Another Halloween, Another Bit of Outdoor Decor

 

Today I wanted to showcased my newest front deck Halloween decor. A little history first...

A month or two after last Christmas, I went to HobbyLobby to check out the Christmas clearance sales. They were discounted about 60% and I bought a few nice items for which I couldn't have paid full price.  While my girlfriend continued in the Christmas clearance section, I wandered around the store and came upon FALL/Halloween clearanced items. Imagine my surprise that the store had some left and they were 90% off!!

There were five wooden pumpkin stack signs, unpainted and lonely. I convinced my friend that I could paint her wooden sign to paint and give the pumpkins dimension. When I brought it to her house, she loved it. Of course, while she bought ONE sign, I purchased the other four. They rang up at $1.49!!

I painted one just like hers, except I made them into jack-o-lanterns. I think I did a pretty good job, too. So I started a second one. This time I painted them in a rainbow of colors. On them all, I used spray paint; two were painted in various shades of orange and brown, and the third was spray-painted with leftover cans of blue, purple pink and orange.

I drew their silly faces with Posca paint markers to make them all kid-friendly. To finish them off, I sealed them with Clear Gloss Varnish. If I get to the other two signs, I'll have make a run to WalMart or Menards for more cans...

I'll be putting them out at the ends of my deck posts, inviting trick-or-treaters to step up and grab a treat. For older kids, I have stacks of trading card sets to choose from (another "inherited" stash from my mom's passing. I tell the kids if they're not interested in them, give them to their parents. They WILL be,,,

Happy Halloween crafting to all!!

Super Easy Halloween Craft Project

 

After my Gram passed and we finally got around to cleaning out and selling her house, I had a collection of some of her framed prints of famous paintings. Today, I gave two pf her art pieces a Halloween makeover. This a quick and easy craft project I wanted to share with you...

My print is one of Gainsborough's well-known paintings, Blue Boy. I surfed the web for a nice but grisly new face for my Boy and found one with Google free clipart. I just adjusted the size of his head to keep it in proportion with his body before printing.

I used Mod Podge to attach the new head onto the print and let it dry. Then I used Posca markers to better match the coloring of his clothes while bringing out the depth of the colors. I sealed my new Halloween art piece with Gloss Varnish and reattached it to the frame.

  

I couldn't be happier, and it took so little time that I grabbed another of Gram's prints to make a second one. This time I played with Pinky by Lawrence. After finding and sizing the perfect gruesome face, I adhered it onto the print. I used Copics to brighten up the pastel tones of this painting, then sealed it and put it back in its frame.

So now when visitors come to the door (or come inside, they can see my little Halloween Art Gallery. I'm a tad behind on my holiday decorating, as I had to make an emergency trip to take care of my SIL, whose pain after surgery wasn't being managed properly. She lives in Phoenix and I packed my swimsuit and snorkel mask, hoping for a few laps in her backyard pool. But alas, Phoenix was enjoying a week of rain from the hurricane wetness of the hurricane to the south. It rained 3.5", more than they get in the monsoon weather! 

When I came back to Chicagoland, they were enjoying their rainy but warm Indian Summer. The weather has now turned cooler, almost proper October weather. I just hope it doesn't snow on Halloween like it did last year!! LOL 

Enjoy the Autumn holiday!!

 

Enjoying Life One Celebration at a Time

 My card today features a Bugaboo image. I believe this is Sweet Dottie. I used a DP with roses on the cut-out front of my card, and covered the inside of the card with shimmery pink paper. My image is colored with Copics, taking inspiration from YouTube's Mariah Elizabeth by coloring tiny sprinkles in the cupcake's frosting.  

The greeting above her head is embossed on a punched circle, and I added a few black adhesive-backed jewels for embellishment. The card's inside reads, "Have a sweet birthday". 

Just boo-tiful vibes all day.

Just finished a very busy summer of traveling. I visited my SIL and her wife in June/July. Phenix is hot, but it's true what they say, "It's a dry heat." Of course, their pool helped when the temps went above 110 degrees...

I also spent three weeks visiting my sister and her hubby in Germany. They live in Dusseldorf, and while there, we took a few side trips. One of them was Amsterdam. I'll have to share some pics from my travels later this month.

