Haunting Outdoor Decor

 October 13, 2010

Haunting Outdoor Decor

by Wendy Switzer

Supplies:

·         Black foam board

·         Spray Paint: black and gray

·         Red roses

·         Glue gun and glue sticks

·         Decorative spider webbing

·         Craft knife and cutting mat

·         Ruler & pencil

·         Sand

·         Spray adhesive

·         Card stock: black & gray

·         Miniature skeleton heads (8)

·         Drill & 3/8” drill bit

·         3/8”x11” dowels (4)

·         3/8”x12” dowels (3)

·         ¼”x1”x24” wood strips (2)

·         Floral foam or Styrofoam 4”X24”

·         Black “satin like” fabric

·         Tea lights

·         Black tulle netting

·         Rubber mallet

·         Red silk roses (16-20)

·         Misc. Halloween sign with hanger

      Red silk rose petals

Instructions:

TOMBSTONE

1)     Using your craft knife and mat cut two pieces of foam board 12”X16”

2)     Round off two top corners of each board.  Make sure they are cut the same.

3)     Cut strips of foam board 4” wide.  You will need enough to completely border the tombstone sides and top.  The bottom will be open.

4)     Before assembling, take each piece of your tombstone and run it along the edge of a countertop or table.  This will put creases or wrinkles in it which will give it a better look.

5)     Glue the strips along the edge of your first tombstone piece.  Then glue the back of the tombstone to the other edge of the strips.  Now your tombstone is ready to be painted.

6)     Cover your surface with newspaper and spray the front and the sides with the adhesive.  Do small areas at a time.  Once you have an area sprayed with adhesive, sprinkle with sand and let dry.  The sand gives a grainy/stone look and feel.

7)     Spray entire tombstone surface with gray paint to camouflage the sand and blend it in with the foam board.  Let dry.  Accent with a little black spray paint around the outer edges.  Also,  a few splatters of black will add some additional accent on the front and sides.

8)     Cut the letters R,I & P out of the black and gray cardstock.  Layer them on the front of the tombstone...gray on top of the black.  Offset the letters so that you can see both colors. 

COFFIN

1)     Cut three pieces of foam board.  Cut one piece 11”X19”.  Cut the other one 10”X18”.

2)     This next step will be performed on your 11”X19” piece.  To create your “coffin” lid shape, measure down from the top 3” on either side and mark. Measure in from each top side 2”.  Draw a line connecting the two marks and cut away these pieces. Now you have the top look of your coffin.  Measure 8” down from the top, on each side and make a mark.  Measure in 2 ¾” on either side at the bottom.  Connect the 8” mark and the 2 ¾” mark and cut away these areas. 

3)     Take your two smaller (coffin bottom and coffin lid accent) pieces and do the exact same thing that you did above…same measurements, same cut aways, etc.

4)     Once you have your coffin shape pieces cut out, take one of your smaller pieces and carefully measure each angle along the entire outer edge. For each angle, you will need to cut a piece of foam board for each side piece that is the length of the angle and 4” tall.  For example, if the bottom straight edge of your coffin is 4 ¾”, you will cut a piece of foam board 4 ¾” X 4”.  Once you have all of your foam pieces cut, begin to glue them all along the outer edge of your coffin bottom shape. Be sure and glue the side pieces all together as you go to completely enclose your coffin.  Set aside.

5)     Take your other smaller piece of foam board and glue onto the larger piece.  This is your coffin top.

6)     You can glue the top to the coffin base or you can leave it loose.

7)     Spray paint the coffin black.  Although it is already black, you need to paint the white edges that are showing. 

8)     Give all of your red roses and red petals a light spraying of black paint. Petals can be scattered around for accent.

9)     Tie 7 roses together with a bit of black tulle and glue to the top of the coffin

10)  Glue a mini skeleton head to the black tulle bow.

SKELETON FENCE

1)       Take both of your wood strips and measure in 1 ¾” and make a mark.  Then make a mark every 3.5” after that.  You will have 7 marks.  Do this on both of the wood strips.

2)     Drill holes in every mark, in both wood strips.

3)     In one of the wood strips, place a dowel in each hole.  Alternate dowels, starting with the longest, then a shorter, then a longer, etc.   Use the mallet to tap them down into their holes.  Each dowel should be through the wood strip approx 1”.

4)     Next fit the other wood strip to the top of end of the dowels.  Make sure that the wood strip is level and even all the way down the line.  Dowels need to stick up 1”-2” above the wood strip.

5)     Paint black and let dry

6)     While paint is drying, drill a hole into the bottom of each skeleton head.  Lightly spray with a bit of black spray paint. Let dry.

7)     Place a skeleton head on each fence post.  The shorter dowels will have the skeleton head resting on the top fence piece. The longer dowels will support the skeleton head about 1” above the top of the fence.  Make sure to glue the heads in place.

8)     Drape fabric over the floral foam and press bottom of fence into the floral foam to steady your fence and assist with it’s standing.   This method is used if you are going to display it on a table top.  If you are using it for your yard, you can press it right into the ground.

