Halloween Wreath: Round 1 of American Crafter

Hello!

Did you guys get a chance to get over to Naptime Crafters and vote?  Voting closes Sunday at 8:00 p.m. MDT.  Don't miss it!

Here is the project that I submitted for the Halloween theme.  I left the text in there, because that's part of the experience.

Halloween:  The word usually brings to mind creepy images of ghosts, witches, mummies, skeletons, jack-o-lanterns, werewolves, zombies, vampires.  It's all good and fun, but, when it comes down to it, isn't the best part of Halloween the night of free candy?  So, here I have designed a soft, fluffy Halloween wreath with an enticing offering of candy.

Those fruity candies are pretty easy to get to, but the good stuff is up a little higher.  It needs to be reached for...earned.  So, you stretch out your hand, barely able to reach; you grab a firmer hold on that beautiful chocolate (why is that spooky music playing in the background?) and pull down firmly (wee, wee, wee, wee--read that like Psycho music)!  

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!  

It's the dreaded Monster Wreath!!!!

Now, here is the backstage pass to see how it was done.  Well...kind of see how it was done.  This was kind of a figure-it-out-as-you-go kind of project and I got so involved in it, that I forgot to take pictures once I figured something out.

I'll tell you what I can, though.

I started with a yarn wreath, using the same technique I did before, but the form was a styrofoam form I found in my craft room (good fortune!).  

Next, I found this yarn:  Fun Fur. 

It's really hard to crochet with (possible, but hard) but it works beautifully on a wreath...especially a monster wreath.  I have 2 skeins there because I wasn't sure how many it would take to cover the wreath.  It turned out that 1 covered it exactly.  I didn't glue this on the wreath, because I wanted the hair to stick out.  Tying it on worked very well.

This is the only after picture I got of it once all the yarn was wrapped. 

You can see my sketches on paper for the teeth and I was experimenting with paper to figure out how to get the eyes just right.  I'll tell you what I came up with in just a second.

To make the "Free Candy" pouch, I took a piece of felt and folded it in half lengthwise. 

Then I sewed up the two ends, creating a pocket. 

On the corners of the bottom of the pouch, I sewed a diagonal line, like this: 

That way when I turned it right side out, it stayed open a bit.

For the lettering, I free-handed the embroidery, starting with the "N" in "candy" so I could make sure it was all centered. 

Now, I cut the teeth out of craft foam. 

I did this free hand as well because I wanted them to be crooked and jagged.  

If you are doing something like this, make sure the teeth are long enough that they can be seen when they are pulled down, but short enough to not be seen when they are behind the wreath.

Also, I ended up not using these teeth because they didn't pull right.  I used 3 sets of teeth, with 2 or 3 teeth per set, tying 1 set to each eye.

To make the eyes, I ended up using 2 circles of felt, one colored to match the yarn and one white (for the eyeball).   

I stitched all the way around the top, for show, but only attached the two at the top.

That way it opens. 

They googly eye is hot glued in and the whole eye is hot glued in place.

The whole thing is rigged with fishing line.

Note:  Don't let your 3-year-old play with the fishing line when you're not watching.   

Unless you're good at untangling hard-to-see knots.

The teeth hang behind the wreath and are attached to the eyelids so that when you pull the teeth down and out of hiding, the eyes pop open.

The teeth are then attached with the fishing line to the ribbon and the candy bars (which, by the way, are just the wrappers.  I ate the chocolate.) so that when you grab the ribbon/chocolate decoy the teeth come out and the eyes pop open.  (You can see the line in these pictures.)  

The ribbon is wired.  I folded its ends and pinned it to the back, leaving enough of the fold unpinned so that it would come unfolded with it got pulled without tearing or ruining the wreath.  (Does that make sense?)  Also, wired ribbon holds the shape better.

BOO!

heehee.

There, now you have the basics.  Enough, I hope, to attempt your own and let your own creativity take over! Let me know how it goes!

