Monsters

Perhaps it's because my little guy's drawings look very much like these monsters but, I just love this stamp set from Recollections called "My Little Monsters". (I bought the set at Michaels)

It has been awhile since I've done any stamping. My craft room is about three quarters unpacked but, I had to get a bit creative as I was throwing these together for a challenge I'm doing to complete four cards each month this year. That doesn't sound very hard, but here I am at months end. :-) Namely my challenge was not being able to locate my watercolor pencils, they are probably still in one of six boxes left to unpack. So, don't tell anyone but Crayola colored pencils work too- when you are under a deadline! GIGGLE, giggle...

A Seasonal Barn Star

I love barn stars!! Decorating them with scrapbook paper is a fun to way to make a cute seasonal ornament to hang onto a tree or a door knob. Maybe you've seen these all over the internet. I've been noticing them for awhile now.

I didn't use any one's instructions, just winged it. It was simpler to make than I suspected it would be.

Here's what I did: You press a piece of regular white printer paper on top of the star, bending it so it's tight against a point. Trace it; cut out the pattern. Trace the pattern onto the decorative paper; cut out. Slather a matte paper mache' onto the backside of the patterned paper and onto the point of the star. Glue down, pressing to make sure it doesn't bubble and the edges are stuck tight. (use your fingers to gently rub) Let it dry for several hours on wax paper and string a ribbon through one point (mine already had a hole).

Fall Crafts

Yesterday I picked up the wood kit to make this pumpkin for my sign hanger. I forgot to attend the class I had signed up for last Saturday, even though I spent most of the previous week looking forward to it. Go figure?

The pumpkin and the FALL letters/acorns were bought as kits, at a local scrapbooking store... but, the gal (Nicole) who makes them and teaches the class also has a blog, sweetpickledesignscompany.

I just love her stuff, and can't wait to see her Christmas hanger. My guess is that it will be a tree; Caitlin thinks it will be a candy cane. We'll see! If you didn't see the Halloween Spider hanger, check him out. He was a bit harder to do as the teeth are all itty bitty individual pieces. Still easy though, don't be scared off by that!!

Tomorrow I'll post the rest of the Thanksgiving decorations I've set up around the house...

Gift Wrapping Cuteness

I have a cute little Brazilian friend named Paula. She is just as adorable as you can imagine and very, very sweet. When we lived near her in San Jose she would bring me or the kids gifts. Often they were cute little plates of homemade goodies. She would cover them with cellophane wrap and tied them shut with ribbon. She made cute little tags using the little pre-colored wooden cutouts from Michaels Craft Store, and they just made the package so adorable.

So, when it came time to wrap up a few gifts for my new little nephew I thought of those cute little wooden cutouts from Michaels. The ones I picked up are approximately $1 each and they have little felt pieces on them for added texture and cuteness.

For these packages I just used my glue dots to attach them to the wrapping. You could also drill a hole in the top and attach them with ribbon. Michaels has several designs.. these two (the turtle and the puppy) are a few of my favorites. I also like the zebra and the blue elephant!

Bat-o'-Lanterns

Here's a fun craft to do with the kids....

Check out the video on how to make Bat-o'-Lanterns on the Family Fun website. The kids and I made these last night and they turned out soooo cute!! We actually used glue dots and straightpins to help hold the foam bat ears and bat wings up and out.

Witch Hat Candy Corn Hanger

This was a simple craft that I saw somewhere online and don't remember where. Cute, huh? Simple - gotta LOVE simple! This craft also cost me only about $3 (including the candy)!

I purchased this witch hat at a local craft store (non-chain) a few weeks ago for a different project (which I've abandoned since giving one week + of my life this month to the flu).

To assemble: You will need a generous cut of ribbon, I'd say a bit over 2 feet so you have plenty to make a nice bow. Thread the ribbon through a hole on the outside of the hat, just under the brim. Pull ribbon through to a hole on the opposite side. You should have the ribbon threaded through now with a generous amount of ribbon on each side. Pull the ribbon upwards at the center of the hat to form the loop that hangs on doorknob. Careful to keep the ribbon equal on both sides. Next, I find it easiest to tie the bow by first tying a knot. If you want to, you can secure this with a dab of hot glue. Then tie a bow the size you desire. OPTIONAL: You can also do this with two different ribbons if you want. It can be a bit frustrating to line the ribbon up that way but, worth the effort!

MUMMY TABLE CENTERPIECE

Here's a SIMPLE idea for a cute centerpiece. I've been doing it for years and I still believe he's one of my favorite Halloween decorations. I use this same glass votive for every holiday, they are really versatile.

YOU WILL NEED:

A glass votive
A candle
Self-sticking First Aid Gauze - I used 2" because my votive is quite large
Googly eyes- Again use a size that makes sense with your votive
Glue Dots (to attach the eyes)

Wrap the gauze around the clean votive. I started at the top and worked myself down. Leave a considerable uncovered space on the votive for the eyes. For the eyes: attach one to two glue dots on each googily eye and stick to the votive. YEP, it's that simple and SUPER cute!

Here he is all lit up!!

A little bit of Spidery Cuteness

 

Yesterday, I got to spend a little one-on-one time with myself! After Scotty's trip to Africa to help the team Biketown and then his business trip to Dallas, Texas, I was so ready for some time alone doing something fun. I signed up at the local scrapbook store for a fun class involving a bit of wood, paper and paper mache. I made this cute little spider, there are other little wood pieces to display during other holidays or months. In fact, Nicole, the genious behind this cute little guy, said she would cut out a CTR emblem for me. (Of course, the wheels are turning in my head, and I'm thinking of even more things)

Check out Nicole's blog and her cute crafts!