Quick and Easy Spooky Decoration

Do you have any pumpkins sitting on your porch?

Don't want to carve them because it's too messy and time consuming.

This is quick and easy . . . and quite spooky looking.

Make a scary witch with your pumpkin.

First, turn your pumpkin on its side. The stem will be her crooked nose!

Get some messy moss for her hair and cover it with a witch's hat.

I was going to draw on her wicked face with a magic marker, but decided to cut out her eyes, eyebrows and mouth from black sparkly felt. I put green buttons in her eyes and green teeth cut from craft foam on her mouth. I thought that made her look a little evil. If you don't like evil, then leave that part out. You could make her a happy witch!

I added a few other decorations - like orange spiders in her hair and on her crooked nose.

Pretty creepy looking!

You can use different materials than I did. I used what I had on hand. Be imaginative and give her green hair (if you have any Easter grass still hanging around your craft room).

I think she will look kinda spooky on my front porch tonight when we greet the trick or treaters!

What's on your front porch?

Lady Bug Yard Art

We made a lady bug!

Okay, I'm not sure what we made it out of - but it was a steel cover or lid of some sort. This was 'found,' discarded salvage. We like to recover and reuse stuff around here.

 We painted the inside and outside with red spray paint.

 We let it dry and covered it with painter's tape, and using a canning lid as a template, we drew circles for the lady bug spots. We also drew her head and a line down the back.

 My son carefully went around the markings with a razor blade and then tore off the tape.

 We then spray painted it black.

This is what it looked like when the paint dried and we took off the tape.

Somehow my pics disappeared where I took of us making the antennae. What we did was use heavy duty wire and bent them to shape. Then we inserted wooden balls that I had in my craft supplies. The balls already had a hole drilled in them. If you have some that don't, just drill a hole in them to insert into the end of the wires. Paint the balls black.

Then my son used a drill bit and drilled holes to insert the wire into. He then welded the tips of the wire on the underside. 

Finished lady bug in my flower garden in front of my porch.

I just love her! 

Look around and see if you can find something around your house that can be used to make a lady bug with.  

Use your imagination and see the possibilities in things. Recycling old items can be fun!

I found on the internet where they used golf balls for small ones and used tires for large ones.
You can also transform rocks into painted lady bugs!

P.S. I would like to give credit to my son Andrew who did most of the work on this project.

Do you like lady bugs? 

What kind of yard art do you have?

Making a Wreath from Book Pages

I was browsing the internet this morning and came across this post about making a wreath from pages of a book.

You can click here for her post and see her instructions. Her wreath is much prettier than mine. I don't know how she did it, but her finished product looks perfect!

I did mine a little different.

First, instead of covering mine with torn pages, I used material that I tore in around 1 1/2" strips. And - I also made mine out of a Styrofoam wreath form that I had here at the house.

In order to get the paper to come out looking somewhat like a cone, fold from the corner of the paper. Hot glue the end flap of the paper and then hot glue them onto the form. I find it's best to make a bunch of them first and then glue them onto the form.

You can use white material so it matches the paper, but I used gold. (It would probably look neater if the material was white, because it would match) Glue as many layers as you want, the more layers you glue, the fuller it will be. Since I used a form, and it is thicker than the cardboard she used, I glued all of mine on the front of the form.

Okay, I thought I was finished.

But, I found a pretty yellow rose and glued it on. Then I glued a small string of pearls around the middle. Then, I still wasn't satisfied.  So I got out my buttons! I glued buttons here and there all around the inside wreath opening. I love buttons and it helped cover up the ends of the paper tubes :o)

If you decide to make it - have fun!

There are a lot of different ways you could make it. The white looks kind of elegant. You can leave it plain or add flowers and other embellishments.

That's the fun thing about crafting - everyone can put their own touch onto something and make it different. No two are ever alike.


Posted byJanet Smart  on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Yard Art from Old Valve Handles

My son and I (well actually my son) have been making flowers from old valve handles.

They are so pretty! You don't have to worry about dry spells, frosts or deer eating them, either. Which is a big plus around here.

We already had the old valve handles. Andrew bought long metal rods and cut them into different lengths.

Then he got out his blacksmith coal forge and put the ends of the rods in the fire to get red hot. Everyone needs one of these forges. I bet you could roast a marshmallow in no time.

Then he made a wooden form to shape the metal rods while they were still hot.

While I was out running around, he got out his welder and welded the old valve handles onto the tops of the metal rods that he had bent to look like a flower stem.

Here they are all lined up, painted and waiting for their button middle to be attached.

Do you think I have enough buttons to pick from?

 

Here they are planted in various locations around my yard:

 

I love the tiny blue ones with the yellow centers. They remind me of bluets.

 

I put a big brown button in the tall yellow one to make it look like a sunflower.

