A Halloween Cross Stitch!

Did you have a fun Halloween? We had a great night! Friends over for chili dinner before trick or treating and the rain held out! All week they were saying it was going to rain tonight, but it didn’t! Yippie!

And then the evening ends and the lights go off so those older kids don’t keep coming to the door while I’m in my pj’s and my son is running around in his oldies like a crazy kid from too much sugar!  That’s when you need a sign on the door that says Keep Away! or maybe, Sorry, We’re Closed…. Or even, Sorry, We’re Dead! Ha!

Originally, that’s exactly why I bought this cross stitch pattern from Satsuma Street. I wanted to hang it on the door to tell people we’re done handing out candy. Only, there were a couple of flaws in my idea! I live on a hill, so it’s not like anyone would see it without climbing the stairs to my front porch anyway! And secondly, you can see that my from doors are glass doors, so once you get to my porch, you’ll see me and I’ll end up giving you candy anyway….

Like the monster wreaths? We made those 6 years ago and still put them on the front porch every year!

So instead, I hung it on our art wall in the dining room!

I may not be quite as old as my assistant, but my eyes aren’t what they used to be! so a little hint about working with black Aida fabric… I always put a white piece of fabric in my lap while I worked on it. It does really help see the holes in the fabric!

There are many tutorials out there about how to finish the back. First, I layered a piece of black quilting cotton with the black Aida fabric. I then happened to have a piece of back foam core. S oI cut that the size of the inside of the inside hoop. I was planning o nincluding hot glue in this, but I didn’t end up needing hot glue. I put the design and the black quilting cotton in the embroidery hoop just as you would anytime. then I folded it over and put the black foam core inside the hoop, from the back. The foam core fit so nice and snugly, that it didn’t need hot glue!

So, my husband took my white backdrop and used it in the decorations. I wasn’t sure how I would actually take pictures of all my Halloween projects. Then I saw my assistant in a whole new light! He can actually hold things! He’s more than just a pretty skeleton sitting on the porch!

I hope everyone had a super fun Halloween! Now it’s on to Thanksgiving projects, a QuiltCon quilt and Christmas projects! What are you up to now that Halloween has passed?

 

A Halloween Pillow

Well, I had started a Halloween quilt back in January, I think… Despite the 10 months, I didn’t get it done….

No quilt, but I did get a pillow done! And I love it! I keep looking at it admiringly as I walk by the couch!

I also like seeing it with the other pillows I’ve made over the years. I love seeing the different styles and fabrics I’m into over the years!

For the pillow, I’m using a lot of the fabrics that I’m using my quilt. Or a different color way… Most of the fabrics are from the Cotton and Steel collections. I LOVE their holiday lines! LOVE them! Was this the best fabric to use for tiny piecing? I don’t know, really!

Last month I took a paper piecing class with Giuseppe Ribaudo, aka Guicy Guice. I’m not sure why I did, since I’m pretty well versed in paper piecing. Honestly, when I signed up, I thought it was a small piecing class, not paper piecing. It never dawned on me that his small piecing was paper piecing! Ha! Anyway, I’m glad I did! He shared his Mini patterns with us and I picked Courthouse Step block. I almost didn’t go because I had so much birthday party stuff going on and the whole paper piecing thing. But I’m glad I did! he was super nice and a lot of fun. And I loved seeing what everyone else made from the patterns! And I love my block!

Guicy Guice centers a lot of his minis in a neutral background so I thought this neon bat fabric would be great. And I did some matchstick quilting. I love doing matchstick quilting on small projects. One day I’ll do it on a larger project. maybe… ha!

I loved this fabric so much that I bought it in two color ways!

And if you know my pillows, I always do envelope backs because I’m kinda lazy that way… But this time I decided to put a zipper in it. I used to always put zippers in pillows. Especially when I was selling pillows. If I can do it when I’m selling them to other people,, why can’t I do it for myself? I did use Sew Katie Did’s tutorial to remind myself how to do it. Its’ not hard at all, but I used to be better at hiding the zipper than I did on this one. Luckily the fabric matches it!

Have a Happy Halloween from my photo assistants!

A Quickie Halloween Decorating Upgrade

I looked at my blog and noticed that I’ve posted about 8 times since last Halloween! And I have about 4 Halloween posts for this year… That goes to show you how much I love Halloween! And how much I miss blogging more often! Anyway, here we go with more Halloween fun!

My sister in law also likes to do it up for Halloween and she posted a a picture of her mantle with these fanastic mirrored skulls! They were beautiful. They totally inspired this project!

