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| | From:  £åd¥ß®êtå (Original Message) | Sent: 10/6/2008 8:00 PM |
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Many of us are on a fixed budget and don't have a lot to spend on items for decorating our homes, inside or out!
Please share ideas and directions for adding a "WOW" factor to our rooms and yards and porches. 
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Boo-tiful Halloween Decorations Spooky Door Materials:
2-1/4 yards of sheer black fabric or
cotton fabric,
scissors,
15 black VELCRO® brand STICKY BACK® coins Instructions:
Cut or tear fabric lengthwise into 2 inch wide strips. Separate STICKY BACK® coins. Adhere hook halves evenly spaced across the top of the door frame. Adhere a loop half to one end of each strip. Press halves together to suspend the strips in the door frame; trim lower ends if needed. Hanging Ghosts Additional Material:
white gauze fabric,
scissors,
spray starch,
2-liter soda bottles,
small black felt hats (Can be purchased at craft stores.),
craft glue,
black VELCRO® brand STICKY BACK® coins,
black felt spool of nylon fishing line Instructions:
Cut a 24" square of gauze for each ghost; spray the squares with starch until saturated. Drape squares over soda bottles; arrange gauze to form ghost shapes. Let dry; remove from bottles. Glue hat on each head. Separate one STICKY BACK® coin for each ghost. Adhere 2 halves to head for eyes. (If necessary cut down to the appropriate size.) Cut "spooky" mouth shapes from felt; glue to each head. Cut fishing line to desired lengths. Separate remaining STICKY BACK® coins. Attach hook halves to ceiling and to top of each hat. Attach a loop half to each end of each line. Press halves together to suspend ghosts from ceiling.
Pom-Pom Spiders Additional Material:
large black pom-poms (which can be purchased at a craft store, or make your own)
black pipe cleaners (4 pipe cleaners per spider),
craft glue, scissors
VELCRO® brand STICKY BACK® coins in black, white Instructions:
Twist 4 pipe cleaners together at center; glue to bottom of each pom-pom for legs. Bend legs outward as desired; cut away excess, if needed. Cut tiny circles from white STICKY BACK® coins; separate halves. Adhere 2 halves to each pom-pom for eyes. Separate black STICKY BACK® coin halves. Adhere loop side to bottom of each spider; adhere hook sides at desired placement of spiders. Porch Spider Webs Additional Material:
black yarn
scissors, black
VELCRO® brand STICKY BACK® coins Instructions:
Separate
STICKY BACK® coins. Working in corner near porch rail, adhere hook halves along wall, ceiling and porch rail. (See drawing below.) Cut yarn to fit loosely between coins; adhere loop halves to each end of yarn. Press coin halves together to attach yarn strands in place. Weave other yarn strands through the attached strands to form web; press coin halves together to secure yarn strands in place. For a great effect, add a Pom-Pom Spider (see above.) |
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Winsome Witch
Charming terra cotta pot creation is sure to bring smiles.
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| DecoArt Products Required
Patio Paint
DCP11 - Pot O' Gold
DCP15 - Daisy Cream
DCP21 - Wrought Iron Black
DCP27 - Red Pepper
DCP29 - Petunia Purple
DCP40 - Terra Cotta
| Brushes - Synthetic Brushes for Acrylics: #4 & #12 Flat, #1 Liner
Supplies - Scissors, glue gun and sticks, pencil, palette pad or Styrofoam plates, paper towels, water container, 8" wooden broom, 4-oz. strawberry mini curly doll hair
| 4", 3" & 1" Terra Cotta Pots; 3" Saucer; Wooden Cat Shape; 2-1/2" Wooden Doll Head; 2 Wooden Mitten Shapes; 5"X5" Piece Watercolor Paper
| Product Note
Patio Paint is a self-sealing exterior paint. No prior preparation is needed when working on wood. For other surfaces, follow directions on label. Patio Paint may be used on all porous surfaces such as concrete, terra cotta, wood, plaster, etc. Because of the self-sealing agents, the paint does not require a varnish upon completion.
