Big Bird Pumpkin

Pumpkins are popping up everywhere lately, as we near Halloween. I remembered the Big Bird pumpkin my daughter and I made a few years ago and thought I'd share. Check it out!

Figuring out how to make it was more difficult than actually making it. So if you want to make one like this, I'll share with you how we did it (finally, after several missteps).

What you need:
pumpkin
yellow paint
BIG googly eyes
Styrofoam cone
hot pink felt
dark blue glitter felt (or navy or black)
yellow felt
light pink felt
red felt
yellow feathers (sold in a little pack at the craft store)
hot glue or some other adhesive
wire hanger
wire cutters
paper and pen (optional)

Paint the whole pumpkin yellow.  It might take a couple of coats to get full coverage. Let it dry.

Make the beak - cut the Styrofoam cone in half lengthwise. Cut the yellow felt to fit, wrapping the ends like a present and gluing everything down as you go.  Then cut out the red felt to fit inside the flat cut edges of the Styrofoam, both sides.  Next cut a light pink tongue to fit inside that (only one, obviously). See photo for example. Glue it all together well.

Place the googly eyes on a piece of paper and draw a circle around them at the size you want the dark outline to be.  Then draw out two semi-circles on the paper for the eyes. This is just so you can have a template for cutting out the felt. It's not 100% necessary, but it made it easier for me.

Next use the circle template to cut out the dark felt and the semi-circle template to cut out the eyelids.
Glue the google eyes onto the dark felt, and glue the eyelids over that, onto the tops of the google eyes. Let them dry, and then glue the whole thing onto the pumpkin.

To attach the beak - Using wire cutters, cut four pieces of wire, 4 or 5 inches each. Attach the beak top and bottom to the pumpkin by skewering the base of the Styrofoam (which won't be covered in felt) and also skewering the pumpkin.  I put them in the foam first, and then kind of held it up to the pumpkin to see where the wires would go in the pumpkin, where I marked dots with a pen.  Then I took the wires out and inserted into the pumpkin and put the beak pieces onto that. That' just because of the texture of the pumpkin being tougher and might need a little more oomph.

You might need to top this off with some glue.  Oh, and don't get cute and think you can do this part with toothpicks. Nope, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it can't be done. I don't know that for a fact, but I do know that it couldn't be done in my house, so that's my story.

Last thing, get out those feathers and start gluing them to the stem. They'll stand straight up, just like our pal on Sesame Street.  Let it dry overnight.

Then display that bad boy, and watch the Big Bird fans squeal with delight!

Yarn Wreaths

I've been seeing lots of yarn wreaths around the internet lately.  I found these that I thought were crazy cute.  These first few are ones available to purchase, and the last few are tutorials for how to make your own.

Cakoons on Etsy uses great colors and interesting textures on these wreaths available for purchase.








ItzFitz on Etsy uses a simple color for the body of the wreath with rich colors in the felt flowers attached.  Available for purchase.



HOW TO MAKE YARN WREATHS


Danielle Burkleo gives a step-by-step tutorial for creating these wreaths and the felt flowers attached to them.






For another take on the yarn wreath, Michele at The Scrap Shoppe Blog shows you how to make this cute yarn wreath with flowers and a monogram.



Now go get some yarn, and start wrapping those wreaths!

Journal Gifts

This year I had a total of 15 (yes, 15) teacher gifts to give.  With all those teachers, you might think I have a whole mess of kids.  You'd be right, if you think two kids = a whole mess of kids.  I just didn't want to leave anyone out.  I also didn't want to spend my usual $25-30 per teacher this year, since I'd like to keep my husband's head from exploding when he gets the bank statement.  So I came up with something I thought was pretty cute instead.

First I printed out guided journal pages I found at Grace is Overrated. They're free to print, and they're all so cute and insightful. Since I had so many to make, I took them to be copied at the local office supply store.


You can print them with or without the borders, and with or without the color.  I chose borders with no color so they'd be pretty and the recipient can color them in if they like.

I included this birthday page.

This was followed by a couple of blank pages of card stock for photographs (or whatever).

(I have since found this Day in the Life page and regret that I didn't include it in my gifts, but if I do this project again, this will go in too.)


Each section began with a blank sheet of card stock.

The first batch I made, I had them spiral bound at said office supply store.
The second batch I did, I used the Zutter Bind-it-All and did it myself.

After they were bound, I printed out the words "Journal," "Birthday," and "Photographs."  I cut them out and adhered them to each dividing sheet of card stock.  Then it was time to decorate the covers.  Since I used solid colors for the covers, I just kind of winged it with the decorations.  I cut out a coordinating paper to fit as a stripe along the side.  I inked the edges of the paper, and adhered it to the cover.  Then I added an embellishment or two, wrapped them up, and gave them out!

These would be great for teacher's gifts, a little extra for yourself, stocking stuffers, or just-because gifts for a friend or family member.  Have fun!

Moroccan-Inspired Painted Jar Lantern DIY

Since I had finally tinted a jar (See tinting tutorial here), I needed to do something with it.  I ran across a photo I liked on Pinterest.  This was my inspiration, a lovely moroccan-inspired painted jar lantern for sale on Etsy by Lit Decor.  Since this would be my first time trying this (and since it was an item for sale with no instructions), I knew I'd need to start with a much simpler design.  This one is so lovely though.

Time to make my own lantern.  Here's what I did.

First, gather the supplies.
- Tinted jar
- Metallic puffy paint
- Transparent tape (optional)
- Dry-erase marker (optional)
- Pencil and paper (optional)

At this point I skipped ahead and wired the jar for hanging.  If I do this again, I'll do this step AFTER I finish decorating the jar.

If you want to draw out a pattern beforehand, do that at this point.

You can use the tape to guide you in making straight lines.  I used the dry-erase marker to draw along the edges of the tape for straight lines.  Next time I'd probably not use the marker, but it's up to you.  It comes off easily, so if you do it and don't like it, no big deal.

I also added some large dots to places where the design would peak, so I could keep them somewhat even.

Then I got started with the painting.  Just gently squeeze the bottle and lift away to form little dots with peaks.  Follow the lines if you have them.  Any mistakes can be cleared away with a Q-tip as you go along.

As the design starts to fill the surface of the jar, it gets easier and easier to smear.  Occasionally through the process I dried it with a hairdryer set on low/cool, just to help with that problem a little.

After I finished the painting, I finished off the wiring for hanging, and let it dry.  All done, and pop a votive candle in, and enjoy!

Here's the finished project.

No-Streak Dark Tint for Jars

Streak-free / dark tint

This was my very first attempt at tinting jars, and it was easy and fun!

Here's what I wanted to achieve:
- No streaks
- Easy
- Inexpensive
- Dark tint

From what I'd been reading, to get a really dark tint you might have to go with a glass paint, but it can be expensive and complicated.  Not for my first try, thank you.  I also read that if you use a food coloring method, the darker you go, the streakier it gets.  Not pretty.  So I tweaked what I found and came up with this.

Step 1: Protect your work surface.  I found these disposable changing pads in my son's room while I was cleaning it out over the weekend.  Since he's five now, I think I'm safe using them for crafting now.

Step 2:  Gather supplies.
- A dry, clean, clear jar (this is a spaghetti jar with label removed.)
- ModPodge Gloss
- Food coloring (I used the least expensive food coloring I could find since it was for crafting and not consuming.)  You could probably use gel or liquid coloring.  I used liquid.
- Plastic cup or bowl
- Spoon
- Ignore the paint brush in this photo.  Didn't need it; didn't use it.

Step 3:  Mix it up.  I DID NOT add any water to the mixture.  This was one way my version differed from others I'd seen.  I just poured about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of Mod Podge into a plastic cup and added a lot of food coloring.  For this project I used green with a little blue.  Stir and and add coloring until you get the desired depth and hue.

Here's the color I got.  Remember it will get quite a bit darker after it's heated.

Step 4: Pour the mixture into the glass.  Don't use a paintbrush.  That could cause streaks.  I just dumped it into the jar, but next time I'd kind of drizzle it down the sides and use a spoon to cover the entire inside.

Step 5:  Swirl the jar around until it's all covered, allowing excess to fall back into the cup.

Step 6:  Set the jar upside-down on paper towels or waxed paper to dry.

This part is key. Everything I read just suggested putting it into the oven at this point.  Don't do it.  Let it dry for 24 hours.  I know it seems like a long time, but I think this is part of the key to avoiding streaks.  Know why?  LOTS of the mixture will drain out, even if you think you have a thin layer inside.  You don't want that running around in there while you're trying to set it.

Step 7:  Heat oven to 175 degrees.  Place jar in the oven for 20 minutes.

This is when it will start to become transparent and dark.

Check on it after 20 minutes.  Mine looked good at this point except for a couple of still light opaque spots near the bottom.  So I flipped it over and let it go about five more minutes, which cleared it right up.  Don't worry about the green on the rack in this photo.  It's just a reflection from the glass, not a stain from the process.

Step 8:  Remove jar from oven.  USE POTHOLDERS, because it will be hot at this point!
Now you're all done.  Not too bad for my first try, I think.  I got the dark color and streak-free finish I hoped for, and it was super-cheap to do!

Patriotic Wreath Ideas

Memorial Day is just around the corner, so now is a great time to get started on a MEMORIAL DAY WREATH.  The good news is that you can reuse it again soon for the 4th of July.  Here's a little inspiration to get you started.

I love this felt wreath from Naptime Crafts.  Get instructions here.

Cute rag wreath from Sassy Santuary Blogs.  Get the details and tutorial here.

This might be the one I actually try to make.  It's so cute, and should be pretty easy to do.  This ribbon wreath is from Landee See, Landee Do, and you can reach her blog for instructions here.

Flag wreath from Oodlekadoodle Primitives with instructions here.