HALLOWEEN PHOTOS!

Posted by Ethne and Lori~

 

 

Hope you had a happy Halloween y'all!  Turkey goodness and many thanks starting already!

HALLOWEEN MONTAGE!

Posted by Lori~

This post is just a little bit of this and a little bit of that--ALL HALLOWEEN!  I will be sharing a few simple projects I have been working on!

Mur-man and I needed an art project...we made smartie-pants.  I drew the pants and Mur-man cut them out.  Not perfect, but cute.  Plus, he is OBSESSED with cutting things out.  It's good practice.  

Next, are pumpkin treat bags.  All you need is orange fleece or felt, black fleece or felt, fabric glue, ribbon, and a sewing machine.  VERY EASY...THE PHOTOS TELL THE STORY!

Next up, Mur-Man is supposed to wear orange and black for school tomorrow.  No Halloween costumes allowed.  Literally, Mur-man had nothing in his closet that was orange, so I decided to decorate a tie (already had) with a plastic spider!  Hopefully it will make it through a full day of pre-school.

SMART COOKIE HALLOWEEN COSTUME!

Posted by Lori~

Steve and I spent last week in New Orleans!  It was AMAZING!  I promise to share photos this week.  I am beat...that city is CRAZY!  Let's just say, my only regret is that I didn't go there when I was 21 (versus over 30)!

We got back to ND late Sunday/early Monday!  I am still catching up on sleep.  When we got back, I had to work hard to get Mur-Man's Halloween costume ready.  We went to a Halloween party tonight, so I had added pressure.

Literally, this costume cost me $0.00 (NOTHING)!  Most of it required items that people would already have, and I also crashed my craft stash.  Not bad.

I asked Mur-Man what he wanted to be for Halloween and he said a cookie.  Cute, but we needed to go a little more creative, so I decided to go with a smart cookie.

Here's the steps I took to make the costume:

I took kid sunglasses and popped out the lenses.

Using black electrical tape...I wrapped the glasses.

NERDY, but smart!  ADORABLE!

I let Mur-Man come up with the chocolate chip design.

There's my chip pattern.  I used this shape to cut black fabric chips.  I also used it to cut out wonder-under (or fusible interfacing. 

I then ironed the fabric to the fusible interfacing, cut it out, and then ironed it to the brown cookie fabric. 

I created the cookie shape and also added a bite.  I then sewed the two fabrics together leaving space for stuffing.  I stuffed it and then closed the hole with the sewing machine.

I also sewed black ribbon to attach the two cookies.  
 

Finally, I used Steve's graduation hat to complete the outfit!  He looks pretty smart--doesn't he?

 

HALLOWEEN MANTLE

Posted by Lori~

Our 1939 house has an amazing wood burning fireplace (my favorite).  For some reason, I have never decided to decorate the mantle for the holiday season (of course I have thrown up the stockings, but that is just not the same).  There is always a first, and Halloween seemed to be perfect.

First up, I decided to create BOO frames.  I crashed my stash for photo mattes, painter's tape, and burlap.

I cut the burlap to fit.

I attached it using painter's tape.  This way I can re-use the burlap or the matte.

I created BOO letters on the computer and printed them off.

I also attached them using painter's tape!  PERFECTION!

I also added a few jars with clear beads and sticks from the yard.  

I am LOVING my Halloween mantle!  Total Cost:  FREE!

MUMMY BULBS!

Posted by Lori~

Halloween is CREEPING up on us very soon and I have been creating some easy Halloween decor.  The best part is that this craft cost me nothing.

I simply took fill-able Christmas bulbs (clear and empty), white yarn, buttons, ribbon, and glue.  All of the supplies were already in my craft stash.

I filled the bulbs with white yarn until it was full.

I used tacky glue to attach the buttons.

I used ribbon to attach the mummy bulbs to the dining room chandelier.

I am hoping to add spiderwebs and some bats to add to this hanging decor.

HALLOWEEN WREATH

Posted by Lori~

I decided to whip-up a cheap and easy wreath for Halloween.  It was very easy--I crashed my craft stash!  I also picked up a wreath at the thrift store for 99 cents.  TOTAL COST:  LESS THAN $1.00!

