Tuesday 30 October 2012

OMG!!! £100 to spend in Hobby Craft!!!


That's right - This is what I have just WON!!!
I am so SO excited!!!

I entered a competition in the August edition of Womans Weekly Craft - whilst pressing send on the text thinking "don't know why I'm bothering I never win anything (before going ahead and sending another text, oh okay and another lol)

The competition closed at the end o September and I never heard anything so I shrugged it off, oh well another £3 down the drain (whilst secretly being kinda gutted lol)

Whilst nattering away on the phone to my mum this morning Mr Posty knocked on the door asking me to sign for a package, I did, then shouted for hubby "what ya been buying online again???"

That's when I noticed the Hobby Craft sticker and my name - I ripped open the envelope to find my vouchers and think I left poor mummy dearest a little deaf after jumping around my kitchen shouting and doing a crazy lady happy dance with phone still clutched in hand.

Wow I am so excited - this is going to come in so handy for my Home Made Christmas Project (more on that later) Trip to Sheffield has already been planned for Thursday - hubby will be accompanying me to calm me down in the event of any more crazy lady fits when I enter the shop hehe

Don't know what I'm going to spend it all on yet though...
any recommendations for must have supplies???

Sunday 28 October 2012

Halloween Party!!!

So it turns out the past few weeks of manic making, worrying and getting stressed have been TOTALLY worth it!!! =D

The party was a huge success!! The munchkins had an absolute ball with their friends and the grown ups were full of compliments for all the spooky (home made) decor :)

Oh I do love it when a plan comes together - it fills me confidence which in turn gives me a rush of fresh inspiration. So after spending the past week desperate for the post Halloween break, I'm now actually itching to get the next project started lol

Now for the down side (well I did say huge success not complete success) :(

Unfortunately I left my bro in charge of the camera during the party and didn't check the settings first!!!

I could hardly contain my excitement, waiting for the pics to load on the laptop, it seemed like a lifetime - then when they did I was faced with pictures that looked more like hang over flash backs after a night on the town - a complete blur - I am absolutely gutted :(

Out of approx 100 pics I have managed to just about rescue the following few ...



Yep - that's me tending to my witches brew (chilli) hehe

My Amazing nan (and costume contest judge for the day) getting into the spirit :)




 Fear not.... 

I WILL take pics of some of the decor...

AFTER the clean up operation!!!

Saturday 27 October 2012

No Sew Fabric Pumpkins


These were super duper quick and easy to make and so adorable :)

Can you guess what they're made with??

If you guessed loo roll - your spot on :)

I took some full rolls of toilet paper and laid them on top of my chosen pumpkin fabrics and cut out a square of fabric big enough to bring up the toilet roll and took into the tube at the top. Then my lovely helpful hubby cut an old broom handle down and whittled the pieces into cute lil stalk shapes to plonk into the top and hold the fabric in place. 

The munchkins think these are great as they are safe to chuck around, and play football with - oh and play hide the stalks with - the lil monkeys  ;)
They also think it's hilarious when they all unravel and a toilet roll pops out off them hehe - best bit is - that doesn't bother me as they literally take 2 seconds to put back together - Result!!

Hope you like!!!

Friday 26 October 2012

Night Glow Eyes


I came across these on Pinterest and instantly wanted to make some for our front door.

As we had some spare pond liner sitting in the garage, I thought I'd make use that instead of posterboard. After searching google images for inspiration I quickly sketched some spooky eye shapes onto the pond liner, cut the "whites" of the eyes out using a craft knife and then taped some tissue paper to the back, I did a few red and the rest white. 

Then just stick them up in the window - That's it - finished!! Easy eh??



and once it gets dark outside and the lights are on really effective...



You can see them from right across the street, a spooky attraction for the lil trick or treaters hehe





Thursday 25 October 2012

Pedal Bin Liner Ghost

This is one of my fave makes of the season :)
So easy peasy that my two year old made some too!!
All you need is a roll of pedal bin liners, a black marker and 10 minutes to spare. 

I like them so much I've nearly used the full roll of liners haha - but they are going to look so sweet on Saturday blowing around on the line  and in the trees :)


Tuesday 23 October 2012

Bunting & Pumpkins

Firstly, apologies for the missing post yesterday. We had the new super fast broadband installed yesterday (which is awesome!!) but it meant our internet was down for 24 hours (I suppose that'll teach me to start planning ahead!!)


Anyhow here is the easy fabric bunting I  made yesterday (in less than 10 mins)




I have spent most of today in town getting the last few bits we need for the party...


Including the pumpkins. They look so good like that that I don''t want to carve them though, think I might have to buy even more =D


Sunday 21 October 2012

I need a Magic Stopwatch!!!



Okay so I've spent most of my free time today (not much after church and panto rehearsals) wishing we were having our Halloween party actually on the 31st - that way I would have 4 days extra to get stuff done.
I'm doing my usual - realizing I've got so much to do, freaking out and going into melt down!!!

I'm sat here with my pad and pen frantically list writing and scheduling for every second of every day for the whole of next week!!

Enter Pinterest!!! (and Dragons Den) A truly inspiring and motivational combo - try it some time - it really works.

So tonight I'm going to share some of my fave Pinterest finds for Quick Easy Halloween Crafts - you know to help anyone else having a melt down - I can't be the only one out there, surely!!! Can I???

