Free Halloween Craft Project! iLoveToCreate Teen Crafts Spooky Sparkly Flower Clip

Friday, October 30, 2009


Spooky Sparkly Flower Clip
Margot Potter for iLoveToCreate Teens!
"Mom crafted, kid approved"


If your teen is still not sure what to wear for Halloween, here’s a little idea that’s big on possibilities. This sparkly flower clip is a breeze to make and you can easily remove the faux web and spiders so it becomes everyday friendly. I purchased my flower clip at H&M, but I’ve seen these all over the place this season. You can opt to make these in any color, but I chose black for Halloween. Pin this to a thick black ribbon for a Morticia/Vampire style choker or to fashion a wrist corsage for a Dead Prom Queen, glitter up a bouquet of black roses for a Corpse Bride or attach a few glittered flowers to a headband for Frida Kahlo, or a bunch of them in various colors to a huge hat for a La Catrina Day of the Dead costume. You can find old prom dresses and wedding dresses for a song at your local thrift shops, then just shred and spray with black fabric spray. Easy peasy!

Materials
Large fabric flower pin/hair clip
Faux spider webbing
Three plastic spider rings
Tulip Fashion Glitter Bond
Tulip Fashion Glitter
in black
Liquid Fusion glue




1. Pour a puddle of glitter bond on a non-stick sheet or a plate and dip the flower into it. (You’re looking to get a thin bead of glue on the edge of all of your petals; you can also opt to carefully squeeze the glue on the petal edges.)



2. Pour a small pile of glitter directly on your flower. Allow to dry for ten minutes and dump excess glitter on newspaper and back into jar. You can also opt to dump glitter on a non-stick sheet or a plate. Dip flower into glitter and let dry for a half of an hour and then dump excess glitter back into jar. Let glitter dry overnight.



3. Cut of a small section of faux webbing. Tie it around the width of the flower loosely with a knot in the back (you don’t want to lose your flower shape.)

4. Dab glue on the back of the body of your spiders and press the webbing into the glued areas on spiders. (Don’t glue the spiders to the flower or you won’t be able to remove them later.) Allow to dry.


Avalon looking Spooky Sparkly!

Halloween Snow Globes

Thursday, October 29, 2009

When I laid eyes on Martha Stewart's Baby Food Jar Snow Globes years ago, my crafty heart went all aflutter. I was always smitten on the idea and swore that one day when I had a baby I too would use my jars creatively. Well here we are years later and I'm ready for action. I typically make my own baby food, but I do keep a few jars around the house for meals out and on the go. Nothing says that all snow globes have to have a Christmas theme? What about Halloween? I thought this often slighted holiday deserved a snow globe of it's very own. Grab some empty jars and handful of other supplies and follow along with today's edition of I Love to Create.


SUPPLIES
Small Jars without labels
Liquid Fusion Glue
Decorative Halloween Ribbon
Glycerin
Tulip Fashion Glitter
Distilled Water
Small Halloween Trinkets
Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue


Finding just the right Halloween themed trinket to go inside your snow dome can be the trickiest part about this easy project. Michaels had a whole slew of figurines from their "Spooky Town Collection". I opted for a trick-or-treating pirate and Dracula.


Once you have chosen your figurine using Liquid Fusion Glue, which is water proof, attach your trinket to the lid of the jar. Allow to dry completely.


I could have left my jars plain, but why when decorative Halloween ribbon was on clearance? Using Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky GlueI covered the lid and attached fun ribbon. Not only does it give the snow globe a little more visual interest it also covers brand names like "Earth's Best" on the baby food jars.


Once all the glue is dry it is time to fill up your snow domes. Fill your jar almost completely full with distilled water, add a wee little bit of glycerin (I found mine on the soap aisle of Hobby Lobby) and a sprinkle of Tulip Fashion Glitter.


Screw your lid on tight. You could even add a little Liquid Fusion Glue to the rim to make sure it never comes unscrewed again. Tip your globe over and let it snow glittery faux blood on Drac and creepy black rain on the Trick-or-Treater!

Want more Halloween ideas? Check out all of Jennifer's other Halloween themed blog posts here and watch her series of Halloween videos for HGTV here.

Disturbing Doormat (for Halloween!)


Any other time of the year, this idea would be sick. But hey, Halloween is all about the chills and thrills. This is a piece of canvas that I made into a doormat. It's a gory hit with our visitors, everyone gets a chuckle out of it!

