Halloween Coasters

With Autumn and Halloween comes sitting back with a cup of hot cider, or other yum-e-ness! 
Enter-the need for a coaster.

Since it’s Halloween, why can’t your coaster be adorable?  These are made out of that counted plastic canvas and yarn!  Love them!

These are my Mom’s genious-ness!

My Mom made all of these, too.  I have more, too.  One set for each month to be exact!  Check out this post to see a tutorial on working with counted plastic canvas.

Now don’t your coasters need to be cute, too?!

Rebecca
Happy Drinking!

Amazing Apples-Super Cute Decor For Fall

Want some fall decor inspiration?  My children will be getting these crocheted apples first thing in the morning, for a fall treat.

There is a red apple, a green apple, and a yellow apple. 
My Mom made these for all of the family!  Isn’t she amazing!?  They are similar to these pumpkins she made when we all grew up.

Now look how much cuter they are with gummy worms coming out of them!  Yup, all my Mom’s idea.  I love my Mom.  She’s so brilliant, talented, and thoughtful!

They can even hold an apple treat inside of them! 
Now quickly, go and make some of your own!  Thankfully, mine are already done!  ;)
Rebecca

We are joining the fun at the following parties; Sew Much Ado, Blue Cricket Design, Someday Crafts, Serenity Now, This Blessed Nest,

Nana’s Stitched Canvas Infant Blocks

Welcome everyone from Craftzine!  I'm so excited to find these blocks on there this morning!!!

Be forewarned…this post may lead to sugar-induced coma!  Too much sweetness overload!  Or make your ovaries ache!

Isn’t my Nephew Model just the sweetest thing?!

Oh I could seriously eat him up!  sigh.

OK back to the real point of this post.  Nana (my Mother) saw these infant blocks at a church event she went to.  They were making them as part of a humanitarian aide thing.
 
Though, leave it to my Mother to improve on something already too cute!  This heart was her idea.

The blocks are made with that counted plastic canvas.  You make up each side with a different shape, then stitch the edges together to form cubes.  There is also a bell hidden inside for extra fun for the kids.
 
My Mom came home and right away made these blocks for my Nephew’s first Birthday!  They were a huge hit!  My Mom also came up with the idea of doing a numbers, or dice, block.  See, where our crafty genius comes from?  It’s in our genes!  I don’t think I’ll ever be able to say enough about the women in my life and how they teach and inspire me!!
 
My Mom’s next endeavor with these awesome blocks is a color block.  She is stitching up each side with a different color and then is adding the name of the color to it. 
 
I had to point this out.  The above block, yeah that’s the back side.  When I work on plastic canvas I don’t concern myself with the backs.  But my Mother’s are as beautiful as her front side!
 
This is the front side, just for your comparison.
 
She just wings all of this, no patterns!  Insane, right?  That’s what the pink side above is.  It is her trying out the color names…they are just a test, as my Mom does know the difference between red and pink!
 
I’m guessing that anyone that is going to do this craft knows how to use plastic canvas.  But for those that don’t here is a close up of how to stitch the side.  You do a diagonal stitch, going up one row  and down the next.

Crash course for these blocks:
My Mom’s squares (sides) are 18 holes X18 holes.  So, you first cut your 6 squares (sides).  Next you start stitching your first row.  Notice the block with the white yarn?  That is how you start the square (side), by sewing your end right into the block.  So as you stitch you are wrapping the yarn around the end, which holds the end in as well as leaves a nice finished end that you don’t even see.  Next, is the orange yarn where you just keep stitching up one row and down the next.  And above the orange are all the other colors that are finished and waiting to be stitched together at their edges/corners.
   
One last cuteness picture!  Can you stand all those baby parts?!  Goodness, I can’t. 

Don't forget to join our linky party with your fantastic craftiness or DIY-ness!
Rebecca

PS Thank you, Nana, for making these adorable blocks and inspiring me as always!!



We are joining in the fun at the following Linky Parties;  Remodelaholic, Blue Cricket Design, Thrifty Thursday,   , somewhat simple, Trendy Treehouse, Feature Yourself Friday, Life As Lori, Treasures For Tots,  KojoDesigns, Flaunt It Friday, Finding Fabulous, It's Fun To Craft, Tatertots and Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, Making the World Cuter,  Keeping It Simple, Between Naps On The Porch, The DIY Showoff,

Retro Mice Ornament

Yes, that is a walnut shell! I have always remembered these sweet ornaments that my Mom made with us kids. They hung on our tree for years. That crafting time with my Mother is what inspired my own Walnut Shell Mouse Christmas Ornaments!

