Crafting with Kids: Spooky Spider Doorway

I love the changing of seasons.  Any excuse to do something creative that screams HEY!  IT'S (insert holiday/season here)!!!!!!!!  

On a side note, I was in the dollar tree the other day, looking for some supplies for this project, when I saw some very colorful, leafy oven mitts.  The kind that would scream, "IT'S FALL!" every time you pulled a piping hot treat out of the oven.  I loved them.  I decided my current, mis-matched and very drab, very used oven mitts needed to go, and these beautiful "fall-y" ones had to stay.  But then, if I throw my old ones away, I won't have any to use when fall time is over, and going back to the old drab ones after using these beauties was out of the question.  So that's when I decided I needed to buy 4 oven mitts.  Two for fall, and two for, well, non-fall.  That's when the hubby found me.  And that's when the "we don't need more stuff" versus "I will throw the old ones out and I like to have seasonal things to change out and these fall ones are SO cool" conversation ensued.  The "we don't need more stuff", albeit, voice of reason, won out.  To my shame, not without a little stalking off to the cash register.  I'm telling you, these were awesome mitts.  All that to say:

I love the changing of seasons.

Which brings me to our current season: Halloween!  After putting together the Great Pumpkin Patch craft, it dawned on me that what we did with the pumpkins could also be done to make these furry little creatures.

Here's how we did it!

What you need:

1. Styrofoam block (or something similar)

2. small styro balls, various sizes (I found these at Dollar Tree)

3. Larger styro balls (WalMart)

4. 2 packs of black pipe cleaners

5. hot glue gun/glue

6. black craft paint/paint brush

7. toothpicks

8. googly eyes

9. one bag of spider web

10. An eager, Rapunzel-clad helper :)

First thing we did was stick the little styro balls on toothpicks so they were easier to hold while painting.  Each spider consists of two different size balls.  A bigger ball for the body and a smaller ball for the head.  

Daisy did pretty good painting up to ball #4, then she decided she was done.  Apparently Rapunzel cannot be bothered with painting styrofoam balls black. 

Once the balls have dried, it's time to attach the smaller balls to the bigger ones.  By just using the toothpick already inserted, I stuck it into the bigger ball.

Put a few dabs of hot glue around the toothpick, then slide it the rest of the way on.

Repeat this process with the big styro balls.  For these I used two toothpicks to give it some extra support.

I got a little too much glue on this one, but it ended up okay.

Next we did the eyes.  This was fun because it started giving the little critters some personality.  I again used hot glue for the eyes.  I am sure there is another type of glue you could use if you want your kids to be able to help more.  I'm just a little in love with my hot glue.  

Done with the eyes!  In Daisy's words, "Goodness gracious, Mommy, they are so cute!"

Pipe cleaners make perfect critter legs!  Just stick the one end into the body, four on each side, bend down about halfway down, and then bend the very tip of it at the bottom like a foot.  And that's it!  

I was a little late to the Dollar Tree party and they were all out of spider webs.  But I found this one at WalMart and it's awesome!  I have never used one before.  One web could probably reach down the whole side of my house if I wanted it to.  Well, maybe halfway.  I tend to exaggerate when I get excited.  And nothing screams excitement like a fake spider web.

Anyway, I didn't really have a plan when I started putting the web up, and since I have never put one up before I was totally just figuring it out as I went along.  It's basically a big long rope, and then once you anchor it to the wall you then pull the sides apart.  Since I didn't have a plan I ended up having to go back and re-do some areas.  I started it on our bush and then just worked it around.  I just put nails into the siding wherever I wanted to anchor it.

We have had a pretty rainy and windy couple of days here.  Just wind and a constant drizzle....of course....and the web has held up surprisingly well in the weather.  Yesterday it didn't show hardly any wear at all.  Today it's starting to hang a little.  I'm just hoping it holds out till after Halloween night tomorrow!  

Attaching the big spider was a little tricky since she was too big to just tangle her legs into the web.  To get her to hang the way I wanted I had to anchor it in three different places.  In those spots I just put nails in, then I took white sewing thread and knotted them to the nails.  Next I pushed a nail halfway into the spider, wound the thread around the nail and then pushed it all the way in.