I dare a drought, frost or animal to mess with these flowers.

Have you ever made yard art before?

Posted byJanet Smart on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

A Crafty Angel

I went to our Library's Christmas Open House a few days ago.

One of the crafts I made was an angel from a page of a songbook.

They are easy to make and beautiful.

First gather supplies.

Take out a page from an old songbook and tear it in half. Fold one half accordion style for the wings. Fold the other one into a cone shape and glue together. Make sure the top of the cone is small and pointy, so you can insert the head onto it. For the head I used small wooden beads with a hole in the middle. Or, you can use small heads with a hole in the middle of them. Put glue on the top of the cone and inside the hole of the bead and insert and allow to dry.

Tie a small ribbon around the middle of the wings and smash it flat in the middle, so it can be glued onto the back of the angel. I tied the ends of the ribbon for the hanger.

Tie a bow with the ribbon. Cut a strand of pearls. Glue the bow and pearls onto the front of the angel underneath the angel's head.

Thin a little bit of glue with water. Brush onto the wings and head and shake on glitter.

Here are three different ones I have made. One has a doll head, the other two have wooden beads for the head.

I love them! I think they are very pretty. As with all crafts, you can vary the way you make them. If you don't have strands of beads, you can leave them off and keep the tails of the bows long. In fact, I think I will make some that way. You could also use white or colored paper or card-stock for the angel instead of a songbook page. . . or maybe even pretty gift wrap paper. . . or pages from a newspaper or old book. With a little imagination, the possibilities are endless!

These can be hung on your Christmas tree or used as present toppers. That way the recipient of the gift will have the gift and an ornament!

If you have a little extra time, have fun and make a few before Christmas. 


Posted by Janet Smart  on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Deck The Halls

We have three holly trees, but this is the only one with berries.We braved the brrrr cold and gave our decked out tree a little trimming. If you notice, the deer have been eating the berries off the lower branches.

But there are still plenty of limbs filled with berries just waiting for us to trim.

The red berries pop out against the shiny green leaves.

They will brighten my porch on cold days.

Have you been decorating your porch with nature?

Posted by Janet Smart  on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

Mason Jar Snow Globes

First, a little update.

My Christmas tree is up! It is filled  with vintage, handmade and special ornaments given to me.

I love this vintage one. If you hang it in front of a light, the heat from the light makes the little fins spin around and around. It is so neat!

We've had lots of snow already this season . . .

 and I have been crafting - just a little.

I gathered supplies, such as mason jars, glue gun, fake snow, fake trees and ...

 real pine cones to be used as trees.

I put a little fake snow into the mason jar. I placed the trees on little wooden spools so they stood up higher and glued them onto the flat jar lid. I then twisted on the outer ring and we have a waterless snow globe. 

Below are three of my creations. In the smaller one on the right I used a pine cone and glitter for the snow.

The small jar on the left was filled almost to the top with distilled water, a smidgen of glycerin and a few dashes of glitter. I glued a plastic doo-dad (a small child holding a Christmas tree) to the lid and twisted the ring on tight.

The first thing I did before making it was put water in the small jelly jar and turn it upside down to make sure it wasn't going to leak.

These are very easy to make.

Have you been getting ready for Christmas?

Posted by  Janet F. Smart on Writing in the Blackberry Patch.

A Crafty Bunny and a Pesky Rabbit Poem

I decided to make some bunny pins today.

Use your imagination and gather together a bunch of supplies.

 

ribbon, pom poms, wooden bow-tie shapes, googly eyes, black and white paint, 

pipe cleaners, pin backs, glue, scissors

Those little wooden bowties can be used for a lot of different activities. I also make snowmen pins out of them.  Glue a pin back onto the back of them. (Either hot glue or white glue) If you glue the pin back on them first, you can hold onto it while you paint the bunny white. You can paint the back of the bunny if you want, but you only need to paint the sides and front.

Get pipe cleaners and shape into bunny ears and glue to the backs. Hot glue is best for this, since it dries almost instantly.

I cut wire stems off of flowers to use for the whiskers. you could also use embroidery floss or whatever else you have on hand. Crafting is very flexible, and what you use for materials is limited only to your imagination. I used to craft a lot and have hoards of craft supplies! I got most of them at yard sales.

 

On one of the bunnies I used google eyes. On the others I painted on the eyes. I think I like the painted eyes better. It is very easy to do. Use the tip end of your paint brush (not the brush end), dip it into black paint and quickly touch where you want the eyes to be. After it dries, use a toothpick to dip into white paint and make  a  dot in the middle of the larger  black dot. If you want, you can make  eyelashes by using the toothpick dipped into the black  paint.