Painting Instructions
Note: To waterproof, paint entire pots, inside and out.
Witch
Note: Flesh mix is 1:3 mix of Terra Cotta and Daisy Dream.
1. Double load* #12 flat brush with Petunia Purple and Fern Green and paint vertical stripes top to bottom around entire 4" pot. With #1 liner, paint Pot O�?Gold stripes to the right of each stripe of Fern Green. Do same on a small triangle of 3" pot to match where the two pots will meet.
2. Paint 3" pot Wrought Iron Black, leaving small triangle of the stripe pattern exposed. Hot glue inside rim and fit over bottom of 4" rim, making sure to line up vertical stripes.
3. Paint 3" saucer and bottom of 1" pot Wrought Iron Black. Paint rim of 1" pot Petunia Purple using #4 flat brush. Buckle on rim is painted Pot O�?Gold with fine liner. Hot glue these two pieces together (per photo) to form hat.
4. Paint entire 2-1/2" wooden doll head with flesh mix. Add a touch of Red Pepper to flesh mix to paint cheeks and nose with #1 liner. Paint smile and heart shaped lips with Red Pepper, eyes and two dots of Wrought Iron Black and Daisy Cream highlight, eyebrows and freckles with Terra Cotta. Hot glue hair on doll head and hat onto head.
5. Paint both sides of the 5" piece of watercolor paper Wrought Iron Black and let dry. Fold in half and cut out curved triangle shapes for arms.
6. With #4 flat brush, paint wooden mitten shapes with flesh mix and shade with Terra Cotta around edges. Paint 1/3" of the wrist black.
7. Hot glue mitten shapes, arms and broom into place per photo.
8. Hot glue doll head with hair and hat into place on top of 3" pot.
9. Finally, using the end of a paint brush, add Pot O�?Gold dots to areas painted black.
Cat
1. Basecoat Wrought Iron Black. Float* Petunia Purple around edges.
2. Hot glue woodsie heart to back of neck for bow. Use liner with Red Pepper to detail mouth and nose, white dots on cheeks and eyes, black for pupils, Pot O�?Gold for ribbon collar and woodsie bow, shaded with Petunia Purple.
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Halloween Spider 4 large black garbage bags
styrofoam bubbles or crumbled newspaper
black tape or clear packing tape
white styrofoam ball
string Fill the garbage bag with the styrofoam bubbles or crumpled newspaper, then
tape shut with tape. This creates the body of your spider. Now take three
more black garbage bags. Fill one of the bag 1/4 to 1/3 full to create the head.
Try to make it as round as your able then tape to the body. Fold another garbage
bag lengthwise and cut down the crease into two pieces. Fold each half again
and once again cut down the crease. Tape the sides of each individual piece.
Now you have 4 legs to stuff. Do the same with your 4th garbage bag and that
gives you four more legs. Stuff the legs and tape onto the body. Now you take
your white round styrofoam ball and cut it in half. Attach these to the head for eyes.
Now tape string onto the back of the spider and hang it! |
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Jack-O-Lantern Centerpiece
Orange crochet cotton thread
Round balloon approx. 9" diameter
Plastic zipper type bag
Fabric stiffener of your choice
Waxed paper
Real or artificial greenery
Small piece of black felt
Votive candle in glass holder
Inflate the balloon until it is firm and tie a knot at the end. With a piece of the crochet cotton thread tie the balloon so it is suspended just above the waxed paper where you will be working. Place approximately 1/2 of the crochet cotton into the zipper bag holding one end to the outside. Add approximately 1/4 cup of fabric stiffener to the bag and gently work it through the crochet cotton. With the end you were holding tie a knot around the knot of the balloon and using the zipper bag to strip excess stiffener from the thread begin wrapping the balloon in a criss crossing motion to form a fairly close web totally covering the balloon. With the second half of the crochet thread add it to the remaining stiffener in the zipper bag and again gently knead to distribute through the crochet cotton. Repeating the above motion with one slight change, at a point approximately 1 1/2" from the knot make a ring around the balloon to build up a firm cuff. Each time you come back to this point circle again. When you have your balloon well covered and a cuff approximately 1/4" thick formed allow the balloon to sit down on the waxed paper so it's bottom will be slightly flattened and allow the balloon to dry thoroughly. When dry pop the balloon and cut the thread above the cuff around in a circle. This should form your pumpkin shape with the top edge firm enough to hold it's shape. From the scraps of black felt cut two eyes, a nose and a mouth and glue them to the front of your pumpkin to make a jack-o-lantern. Place the greenery fanning from a center point on the table, set your thread jack- o-lantern in the center and add the votive candle and holder to help hold it in place. You can add some of the goblins around the thread jack-o-lantern and with your Sharpie pen add a name above the trick or treat such as Cody's trick or treats and use these as party favors or naming members of the family.
