Painted Pumpkins

Cute Painted Mini Pumpkins

 I promised this post would be here tonight, and it is, just a little later than I had wished. This is another very simple project. Time to complete- 30 min. or so. I have been so busy with a sewing project, I have not been able to devote much time to my Halloween mantel decor. (Sewing project tutorial coming soon.)
I found these cute mini pumpkins at Walmart 5 for $4. I had all of the other painting supplies already. The black leaves on the grey pumpkin came from the Unearthly blooms tutorial, and the candle holders are from Turn Everyday Items Into Extravagant Halloween Decor.

Here is what you will need: (to make yours exactly like mine, but you can use your imagination and come up with other great designs)

• Mini pumpkins
• Black spraypaint
• Grey spraypaint
• Puffy paint- slick paint (what ever you call it)
• Black glossy paint (optional)
• Silver glitter paint
• Glitter
• Glue

Like I said, this is super easy and really needs little explanation.

  Pick your pumpkins

 Paint your pumpkins











This one looks shiny, but that is because it is still wet.

I painted a top coat of glossy... Because I like 'em shiny!

I also painted the grey one with silver glitter paint, the grey spray paint was a little primer greyish. (Sorry,  I for got to take pics of this, but I'm sure you get it)

I wanted this cool drizzle effect with the glitter, but I got this....

The glitter just kinda stuck to the whole top of the pumpkin. That's okay tho, I like it like this too.

Up next, the unpainted pumpkin.

I got my drizzle effect with my unpainted one

I think they turned out great perched on the painted glass.

Unearthly Blooms

Turn boring silk flowers into Unearthly Blooms for Halloween

In my hunt for cheap Halloween decor for my mantel, I came across some silk flowers at the dollar store for $1 each...duh. I liked them, but they were lacking a bit. (Seen below, the black ones with purple glitter.) While roaming the store I came across the white ones in the pic. They were in a box on the floor, and I think they have been there for years. I grabbed 3 of them, not knowing the price, and not really sure that my idea would even work. When I got to the register, they rang up $.30!! What a steal!!

  

Here is what you will need:

• White silk flowers
• Spray paint (I used the cheap stuff from Walmart. In grey and black)
• Glue
• Glitter

This is a super quick, super easy project. It will take you 30 min tops.

 

 

I used the wine bottle to hold the flowers while I painted them.

In a well ventilated area, spray paint your flowers, not your dog, LOL

I painted 2 black and 1 grey, but with the grey one, I sprayed a bit of black in the middle for some texture. (Come to think of it, I should have done the same with the black,)

Next, get your glitter ready (sprinkle it onto a plate) and coat the tips of your flowers with glue.

"Dunk" your flower in the glitter.

 I used silver on the black flower and black and silver glitter on the grey one. 

(I know it kinda looks gold in the pic.)

See, That was super easy :)

You remember the vase from this previous blog that I made...

Turn Everyday Items Into Extravagant Halloween Decor

Check back tomorrow to see my 

Pained Pumpkins

The $5.00 Bag

The $5.00 Bag

When my boyfriend bought me my sewing machine for Christmas, he asked me, "Do you even know how to sew?"
"I took a semester of sewing in 7th grade" I told him with a huge grin =)

I could see the doubt in his eyes, but he bought it for me anyway. He even sprung for the "quilting" model!It didn't take long for me to remove the doubt from his eyes. Thanks to the internet, I was well on my way to becoming a sewing diva. I found all kinds of tutorials that teach me how to make all kinds of cool stuff. Many of them don't even require a pattern, just a measuring tape.

One of the websites that I stumbled across was SewCanShe. I immediately fell in love with this website. They feature daily free tutorials from other bloggers, and the stuff is so cute!

A few days ago they featured a tutorial from Diary of a Quilter on how to make fat quarter bags. They were so cute, I had to try this tutorial out. There were just a few problems. One, I didn't have any fat quarters, and two, her bags were small (I think she said she was making them for children for Christmas). I needed to make a bag for one of my boyfriends' co-workers, a grown-up =)

Fat Quarters vs. 1/4 cut yard:

• A fat quarter is sold pre-cut for about $2 and is a quarter of a yard, but the yard is cut into 4 squares.
• A cut quarter yard is still 1/4th of a yard, but it is a large rectangle cut at the fabric store from a bolt of fabric.