 

When I went to Value Village I found these pumpkins that I thought would be fantastic nice and shiny silver! They are a little too ‘country chic’ for my décor, but a little paint can change that in about ten minutes. So I grabbed them! Not only does Value Village have a ton of costumes, but there’s also a lot of fun décor to be found there.

And I just happened to have this mirror spray paint at home. So I decided to use it for this project. Notice the bottle says ‘Looking Glass’…  Well, it’s meant for painting on glass…  But whatever, right? Why not give it a try. These aren’t fine heirlooms that I’m dealing with. Just some nice secondhand decorations that need a new life, so let’s give it a try!

The first coat had the look of old glass that the spray paint is supposed to give, so I was having some high hopes that it would work. The second coat covered it and gave it a just a nice flat silver color. Not exactly the look I was going for, but I love them none the less!

The experiment did not get me the fabulous mirror look that my sister in law’s décor has, but I do love my new pumpkins! And the more matte finish may even be just the right finish for my décor!

I love them! What do you think? How many projects have you updated with a quick bit of spray paint? You check out others I’ve done, like Christmas reindeer and more reindeer, sea shells and Easter bunnies!

 

I have been compensated with either payment or product for this post. All opinions are my own, honest opinions!

 

A Halloween Centerpiece Craft

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything besides sewing or quilting projects! So I’m excited to share a Halloween craft!

If you have been following me for a while, you know I love Halloween! And crafting for Halloween! At our house we decorate almost as much for Halloween as we do for Christmas. We change our art wall, we hang a bunch of bats, decorate the porch (Of course),  bring out the bat and ghost pillows, switch out the mantel decorations…. And this year we even filled the fireplace with pumpkins! But today I wanted to share a centerpiece we made!

It’s a pretty easy project! It involves a trip to the dollar store! And who doesn’t love that??? You need plastic skulls, black paint, hot glue and a round piece of plywood. The skulls are from the dollar store and the amount you need depends on the size  of your round piece of plywood. I got my plywood at Lowes. I got 7 skulls, but you can always get a few extra ot be safe. Who doesn’t need a few extra skulls to decorate with??

The first thing I did was to paint the plywood. In hindsight, I might like a bit thinner piece of wood, but this came with the finished edges and I didn’t have to cut or sand anything! So I went with the slighter thicker piece!

Next, I laid out the skulls on the plywood to confirm the right amount. Then just hot glue them to each other in a circle.

And the third and last step (see I did mention it was pretty easy, right? Glue the top on! I used hot glue here as well!

It’s ready to go with whatever decorations you want to use!

What do you think? Is it something you’d want on your dinner table? Or is to creepy, staring at you while you eat? Maybe just bring it out for the party? It could also be a fun place to display party favor bags for your spooky party… We might have a spur of the moment party this coming weekend! I should probably make a decision about that!

 

 

Handmade Halloween

Yes, Halloween has come and gone, but I wanted to share the costumes we had this year!

The ‘real’ costume was Ash, the Pokemon trainer, and his Pokemon, Pikachu! We went back and forth and back and forth between costumes. FIrst it was Ash, then Shaggy from Scooby Doo, then another Pokemon character, and back around to Ash!

Do you know Ash? Well, this is what he looks like as a cartoon….

And this is my real life version! As we were trick or treating, kids kept saying Hello to Ash! Then Dad and I were waiting on the kiddo to trick or treat and these older kids came by talking about the kiddos costume. One kid was telling the other kid about how he’d seen the kid in the Ash costume and,

‘It’s so LEGIT, man’

Talk about making a Momma proud! Oh, yeah! The kiddo came back and I told him about the huge compliment he got and he said, ‘What’s that mean?’ Ha! It means you have a really cool Momma that makes you really cool costumes! hehehe!!!

This costume was a mish mash of handmade and not. The coat, totally all handmade. I used the Kitschy Coo Reversible Zippy Hoodie Pattern for the jacket. I got the hat online and painted on the symbol with fabric paint. I was planning on making the pants, but when I found then for ten bucks at Target, I just bought them…. The gloves are half and half! I tried to make my own, but then found some just the right color. I cut them down and added on the red cuffs.

And Pikachu! I made Pikachu! I made a neighbor one a while back using the Ikat Bag’s Menagerie Pattern with a few alternations. And now the kiddo gets his own!

And remember I mentioned Shaggy? Well, the Friday before Halloween school had a Dress Like Your Favorite Book Character Day. Max choose Shaggy from Scooby Doo! Yes, they are books now. He’s become obsessed with those meddling kids in both book and video form!  And yes, that’s Scooby dressed as a wolf for Halloween! hehehe!

