happy halloween & a DIY halloween village

DIY Halloween Village

This Halloween village was a gift for my mother-in-law, and it turned out to be such a fun and simple project. 

Materials: 

 - scrap wood

 - paint

 - fine point pen for outlining (optional)

... I am dreaming of a little winter village for our mantel!

Happy Halloween! 

sometimes crafting is like childbirth

 

Up until a few weeks ago, this is what our red wagon looked. Sad. Dilapidated. In desperate need of some TLC. One morning I decided to do something about it.  I called my husband to ask for advice - he laughed. Hard. And then said, "Call the body shop and ask for an estimate!" And laughed some more. I was not discouraged. In fact, I was more determined than ever to do get this done. At that moment I completely forgot about the piles of laundry and the toilets that needed scrubbing - this was personal. And nothing was going to stop me.

Realizing I was on my own, I scrounged around in the garage and found a chisel, sanding pad, and a drill with a wire brush attachment. The plan was to scrape off the flaking paint, sand it a little, and then give it a fresh coat of paint - it should just take an hour, or so...right?  HA, Wrong!

After the boys and I were a quarter of the way (and several hours) into the paint scraping, I realized that this was a much bigger project than I had originally thought. It suddenly dawned on my why my husband was laughing.  But, quitting was totally out of the question. I might have to stay up half the night and suffer through blisters on my hands, but I was going to finish this darn thing.  (The good news: I didn't have to stay up half the night. The bad news: my hands were pretty torn up and blistered. No pain, no gain. Right?)

I decided that, in order to continue, the wagon would have to be taken apart (which turns out to be much easier said than done when it comes to dealing with rusty bolts).  I struggled for a while, but eventually claimed victory.

In the (late) afternoon my husband called to inquire about our progress, and I proudly reported that we were ready to paint. 

When he arrived home, and saw first hand just how much work we put into the project, he volunteered to do the painting and assembly.  I happily accepted the offer (honestly, my hands could not endure much more).

The boys picked the colors, and they are absolutely thrilled their shiny new ride.

Every time I look at the wagon I have to smile - I did it! I knew I could do it! Crafting is like childbirth sometimes - it can hurt like crazy in the moment, but you completely forget about the pain by the time the next project comes around!

FYI: My husband is a very supportive guy, but sometimes I think he breaks into nervous laughter in order to deal with my wild ideas and crafty ambitions.   Thanks Hun for (eventually) jumping on the wagon!!

Happy Crafting!

bring on the may flowers!

The April showers have overstayed their welcome this year. And not just a few sprinkles here and there, no, we're talking TORRENTIAL downpours. 

So, to combat the soggy-boot blues, I say...  

bring on the May flowers!

All the materials for this project can be found around the house: (the instructions can be found here.)
- toilet paper rolls
- paint
- wood skewers
- tissue paper 
- green paper

Now, if we could just convince the sun to stick around... hmm.

file folder gift boxes

 These gift boxes are made from items found around our house.

While rummaging though our office supplies, I came across a big box of red file folders. The color was not my first choice, but in the spirit of giving simple gifts, I thought it best to use what we have instead of buying new. 

I discovered that 3.5"x3.5"x2" boxes are a great size for the bird seed ornaments.

Materials:

file folders (cardstock, cardboard, etc. will work too)
ruler
scissors
glue gun
ribbon

tags

First, make a template (like the one below).
TIP: be sure to make it as "square" as possible - this will save you a lot of heartache and frustration down the road.  

Trace your template on the file folder, and cut out around the perimeter. 

Fold along all of the lines.  Then, cut along the flap lines on two sides (yellow marks on template). 

Hot glue the flaps together.

To make the bottom of the box: follow the same instructions, but cut 1/8" off the length and width of the template, so the bottom of the box will be small enough to slide into the top of the box.

 And finally, DECORATE!

Happy Holidays . . . celebrate every day!

jack-o-lantern puzzle favors - TUTORIAL

 


Today I am sharing a fun, easy, inexpensive, AND sugar-free party favor that the kiddos can help make.
I know I have gone on, and on before about how grateful I am that my son's preschool encourages parents to hand out sugar free items as party favors, but really, I LOVE it.  Don't get me wrong, my kids have candy sometimes, but it just seems at Halloween they end up with way more than any kid needs.  And the funny thing is, my kids are way more excited to get pencils or fun band-aids anyway.  OK, enough ranting, on to the tutorial.
 

