Easy DIY Halloween Pumpkin Garland

This is so easy and simple! If I can do this, anyone can.

I came across a packet of shimmery pumpkin cutouts at the Dollar Tree. I knew it would be perfect for a last minute Halloween garland. I also had some jute left over from my Jute Wrapped Letter project. I thought of hot gluing the pumpkins onto the jute, but that sounds like a hot mess. So, I decided to just Scotch tape them on!  


Materials:
String/rope/jute
Tape
Pumpkin cutouts from Dollar Tree





Measure and cut your jute. Then tie a knot on the ends:


Find the center of the jute, and stick a pumpkin on with a small piece of tape.  I just had the tape go up and over the jute:



I spaced the pumpkins out to every 8 inches. Done!


Good luck!

Halloween Nail Art

Halloween is coming up fast! It's time to get into the spirit:



After putting on a clear base coat, I did two layers of each base color -
A nude for the stitches
A white for the mummy
A gray for the ghost
A green for the spider web
A white for the candy corn


For the candy corn -  I made an orange stripe across the middle of the nail, then a yellow stripe at the tip:

For the spider web - I used this bottle that came with a very fine, thin, tipped brush. I drew 4 straight lines coming out from one corner. Then 2 curved lines:

For the ghost - I put a coat of glitter and then top coated it. With a white polish, I made a tear drop shape with the tip curving to the side at the bottom of my nail. This is the body of the ghost. Then I made a little dash on either side of the ghost body for hands. Lastly, I used the black with the thin brush to make 3 dots for the face:

For the mummy - With the black thin brush, I drew and fill in between the lines like so. With the white polish, I made 2 dots where I had filled in with the black. Then I made 2 smaller dots in black, on top of the larger white dots:

For the stitches: I made an orange stripe at the tip. Then I drew a black line all the way across the nail where the orange and nude met. Then I drew short little black lines vertically like so:

Remember to wait a minute or two after each layer! I put on a thick layer of top coat and drying drops. Then cleaned up the edges.  All done!


Boo wanted Halloween nails too! I used a dotting tool here. If you don't have one, you can use a bobby pin or a straight pin.



Good luck and hope you all have a spooktacular night!
=)

Super Easy Brownies

Ingredients:

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, soften (plus a little extra for the pan)
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup nuts of choice (optional)

Directions:
* Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and butter/grease a 9x9 inch baking pan.

* In a bowl, mix together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract. Beat in eggs.

* In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Gradually stir this into the egg mixture until well blended. Stir in nuts, if desired.

* Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

* Bake for 22 - 25 minutes, or until the brownie begins to pull away from the edges of the pan. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting into squares.

Enjoy!
Good luck
=)

Planting Succulents

I wanted to give planting succulents a try. With the help from a friend, I made a pretty arrangement!

Each pot was about $2, with the one in the terra cotta pot being $3.50. They were from Lowe's and Home Depot:



I was able to separate some plants, so one little pot gave me 3 or 4 little ones:



I planted away. My friend gave me some tips and suggestions on how to make it look better, such as the height and color placements. Then we added green dry moss over the soil as a filler, giving it a finished look. Ta da, don't you love it?



I put my creation on my dining table, where it looked excellent for 2 weeks. I watered it once. Then all of a sudden...I started seeing little flies, and some plants were not looking so great. I immediately texted my friend, and she said it is probably fungus gnats. Wah! My hard work going down the drain! I took the whole thing outside to dry out under the sun, and it got better. But a few plants were at the point of no return. So I decided to replant it. The next day, I went back to Home Depot and got some replacements:



This time around, I put some rocks at the bottom of the platter first, then the cactus soil. I also realized that my dining table gets zero sunlight, which succulents need at least 4 hours a day. Also, I learned that the darker, greener succulents are more hardy, and are able to survive my brown thumb. The waxier, plastic plant types are far better off and more kind to me than the softer, fuzzier succulents.

This will stay outside, and I hope this time, everything will stay alive:


Good luck!
=)

Funkins, Craft Pumpkins

I discovered craft pumpkins a few years ago when I wanted to keep my pumpkin carving creations forever. They look like the real thing. I use the same tools and carve them exactly how I would with real pumpkins. Joann's sells Funkins, and Michael's sells craft pumpkins. I actually haven't checked Hobby Lobby, but I'm sure they sell them too.

There are a couple differences between the two. First, the price factor - Funkins are more expensive. Second - Funkins have a hole at the bottom of it already cut out (to stick a battery operated light or candle in). Michael's craft pumpkins do not, so I carved one out. Third - both craft pumpkins are already hollow, but the inside of Funkins are orange, and the inside of Michael's craft pumpkins are an off-white/yellowish color.  They are made of low–density polyurethane foam, and it gets messy with all the little pieces flying off as you carve.

In the end, those differences do not have a great impact on the results, especially in the dark.  I got two craft pumpkins from Michael's, and went to work.

Boo requested Princess Tiana and Ariel. I Googled photos for inspiration and found the perfect ones of 1) Tiana and the frog kissing and 2) Ariel on a rock. I printed them out to size, and used them as my templates:








Now that I have a few carving experiences under my belt, I know to carve out the small details first, then move on to the bigger pieces to avoid cracking and breakage. I am so excited to show you my "carvations"!


Here, I just cut out Tiana. Then I'll start to fine tune and smooth the lines:














Pretty cool, right? =)




Good luck!
=)

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Ingredients:
1 ripe avocado, peeled and quartered
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
* Put all ingredients in a blender
* Blend until smooth

So easy and yummy!
Good luck.
=)

Jute Wrapped Letter

A while back, my sister in law made a jute wrapped letter "R" to hang on her front door. It turned out so cute, and she kindly sent some supplies my way so I could make my own letter! The materials were all from Amazon, click for the links.

Letter H
Jute - Ordered 2 rolls, and used 1.5 rolls
Burlap Flowers - Here, Here and Here

I already had hot glue and sewing pins on hand.

I didn't take step by step pictures, but it was pretty easily to figure out. I cut and hot glued pieces of jute on the sides. Then I wrapped it around and around, hot gluing on the intersections:

 

 

These burlap flowers are so cute. I thought I could change up the color of the flowers depending on the season, so I didn't want to permanently hot glue them on. I decided to use these little sewing pins I have, and just poked them in. The pin heads just so happen to be the similar to the colors of the flowers!

And done!

Now I just need to figure out how to hang it. I can't decide whether I want to hang it with ribbon or jute. Decisions, decisions...

Good luck!
=)