These are some fat quarters I bought for an upcoming Halloween project.

I dug in my fabric closet, and found these remnants. I had gotten them at JoANN fabrics a few months ago. The remnants there are always 50% off, and  I had 1/4 of a yard of each. This cost me $3.00, and was the perfect amount to make this bag. I also had some leftover brown broadcloth to use for the straps.

In the tutorial, her final product would be about 10x9 inches. Mine was 13x16. I could make mine larger because my fabric cuts were longer. 

 One thing I did differently was line my fabric with lightweight fusible interfacing. This will give the bag some stiffness. You only need to line wrong side of the outer portion of the bag. This stuff is very cheap, about $3 a yard and I only used 1/8. It irons on very easily, and makes the end product so much more professional.

I made my straps extra long (45 inches) because the co-worker I was making this for is "kinda hippy." My boyfriend's words, not mine =) Now my straps are long enough to wear over the shoulder, which I hear is the way hippies wear things nowadays!

 

 I also made an extra strap to put on the outside of the bag along with 2 fabric Yo-Yos. I think they came out super cute! Here is the yo-yo tutorial. Just an FYI, The yo-yos come out much smaller than what you start with. For the large yo-yo I used a CD for a template. 

I think the final product came out great!

Spooky Spider Picture Frame Re-purpose

$5.00 Frame Makeover

 Today's project puts me one step closer to getting all of my mantel pieces done. I think I got this idea from Pinterest, but when I went through my pins, I couldn't find anything like it, so who knows where I saw it?
 I have had this really outdated frame in my closet for about 2 years now. It is about time to give it new life. This project is super cheap and easy to do. The only thing I had to buy for this was the yarn. I got it on clearance for about $4.50. Score!!!

 When I saw that yarn it just SCREAMED Halloween!!

Here is what you need to complete this super cool spider project:

• An old frame- preferably wooden. (you could use plastic, but then you would have to glue the yarn to it. That my prove a bit difficult)
•  Black spray paint (this is optional. You could just use craft paint, but it will go faster with spray paint)
• Black craft paint- I used both spray paint and craft paint because my spray paint was not glossy.
• Small nails or tacks- and a hammer and needle nose pliers if you use nails.
• Yarn of your choice. I used this furry stuff because I thought it was wayy cool and spooky. Any yarn would work.
• Plastic spider ring.

 (No special reason for this particular spray paint, it's just what I had.)

This is my old frame. I cleaned the wood and took out the glass and matting. When you spray paint outside, make sure it is not humid, or windy. Both of which I can not avoid. I live 15 blocks from the bay= windy, and in Houston= humid. So I paint outside and bring it in the house to dry. Also, if you are spray painting in your driveway, make sure you are not upwind of your car! LOL

 Once your frame is dry, flip it over and nail in your nails. You will need 8. One nail in each corner, and one at the top, bottom, right side and left side. Nail them in far enough so they are not sticking out past the back of the frame so your wall does not get scratched, but not so far that you poke out of the other side.

The easiest way to nail small nails is with needle nose pliers. If you don't use them, you may be able to get the job done, but you will have sore fingers!

Next, make a knotted loop in your yarn. Nothing special, just something that will hook onto the nail.

Hook your loop on a corner nail.

Go across diagonally to the other corner nail.

The next few steps are up to you. If you are one of those people that can look at this and see the path to the least amount of string, go for it. 

 Your end result should be an (x) and a (+)

Tie off your last nail. Make sure the yarn is taught.

Cut off piece of yarn long enough to make the center circle and tie it about half 

way up on one of the strings.

I looped the yarn around each string. 

I didn't tie it to each one because the "hairiness" of my yarn makes it hard to tie :)

 

Repeat for the outer loop.

Then I Gave my frame a final coat of glossy craft paint.

I think the fireplace mantel is coming together nicely!

$ 5.00 Frame Makeover