Spider Web

Last week I was home sick for a few days, at one point I went outside to get a little fresh air & almost ran right into this amazingly huge & intricate spider web. 

 I ran in the house & grabbed my camera & got a few quick shots.  This was between a tree & our yard waste bin next to the house by our garage.

It got me thinking about Halloween!

Thank you, Karla

Halloween crafts

Hi All, Here are a few Halloween crafts that caught my eye out in Blog land...

thought I would share with you. Hope to make a few for myself.

TP Pumpkins from THE SWEET LIFE


Fishnet Pumpkins from THE IDEA ATTIC

Candy Corn Painted Bottles at the SWELL LIFE BLOG

Candy Corn Yarn Cones at THE MOMMY DIARIES


Thanks, Karla

2 quick (and cheap) fall crafts

Hi All,
Are you ready for fall? Seriously, I'm not - I want another month of summer, But I have a few decorating ideas to help me get ready for a beautiful MN fall & brace myself for a not-so-beautiful MN Winter.

Candle:

You'll need: Mod Pogde, empty glass pickle jar, colored tissue paper, leaves &

candle (we use an flameless one with the boy running around) Tear up the tissue paper into random size pieces & Mod Podge on to the jar.
I found these cool leaves,I think they were all chewed up by Asian Beetles, But I loved the lacy look of them & thought light flickering thru them would be beautiful.
Mod Podge them on to the jar over the tissue paper - I used a super thick coat.
* word to the wise, store your leaves flat, not is a crumpled ball will make this project easier*
I tied on a little birch branch disc with some raffia, dropped in a candle & Done!

Pumpkin Banner:

I found these felt pumpkins at Dollar Store in WI. I was not sure what I would do with them, but I had to have them. My Mom suggested this project & I turned out super cute!

I punched some holes, ties them together with some raffia (just something about fall makes me want to decorate with raffia... must remind me of hay).

Hang it above the porch french doors with some little Command Hooks
DONE!
Each of these crafts took about 15 minutes & cost virtually nothing.

Plus I was lucky enough to have most of the craft supplies on hand.
Thank you, Karla

Halloween Wreath revisited

Remember my LY Halloween Wreath ???

It is still cute & one of my Fav Projects. But this year I stepped it up a bit.

I added this big guy...

And this glittery little lady spider...
+ a few scary cob webs & I'm all ready for Halloween.

A much more impactful wreath - I'm making another for my sisters classroom because everyone was so generous to keep saving bags for me.

If making wreaths is up your alley, here are 2 blogs that you have to see for ideas...

Tatertotsand&Jello

Nesting Place

Can you guess which one is my Favorite???

Click HERE to see

Thank you, Karla

Melissa's Girls

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Thanks, Karla

Upcycled Halloween Wreath

Do you ever have a seasonal craft idea that you thought of just after the season passed???

Welcome to my Halloween wreath... I thought of this craft last year & have been working on it ever since. Well... not really "working" on it, but "collecting" for it for year. AND... I still probably would not have it complete except for my Hubby's family who was helping me "collect" for this project. Special SHOUT OUT to Walter, Deb & Denny for their help on this project :)

So Collecting what you may ask??? Well, OPNB's (Orange Plastic Newspaper Bags) from our local paper... delivered weekly.

I used these bags & a metal wreath frame from JAF to make an Upcycled Halloween Wreath. I like the fact that this wreath frame had 4 layers to it, so the wreath will be nice & full.

Take your bags & lay them flat, you can stack a bunch on top of each other to make this go faster. Cut off the top & bottom so the edges are even.

Then cut the bag in half.
Once you get a nice stack of cut bags, you can start assembling your wreath.

Just fold the cut bag in half,And loop it thru the wire wreath frame & pull the tails thru.Do this all the way around the wreath on all 4 layers. Push them close together, so the wreath is nice & full. When the bags arrive on your doorstep, they don't appear to have much color, but scrunched all together, it is a fun Halloween orange.

Once the wreath is complete, I added a few spiders (twisted into the wreath with a fine wire).

I added a burlap black bow (I love the frayed edges).Here is the finished wreath.

For 2 other fun upcycled Halloween crafts look HERE and HERE.

Thank you for stopping by to see my Blog, Karla

Chalkboard Paint Pumpkins

HI All,

I had this wonderful idea (or at least I thought it was a wonderful idea) to paint a few pumpkins with chalk board paint for Peepers to draw on. Peepers is still too little to get into carving pumpkins & let's face it, the guts are gross (who wants to touch that icky stuff)!

Get yourself a few nice pumpkins & clean them off. If you are going to paint the whole pumpkin, tape off around the stem. Or tape off a square for your spooky/fall message to go.

Then paint. The instructions said a roller works best for applying the paint, but I used a brush & it worked fine. A roller would probably work best for a wall or flat surface. Let it dry & apply a second coat. It is wet in this photo... it is matte when it dries.
Wait 24 hours before drawing on it. The directions also said you need to "condition it" by rubbing chalk all over it & them wiping it off. Again, I did not do this on the pumpkins, but probably would on a wall. Cute huh? Peepers really enjoyed drawing on it too.
One Warning: After I wiped it down to start fresh, noticed that the paint " flaked" off in a few spots. I suggest that you draw gently on the pumpkin & make sure they are at room temperature before you paint them. I want to try this on a artificial pumpkin that you can buy at a craft store & see how well it washes/wears.
Here are 3 links for more painted pumpkin inspiration...

9 0'clock Dance of Joy

Keep Home Simple

Trinkets & Treasures

Thanks, Karla