Happy Halloween!

In the spirit of doing something Halloween-y, I made this pumpkin for the office carving contest. I'm pretty happy with how he turned out. Let's just say this is an Anticraft-friendly craft from the usually not-so-friendly Martha Stewart web site. Basically I followed these instructions and it was a relatively painless ordeal! I didn't have all the fancy wood cutters that Martha suggests, but as you can see, you really don't need them. I used one regular pumpkin and two minis to do all the parts of the owl. For the feathers, I used a regular tea spoon, and then used a paring knife to fix them up a bit. It took about an hour and a half to complete the entire project, and since I thought it was going to take forever, I was pleasantly surprised when I had enough time to make these yummy candy corn earrings as well!

Thank You Etsy for Animals

Etsy for Animals has posted an article about me and the charities I support on their web site. Click here to check it out. Etsy for Animals is a great organization dedicated to making charitable donations to animal-related causes. Each month a different charity is showcased. If you have any kind of talent for crafts and have a love for animals, joining EFA is a very simple way to give back.

Also, if you're not into crafts, but you enjoy shopping, check etsy for crafts tagged "team efa". This year you can buy Christmas, Chanukah, birthday... whatever gifts and give to animal charities at the same time! Everyone wins! Since the efa team etsy store opened in September of 2007, it has contributed over $4200 to animal charities. See a sample of items from the efa team store below, or visit the store for a complete list. I know who I'll be supporting when I'm looking for gifts this holiday season!