Halloween Party 2014 - Crafts, Jack O' Lanterns, and a few thoughts ...

When it comes to Halloween there's so much I could write about.  I'd love to talk about the origins of Halloween and how hypocritical it is that so many condemn it as something evil due to its pagan origins.  I remember one girl at my high school telling me that if I really knew how Halloween began I wouldn't celebrate it.  Well, as far as I know, Halloween was thought to be the easiest day for fairies and the souls of the dead to cross over into the mortal world.  And while it may seem a bit scary to think that trick-or-treating came from the practice of bribing the otherworldly beings with food so they would not harm the living, I think it's worth noting that departed loved ones were thought to revisit their homes.  A quick Wikipedia search reveals that people would set a place at their dinner tables to welcome family members who had died.  Keeping in mind that these are the customs of a people from a very different time, place, culture, and lifestyle, I would think October 31st was a day that reminded people to show their ancestors the respect they deserve, but also a day that comforted the grieving, making them feel as if their loved ones were not far away, and ultimately reminding them to appreciate their loved ones who were still living.

I could go on and dissect individual statements people have made denouncing Halloween, or examine the very false claim made by my cabdriver just yesterday that Halloween is only celebrated in North America.  I could launch into a critique of Halloween-related movies, or comment on why my city's newspaper always runs an article around this time of year about the Halloween "slut rule" discussed in the 2004 film Mean Girls - but I won't.  As I've said previously, Halloween for me is about creativity, so this very late post will be about my projects from last Halloween:

The following are some Halloween Rose Magnets I made using 2-sided scrapbooking paper, orange and black ribbon, refrigerator magnets, and hot glue. 

 
To make the roses I followed instructions found on Pinterest.  I hot glued them in place, glued 2 strips of ribbon onto each magnet, and then hot-glued each rose onto a magnet.  I only managed to make 6 roses, and some of them I gave out with candy to trick-or-treaters.  

I also made an assortment of Halloween Bookmarks to give out with candy to trick-or-treaters.
 

 

Again, I used Halloween scrapbooking paper as well as some patterned orange scrapbooking paper and black cardstock.  I used assorted ribbon, craft border scissors, a glue stick, and a pumpkin stamp.

 

 



The last of my projects for the year was my Harvest Witch Jack O' Lantern, whose witch hat I constructed out of potpourri and hot glue. 

 







I also used some potpourri pieces for the eyes and tongue.  The following are some pictures of the pumpkin in various stages.

 

As you can probably see, I hammered tiny nails into the pumpkin and then glued some potpourri pieces onto the nails.

It wasn't the safest or most secure method of attaching parts to the pumpkin, but I've discovered in the past that hot-gluing directly onto the pumpkin does not work well.

   



 

When undertaking any project it always helps to have moral support and mine came from my constant helper - although I suspect this photo captures her attempt to take credit for my work.

 

It's kind of hard to stay made at her though ...

Happy Halloween!

 

DIY Christmas Ornaments From Old Toys

Since Christmas is only a few days away I thought it would be a great time to share some Christmas ornaments I’ve made.  As you will see, they’re very simple to make but I’m still proud of the idea and the finished product.  As a side note, I think this would be a great project for someone who is spending their first Christmas away from home and doesn’t want to spend a lot of time and money shopping for decorations.  Of course it would also be a great project for parents to do with young children.

Even as an adult I still associate Christmas with toys.  I still remember many of the toys I received from Santa Claus as a child and I’m sure many of you do too.  It is for this reason that I think old toys make wonderful Christmas tree ornaments – they are as much a part of Christmas as snowmen, reindeer, angels, and bells, and seeing them on the tree brings back memories of childhood.  In fact, just as I was describing my craft idea to my mom, she started telling me about how she loved playing with ABC blocks as a child.  She never had any when she was young, so whenever she would get to school she would go straight to the blocks and began building a castle.  She even showed me how she constructed it!

ABC Block Ornaments

For this project you will need the following:

 

-  a hot glue gun

-  assorted ABC blocks

-  scissors

-  butter knife (or other item to press ribbon onto the hot glue)

-  ribbon or string*

 

*  If you prefer, you can use metal Christmas tree hooks instead of the ribbon or string.

 

 

 

Step 1

Cut approximately 6 inches of ribbon and fold it so that the two ends are together.  If you like, you can even tie the two ends.

 

 

Step 2

Using the hot glue gun, add enough hot glue on the top of an ABC Block so that it will secure the ribbon to the block.

 

 

Step 3

 

Quickly press the two ends of the ribbon into the hot glue and use a butter knife to flatten the ribbon, ensuring that the glue will secure it to the block.

Repeat the process with the remaining blocks, or if you like you can make some adjustments.  Gluing the ribbon to the corner of the block as opposed to the top creates a slightly different affect.

 

 

You can also make some ornaments using two or even three blocks.  When I add a second or third block, I like to use different colours and I stack them so they are at slightly different angles.

 

 

You can follow the steps above using other kinds of toys.  I made more ornaments using Legos and I’m also happy with the result.  Again, I think this would look great using an assortment of colours and sizes.

 

If you don’t have any old toys that can be used for this project I would suggest looking at a dollar store or second hand store – after all, you are purchasing these items as raw materials, so it wouldn’t make sense to buy brand new toys.