Oh, and thanks for voting!

Linking up to my parties!

Halloween Polka Dots

Last year, I opened up my Autumn/Halloween decorations box in anticipation of setting up all of my fun decorations and inviting the holiday mood.

I was sorely disappointed.

The box was filled with old costumes, most of them saved from shows I have done (just in case), a paper lantern, a pumpkin treat bucket, and a witch hat.  

That was it.  

I don't know why it took me so long to realize I am so lacking in the Halloween decoration department.  Last year was our second Halloween in this house.  But, the year before I was 8 1/2 months pregnant.  That may have had something to do with it. 

Anyway, I made a goal last year to spend some time collecting or making more decorations.  I hit the clearance at Target on November 1 and got a few fun items, but, other than that, my collection is still pretty sad.

Enter the new blog and the accompanying motivation to make stuff!

The first thing I did, was gather up some felt:

This is my felt stash.  I look at that pile and think, "Wow, I have a lot of felt!" at the same time I'm thinking, "Wow, I need more felt!"  These are the complexities of my mind.

I pulled out the colors that seemed Halloweenish.  I didn't really want to stick with just orange and black.  While they are good colors, I like to pull in other colors too, to brighten things up a little.  Also, I didn't have much orange and black felt.

Anyway, I used that roll of tape as a template and trace the inside of it, several, several, several times, on the felt, like so: 

Then I cut them out.  

Now, let me make sure you know that what follows is not my original idea.  I have seen it in several different places and I filed it away in my mind long, long before I ever thought I would do a blog.  So, I don't have any inspiration to refer you to.  But, if my little explanation doesn't help, do a search for "felt circle garland" and you will find all sorts of help.

*UPDATE*  My sister, Erin, reminded me where I originally saw the felt circle garland idea!  My cousin's wife, Lori, has a fantastic blog.  They have a a beautiful family and have a lot of fun together.  Also, she is a master at family movie making!  I always want to go hang out with them whenever I read her blog.

Anyway, she made a circle garland and posted the tutorial here.  Her's is a bit more complex than mine and, as a result, more sophisticated.  It's very pretty.  Go check it out!

Ok, back to my post.

Here's what I did.

First, I piled all the dots in a basket.

I wanted to be sure I was using them randomly.

So, I reached in and randomly pulled out one dot at a time.

I sewed a straight line from one end of the dot to the other, but before I reached the end I put the next dot in line.  

As I reached the end, I lift the foot just a little to let the next dot in and then kept on sewing without cutting the thread in between. 

I kept doing that, sewing continuously, until I ran out of dots.

That's it!  The result is a fun felt dot garland!

And, since pictures always look better when taken outside, here is the result hanging on the dead tree (because it's Halloween) in my yard. 

And here it is hanging over the doorway to my kitchen. 

Any ideas what I should put on that little empty stretch of wall?

Happy Halloween!

P.S.  I just finished my project for American Crafter!  I'm so nervous!  Voting opens on Friday morning and I'll definitely put up a reminder.  Spread the word and get those voting fingers ready!

Linking up!

Whipped Potatoes...The way potatoes were meant to be eaten...take 2

*I must apologize.  Something went wrong with my pictures from the original post.  Hopefully it will work this time.*

Start with baked potatoes.

 How many you use will depend on how many people you want to feed. Each potato will make 2 whipped potatoes.

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, like so:

I forgot to mention that it is best to let the potatoes cool a bit so you don't burn your hands while you're handling them.

Now, scoop out their guts and put them in a bowl. A regular spoon works very well for this.

Melt a stick of butter or margarine...

and dip the empty potato shells into the butter.

 Be generous.  Make sure that whole thing is covered, dripping even, with butter.

Place the butter covered shells skin side up on a baking sheet.  (I cover mine with aluminum foil to help with clean up.)

If so desired, now is a good time to season them with a bit of salt or garlic powder or both.

Place the skins under the broiler for 5 to 10 minutes, until they are crispy enough for you.