I used Frog painter's tape to ensure that the paper ribbon attacfhed to the wreath.

I simply wrapped and taped as I went along until it was completely covered.

I cut a strip of burlap to create a bow (also to hang the wreath).

I used a command hook to attach it to the door. 

Overall, a quick and easy Halloween craft project.  Perfect for the fall!

More Easy Halloween Decor Ideas from Ethne's House.

Posted by Ethne~

Hey scary dudes!

Well, like Lori, we’ve been doing some serious Halloween decorating up in here.

Beware!  This guy came from Target yesterday; most of my other decor was from Target post-season clearance (except those wee glass pumpkins in the background there - those are from my bff Dot).

The girls didn’t have school on Monday so I stayed home with them.  I nearly broke my neck getting the (orange) decorations tub out of the storage in the garage – think Clark W. Griswald, Jr., decorating his house for Christmas.

Then last night Shaun took KD on a surprise run to a store.  I told him if the store happened to carry Diet Coke and milk, we were in need because Target was out of my DC Sodastream syrup today.  And are a lot of you with me that you go through a lot of milk these days?

Anyway, he comes back an hour later (after Easy Mac and I do laundry and clean the litter box) with an amazing array of Halloween decorations since the girls told him they wanted some outdoor decorations in our yard.  What a good dad.  [TIP: If you scour the awesomeness of Pottery Barn and West Elm catalogs, you know they have BRILLIANT decorations, for a fair amount of cash.  Then, take those ideas to Target, which does it up well, with much less pain to my pocketbook - and their after-season clearance is killer.]

So here’s what we’ve got.  I didn’t take pictures of all the décor in nooks and crannies, and the skull lights around the front door didn’t turn out well at night, so I’ll have to try again – but this is the gist of our Halloween spirit.  We’re covered.

Oooooooo!

This cheap-o package of bats from JoAnn was tied together to make a banner with black thread (by me).  The pumpkins are lapel pins my mom made with her students using felt, fabric and Wunder-Under.

One of our coat closet doors I cover with the girls' artwork - there is more coming daily from school which I'll hang up this weekend.  (A piece of candy corn came yesterday).  They did not cross-stitch that wee little thing.  That was me from a clearance thing at JoAnn back in 2006 and it was probably less than $1.  (I know it was by me and 2006 because I always put my initial and the date somewhere tiny on the piece.)

 

The other closet door has our witch that mom got when we were kids.  She's witchy but not too scary.  Her moveable joints are fun for the girls.  The skeletons are glow-in-the-dark.

You can make just about anything a little scarier by adding some spiderweb.  The stuff is cheap-o.  The kids think it's great - and it doesn't damage anything.  Making your pictures crooked - seems to fit.

 

This guy is one of my favorites.  We have him on a stool and propped up with movies so he looks out the front windows.  Shaun and KD got me a teeny version for my couch's end-table last night.  So sweet.

 

This creepster is probably our most expensive at $35.  Shaun said he didn't mean to buy him last night, but then KD was afraid of him, so he had to buy him on principle.  The girls think he's the best ever - rattling, cackling, lighting up and generally making a scene.  We'll put him outside for trick-or-treating I think, but he's an indoor thing.

This is our graveyard, complete with skeleton coming out of the ground.  I don't think it cost more than $10, give or take a few bucks.  You can see the light-up skulls in the top right of the photo.  Those were also pretty cheap at Target and look great around our front steps.

HALLOWEEN PUMPKINS AND FRONT DOOR DECOR!

Posted by Lori~

It's October...time to start decorating for Halloween!  Mur-Man and I decided to paint some pumpkins!  SUPER EASY!

Mur-Man and I took Frog Tape!

...and mini pumpkins!

I let Mur-Man decorate the pumpkins...we also used stickers to create other shapes.

...and some spray paint!

We created pumpkin art!

 Next, I decided to turn a pumpkin into a flower pot!

I cut a square hole in the top of the pumpkin.

I picked up a plant.

I planted it adding a little more dirt to the pumpkin.  I realize the plant won't last long, but hopefully it will make it until Halloween.

 I think my front door is looking pretty festive.  READY FOR HALLOWEEN! 

I also picked up a cute chalk-board sign.  And, I added BOO!