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Pumpkin Tree Materials: 1 terra cotta pot; 1 small styrofoam block or florists clay; 1 pkg. miniature pumpkin ornaments (with hanging strings attached); hot glue gun and glue sticks; 1 tree branch with several sturdy twigs attached; (Optional) 1 pkg. "Dress It Up® " candy corn buttons; small amount of Spanish moss. Instructions: 1. Secure styrofoam or florists clay block to inside bottom of pot with a touch of glue. 2. Insert tree branch into center of styrofoam block. 3. Cover top of block and base of branch with Spanish moss and tuck in stray ends all around pot. 4. (Optional); Trim pot top rim with candy corn buttons by touching a small amount of glue to backside center of each button as shown in photo above. 5. Hang miniature pumpkin ornaments randomly on branch twigs and touch hanging string with a spot of glue to hold in place. |
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Raffia Bow Scarecrow Materials: 1 Rhyne® raffia bow (size desired); Household string or 4 small elastic bands; 1 miniature plastic pumpkin (for head); small amounts of fall colored fabric scraps or (action figure clothing if using small bow); scissors; 1 miniature straw hat. Note: All materials required for this project were obtained from local craft store. Instructions: 1. Cut raffia bow loops about 1" away from the center metal clip being very careful not to disrupt clip placement. Unfold cut ends for arms. Secure raffia arm ends with small elastic bands or household string. 2. Tie of raffia bow ends for legs with elastic bands or household string. 3. Force pumpkin head into top small remaining loop of bow, just above the bow clip and create facial features with markers. 4. Cut fabric pieces into shapes needed for shirt and pants, stitch or glue seams to back side of scarecrow. Secure waistband with string and tie a small piece of raffia or string around waist over shirt as shown. Note: To skip this step, just use action figure doll clothing for the small bow scarecrow. 5. Finishing: cut slits at sleeve and pant cuffs for frayed effect. Secure ends of sleeves and pants by slipping under elastic bands or strings. Glue hat to head. Bow at neckline is optional. |
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HALLOWEEN BALLOON ART - Skill level: None Required | | | Pumpkin measures approximately 15" high; Spider measures approximately 9" high; Ghost measures approximately 18"high. MATERIALS Cotton "SOUTH MAID®", Size 10 crochet cotton, 100% mercerized cotton, Art. D54 (350 and 400 yard balls). Thread Amounts: Pumpkin: Two balls No. 431 Pumpkin. Spider: One ball No. 12 Black. Ghost: One ball No. 1 White. Pumpkin: Green, yellow and black felt; 1/2 yard 1" wide black ribbon. Spider: Eight 12" black chenille stems; two 15mm wiggle eyes; eight 3/4" yellow pom poms; one 1/2" yellow pom pom; clear nylon thread or fishing line. Ghost: Large plastic bag; black felt; two 1/2" yellow pom poms; clear nylon thread or fishing line. All: 12" Balloons; commercial fabric stiffener; large bowl; scissors; white craft glue; hot melt glue gun and glue sticks. 
