Haunted Halloween Gingerbread House

I decorated this little Haunted Halloween House by myself, when usually I have my daughter and daughter-in-law help me. It turned out sort of cute but it wasn't easy. Now I have a lot more respect for those people on Halloween Wars.

I'm not saying you shouldn't buy this little Trader Joes Haunted House Chocolate Kit but, if you do, you should understand that you might need a little help - at least putting it together. Because you have to hold it until the frosting sets enough to keep the sides from falling down.

But, if you're interested and want to see how I did it, please watch this very short video clip (and if you want my buttercream frosting recipe - you'll want to grab a pencil and jot it down when I talk about the frosting that comes inside the kit).

CRAZY VIDEO OF ME DECORATING THIS HOUSE

If you do make your own Haunted Halloween House, please share a  picture because I'd  love to see it.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

 

DIY Life-Sized Fairy Garden

I love fairies and  fairytales. Who doesn't?

So, with Halloween being limited this year, I thought why not go all out with my decorations. To tell the truth, I go all out with decorations every year ;D 

And this year I've started early. I've made dragons, dragon eggs, fairies, toadstools, and decorated castles. I still want to make gnomes and do a little bit more.

If you'd like  to see how I made this toadstool/mushroom, check out my video below and check back as I'll be making my gnomes and more ;D

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

HALLOWEEN SPIRIT 2020

 

So, I don't know if you're like me, but I LOVE Halloween. I guess you could say I begin my Halloween Countdown as soon as Labor Day comes on the scene. If I'm really honest, I'm thinking about Halloween as soon as the Easter candy has been eaten. I think up themes for my decorations and  begin working on them early in the year. And this year my Halloween them is a Life-Size Fairy Garden. I've been working on Fairies for months.

Here's one I made months ago. Check out my other post down below. 

Then I started on DRAGONS

   

I sketched one (and I'm no artist) 

And then I started making my own. (If you’re curious about that, see my post below)

Then I needed some Dragon Eggs. So, I made a few of those.

 (If your curious about that, see my post below: DIY Dragons and Dragon Eggs).

Of course, I wasn't finished there. I needed a castle.

So I started working on that.

And it took a little while.

But I kept working on it.

And working...

Until, ...

But, I still wasn't finished.

I had to make some hanging dragons for the yard.

(If you want to see how I made this little guy, check out my blog post below - with the free pattern opportunity: How to Sew a Dragon)

And, now I'm just getting going...

Keep watching my blog and YouTube for more details of my Halloween Spirit 2020, because I can  promise you, I'm going to have some surprises in store  for our neighborhood kids. 

DIY Halloween Dragons - Free Pattern and All

 

So this year my Halloween theme is a Fairy Garden and I've been working on getting some decorations ready and starting to get them out in the yard. This is my dragon and the first one that I've ever sewed.

I looked on-line but couldn't find one that I liked. I really love dragon wings so that's what I was looking for - some large dragon wings. So, I decided to make it myself. I took a  look at  some  of the  dragons on pinterest and then I sketched out my pattern pieces.

After I drew the pieces, I cut them out of butcher paper but you could use old grocery bags if you have some sitting around the house.

Then I laid the pieces out on the material I had waiting for the  project (which I really love) and starting cutting away.

After I had the  pieces all cut out, I laid them out to see how they looked. 

My sister thought it looked like a giant turkey :( 

Anyway, then I used some duct tape to adhere some pipe cleaners to the inside of the wings to give them some ability to be posed into different positions.

Then I started sewing away.... until I had my dragon all assembled. I also took the belly piece and ribbed it by sewing lines across the belly. I stuffed every other belly slot with cotton balls and then I stuffed the body and wings with batting. Perhaps I overstuffed the wings - but that's  the way I like them. Last of all I sewed some beads onto the head, to make some beautiful jewel-toned eyes.

And then my dragon was ready to soar off into the wild blue yonder.

(If you'd like to make one of these, just let me know and  I'll email you the pattern pieces - or maybe you can pull them off this post).

And, if you do make a dragon, please share a photo with me. I'd love to see what you do for Halloween.

Halloween is Sneaking Up On US

 

Is anyone else starting to get ready for Halloween? I can hardly wait. When can I start putting out decorations? I don't want to be one of those people who start celebrating a holiday before it's even here but....

I've been working on so many things. I can't wait to share them all so here are a few of my creations and works in progress.

Okay,  my theme this year was inspired by a drawing I made and I'm not an artist but I fell in love with the idea of  dragons:

Then I started thinking about Game of Thrones and Dragon Eggs. So I had to make a few...

It's simple to do. All you need is some styrofoam shaped like an egg and some thumb tacks. I tried to use a variety of tacks to give  the eggs  some dimension.

And I was  super happy with how they came out.

Next, I wanted some dragons. So, lucky for me, my sons both have 3D printing skills and so I didn't have to wait long to have some baby dragons to come creeping out of my eggs.

Of course,  I had to piece them together and paint them.

And the hardest part was picking the colors.

I made one blue and one green (never said I wasn't a Dr. Obvious). Which one do you like the best? I even used a little glitter to add some more magic to the mixture.

And now, I'm just getting going...

If you love Halloween, like me, keep watching for more of my decorations because I'm planning to go all out this year.

Fairy Garden - 3D Printing a Fairy and Creating a Homemade Garden

I've been working on making a Fairy Garden out in my yard. I made a couple little houses and set them outside. One was made from a broken plant pot.

 But I wanted a larger Fairy than I could find  in the store so I asked my son to 3D print me one and he did. 

This is what the Fairy looked like when it came off the printer.

I separated the parts then put them together.

I primed her with a spray paint then started to paint her. 

I kept painting...

And kept painting, until...this is how she came out

But I'm still thinking of a few more details I can add to make her more magical.

Let me know if you have a fairy garden too. I'd love to get some more ideas for mine. 

Homemade Clay Craft - Penguin Project to do with Kids

I wanted to make some little penguins  so I bought some clay and started modeling the little guys.

Here's how to do it.

First buy some clay at your local craft or hobby shop.

Make sure you get the clay you can bake and not the remoldable clay - which doesn't harden and can always be squished back into a pile of clay.

Then make a pear shaped object out of your clay.

After you've made the pear shaped object, cut out some wings and stick them on the sides.

After you have the wings, you need eyes, feet and a beak.

Stick the beak, feet and eyes on to the pear shaped figure. Rub them into the figure at the connections. Then bake the little guy - per  directions on the clay package.

When he is finished baking, add a little paint or you can use markers.

Before you bake him, you can smooth him a bit. I accidently made indentations in his  body with my fingernails.

I think this little guy is cute but I want to practice a bit so I can make a little penguin pond in my garden ;D I think kids  walking past my little "pond" will think it's fun.