Meanwhile, it's time to celebrate the Spooky Days of Halloween. Today I found a pad of black cardstock paper and whipped out my white gel pen. Since Halloween is coming up, the ghosts are causing traffic jams almost every night...

Expect more throughout the month, even though my sis and her plus-one have been visiting me for the last three weeks in Chicago. Never a dull moment (and today is her birthday)!! Happy birthday, sis!!

Welcome to the Spookiest Month of the Year

 October is finally here, and my house is nothing but Halloween crafts, supplies, wall decor, shadow boxes, artwork, sentiments, decoration--you name it, I have it!! Today's card features an unidentified image called Betelgeuse. Although I've had this digital stamp for a few years, I believe it's the first time I've used it. I'm discovering a lot of unused craft supplies in my yearlong decluttering and organizing. 

I used leftover papers from a Halloween paper stack and leftover trim from a crafting friend, Holley Barnhart. The EEK! sentiment and the tombstone reading MISCHIEF AND MAYHEM are from the same paper stack. I found a pack of plastic spiders so one could hang from the big guy's hand.

I have a nice thick stack of Halloween cards I'll be giving to friends and neighbors this month along with a little handmade item or snack. I usually do this on either Halloween or Christmas. Last year I made Charcouterie boards with cheese and a Halloween spreader and napkin for my neighbors. I haven't decided what to make this year. Maybe I'll just do Thanksgiving and Christmas...

I also make special goodie bags for my neighbors' children. Last year the bags were filled with candy and trading cards. I better get on that because I haven't thought of what to do this year... I hope you are ready for my favorite holiday--Is it yours too?

CHALLENGES I AM ENTERING:

Cashing In by Using My Stash

 

Today I'm featuring another birthday card made completely with leftovers from my stash. The die-cuts were from a bag of birthday greetings and elements. The felt flower is so old I have no idea where it came from! The card front is from a pack of cards, a leftover piece I used to attached to a piece of cardstock I folded today.

It was a quick make, so I made two. My sister's coming in from Germany with her husband, and she always brings back a handful of cards from my stash. I have made some of them in German. Mostly she prefers notecards that she can write something in and hand to someone. Just a decorated front and blank inside.

That's it for today! 

  

CHALLENGES I AM ENTERING:

My Summer Flip

I was driving to the grocery store and spied a dirty, rusty neglected patio table sitting on the end of  a neighbor's driveway, waiting for pick-up by the garbage truck. It had a thick plate of glass that showed the possibility of a beautiful outdoor dining set, but I had to be quick. The garbage truck was at the end of the block, coming our way.

I got there not only in time to rescue the pieces, but the driver of said truck helped load the chairs into my car. He promised not to take the table and glass. after dropping off the chairs at my house, I returned just as a neighbor was parking his car in his own driveway. He helped me take the glass off and put it into my car. One more quick trip back and forth and he helped me put the table in as well.

I started with the heavy piece of glass, which needed two hours of elbow grease and window cleaner to make it shine again. The table was next, but I had to sand off the rusty frame so I could spray paint it. I had recently bought a few cans on clearance from HobbyLobby and Michaels.

After the table was painted, I cleaned, sanded and painted the chairs, having removed the chair pads. I gave them a good cleaning and sorted thru my excess material before choosing one large enuf to cover all six chairs. 

Last weekend, I held a garage sale and the table and chairs were very popular. I sold it the first day!!   Here's the before photo. I also decluttered my basement, emptying two bookcases. I repainted the top of one of them, and they were sold the same day as the table (and three sets of cozy mystery series went as well. My mom, before she passed, was an avid trading card collector. I had mountains of tubs in my basement of non-sport trading cards, some still in factory-sealed boxes. I never realized how many collectors are out there!! I made some pretty good money selling two tubs of them (and yes, I checked E-Bay for the going rates).

Now my main focus is to clean up the slightly empty basement and make it a livable space for my sister and her husband when they come in from Germany for a visit. My secondary project is to pull out all the Holiday and Halloween crafts I've made throughout the year for a craft fair in September.  My work is cut out for me.,.