The baby spiders were a lot easier to attach.  Since they weren't nearly as heavy I could just wrap little pieces of the web around the feet and then they would just hang there like they were just sitting on the web!  

And there you have it!  A perfectly spooky, scary, and adorable doorway for Halloween!

We are ready!

Crafting with Kids: The Great Pumpkin

Our family loves Charlie Brown.  While in the dollar store the other day I stumbled on these cool little styrofoam balls and was struck with some inspiration!  I went home and ordered It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown online.  Then I kicked myself when I saw it in WalMart for cheaper a couple days later.  Oh well, we're talking cents cheaper but it still hurt me.

My girl and I had a lot of fun making this after reading the book, and it was CHEAP!  I already had the sticks, grass, and pipe cleaners so I just spent 2 bucks on the styro things.

Here's what you need:

 1. 1 styrofoam block

2. 1 bag styrofoam balls

3. jumbo craft sticks (the little ones would work too)

4. green pipe cleaner

5. orange craft paint

6. paint brush

7. It's the Great Pumpkin characters coloring pages

8. (not pictured) toothpicks

9. (not pictured) coloring pages of the "welcome great pumpkin" sign and the snoopy/moon silhouette.

First I had Daisy color the characters while I got the styro balls ready to paint.

Then we cut out the colored characters.  I actually ended up going back to Google and looking for a Snoopy silhouette that was bigger.  I'm glad I did because the end result is better, I think.

Then we glued the characters to the jumbo craft sticks.  You could use the skinnier sticks too.  The big ones were just what I already had.

I think painting our styrofoam balls for the pumpkins was the most fun.  

We stuck the balls onto toothpicks to make them easier to paint.

Yup, that's my boy, painting his hand.  He takes a little prodding to stay on task. 

If you happen to have a block of styrofoam lying around, you can use that to stick the balls on to dry.  I happen to make a lot of cake pops, so I did have this.  I just flipped it over and used the underside.

If you don't have styrofoam, an empty egg carton would do the trick too.  Or an upside down paper cup.

Once we were done with the characters and the pumpkins, I started looking at the green styrofoam block I had picked up for our scene.  I realized I was going to want it a little bigger than it was.  Since it was pretty thick, I simply just cut it in half with a serrated knife.

I told Daisy she couldn't help me with this part, because hot glue is very hot and should only be used by adults.  And then I burned myself.

I glued the two pieces together, making a larger surface area for our little pumpkin patch scene.

I tried using Elmer's glue first to glue down the grass, but it didn't work.  It just wouldn't stick, even after holding it in place for a while.  So, back to the hot glue.  

There wasn't really any rhyme or reason to how I put it on there, just stuck it all over.  Now the fun part, putting it all together! 

 Daisy decided where everything should go.  And I can't believe I forgot to take pictures of the pumpkins.  Keep them on the toothpicks since you will use that to stick them down into the grass.  Some toothpicks may be too long and you will have to cut them.  Then take a green pipe cleaner and poke one end down into the top of each pumpkin, and cut it off.

And there you go!  A great, easy little craft to do with your kids!  

Tri-Color Fleece Blanket

The Project of the Month this month is a no sew blanket with a twist!  I don't think I've ever put up a tutorial on a fleece blanket.  This is surprising since I have made a lot.  I mean, a lot.  Now that the air is getting a little cooler I will hopefully be making more to go up in my etsy shop and maybe I will do a tutorial of one too.  

Here are some I've done:

No sew fleece blankets.  So cute, so cuddly, so professional looking, and so EASY!

These are the standard no sews.  Print fleece on the front, solid color on the back.  Simple.

I recently had a request for a fleece blanket.  When I asked the colors, I was told gray and white chevron, yellow, and muted green.  Three colors.  I started brainstorming.  I didn't want to put two print sides together.  It just looks so much better when one side is print and one is solid, but how was I going to do two solid colors?

Introducing the tri-color fleece blanket.  And yes, it is still a no-sew!  It takes just a couple extra steps than the no sew blanket with two colors.  Here's how:

What you need:

1 yard print fleece fabric

2 coordinating solid colors, 1 yard each.

