Vicki O'Dell

Chalk on Glass Update

Pier 1 Imports has the chalk board on glass in their flyer again.  There are different pieces but it's the same concept.  I scanned the image in for you.  The online flyer doesn't show this close enough for you to really see it.  It's shown on a bar a background decoration.  

The pieces are reasonably priced.  I don't know if it's cheaper to buy the supplies and make your own or not but then you can't say, "I made it"! Besides, if you make your own you can recycle glassware that is already in your home or at the thrift store.

The directions for MY version of Chalkboard on glass are HERE.
 

Is it November Already?

Oh my goodness! I can't believe Halloween/Samhain weekend is already over.  It went by so fast and now here we are in November.  The clocks have turned back for Daylight Savings Time, the leaves are almost all on the ground and there are only, 22 days until Thanksgiving and 52 days until Christmas. What!?!?

I've been caught in the world of Fall/Christmas crafting.  The two seem to over lap for a while and my poor brain doesn't know which direction to turn.  One minute I'm working on Halloween or Fall and the next I'm making a snowman.  Crazy!  You might think my ADD addled brain would be happy with this arrangement but it's craft possibility over load!

I made this fall hanging basket a couple of weeks ago and listed it in my etsy store.  And right before that I made this darling snow man from paper clay that I also listed in my etsy store.

 

I also made the Santa in the cloche behind him but I'm not going to list him for sale.  I can't imagine how I'd ever package that one up and ship it safely. 

I've been a little discouraged with the etsy store.  Sales are slow and I'm not sure if it's the economy or something I'm doing/not doing.  I think the stuff I do on the web could easily be a full-time job.  The problem is that I already have a full-time job (4 kids, house and all that go with them) so part of my problem may just be lack of time to concentrate on promoting and making items for my shop. 

I decided yesterday that I'm going to keep plugging away, doing things that I truly enjoy doing, and at some point in time all of the planets will align and I'll wake up and be doing what I LOVE and making good money at it at the same time.  Until then I'll keep making things I enjoy and share some of the extras with YOU!

Spider Victim

I never imagined a thing like this would be popular but Martha Stewart had them in her Halloween issue and then one of the designers on HGTV's Halloween Block Party did them too.  Guess I'm running with the big dogs now, huh?

Tyler and I made our "Spider Victims" a few weeks ago and they have been hanging in the maple tree. 

Here's how:

We laid the skeleton out on the picnic table with some cheesecloth underneath him.  (Yes, my picnic table is blue, what did you expect?)  The skeleton is white because I spray painted the pair I have for a Day of the Day theme we had going.  But that was last year. This year it's spiders!

Then we wrapped him up nice and cozy.

And spread spider web from head to toe.  Spread it thin so it looks more realistic.

Hot glue spiders all over.

 

And hang him from the spider’s web.  We stretched ours out from one of our big maple trees.  It’s kind of freaky when it’s almost dark and they are swaying with the breeze.  ooooooOOOO! (That was a spooky sound!)  :)

Super Easy Treat Tote

It's not too late to make a treat tote for your little one. It does take a while for the fabric paint to dry but even if you make this Friday evening or Saturday morning it will still be dry in time for Trick or Treating on Saturday evening.

 

I used Squiggles fabric paint to decorate this nylon bag with purple swirls, orange squiggles and sets of 3 dots then I put the foam stickers on in between the paint.  I like the little bottles of fabric paint.  They make it really easy to draw a fine line with their small tips. You can add the name or not.  For safety reasons you may choose not to include it or make it small enough that a passing person cannot easily read it.

For even more fun you can let your children decorate their own bag!

Chalkboard Paint on Glass

I'm finally running low on Halloween ideas so today's post is something in the Home Decor area...

I saw some canisters in the Pier 1 flyer several months back and liked the look but not the price tag.  So of course I tried to make my own. They were glass canisters with a chalk board area to write the contents on.  I like things that are useful, and well, useful.  Plus I can change my mind about what is inside without any major hassle, like peeling labels off, painting over etc.

 

So I tried a few things.  First I taped off an area that I would use as my "label" then I used Armor Etch according to directions.  I wanted to give the surface some "tooth" so that the chalkboard paint would stick better.

Once the surface was dry I put on a coat of Plaid® Chalkboard Paint painting right to left.  The stuff isn't just for walls any more!  I let it dry and then painted a second coat up and down.  I let this dry a while (probably not long enough because some of the edges aren't perfect) and then peeled off the tape.  To condition the label I rubbed the side of a stick of chalk over the label area and then wiped it off. 

 

The "Pasta" canister is pretty predictable but I thought the square vase could look good at a casual wedding with a floral arrangement in the top.  If you change your mind about what you want inside all you have to do is erase and re-write! Cool!

Boo Pop

I've never been a big candy maker.  It just never really appealed to me.  Too much time spent on something that will be consumed in a matter of seconds.... I have four children, remember?  But this year I decided to try a couple of candy making projects while I was working on my 30 days of Halloween posts.  I was delighted at how easily I could make fun treats for friends and family like the White Chocolate Ghosties and these Boo Pops. 