9)     Hook Halloween plaque/sign over the middle dowel to hang from the fence. 

10)  Add three roses under the chin of the middle skeleton head (same one where the sign hangs)

11)  Spray paint  the bases of your tea lights.

12)  Attach 3 roses to each side of the fence.  Add a tea light in the middle of the roses.

OPTIONAL: You can add little skeleton busts to the ends of the fence as well.  Of course we sprayed them with a little black paint a

Halloween Party

Halloween Party Decor - "Cricut Wednesday"

 October 6, 2010 ~ "CRICUT WEDNESDAY"

Halloween Party Decor

by Wendy Switzer

Supplies:

·         Cricut machine

·         Cricut supplies – mat, spatula, etc

·         Cricut Cartridge – “Happy Hauntings”

·         Cardstock – black, yellow, purple, orange, gray

·         Vellum – not too thick

·         Patterned Halloween Paper

·         Eyelash Yarn – black

·         Wire & wire cutters

·         ¾” dowel

·         Glue pen

·         Adhesive runner

·         Foam dots

·         Black ink

·         Black marker

Instructions:

HAUNTED MANSION

1.     Cut all the pieces of the Haunted Mansion, using black and yellow cardstock, from the “Happy Hauntings” cartridge. 

2.     Assemble according to directions.  Make sure to use a strong adhesive.

3.     Cut the “table top” shape at a “fit to page” size to act as a doily for the Haunted Mansion to sit on.

4.     Cut out vellum ghosts to add to the mansion.

5.     Draw shingles in the roof elements. Draw cracks in all the sides of the mansion and chimneys.

       

TABLE

1.     Cut out the table top using a decorative Halloween paper.

2.     Cut 4 of the table leg pieces.  Instructions tell you to only cut two, but cutting 4, and assembling them as we will explain, will make the table much sturdier.  If you have a Gypsy or Design Studio, use the “hide contour” option to “erase” the slits in the table legs.

3.     Next fold each table leg piece in half.  Glue folded edges together in the center. Cut 4 pieces of black cardstock measuring 2.5”X 3/8”.  Fold each piece in half and glue to the inside folds of each leg piece (You can skip this step if you used “hide the contour”). 

4.     Place the table top under the slits in the leg tops.  Two of the scalloped edges are slit in half and the leg pieces slide all the way inside the doily scallop.   The other two leg slits will slide in between two of the scalloped edges.  Each leg will be opposite the other leg, so that the table will stand stable.

FAVOR BOXES

1.     Cut out the pumpkin, coffins & headstone favor boxes at 7”. Set aside

2.     Cut out 2 7” skeletons.  You will use only the body and torso section (you can use “hide contours” if you are using Gypsy or Design Studio).

3.     Cut a black coffin shaped doily for the top.  Make sure to cut it out of a contrasting color and NOT out of white cardstock.

4.     Ink the edges of the headstone & add the letters RIP.  Wrap wire around the dowel to create your looped handle.  Cut the handle at 6-8” and poke holes through the sides of the headstone container.  Secure the wire handle to the insides of the box.  Tie with a bit of eyelash yard or ribbon.

5.     Fold pumpin and ink edges.  Add the face.  You can add a bit of green yarn as vine, if desired.

6.     Fold all the pieces of the coffin.  Add your coffin shaped doily to the lid.  Next, glue one of the skeleton torsos to the top.  To the 2^nd torso, add foam adhesive dots to the back and place directly over the first skeleton torso.  The foam dots will add a bit of depth to the finished lid.

Add a bit of yarn or ribbon to tie it off.

SPOOKY TREE

1.     Cut 6-8 10” trees.  Fold each tree in half.  Follow the same directions as you did for the table legs, hiding contours if you are able. 

2.     Secure tree together as you did with the table.

3.     Cut some 2” vellum ghosts to add to the tree branches.

4.     Cut a table top as a doily, if desired.

HALLOWEEN BANNER

1.     Decide on your banner saying and then cut out the number of desired shapes for your banner letter bases, in Halloween patterned paper.

2.     Cut out enough 6” skeleton frames, out of black cardstock, to match the number of letter bases.

3.     Glue one skeleton frame onto each base.

4.     Cut out your letters at 2”…cut one set out of a solid coordinating color and the other in black.

5.     Glue your black letters into the inside of the frames.

6.     Ink colored letters and foam dot the backs before adding them on top of the black letters.  You can off-set the top letters just a bit to give it a different look

7.     Secure a length of yarn or ribbon to the backs of the banner pieces. 

Recycled Container Crafts

Recycled Box Crafts

 September 29, 2010

Recycled Crafts

by Wendy Switzer

Supplies:

·         Recycled containers – popcorn box, cereal box, matches container & 2 liter pop bottle

·         Patterned paper & coordinating cardstock

·         Ribbon

·         Adhesive runner

·         Glue dots

·         Scissors

·         Ruler

·         XL brads & button magnets

·         Floral Stems

·         Acetate plastic

·         Tulle, Tissue paper, etc.

