Paint Can Pumpkin/Paint Can Snowman

Friday, October 30, 2015 No comments
 I can't get over how fast time moves the older I get.  With Halloween here, and Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner....here's a quick craft I put together for both seasons using one product.  I took the lid of an old paint can and painted a pumpkin.  I glued a rope to the back to hang it from.
I took the base of the can and painted a snowman face.  I hate my handwriting, so...the message will have to go on an attached tag  I print...I just added snowflakes.  This actually was a can I bought at a thrift store-it had held hot chocolate from some Christmas gift someone probably got and then wondered what to do with the can-therefor-it found a home in the donation bin.  Ta da-a new gift container.

Snowman Records

Thursday, October 29, 2015 No comments
 I took some painting 'lessons' from my friend Terry this summer.  I do a lot of disobeying, but....she still gives me great tips I'm going to take...someday.    I've also taken some pointers through the years on project ideas...if it's not nailed down....or if you can pull the nails off and remove it...paint it.
 I found these old records at a used book sale this summer for a steal.  I added some of her primitive snowmen trying not to pile on the paint (no Starry Night).
I'm working on penmenship....I know I'll look back someday and cringe, but....you gotta start somewhere...sometimes I just go wordless, so I don't have to practice.  But....still fun.  I drilled a little hole in two sides to hang up the records.

Dollar General Fall Table Ideas

Wednesday, October 28, 2015 No comments
 A week or so ago I went to the Dollar General.  I was tasked with the mission of creating a fall tablescape using things I could find at the store.  The show should be airing today on GMT.  I'll post the video later on facebook.  It should air, complete with the full tablescape and the third project I gave away before I took a picture.  Ooops.
 Up first I found these leaf plates for 2 dollars.  I liked the shape-cute for nuts, or they make a fun salad size plate.  The color didn't match my table.  I bought a brown/gold glass pumpkin-sort of mercury glass-ish.  I started by giving the plate a brown base with brown spray paint.
Once it dried I took a spray bottled and sprayed the plate until water bubbles rested on top about two squirts).  I then took gold spray paint and sprayed it over the wet surface.  I took a paper towel and blotted it up immediately, so it left a speckled surface-gold with some brown showing below.  If you don't like it....spray some more and repeat, but it's a pretty easy project.  If you want to use these as salad dishes, there is a clear shellac that makes things food safe you can get at places like Home Depot.  
I also took some clear vases and dollar twine and wrapped it around to make these rustic flower vases.  I put a dot of hot glue every inch or so just to hold it into place.  I used some clothes pins for a table setting, but you'll just have to watch if you don't believe me.  I'm drawn towards browns and golds.  I think it ended up pretty well considering, and I got to work with Paige, who I love getting to hang out with on and off camera.
 

Spider Card

Monday, October 26, 2015 No comments
This year...I'm making my own cards...or at least....that's the plan.  I got a head start this summer.  I try to send cards out to my godchildren/their siblings, and my family.  Since my friends have multiple kids, I have to do multiple cards for each holiday.  I saw an idea like this on Etsy and since I have quite the button collection (but that's another story).  I decided to try it out.  I used black cardstock blank cards I had and I used a corner punch to round off the edges.  I added a piece of orange paper scrap to the top half and a piece of lace across the center for my 'web.'  I super glued the spiders onto the paper and drew legs and then sewed the thread.  You could also use white gel pen-which is what I did to write eeek!.  Again, sticky letters would work as well.  Super easy.  I'm going to put a little piece of bubble wrap inside the envelope so the buttons don't have any problem pushing through the envelope.

Turkey Fan Blade

Friday, October 23, 2015 No comments
 Last spring I replaced one of my fans.  When I say I-I mean, my brother.  I mostly watched and held screws. I'm pretty sure Frankenstein wired my house, so even if I had the arm strength to hold the fan up long enough to get it screwed in, the wiring doesn't exactly follow normal package instructions.  All this to say, I'm grateful my house hasn't burnt down b/c 'we' did something wrong, and...I pulled the old fan blades off of my old fan before tossing it.  The saddest part is...I only have six and I can't quit painting them.
I've already shared a pumpkin, and I have another one I'm about to post, but now...my turkey-by far the easiest.  You can use the round foam brushes to make eyes, but I wanted mine larger than the brushes I had.  I used the bottom of a coke can to make the circle and then painted the inside.  I free handed the nose etc...nothing too fancy and then flicked a bunch of black and white paint across the whole thing with a toothbrush.  I added a bunch of colorful ribbon for the 'tail' and some wire through the holes the manufacturer drilled into this blade years ago.  In other news-this is where hoarders learn to justify their keepings.

