Decorative Tree

Materials:

*Styrofoam cone

*Monochromatic fabric

*Two or more types of ribbons

*Rhinestones

*Other embellishments (optional)

*Scissors

*All purpose glue

Directions:

*Cut out a semicircle of fabric with a radius somewhat longer than your Styrofoam cone is tall. 

*Wrap fabric around the Styrofoam cone and glue down.  If there is excess fabric at the bottom of the cone, trim it off or glue it to the bottom of the cone.

*Starting from the top of the tree, wrap a ribbon around it.  Glue the ribbon down as you go. 

*Repeat for your other ribbons

*Glue rhinestones onto the tree

*You may wish to top it off with something.  A metallic pompom might work nicely for a star  

Quote Book

     Here is a craft that can be as simple or complex as you would like to make it.  It can make a great keepsake, or is can serve as a wonderful gift for a friend.

Materials:

*Miniature scrapbook album

*Photos or images

*Quotations

*Adhesive (e.g. mounting squares, acid-free glue)

*Embellishments (e.g. stickers, paper scraps, glitter, markers, etc)

Directions:

*Select quotes for your quotation book.  For months I have been jotting down silly things said by friends and family members, so I decided to use these quotes in my quote book.  However, you can also find tons of quotes online

*Find or make pictures to go along with your quotes.  I chose to use silly images of the people I was quoting, but there are so many other choices you can make

*Format your quote book.  Find some way to arrange images and quotations in a manner you find pleasing, then adhere the images and quotes to the pages of the album

*Add embellishments to decorate your album

Magnetic calendar

     Instead of buying a paper calendar that lasts for only one year, why not make a calendar that you can reuse each year?

Materials:

*Printable magnetic sheets (3-4 sheets should be fine)

*Printer

*Scissors

Directions:

*On your computer, design at least 31 2”x2” squares (you may want to design additional squares for holidays, birthdays, etc.) that will form the basis of your calendar.  Overlay numbers on top of the images for the squares, labeling the squares from 1-31. 

*Design 7 days of the week headings that are slightly wider than your calendar squares.

*Design 12 month headings

*Print all of these images onto the printable magnetic sheets (it may be easiest to import all of the images into a word document and print from there)

*Arrange squares on your refrigerator or other magnetic surface.

Creepy Doll Halloween Decoration

     Halloween is just around the corner.  Here’s a decoration that will make any house seem spookier.

Materials:

*Old doll

*Red acrylic paint

*Brown or black acrylic paint

*Fine paintbrush

Directions:

*Using red acrylic paint, paint the doll’s eyes red

*Mix the red and brown (or black) paints together until you get a crimson color

*Use the crimson paint to paint “blood” onto the doll’s face, hands, and clothing

Note: if you don’t have a doll you would be willing to convert into a Halloween decoration, thrift shops can be great places to find inexpensive dolls.

Fuse Bead Halloween Magnets

     I have fond memories from my childhood of making fuse bead creations with my mom and siblings and I think this craft can be a great activity if you have children and you’re looking for Halloween crafts you can make with them.

Materials:

*Fuse Beads kit

*Magnetic backing

*Adhesive (if your magnetic backing does not have an adhesive backing)

*Scissors

*Iron

Directions:

*Design your fuse bead creations by arranging beads on a peg board, then cover with a sheet of waxed paper and iron the first side.  Remove the fuse bead project from its peg board, cover with waxed paper, and iron the other side.  For more detailed instructions, visit http://www.eksuccessbrands.com/perlerbeads/creative/4-easy-steps.htm. 

*Cut a small section of the magnetic backing for each fuse bead critter you have made. 

*If magnetic backing has a built-in adhesive, affix the backing to the fuse bead creatures.  Some of the built-in adhesives on such magnetic backings can be rather weak, so you may need some all purpose glue to get it to stick properly

*If your magnetic backing does not have a built-in adhesive, or if the built-in adhesive does not work well, dab a small amount of all purpose adhesive on the back of the magnet, then adhere to the fuse bead creation.  Let dry.  Once the glue has dried, you can decorate your refrigerator with these fuse bead creatures.

Halloween Curtain

Materials:

*Old curtains

*Felt in Halloween colors

*Halloween templates

*Chalk

*Scissors

*Glitter glue

*All purpose adhesive suitable for use with fabric

Directions:

*Print out or draw templates of different Halloween images that you would like to feature on your curtain.  I found my templates at http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/projects/halloween-templates-1009?click=main_sr (bat stencil), http://www.matthewmeadstyle.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=254&Itemid=146 (black cat stencil), and http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/halloween_templates_pumpkins.htm (pumpkin stencil).

*Using chalk, trace templates onto felt squares of the appropriate colors.  The amount of felt you will need may vary depending on the shapes and sizes of your templates and on the amount of items you want to feature.  I used two 9x12 sheets of black felt and one of orange felt

*Once you have finished outlining your shapes, cut them out. 

*Decorate with glitter glue, then let dry.

*Once the glitter glue has dried, arrange your Halloween cutouts in a manner you find pleasing, then glue down with all purpose adhesive.

Photo Decor

     Looking for a way to display photos other than traditional picture frames?  Here are a couple of creative ways to showcase your pictures.

3-D Photo Display

Materials:

*Foam board

*Sheet of printed paper at least 9”x9”

*9 photos 2”x2” or 2.5”x2.5”

*Photo safe adhesive (such as photo mounting squares)

*All purpose adhesive

*Ribbon

*Scissors and/or X-acto knife (X-acto knife may work a bit better than scissors for cutting foam board)

Directions:

*Cut a 9”x9” square of foam board.

*Cut sheet of paper to 9”x9” if it is not already that size, then adhere to one side of the foam board using your photo safe adhesive.

*Crop photos to desired size. 

*Cut out nine sections of foam board that are slightly smaller than your photos (e.g. if your pictures are 2”x2”, you may want to cut out sections of foam board that are 1¾”x1¾”).

*Adhere pictures to foam squares using your photo safe adhesive.

*Arrange squares on the patterned paper in a way that you find desirable, then adhere squares to the paper using your photo safe adhesive.

*Glue a loop of ribbon to the back of the project using your all purpose adhesive.  Once the glue is dry, you will be able to hang up your photo creation.

Picture Hanger

Materials:

*Decorative hanger

*Assorted beads

*Headpins

*Foam board

*Photos

*Different sheets of patterned paper (if you have leftover scraps of paper from other projects, this would be a good project to use them in)

*Mod Podge

*Paintbrush

*Stickers or other embellishments (optional)

*Large needle

*Jump rings

*Round nose pliers

*Other pliers

*Scissors and/or X-acto knife

Directions:

*Based on the size of your hanger, determine the number and size of rectangles you want to use in your project.  Cut out however many sections of foam board in the size you deem appropriate.

*Cut strips of patterned paper that are the same size as the foam board rectangles and use Mod Podge or other adhesive to stick the paper to the foam rectangles.

*Crop photos into rectangular shapes slightly smaller than the foam rectangles and adhere to the patterned paper.

*Coat the decorated side of the foam rectangles and let dry.  After they dry, you may wish to apply a second or third coat of Mod Podge to give rectangles a nice, glossy finish.

*Once dry, decorate with stickers or other embellishments if you so choose. 

*Using a large needle, poke a hole through the top part of each foam rectangle.  Using the pliers, pull open the jump ring, then slide it through the hole.  Do not close.

*Snip off the head of a headpin and use round pliers to make a loop at the base.

*Decorate headpin with beads, then make a loop at the other end wide enough to fit around the hanger.  Close around hanger. 

*Slide other end of the headpin through the jump ring on one of the rectangles, then close the jump ring.  You should now have one rectangle hanging from the hanger.

*Repeat process with the remainder of the head pins.