Supplies:

1 piece of heavy canvas in the size of a door mat
Tulip Fabric Spray Paint (red)
Crafty Chica Tango Permanent Fabric Markers (black)
Rug grip for the bottom

Directions: Pour the fabric paint (I like this one because it is thin and leaves a good "stain") on an unwanted cookie sheet or paint pan and step in it. Step on the mat and roll your feet so it makes a good footprint. Drip more paint around, and then add whatever phrases you want using the black marker. Add the rug grip for the bottom.

Heh, heh, heh...enjoy!

Peace, love, and glitter!
Kathy :-)

P.S. Check out my new book and product line!

Fabric Photo Mats!

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

As I mentioned in my Cute As a Button tutorial, I'm a big fan of customizing frames to coordinate with the colors found in the photographs they display. Recently I decided to turn several family photos taken at our local pumpkin patch, into a hallway focal point by covering each frame mat with vintage fabric and grouping the frames on the wall. Fortunately, I already had a great piece of '60's cloth that used the same orange, green & black found in the pictures as part of it's design. With the help of some of Traci Bautista's Collage Pauge and about 1 1/2 hours worth of time; my otherwise run-of-the-mill frames became anything but. Here's how!


Materials
Frame with Plain Mat
Photo Coordinating Fabric
Sponge Brush
Ruler
Marking Pen
Scissors

How-To
  • Using a ruler and marking pen, draw around mat onto fabric adding about 1/4" on each side. Draw an "X" (from corner to corner) on the fabric that peeks out from the center of the mat.
  • Cut out fabric along the lines you've drawn including, the center "X".
  • Brush a liberal layer of Collage Pauge glue over the mat front. Center fabric over mat, and smooth over with fingers.
  • Flip mat over. Fold center pieces of fabric over through the center and over the mat back. Cut excess fabric and glue down.
  • Fold the fabric edge over the mat back; glue down. Let dry.
  • If you're not using glass over your mat & picture then cover the fabric mat with a layer of Collage Pauge to protect it. If you are using glass you can skip this step but please note that you'll have to be sure to choose frames that have enough depth to accommodate both glass & fabric layers.
  • Repeat process for each frame in your grouping. Hang frames in a cluster and enjoy!
Hanging Tip: Begin with your center photo first, then build around it. My rule of thumb is to have the edge of each surrounding frame begin at the center point of either the top, bottom or sides of the center photo.

Craft.Rock.Love,

TWILIGHT JEWELRY BOX

Tuesday, October 27, 2009




It's TERRORIFIC TUESDAY, and I almost forgot to post this project for you.... It's a:

TWILIGHT JEWELRY BOX!

I had so much fun designing this with a Twilight theme. At the iLoveToCreate studios, we have tons of old mannequins. These hands were laying on a shelf, just asking to be used in an unbelievably unique way.

So.... I grabbed an unfinished wooden box and painted it black. Then I found 4 huge beads to glue onto the bottom of the box with Aleene's Liquid Fusion. I rubbed the edges with silver rub-n-buff to give it an antiqued look.

I crystalized the glass apple (from the Dollar $tore) with an unbelievable amount of Tulip Crystals. I used the Aleene's Liquid Fusion again. I laid the apple in a martini glass to be able to turn it for different angles, and glued crystals in small areas at a time and let it set before moving on to another area, until the entire glass apple was covered with crystals. It looks delicious, but don't BITE it! teehee....

The last step was to assemble the mannequin hands on top with the crystalized apple and glue them into place the the Aleene's Liquid Fusion. I used a couple of bottles to lean the hands on, until the glue was totally set. I added a black satin bow where the wrists connect. That's it!

There you go.... a great Halloween project. Or, if you are a Twilight fan, or a Snow White fan, or you just love apples.... this is a great project for YOU....