There were a few steps to this Boo Pop but it was easy enough to do a step, come back later and work on it again.  Here is what I did.

The first step was to pour melted chocolate wafers into the chocolate melter, melt, and then fill a Halloween mold with it.  Let it set up. (I had a couple of molds and only filled the word "BOO")

Then I melted some orange candy wafers in the chocolate melter.  Keep in mind that chocolate and water DO NOT MIX so when you've washed out the chocolate melter make sure it's completely dry before using it again.  Put two marshmallows on a lollypop stick and dip them in the orange wafers.  Let it set up a little but while it's still soft push one of the milk chocolate molded pieces into the face of the Boo Pop.  Sprinkle with Halloween themed sprinkles and let it set.

 

That's all there is too it.  This would be a fun activity for young people. If you have a group of children have the milk chocolate adornments made ahead of time and they can dip and decorate their own Boo Pops!

A Winner is Announced!

Well, I've gone and done it.  Olivia is upset with me.  Seems I left her out of all the Halloween Blog Party preparations and she's none too happy about it.  I apologized and cajoled but nothing would get her out of her temper until I told her I'd let her pick the winner of the two drippy candles. 

 

 

She's still a little miffed (An owl mommy can tell) but I think I have a fat, juicy mole somewhere for her to nibble on and that will set things to rights.

 

Congratulations Donna!  I'll get in contact with you about shipping.  If I don't hear from Donna in a couple of days though Olivia will get to chose again. 
 

Thanks to Vanessa at A Fanciful Twist for hosting such a lovely party.  I stayed up way past my bedtime visiting and having fun.  I'm glad she is keeping the guest list up for a while because I hope to visit many more blogs.  I hope that everyone who stopped by my party enjoyed themselves too.  What a fun night!

UPDATE: Whoohooo!! I just found out I won a prize from Opal Moon Enchantments for guessing the number of pumpkins in the jar! I"m so excited!!

Finally Finished

I bought the yarn TWO years ago to make this afghan.  The pattern was a fancy granny sqare. Really different, but it wasn't an easy one and I'm a beginner crocheter. I would crochet and take out, crochet and take out ... so I put everything in a basket and left it.  Two years later, I was tired of looking at the basket full of yarn and I decided that I didn't have to make it according to the difficult pattern that frustrated me ... I could make it with a plane old granny square and vary the size and color combination of the squares. 

So here it is, finally finished after two years and it looks great on my front porch!  It's a simple granny square pattern with several fall colored yarns.  I varied the width of each round of color and put 2 or more colors in each square.  A few squares have as many as 5 colors. There are nine rows in each square and the last row in every square is black.  Then I went around the whole thing with a row to finish it off. It went pretty quick once I decided to finish it or forget it and let go of my need to make the fancier version. I think there is a life lesson in there somewhere?

Mini Pumpkin Treat Holders

Here is a craft that I remember making with Mrs. Vodka (I'm not kidding, that was her name) back in 4th grade.  I'd forgotten about them until I saw some crepe paper the other day while walking the aisles of my craft store. 

First gather your supplies:

Crepe paper sheets in orange

Scissors

Scotch Tape

Floral Tape

Chenille Stems (otherwise known as pipe cleaners)

Filler- small toys and candy

Optional: Card stock and leaf stencil or template

 

Cut a piece of crepe paper that is about 5"x9". 

Roll the crepe paper in a tube.

 

Gather up the bottom of the tube and tape the bottom closed with the scotch tape.  

Turn the pumpkin inside out so that the taped portion is on the inside.  Be gentle...it is paper after all. Put a small piece of tape on the inside of the pumpkin to secure the two ends together. 

Fill with small toys and candy.  

 With floral tape close up the top and snip off extra .  Now your pumpkin has a stem.

Wrap a chenille stem around the stem. 

And curl it around a pencil to make a vine.   

Optional: Using a stencil or template of your choice make a leaf, cut out and write the name of the recipient.

This is a perfect craft for "Harvest Parties" in the classroom.  The kids could make a pumpkin for someone else to teach sharing or they could make their own and only put in treats that they like.  You could also make it to give to the trick or treaters that come to your door.  They can't complain about getting candy they don't particularly like if they can't see what it is! :)

Spell Book

This is a simple and fun craft to make that will add to your Halloween/Samhain decorations. 

All you need is a paper mache book, three shades of grey and black paint a gold leafing pen, natural sponge and maybe a stencil for lettering.

Paint the book inside and out with the darkest black.  After it dries sponge lighter colors of paint all over to give it a mottled, aged look.  Write the word "SPELLS" on the cover with a gold leave pen. Make sure it's throughly dry and add some more paint with the sponge to dull the brightness of the gold. 

Because the book opens you could store something inside or turn the inside into a spooky Halloween collage. You could also put pictures of your children all dressed up inside, add new pictures every year and when Halloween rolls around again they'll have fun looking at all of the costumes they've had over time.