Summerween: Dollar Tree Vintage Ghost Makeover

 

Starting my Halloween crafting during "Augtober/Summerween", whatever! Vintage is having a moment this season. Popped into a Dollar Tree last week and found these adorable little vintage-inspired Ghost Pumpkins. Being contrary like I am, I didn't love the colors as-is, so I did what we makers do and made it my own style! 

Supplies: 

• Vintage Ceramic Ghost Pumpkins (Dollar Tree)
• Acrylic Multi-Surface Paints 
• Fine Line Paint Pen (Apple Barrel)
• Rhinestones
• Baker's Twine

I grabbed black, white, and metallic paints from my stash. Ultimately, went with black, white, and gold as my color palette. 

I painted the pumpkin base with Craft Smart multi-surface paint in black. Two coats. 

I used a sponge paint spouncer (Dollar Tree) to coat the white ghost head with multi-surface white paint. 

To finish painting, I did the ruffled collar in gold (two coats), and outlined the ghost eyes with an acrylic paint pen. 

I grabbed some clear rhinestones and used different sizes for the eyes and collar. It didn't matter of some of the original paint peeked through because the next steps will take care of that! 

I went around the collar and glued rhinestones in the ruffles using a dimensional adhesive. 

Once that was done, I used coordinating baker's twine to wrap around the top of the collar (this took care of any more paint bleed-through). 

And done! 

And now they fit in with my more goth/glam style! Easy Peasy, and you could do these to match any color combination you prefer. 

BFF Open House

 

Happy Friday Eve, all! I hope you're all "weathering" Summer well. It's crazy everywhere. Chicago Son got caught stuck on a train that had to be stopped because of a tornado and said they've set a record for tornadoes this Summer. EEK! We continue with monsoon unpredictability and people not heeding heat warnings about hikes here in the desert. 

And, as I found out last week, COVID is having a Summer moment. Stay safe, peeps! 

This week I shared a birthday card for a creative friend and more doodle fun. 

Cricut Birthday Card:

Pen and Ink Meet Procreate:

Lots of fun ideas and yummy recipes shared at last week's party, so here are a few ideas! 

Selep Imaging shared this gorgeous Mosaic Flowering Tree Stepping Stone. 

The Apple Street Cottage shared a wonderful way to prep for the holidays now: three different ways! Left to right: Emery Board Sleeves, Tea Holder, Repurposed Paper Gift Tags. 

Steph Creates shared how to transform a plain ceramic tray into a beautiful Trinket Tray. 

Finally, The Kitchen Is My Playground shared this delicious-looking Pear and Walnut Crisp. 

Thanks to everyone who linked up and let's see what you've been up to this week! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Artsy: When Pen and Ink Doodles Meet Procreate

 

I'm still learning my way through Procreate and one struggle I have is actually drawing in the same way I do on paper. So I combined them! 

Above is my little Zombie Doll I drew last week when I was laid out with COVID. I haven't named her. With as perfect as we can make everything with digital tools and AI (a thing I have lots of conflicting feelings about) I am silencing my inner Virgo perfectionism and accepting that art, like life, can be imperfect. I think that's why I like doodling. Perfect in its imperfections. 

I uploaded a picture of my doodle, removed the background to make it transparent, and imported it into Procreate, where I colored it, created a background, and added the sentiment from a bundle I downloaded from Creative Fabrica!

The result: 

The sentiment is perfect for me and my fellow introverts, as well as sums up my feelings after a week down with COVID! 😂

I played around with another doodle, this time a cauldron.

You can click on each to bring to full resolution, then save. These are free to use (but not to sell things...honor system) 

Happy to say I'm feeling MUCH better. My doodling medicine definitely helped! 

Sharing At:

Vintage Charm Party #552!

Papercrafting: Cricut Birthday Card

 

Before COVID got me, I made a birthday card for one of my crafty friends, inspired by a paper pack I picked up at Michaels: Splatter and Swirls

Supplies:

• Patterned Scrapbooking Paper (Craft Smith, Splatter and Swirls, Michaels)
• Coordinating Glitter Paper (Stash)
• Base Cardstock (Recollections, 110lb Cardstock, Michaels)
• Focal Images (Cricut Design Space)
• Creatology Gems (Kids Crafting Aisle, Michaels)
• Digital Cutting Machine (Cricut Maker)
• Tape Runner
• Glue Stuck

I started by choosing what I wanted to feature as my focal images in Cricut Design Space,  sized to fit my card, and cut. Card is 5x7. 