PUMPKIN Balloon: Blow up balloon to measure 33" around; knot end securely. Tie the end of the Pumpkin thread to the knot of the balloon and wrap thread around the balloon, criss-crossing in all directions. Secure thread end at the knot, leaving a length for hanging. Stiffen: Hold wrapped balloon over a large bowl and pour stiffener over the balloon. Repeat until all threads are thoroughly saturated. Gently smooth away excess stiffener on balloon with hands. Hang balloon over bowl to catch drips and allow to dry completely, approximately 24-48 hours. Burst balloon with a sharp point and remove from the thread bubble. Stand: Cut empty thread cardboard form in half across the diameter; cover with green felt; make a black bow and glue to the Stand. Features: Copy templates for Leaves, Eyebrows and Mouth. Top: Cut a 6" diameter circle from green felt. Cut a 1/2" diameter hole in the center of this circle; cut from the edge of the circle to the hole. Make zigzag cuts around the circle. Glue to the top of the thread bubble, overlapping ends as necessary. Stem: Cut a 2 1/2" x 8" strip from green felt and roll firmly, gluing as you roll. Glue to thread bubble over the Top. Leaves: Cut 2 from green felt; glue over Top and Stem. Eyes: Cut two 1 5/8" diameter circles from black felt; cut out a wedge from each black circle and discard. Cut two 2" diameter circles from yellow felt. Glue black circles onto the yellow circles; glue assembled Eyes in place. Eyelashes: Cut eight 1/2" x 1" triangles from black felt; glue four Eyelashes around each Eye. Eyebrows: Cut 2 from black felt; glue above Eyes. Mouth: Cut one from black felt; glue in place. Nose: Cut a 1" x 1" triangle from black felt; glue in place.
SPIDER
Balloon: Blow up balloon to measure 14" around. Wrap with Black thread and stiffen same as for Pumpkin. Legs: Glue 4 chenille stems to each side of the thread bubble spaced approximately 1/2" apart: apply glue to end of stem and to spider body where Leg is to be attached, insert tip of stem into thread bubble. Bend each stem to form "knees" and "feet". Glue one 3/4" pom pom to each "foot". Features: Glue wiggle eyes to thread bubble. Glue a 1/2" pom pom in place for the nose. Hanger: Glue a small circle of black thread to the top of the thread bubble for a hanger. Hang with clear thread or fishing line. GHOST Balloon: Blow up balloon, wrap with White thread and stiffen same as for Spider. Hang balloon so that the top of the balloon is approximately 18" above a large flat surface that is covered with the large plastic bag. Plastic bag will catch drips - do not place a bowl under the balloon. Body: Cut 180 45" long strands of White; divide into bundles of 10-20 strands each. Immerse a bundle of thread in fabric stiffener to saturate; remove one strand at a time and drape over the top of the balloon and onto the plastic in all directions to form ghost body. Repeat with remaining bundles until thread bubble is well covered and body is formed. Allow to dry completely, approximately 24-48 hours. Burst balloon with a sharp point and remove from the thread bubble. Carefully remove stiffened thread ends from the plastic bag. Features: Cut three 1 1/2" x 3/4" tapered ovals from black felt for Eyes and Mouth; glue in place. Glue a 1/2" pom pom onto each Eye. Hanger: Glue a small circle of white thread to the top of the thread bubble for a hanger. Hang with clear thread or fishing line. | |
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| <NOBR> Original post: shoozieforever</NOBR> (Original Message) | Sent: 10/16/2008 1:25 PM | Found this and thought someone might be interested in making these to hang on your Christmas Tree. These are quite pretty, when finished. Supplies and Tools: 22 gauge floral stem wire beads in assorted sizes wire cutters tacky glue Directions: 1. cut wire 6-1/2" to 8-1/2" long 2. String small bead onto wire, bend wire about 1-2" up 3. String beads onto desired length, covering wire at end. 4. Bend wire to make hanging loop by placing wire end into last two beads. 5. Add a drop of glue at top of last bead to secure. |
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Mini Pumpkin Wreath for fall or Halloween! This is one of the easiest wreath you can make. Let's see how to do it! Note: If you use fresh mini pumpkins they can begin to decay after a week or two. You might also make this wreath using artificial materials. The artificial mini-pumpkins we used came with a beaded, sparkle coating on them which is pretty -- but probably not for outdoor display. You'll probably also find plain orange artificial mini-pumpkins or even other colors like white or green -- so it's your choice. Supplies - Twig wreath form
- Mini pumpkins to cover the form
- Hot-glue gun
- Floral Wire
- Black Pipe Cleaner
- Black ribbon (grosgrain, satin, or raffia)
- Plastic Spiders
Instructions - Start with an 18-inch twig wreath. You'll want to find one that has a fairly flat top section, so there's enough surface for the glue to secure the pumpkins. This size wreath took 13 pumpkins, but when you buy your materials at a craft store, be sure to lay out pumpkins around the wreath to see how many will fit.
