GHOST GIRL - How to Make One "Appear"

I’m still working on my Halloween decorations. I'm trying to create a Spooktacular Shoctober.

I have my Ghost Girl haunting the front lawn.  But this wasn't enough so I had to do a little bit more.

She’s made out of chicken wire to make the shape of her dress. Then we draped cheesecloth over the frame. I’m still working on her. I’m thinking of making arms and a head from chicken wire and draping more cheesecloth over the frame to create the illusion of a woman in white floating through the yard.

Any other Halloween lovers out there? What do you think? Any ideas on what else I could do to make the Ghost Girl “appear” ?

Quilting and Homemade Stuffed Animals

Those of you who know me, know I love to make, bake and create. I just can't seem to help it. "Sew" when I saw this little elephant fabric, I thought, "I'd love to make a little stuffed elephant for a friend's baby shower." Of course, I'd never made a stuffed animal before but again I thought, "How hard can it be?" 

Lucky for me, I was thinking in 2D not 3D. If I'd had to make four legs, that would have thrown my making into another dimension entirely...thus, 3D not 2D.

But, if you're like me and have never made a stuffed animal (without a pattern) and you're curious how I did it, just keep reading.

First, I was inspired by this fabric, which I used to make the backside of a baby blanket for my friend's shower.

But like everything I do, inspiration comes from many sources. Do you see the yellow and gray polka dot ear on the front side of the baby blanket? Well, immediately I thought an all gray elephant just wouldn't do. Imagine that. But I was also inspired by Mike Curato's Little Elliot - Big City books.

 I just heard Mike Curato give a presentation in L.A. at the SCBWI Summer Conference. I thought, "I want my little elephant to be all polka dotted--like little Eliott." So I went in search of some more fabric - this time polka dotted. And I figured I only needed about one-fourth a yard for a stuffed animal. 

Then I thought, "I really like the shape of the little gray elephant above." So I drew the shape on a piece of paper (and I'm not an illustrator or an artist) so I drew it lightly, in case I made mistakes (which is super silly because it was paper and I was using a pencil--duh, I could have erased a mistake-but whatever, that's what I did). 

When I got that done, I drew the shape right on the fabric.

Cut it out and laid the front sides together and sewed around the edges. I left a little section open so I could stuff it (I made a mistake here--I left the trunk open to stuff, I should have left a foot open to stuff so it wouldn't be noticed as much--but that's the way I did it.)

After I had him stuffed, I sewed a couple of yellow ears on (because I had some leftover yellow fabric from when I made my Candy Corn Cushions for my benches out in my yard). Then I took some leftover material and braided a tail and sewed those on. But I still needed an eye. I didn't want to sew something on that the baby might pull off and eat so I embroidered a little eyelash around one of the polka dots (on both sides). And Voila...or, as I would say,  Wah-lah!

I had a fun little gift for the baby shower (a baby blanket and a stuffed elephant). 

Let me know if you have made a stuffed animal for a child. I'd love to visit your blog to check it out.

 

CAKE-N-BAKE - THEY'RE FUN TO MAKE

Everyone who knows me, knows I love to make fun characters and the easiest way to do that is to bake...

I've made so many different types of cakes, cookies and cupcakes

I even love to make "Finger" food

But my latest cake was so much fun to make

My son loves to play the guitar...so you guessed it, for his birthday I had to make a guitar or like a friend told me, "It's a bass" but I never claimed to be musical. I just love to bake.

It really was simple. All I did was cut out the shape of a guitar on a piece of paper and lay it on top of a sheet cake. I cut it out and then laid the fondant over the shape. I was in a hurry because I had a bunch of people coming for dinner so I didn't have much time to throw the cake together. Plus, I suddenly had to frost a cake for my daughter too. (My 34 year old son and my 30 year old daughter share a birthday). I thought we had someone else bringing my daughter's cake but they had a "cake disaster" in the car. Luckily, I had a couple extra layers of cake in the fridge and simply had to frost them.

