Halloween Wreath Tutorial

Halloween will be here before you know it! Decorating for Halloween can be so much fun. Decorative mesh wreaths have become a really popular way to decorate over the last few years. However, purchasing a pre-made wreath can be quite expensive - $50 or more!  For under $15 and a few hours of your time you can make your own. Give this Halloween Wreath Tutorial a try to add color to your door without adding the expense of a pre-made one.

Materials:

18" wire wreath frame

orange and purple decorative mesh rolls

25 pipe cleaners (I used black)

Halloween ribbon -

  1 roll plaid 

  1 roll green glitter

  1 roll  dots

"boo" sign from the dollar store

other decorations of choice

Instructions: 

1. Gather materials. If desired, use pipe cleaners to wrap around metal wreath frame. This prevents the bow bundles from slipping.


2. To start, cut decorative mesh into 10 inch pieces then cut plaid and green ribbon to the width of the decorative mesh. Mine was 5 inches wide so that is how long I cut the ribbon. It took me about 30 "bow bundles" to make this wreath. So you will cut 30 orange mesh, 30 purple mesh, 30 plaid ribbon and 30 green ribbon pieces. Then cut 15 pipe cleaners in half to make 30 pipe cleaner pieces.


3. Roll 1 piece of orange mesh (use the natural curl of the ribbon) and 1 piece of purple mesh. Pinch them together in the middle. Then add 1 piece of plaid ribbon. I did 20 of these then I made 10 with the green glitter ribbon.


4. While everything is pinched, use 1 piece of the pipe cleaner to wrap around the middle where the ribbon is pinched together. As you make them, lay them on the wreath form to make sure you have enough.


5. When you have enough start attaching them to the wreath form by wrapping the ends of the pipe cleaner around the form.


6. To attach the "Boo" sign just use a little bit of hot glue and place it on the ribbon. Attach any other decorative items you have.


7. Finally, make a large bow from the dot ribbon. Use this video if you need help making the bow.

 

Happy Halloween!

October 2017 Stickers

October is the month for pumpkin spice everything, caramel apples, candy corn and trick-or-treating! The weather is starting to cool off and the holiday season is just beginning.  Don't you just love this time of year! To help you celebrate the season you can download these free October 2017 Stickers. They come in pdf and png for both the Life and Happy planners. Use your Cricut or Silhouette cutting machine or cut by hand. Just click on the picture below. It will take you to the folder with all the files you need. 

This sticker paper is what I use to print my stickers. 

Happy Halloween!

Halloween will be here before we know it!  Do you love to decorate for Halloween? If so, you can create these cute pots to add to your decor. Just follow this easy Halloween Painted Clay Pot Tutorial! 

Halloween Painted Clay Pot Tutorial

Materials:

Clay pot (I used 6" for ghost and 12" for candy corn)
Primer 
Foam paint brush
Small paint brush for face details
Craft Paints - white, orange, yellow and black
Sealer
Ribbon 

Instructions for the ghost and candy corn:

Clean pot with soap and water. Allow to dry completely. I let mine sit in the sun for several hours.

 

Use a primer to paint the pot. I used Kilz because that is what I had. Be sure to paint both the inside and outside of the pot if you plan to use the pot outside. Allow the primer to dry according to the directions on the product you use. Then, using the white paint, paint several coats to completely cover the pot.

 

For the ghost:

Add some round eyes with the black paint. Also add a round mouth. In addition, if you want your ghost to be a girl, add some cute eye lashes. When the black is dry add some white highlights to the eyes. For the cheeks I added a little water to the orange then dabbed it on. After all the paint has dried, spray both the inside and outside of the pot with a sealer.

 

Finally, I added a bow for my little girl ghost. There was a crack at the top so this was a great way to hide it!

For the candy corn:

With the pot sitting on the rim, place a piece of painters tape about 2 inches down from the top. Also tape the rim of the pot. Paint everything in between the painter's tape with the orange paint. It may require 2 coats.

After the orange paint dries, remove the painter's tape. Add a piece of painters tape to the bottom of the orange section. Paint the bottom rim with the yellow paint. Remove the painter's tape when the yellow has dried.