- Once your arrangement is set, start gluing each pumpkin in place and let it dry. We're gluing ours on so each one touches the next, but at the top we left about a 6-inch space for our bow.
- Little plastic spiders are a fun addition as well. Just dot the legs with a bit of hot glue and set down on one of the pumpkins for a spooky Halloween touch.
- Finally, you'll need a bow and I've got a great simple technique for that. You'll need to find wired ribbon in a 2 or 3 inch width. The wire helps you arrange the bow and the streamers easily and will help too, if you keep the bow from year to year -- you can just fluff it out as needed.
- Lay a 24" strip of ribbon down on the table. Now, take about a 36" piece and leave a 15 inch streamer. Begin to loop the ribbon from side to side, beginning with smaller loops, gradually making the loops wider. End up with another 15 inch streamer. Lay down a black pipe cleaner or a 12" length of floral wire. Now you can pick up the ends of the 24" strip and knot it securely around all of the loops and the wire. There's your bow!
- Use the wire to attach the bow to the wreath, or if you wish you can hot glue it onto the front. I know you -- and your guests -- will enjoy seeing this wreath.
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Decoupage Halloween Candle Craft Project EASY
You will need:
white pillar candle
Halloween paper napkins with images suitable in size for decorating your candle DecorArt Clear Coat Medium (or you could try Modge Podge, or white glue thinned with water) sharp, fine-pointed scissors paint brush rubbing alcohol Instructions: 1. Thoroughly clean the surface of the candle with rubbing alcohol to increase adhesion of the decoupage medium. 2. It is easier to cut around the decoupage images if you leave the paper napkin folded and cut through all the layers. When you have cut around the desired image(s) completely, carefully separate the layers and set the chosen image aside. 3. Using a paint brush, coat the area to be decoupaged with DecorArt Clear Coat Medium (this is the medium used on the project shown; if you're willing to try something else, Modge Podge or similar decoupage mediums should work reasonably well.) 4. Carefully position the cut out image and smooth gently into place with your fingers. Take your time with this step - once pasted into position, the thin napkin image won't be easy to move again. Add any additional images in the same way. 5. When all images are decoupaged in place, use the paint brush to coat them with another layer of decoupage medium. Let dry. Notes: As with any candle craft, safety is of prime concern: never leave a lit candle unattended, and never leave children or pets alone with a lit candle. Use common sense and please stay safe! |
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Antenna Head Jack-O-Lantern Ball
Here's a homemade Halloween decoration that you can make to decorate your radio or car antenna.
These lightweight Jack-O-Lantern balls also look great suspended from the ceiling, arranged in a fruit bowl, or placed wherever a small pumpkin craft would look good.
