Halloween: Glam Sugared Skulls

 

Happy New Week! Sharing a play on words inspired project with these Glam Sugared Skulls. Living in the Southwest, Sugar Skulls, Catrinas, and Dia de los Muertos iconography and creations are EVERYWHERE and I love them. So, my brain doing what it does, came up with this idea. 

Supplies:

• Plastic Skulls (Dollar Tree)
• White Multi Surface Acrylic Paint (Waverly)
• Mod Podge
• Glitter
• Gemstones (Dollar Tree)
• Silk Roses (Michaels)

I used these plastic skulls from Dollar Tree and my favorite multi-surface Waverly paint. 

Cover the skulls thoroughly with paint. Those sponge spouncers work better to me than brushes. 

I wanted these to look like the skulls were cast from sugar so I grabbed some white glitter from my stash and mixed a bunch into some Mod Podge. Then, using the spouncer thingy (very technical term!), applied to the painted skulls. 

I craft like I cook. "Some"..."a bit"...so I don't have exact proportions but just mix until you're happy!

You can see the glitter effect here. I grabbed some of these irregularly shaped gemstones (Dollar Tree) and decided to use them for the eyes. I just started gluing them randomly and filling in. Yes, they're self-adhesive, but for better adhesion, I reinforced them with some dimensional glue. 

Mr. Chocolate had thoughts on the rhinestones I put in the noses. Pffft. 

I unintentionally made these to match us! Me, with black curly hair represented by black roses, and him, "clean shaven". I used a black rose spray from Michaels, cut it apart, and then glued leaves and flowers as shown.

Mr. Chocolate!

Me!

Us!

I'm planning a future decor tour post when I'm all done using all these projects I've made so you'll see how I used them (if I can stop making more stuff!). 

Sharing At:

Creatively Crafty Linky Party #270

July-O-Ween: Stacked Poison Boxes

 

I struggled with what to call these because this was one of those projects that didn't really have a plan other than "how my brain works". I had two more plain wood shadow boxes from my Framed Skeleton Hand Shadow Boxes and this idea just came to me.

Supplies:

• Wood Shadow Boxes (Dollar Tree)
• Craft Smart Multi Surface Paint (Michaels)
• Halloween Scrapbook Paper (Stash)
• Halloween Labels (Stash)
• Fillable Ornament (Stash)
• Mod Podge
• Epsom Salt
• Halloween Glitter
• Hot Glue and Glue Gun

For this project I used the smaller two boxes. I painted them black with my go to  CraftSmart MultiSurface paint (Michaels), then sized and cut scrapbook paper I had in my stash to fit inside. 

I used Mod Podge to adhere the scrapbook papers but didn't coat the top of the paper. 

I had this package of Poison Label Stickers I picked up at Michaels on sale years ago after season. There were 5 sheets of them and I still have two complete sheets and a couple of partial ones! 

I attached a couple to gold foil cardstock scraps and trimmed. 

Then I attached foam tape to the back of each label and attached them inside the boxes. Now it's time to "pick your poison"! I mixed up some Epsom Salt and Halloween glitter to make mine.

Of course I made more than I needed but I have an idea for the remainder. I spooned a little on top f each label, then glued one half of a fillable ornament using hot glue. 

I debated about putting some vinyl on the domes saying "Break In Case of Emergency" and may sti add a sign with that. 

I used a combination of thick tacky glue and hot glue to attach the boxes, then finished by adding more of the same black roses I used in my Skeleton Hands project. Elegant and Spooky is my jam! 

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Fall Decor: Tissue Papered Dollar Tree Pumpkins

 

While last year was our first year in our new home, we also went away for Thanksgiving. So this year is our first Thanksgiving here and I decided I wanted to switch up some of my color palette. Since the leaves don't really change much where we are, I went with the colors we do have in abundance. Shades of greens and golds. The best part is, it will still work with the more traditional Fall colors. 

Supplies:

• Dollar Tree Foam Pumpkins 
• Tissue Paper
• Mod Podge
• Acrylic Paints

This is the color palette I'm working with. I'm in the process of decorating so will be sharing things as I go along. 

The first step is to cover your pumpkin with tissue paper. Any tissue paper will work. I love the "ugly" pumpkins. The knotted, gnarly, knobby, creased ones. I crumpled the tissue paper then tore it into pieces. This is not scientific or measured! Apply some Mod Podge to the pumpkin, lay the tissue paper on, spread some more Mod Podge and continue until covered, including the stem. 

The tissue paper soaks up the Mod Podge but I like to go over it anyway just to make sure it's really good and on there!

When you're done, yes, it will look like it's been covered in a cocoon! I wanted the teal paint to be just a little deeper so I added a few drops of black and didn't completely mix it so it would have some variegation. 

I was very happy with how the crinkles and paint came together but of course, I wasn't done! The final step was to go over the pumpkins with gold, which I dry brushed all over, and covered the stem.

Sharing At:

The House on Silverado

Halloween: Easy Skull Candles

 

Can you ever have enough candles? Especially ones easy to "make" and that go with your Halloween decor? Clearly, my answer is: "Of course not!"

These are super easy to make and can be done in any style you like.

Supplies:

• Plain Glass Candles (Dollar Tree)
• Decorative Napkins (Walmart)
• Mod Podge (Stash)
• Cording and Beads (Stash)

I keep plain glass jar prayer candles from Dollar Tree in my stash, and picked up a $.98 package of napkins at Walmart. 

If you want a more opaque look, you can skip this part but I was going for a more translucent effect so I separated the patterned layer from the white backing. 

This also lets the Mod Podge seep through better. After I separated the layers, I tore the edges of the napkins both for appearance and because they were too tall for the candles. 

If you have any edges hanging over, no worries. Use lightweight sandpaper, a sanding block or an emery board to sand off once the candles are dry. 

Spread Mod Podge down the length of the candle and adhere one edge of the napkin. Normally, I coat the object and the paper I'm adhering but since the napkins were so absorbent, I just tacked one edge, and then applied the Mod Podge atop the napkin as I wrapped it around the candle. 

For this project, all of the crinkles and wrinkles just added to the look! I let these dry overnight. 

You can see here where I had some edges that were hanging over. I used a sanding block on them and they came right off. 

To finish, I grabbed some waxed cotton cording and crystal beads to wrap around the tops. 

When lit, you can see the glow come through the skulls! 

So now we have some spooky candles to accent our table! 

Sharing at:

Sundays on Silverado