Big Bird And All the Crew

 I started to think about scary things and. . . with Halloween right around the corner . . .  I decided to carve a pumpkin...or four, with the help of my hubby.

I got most of  the crew together: Elmo (my fav),Cookie Monster (someone a lot like me), Gonzo and of course the giant among aves...in the world of avians.

Here's how we did it:

First we picked the pumpkins. And, have you ever seen the "PERFECT" pumpkin for a character...? Well I saw this one and immediately thought "GONZO".

Then I sketched their faces on the pumpkins and started carving...

I needed something special for the eyes...and Ping Pong balls seemed perfect.

Then we just kept going...

We had to think a minute about how to attach the beak to Big Bird. But we came up with a skewer of an idea.

My hubby hammered the bamboo skewers in place for me to hold the beak still. Then I painted the bird.

Then I put them all together to dry.

Now I just have to think of a way to put them on the porch . . .

Welcome to Sesame Street :D

DIY Ghosts for Halloween

This little ghost is so simple to make. 

 Here's all you need:

1) Cheesecloth (found in paint sections of stores)
2) Liquid fabric stiffener (most fabric/craft stores)
3) Wiggly eyes (found in craft/fabric stores)
4) Elmer's glue or some tacky glue
5) A tennis ball container or spray paint can

Steps to make ghosts:

1) Dip the cheesecloth in the fabric stiffener
(put a cookie sheet or cutting board underneath the tennis ball container or spray paint can for EZ clean-up)
2) Drape wet cheesecloth over tennis ball container or spray paint can
3) Let dry
4) Glue on wiggly eyes and hang up around the house

Dip the cheesecloth in the fabric stiffener and place over a can of tennis balls and put one tennis ball on the top to make the head round...ish.

 After it has dried overnight, glue on the eyes.

Then you can place your little ghosts around the house, or hang them with a thin string to dangle around the house and scare passersby. . . just a little.

Restyling an Old Shirt into a Dress

I love plaid and I wanted to make a new dress so I went and bought some fabric but I thought it might be easier to make a dress out of an old shirt. So I was going to run to Goodwill to buy some old shirts but a friend said she already had some that she could give me. So, here's what I did.

I put on the shirt to see how it fit.

And it was pretty big, especially in the arms.

So, I cut off the arms.

And repinned them into place. Then I sewed them back on.

And I took a piece of green elastic and used the extra fabric to sew a little strip for the back to pull the dress tighter.

Then I sewed the elastic on the back. And wah-lah, the dress was finished.

And I tried it with a belt too and some leggings. Super simple new dress.

What's On Your Wall - Weekend

This is my husband's uncle's art. I wanted to accessorize these paintings with little jewels to hang the artwork from.

This one looked like a diamond to me.

And I love these little pops of color.

As I walk in the room, I love to see these little framed pieces of art.

So what's on your wall?

Run Like Hell

October 26th is the Run Like Hell race. It's a fun run where people dress up according to a theme.

This year the theme is Under the Sea. So I am already working on my costume.

If you're interested, you can check it out here.

It's a fun way to stay in shape.

Last year the theme was super heroes and my husband and I went as the anti heroes: The Riddler and Poison Ivy:

Word for Wednesday - a game for writers

Guess what the word means...do you know?

WORD FOR WEDNESDAY: Shanty

Have you heard it?

Do you know what it is?

Can you take a guess?

Well, if you don't know, scroll down to see . . .


Further....



FURTHER ...



FURTHER . . . 


Shanty means a small, crudely built shack.

Now, you've got a new word for your writer's toolkit...or you've just confirmed how smart you are ;D 

DIY Halloween Candy

It's easy to make homemade candy. All it takes is a little chocolate and some molds. Oh yeah, you'll need some lollypop sticks or even shishkabob skewers will work.

You simple grease the mold.

And I put some candies in for the eyes.

Then you pour your melted chocolate into the molds.

You can use white chocolate and a little food coloring to make different colors of candies

And when you unmold them, you might need to trim some excess away.

Then put them in a vase and you have a fun holiday arrangement.

Super cute and super fun

BOOquet

I wanted to make a couple bouquets for Halloween but these turned out to be BOOquets.

Here's how I did it.

First you can buy a flower pot or decorate your own. You could glue buttons, tiles, broken glass or anything you like on the pot or even paint it.

Then I cut out construction paper to go over the floral foam.

I took some ghost and pumpkin peeps and stuck them on bamboo skewers and started building my Boo...quet.

I added a couple little tags of Beware or bats.

It was super simple. I even added a couple spiders. It turned out just Bootiful ;D

Happy HALLOWEEN . . . Hands?

How 'bout a little candy corn you can carry around with you wherever you go this Holiday season?

Here's how I made my Happy Halloween Hands.

First I started with a coat of white paint.

Then I put a little coat of yellow at the bottom.

Then I finished with a middle coat of orange.

And Happy Halloween!

What an easy fun way to decorate for the holiday!

NYC Midnight Screenplay Challenge

NYC Midnight Screenplay Challenge

The Short Screenplay Challenge is a competition that challenges writers around the world to create short screenplays (5 pages max.) based on genre, location, and object assignments. Each writer will participate in at least 2 writing challenges and as many as 4 depending on how well their screenplays place after each challenge.  Feedback from the judges is provided on every entered screenplay and there are thousands in cash and prizes for the winners.  The Early Entry Deadline is September 25th and space is limited, so make sure to register soon.  Good luck writers!

Archery

I've always thought it would be fun to learn how to shoot arrows with some sort of precision. So, when I saw the course for adults that would only take a one day commitment, I was all for it especially since it only took a one-day time frame.

This class will teach us all the basics. It's a seven hour course. And after this one day I should know whether or not I want to sign up for an 8 week course.

Minecraft DIY shirt

I wanted to make something special for my hubby and he LOVES Minecraft so this was simple to personalize.

All I did was take a sponge and some black paint.

I cut the sponge in half and inked one side.

Then I started stamping out the pattern on the front.

And I kept on going.

Until I finished the picture.

And  I think it turned out nicely.