 There are lots of other toys you can use to make Christmas tree ornaments, such as:
 

- puzzle pieces

- crayons

- toy cars

- toy airplanes

- small dolls

- small teddy bears

- doll house furniture

- toy tea cups (preferably plastic)

- action figures

 

 

The only other suggestion I can make to improve your ornaments is to have a special helper participate in your festive projects.  I realize some will not have the option of including a special friend, but with a helper like mine, I didn’t exactly have the option not to include her!

 

 

Well, that’s it for now.  I welcome any comments or suggestions and as always, I’d love to see pictures of your own crafts so feel free to send me a link.  You can also send me a link to anything similar you think I would like.  I hope everyone has a great Christmas and, if I don't write back for a while, a happy New Year!

 

Halloween Jack O' Lanterns from 2010

My internet was down for a few days so I was unable to continue my Halloween themed blog posts.  Nevertheless, I will continue today by posting photos of my Jack O’ Lanterns from last Halloween.  I hope you like them, and I hope you will feel free to leave any comments, suggestions for future Jack O’ Lanterns I could carve, links to websites with great pumpkin-carving ideas, and even links to photos of your own work.  Enjoy!

Mad Scientist Performing Unwanted Brain-Surgery

I got the idea for this when browsing the toy section of Dollarama.  There I came across 2 sets of doctor kits entitled “My Family Doctor,” which contained plastic stethoscopes, syringes, microscopes, medicine bottles, and even toy surgical tools.  Since both contained slightly different items, I bought both.

To create the Mad Scientist, I carved 2 small holes beside each eye so that the round eye-glasses could be attached.  It seemed appropriate to use the round eye-glasses, as every mad scientist I could picture seemed to wear round eye-glasses.  Dr. Finkelstein from A Nightmare Before Christmas is a perfect example.

I attached a small gourd for the nose and 2 larger gourds for the arms using metal skewers, and to attach the syringe and scalpel I used clear Scotch Tape.

To make the syringe look more authentic, I took it apart and inserted a metal skewer through the hole to use as a needle.  I secured the skewer in the tube or barrel using the clear Scotch Tape and replaced the blue plastic pump.

For the Brain-Surgery Victim I simply cut a hole in the top of a small pie pumpkin so that if compared to a head, it would look like the top part of the skull was removed.  Using a black Sharpie marker, I drew a frightened expression which included a quivering, screaming mouth.  I then filled the hole with the seeds and strands or “brains” from my other pumpkins.

Cinderella’s Pumpkin Carriage

After designing and carving this Cinderella-inspired coach, I enhanced the design by outlining the holes with a black Sharpie marker and adding green Glitter-Glue for a more magical effect.

I included 5 miniature pumpkins in the design – 4 for the 4 wheels, and one which I cut in half to use as a seat for the driver and a platform for the footman.  Attaching those 2 halves was very difficult, and in the process I tried a combination of toothpicks, Popsicle sticks, and a hot glue gun.

For the wheels I drew a design with a black Sharpie marker on the tops of 2 miniature pumpkins and used them for the wheels on the back (left) side.  Similarly, I drew an alternate design on the bottoms or the remaining 2 miniature pumpkins and used them for the front (right) side wheels.  On these, I also added a dab of the green Glitter Glue to what would be the axils of the wheels.  I connected the wheels using green Pipe Cleaners which I twisted and coiled to give the appearance of vines.

I found an artificial green vine that I attached to the stem using a hot glue gun, and also attached some artificial orange-glitter maple leaves.  I thought the orange-glitter leaves alluded to the fairy dust that accompanies any spell, such as the spell a fairy-godmother might cast on a pumpkin to turn it into a temporary vehicle for a deserving scullery maid.

I was very happy with both pumpkins, and I got a lot of compliments on both.  As I expected, girls were more impressed with Cinderella's Pumpkin Carriage while boys were more impressed with the Mad Scientist Performing An Unwanted Brain Surgery.  Though both took a lot of work I was glad that everyone could appreciate at least one of my projects.

Halloween Skull Wreath

This is another one of last year’s Halloween craft projects.  I made this skull wreath using a “Floral Craft Ring” from Michaels.  A wreath form would probably work just as well, as would a  home-made cardboard ring. 

Using a Hot Glue Gun, I attached several assorted plastic skulls which I had collected the year before.  I chose to buy many of them after Halloween because the prices were marked down, and I tried to buy them from various stores to so that some could look slightly different than others in shape, size, and colouring.  For example, you can see that the 2 examples of plastic skulls below are not identical:

I would suggest looking for them at Michaels, Wal Mart, Shoppers Drug Mart Dollarama, and other dollar stores.

Before gluing anything, I attached a think black string through one of the holes in the Craft Ring and tied it firmly so that it can be used to hang the wreath on a hook.  After doing this, I glued 3 large foam skulls from Michaels around the stringed hole, covering the surface and the string.  I then began gluing the rest of the smaller skulls around the ring, making sure to cover the surface of the ring, and using the various kinds throughout.  I attached them at different angles, and sometimes would glue one on top of the others – this was useful for covering any areas where the frame was still showing.

It is not neccessary for the wreath to be symetrical ... just have fun with it!