Happy Halloween!

Happy Zombie Brainz.... I mean Happy Halloween!

The weather is going to be too rainy and gross to put out my  "The Witch is In!" display, or any decorations in general outside.  Maybe next year.  

As always I didn't accomplish everything I had wanted but that just leaves more for next year.  I think I should get started now!

A Carved Dachshund Pumpkin

I began by tapeing my image onto a  craft pumpkin.  I then poked small holes through the paper into the pumpkin to transfer the design to the pumpkin.

Here you can see the small holes, but I also traced the holes with a sharpie so I could better see the lines.  I also marked which pieces were to be cut out of the pumpkin.

I then used an Exacto knife to make the cuts.  Well, honestly I used a heated Exacto knife that is part of a wood burning kit.  I can't recommend this because you are basically melting plastic and I'm not sure how healthy that is, but I did it anyway.  The trick to all pumpkin carving is to be patient and do a little at a time.  You can always cut more pumpkin away but you can't add it back.

The other areas had to be scraped away.  For this I used a dremel tool.  The dremel is a little difficult to handle and keep steady, but again if you do a little at a time, and go slowly it'll work out.  And here is the final pumpkin.

In the dark!

So cute! Roxie and Talley will love it!

Costumes

Friday night we went to a 90's themed concert.  This was my best attempt at a Clueless styled outfit.  My husband just wore some flannel.

Then Saturday it was zombie time.

Mmm... brainz!

The costume I wore I made last year.  It was a dress I found at Goodwill.  I liked it because it has two layers, and I felt like that helped me make the rips more visible.  Also, (not pictured) I wore two pairs of tights.  A pair of solid grey and then on top of that a fishnet-like pair that I ripped holes in.

Halloween is Almost Here: Making of a Zombie

 Thriller was last night, so yesterday I was scrambling to get my husbands zombie costume ready.

He wanted to be a "clean" zombie.  He is the type to eat pizza and french fries with a fork, so of course as a zombie he would have the best table manners.  So I decided that he needed some props.  First thing that popped in my head was an eyeball on a fork!  So I gathered some plastic silverware that looks real and a gum ball.

Next I cut a slit in the gumball and stuck the fork in it.

I then use sharpies and some paint to make it look like an eye.  I sprayed the eye with clear spray paint to help protect it since it is just a gum ball.  I also hot glued it to the fork and added lots of hot glue in the back of the eye to make it look freshly ripped from someones head.  I mean we're zombies, right?

Then I added some red paint.  And that was it, pretty creepy!

Added some paint to the knife.

We got clothes at Goodwill that we wouldn't mind destroying.  Just create tears in the fabric so it looks worn and like maybe you've been in some fights.  Go as crazy as you want.

I'll post some pictures of us all dressed up.

A Few New Projects

I started this wreath.  I took a Styrofoam wreath form that I broke and the connection and put some child size Halloween stockings around it.

Then I wrapped some ribbon around that.

Then I cut off the ends.

Not sure what I am going to do with it yet, but I am thinking about attaching this guy.

Then I have started working on a possible costume for myself.  Flapper!  I have wanted to dress as a flapper for years and with the extra inspiration from film The Great Gatsby that came out this year I figured why not.  

I found this dress at goodwill several years ago and have been meaning to alter it to be a flapper costume ever since.  No time like the present.  As you can see on the right it originally had sleeves.  On the left you can see where I decided to cut them off.

This is showing how i am attempting to make new straps for the dress with these sparkly ribbons.  I hope this works.  So far I have sewn the ends and have glued parts down with fabric glue.  Now I am just waiting for the glue to dry so I can work on it some more.

Doggy Costumes!

I found these adorable costumes at Home Goods and just knew the girls would love them!  Forgive me for the crazy background in the pictures.  The girls just did not want to get out of bed.

Talley as a duck!

And Roxie as a caterpillar.

"Yo! I mean Quack!"

"Hello!"

"Rub my belly!"

So many legs.

  

So cute and warm!  They are ready for trick or treat!!

"Did you say treat?"

Witch Shoes and Mummy Pumpkin

Crafting takes a long time.  Especially when you are working with glues and paints that have to dry.  I've been working on my witch shoes.This pair I gave a coat of matte black paint on the inside and black gloss paint on the outside.  I wanted to make sure the original brown color of the shoe wouldn't show through the glitter I would be applying later.

Then I coated the shoes in Mod Podge (gloss), and sprinkled black glitter on them.

Then I had to wait for them to dry.

Here is what they looked like then.  I could have left them like this but the glitter was coming off and getting on everything.

So I decided to give them a top coat of Mod Podge.  I didn't want to miss any chance for sparkle so I used the glitter Mod Podge.

And here they are dry. So cute and sparkly!

The other pair just needed some finishing touches.  I added some spiky shape pieces on the back and I put glossy black paint around the top edge of the shoe to make the pieces I added look more like they belonged.  I also painted the inside of the shoes with matte black paint.

Before

After

I think it really helped them look more complete and stylish.

And I worked on my mummy pumpkin.  You have already seen the pumpkin with just the gray ribbon wrapped around it.  I glued it on the same way I'll show below.  I also glued on some eyes.  It may be hard to tell but the eyes are slightly different sizes.

I found it helpful to hold the fabric to the pumpkin while the glue dries with straight pins.  I used this Weldbond glue to be sure that the different materials would all stayed glued to each other.

So here I just started wrapping the off white fabric around the pumpkin, gluing and pinning as I went.

Making sure not to cover the eyes.

And here he is all dry and pins removed!

Happy crafting.