Halloween Wreath

So last weekend, I was amazed once more by the wonderful projects I find over at Dollar Store Crafts. Seriously- lots of frugal minded crafters out there, and I. Love. That. This time, it was a wreath made with bath puffs. Love it!

I know I've seen others use the bath puffs before, so it's not completely original (what is, anymore? I'm pretty sure every thought that enters my head on any given basis is simultaneously being thought up by 12 other people world wide!- yes, even that sentence!), but it is looooovely. And orange. I was surprised that A) someone found bright orange bath puffs in time for Halloween, and B) that I was also able to find them. Usually, when it comes to something like that, I'm SOL.

I picked up the items needed, but my DT does not have yarn. Sadness! I wound up getting some black fuzzy stuff on clearance at HobLob for like $3. Then, we went next door to Big Lots, where I think I found the exact same yarn that Heather at DSC used, also for $1. I picked it up- I liked it better, with it's little rust & orange colored hanging ball thingies. Technical term.

There are detailed instructions at DSC, so I won't add those, but here's what all I used to make mine:

1 Medium Twig Wreath- Dollar Tree
1 Big Fuzzy Black Spider- Dollar Tree
4 Orange Strip Bath Puffs- Dollar Tree
Black Fuzzy Yarn- Big Lots
Gemstones- Dollar Tree (I was ECSTATIC! Dollar Tree got GOOD gems in again! The ones from over the summer SUCKED!)
Hot Glue- On hand

All in all, I spent $8 on all the supplies, and I have a lot of yarn and gemstones left over. I had also picked up a black glittery skull, which I liked, but then I made it into a Dia De Los Muertos skull instead, and no longer liked how it looked on the wreath, so I went with the spider.

 I added small gems and two larger gems to the spider to make him puuurty. I also added small purple & clear gems through out the wreath, so that when it's hanging outside, it will catch the light with a bit of sparkle. I'm all about the bling.

Love me some Dollar Store!

Today, I hopped on over to two different dollar stores to get some items for my Halloween wreath.

I haven't completed the wreath yet, but here's a spoiler of what it will include!

Check back later this week for more details!

Skeleton Hand Hair "Bows"

As I've mentioned before, I'm doing hair items now. I sell them through Facebook (it's the new etsy- without fees!), and have had some fun making new things.

A few weeks back, Dollarstorecrafts.com posted some fun Halloween ideas from last year- including a picture frame with a skeleton hand. I saw that hand, and just knew it would be great in a gothic inspiried hair "bow". You never know what people will like, want, or hate.

I was in a DT last week and found the packs of skeleton hands- 10/$1. I only grabbed one. I was quite a ways from home, and figured that I would be able to find them easily at any of the 4 other DT's between that one and our home. Lived to regret that, let me tell you!

These bows are fun and funky, without being cutesy for kids. Within the first day, I had an order for 3. I've so far sold 10 of them.

This post is linked up at many great parties! Check them all out here!

Twlight Party: Book Covers

To help tie the book covers into the party, we added in several of the items to represent each one.

From Twlight, Red Delicious Apples to eat.

From New Moon, I found plain white fake tulips at Dollar Tree, and red nail polish for $.50. I streaked them red! We laid them out on the table, but then gave one to each of the girls.

From Eclipse, Tattered and torn red ribbon. I found wide red satin ribbon at Dollar Tree, and bought 1 roll. I used scissors to snip holes, then rubbed at the loose threads and pulled at them to make the ribbon tattered and torn. We wound one length around one of the containers, then let the rest of it trail around the table.

And from Breaking Dawn, I found a Chess set from Dollar Tree (actually, Nick got it for Christmas from Raegan, who got it at DT, so it was on-hand), and grabbed out all the black pieces to set around the table. I also found in my possession, a fun wooden candle holder from Goodwill, and a glass apothecary jar also from Goodwill. When I set the jar ontop of the candle holder, it looked like a Bishop! I spray painted the holder burgundy, and stuck them together.

Those were the ways we incorporated the book titles into the Candy Buffet- I think they turned out really good, and I didn't spend much at all for all of it.

3# of Red Delicious Apples- $2.99
Chess Set- $1 (was on hand)
Wooden Candle Holder- $.29 (was on hand)
Glass Apothecary Jar- $.29 (was on hand)
Red Satin Ribbon- $1
Tulips- $1
Nail Polish- $.50

All in all, even counting the on-hand items, it cost me $7.07 before tax, and part of it doubled as food on the buffet! Part of the ribbon will be salvageable for future projects, too.

Some fun, easy ways to decorate, though, for a Twilight party. Maybe a party for when Eclipse comes out in June?

This post is linked up to the awesome parties found here!

Flip Flop Appliques

I debated on whether or not to add this to the prior post about my Beach Bag, or to post a new post about the Flip Flops. Obviously, I chose a new post.

I was standing in my craft room this morning, lecturing the cats on why they do not get to climb around on Mommy's Craft Stuff, when I was hit with inspiration! Why not try my hand at an applique on the beach bag? I have never appliqued before, and wasn't sure if I was up to the task, but I decided to at least try it.

Here's the finished bag BEFORE adding the Flip Flops

You'll Need:
1 Finished Beach Bag- though, honestly, this would have been far easier to add on an unfinished beach bag!
Fabric Scraps- Bright colors are a must for summer fun!
Ribbon Scraps
Sewing Machine
Pre-school Writing Paper (you know, the kind with the huge lines for learning letters? It's lighter weight than regular paper, and worked great for a pattern)

1. I free hand drew a flip flop shape. If I, the drawing challenged, can do it, so can you. I only drew one, since the pattern could be "flip flopped" over to the other side for the matching Flip Flop. I also made a pattern for the "thong" part of the flip flop, but the fabric thong flopped, so I didn't use it.
2. Cut the pattern out of your fabric, making sure to turn the pattern over for the second flip flop. This should give you a pair of flip flops.
3. Fold your ribbon into a V shape, and pick a spot on the toe area where you want it added. Leave extra hanging off- I didn't, and my first one didn't meet up to the edge exactly. Oops! Once it's in place, prepare to sew.
4. I used a cute little star shaped stitch to go straight down the middle of the ribbon, and I used pink thread. The ribbon I chose had a green stitch mark along both sides, and I didn't want to cover that, so I went with a decorative stitch. A straight or zig zag would also work fine.
5. Once the ribbon is added, position the flip flops on your bag where you want them, and pin them into place- you won't use more than 2-3 pins each, or they'll wrinkle a bit. After the first few stitches on mine, I removed the pins all together. For my stitch, I once again chose decorative, and used a wavy line to stitch all the way around the flip flop. It worked great, and allowed me to move the fabric around without it looking like it was messing up the stitch at all. Repeat on flip flop number two, and you are done!

Being a first timer, it took me maybe 15 minutes to do this, start to finish. I used the slowest stitch speed on my machine, then increased it to just below the medium stitch speed. I tend to mess up more at high speeds, so slow and easy did it for me.

Cost- Free! Use scraps!!

Isn't it a cute addition to my beach bag? I love it- seriously, it really makes it look beachy! Not bad for $4!

Summer- please come soon, ok?

This post is linked up at the link parties listed here.