3 spookerific halloween projects!

 I am really excited about this plain old empty 1 liter plastic bottle!  huh?  yes! really!  I have 3 super cute projects for halloween for big and little peoples to share and make!

Basic supplies needed for all of the projects are very few... many empty dry plastic 1 liter bottles, black and white spray paint, black permanent marker and scissors.

First up:

Halloween Treat Cauldrons

How-to: Use scissors to cut off lower portion of plastic bottle (save upper portion for next project). Apply black spray paint to cauldron and let dry. Once dry, use a hole punch to make one hole on each upper side of cauldron to thread a black pipe cleaner handle through.  Place halloween stickers on outside of cauldron if desired.  The stickers shown above were left over from some martha stewart party invites. Next, fill cauldron with little treats and trinkets.  To create a smoldering, steamy look I topped it off with a bit of fluffed up polyfil and a plastic spider.  Lastly, place the whole thing inside a treat sack. I made these last year for pumpkinbutt's class halloween party and they really liked them.

The next project is going to use the left over upper portion of the bottle to make a.....

Ghost Attack Parade! 

Start by cutting jagged edges of the ghosts lower regions with scissors.  Next apply white spray paint and let dry.  Lastly draw on spooky faces with a black permanent marker.  Pumpkinbutt created these creepies faces!

 ooooooooooooohhhhh!!!!!

These ghosts can be hung with fishing line from the ceiling, the living room/shower curtains, plants/trees in the house or yard..... We like to stick them in surprising places around the house to "boo!" each other (freezer and medicine cabinet are great spots!) Because they are weather resistant the possibilities are really limitless! Another idea is to string white christmas lights in the top section or place battery powered tea lights under them for an eerie glow.

Last project:

Spooky Cute Spider!

 This guy requires a whole plastic bottle, spray painted black, with the top section cut away:

Next, cut away a section (about 1-2 inches wide) in the front and the back, leaving enough room at the top for the body and enough on the sides for cutting four legs on each side:

another image of the cut away section:

Next, cut the remaining length into four legs on each side and bend up and flat:

Then bend each leg at the "knee" and position legs how you like them:

 Lastly, hot glue eyes:

 I drilled a hole through the top of his head and strung a piece of black yarn so he could "hang" out. A whole nest of these would look super cool hanging low and menacing in a front entry. Or better yet, wait till a  victim is in the shower and toss a spider over the top rod! EEEK!!!!!

All of these projects would work well with smaller and larger bottles and grouped together. I am very tempted to make a bunch of 3 liter ghosts (with solar powered yard light stakes under them) and place them peeking out from tombstones in the front yard!

ghostly pancakes

 we made spooky ghost pancakes for breakfast this morning! ooooooooohhhh!

pre-fill a squirt bottle or a turkey baster with pancake batter.  squirt outline on hot griddle first, then fill in with more batter.  griddle (is that the right term? "fry" sounds wrong, like it's a chicken leg or something) one side of ghost and then flip.  let second side get to the point of being almost done and then insert chocolate chip eyes.  Let ghost "griddle" a moment longer til done.  we shook powdered sugar on ours right before eating to give them more of a ghostly glow!

cookie stuffed cookies

this is not my idea originally (i am unsure where i saw it...sorry!), but it is brilliant!   the original was with regular oreos on the inside and chocolate chip cookies on the outer. my very minimal contribution change was to make them for halloween with orange cream oreo cookies. i also used oatmeal chocolate chunk cookie mix for the outer cookie. 

the "recipe" is to glob prepackaged choco chip cookie mix around oreo cookies and bake as directed!
yum!  pumpkinbutt has plans on slathering his with chocolate icing and halloween sprinkles!

Spine Chilling Chia Pet Costume

This year for Halloween, we are offering a Special Limited Edition Macabre Spine Ch-Ch-Ch-Chilling Chia Pet!  Comes complete with creepy crawlies and entangling spider webs! We recommend minimal watering to further the weed-ish deteriorated look.  Fun for the whole family! Be the first on your block to be plagued with chiggers! Call within the next 5 minutes and we will throw in an extra stink bug!
But wait...... there's more! 

So, here is the Halloween costume I came up with for Ellie this year.  I saw a Chia Pet costume online and thought it was adorable. But then, without warning,  my mind became possessed by the demented spirits of Halloween and something a little more dark and eerie was produced.