Mmmm..... perfect.

In the meantime, take the potato guts and mash them up.

Stir in (or mash in) some sour cream--probably about a cup.  This is, once again, based on how many potatoes you use and how much you like sour cream.

Add some ranch dressing mix (I used about 2 tablespoons).

And top it all off with some cheese. 

(Stir the cheese in.  I don't know why I only took a picture of the cheese on top!)

Now, take your crispy broiled shells and fill them up with the mashed potato mixture and place those back on the baking sheet.

Top them all with a heap of cheese.  

 Don't worry if some of the cheese falls off of the potatoes and on to the baking sheet.  In fact, I even put some there on purpose.  

Because, when you bake them at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, they come out like this:

And that wayward cheese turns into crispy little bites like this:

So good!

P.S.  I forgot to mention that this recipe is my dad's.  He's a potato genius.

*Linking up*

Pillow and Blanket Tutorial

I made this pillow and blanket set using a no-sew fleece blanket kit from Joann's.  (Why would I want to not sew something?  It's a crazy thought!)  This would work with any fleece you may have on hand, though.  The length and width is dependent upon how big you want the pillow and blanket to be.  I didn't do a whole lot of measuring, so I can't tell you how big my final blankets and pillows were.  

Using the blanket kit, the first thing I did was cut 24 inches of length off of the bottom of both fabrics and used that for the pillow.  The larger pieces were used for the blanket.

Pillow:  

The first thing you are going to need is a circle.  The first one I did was a 6 inch circle, but I wanted this one to be a little bigger, so I went with an 8 inch circle.

I took a piece of paper, folded it in quarters and, from the corner of the fold, I measured out 4 inches.

Then I just moved my ruler a little bit, keeping the end at the corner, and continued to mark it in an arc.

 Cut on the lines, unfold, and there you have a circle!

  That was my pattern to cut out 2 circles from the fleece.

 Now, to determine the circumference of the circle...I had to Google it.  The formula is diameter x pi.  So, in my case 8 inches x 3.14 = 25.12.  I rounded up to 25.5 and cut that length from my contrasting fleece.

 Now, fold that in half (Watch out for little baby feet that assume you laid the cutting mat out for her to dance on!) and sew the ends together.  That should leave you with a tube.

Take one of your circles and match it up (right sides in) as best as you can and pin it in.  

Do the same with the opposite end.

Now, sew that circle in.  I found the best way to keep it aligned was just to go slowly and keep the sides always matched up.  

I know.  My technical knowledge and skill is blowing you away.  Have I mentioned I'm pretty much a beginning sewer?  You'd never guess!

Anyway....remember to leave an opening in one end so that you can turn it and stuff it.

 Stuff it good and full.  

Little hands like this work, though they slow it down considerably.  Still, what else could you be doing, right?

Please note how I have the vacuum out where people can see it when they walk in the door.  That way they think they I've been busy cleaning.  It's a good trick.

Once it is stuffed, sew it closed and *bing* you've got an awesome little pillow.

Note:  I seem to have trouble stuffing my pillows evenly.  No worries, though.  As it has been laid on and loved, those lumps have evened out and it looks normal now.

Blanket:

Now, um....I seem to have forgotten that I was doing a tutorial.  But, the blanket was pretty simple.  Take the larger pieces, put them together (right sides out, wrong sides together), and topstitch all the way around.  I left and edge of probably about 3 inches.  

After sewing them together, cut the corners off.  Then, cut a fringe by cutting 2 inch slits, 1 inches apart all the way around.  

I got a pretty good picture of that.

Your blanket, with matching pillow, is complete!

O is in heaven with hers! 

It's good for "sleeping."

Shhhhh, we're resting.

It's good for cuddling... 

...and hugging... 

...and kissing! 

What more could you want from a pillow and blanket?

Linking up:

Night Owl Crafting 

Sweet Peas and Bumblebees

Young and Crafty