When we made these with my Mother, we used a homemade clay recipe. I tried getting details about these from my Mom and Anjeanette, and this was what I came up with. We did not have Polymer Clay growing up, so I was quite excited to do this craft using Polymer Clay (not that I have an obsession with Polymer Clay…I swear I don’t have every shade imaginable…). With Polymer Clay you can add so much more detail and finishing touches.

If you look closely at these, I made them all with minor differences. My favorite is the one with the Santa hat! Some have paws holding onto the top of the blanket, others have pink or white centers in their ears, I added cute tails to some, and I changed up the colors for their bodies. Other differences are the size, whisker marks, shapes of ears and heads, and kinds of eyes. One even has feet, but what is the point of that because you will never see the feet (though I know they’re there, and that’s why I did it…it makes me smile).

I had to decide what kind of material to use for the blanket, and what/how to tie them to the tree. I have a nice collection of ribbon (again, not something I would be obsessed with, I’m just saying) and first wanted to go with a delicate ribbon that ties in a bow at the top. However, once I decided to go with felt for my blankets, I knew I wanted to do a simple loop with yarn, to carry the retro feel of these ornaments. Tonight my kids and I are carrying on the tradition of making these. I can’t wait!

A few tips for when you make these. When using yarn, I just hot glued the yarn on the side but I also made sure to coat the yarn end with the glue so the yarn didn’t come apart (but use it sparingly so that you don’t even see it). Also, hang the ornament on your finger to make sure that they are evenly balanced. I also hot glued these mice into their shells. I would hate for them to fall out and end up broken (or just missing…not that things would go missing in my house…especially tiny things…).

Rebecca

I love this month. I love being reminded to be grateful for what I have. Right now I am very thankful for all the wonderful teachers. I truly believe in the old saying of it taking a village to raise a child. I wholeheartedly believe that children will be more successful by being taught by many different people in their lives. I am so thankful to teachers that take a special interest in my children (this is professional teachers as well as my friends and family that my children also learn from). Erika will be teaching one of my daughters to cook/bake. My Father-In-Law did a wonderful series of once a week art lessons for my children. There are so many instances where my friends and family are helping to teach my children and shape them into who they are! I am so thankful for this. I have been so lucky that my children have gotten some phenomenal teachers at school as well. These teachers can make or break a child.

Thank you to all those who teach and inspire people! Your time and effort is invaluable!

Technorati Tags: christmas,ornaments,retro,mice,walnut,polymer clay

Rebecca,

These are adorable!

For our readers I have a tip for you on how to easily crack a walnut in half. First of all look at your walnuts. Some of them have a seam that basically cuts it in half. Some of them when you look at the smaller end look like they have a seam that splits them in thirds, you don't want to use these. Now that you have selected your walnuts with a nice seam. Get a hot pad to work on so your nut does not slip around. You will need something like a butter knife or flat chisel. Hold your walnut with the fat end up and insert the tip of your knife into the center of the seam (there is a bit of membrane there that is easy to push through). It may not look like it but your knife should slip in at this point with a little pressure. Push the knife in as far as it will go and then slide it down the seam (kind of like when cutting a melon in half). Some of your walnuts won't separate into two perfect halves but your will most likely get at least one good half out of just about all of them.

Katrina

We are adding to the Christmas fun by joining some link parties here and here.

White Chocolate Ghost Suckers

White Chocolate Ghost Suckers are a must have for Halloween. It’s another one of those things that I have no idea when my Mom started doing this. I just know that she always made these for us, growing up. Of course that was in the days where you could bring homemade goodies to share with the class. My Mom was always the room Mother (well, truthfully I think she rotated through all 4 of us kids, but she’d still be there helping out even when she wasn’t THE room Mom). She would make these for all of us to give to our classmates. Once I moved out on my own, I started making these myself, as I couldn’t imagine having a Halloween without these!

They are so quick and easy, and cute! You will love them! Here is a template that you can use for your suckers.

Print out your template and gather your other supplies. You need white chocolate, mini chocolate chips, sucker sticks, and wax paper.

Place your ghost template underneath a sheet of wax paper. The wax paper can shift around on you so you might want to tape it down. I don’t find that necessary myself.

