A pool noodle, with a neck notch cut into it.  I used a serrated bread knife.

Happy Halloween!

Quick reminder that today is the last day to take advantage of the current Silhouette promo…$299 for a Cameo and your choice of starter kit (vinyl, heat transfer, fabric ink, or rhinestones).  Use code “CRAP”.

Candelabras: Dollar Tree

Framed prints: Lifestyle Crafts die cuts and letterpress.  How to here.

Subway art: The girls at eighteen25.

Crows: Dollar Tree

Spider web plate: Tutorial here.

Bat banner and bats on frame: Lifestyle Crafts Be Spooked, bats die.  I used the large size for the banner and the small size for the frame.

And, not mantel related, but festive nonetheless:

Have you pulled out the Halloween décor yet?

I was at the dollar store a few weeks ago and picked up some doilies.  (I’m obsessed, even have a work in progress Pinterest board.)  I had no specific plans for them, until Macy walked in after school and said “Hey!  Those look like spider webs!”

I stitched from the center to each doily point and then continued on to the edges of my pillow front piece.

Once the doily was stitched in place, I took some spider rings (also from the dollar store) and cut off the ring part.  I tacked them onto the pillow by sewing around the 2 middle legs on each side, like this,

only with actual thread instead of yellow bars.  Those suckers are on there GOOD and I’m certain they’ll stay put.

Since I already had the orange fabric (IKEA clearance) and the pillow form, this project cost me about $1.25.

Not bad, right?

Do you have Halloween décor out yet?

Have you nailed down costume ideas?

Linking to: Today’s Creative Blog

Because I’m a giant sucker for the letterpress, I HAD to use that, too.  The damask printing plate is quite possibly my favorite thing on Earth.  You’ve seen it before on my Easter mantel.  I used violet in place of yellow this time and instead of Spring…

you get Halloween.

The bat is one of the new die releases.  It comes with perforated fold lines to make it 3-dimensional.  I left mine flat, since I wanted to be able to slip them into envelopes.

(Envelope printed using the spooked printing plates)

And since I was busy pressing and cutting, I decided to make some Halloween art for my bookshelves.

The background papers are letterpressed.  (You can press regular old cardstock, it just doesn’t get the cool indentations that the fancy paper gives you.)  The text is also letterpressed.  The witch and the ghosts are part of the holiday release.  Cute, right?

***Lifestyle Crafts provided me with some of their new holiday dies.  I purchased the letterpress plates on my own.***

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked if I’d be interested in checking out the new Martha Stewart Crafts Decorative Paint Line, brought to you exclusively by Plaid Crafts.  And, because I’m smarter than I look, I said YES.

And shortly after that a box containing all of this (crappy cell phone picture alert)

showed up at my door.

Delightful, right???

You can find the entire line exclusively at Michael’s stores in the US and Canada starting NOW!

So, why do we need another line of craft paints?  Because this is the big daddy of all craft paint lines!  It works on all crafting surfaces including wood, metal, glass, ceramic, terra-cotta and fabric.  It is indoor/outdoor safe and dishwasher-safe on glass.  And, there are 160 paint colors in five finishes (Satin, High Gloss, Glitter, Pearl, Metallic).  All come in 2 oz. bottles and are non-toxic!

And the tools?  AMAZING.  The attachments all screw directly on to your paint bottle and come with a separate bottle for cleaning.  That spongy roller thing?  Genius.  Let’s get on with my project…

Disclaimer: Because I adore Martha’s glitter (totally have the variety pack), I went straight for the glitter paints. The glitter paint is not “paint” like you’re thinking. It’s kind of clear with glitter suspended in it.  I found this paint is best used with the Fine Top Tips attachments or as an accent as opposed to being brushed on your entire project.

Supplies:

Plate
Martha Stewart Crafts Multi-Surface Glitter Acrylic Paint (I used Obsidian)
Martha Stewart Crafts Fine Top Tips (pictured below)

The tips come in 3 different sizes.  The large size is the one recommended for the glitter paint.  They appear pretty close to the same size, so look carefully before you put one on.

They screw directly onto your paint bottle…fabulous, right?

Mark a point on your plate for the center of the web.  I wanted mine off center.

Take your squeeze bottle and draw a line from that point to the edge of your plate.

Do the same thing 9 more times or so.

Now fill in the cross webs (that’s totally a technical term).

And a couple more rows of those…

Now set it aside and let it dry.  It will darken up as it dries.

I cut off the ring part of a spider ring and stuck that on the plate as well.

You’ll be seeing more of Martha’s paints ‘round these parts for sure.  Maybe even next week. 

Full post disclosure here.

You’d better take a sedative, because that’s the only way anyone should ever commit to replicating these costumes.

Here are a few of the specifics, if you’re interested:

The “cup” is cloth automotive headliner fabric (like for the interior roof of your car). I picked it up locally at Hancock Fabrics and then I started to paint.

And paint.

And paint.

It took over a gallon of white latex paint, just to get a basecoat.

And then I did a 2nd coat (took MUCH less).

I taped off each “cup” into sixths.

I found a Slurpee font and downloaded it. Then I used my Silhouette to cut the lettering out of freezer paper. (Tip: When cutting freezer paper with a Silhouette, use the green/cardstock mat, put the dull side down, and cut your design backwards.) The freezer paper only stuck marginally to the painted surface. I had to paint carefully, but it worked out OK.