I made the costume primarily from items bought at the Dollar Tree (not all pictured below):  green woven fabric place-mat, floral moss, plastic bugs, and spider webbing. 

I did not take pictures during the process of making the costume because I didn't know if it would turn out.  Last thing I need is a bunch of photos of failure and constant reminders.  However I do still have memory of the process and can share that with you:

I started with a piece of black stretchy fabric that I sewed into a "tube top" to fit Ellie.  I then sewed this to the underside of the fabric place-mat.  I saturated the loose floral moss with mod podge and glued it down to the outer side of the place-mat. After it dried, I loosely attached the longer gray spanish moss all over the fine moss to make the Chia more full looking.  Lastly, I attached bugs and spiderwebs.
(I entered the Chia Pet Costume in dollar store crafts.diy-costume-challenge)

Last year, Ellie's costume came out of the scrap pile....she was a Mortifying Mummy!

Halloweenie garland

Halloween decorating is in full spook around here!  To add to the crypt this year, I made a vintage inspired garland. It is comprised of printed images of vintage Halloween photos (found on the internet) and basic craft items: pom pom trim, rick rack, glitter glue, ribbon, and plastic spiders.... (sure, they can be seen as craft essentials!). Everything is held together with indispensable hot glue.

sock skellie

yay! halloween is coming soon!  i thought i would share something that i made for pumpkinbutt last year (....maybe even the year before?) but never got around to posting it.  he is made from a pair of white crew socks, embroidery thread, and buttons. i first saw him on martha, however the 'how -to" has disappeared from her site .

he has a bit of a rib coming loose and i have had to tighten his grin a few times but has held up pretty well considering. pumkinbutt deems this guy as monarch of all his stuffed creatures and therefore he makes many appears.

he is also a sneaky candy snatcher!

Mini matchbox wedding favors

i was asked to do a guest blog post over at bridesmaids and weddings for a DIY wedding doo-dad.  i came up with a very simple yet very personal project using mini boxes of matches. i am reposting the article in it's entirety (plus additional photo) here as well...  i did try to make it sound/look a bit more "professional"  by using correct capitals and what-nots of super happy and encouraging transition and closing sentences that i rarely do on MHICTY.  not that i don't what to be encouraging... i just figure when you are playing at someone else's house you should put manners up front.  anyway, here goes:

Looking for a simple, cute, personalized (and cheap!) handmade wedding
favor solution? Well then, look no further! Mini match boxes are a
great blank canvas to work with and easy to add your own personal
touches. Whether you are more of the frilly pastel flower type or a
destitute dank weed enthusiast, such as myself, it works!
Purchase mini match boxes from dollar stores, scrapbook paper,
punches, and stamping materials from craft stores and images you enjoy
from the internet or other resources.

These matchboxes can be done fairly fast if done assembly line
style.... perfect for bridesmaid get togethers! Start by cutting out
all of the papers and then attaching them to the boxes with glue.
Next, do the stamping. It's best to do one side at a time to allow
for drying and to minimize smudging before moving on to the next side.
The best time frame I have discovered to wait until moving on to the
other side is equivalent to having two margaritas. So go forth
responsibily, finish stamping all of the opposite sides.... and you
are done!

These match boxes would look adorable resting in an intricate etched
crystal heirloom bowl, if you are going the frilly pastel flower
route. But I am going more towards a dank vintage vibe so I decided
to make a vintage style match dispenser to place them in.

I constructed the dispenser out of a cardboard popcorn box which I

covered in scrapbook paper and fabric trim. I found several images on

the internet of kitchen match dispensers from the 1940s and based my

design on them. Look around you for creative ideas and objects that

inspire or promote your wedding's theme to use as a container.

