee Updates :)

Let's Art Journal said...

Such fabulous Halloween pages! Loving all the detail on your Egyptian pages 😀. Your bees look so happy with their substitute honeycomb too, wonderful! It's so hard when birthdays fall around holidays, I'm glad that your hubby will be getting a birthday cake it will make the day very special. The key lime pie sounds so yummy, enjoy your time with your family! Happy weekend! Hugs Jo x

ashok said...

Best wishes to your daughter and hubby! Have a great weekend

kathyinozarks said...

I love seeing your bees-I didn't know about food that you can feed them, I don't remember ever doing that-but sounds good before winter.
great art and this is our birthday month too-last week Larry's and tomorrow is mine-not sure what I will make for us tomorrow-kinda thinking of belgium waffles
Happy weekend Kathy

Lowcarb team member said...

I do like your journal pages.
Happy birthday wishes to your daughter and your husband.
Enjoy your weekend.

All the best Jan

DVArtist said...

Happy birthday to your husband and daughter. Egyptian art I couldn't take my eyes off of it. You writing about your bees and what they do and how they react is to interesting to me. I enjoy it very much. Have a great weekend.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

Happy birthday to your daughter. I'll wish your husband a happy birthday later in the week. Your key lime pie sounds like something I would request, too. I hope she enjoys it.

I love your Egyptian inspired spread. It is very unique. I really like the black cat background, too. It's wonderful. I love the Eye of Horus that you colored. It looks great with the lady who definitely could have come from that ancient era.

Your old witch Mary really came through for you. This was a fun and enjoyable entry. That TH woman really does look a bit like a zombie, especially next to the spider and web. Thanks for also sharing both of these (because I think they are both acceptable) with us at Art Journal Journey using Tracey's theme.

WoW, those bees are going to town over that fondant. They will hopefully have enough food this way.

I've never seen a deck put together like that before. Usually the tongue and groove boards fit together from one end. I hope your engineer has a plan because I've laid tongue and groove flooring before. Have a great time this weekend with your daughter and her boyfriend. Enjoy your time away from the computer.

craftytrog said...

Great art, and I love the photos of the bees and Pete. Good to see the deck progressing
Enjoy the birthday celebrations.
Alison

Iris Flavia said...

YAY to party and weee... Boris Karloff sure rings a bell....
I have very fond memories of a taxi-driver in Cairo. No idea if the country is still safe for women these days?

Halloween... Germany... behind that rock...

Your deck looks great. Boy, ours looks so shabby, can you send your hubby over?
Along with some bees, both come Spring?
Think you will have to bring yourself along too. I´ll make pizza? Or Spinach pie?

CJ Kennedy said...

The deck project looks like it's coming along nicely. Good to have a handy hubby that can do the work. Pete looks cute as the supervisor. Looks like the bees enjoyed the fondant you made, crumbly or not. I guess the hornet won't be giving the bees any more trouble. Stay dry this week.

nwilliams6 said...

Erika, I love all your pages. They are so detailed and full of great images, words, and colors. Very inspirating! The Egyptian spread is my favorite - I think those old Mummy movies got me started on my love of ghosts, mummies and vampires. So fun.

Your deck is looking good.

Hope the party went well! Happy Birthy to your hubby and daughter.

Love your bee adventures. I had no idea you had to feed them in winter - hats off to you for saving them with fun goodies.

HUgz

pearshapedcrafting said...

They are both fabulous pages Erika. I love the Egyptian one - even with the coffin.
That's a great bee adventure you had - at least you got the plastic bag away from them. The decking will, I'm sure, look even better after this weekend, Hugs, Chris

Elkes Lebensglück said...

Happy Birthday to your husband and daughter, Erika and the pages are wonderful, great ideas!
Hugs , Elke

Neet said...

How interesting to hear about the bees and the wasp and the bees and the fondant. Obviously my bee knowledge is zilch but I am finding your posts so interesting when you tell us about them.
I love your first journal page - Egyptian. The lady you found in the magazine definitely has a Cleopatra look about her and that backing page is just perfect for the various Egyptian items you put on it. I bet DD liked it.
As for the other page - well, what a wonderful zombie like woman Tim Holtz provided for you and the witch at the top is wonderful with her thick glasses which obscure her eyes and give her an even more spooky look. The whole pag4e is so interesting and again a fab background,
We have an area near where I used to live called Old Mother Red Cap and there is an eatery there with that name and an old lady on the pub sign. I remember my friends (in my 20's) used to talk of going to see old Mother Red Cap to have their fortunes told - I think it was some old dar who had cottoned on to the idea of making a shilling or two by fortune telling.
Hugs, Neet xx

Tracey@Hotchpotchcreations said...

Glad you got to celebrate early Birthday's together always nice when spent with loved ones, it's really about being together isn't it. The lime pie sounded very delicious, i;m sure Hubby will enjoy his upcoming one too.. double the joy. That was a grand Magazine you rescued from your MIL, it's surprising how many fascinating articles and pics can be found, made a very exciting and quite historical page. The second with it's spell and spooky Halloween theme is a great take on October, love those amber jewels down the side and yes that lady really is in a zone of her own. Great makes Erica, glad you found time with all you good work with the decking and putting the Bee's to bed.. fascinating creatures.. Hugs Tracey xx
P.S Love how Mr. Pete takes it all in his stride hee hee

Meggymay said...

Fantastic art pages Erika and a super post to enjoy reading. Still on catch up for me.
Yvonne xx