Chalkcloth Gift Tags

Turns out chalkcloth gift tags are very easy to make. All you have to do is buy some chalkcloth, some double fold binding tape and some eyelets. Cut the chalkcloth into a rectangular shape. Sew on the binding tape on both of the short sides. Cut to fit. Then sew the binding on the long sides. If you doing a bunch of them at one time just daisy chain them through with the binding tape. Punch a hole into one corner of the chalkcloth with the top of a pen. Then hammer the eyelet in. Thread a ribbon through and you have chalkcloth gift tags. Reusable and very cute. I will be using these for Natalie's teachers this year for their Christmas Gifts. Try it you'll like it :)

Halloween Party Game #1

Each year at our annual Halloween party we try to throw in a few "new to us" carnival type party games. Here is the first idea I'm throwing around for this year - Pumpkin Punch Out. The idea is to have DH cut out a big pumpkin out of wood and I will paint it Orange and Green and screw orange plastic cups to it to let the kids punch a number to get a prize. Here is a pic of the idea in it's prototype stage minus the big wood pumpkin. Here's how I did the test phase:

1.) Buy a pack of orange Solo Cups(or any color you prefer)

2.) Fill cups with Green paper crinkles and a small halloween prize(make sure the prize is soft or there is lots of crinkles on top of it to cushion little hands when they hit the cups. There is lots of squeezy skeletons, eyeballs, rats, etc you can buy for halloween.

3.) Take parchment paper and cut into a strip big enough to cover the top of the cup and at least 2 inch down the cup.

4.) Place the parchment paper on top of the cup and take a rubber band and place it over the top of the parchment paper to "attach" it to the cup. Make sure all sides of the parchment have rubber band to hold it down to the cup. The further you can go down the better. Have fun testing it out some with your kid or yourself.

5.) Stamp or draw on halloween images or numbers onto each cup.

6.) Step right up and hit the cup and get a prize

For the actual party version I will add one extra steps:

before step 2 above I will screw each cup into the wood from inside the cup at the bottom.

I hope you enjoy this quick and easy halloween party game!

Halloween Sweets Table

Have you seen this halloween sweets spread by Amy Atlas? If not you should go to her blog to check it out in detail. - http://amyatlas.blogspot.com/2009/09/celebrate-magazine-feature.html I have looked at it about a million times now. I'm going to attempt a version of a halloween sweets table for our halloween party this year. So without further ado here is my first item I'm going to put on our halloween table. It's quick and easy and I think very cute. I'm going to try and stay with the orange, black, and white just like Amy did but I'm going to do different items and a different background. Please check back throughout October as I will be posting my other ideas and eventually my complete sweets table. Let me know if you like this idea or can think of a way to improve it. I took the donut box that I bought the individual wrapped donuts in and wrapped it in orange wrapping paper. I turned the box upside down and stuck dowel rods though it. Then I took white powdered donuts and placed them on the skewers. Then as you can see I topped them with the cutest little peeps Ghosts. I only did one for my prototype but with all the skewers filled in I think it will be very cute for one of my white elements. If you are doing a version of this sweets table please let me know so I can check out your blog.

Halloween Trophy

Why did I buy these trophy's at Goodwill the other day for $.97 cents each? That's what the cashier asked me anyway. LOL! I told her I had a vision for these trophies for my halloween party. Because of some of the weird things I buy at thrift stores I wonder if the cashiers talk about me after I leave? Probably but oh well I'm going to have some fun Best Costume Trophies this year for our halloween party. I had to take these puppies apart quick before DH saw them and said are you insane? Why did you buy trophies at Goodwill? So I quickly unscrewed both trophies after my "before" pic was taken. They came apart very easily. Then I was going to spray paint the body of the trophy but it was pouring the rain so I went with plan B---acrylic paint. It worked o.k. but I think I'll put a spray coat over the top to finish it off. Then I have 2 options I'm going to play with for the top of the trophy. One is I'm going to tear off the arm off the baskeball player and wrap him up like a mummy for the top or I'm going to take a skeleton and a dowel rod and put the skeleton on the top. Check back later to see the end result.

Halloween Photo Op Wall

I saw an idea on StacyClaireBoyd.blogspot.com website. It was so cute I wondered how I could incorporate it into my halloween party. So I went on a hunt to Goodwill, Union Mission, and Salvation Army. I found several wonderful frames(see pic). I then went to Walmart and bought some black spray paint. I plan on getting hubby to get wood or drywall and find some white with black print wallpaper and cutting some holes for the big frames and putting spooky looking pictures in the other frames. I will use this so the kids can take pics together in their halloween costumes. I can't wait to see it all done. This may sound silly but I think I've seen something similar done somewhere but I can not find it anywhere. I might have just dreamed it after I saw Stacy Boyd's version because I'm kind of weird like that!!! :) I'll be sure to post the finished product when I'm done. Total Costs for frames and paint so far $14.00. You can check Stacy's wedding photo wall out here - http://stacyclaireboyd.blogspot.com/2009/07/family-portrait-wall.html

Halloween Ornament

I have officially gone batty! I created these felt bats for a swap I'm in a 2peas. I saw a bat a while back and did a screenprint for inspiration. Now I can't find the source. So if it's your idea..please let me know and I will credit you. I did a slight modification on the body shape and added a round circle under one of the button eyes to make it look a little more primitive looking. Here's how I did it.