And look at that candle on top...it was sparktacular!

Look at the differences in the flames from the candles on Jake's cake and Kara's cake.

But no matter the flame on the food, it looks like someone liked the flavor

Because that food was finished in no time.

(Are there any other bakers out there in blogland? I'd  love to hear what you're making, baking or creating.)

HALLOWEEN CANDY CORN CUSHIONS - a DIY Project

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!

AND FALL MEANS DECORATING FOR THE SEASONS

It's no secret, I love to decorate for every season, holiday and/or event and I wanted to share my latest homemade "make" with you. My latest sewing adventure was to make some new cushion covers for our benches out in the front yard. I had a vision in my head of candy corn and "sew" I went to work to create my vision. And this is what I came up with: an assortment of Halloween Candy Corn Cushion covers and pillows. 

But on top of  loving to decorate, I also love to save money. So I went to Joann Fabric and Craft Store during the Labor Day Sale and bought some orange and white striped fabric and some yellow fabric. I simply had to piece the fabrics together to make my little candy corn pillow. I sewed the fabric with the right sides together (which just means the sides you want showing have to be laid face-to-face).

Then to make this square into a pillow, I cut it into a triangle and sewed it up the sides. I stuffed the triangle with fluffy batting material and then hand-stitched the edge of one corner.

After I had the pillow put together, I went to work on the cushion covers. I needed to fit the material right to the foam cushions because I didn't have a pattern. It was easy to do. All I did was simply drape the fabric over the cushion to get the proper measurements for cutting the fabric. I left an extra inch around the edges (as my seam allowance). You really only need a quarter inch for a seam allowance, but I always prefer to have a little extra (just in case). I used my pressure foot on my sewing machine as the guide to keep the lines straight as I sewed. And it was really easy.

I also wanted to be able to use the cushion covers for more than one month so on the backside I used a solid orange color, which I think is more versatile. That way, I can simply switch out the pillows and use this solid orange colored side all the way through the Thanksgiving holiday. All I have to do is have an assortment of pillowcases for every season and/or holiday...So, I'd better get back to my sewing!

Anyway, my decorating has only just begun ;D But I wanted to wish you all a Happy Fall!

And if you are making any homemade decorations for the upcoming holidays, please let me know about them so I can visit your blog and/or website. I love to get inspiration from other crafty people.

DIY Fingernail design with Words

So I was going to an SCBWI Writing Conference in Oregon and wanted to do something fun and artsy with my fingernails 'cuz that's something I can do at home...usually with some help from my daughter-in-law ;D...so we decorated my nails--or maybe I should say Fatina decorated my nails ;D

Anyway, I didn't want to spend a fortune on a manicure so this was an EZ, inexpensive way to have some fun at my fingertips.

First you paint your fingernails white, then you cut out some newspaper clippings and soak them in alcohol. Place the newspaper clipping on your nails, rub them with a blunt object so that they transfer without ripping the paper and then pull the clipping away. Voile' you will have words on your fingernails.

(I did a youtube video of this process but it isn't working right now...sorry)

If you have any questions, let me know. And if you try this out, please send me a picture and share it in the comments below. And Happy Writing!

Easter is Almost Here - Homemade Treats

Easter is just around the corner and it's so easy to decorate on a budget. 

All you need is a silicon mold and some chocolate. I use white chocolate to create Easter Eggs you can eat...even the shell. All you need to do is melt your chocolate and pour it into the molds. Then I put the molds into the refrigerator and let the chocolate  harden. Super simple and oh...so...pretty.

Another thing you can do is make Easter baskets...with cupcakes.

This is another super simple way to make a fun party food and create a fantastic eye-candy at the same time. All you need is regular cupcake papers and pipe cleaners. I mix shredded coconut into the frosting to create my grass for my "Easter baskets" then I top the baskets with jelly beans. Really cute and  very tasty too.

Another fun thing to do is to take plastic Easter Eggs and stuff them into little yarn chickens. I  think these little chicks are so fun.