I melt my white chocolate in a ziplock baggie. I microwave it for 30 seconds and then squish the bag. Then, I microwave in 10 second increments until it becomes the right consistency. You want it thin so that it will run out of the bag easily. I then smoosh it all to one corner and snip off a tiny piece of the tip of the corner.

Next you just fill in the template using the white chocolate. Add the sucker stick about halfway up the ghost (stopping about at the ghosts “belly button”). You will have to twist the stick to make sure it is covered all the way in white chocolate.

Now you add 2 mini chocolate chips for the eyes. I have substituted M&Ms, or other things. But, trust me on this one, you want to use mini chocolate chips. They are so much cuter. I try to make the eyes look the same direction by making sure the tops of the chocolate chips go off to the same side.

Here are all my suckers filled in, eyes added, and sticks covered. Refrigerate them for about an hour before you pull them right off of the wax paper. They are ready to go. I like to put them in those cute cellophane bags and then tie them off with pretty ribbons. Since these are the first of the season though, they will just be for my kids and so no wrapping is necessary. You can make these ahead of time and just keep them in the refrigerator until you need them. I’m not sure how long chocolate stays good…I don’t think any lasts very long around my house. ;)

I really hope you try this as it is one of my favorite treats at Halloween. Add pictures of yours to our flikr group!