I picked a glitter paper that coordinated with this piece from the Splatter and Swirls stack mentioned above. 

I cut the patterned paper to fit my card, then applied the cut images using a glue stick. These "industrial strength" ones by Aleene's (Dollar Tree) are a go-to! They really hold things down. 

Once my images were glued down I grabbed these fun gems by Creatology from Michaels. I love peeping the kids crafts aisles for supplies and these are one of my favorites. 

I glued them to my card as shown using a dimensional glue, and added a few gold rhinestones to pick up the foiling on the paper. Et voila! 

The card's been received and my crafty friend loved it. My work here is done!

BFF Open House

Happy AUGTOBER, peeps. The new month fairy played me false, and brought me COVID. I know...

As far as I knew, no local surges were going on, and homebody that I am, not even sure where I was exposed. Just glad I didn't manage to pass it on to my mom, and Mr. Chocolate has remained symptom free. UGH!

No features because I'm beyond wiped out. That's actually been worse than anything. Even typing is exhausting. This too shall pass, right? 

So we'll jump right into party mode, and can't wait to see what you've been up to this week!! Stay healthy, wash those hands, etc. etc.!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

BFF Open House

 

Happy Friday Eve, all, or, as I said to my son this morning, Happy Spidey-Friday Eve, since he's a huge Marvel fan and the latest Spider-Man movie comes out tomorrow. We'll probably wait until it streams, but he'll for sure see it this weekend. 

I hope you've all had a great week and are holding up whatever your weather may be doing. It's wild everywhere, it seems. 

It's also "Augtober" starting tomorrow, as I saw referenced on Insta. Lots more Halloween goodies are hitting the stores, and I'm guessing that with August, we'll even start to see a bit of Christmas coming in. 

But before we get into those seasons, let's take a look at some of the great ideas from last week's party! 

Sonata Home Design shared how to add a great addition to your garden by turning a Repurposed Picture Frame Into Garden Art. 

handmade by amalia shared a creative and whimsical idea with her Art Exhibition Diorama. Art for art's sake is always a good idea. 

Scratch Made Food for Hungry People shared a different kind of recipe; DIY Woolen Dryer Balls. I use dryer balls when washing our comforter and pillows and need to make some of these because mine are way too noisy!

Finally, Summer is peak strawberry season, and this Homemade Strawberry Cake Recipe from Ann's Entitled Life is a perfect way to use them. 

Thanks to everyone who linked up, and Happy Creative August! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

BFF Open House

 

Happy Friday Eve, all! I hope you've all had a peaceful week and are surviving whatever crazy weather your part of the world is dealing with. We continue in our monsoon season with mostly late afternoon storms that come on fast! Fortunately, they blow through pretty quickly. Short and wild...just like me! HA!

Sharing is caring, right? So here are a couple of upcoming FREE workshops I was excited to sign up for and am really looking forward to since they feature my two favorite crafting seasons: Halloween and Christmas!

Paper Glitter Glue is hosting 

The Great Halloween Spectacular 

20 days of frightfully fun papercrafts.

Let's celebrate Halloween together, one project at a time.

and 

Hosted by Brandi Mahon 

Get inspired with festive crafts, elf ideas, organization tips, recipes, and Christmas magic - all from the comfort of home.

There will be tons of ideas and fun!

Now, while it's still very much Summer, let's take a look at some fun summer-themed ideas; there's still plenty of time to enjoy! 

Petticoat Junktion shared how to take mis-matched thrift store finds and unify Thrift Store Figurines into a coordinated set using spray paint. The look changes completely!

Building Our Hive shared a fun way to stay protected when out in the sun with these Fun In the Sun Gift Bags. 

Summertime is pool party time! Whether at home or at a community pool, treats are always a good idea, and these Pool Cookies from Buttercream Dreams are the perfect treat!

Finally, Summertime is also gardening time, and 3 Winks Design has a great tutorial on Making Sundried Tomatoes From Your Garden. 

Thanks to everyone who linked up and can't wait to see what you've been up to this week! 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter