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Craft Lightning – Day 2 Roundup

September 23, 2014 by Carolina Leave a Comment

It is day 2 of Craft Lightning – and we have more fun and spooky Halloween crafts for you! Check out the great Halloween crafts from Day 1, and then check out all this awesomeness:

How adorable is this flower pot – with pasta noodle bats! Suck clever (and awesome) idea!

And I love this Bat Terrarium – adorable, right? Kids will love having this as part of the Halloween decor in their rooms!

No sew Halloween treat bags – these felt bags are great for giving gifts to friends, neighbors, or the whole class!

These felt pumpkin faces are kid-friendly Halloween decor at its best – kids will love changing out the faces on their own little jack-o-lantern!

Add some whimsy to your Halloween reading with these cute Halloween bookmarks – they also make a great non-candy Halloween treat.

I’m in love with this adorable black sock cat – and to think you can whip one up in just 15 minutes!

Angie from The Country Chic Cottage, my crafty partner for this series, made the cutest little button pumpkins – so simple to make!

I had some crafty fun as well – turning a mason jar lid into a fun spider craft.

Be sure to come back tomorrow and all week long for more fast and fun Halloween crafts – that take 15 minutes or less!

Filed Under: 15 minute crafts, craft lightning, feature, halloween

Mason Jar Lid Spider

September 23, 2014 by Carolina 9 Comments

It is craft Lightning week, and all week long I’m sharing fast and fun crafts that you can make to celebrate Halloween – each craft, like this Mason Jar Lid Spider, can be made in 15 minutes or less! Joining me in hosting this series is Angie from the Country Chic Cottage, and a whole group of other crafty folks from all around the web! Come back each evening as I share a round-up of their fast, fun, and spooky Halloween crafts!

To make this Mason Jar Lid spider, you’ll need:
The ring from a mason jar
Googly Eyes
Pipe Cleaners
Hot Glue.

Fold each pipe cleaner in half, and twist in place around the ring from the mason jar. Bend to form legs.

Glue on the eyes with hot glue, and your spider is done!

Such a simple, easy, inexpensive, and FAST Halloween craft. If you love mason jar spiders, you should check out the big and creepy Mason Jar Spider I made last year:

Make sure to come back all week long for more fast and fun Halloween crafts!

Filed Under: 10 minute crafts, craft lightning, halloween Tagged With: craft, mason jar, spider

Craft Lightning Day 1 Roundup!

September 22, 2014 by Carolina Leave a Comment

It is Craft Lightning week – I love these series we put on! All crafts that can be done in 15 minutes or less! This week it is all about Halloween Crafts. Let’s see what today’s bloggers are sharing!

Some of these can probably be made in 15 minutes, though I’m sure some would take longer… but how cute is this mask door decor from Black and White Obsession?

We all know the rhyme “Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet”, and Busy Mom’s helper has created an adorable witch-themed trick or treat craft using the rhyme.

Over at Sowdering About Seattle, you’ll find this awesome spider necklace – I love spider crafts at Halloween!

How adorable is this Tin Can Frankenstein from My Very Educated Mother … and so easy to make!

My favorite thing about Halloween? It might be the Candy Corn… how cute is this Candy Corn Treat plate from Play. Party. Pin?

Over at 1000 Directions, Jen made this cute Halloween subway art – I love it! And with the free printable, it is super easy for you to make, too!

Angie from The Country Chic Cottage is my crafty partner for this series, and she made these fun Halloween Luminaries out of Mason Jars – so simple and fun!

And I did some fast crafting of my own – making these super quick mask cupcake toppers. Great for a Halloween party at school, work, or home!

Be sure to stop by all week long for more fast and fun Craft Lightning Halloween projects!

Filed Under: 15 minute crafts, craft lightning, halloween Tagged With: halloween

Halloween Mask Cupcake Toppers

September 22, 2014 by Carolina 3 Comments

Are you planning a Halloween party, or in charge of bringing the cupcakes to a school or work Halloween party? These cupcake toppers are simple to make, with just a few inexpensive supplies. You can put these cupcake toppers on home-made cupcakes, or you can buy plain cupcakes from the store, and quickly insert your Halloween mask cupcake toppers before the party starts.

This fast Halloween craft is part of a whole week of fast Halloween Crafts this week… that’s right, it is Craft Lightning week! All week long, Angie from The Country Chic Cottage and I will each share a fun and fast Halloween craft in the morning… and each afternoon we’ll share a round-up of fun and fast Halloween crafts from our friends across the web!

To make these cupcake toppers you’ll need
Paper masks cut from this template
Lollypop sticks (from baking section of the craft store)
Ribbon (these Halloween ribbons are from The Ribbon Retreat)
Scissors
Buttons (these are from Laura Kelly)
Hot Glue

Glue the masks to the lollypop sticks with hot glue.

Cut 6″ lengths of ribbon, and pick out your buttons.

Fold each ribbon about in half, adding glue inside the fold, and to the back.

Carefully (so you don’t burn yourself), apply the ribbon to the front of the mask. With a dab of glue, add the button.

Make as many as you need for your cupcakes.

Insert into store-bought cupcakes, or make your own cupcakes (for extra credit)!

Go ahead… take a bite…

I made full-sized masks to go with these cupcake toppers… you can check them out over at The Ribbon Retreat blog…

Make sure to come back by this evening, I’ll have a round-up of lots of fun and fast Halloween crafts! And come back all week long for more spooky and fun crafts!

Filed Under: 15 minute crafts, craft lightning, easy, halloween, quick Tagged With: craft, easy, halloween, handmade, mask, Simple

Stained Halloween Candlesticks

September 19, 2014 by Carolina Leave a Comment

When Minwax offered to send me some of their fun stains, my first thought was, “Can I make something stained in 30 minutes?” And my second question was, “How would it look?” I thought I’d give it a shot with these stained Halloween candlesticks, and I’m happy to report that the answers are “YES” and “AWESOME” – in that order! You can make one of these candlesticks in 30 minutes or less, excluding drying time between coats. If you’d like to make more (I made several), you’ll need to factor in some extra time.

You’ll be surprised to see what I made these candlesticks from, too! Watch the video to see how it is done!

I love how easy these were to make, and they’re not just for holding candles! My plastic Halloween skull looks great on there – as does my styrofoam pumpkin… there are all kinds of ways you can use these sturdy candlesticks to add some height to your Halloween decor!

Filed Under: 30 minute crafts, easy, sponsored, video Tagged With: quick, Simple, wood

Halloween Spider Wreath

September 15, 2014 by Carolina 2 Comments

Looking for a different and creepy way to decorate your door this Halloween? This spider wreath is simple to make, takes only a few supplies, and adds a little creepy and a little whimsy to your entryway! An oversized spider makes the perfect wreath for your door this Halloween.

This wreath only requires a few supplies. You’ll need:
Styrofoam wreath form
Giant Pipecleaner
Large Yarn
Scissors
Small styrofoam ball
Knife
Black paint
Paintbrush
Hot Glue

Start by cutting the oversized pipe cleaner into 4 pieces. This is fun stuff, I found it in the craft aisle at Michael’s, and it it makes the perfect legs for this spider wreath! Fold each piece in half, wrap around the wreath, and twist to secure.

Start wrapping the large yarn around your wreath.

Keep wrapping all the way around.

Cut the yarn, then tie and tuck in the end.

Using a sharp knife, cut a small styrofoam ball in half. Paint the eyes on, then glue into place with hot glue.

Bend and shape your creepy spider legs, and your Halloween spider wreath is complete! I covered my door with creepy faux spider webbing before hanging my wreath. I think I have the creepiest door on the block!

If you’re in the mood for Halloween crafting, check out these other fun Halloween crafts!

Frosted Skull Mirror by Dollar Store Crafts
Jack-O-Lantern Candy Tub by Mrs. Greene
Glam Crowned Pumpkin by The V Spot
No Sew Halloween Apron by Condo Blues
DIY Skeleton Hair Clip by Morena’s Corner
Reclaimed Wood Pumpkins by Saved By Love Creations
Easy Pirate Costume by Mom Endeavors
Mummy Wine Glass Candle Holder by Just Paint It!
Window Halloween Treat Bags by The Country Chic Cottage
Halloween Spider Wreath by 30 Minute Crafts
Sven from Frozen Costume by Mad in Crafts
Halloween Candles with Paper Napkins by CraftasticTV

Filed Under: 30 minute crafts, easy, fast and cheap, halloween Tagged With: 30 minutes, easy, fast, spider

Printable Halloween Mask Templates

September 10, 2014 by Carolina 3 Comments

With Halloween coming, it seems that almost every costume out there could use a mask. So I’ve come up with these Printable Halloween Mask Templates to make mask-making easy. Whether the DIY costume idea you’ve come up with is a superhero, an animal, or a favorite television character, you can cut out and decorate a mask to go with your costume fast and easy!

To make things even easier, each mask has both a PDF file for you to print and cut as a template, AND a Silhouette file, so that you can cut the mask right from your Silhouette machine! Super easy!

I made three basic mask styles. The Superhero mask, the Animal Mask, and the standard mask.

The Superhero mask template is not as tall as the others, primarily covering just the eye area. This mask is great for any super hero that needs to protect their identity. There are two versions. The top is a mask you can add ribbons to either side to tie on. The bottom you cut out, extending the sides, so that it can be tied in place. Download the printable superhero mask PDF or the Superhero mask Silhouette file.

The second mask is great for animal costumes. This mask would make a great base for an owl, fox, or cat… though you could easily make a butterfly as well. There are so many different ways to decorate this mask to turn it into the animal of your choosing! Download the animal mask printable PDF or the Animal Mask Silhouette file.

If neither of these masks suits your DIY Halloween mask-making needs, I have a third mask option. This is a more generic mask that you can use for all kinds of costumes as well. It is taller than the superhero mask, giving you more room to decorate, but not as stylized as the animal mask. You can download the printable Halloween mask PDF or the Halloween Mask Silhouette File with three to a 12×12 sheet.

Filed Under: 15 minute crafts, easy, fast and cheap, halloween, kids, quick Tagged With: costume, mask

DIY Lego Earrings

September 3, 2014 by Carolina 6 Comments

These Lego earrings were inspired by a recent trip to Legoland. One of the staffers had Lego characters hanging from her badge. Which wasn’t entirely unusual – most of the staffers had Lego minifigures on their badges. But this woman had the minifigures actually hanging from her badge. I chatted with her and learned that she had converted Lego keyrings to get her minifigures to dangle just so. These dangling Lego figures gave me the inspiration for some dangling Lego blocks… perfect for jewelry!

These Lego earrings are super simple to make. You’ll need:
2 Lego bricks of your choice
Small jewelry drill
Krazy Glue (the Kragle!)
2 Eye Pins
2 Jumprings
2 Earring wires
Round-nosed jewelry pliers

Start by drilling a hole in the center of one of the short sides of one of the Lego blocks.

Trim the eye pin, then insert into the hole. Using the round-nosed jewelry pliers, curve the eye pin around the first circle on the back of the Lego brick. This will help support it and keep it in place. Secure with Krazy Glue.

Repeat with the second Lego brick.

Use the jump rings to attach the earring wires, and your Lego earrings are complete!

My son thought these earrings looked a little plain. So he dug into his Lego stash to give me a little extra bling.

Here are my fully-customized mom-of-boys Lego earrings. Awesome, right?

Speaking of awesome, if you’re a Lego fan, you should check out my Everything is Awesome shirt tutorial.

Filed Under: 15 minute crafts, easy, fast and cheap, jewelry, kids Tagged With: boys, earrings, lego

Super Simple Pennants

August 31, 2014 by Carolina Leave a Comment

I’m working with Fairfield on some fun crafts, and when they sent me Oly*fun to play with, which is lots of fun! Yesterday I showed you some fun finger puppets with Oly*fun, I’ve also made an Oly*fun book cover, and some Oly*fun Pom Poms. Today I want to show you some super simple pennants that you can make to go along with those pom poms to cheer on your favorite team!

To make these pennants, all you need is:
Oly*fun
Rotary Cutter and Ruler or Scissors
Dowels

Oly*fun comes in lots of colors, pick the colors that work for your school or team. Using a rotary cutter and ruler, I was able to cut through several layers at the same time. I cut a length about 15″ long, and then cut my triangles out of that.

To attach the pennants to the dowels, I cut a strip about 3/4″ from the edge of the pennant, that extended almost to the top and bottom, then cut in from the side.

I used these tabs to tie the flag to the dowel.

Just like that, the pennant is done!

You can paint or decorate your pennants with your team name, or favorite cheer (like GO! FIGHT! WIN!).

Filed Under: 10 minute crafts, easy, fast and cheap Tagged With: flag, olyfun, spirit

Five Little Ducks Finger Puppets

August 30, 2014 by Carolina 1 Comment

I’ve partnered with Fairfield, and they’ve sent me all kinds of fun stuff to play with, including Oly*Fun, which is an awesome craft supply you probably haven’t had a chance to play with. It is as thin as traditional woven fabrics, but works a lot like felt – it doesn’t fray. You can sew it, glue it, and create all kinds of fun projects with them, like these fun finger puppets. I made these finger puppets to play with my son – his favorite book is the 5 little ducks. With the finger puppets, we can act out the book together!