Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Halloween Spell Books


 
 
These are super easy to make for Halloween and they won't cost you a fortune.
 
What you will need for this project:
 
Hardback Books
Acrylic Paint
Paintbrush
Stencils (optional)
 
 
 
First you need some hardbacked books.  I got mine from the library in the discarded books.  My library charges $0.25 each for hardbacks.  If your library doesn't sell old books, you can always find some at garage sales and thrift stores.  If the books have a dust cover on them, just remove it.  You won't need them for this project.
 
Now just paint your books with an acrylic paint.  I picked colors that would match my Wicked Blocks hat I made a few weeks ago since these were going on top of my cupboards too.
I did about 3 coats of paint on each book to make sure they were covered good.
 
Once that was dry, I printed out different words on my computer in different fonts and sizes.  I didn't use my cricut for this project since I wanted to paint the words on the spines instead.
To transfer the words, simply go over your printed out letters with a lead pencil.  Press hard so that you have alot of lead on each letter.  Once you do that, line your words up on the book lead side down to where you want it.  Next you will need a popsicle stick or something along those lines to transfer the word.  Simply rub the paper with the stick and your lead will transfer so you have an outline of your word.  Now you can paint it with a small paint brush.
And there you have it.  A super easy and cheap craft.
 
 
 
Cost of this project:
 
$1.25 for 5 books
 
Acrylic paint, paint brushes and computer paper/ink I already had on hand.


Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Halloween Spooky Candles


 
 
Here is another super easy and inexpensive halloween craft for you to do. I have seen these all over the internet lately. Most of the ones I have seen are made with PVC but this is a way to make it cheaper with just as much impact.
 
What you will need:
 
Paper Towel Rolls or Toliet Paper Rolls
Hot Glue
Black Spray Paint
Newspaper
Battery Operated Tea Lights
 

First I started with the paper towel rolls.  I have been saving them up for a couple of weeks now for this project.  I used 12 because that was how many tea lights I had purchased but you could use as many you want.
 
 
Cut them to the sizes you want.  I started with a full tube in the back and went from there.  I layed them out in the order I wanted them in before gluing them to eachother.
 


Once I glued all of my tubes together I started creating the dripping effect.  Really there is no certain way to do this.  I found that the drips looked better if I started from the bottom of the drip and went upwards with it. 
After these dry completely, spray paint them black.  I used a satin black because that is what I had on hand.
Once dry, stuff the tubes with newspaper.  Leave room in the top for your candles to fit down in the tubes.
 


 
I absolutely love the way these turned out.  I have plans to make more of these as soon as I can.

 
 
Helpful tips for this project:
 
If you can't find the black tea light candles, you can always buy the white ones and just paint them black with an acrylic paint.
Dollar Tree sometimes carries the battery operated tea lights.  They are 3 for $1 but my store did not have any in yet.
If you want your candles to stand taller, you can use wrapping paper tubes.
 
 
Cost of this project:
 
$7.98 for 12 tea lights at Menards (they come in pack of 6 for $3.99 each)
 
Paper towel rolls, black spray paint, newspaper, and hot glue I already hand on hand.
 
 
 

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Halloween Topiary



The other day when I was at Goodwill I came across these really cool plastic urns.  I automatically thought they were perfect for a topiary.

 
What you will need to make 2 of these:
 
2 planters or urns
Expandable spray foam
2 dowel rods
4 foam pumpkins
2 foam balls
Black paint
Orange paint
Plastic spider rings
Spanish moss
Hot glue
Black spray paint
 
 
For some reason I didn't get very many pictures of this project in progress but I will try to explain the best I can.
 
First what I did was paint orange and black stripes on the dowel rods.
Once that was dry I put the dowel rods in the urns and sprayed the expandable foam around them to hold them in place.  You might have to hold them until the foam sets up a little.
I let mine sit over night to make sure it was nice and set.
 
While that was setting I spray painted the foam balls black.  I used a 6 inch foam ball but you could really use any size you wanted.  The pumpkins are foam ones that I found at Dollar Tree.
 
 
Once all that was done, I had my wonderful Husband drill holes the same size as the dowel rod through the foam balls and pumpkins.
Stack them onto the dowel rods.
I had a hard time getting them to stay in place and not slip down so I just added a little hot glue to make them stop.
Once those were in place and the glue was dry, I started working on the spider rings.  I cut the ring part off of them and then started randomly gluing them to the black foam balls.  I ordered these from Amazon since had a gift card from using Swagbucks.  They turned out to be perfect.  I used all but 11 of them so keep that in mind when you buy some for your project.
 
 
After I was done with all of that, I put some Spanish Moss in the urn but candy corn would be cute too.
 
 
Cost of this project:
 
Urns were $4.68 for both
4 Pumpkins from the Dollar Tree $4
2 Foam Balls from Walmart $9.08
Spanish Moss from Dollar Tree $1
2 Dowel Rods from Menards $2.16
Spider Rings from Amazon $1.25 (used a $5 gift card from Swagbucks)
 
Black spray paint, orange and black acylic paint and expandable spray foam I already had on hand.
 
 
 
 
 



Saturday, September 1, 2012

Halloween "Wicked" 2x4's


Here is another super easy Halloween project.
I made these to go above my cabinets in the kitchen.
 
 
What you will need:
6 2x4's cut to different lengths ( Mine are 9 inches, 8 inches, and 7 inches / 2 of each.)
Scrapbook paper of your choice
Black paint
Modge Podge
Vinyl
Witches Hat (optional)
Glow in the Dark paint (optional)
Ribbon (optional)
 
First take your blocks and paint them.  I used a black flat spray paint for this but you could use any black paint.
Then what you will want to do is cut out some scrapbook paper to fit on your wood pieces.  I tore mine around the edges to give it a worn look.
Modge Podge those down to the wood.  Then Modge Podge over the top.  I find that if I let it dry competely before going over the top with Modge Podge that I have less bubbles.
I did about 2 coats of this.  Let those dry competely.
 


Now you can cut out your vinyl lettering.  If you don't have a way to cut out vinyl, you can always just paint letters on with black paint. 
Add your lettering to the blocks.
From here you can add a little witch's hat if you would like.  I found this little one at Hobby Lobby in the Halloween section.  I added the orange ribbon to it and then painted on the spider with glow in the dark paint that I also found at Hobby Lobby.
 
 
 
I am pretty happy with the results of this project.
 


Total Cost of this Project:
 
Witch's Hat $1.99
Glow in the Dark Paint $2.39 ($3.99 minus a 40% off coupon I had)
Black Spray Paint $1.59 at Kmart
 
Wood, Scrapbook paper, vinyl, ribbon and Modge Podge I already had on hand.