Rebecca

PS Thanks Mom, for all the great traditions. You are such an inspiration to me, and have given me so many wonderful things to pass on to my own children, to make life more special. And you’ve given me so many great ways to celebrate with my children!

~~~~~

Katrina here… with an allergy friendly option.

I made these with Gluten, Dairy, Nut and Soy Free chocolate chips from Enjoy life. The candies are also gluten and dairy free.

I simply used the bat template from Anjeanette’s Inspiration post and the a cat clip are from my Photoshop Elements program.

Thanks Rebecca for the inspiration for these!!

Technorati Tags: halloween,candy,chocolate,ghost,bat,cat,tutorial,easy,kids crafts

Crochet a Pumpkin!

This is something that our Mom has done for us for years and years! She said she learned it from our paternal Grandmother. It isn’t Halloween without her pumpkins.
Adorable, right?

Some years she puts felt faces on them and some years she doesn’t. Typically they are filled with Halloween Salt Water Taffy which we have to hunt down because they are not in every store.
This pumpkin is quick to whip up and a great way to share a little treat. Fill them with candy, or just stuff them and use them for decoration.
Mom makes everything in her own way. She just does it. She never stops to think how she does it, she just does it. Getting directions out of her is hard because it all just seems so natural to her. Today I sat her down and watched her make one. I wrote out the instructions the best I could.

I love my Mom’s hands! I love everything about her too;)
Crochet your pumpkin!
Chain 3, slip stitch in 1st chain (to form a loop), chain 1
15 double crochet in center ring, slip stitch in the first one, chain 2
2 double crochets in each all the way around, slip stitch, chain 2 do this for 5 rows, slip stitch to end and leave a long tail.
For the lid it starts the same way:
ch 3, sl st in 1st ch to make a loop, ch 2
15 dbl crochet in the hole, sl st in the 1st ch
2 dbl crochet in each all the way around, sl st to end.
Green stem
Ch 6, single crochet in each, sl st to end.
To assemble, poke the loose ends of the green stem into the hole of the lid. With a darning needle (a really big needle that works great with yarn), tie and tuck the ends in.
Still with a darning needle and using the tail you left when you finished the pumpkin, whip stitch the lid and the pumpkin together. Hide the ends.
Mom uses a G hook. If you want this to be a different size, you could easily use a different size hook.
Let me know if you have any questions. I know my write up is a little rusty, but it is really pretty straight forward;)
Anjeanette
We are linking to the following amazing parties, Blue Cricket Design,

Plastic Canvas Snowflake Picture Ornament

Years ago my Mother-in-Law made us all plastic canvas snowflake ornaments as part of a 12 days of Christmas care package. We decided we wanted to share this pattern with you. I wanted to add a new twist to it. In this family we LOVE photo ornaments, both making and getting them. Hint Hint!! My tree needs some cousins on it this year. I thought this would be so cute with a picture in the middle. Even better, my photo ornament is a pin, so it can be used in other ways as well.

Here is Nana’s ornament taken apart. I wanted to show you how hers looked with the white thread. She used a white yarn that has a shinny silky thread running through it. If you look closely at the top picture you can just make it out. That shinny thread adds to the look of this ornament. White with a silver thread running through it would also be nice.

1. Here is your basic template. You can buy squares of plastic canvas or a larger sheet of it. Simply cut out the above shape out of your plastic canvas.

I wanted you to be able to see what I am doing so I used blue embroidery floss for this tutorial. In reality you would want to use something thicker than embroidery floss.

2. Hold the end of the floss to the back of your project. It will get hidden by the stitches you will be making. For this you will need something like 4.5 yards of yarn for each half of the snowflake. I used an entire hank of embroidery floss which is 8.75 yards total.

I suggest you cut yourself a 4.5 yard length of yarn. Thread it through an yarn needle and position your needle near the center of the yarn. This way you will only have to pull half the length of the yarn through the canvas at any given time.

Follow my directions for working in one continuous string around the ornament.

3. For the most part I am going to let my pictures explain the steps.

4. You will always bring the needle back up through the starting hole as you work each corner of the X. This will make a loop around the back side that will be identical to the front.

5. Down again through the next hole and then back up through the starting point.

6. Each corner will go like the picture above. Stitch from right to left inserting your needle through the holes that the arrows point to.

7. Still working from the same starting hole now stitch towards the center of the canvas. Follow the arrows from left to right.

8. After you finished the stitches towards the center of the canvas come back up through the starting hole. Insert the needle down through the hole shown above to the right of where you started.

9. Now put the needle back through the top of the same hole you just went through and pull it through. Bring your needle back up to the top of your canvas and go down through the hole to the right of the one you just went through.

10. Work your way around the next corner of the X. These are the hands of my 5 year old helping me out with this ornament.

11. Here you can see that we have gone all the way around the next corner to the opposite side of the next section. I have pulled the needle up through the starting point to repeat the above pattern with this side. Work your way all the way around the ornament in this fashion. The last thing you will do is weave around the edge of the side you started with.

12. Now to secure the end. Put the needle up through the bottom of the hole that you did your last loop in as shown above.

13. Insert the needle behind the decorative stitches and pull it through. Put the needle through the hole indicated by the arrow above and repeat this process. Simply snip off the end of the yarn.

14. Now follow the same pattern and make another one.

15. Place the X’s you just made one on top of the other as shown above.

16. To secure the halves together simply pull the corners of the back X forward to lock them in place between the sides of the top X. It will look like the picture above when you are done.

Now to make the picture part of the ornament.

1. Roll out Fimo or Sculpty clay (the kind you have to bake for it to harden). Roll it out to a 1/4 inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter shape that is no bigger than 1.75 inches in diameter. Bake according to package directions.

2. I edited this picture using Photoshop elements. I removed the background (I wanted the background to be a crisp white for this) and cropped the picture into a circle shape. I resized the picture down to 1.5 inches (the inside diameter of my cut out clay). Once I printed it out, I used my 1.5 inch circle cutter to cut out my picture.

3. Paint Mod(ge) Podge over the top surface of your clay shape. Press the picture on and let dry. This will take about 15 minutes. Now go back and apply a coat of Mod(ge) Podge over the top of the picture. Repeat one more time. The label on the Mod(ge) Podge suggests spraying a clear coat over the dried project to seal it and eliminate the slightly tacky finish the Mod(ge) Podge leaves.

How do YOU say Mod Podge? I say it Modge Podge, always have and always will thus the (ge) tacked on to Mod. I am with Anjeanette on this one, they need to change their name!!!

4. Use your trusty E-6000 to glue the pin to the back of the clay. You will know what I am talking about if you have seen Anjeanette’s Tutorials that require glue.

This is THE GO-TO glue when you want it to hold like no other. You will have to break up the Clay before it will release it’s hold. Even then you will have to use a knife to scrape the clay off the glue. The glue will remain forever on the pin. (I tried to reuse a pin by removing it from an earlier project that broke. I got the pin off but the project is in tiny crumbs in the trash.) Seriously go out and get some from your craft store if you don’t already have some. Keep pliers handy because once it has been used a few times you will need them to get the cap off. If your tube gets plugged and the glue won’t come out, use a toothpick to clear out the nozzle.

Once the glue has dried pin the picture to the front half of the snowflake ornament canvas. If you have two children make a second pin and fasten it to the other side of the snowflake. Be sure to remember to put the child’s name and date on the back of the pin.

The reason I used a pin on the back of the clay picture is so that whomever the lucky person is that gets your lovely gift can remove the picture pin and use it elsewhere to enjoy it all year long.

Technorati Tags: Christmas in July,Christmas,Katrina,Crafts,tutorial

Katrina