Originally, I was just going to whip up a tshirt for him. Then I headed into Old Navy I just happened to find one last green short sleeved shirt with a V-neck, in his size, for $1.50! Um, can’t pass that up! I very liberally used See Kate Sew’s Surfer Slacks for the bell bottoms. I started at one size of the pattern at hte waist, then just drew the pants out at the knee for the bell bottoms. I should have exaggerated even more….

You aren’t Shaggy without the silly whiskers! And I found the Scooby Snacks at Target!

We had a fun Halloween! The kiddo said it was his best one yet! Awesome! I told him that I hope that when he grows up that he has fond memories of Halloween and being involved with all his custom made Halloween costumes. And I told him, if he has a wife that doesn’t sew, that means he has to make his kids costumes! I hope so!

 

Pinterest Try Tuesday (kinda) Bobble Head Ghosts

So this is kinda a pinterest try, but it’s an old fashioned kinda pinterest! I saw this in a magazine and tore out the page months ago… Remember doing that way back before Pinterest??? And I’ve held on to this project from the Family Fun Magazine since I think this past Easter!

But as you can see, it’s not an Easter project! I took their Easter project and turned it into a Halloween project!

The original project was for bobble head chicks. But, nope, not chicks here! Cute little ghosts in our house!

Using the directions they had in the magazine, you just need sculpey,  some wire and glass beads. I used the sculpey and the wire, but I added a few extra materials. I also included a meat thermometer and glass top quilting pins!

Why a meat thermometer you ask? To wind the wire around, of course! A pencil was too thick, so I went looking for something else and the meat thermometer was the perfect diameter!  First off you shape your head and body of the ghosts. Then wind your wire. I used about 2 inches of wire. You’ll want to keep the ends straight to push into the head and body. Then put the three pieces together, the head, the wire and the body. I also used the thermometer to shape the bottom.

On this little guy I used some quilting pins with glass heads for the eyes and mouths. I cut the pins short and stuck them in!

The wire needs to be heavy enough to hold up the head, but thin enough to wobble! In this picture I’m trying to show you that his head actually bobbles! Not an easy thing to take a picture of!

Ok, so my first try wasn’t exactly a fail, but it wasn’t a real win either! I tried to make them with soft clay and perler beads…. I couldn’t get a smooth finish with the soft clay. I could make it larger, but not smooth… I also used pretty thick wire and didn’t get the bobble action. Then I started to make the eyes in the sculpey with the perler beads but realized they’d melt! That would have been bad!

I’m pretty happy with them! I didn’t actually make these with the kiddo, but he was pretty excited about them after he saw them. So now I’m out to get more sculpey!

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!! Is everyone ready??

We’re headed to the pumpkin patch today with the kiddos class at school! Then home for dinner and trick or treating in the neighborhood. I didn’t get all the costumes made, but I did get some more bats in….

Unlike the quilt, I made these a lot more patch-worky!

But in keeping with the quilt I did insert a few little pieces from the same fabrics that I used in the quilt! I’m pretty happy with them!

Of course, I used my bat block pattern!

And for the backs I used the fabrics in the quilt! The patchwork piece I got all the little pieces from and the ghosts I used for the quilt binding! Sorry for such a short and sweet post today, but we’re off for a trick or treat kinda day! Have fun!

Spooky Lollipop Puppets Tutorial

I can’t believe that Halloween is almost here! Ahhhh! We started decorating a few weeks ago, but just got the finishing touches done today! How about you? Still working on it? Here’s a fun little craft to do to give to your favorite trick or treaters!

We just happened to have a bunch of lollipops that we didn’t know what to do with and decided to dress them up for Halloween! I can’t wait to show you how easy they are!

The materials we used are felt, embroidery thread and needles, scissors, googly eyes and glue and, of course, lollipops! And an erasable or disappearing pen is optional.

First we made the patterns, but you can skip that step and download our patterns here. Our patterns are for a 2″ lollipop. We traced pretty close the pop and then secondly, we made the pattern about a quarter inch larger than the pop.

Secondly, we cut! First the pattern. Then the felt. Cut out the shapes, two of each for each pop. And if you want eye holes, this is the time to cut them out.

Next, the fun part! Well, this is debatable… I think my son’s favorite would be the next step. But the sewing part is mine! If you’re making these with little ones, two things. First,  be careful with the needles. The bigger the needles, the easier it is for the little fingers to use without being poked. And secondly, you can mark the spots to put the needle along the edge of the puppet pieces. I used a Frixion pen and the dots can be ironed out.

The favorite part for the kiddos! Adding the googly eyes! Just glue them on!

And lastly, insert the lollipop!

And a spooky lollipop ghost puppet is what you have! My son went a bit overboard with the googly eyes, huh!?!?! He was loving it!