Pumpkin Fan Blade

Thursday, October 22, 2015 No comments
 I have a friend (Terry) who literally will paint on anything.  I went to one of her shows recently and she had painted a snowman face on old toilet bowl ball (you know that thing that floats up with the water to trigger the 'stop' on the water?).  I digress, but....she's another story.  ;o)  Anyway, fan blades are one of the things I've seen her use for her Santa's and Elves.  This summer I asked her for a painting tutorial and I decided to try my hand at something fall....something simple on some fan blades I'd recently yanked off a fan I replaced in my house.
I've seen these for sale at thrift stores before and I probably would have wondered about the kind of person that would buy these but now I've met her!  I did not use the spray can of white to give this a primer (that comes with another project).  I just used some Americana paint called Paprika.  I gave my blade two coats.  When that dried I painted a face.  I went back and added some white lines to make it pop, and then I took a tooth brush and flicked a bunch of white and black paint all over the blade.  I added some wire and raffia.  Simple, fun...and definitely different.

Ballerina Strip Quilt

Tuesday, October 20, 2015 No comments
 Everyone that knows me well knows that I do a wide variety of crafting....I don't do any of it really well.  As in, nobody is going to hang my paintings, or quilts in a museum, but....that's just me.  I'd rather turn out a ton of stuff than spend a lot of time on one thing.  I struggle with many personality traits-perfection isn't one of them.  This drives my perfectionist friends crazy.  In particular, every summer there is a group of us that rent a house and bring whatever we are working on (there are quilters, scrapbookers, knitters, cross stitchers, and people just there to talk).   The quilters complain about my lack of respect to perfect alignment...look, I just like fabric.   This summer I decided I'd sew (despite my critiques....who I can take ;o)).  For every baby's first birthday I either give a book or a blanket.  I found this ballerina fabric that perfectly matched my friend Amber's daughter's nursery (ballet-pink, turquoise, and red).  It was a fat quarter stack at JoAnne's).  Where does my imperfection come in?  I do NOT like matching up quilt corners.  So....I cut the fat stacks into different widths of 5 inches (you could make them thinner for an even more varied look).  I sewed a ton together and then started cutting them the width I wanted the blanket to be (about 3 feet?  It was a baby blanket, so...).  I sewed those together and just tried to avoid any of the fabrics touching it's twin on the next row.  It was a fun way to sew a quilt if you are an imperfect person and aim to stay that way.
This would be a good way to use up scrap fabrics as well (though all of my scrap fabrics have homes in new projects!).  I used my embroidery machine to add a name.  Then I bought a back fabric and made some binding to sew around the blanket.  Sometime I'll do a tutorial on the lazy man's binding technique...it'll change your life.  I didn't use any batting b/c I wasn't planning on quilting this...at least that's what I tell myself is the reason.

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

Monday, October 19, 2015 No comments
Eating a holiday meal with my family is sort of like the story of Goldilocks.  Everyone has their quirks.  Things they won't eat, will eat, expect to eat, never want to see again.  At most meals-my extended family=7, so I don't know if it's good there are so few considering all the special request, or if we were larger-people wouldn't get to be so picky.  I, of course, am not a single part of the problem (ha!).  So, the goal is always to find things everyone will eat, that actually taste good.  When my brother jumped off the vegetarian wagon straight into vegan -ville I refused to give up all those veggie casseroles.  Someone said they had seen a vegan green bean casserole, so I got to work thanks to hummusapian I have a tasty dish that meets at least one of the guest requirements.  I didn't let the others know it was vegan and everyone was happy.  It also make a TON, so my family has room to grow.
Vegan Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients: 1/2 c. cashews (soaked for 4 hours or overnight in the almond milk), 1/2 c unsweetened almond milk, french onions (I got a large can b/c we like these a lot),  2 lbs frozen cut green beans, 1 T  olive oil, 1 med onion (diced), 3 cloves of garlic (minced), 16 oz of mushrooms (chopped), 1/8 t ground nutmeg, 1 T soy sauce, 1/4 c dry white wine, ground black pepper (I used a substitution for the white wine-I know the alcohol cooks out, but my brother has been sober over 5 years now and doesn't even cook with it just as a matter of temptation)
Instructions:  Place cashews in the almond milk and soak for 4 hours or overnight.  When you ready blend with a food processor until smooth and creamy.  Set aside.  
Bring a large pot with 2 inches of water to a boil.  Add green beans to boiling water.  Cook over medium for 5 minutes (or until tender).  Drain and run cold water over the green beans to stop the cooking.  Set aside.
In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add onions to hot oil.  Cook for five minutes and then add garlic and mushrooms.  Cook for ten minutes (stir often).  Add nutmeg, soy sauce, white wine, salt, and pepper.  Simmer for five minutes.
Stir in cashew cream and 1/3 c.+ of the french onions.  Stir in green beans.
Spread mix into large casserole dish and top with the remaining baked onions.  Back at 350 for 20 minutes.
*It says this serves 8, but I think you could squeeze in several more people!

