Halloween : Witch Switch Girlfriend Gifts and Haunting My House

 

Pre-pandemic when I would get together with girlfriends, I always liked to bring a little seasonal something. Makers love making things right?! So will we let a pandemic stop us from showing our friends that we love (and miss) them? No, we will NOT! That's what mail is for and I get to help out the USPS. 

In this project, I'll show you how to make your own crackled surfaces without needing a specific crackle medium. 

Supplies: 

• Wood Plaques ( Dollar Tree)
• Acrylic Paints
• White Glue
• Vinyl ( I used Cricut's Glossy Black)
• Cut File (I got this fun file from designbundles.net )
• Wire
• Ribbon

I found this pack of 6 wood plaques at Dollar Tree ( 4.25 x 4.25 ) and of course I now wish I'd bought several packages. 

Since we're crackling these, you want to start with the color you want to peek through the crackles. For all of these, that was black. 

I painted both sides and the edges so I'd have a finished look when done. 

For the crackle, all you need is some white school glue. I stock up on this during back to school when they're like $.50 a bottle. After your base coat is dry, cover with a medium layer of glue. Too thin, and it will dry too quickly. Too heavy and it takes longer. So in the middle!

Wait a a few minutes (or you can speed things up with a blow dryer on cool but you don't want to dry it completely) and then go over with your accent color. The important thing here is to only paint in one direction, don't go back and forth with the second color of paint. 

You can let the top coat air dry or you can be impatient like me and use a blow dryer. Now it's OK to use a warm setting which will help the crackling. Do NOT use a heat gun which will bubble your paint. 

I kept two of the signs black and white to match my friends style; others, I used different colors to match their styles but did another layer of glue and white paint. 

While your plaques are getting good and dry, you can cut your vinyl. I re-sized the file in Cricut Design Space and then cut using glossy black vinyl.

Take a Valium and weed your vinyl. Just kidding. I hate weeding like Indiana Jones hate snakes. Do some deep meditative breathing and keep telling yourself "My friends are worth it. My friends are worth it".  Then use transfer tape to apply your vinyl to your sign. 

To finish, I cut pieces of medium gauge wire and wrapped around a paint brush handle to curl. Glue to each end with hot glue. Make bows from black ribbon and glue atop where you glued the wire ends as shown. 

I was really happy to hear from the recipients that they liked them. For a couple this is their only Halloween decor this year because have you met 2020? 

I did decorate because no matter what, I like being surrounded by seasonal decor . It's kinda what we do right? So here is a glimpse at my "Haunted House". 

Entryway table with my Witch Hat Wreath, Upcycled Goodwill Candle Holders, Mackenzie Childs Pumpkins and Glam Skulls from this year's projects. 

I also did my coffee table:

And a Poe vignette in the fireplace we don't use! I made Mr. Skully's Hat years ago and it's held up. 

Even the light fixtures aren't safe. Gold and black tulle, Dollar Tree glitter skulls and skeletons. 

And while most of my Halloween decor is black, metallics, and neutrals, I did add some color with a Dia De Los Muertos corner: 

Michaels had this pretty striped ribbon on sale which I used as the inspiration for the banner and pinwheels. I cut the images (Silhouette Design Store) from metallic vinyl. The banner itself I cut using black and orange cardstock and then added a "papel picado" (pierce paper) feel using different punches. The pinwheels are Astrobrights paper and the black pom poms are Dollar Tree. 

Happy Haunting! 

BFF Open House

Happy middle of the month Friday Eve all! Hope you've all had a good week. It's finally starting to cool down below 100 here in the desert. I don't think I'm ever going to get used to still being in shorts in October. We're moving full speed ahead towards Halloween so let's take a look at some spooky and fun ideas shared at last week's party. 

Anita from Unique Creations by Anita is blowing her creations out of the park. I happen to love this style, and these bottles are...chef's kiss! 

What is Halloween without some Edgar Allen Poe?!  Maryjo from Masterpieces of My Life has a wonderfully creative vignette inspired by his perfect for Halloween spookiness! 

If your tastes are chic but not scary, then check out this gorgeous Tiered Tray idea from Andrea at Living on Cloud Nine. I adore the buffalo check! 

Finally, these Peanut Butter Blossom Cupcakes from Butter With a Side of Bread, would be perfect with some hot cocoa on a chilly Halloween night! 

OK, let's see what everyone's been up to this week! 

 

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Click here to enter

Halloween: 2020 Cards Using the Spook Hill Stack from Michaels

 

I make cards all year round for all holidays, birthdays etc. but Halloween through Christmas and Hanukkah is full production mode. If you've been around my blog for a minute, you know that I am a helpless paperholic so I always love taking advantage when Michaels has deals on their "Hot Buys" especially when they're either buy one get two free ( I mean c'mon!) or they're on sale for $4.99. Mr. Chocolate will try to convince you that I own all of them. Not true. But many? Yes, that I admit to! 

I picked up this stack called "Spook Hill" (by Recollections) on one of their buy one get two free ( I get giddy just typing that!) and it was so my style! It includes foiled and non-foiled papers.  Now oddly, I can't find it on their website but it is available on Amazon.