Use ribbon of your choice, tie a bow and glue it onto the front of the bunnies neck. White glue is best for this,  since it disappears after it dries and you can't see it like you can the hot glue. Remember (like you tell your kids) less is best when using glue. Glue small pom poms on for the tails. I happened to have some sparkly white pom poms and used them.

I think they turned out pretty good. I put my favorite onto my blouse.

THE PESKY RABBIT

by Janet F. Smart

I look upon the rabbit

And, oh I hate to see

Him hopping toward my garden

To start his eating spree.

I watch him twitch and wiggle

I watch him chew and munch.

I watch that pesky rabbit

As he eats his lunch.

He loves the tasty carrots

And leafy lettuce, too.

But, dear me, I think he loves

Most everything I grew.

Christmas Recipes and Crafts

It has been a busy month. We have celebrated two birthdays in our family. My sons Andrew and David were born on Dec 11th and Dec 13th (different years, of course). We usually celebrate on the 12th with one cake shared by both boys.

I brought our duck in out of the cold and dressed her for the holidays.

We have had a lot of snow and we have been feeding the birds.

I am almost ready for Christmas. How about you.

I have posted recipes before that are very good to make around the holidays.

Hard rock candy. I make this every year and it is very easy to do and makes great gifts, too. I make mine in the microwave. Go here to see my recipe.

Pecan Pie Muffins and Nuts and Bolts. The muffins are delicious and the Nuts and Bolts are a great snack.

Fudge. Everyone loves fudge. I like the old fashioned hard kind. The kind we grew up with. Go here to see this easy and delicious recipe. If you have harvested any black walnuts or hickory nuts this year, they are very good to add to fudge.

Party Cheese Ball. My family loves cheese balls, especially my husband. I used to make these only on the holidays, but now I make them all the time.

Pumpkin Muffins.

I have also posted a lot of Christmas crafts.

Click on the ones below that you are interested in and take a look. My scrabble ornaments are very popular, I used to make them and sell them at craft shows, I would personalize them with their name or whatever else they would want on them. They are good to put on the outside of presents as name tags. The gumdrops are also very pretty! I love them and they are very easy to make.

First Christmas Ornament, Natural Christmas Ornaments, Birdhouse ornaments,
Christmas Ornaments, Cinnamon Dough Ornaments,Gumdrop Ornaments, Scrabble Ornaments

 Have a very Merry Christmas and I hope you give some of my crafts and recipes a try.

Christmas Frogs

I have a friend who loves frogs. She has frogs all over her house. But I don't think she has a Christmas frog, so I decided to make her one. I came up with the idea for the Christmas frog, but I got the template for it here.

I made the template bigger. I did it small first, 

but found it very hard to turn and get the frog's legs pushed out and filled. 

Making it larger made it much easier to do.

I like easy!

I used a Christmas pattern material for the top of the frog 

and used green felt for the bottom.

Pin right sides together and sew around the edges, leaving it open between the hind legs. 

Be sure and stitch backwards to reinforce the starting and ending stitches. Turn. 

I used a writing pen and pushed out the form of the frog.

I stuffed mine with fiberfill, you could make it into a beanie frog by filling with rice or plastic beanie pellets. Hand stitch together the opening.

I cut out small circles from the green felt and glued them onto the frogs face. 

I then glued google eyes in the middle of the felt circles.

You could do your eyes differently, if you wish.

I wanted mine to be a girl Christmas frog, so I tied a small bow with thin red ribbon and glued and stitched it on her head. I think she turned out cute.

You can use your imagination and make yours a little different. I did mine different than the other website did theirs. That is what I like about crafting, every item is unique. 

If you make these for a small child, I would leave out the eyes and ribbon. They would be cute plain. Experiment and use different patterns of material. If you like frogs give it a try, it was quick and easy.

My Christmas Angel

Every Christmas season I wear my Christmas Angel pin.


I'll show you how to make them. You will need wooden wings and wooden rounds for the heads. A sparkly pipe cleaner for the halo, white paint, flesh colored paint, a pen that writes gold, pin backs, skinny ribbon, Q tip, rouge, mod podge and glue.

Paint the wings with two coats of white paint. Paint the heads flesh color. Let dry.


Draw the face on with the gold writing pen. Use a Q tip to dot rouge on her cheeks.


Make halos with the pipe cleaner and use the gold pen to decorate the wings with dashes and stars.


Glue the head onto the wings and glue the halo onto the head. Put a coat of mod podge on the angel. When it dries, this will give it a pretty sheen.


Tie the skinny ribbon into a bow and glue to the bottom of her face and glue the pin back onto the back of the wings.


If you wish to give them as a gift to someone, print off angel clip art on card stock and cut into rectangles. Punch holes into it for the pin back to go into.


Everyone needs a Christmas Angel to help them through each day.