Have a TERRORific TUESday!
Pattiewack

ScaRY 3-D SpiDeR WeB and BloOdY NeCklacES

Monday, October 26, 2009

Our Content Editor and Brand Specialist Chloe Tatro, is modeling the slasher necklace that took about 5 minutes to make. And if you're like us,  you're looking for a fast and easy "costume" for Halloween. So, I came up with this crazy idea to create costume necklaces. You'll never believe that is only Tulip 3-Dimensional Slick Paint a.k.a. Puffy Paint.  That's all!!!
EeeeeeEeeEeeeK! Chloe's neck has been slashed!
The guys in the marketing department got into it, too. Nate Hough's neck was just the right size for a bigger squeeze of Tulip 3-D Paint to come oozing out in a bloody disguise.
Here's what you need:
– Teflon Sheet or freezer paper

Here's what you do:
Draw a circle of paint the same size as your neck, and then draw the paint into bloody drips on the sheet. I let it dry overnight to be sure that it's good and dry. Then put it around your neck and connect the ends together. They will stick together, but if you are very active, you may want to hold it together with a safety pin.

Here's another variation on  of my Tulip 3-D Paint necklaces made to look like a creepy spider web! See the video tutorial below for full instructions!  You can get the pattern here.
Here's what you need:
– Teflon Sheet or freezer paper
– Pattern (download it here)

Here's what you do:
The spider web is done the same way with Tulip 3-D Black Slick Paint. Be sure that you connect it completely together so that none of the web falls down. You know, you could also paint a web on a shirt using this idea and have a permanent spider web to wear year after year.


Here's my video outlining exactly what you do!  It's so fun and easy.

Hey, thanks to Chloe and Nate for your necks….

Happy Halloween!

Pattiewack

Make Your Own Personalized Black Cat Bobble Head

Thursday, October 22, 2009


What happens when I go and spend a week with my mother Fredda Perkins? We turn my daughter into a black cat bobble head! Mom and I have quite the creative synergy together and always manage to whip up something fun. I just had no idea that this visit would produce something this craft-tastical, it might be the best thing we have ever made together and we have been a craft team for over 30 years. Today for I Love to Create I am going to show you how to create your very own personalized, black cat bobble head!


SUPPLIES
Dremel
Thin Craft Wire
Wire Clippers
Crafty Chica Little Paint Pack
Aleene’s Foamtastic
Tulip Fashion Glitter Black
3 orange balls from Pom Pom Fringe
Scissors
Straight Razor
Cone
2 Wooden Discs
Spring
Wooden Ball
Printer
Computer
Photo Paper for Computer Printer
Sandpaper
Craft Fur Black
Stiffened Craft Felt
Decorative wired ribbon
Pipe Cleaners
Small Wooden Dowel
Styrofoam Ball
Paint Brushes
Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue
Bread Knife
Drill with bit the size of Dowel
Liquid Fusion
Straight Pins


BLACK-CAT-A-FY
If you recall last week’s post on how to make a Hissing Black Cat Banner you will remember that I collect black cat figurines that I only display at Halloween. Therefore, we opted to make the bobble head a black cat. First things first. We painted our parts black. Using Crafty Chica paint in black I coated my cone, Styrofoam ball, dowel, wooden disc and wooden ball. If your pieces are slick or already have paint on them use a piece of sandpaper to give them a little tooth.



MEASURE TWICE CUT ONCE
The size of your dowel will depend on the inside diameter of the spring you use. My mom stole our spring from an infrequently used screen door in her house (shhh don’t tell my dad). You need a dowel that will fit inside the spring. You need two pieces of dowel. One should be about 1 to 1 1/2 inches long. The other should be long enough to go though your wooden ball and extend into the wooden disk below then extend above the ball about 1 inch. Attach the cutting tool to your Dremel to cut the dowel to length or use a small saw. You'll also need a cutting disk on your Dremel to cut a 2 inch lengh of spring. Using a drill bit the size of your dowel, drill holes in both wooden disks and the wooden ball.

Once the paint has dried on your Styrofoam ball use a bread knife or some other cutting tool with serrated edges to cut off about 1/4th of the ball. Lay the cut side on a sheet of sandpaper and sand it til it is smooth and level.

GLUE TIME
Next glue your wooden ball onto your wooden base and glue your longer dowel piece inside making sure about an inch extends above the ball (it will hold the bottom of the spring) and into the hole in the wooden disk. One of your wooden discs should be small enough to fit inside your cone. Glue that disc into place and also glue your dowel into the center hole. Allow glue to dry.


EVERYTHING IS BETTER WITH GLITTER
We coated the cone with Aleene’s Tacky Glue since it is nice and thick and has good grab. From here we coated the glue with glitter to give our black cat a flocked or furry effect.