Step 1 - Cut 2 black bat shapes out of black felt

Step 2 -cut one round circle out of felt(any color but black) - I did mine in orange, yellow, and purple

Step 3 - Gather some halloween colored buttons(I used an SEI halloween button tube I had on hand)

Step 4 - Sew the round felt shape and the halloween buttons on for eyes on one piece of the black felt. (You can use my how to sew on a button with your machine tutorial if you don't know how to do this)

Step 5 - Sew on the mouth and fangs(use a contrasting thread - I used orange but white could look nice too)

Step 6 - Cut a length of ribbon for your ornament hanger(I used orange ribbon)

Step 7 - Place ribbon folded in half in between the two felt black pieces. The felt pieces should be wrong sides together.

Step 8 - Sew around the perimeter of the bat to secure in ornament hanger

Step 9 - Sew two trianges on both sides of the eyes and mouth to create a fun look.

Step 10 - Hang up your bat and let him fly.

ENJOY!

Bandaids for BOO BOO's

I saw some customized band-aids some where on the internet so I had to make some. Here's what you do:

1.) Buy some band-aids, staz on ink pad and a stamp
2.) Open the band-aids

3.) Stamp image with stazon ink. If stamp is too big turn stamp over and place band-aid on top to stamp it.

4.) If you want make a fry container to hold the bandaids(sorry for the bad pic)

5.) Use as needed for all BOO BOO's

School Snack - Oranges

It's our turn for school lunch this week. We usually do a fruit because most people do a starch like peanut butter crackers and baked chips. While Natalie really likes pb crackers and chips she gets bored with them. In the past I have done strawberries with ff cool whip and mini bananas, ff vanilla pudding, and vanilla wafers. So this time we came up with oranges. Since 1st graders can't usually peel oranges I got that job. If I never have to peel another orange it will be too soon. :) I have to admit even for me I went a little overboard this time around. I made bag toppers for the oranges with a knock knock joke, sewed wet one packs for the wet ones(you can't give kids oranges and not have wet ones can you? I didn't think so). And the thing that put it over the top...when Natalie told me she gets to hand out her treats ...what did I do you ask? Yep, I made her a orange shirt to wear to school and a hair scrunchie on snack day to match her snacks. I told you,,,over the top. But hey, let the other mom's talk about how I must not have a job, etc(BTW, I do have a job)..... I had fun making the stuff and Natalie said she loved it...so yeah! Hope you enjoy the pics and let me know if you have any other ideas for snacks.

Spooky Forks

We had several forks left over and some googly eyes so Natalie glued them on. We saw this in a magazine and knew we had to create these for our Halloween Party. Very quick and easy project.

School Fun - Utensil Customization - Twist on Lunch Box love note

I went to the grocery store today and I bought a box of 100 plastic forks. When I cook I try to come up with quick projects Natalie can do to keep her happy. Today's project consisted of white plastic forks and a sharpie marker. Natalie and I customized all 100 of them. We first began with a halloween theme with ghosts, witches, halloween sayings, etc. Then when we ran out of ideas I started coming up with ideas for her school lunch. I usually send a note or goodie in her lunch box anyways so this would be great for the note. I thought of the usual notes...I love you, Your the best daughter ever, etc. I also thought it would be fun to tell her when her favorite shows come on in the evenings...Like - New GLEE on tonight!!! Ideas for customizing your silverware are endless. HAVE SOME FUN!!!

Thanksgiving Advent Calendar

I created this Thanksgiving Advent Calendar for a sewing swap on two peas. It is made of felt, muslin, stazon, and number stamps. It was time consuming but the final product was worth it. I first cut the squares out of fall colored felt. The squares are approximately 2 1/2 by 3. Then I stamped the numbers with stazon onto muslin. After that I cut the numbers out and sewed a leaf on each square. Then I zigzag stitched the numbers on the felt pockets. I laid out the felt pockets on the background and pinned them in place. Then I sewed and sewed and sewed until all the pockets were secure. Lastly I handcut the title and sewed it onto the background. Then I cut out a backing piece and rod pockets for the top. Since I was using felt I did not have to turn right sides together to put on the backing. I just sewed around the permimeter and placed the rod pockets in at the top.

I plan on using my calendar for thankful activities. For instance, one day I might say....We are thankful for our grandparents...Give them a call today and tell them you love them.