·         Paper crimper

·         Rick rack
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Instructions:

CEREAL BOX BAG

1.     Securely glue down the flaps of the opened end of a cereal box.  Cut one of the side panels off.

2.     Cut matching elongated handles out of each side of the cereal box.

3.     Cut patterned paper or wrapping paper to fit the box. 

4.     Glue paper on the entire outside of the box. Cut away handle holes. 

5.     Decorate with accents such as ribbon, yarn, rick rack, etc.

6.     Pull apart your floral stem and add a few large flowers to the outside.  Add a XL brad for the flower center.  This can be used as a cute carrying bag or a unique gift bag. Add gift and tissue paper...perfect!

SLIDING BUG CATCHER

1.     Use your matches container for this project.  Measure your container and cut paper to completely cover the container. 

2.     For the boys bug container, cut a rectangle hole in the center of the outer lid part.  Cut a piece of acetate and secure it to the inside.  This becomes your see-through window for your bug catcher.

3.     You can also cover the sliding drawer of the container, but make sure your paper is not too thick or you will not be able to slide it very easily.

4.     Girls container…same as above only we did not cut out a center window.  We added a rectangle piece of paper, cut a decorative edge and added a paper flower in the center. This can be used as a cute gift box.

POPCORN BOX PURSE

1.     Cut small side flaps off the popcorn box.

2.     Glue large end flaps down, as if the box were secured closed like new. 

3.     Make a cut along the long end of one of the larger flaps…so now you have a top flap that will open.  The two flaps that you cut off the sides, adhere together and attach to the flap (where you cut it from the box).  Make sure you still have a fold right at the cut edge so that your extended flap will fold over the box and create your purse flap.

4.     Completely cover your box in cardstock, paper or wrapping paper. 

5.     Punch holes in the sides of the boxes (just below where you cut off the small flaps in step 1.

6.     Cut a length of ribbon approx. 24” long. 

7.     Poke XL brads through the ribbon and then through the holes you punched in the box.  Open the brad ends on the inside of the box.

8.     Decorate the outside of the box with ribbon, flowers, etc.

9.     Add two magnet buttons to the underside of the purse flaps (one on each side) and 2 more button magnets attached to the outside of the purse.  Make sure the magnets are placed so that they will all match up when the flap is in the closed position.

SODA BOTTLE GIFT CONTAINER

1.     Rinse and dry your soda bottle.

2.     About 3” from the bottom of your bottle you will notice a slight indent/ring.  This will be your cutting guide.

3.     Cut the bottom of the bottle off right along that ring.

4.     Cut a slight slit in the larger portion of the bottle, starting at the bottom (where you cut the bottom off) and cut up about 4”.  This will give you the slack you need to fit the bottle back inside the bottom piece after you are done filling your container and decorating it.

5.     Decorate the bottle with paper, a crimped hat edged with rick rack, add some ribbon for the top of the party hat, etc.  Be creative.  You can add a word strip towards the top.

6.     Tie tulle, ribbon, etc. around the neck of the bottle. 

7.     Add some accent on top and around the lid if desired.  Add a gift tag to complete the gift.

T-Shirt Jewelry & Scarf

September 22, 2010

T~Shirt Jewelry & Scarves

by Wendy Switzer

                   

                                                      

Supply List:

·        T-shirts – used/old or new, large or small sizes

·        Scissors or rotary cutter and mat

·        Beads with large holes

Instructions:

1.      Begin by pre-washing your t-shirt (if using new t-shirts).

2.     Start at the bottom of the t-shirt and cut off the bottom hem.

3.     Cut strips 1” wide.  The larger the t-shirt size the longer the strips will be which will vary your finished project size.

4.     Pull each strip to it’s maximum stretch point.  This will curl and stretch your pieces into the “ropes” to be used in this project.  You will need 5-8 “ropes” for each project.

5.     To make a necklace, gather 4-6 “rope” ends.  Hold in both hands and in one motion, twist one hand away from you and the other towards you (your ropes will look like a figure 8).  Bring hands together and you now have your necklace form.

      

6.     Take another “rope” and twist the same way only do it twice.  Tie your knot around the bottom part of the necklace. (blue)  You can either tie it or do a double “rubberband tie” loop for a different look.  (white)

             

7.     You can also take strips of t-shirt fabric and make little ties around the necklace. 

8.     Tie knots around one entire rope and add to plain ropes for a different look. 

9.     You can take one strip and run 3 beads onto it.  Tie it together with a knot.  Tie two knots at the opposite end on either side of the middle bead.  This will give you a necklace with two different looks.  First you have a necklace that is “bead, knot, bead, knot, bead.  If you slide the outer two beads to the other end then you have a “knot, bead, knot” necklace.

  

10. 

To make the scarf…You will want to use large t-shirts for this.  Take 6 “ropes”, divide into two groups of three  and “rubberband tie” them together at one end.  On the other ends, tie knots and you are done. 

Watch the segment   http://connect2utah.com/search-fulltext?nxd_id=109785