Thursday, October 30, 2008

Spider Web Pouch Treats




I carved out a few minutes yesterday to put together these treat pouches for Halloween. I filled them with foil-wrapped chocolate pumpkins and kisses. I found the sheer spider web fabric at Hobby Lobby and tied them closed with orange pipe cleaners. (I saw the idea a few months back in a magazine.) I love the look and they were so simple to put together.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Halloween Goofiness


We got the girls dressed yesterday for our neighborhood's annual Halloween Party and Parade and as soon as I did the "official" shot the girls started mumbling about something....I said "What's the matter?" Their response was, "We want a silly shot." So, this was the result....an official "silly" picture of our Olympic Gymnast and Garfield the Cat. Who knew that's all it would take? They were happy after that.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Homemade Snow Globe


I'm working again on our school's Holiday Festival and today I put together the remaining jars which we will use to make snow globes. I decided because my sample jar was taller than the jars we are using for the Festival, I would use a pretty pink flamingo instead of the Christmas charms the children will use. It was pretty easy to put together. The first thing you do is remove the label from the outside of a baby food jar. Then, with hot glue, apply your snow globe "centerpiece" which, as you can see, I used a flamingo. Fill your jar with water, add some glitter and a squirt of clear hand soap. For safety, I used a white painter's tape to wrap the lid and keep the kids from unscrewing the top. Next I tied a pretty pink ribbon to cover the tape.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Frankie's Pail


I made two of these pails the other day to give to my girls for Halloween. I found them at Wal-Mart for $1.00/each. There's been so much done with Frankenstein this year, I couldn't pass up the green pails once I saw them. The hair was hand cut and the eyes were punched out using my 1 3/8" inch punch and my 1 1/4" punch. The lips were a design of my husband's. I didn't want to draw on a typical Frankenstein mouth so we went for the puckered up look instead. What do you think?

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Did I say, "Paint it purple?"


A few weeks back I saw a post on Craig's List for a free shopping cart. We went to pick it up from its previous owner and found out they used it to haul their boat supplies back and forth from their house and dock...the house was big and beautiful and on the water. My first thought was to take it to school for our PFA's use in carting supplies from our supply closet to wherever we are setting up events during school. We are always wheeling stuff from place to place. Our PFA color is purple so we painted the cart the same color. Have you ever seen a purple shopping cart before? I think it's pretty cute!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Mummy Candy Holder


I made these last year in my daughter's 2nd grade class. They are really easy and quick to put together. This year my 1st grader wants to share them with her class....I tried to encourage her to pick another craft, but this is the one she chose. To make one, you start with a toilet paper roll or you could use a paper towel roll. Cut the toilet paper roll in half and secure a square-shaped piece of paper to the bottom using white tape or transparent tape. This becomes the "bottom" of your mummy's head so the candy doesn't fall out. Next, using cheesecloth cut into thin strips, begin wrapping the roll until you are happy with the amount and overlapping design. The cheesecloth is great because is sticks to itself but you can also use a small piece of transparent tape to keep it more secure. The last step is to add wiggle eyes with clear glue before filling with candy treats. The bows are optional of course, and you could always tea-dye the cheesecloth to give it an "old" look.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Witch's Broom Treat


I saw these cute broom treats at the craft store in the Martha Stewart section. I thought they would be really fun to make in my daughter's 3rd grade class. The only thing was, "Martha's too expensive!" She wanted $11.49 to make 6 brooms using her kit. So, I did the next best thing, and came home and searched the internet. I found the instructions, along with a picture or two describing exactly how to make them. Here's my finished product. I already had the brown lunch bags, the candy (inside), the black twine, tag supplies and sticks in my backyard....so, this craft was basically free!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Spooky Fun


I had a few minutes to put together a neat card this morning....I worked on a few other "creative" things today but this was the only product as far as papercrafts go. We are busy getting ready for the Halloween holiday. I found a similar card to this one on-line somewhere and I put together my own version. It's funny how things never turn out exactly like an example you are following, but I actually like that I used my own creative energy along with their idea to give me a jumpstart. I would love to make a few more of these....and tags of the same would be cute also. (I did notice my "k" and "y" need to be raised a teensy-tiny bit.)

Dinner with the Dolphins



We had a great time last night visiting Marineland in St. Augustine. My sister's company had their annual company picnic and we were treated to the first ever dolphin show in 4 1/2 years! Afterwards, the trainers came down and hosted a special Q&A session and we were allowed to visit with and photograph the dolphins right beside their training tanks. I had never been so close to so many dolphins. We were so close you could see them watching us and blinking their eyes at us as the swam slowly by.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Decorating with Skeleton Leaves


I saw this idea in a magazine, but I didn't buy the magazine, I only flipped through it at the grocery store.... sometimes you gotta look through those $6.00 magazines and really think about whether or not you "need" it or just "want" it. This was one of those "want" times and I decided I didn't really "need" it. Anyways, I did borrow this idea. I purchased an inexpensive grapevine wreath at Michael's when they were on sale for $1.49/each and we spray painted it black. Next, I attached some "skeleton leaves" - I'd never heard of them until I read the instructions in the magazine - and then I tied on a pretty bow. I'm not sure I'm lovin' the entire thing yet, but I thought it would be something different for my front door.

Quick Bubble Treats


I had a good time last night putting together these little "treat" bubbles for our neighborhood Halloween party. These are the small bubbles that you can find on the wedding aisle at the craft store. I used some leftover Halloween paper from my treat purses to decorate the outside and then I attached a small circle tag using my Martha Stewart colored twine (orange & white and black & white). I love that stuff! I thought these would make a simple alternative to all the candy the kiddies receive on the big day.


Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Kit Kat Treat Purses



I was hoping to post these pictures yesterday but the day ended up being a busy one. Anyways, I have now completed 18 of these to give away to my daughter's first grade class at their Halloween party. Inside these cute little "purses" are snack-size Kit Kat bars. My original template was too small, so I got out my trusty ruler and made one myself. This one measures 6.5 x 4" and is scored along the 6" inside at 2", 3.25" and 5.5". I also attached the purse handle by using a 7" piece of ribbon. The rubber stamped images are from the "Batty for You" Stampin' Up collection. I need to buy more googly eyes because I think the kids will enjoy watching the character's eyes move around. They always seem to be looking at you...a little bit creepy!