Old Quilt Santas

Friday, October 16, 2015 No comments
 I really am working on Halloween things....I promise, but I keep getting distracted by Christmas.  I made some roly poly Santa's a few years ago.  I just used traditional Christmas fabric at that time.  The same person that taught me how to make these Santa's (my crafty friend, Terry), made some stuffed Santa's this summer for a show using some old quilts she found at Estate Sales etc.  I just happened to have an old baby quilt I bought a few years back.  I was going to make some stuffed hearts with it, but I never got around to it....
 This summer I redid my closet, where this project wanna be lived and I decided it was time to repurpose it
I was able to pull 4 Santa's out of that baby quilt.  I love that it's made out of someone's old fabrics.  They even hand quilted it (just a 'line' up the rows).  Now it has a new home in a little bit more modern way.  I cut the binding off and used it for the trim on the hat and gloves.  Win win....one less thing in my house, and a quilt someone spent a lot of time on that was antiqued away now has a new purpose.

Candy Corn Garland

Thursday, October 15, 2015 No comments
 Last summer I made some large Candy Corn door hangers, and I had some scrap wood I cut little candy corns out of.
I did not 'sand them' so they are perfectly shaped....I call it character and not laziness.  I painted then 'flicked' more white and black paint on with a toothbrush and strung these up with twine from the dollar tree.
I'm obsessed with candy corn, but the good thing about these are that they don't come with calories.

Pumpkin Bread

Tuesday, October 13, 2015 No comments
One of my most pinned post is my Grandmother's pumpkin bread. You can find the recipe here. One recipe makes six little loaves, or 3 larger bread loaves (9 inch).  I always tell people this recipe is tastier than any other pumpkin bread I've ever tried....and there are a bunch of doubters right up until they try it.  Seriously, add this to  your list of things to try this year.  Fall doesn't count until this makes its way into my belly.


Santa Dictionary Page

Monday, October 12, 2015 1 comment
I blogged about this dictionary page tutorial last month.  I've been buying frames at the dollar store and printing off all sorts of vintage pictures.  I still have a ton more fall stuff to post, but first....a sneak peak at Christmas.  I used the page of an old dictionary with the definition for Santa Clause on it.  Details.

Dollar Store Black Crow

Friday, October 09, 2015 No comments
 I wanted to make a wreath recently and I was looking for some cute crows.  I know...I know....there are two words that shouldn't be in the same sentence.  I saw the idea for spraying cheap little birds from the dollar store here.  I found these little guys at the dollar tree.  I didn't know how they'd work/look with a quick spray of black...turns out I love them.
If a crow could be cute...and it can't....these actually turn out not so creepy that I don't want to look at them.  They've been housed in a wreath I'm putting together for the season.


Terra Cotta Pumpkin

Thursday, October 08, 2015 No comments
 There is a house in my neighborhood that had a terra cotta pumpkin sitting out on it's porch....all year.  I thought it was cute...in October....by January I was just curious how one acquires a terra cotta pumpkin.  I don't know what they paid, but now that it's in season again....I think I'll add my own.  I promise to put it up before Valentine's Day.
I did the cheater way.  I bought a pumpkin pale...I found these mini's at Walmart for 77 cents....how cute will these be as little gifts for friends this Halloween?  I drilled a hole in the bottom so it would drain.  I yanked off the handle, and then painted it with terra cotta paint.  I got this in the Martha Stewart section at Michael's with a coupon.  It took about three coats to cover up the black.  I could have sprayed it orange first so the black wasn't an issue, but....I just slapped on a coat every time I passed it.  The end.  It would be cute to add mums to a bigger pail.  I know for a fact...I've been looking at one all year.

Glow in the Dark Pumpkin

Wednesday, October 07, 2015 No comments
 I saw this glowz spray paint used for just about everything...including pumpkins.  I'll be sharing four different pumpkins on GMT today (I'll post the video here later, and the last project tomorrow on my blog)...this one will be tough to share the finished product b/c short of bringing a black light or sticking around until the evening news....you just have to trust me that it works, but look....
I love this b/c you can paste whatever face you want on a pumpkin, or even one on both side-I used vinyl, but you can use painter's tape, or contact paper as well.  Spray it down with the glowz spray once your face is in place.  Peel off the face...and during the day you have a plain pumpkin.  At night...a jack-o-lantern.  It recharges with the sun.  Give it a few coats so you don't have splotches  It really is bright...my camera just doesn't like to take night photos.  You can do this with the real deal, or these funkins from the craft stores.  I also got some from the dollar store I sprayed white and then did the same thing with.  Orange works as well, but I love the glow of the white!

Canning Lid Pumpkin

Tuesday, October 06, 2015 No comments
I made this little pumpkin at the request of one of the GMT producers.  She saw one of these last year at a craft show and fell in love.  I'll be sharing this and a few more pumpkin crafts on Thursday on the show, but in the meantime, here is a sneak peak.  
 I found some old canning lids for 69 cents at a thrift store.  You may have some floating around, or you can also order them (or buy them a the store).  I took about 16 and threaded them through a pipe cleaner.  You could also use yard.
I tied it with a little wiggle room so I could maneuver them.  I sprayed them with orange spray paint.  You can do this before or after you thread them.  Just move them around a bit and get all the overlapping edges if you do it afterwards.  I added a stick to the middle and tied a ribbon for the leaves.  I might go back later and add some washi tape to every third or forth one just for fun ,but...easy and cute.  I have plans for the flat seals as well....but...that's another blog post!