Use white paint to create two oval eyes. Also add a round yellow nose. When those dry, use black to add pupils to the eyes and outline the nose. Also use black to create eyebrows and a mouth. After everything has dried, spray both the inside and outside of the pot with sealer.

Happy Halloween!

 

Are you ready for Halloween? This month I am sharing how to create your own Halloween Ghost Baby Bib to add some festive flair to your little one!

Halloween Ghost Baby Bib

Materials:

¼ yard orange colored fabric
¼ yard flannel
6" x 6" piece of white fabric

small piece of Heat and Bond Lite
small piece of fusible interfacing

Babyville snaps

black embroidery floss

bib pattern

ghost pattern

Directions:

Part 1

1. Using the pattern (or any pattern of your choice), cut 1 bib from the orange fabric and 1 bib from the flannel.

2. Trace the ghost pattern on paper side of Heat and Bond Lite. The ghost should be a little less than 6" x 6". Make sure you are using the Lite product if you are sewing your applique on your sewing machine. If you use a heavier one it can gunk up your needle. Follow the directions to iron the Heat and Bond to the wrong side of the white piece of fabric. Then cut out the ghost.

3. Iron the ghost to the right side of the orange fabric following the directions on your package. 

Part 2

4. Cut out a piece of fusible interfacing to cover the ghost with about a 1" margin all the way around. Iron it on the back side of the orange fabric. This will keep your fabric from puckering when you applique.

5. Using the zigzag stitch on your sewing machine, sew all the way around the outside edge of the ghost. 

6. For the ghost's mouth and eyes use 3 strands of the black embroidery floss. Sew a stem stitch in a semi-circle for the mouth. For the eyes, use a back stitch to outline the circles then fill in with a satin stitch. Then just add some straight stitches if you want your ghost to be a girl.

Part 3

7. Place the orange fabric and flannel fabrics right sides together. Sew around the outside edge with a zigzag stitch leaving about a 2" opening along the bottom for turning. Clip curves then turn right side out. Iron along the edge then sew the opening along the bottom closed with either your machine or hand stitching.

8. Add a snap to each side of the top of the bib. You could also add Velcro or a button for securing the bib. 

This Quilt As You Go Halloween Quilt was inspired from this pin from The Seasoned Homemaker.



 

Halloween Quilt

With a quilt as you go quilt, you add the batting and quilt the individual pieces before adding the backing. This makes it much easier to put together with a regular sewing machine. I used larger size pieces because I had a charm pack that I wanted to use up. But the directions are basically the same. 

Here are the materials I used:

1 pack Halloween charm squares (approx 42 5" x 5" squares)
2 each fat quarter in white, purple and black
Scraps of fabric for candy corn and bat appliques
Steam A Seam Lite sheets - I used these to iron down my appliques
Batting
1 ½ yards backing fabric
Small piece of white ricrac
2 packages Wright's seam binding

Directions:

Follow the basic directions found at The Seasoned Homemaker website. Just know this quilt will be larger. Also, I used premade seam binding instead of binding with the backing fabric.  I just free handed my Halloween appliques. Here is a picture with the sizes. 

 

This was fun to make and didn't take too long. It is a great quilt to use up some scraps you might have laying around! I've been using it as a lap quilt but it could also be used as a wall hanging instead.

 

Trick or Treat! The Halloween season is upon us and it's time to get your Free Halloween Stickers. The stickers can be used to decorate your planner or to give to your kids. You can also use them to close a party favor bag or as a cupcake topper. Lots of different ways to use them - just use your creativity! You can also can them into strips and hand them out as a non-candy alternative to trick-or-treaters!

I don't know about you, but I don't like the creepy, scary party of Halloween. I'm much more into the cute decorations. So these stickers are all about the cuteness. If you want to see more Halloween cuteness, check out these cute clay pots or this Halloween t-shirt.  

 

Free Halloween Stickers

Just click on this link here. You will then be able to download your Halloween stickers! Just print them out on sticker paper to use as stickers or cardstock to use as party decor. The file format is png so you can use it with your cutting machine.