(above- example of said vintage match holder)  

These embellished commemorative match boxes are a great little DIY

project that any bride can find the time to do and add a bit of a

personal touch to their special day.

guest bloggin'

i am guest bloggin' over at bridesmaids and weddings today!

mailman doggie chew toy

pumpkinbutt and i did another collaborative project together.... a gift for the baby dog's second birthday!
pumpkinbutt thought of something or someone that eleanor dog would like to give the business to and hence translate into a fine chew toy. the mailman was the winner. she loses her little doggie mind every time the mailman comes up to the fence. so PB went to work with fabric and permanent markers and i did some very rough stitching (hey, it's going to be chewed up, no need to get all fancy with it) and mr. mailman was born.  i really like the little details of the mail bag and a pocket protector with pens.


to view other pumpkinbutt projects, click below:
dead jellyfish dog toy
stick peoples ties

linen tablecloth score

i was given all of these vintage tablecloths this weekend from my MIL!  Two of them still had tags on them.

we were sitting at the table, having dinner on the teal and green pear designed beauty (above right) and i mentioned how much i liked it to her.  she said "it's yours and by the way how would you like to have any of these other ones?" yes please!

she also had this tea towel that is too cute to use for sopping up spills.  it has a designer name of Lois Lang on the bottom right corner.  I can't seem to find much info out there about it.....

South of the Border

 as mentioned in a previous post , i got the need to check off another high ranking roadside attraction this summer while we were visiting my mom... SOUTH OF THE BORDER!  located in Dillon, SC.

 it was truly beyond my expectations.  i love colossal concrete sculptures for silly photo ops and S.O.B. did not disappoint!

 here is pumpkinbutt posing next to Pedro with his new fez that was purchased at the 'Hats Around the World' shop located in the South of the Border "town" as my mom called it.  This place is really huge and town-ish.  there are several restaurants, shops, lodging, gas stations, a bank, and a fireworks mega-tropolis. however, be wary, there are only pepsi products in this "town".

love the horse of a different color!  

the hot dog shaped hot dog-dog and super sized ice cream cone.  

it wouldn't be a complete trip without a ride on the jackalope!

i highly advise a stop at SOB if you are in the area!
 don't disappoint pedro!

embroideriness

a few weeks ago while pumpkinbutt and i were at the library i was scanning the 'need to be reshelved' cart and noticed a spine that looked interesting. it happened to be Sublime Stitching Embroidered Effects!

there are soo many cute projects in it, along with some basic how-to embroidery stitches...and (surprisingly) the transfer designs were still intact. i have a few western-ish shirts laying around that needed a cuteness boost so smoosh the two together and....

simple and only in black, but i think it works....if you look past the fuchsia transfer pencil mess that bled beyond the outline.

i still need to complete the front yokes but let me just say this has been a challenge due to finding a decent transfer pencil or transfer system.... i would love some recommendations!

second place!

i won second place in the dollar store $5 challenge with my speech bubble light !

yay!

illuminating thoughts project

i saw this speech bubble lamp at target recently and thought it was super cute but not 15 bucks cute soooo....

i made one myself for w-a-y less. it is smaller than the original but the idea is the same.

the primary items needed are from the dollar tree: tap light and black electrical tape. tutorial to follow.

 now see it in action!

add a magnet on the back and put it on the fridge to keep up with healthy habits...

     a gentle reminder of chores...

   leave a sweet note to someone...

                         

use as propaganda....

use as a countdown to the best time of year!

this is one that pumpkinbutt wrote for me!
(it says "mommy rules")

***********************

now, here is the how to:

items needed ( all from the dollar tree, ~ 5 bucks plus tax):

*tap light

*black electrical tape

*wipe off marker

*batteries (they are certainly not included)

*heavy duty magnet

tools needed:

*scissors

*x-acto blade

*pen, paper

*heavy duty glue (like e6000)

 items getting together....

                   start by cutting strip by strip of electrical tape and covering the tap light surface.

 continue to the top.

 next use a x-acto blade to cut bottom excess tape off around lower edge.  experiment with cutting and pushing in the tap light to be sure you have cut away enough for clearance of the tapping process.

                    draw a speech bubble free hand, sized to fit front of tap light onto paper.
cut out.

 very important! if you are going to hang the speech bubble on the wall, make sure to turn over the tap light and make note of where the hanger hole is. then place template of speech bubble on the front of the tap light accordingly (guess who didn't do that and had to redo the whole thing). trace with ink pen.

                                   cut out speech bubble with x-acto blade. then peel away.

(if you want to make it magnetized then glue magnet on the back at this point.)

yay! let the clever applications spew !

andy

you will be missed.

it's hard to believe someone i never met could have meant so much to me.