A few weeks ago, I made this Halloween concentration game games to hand out, but I really wanted the boys to be involved in making something to give away to their friends.
 
So, I searched the web and came across this Jack-O-Lantern Puzzle project (scroll down to the middle of the page to find it).  Using craft sticks, paint, and a marker, the kids create pumpkin puzzles.


To make them easy to hand out as party favors, I packaged them up in coordinating bags and tags.


 
Materials for the puzzle:

• large crafts sticks (6 for each puzzle)
• orange paint (I used tempera paint)
• paint brush
• marker
• tape (something that can be easily removed)
• overhead transparency & Exacto Knife - for making a pumpkin template (optional)

Materials for the bags: 

• 9.5" x 4.25"  orange fabric (I used rip-stop fabric)
• 15" piece of black ribbon/yarn (I used yarn because that is what I had on hand)
• safety pin

Materials for the tags: 

• printed tags - click on image to enlarge and save to your computer ( I printed these as 4"x6" photo at my local photo center)
• Scissors or paper cutter
• Hole punch

OK, lets get started...   Start by taping the craft sticks together. (I found that taping on the diagonal makes it easier to handle.)
Then flip over and paint (I taped as my boys painted) .
Sorry, I don't have any pictures of this... in the pictures below, just imagine the craft sticks are orange.

After the paint dries, draw the pumpkin with a marker.  Make sure all of the craft sticks have some portion of the pumpkin image on them.
Optional Step:  If you are making a number of these at a time,  a template is helpful in speeding up the process a little.  To make the template, place the sheet of overhead transparency on top of the craft sticks and draw your pumpkin. Then cut out the black areas with an Exacto knife (carefully).
Once you are done drawing all the pumpkin faces on the painted craft sticks, set them aside (don't remove the tape yet).

 The next step is to make the bags...




The first step is to create a finished edge for the casing.  Measure down at an angel 2" along both of the long sides and stitch in place (see photos above).




Fold the top down 1" and stitch in place, creating the casing.



Fold in half lengthwise and stitch all the way around to the bottom of the casing (don't sew the casing shut).


Using a safety pin, thread you ribbon/yarn though the casing, then turn the bag and press.

Now on to the tags...


Cut out and punch holes in each of the tags.



Now it is time to assemble the favors...

remove the tape from the back of the puzzle (assemble one at a time so the pieces don't get mixed up).



Insert the puzzle pieces into the bag, add the tag and secure with a bow - and repeat.

That's it - You're done!

...combine both games for a Halloween game bonanza!

Thanks for stopping by - Have a SUPER Halloween!

while little brother sleeps...

big brother is busy designing a new t-shirt

complete with a camel's hoof and a treasure map.  Ahhh, to be 4 again!

easter buckets

Once again I found myself frantically crafting on the eve of the school Easter party - trying to create unique baskets for my boys.  The bags I made last year were fun, but I felt like they were a little too cutesy.  Luckily we took a family outing to Home Depot last night and I spied these paint buckets, and I knew they would be perfect.  And surprise surprise, the boys LOVE them.  My Little guy dumped a handful of dirt in his bucket on the way in the house last night and started "haulin' it to his job-site."  
I painted on the grass (it is not the best paint job), and the boys thought it was great - and that's all that matters!

Materials: (estimated time: 5-10min)

• Empty (new) paint can (I found this one on the end-cap of the paint isle) ~$4
• green paint
• brush

custom soccer cookie favors

front

back

My oldest son LOVES playing soccer, and lucky for him we have an indoor soccer center just a few miles from our house so he can play all year round.  The past two seasons my husband has been the coach, which has provided me with the opportunity to get a little crafty in the sporting department.

Last season, I designed certificates for each of the players, but this time I thought it would be fun to do something a little different... a little sweeter.  So, when I came across this tutorial and recipe, I knew instantly it was just what I was looking for.  The wrapper is a CD sleeve - Genius!  These soccer cookie favors were so fun to make, and even more fun to eat.  Yes, I sampled one four - you know, for quality control purposes.

I can see myself making many more of these in the future for birthdays, thank-you gifts, teacher appreciation... oh, the possibilities!