If you are looking for other Halloween printables, just click here. I also have other Halloween stickers available here and here. 

Hope you have a happy Halloween and enjoy your free printables!

Happy Halloween!For the Craft Destash we are challenged to create a project using only items currently found in our craft stash. We were to make something new with crafty supplies or re-make an item we've been holding on to for a while. For this challenge I decided to make this Candy Corn Cutie outfit from a free svg file from svglove.com.

Candy Corn Cutie

Materials:

SVG File
1 sheet of black glitter heat transfer vinyl
Small scrap of white glitter heat transfer vinyl
Small scrap of yellow and orange everyday iron-on
t-shirt or onesie

1 yard of each yellow, white and orange ribbon in various width
Candy corn button
fancy elastic

This is really easy to make. Just download the free svg file and upload it to your cutting machine software. Be sure to remember to reverse your image before you make the cut. Then follow the manufacturer's directions for ironing onto the shirt using a heat press or iron. Since little kids grow so fast I usually just iron these with an iron as it will probably only be worn a couple of times!

To make hair bows I use my Bowdabra. But the Ribbon Retreat has some great videos on making hair bows without using one. After you make the bow, just glue the candy corn button in the center.  Then glue the bow onto a piece of fancy elastic that you sew or glue into a circle. You can also use a hair clip if the child has enough hair. 



  

Welcome to the Fabric Upcycle Challenge! This month I'm joining a few of my blogging friends to bring you the latest challenge - create an upcycled project made from fabric. Please join me as I show you how I made this black cat Halloween bag! 



My inspiration for this bag came as I was looking through the closet and found a pair of black capri pants.  They don't quite fit any longer so they are perfect for a project. At first I thought about making a black cat pillow. But the way they are cuffed made a perfect edging for a bag. And it did not take very long at all to make!

Materials:

Pair of black pants
White embroidery thread/needle
Purple ric-rac - large size
Green ribbon
Needle and thread or sewing machine
Hot glue gun

Directions:

Cut part of one leg off of the pants. Using a white marking pencil, draw a face and ears. Use the white embroidery thread to create face on the fabric. I used a satin stitch for the heart-shaped nose and an outline stitch for the ears and whiskers. You can also add some eyes if you like.

 

Turn pant leg inside out then sew across the bottom with a straight stitch. You can either do this by hand or with a sewing machine.  Cut ric rac into 2-12" pieces. Sew to the inside of the bag just inside the ear stitching. Repeat on back side of bag.



Turn bag right side out. Make a bow out of the green ribbon then hot glue near the ear. Tada! You are finished!

It is time to get decorating for the fall season - the first day of fall was this past Monday! To help you with your decorating I have created these Free Fall Printables featuring both fall and Halloween prints.

Free Fall Printables

The two prints that are wreaths are 8" x 10" in size. The harvest time and ghost pictures are 10" x 10" in size. All prints are high quality pdf files. If you need another format or would like a different size print please feel free to email me.

To get your free printables just click here. All four prints are located in this file so you can download the one you want. Or you can download all four!

I am sharing these prints at the Happy Fall Link Party. Be sure to stop by to find some great fall ideas from other bloggers. Or if you are a blogger yourself you can link up any post related to fall, Halloween or Thanksgiving. It's open from September 28 through October 18.



The images for these fall and Halloween printables come from www.freepik.com. 

If you would like some fall stickers to go along with your printables, check them out here.

Halloween is quickly approaching and the weather is getting cooler! What better way to celebrate than with this cute crocheted Halloween cat hat!

This hat will fit a toddler. You can skip the bow if you are making it for a young gentleman. The pattern comes from Crochet for You. So you can hop over to her blog for the directions.

To make the hat you will need:

1 small ball of medium weight black yarn
Small amount of orange yarn
Small amount of pink yarn
I crochet hook
H crochet hook
A tapestry needle for sewing nose, whiskers and weaving in ends

This hat works up really fast. You can easily make it in an evening then gift it to your favorite little one for Halloween!