First up has definitely got to be these faux candles from Miss Thrifty Crafty Girl - using Loo Roll Tubes!!!


Thrifty Crafty Girl: 31 Days of Halloween - Faux Candles

Effective or what??? Loo Roll Tubes - gotta love em :)

Next up are these REALLY sweet trash bag ghosts from Crafty Journal - quick, cute and super easy - yep that's right - easy enough to resort to child (and hubby) labour!!

trash-bag-ghost10-close-up-270x270

Next are these super, super, SUPER sweet patterned paper pumpkins from It's Always Autumn - I adore these!!!

it's always autumn - itsalwaysautumn - easy patterned paper pumpkins {kids can do it!}

Last but not least - I HAVE to make these cute lil spell books to put next to my cooker hob (from Piccolina Designs)

DIY spell books

I also love TidyMoms' round up of ten easy Halloween crafts.

10 easy Halloween crafts found on @TidyMom

And if, like me, you've got so excited with the Halloween crafting that you haven't given much thought to the food - MiracleMomma has a really good post with 40 - yep FORTY - easy Halloween recipes

40 Easy Halloween Recipes





Saturday 20 October 2012

Kitchen Makeover

The munchkins have been treated with a trip to the zoo with their Nanny and Pappa today so I've used the time to finish of some decorating :)
I managed to get all my cabinet doors painted in the kitchen and am sooooo pleased with the results.

I managed to take them from this...



To this...



and the best bit about it - I've managed to give my kitchen a whole new fresh fab look for less than £25
I gave them an undercoat of melamine primer first which I picked up from Wilkinsons for just under £13 before painting them with a normal satin finish wood paint which was just under £10

RESULT!!!! :) 

Friday 19 October 2012

Boo Cubes, Spider Webs and a Trashy Wreath


I've had an all-sorts afternoon today...
My mother has taken the munchkins to spend the night at hers today so I have had an afternoon of bliss locked away in my room creating :)




I made my "boo" blocks using these old puzzle block pieces I had lying around. I just painted them black before decoupaging some letters and pictures onto them and adding some glitter. What a transformation - I'm really pleased with how cute they turned out :)

The spider webs were made from these old 'winnie the pooh' plaquettes I had from lil kings' baby nursery - just painted, glued wool for the web and lil critters from the pound shop and again finished with glitter (of course - gotta have a bit a sparkle hehe) 


My fave of the day has definitely got to be my plastic wreath though. Made by tying strips of bin liner and carrier bags to a wire ring. Finished with pound shop critters on wires and hot glue web strands :)
I love, love LOVE this but unfortunately my rubbish photography skills really don't do it any justice - I'll have to try and get some better pics tomorrow to update :)









Thursday 18 October 2012

Spiky Thistle Monsters


I spotted these thistles on the school run the other day and immediately started plotting as to how I could use them in my Halloween decor :)

At first I was thinking along the lines of a wreath but when I got them home I noticed the leaves at the bottom of the thistle bud and how tentacle like they looked. That's when I thought - MONSTERS!!!


They were seriously easy to do with a quick dunk in some paint before leaving to dry and gluing on some googly eyes (Oh how I love googly eyes hehe)



The white one is definitely my fave - she's got character hehe (her name is Priscilla and she is a total DIVA)


The green one's sweet too - he looks kinda dopey :)


Didn't really appreciate finding this lil guy though...

Urrrrggghhhh :'(

Other than that and the odd stab to the finger the thistles were mega fun to work with - think I might have to go and forage some more :)

xx

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Back Yard Grave Yard

Today I've been getting some of the Halloween decorations done for the garden and these polystyrene graves were definitely my fave task of the day :)

I spotted something similar in the pound shop last week and was instantly inspired :)







They were really simple and fun to do...


What you'll need:

  • Polystyrene sheets
  • Black Marker
  • Craft knife
  • Paint

First take a polystyrene board and draw on your grave stone design


 Using a craft or stanley knife cut around the outline of your grave stone




Chisel out any detailing using the tip of your craft knife.


Warning: This bit get MESSY!!!


Although Mini King certainly enjoyed covering the books his book - and my carpet in "snow" hehe


Once you have finished cutting out paint using a sponge (or spray paint)


Plonk them in your garden along with some wooden crosses, dead flowers and eerie lighting and enjoy spooking your guests :)




Tuesday 16 October 2012

Pinterest Scavenger Hunt


Along my blog freading trail this morning I came across the Pinterest Scavenger Hunt (hosted by Arahbellas, All Done Monkey and Just A Little Creativity which I found on Cherished Bliss So I thought I'd give it a go :)

If you want to play along you can find more details here.

Monday 15 October 2012

Sticky Web & Egg Tray Spiders

Two Spidery makes to share with you today :)




I made the web with PVA glue squeezed onto cling film on a flat surface (it does take quite a long time to dry so you will need to do it somewhere you will be able to leave it for a while) Once to top of the glue was starting to set a sprinkled some glitter onto it and hung it on a line to dry completely to get the wrinkly appearance, before carefully peeling the cling film away. If you want it to stay flat you will need to leave it on the flat surface and once dry leave the cling film attached, flip it over and press under a heavy book.

The spiders were nice and easy. Made from egg trays painted black :) (inspired by Happy Clippings egg carton bats which I made the other day)