Fabric shears

Fabric is never cut to exact measurements, so the first thing you want to do is line up your print fabric with your main solid color fabric.  Lay down first the larger piece.  In my case it was NOT the print, so I ended up having to flip it once I had it laid down.  Not a big deal, just easier if you don't have to do that.  Lay it larger side down.

Try to smooth out all the wrinkles so it is lying flat.  This is a VERY forgiving project.  Meaning, nothing has to be exact because once it is all done, you can't see any mistakes!  Love that.

Cut off all the excess so that the fabric pieces are the same size.  If you were just doing one print and one solid color, this is where you would be ready to cut your strips all the way around.  These next few steps are what make this fleece blanket extra special!  A third color to give it a little extra pop!

If your fabric does not have a straight edge, you will need to give it one.  The easiest way I've found to do that is simply to lay the fabric down on top of my already cut edge of the other fabric piece, and follow it as I cut.  You are going to cut a long strip the whole length of the blanket and up the sides about 6 inches or so.

This is how I cut a straight line.  I just cut my straight edge by lining it up with the chevron, so now to cut another straight edge I fold the green up to where I want to cut.  I like my strips to be about 3 to 3 1/2 inches, so I made the strip about double that.

Cut the whole length of the fabric.

Now you should have a strip like this.  Remember what I said about a forgiving project?  It won't even matter that my strip is crazy crooked!  Lay your strip down on the same color and cut out a second strip the same size.

Next you want to do the same exact thing on the ends.

Once you have one end strip, lay it down on the same fabric and cut out a second one the same size.

So now we have our print and one solid color lying together, and we have 2 side strips and 2 end strips of the second solid color.  Now we want to insert the strips into the blanket.  Lift up the top print wide enough to fit in your strip.

Lay down the strip, lining it up with the bottom edge and sides.

Fold the print side flap back down, covering the strip.

You will have to cut two of the strips so that they don't overlap.  

Once you have all four strips nicely tucked up under the top layer of fleece, it's time to cut strips!  I like my strips to be about 3 to 3.5 inches long.  I start in the middle of one side and make my first cut.

Cut an identical, parallel line about 1.5 inches over.  You have your first strip!  Continue cutting these all the way to the corner.

If you cut your strips wide enough, you shouldn't have any trouble but still be aware of where you are cutting.  You don't want to cut that middle piece of fabric all the way to the top!

I cut until I am about 4 to 6 inches from the corner, then I stop.

I then go back to the middle where I started, and start cutting more strips the other way, towards the opposite corner.

Once I get 4 to 6 inches or so from that corner, I stop again.  Continue to do this on all four sides of the blanket.

Oh!  One thing I forgot to mention.  Keep in mind that your strip under the top layer has a cut where the side and the end strips meet.  When you are cutting towards it, make your strips line up so that the slit between strips is the edge of a "tab".  Once you've cut all the way to the corner, go ahead and just cut that corner off.

This is what the blanket should look like when you are done cutting all the strips and corners.

Now to start tying!  My yellow fleece seemed to be a bit thick, and the chevron and green were a bit thinner.  So when tying I held the chevron and green together and pretended it was one piece and then I just tied a double knot with the yellow piece!

Like so...

Keep tying each strip together.  I use the same method of starting in the middle of a side and work my way to the corners.  This helps to be able to stretch the fabric and work out wrinkles along the way.

Tie all the way to the corner, then stop with one strip to go.

Repeat on all four sides.

Now that I have the sides done I will do the ends.

Corners can be a little tricky if you let them.  The secret is to keep stretching the fabric as you tie.  Don't worry too much about tearing it a little bit.  Fleece won't fray.

This is what the corner looks like right after you tie it and just before stretching it out.

Here it is after being stretched.

And we're done!

Check out the two colors!  Fits quite perfectly with the chevron, I think.

I've already started doing this technique on a new blanket.  I have yet to decide if I want to put it in the shop or keep it.  It's pretty cute.  

Now go make one of your own!  And please share!  I would love to see them!