CHOOSE YOUR PRETTY KITTY
It was hard choosing just the right photo of Tallulah, but in the end we opted for one where we could very easily crop out her face and she had a pretty smile. We cut out wax paper(you can see through it) the size of the flat surface we had cut into our Styrofoam ball to use as a template. We printed the picture on photo quality paper. We placed the wax paper over the photo and once satisfied with the placement, we cut out the circle picture. Using Aleene’s Foamtastic Glue we adhered the photo to the Styrofoam ball and allowed to dry.


WHISKERS
Using the teensiest weeniest bit you can find for your Dremel drill 3 tiny holes on each cheek of your photo. Using wire clippers clip off 6 4” pieces of wire. Stick the wire through the holes and into your foam to secure. Do not use glue, as it will pool up on your photo. Bend and trim wires to desired length and style.


THE BETTER TO HEAR YOU WITH
Cut out two ears from stiffened craft felt. Mark where you want the ears on your foam bobble head. Using a straight razor carve a little slit where the ears will go. Fill the slit with Aleene’s foamtastic Glue and stick your ears in. Allow to dry. You may need to use thin nails or pins to hold the ears in place until dry.


FUN WITH FUR
We had a dickens of a time finding craft fur, save yourself the trouble and go to Hobby Lobby first. Cut your Craft Fur into strips and adhere to your bobble head with Aleene’s Foamtastic taking care around the face and ears. Once the glue has dried you can go back and give the kitty a haircut especially around the face.

ARMS AND TAIL
Using a drill we put a hole in either side of our cone and wired a pipe cleaner through. We cut out paws from the stiffened craft felt and attached with Liquid Fusion Glue. We also drilled a hole for the tail and used a chenille pipe cleaner since it was a bit puffier.


PUT IT TOGETHER
Once all your glue and paint are dry, put all your pieces together. You are going to need to carve out a small hole in the base of your Styrofoam ball in order to attach it to your cone. Again we used Aleene’s Foamtastic Glue to attach the ball to the cone.

We also made a ruffle collar using wired Halloween ribbon to hide where the two pieces connected. To ruffle the ribbon, just pull the wire on one edge making sure it doesn't pull through on the other end. We also added 3 pom poms from ball fringe as buttons. As an added bonus, once the black paint was dry I added polka dots to the wooden ball using a small dowel (the end of a nice new pencil works well too).


All that was left to do was display my new purrrrfect bobble head with the rest of my black cats. Tallulah fits right in and the bobble head is so cute I may leave this one black cat out all year round.

Hand-Dyed & Knitted CowlKerchief



There's something magical about being able to dye your own yarn to any shade you wish, especially when that yarn is intended for a simple project that's perfect for showing that color off. Today on I Love to Create, I show how easy it can be to be the designer of your own palette, with the help of a craft store dye kit. Bonus, once you've customized your yarn, you can knit it up into a modern "CowlKerchief"! Here's how.

Undyed Wool & Customized Dye Kit Supplies

Materials
Chunky, Undyed Wool (approx 100 yds/110m)
Rubber Gloves
Salt
Mild Shampoo or Yarn Wash
Junky Towel
Hanger
Size US 11 (8mm), Circular Needle
Tapestry Needle
Large Button
Needle & Thread

How-To Custom Dye
  • Flip through the Custom Dye Kit "Color Recipes" booklet. Choose your color from the palette--I went with a purple-grey called, "Horizon".
  • Following the recipe for your chosen color, mix dye with 1 gallon of hot water & 3 Tbs of salt in the sink or a large pot.
  • Immerse yarn in dye bath. Gently stir, continuously (taking care not to agitate so much, that the yarn felts) for 15 minutes, then occasionally every 5-10 minutes for the next 45 minutes.
  • Remove yarn from dye bath and rinse with cool water & gentle soap. Make sure not agitate while washing!
  • Roll yarn in towel, removing excess water. Place on hanger; let dry.
  • Wind into ball.

"Horizon", Hand-dyed Wool

CowlKerchief Directions
Cast-on 3 sts. Knit all sts.
Next Row (RS): Kf&B (knit in the front and back of stitch), knit to last st, Kf&b. (5 sts)
Next Row: Knit all sts.
Repeat last 2 rows, increasing at each end on every RS row, until you have 67 sts.
BO. Weave in ends.

Sew button onto one tip of triangle. On the opposite side, pickup a stitch and crochet a chain that's long enough to go around button. Attach chain to tip to form loop.


Happy dyeing; happy knitting!

Craft.Rock.Love,