Supplies:
styrofoam or nerf ballistic ball orange craft paint black and yellow paint markers, or black permanent marker and yellow paint spray or brush on sealer hot glue and white glue scissors two pencils small scraps of fun foam in green and brown Instructions:
1. Poke a hole in the ball with a pencil. Use the pencil to support the ball while you are painting it with orange paint. Place the ball, on the pencil, inside a small vase or other support to let the paint dry. 2. Paint on a Jack-O-Lantern face. Draw the outline in pencil first, until you like the design, then go over it with black paint or permanent marker. Color in with the yellow paint marker or acrylic yellow paint and let the paint dry. 3. Use a spray or paint on sealer to seal the paint all over the ball. 4. Cut one or two small leaf shapes from green fun foam, and a small rectangle of brown fun foam to use as the stem. 5. Poke two or three small holes at the top of the ball with the pencil. 6. Dip the fun foam leaves and stem in craft glue, or use a small drop of hot glue, then poke the leaves and stem into the holes at the top of the ball. 7. You may need to make the hole at the bottom of the ball a little bigger to attach to your radio or car antenna. If the ball doesn't seem secure, put a small amount of white craft glue (or other water soluble glue) in the hole before placing it back on the antenna. Hold the antenna still and twist the ball sharply to remove. Variations: - If you wish to suspend the Jack-O-Lantern ball from the ceiling, glue a length of string or invisible thread into one of the holes before inserting the fun foam. - Glue on some strands of straw or raffia, and a straw hat, to make a scarecrow head. Paint the head a staw color instead of orange and use scarecrow features instead of the Jack-O-Lantern face. |
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Halloween Tree!
Halloween heralds the beginning of the holiday season and displaying a crafty Halloween tree shows you're in the scary spirit. Get the kids involved in creating and decorating a tree using Christmas ornaments.
Collect twigs and small branches from your yard or purchase some at a craft store. We used curly willow for our tree. Look for twisted, spooky-looking branches sturdy enough to hold your decorations and tall or short enough to fit the scale of your ornaments. You can use the twigs as-is or spray-paint them black on a tarp or newspapers outdoors.
While those dry, embellish the ornaments for the tree with a variety of peel-and-stick Halloween stickers. We decorated white Christmas glass balls for our tree but you can use any color and mix decorated balls with plain ones if you want.
Finish the ornaments by threading the tops with 9- or 10-inch lengths of narrow ribbon in black, orange, purple, or black-and-white dots. Knot it at the top so you can slip it over a branch of your tree.
To create the tree branches, simply arrange your painted twigs in Styrofoam or floral foam, being careful to stick the twigs in as far as they'll go. If you want a tree that will last year to year, secure the branches in plaster of Paris. To cover the foam, dot the top with hot glue and press a handful of Spanish moss over the top.
With your decorated ornaments dangling from its limbs, your Halloween tree is sure to give a friendly fright to anyone who sees
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Halloween Wind Chime Styrofoam head Wig Google eyes Bag of ''fake bones' fishing line Fasten fishing line to individiual ''bones''. Fasten the line to the head. Either tie around bottom, run through the head and out the tip and tie off, or put small screws into the head at the neck area, Be sure to have the bones at different levels. Fasten wig to head. Glue large googly eyes to head. Hang outside and let the wind creat your chime. |
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Go to the dollar store and get turkeys, scarecrows or pilgrims that are on a stick and stick them in potted flowers. |
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Create a Beautiful Centerpiece With Sheaves of Wheat Thanksgiving is a holiday when we celebrate our bounty of food, family and friends. It's also a time when cooks spend days planning menus and preparing food. So a simple yet stunning tabletop is in order!
Wheat has long been a symbol of abundance, making it a natural item to include in this easy, elegant Thanksgiving Day centerpiece You Will Need
Dried wheat
Glass vases of your choice
Candles and candleholders
What to Do
Dried wheat bundles are inexpensive and can be found in craft and department stores. To display the striking stalks, we purchased three tall glass vases. The vases have a narrow opening, which keeps the wheat standing upright.
If the traditional browns, reds and oranges associated with Thanksgiving don't appeal to you, choose another color, like the gorgeous green candles shown here. For a little more interest, use the same shade of candle in a variety of heights and set them on an assortment of candleholders.
Either arrange the vases and candles in the middle of your table or place each item in a line down the length of the table. |
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