We made a bat, a pumpkin and several ghosts!

I think the bat is my favorite! Which is your favorite? What other fun spooky lollipop puppet can you think of?

 

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Smash! It’s the Incredible Hulk!

Rrrrrr…. Smash… Hulk Smash…

In case you are still wondering why I made purple fleece shorts… It was the first step in the Incredible Hulk costume the kiddo was wanting!

I knew I was going to make a hulk costume, but I originally just started out with the idea of making green pj’s and the purple shorts. Remember? The kiddo needs pj’s. Then last weekend I was at a fifth birthday party and was talking about it to this other mother about Halloween costumes. When I told her we were thinking the Hulk, she asked how I was going to do the muscles. I was like, ‘nah… I’m not doing muscles!’ And explained the whole need for new pj’s thing to her. Then she gave me this disgusted look, like, ‘You’re not doing muscles?’ I don’t even know this woman, but, oh yeah, the challenge is ON.

The challenge is on and I’m making muscles, but I’m also stubborn and I’m sticking to my PJ’s plan! I started the whole costume using the Alex and Anna Winter PJ’s pattern (affiliate link) from Peek a Boo Patterns (affiliate link). Super easy pattern! Without muscles you could put this together in a flash! (Ha! I used the same pattern for our flash costume! Get it! I crack myself up!)

You want to know how I’m going to do muscles, lady??? I’ll show you exactly how I’m going to do muscles!

I started with one of the kiddos Spider Man costume full of muscles and traced/enlarged the muscles. Easy! The original costume was a size 3ish and I needed to enlarge the muscles to about a 5ish. You can print my patterns here.

Next I cut them out. On the fold. You’ll need 2 of the 6 pack abs and 4 of the shoulder muscles.

Start sewing! I put a straight stitch along the bottom line of the mucsles. Then I did my edge stitch (technically a stretch stitch) around the edge, leaving a hole in the top for stuffing. I’m only showing the shoulder, but I did the saem tthing for the abs.

Stuff!

Now I don’t know what this tool is technically called, but I call it a roller marker. I rolled it over the muscle shapes on the sleeves (and abs) to know where to sew.

Now it’s hard to see this, but I followed up my roller markings with an erasable pen.

Then pin in the mucles and align with the edge of the sleves and chest.

Sew the muscle shapes. (yes, I forgot to take a picture of the muscles before I put it all together.) And then put the pieces all together following the pattern (affiliate link) directions!

Not long ago I found this Hulk mask for a super steal and knowing how much the kiddo likes super heros, I grabbed it even though he’s never said all that much about the Hulk. But as soon as he got it, he told us he needed the costume to go with it! It’s actually kinda creepy, because the eyes are clear and light up, so you totally see his eyes, but with the face of the Hulk!

Hulk Smash! The costume has already been well loved! We’re still a little on the edge of our seats waiting to see if The Flash or the Hulk visit us on Halloween!

Are you making costumes this year?

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The Flash Costume

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Like I said yesterday, we need costumes and pj’s!

Or what about pj’s turned into costumes? OK, I have to admit that this one was made earlier than KCW, but I haven’t shared it yet, so…. Just pretend that I made this last night! hehehe…

The kiddo is super into superheros! (more about that to be coming soon!) And he loves The Flash because he says they share the same super powers! SPEED! I promised I’d make him a flash costume and kept putting it off and off. Then he birthday party was coming up and he ‘NEEDED’ it for his party! So the night before the party I whipped up this little costume!

I used the Winter PJ’s pattern (affiliate link) from Peek a boo Patterns  (affiliate link) for the outfit. With a couple of adjustments…

The first, and simplest, adjustment I made was lengthening the arms (and legs). I didn’t want to use the cuffs, so I just made the arms and legs longer. Simple!

The second adjustment I made was for the top. I cut the back wider than the pattern. About two inches. I cut the back on the fold as directed in the pattern, I just cut it wider. Then I cut it in half along the fold line.

The kiddo loves costumes and has a growing collection! Most of his superhero costumes are one piece that close in the back. That’s what he likes and that’s what he got. I added Velcro pieces down the back and the extra width overlaps and closes just right!

To make the pj’s a one piece, I pinned them together at the waist and then sewed them together! I cut a lightening bolt belt out of fleece and sewed that together hiding the seam at the waist.

I’ve been told that a few things are missing… and he’s right, but… I didn’t have the lightening bolts along the wrists. So I made cuffs. Not exactly correct, but he accepted the improvement. And we’re missing the lightening bolts on the calves or boots. Still working on that!

He loves it! It’s comfy! And it’s been worn quite a bit! There will be more about the arm bands and mask coming soon!

 

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