The red lettering is acrylic craft paint. The blue is latex pain.

I hot glued a “casing” along the top edge. I used sprinkler funny pipe for the frame.

The straws are red pool noodles.

The beverage portion is tulle. There’s also a coordinating colored “collar” hot glued and Gorilla taped inside the rim of the cup. It has an elastic casing to slip over the head.

Campbell doesn’t really like costumes.

Heck, he doesn’t even like clothes (basketball shorts excluded…it’s that Asperger’s/SPD thing).

Halloweens in the past have involved him screaming and freaking out because he HATES whatever he’s wearing. I think he could be dipped in battery acid and it’d cause less commotion.

So, when he actually came up with a costume idea that he was excited about, I ran with it. Even if the requested costume WAS Santa.

I traced a pair of pajamas for the pants and then cropped them and added fur.

I traced one of his older brother’s church shirts for the jacket, and then added fur.

The belt is a dollar store picture frame spray painted gold. Then I hot glued the end of the belt vinyl to the picture frame back and slid it into the frame and glued that in place, too. It closes with velcro.

And, for the very first time ever?

I have a kid who’s happy on Halloween!

try, try, try, try again.

Those are all Buddy the Elf hat rejects. The first one was so bad that I threw the whole hot glue-y mess in the garbage.

It turns out that trying to get a hat band to conform to the shape of a very slanty elf hat is harder than I anticipated.

Ribbon (on the right) was cute, but I didn’t like the little creases and bubbles.

A c-shaped piece of fabric (on the left) laid down nicely, but it was boring.

I got desperate and started thinking about no band at all (center).

And then I thought of my old friend “bias tape”. And we had a winner!

To make the elf hat, I traced one of my big silver mixing bowls (about 13.5″ in diameter) and then cut the circle in half. Next, I added my banding. I did a combination of sewing/gluing. Once that banding was in place, I folded the hat in half and seamed the straight edge.

Then, I folded the bottom edge under about 1/4” and hot glued it in place. I didn’t want any stitching visible. Add a red feather and you’re done!

This wreath from Crafty Sisters…

I found a ridiculously awful ivy wreath on clearance at IKEA last week for $2.99. I sprayed it with black spray paint and then wrapped it with a black feather boa from the party supply store.

I used dollar store ping pong balls (9 for a buck!) for the eyeballs, just like in the original.

I used foam stencil dauber thingy (I’m sure that you now know EXACTLY what I’m talking about on account of my brilliant use of the English language) to make the irises. I did a layer of green craft paint first and then a layer of Extreme Glitter. You can’t really tell, so I’m not sure that I’d go that route again. I used the handle dipped in black craft paint for the pupils. And then I hot glued them in place.

What’s hanging on your Halloween door?

I found these plain orange soap dispensers at Target on clearance last weekend.

And my mind started spinning.

And pretty soon Macy had every.single.one left in the store piled in her arms.

I cut out some jack o’ lantern faces with my Silhouette, but you could EASILY cut these by hand. The Silhouette’s just made me lazy.

And then I tied some crazy ribbons, ric rac, etc around the tops.

(That one reminds me of the Kool Aid Man.)

Easy, cute, cheap and perfect for gifting. Maybe your kid’s teacher? Your neighbors? Yourself?

I had a few extra bats, and now I think I have a problem.

They’re here:

And also here:

And THEN, I made a banner. With bats.

Also? I want to marry my Silhouette. There. I said it.

3 years younger and 3 times meaner.

Macy’s “cute” vampire:

• Black shirt and leggings she already owned
• Sparkly red shoes – reused from last year’s Dorothy costume, originally purchased at Target.
• Tutu – used this tutorial
• Cape from Simplicity # 5927 – The pattern called for 13.25 yards of trim. There were also supposed to be horizontal lines of sequins and some on the collar, but there was no way that was happening with the 13.25 yards. FabriTac worked way better than the hot glue gun for attaching the sequins.
• Long black wig – found at the grocery store
• Creepy make up from a kit and cheap vampire teeth

Keller and Campbell’s Mario Brothers:

• Overalls from McCall’s #4644 – I lengthened the back straps and squared off the front bib part. I also added facings (the pattern is made for fleece) and the chest pocket.
• White magic stretch gloves – I bought mine on Amazon.
• Long sleeve tees in bright red and green – I bought mine from www.cheapestees.com
• Baseball caps from Oriental Trading – I had to buy a dozen. If anyone needs a freaking ugly hat in red, green, yellow, orange, black or blue…let me know! I free handed the M and L circle logos and then used Wonder Under to make them. I used FabriTac to glue them to the hats.
• Mustaches – also from Oriental Trading
• Wigs – found at Dollar Tree, they were originally red and yellow striped. I spray painted them black.

Bennett’s Toad:

• Toad hat – modified from this idea in Family Fun. It’s basically a sombrero and bubble wrap. I glued on the red circles with more of the FabriTac. That stuff got a work out this year.
• Vest – made from red felt with yellow felt trim. I looked at a pirate vest from several years ago and figured out how to shape the pieces from that. It took 3 tries, but felt is cheap and wide, so I had plenty.
• Pants – white knit. I traced a pair he already owned and made them puffier and put elastic at the bottom.
• Shirt – I used a long sleeved onesie I already had and dyed it. I used Rit Liquid in tan and just dipped it ’til it looked to be a good skin color.
• Brown shoes – we already owned, but they’re Pedipeds if you think you need some.