Sparkly Jack-O-Lantern Tutorial

In need of a last minute Halloween craft? Here is a fun one from the archives. I have my work cut out for me today finishing the kids' Halloween costumes. Stay tuned!

We received several jack-o-lantern pumpkins from our CSA share. I knew that if we carved them, they would be gone long before Halloween. I decided to do something different (and less messy) with them. To make these sparkly pumpkins, you will need a small piece of contact paper, white glue, a paint brush, glitter, and of course, pumpkins.

Begin by drawing your jack-o-lantern's features on the back of your contact paper.

Using sharp scissors, carefully cut out your stencil.

Peel the paper backing off and apply stencil to the pumpkin. Rub the edges down with your finger to make sure that there are no gaps. (You may have to 'pleat' the stencil a bit to get it to lay flat)

Using a paintbrush, spread glue over the design.

Sprinkle a generous helping of glitter over the glue. (Make sure to do this over a sheet of scratch paper to catch the extra glitter) Tap the pumpkin a few times to remove excess glitter.

Gently peel away the stencil and remove any stray glitter with a dry brush. Repeat for other features. (I used the same stencil for both eyes)

*You could spray the finished pumpkins with a sealer if you plan on keeping them outside.

Now you have yourself some sparkly, happy pumpkins!

Easy Kids Craft

Here is an easy craft I did with the kids before Christmas. It could be easily translated into a craft for any season. I saw a similar idea here and used that as inspiration. Begin by cutting the desired shape(s) out of construction paper. Cut a sheet of contact paper the same size as your construction paper. Peel backing off and adhere to one side of the page. Using strips of tissue paper, fill entire 'window,' pressing down to make sure they stick. We added glitter and sparkly yarn to ours too. After the space is filled, cover the back with a layer of contact paper. Hang in the window and enjoy!

Sparkly Doll Shoe Makeover (Tutorial)

What is up with me and the glitter?? I just can't stay away from it. I bought a plain set of doll shoes from the craft store and decided to give them a makeover...with glitter! Begin with a plain pair of doll shoes (or girls shoes...I think that would work nicely too). You will also need glitter, glue, a paint brush and modge podge.

Remove any embellishments that will get in the way of glittering.

Stuff shoes with a little something to keep them from collapsing while you are working with them. (I just used a cellophane candy package)

Generously coat shoes with glue, using a paint brush. Craft glue is what I used, but Elmer's glue would probably work also.

Optional Step: Go check on the cookies you have in the oven, and come back to find your baby has found and spilled an entire tube of glitter. Sparkles, anyone?

Over a sheet of scrap paper, sprinkle a generous amount of glitter over wet glue. Gently tap shoes to remove excess glitter, and use a dry brush to remove glitter from soles.

When the glue/glitter is completely dry, coat with a generous layer of modge podge.

When modge podge is dry, reapply embellishments. (I used E6000 glue) The modge podge does such a good job that when I rubbed my finger across the shoes there was no glitter rubbing off. If you try this on girls shoes, I would do a second layer just for added durability.

Countdown

For Rachel's Christmas gift this year, I am making her an epic Christmas present countdown. Most of the gifts are handmade, and I'd love to tell you what's in them....but I won't! Not until after Christmas, that is. Each gift is wrapped in the funny pages, and I used plain ol' Elmers glue and glitter to add a number to each gift.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Salt Dough Landscape

My son and I made this landscape for him to use with his growing collection of animals, pioneers, Indians, cowboys and pirates. The base is plywood, and no, it is not square. We just raided my husband's scrap pile and used what we found. We made armatures out of foil for the cave and the mountains, and hot glued them to the base. Then, we mixed up a large batch of salt dough and went to work. After the dough dried, my son painted the whole thing with acrylic paints. The pond was made by first coating the adhesive side of sticker paper with glitter, then using spray glue to adhere it to the base. On top of the glitter, I used some sort of glaze stuff that is supposed to be for scrapbooking I think. It creates a nice, raised water-like texture. After we did all that, I sprayed on a generous coat of varnish. The hardest part was waiting for the various stages to dry. That seems like an eternity for a five year old!

Dollor Store Fix-Up

Here is a hair clip I made from a bunch of dollar store orchids. I pulled one flower off, took it apart (which is very simple by the way), and glittered it up! Ever since I became the proud owner of a Martha Stewart glitter set, I have had the urge to apply glitter to anything in sight! I painted on some glue (slightly thinned with water) and glittered each section. I sealed it all up with an acrylic gloss medium.