This isn't a tutorial post but almost all of my cards are 5x7 and I used Black Recollections 110 lb cardstock ( Michaels ) for most of them w/ the exception of a couple I made using a heavy piece of 12x12 paper from my stash. 

I went with the color palette of the stack: Black, grey, gold, white. 

I cut panels 5.75 x 4.75 and layered with gold foiled transparencies ( previous Michaels trips!) and cut out some Halloween images using my Cricut Explore which I layered using foam tape. For the Haunted House image, I added windows using paper scraps I had on hand. 

Finished everything with gold self adhesive rhinestones in gold! And yes, those of you who know who you are, they're on their way. Boo! 

BFF Open House

Happy Friday Eve ( thank goodness for calendars because otherwise I'm not sure I'd know which day it was!). Hope you've all had a peaceful, healthy, and creative week! I'm excited to start working on some Thanksgiving inspired projects I can't wait to share. My most recent Halloween themed creation is here: Skull Earrings and Bracelet. 

If we're not already following each other on Instagram, I'd love to make sure I'm following you all. 

Let's take a look at some of the inspiring ideas from last week's party! 

Just because I've been on the hunt for them, I haven't found any more of those foam Dollar Tree pumpkins but Jasmine from Eccentricities by JVG did and I absolutely LOVE what she did with them! Perfect to leave up now through Thanksgiving. 

This colorful, poured, and hand lettered Hey Boo sign from Kristie at Love My Little Cottage is all kinds of perfect! 

Mary Jo from Masterpieces of My Life shared how she updates this awesome birdcage seasonally. I love pieces that can change from season to season. 

Finally, tis the season for all things pumpkin and while I confess to not being a fan, as my blog name tells you, I am a fan of chocolate. So these Bakery Style Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies from 3 Winks Design just may convert me because they look amazing!

Thanks to everyone who linked up!

Let's see what everyone's been up to this week.

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Halloween: Don't Forget To Decorate Yourself...Skull Earrings and Bracelet

 

Not that I'm going many places these days, and I know a lot of people are barely wearing clothes, but I do go out once or twice a week to run errands, and despite the fact that it's still triple digits here in the desert, and I'm still wearing shorts and tanks, that doesn't mean I can't get into the season right? Right! 

So I made myself some seasonal earrings and a matching bracelet. 

Michaels continues to expand their jewelry making supplies and there's not a trip that I make without a few things sneaking their way into my cart. 

Supplies: 

• Skull Charms ( I found mine on clearance at Michaels but they have some other similar beads)
• Silver Connector Links 
• White Marble Beads 
• Filigree Bead Caps
• Rhinestone Dangle Charms
• Small Silver Spacer Beads
• Jump Rings
• Misc Charms
• Jewelry Making Pliers

All of my supplies except for the little star charms, small silver spacer beads, and the swirly flat bead shown at the top of the earring are from Michaels Bead Landing / Charmalong lines).  

I found these on clearance when I wasn't even looking for them. They were up by the register, on clearance, so naturally I bought two sets! 

Step 1: 

If you're a novice jewelry maker, there are tons of great tutorials on You Tube. Here are some on "How to Open and Close Jump Rings") 

Open a jump ring, then use it to attach the skull bead and silver connector link. Sorry this is blurry! One handed photography while trying to hold up pliers with your non-dominant hand is tricky! 

I used the same process to attach the little star charm to the other end. 

Step 2: 

If like it seems 95% of people, you have pierced ears, you'll use the same process to attach an earwire. I'm in the ( I made up this stat) 5% of people who doesn't have pierced ears. Can't. Apparently I'm missing the connective tissue that prevents them from ripping so....it's me and your grandmas and people deathly afraid of needles. 

For us "clippies" the good news is Michaels has us covered. 

Problem Solved!

I use Loctite Gel Glue to adhere these to whatever misc flat backed findings I have. And then you're done! 

Bracelet

I do a lot of my bracelets on stretch cord which is how I did this one. 

Supplies: 

• Stretch Magic Jewelry Cord ( Michaels)
• White Marble Beads
• Filigree Bead Caps 
• Skull Charm
• Dangle Charm 

I always cut off more stretchy cord than I need because I've found it makes it easier to knot and I learned the hard way of trying to be very specific in my measuring only to find out I couldn't quite tie the knot. 

Clamp one end ( you can use an official bead clamp which they sell in the jewelry supplies or I've used clothespins, binder clips, or clamps I found in the hardware section of the Dollar Tree). 

Starting w/ a bead cap string as follows: bead cap, white bead, bead cap, spacer. Lather, rinse repeat until your bracelet fits your wrist. For reference, I have what are considered small wrists and I used 10 of the marble beads. Once you're satisfied w/ the sizing, close your bracelet with a knot. Dab a dot of Loctite Glue and then knot again dot of glue, knot again and trim the ends. 

Open another jump ring and attach your skull charm and rhinestone bead dangle and you're done!

And since it's 2020, my accessories wouldn't be complete with out a mask right? 

I already had this fabric in my stash so it was a no brainer! I've been using a pattern from Sweet Red Poppy to make my masks. 

I hope you've found some inspiration!