Halloween Mini Paper Witch Hats

     I decided to try a video tutorial for this craft project.  I have a poll on the right hand side of the page in which you can tell me what type of craft tutorial you like best, be it video, written, or pictorial.  I'd like to be able to make this blog as helpful to you as possible, so let me know what you think, either in the poll or in the comments.
     For written directions and the required template, visit Joann.com.  Note that I made these hats for decorative purposes, but if you'd like to make it wearable, just glue the hat to a headband and you're all set.

Halloween Tablecloth

Materials:

*Enough fabric to cover your table (I used a 43" x 43" square of fabric for my little table)

*Sewing machine or needle and thread

*Scissors

*Pins

Directions:
*Cut fabric to the appropriate dimensions.

*Fold over an edge of the fabric about 1/4" and pin in place, then sew down.

*Repeat with the remaining edges to prevent the tablecloth from fraying.

Make sure to check out my other Halloween crafts for some decoration and costume ideas.

Glitter Drip Wine Glasses

Materials:
*Wine glass
*Glitter
*Mod Podge
*Squirt bottle of some form (I used an empty shampoo bottle)
*Funnel (optional, but makes getting the Mod Podge into the squirt bottle much easier)
*Acrylic sealer
*Painter's tape
*Cling wrap

Directions:
*Cover the rim of the glass with painter's tape.
*Pour some Mod Podge into the squirt bottle.
*Squeeze Mod Podge along the bottom of the tape line.  The more you squeeze out in one spot, the longer the drip will be.  You should end up with something like this:

*Let the Mod Podge dry for five minutes and then pour glitter over the Mod Podge.  Set aside to dry for 24 hours.
*After it has finished drying, cover the top of the glass with cling wrap and tape so that the acrylic sealer cannot get inside the glass.
*Spray with acrylic sealer and let dry for the required amount of time given on the bottle.
*Once dry, carefully peel off the painter's tape and cling wrap.

Clay Halloween Cocktail Picks and Spidery "Stone" Holder

     These cute little food picks and holder serve a dual purpose: they are both a decoration and something you can use to skewer cheese cubes.

Cocktail picks
Materials:
*Metal cocktail picks (could also use bamboo probably)
*Clay in various colors
*Red permanent marker (to draw blood veins on the eyeball)

Directions:
*Mold clay into Halloween shapes around the tops of the cocktail picks.
*Bake in the oven following the directions on the clay packets.  Let cool.
*Once the clay is cool enough to touch, add any needed details (such as blood veins on the eyeball) using a permanent marker.

Holder
Materials:
*Styrofoam
*Gray paint
*Paintbrush
*Spider rings
*Webbing
*Scissors

Directions:
*Paint the Styrofoam gray.  Set it aside to dry.
*Once the paint has dried, pull spider webbing across it.
*Snip the ring base off a couple of spider rings and place the spiders on the webbing.
*Poke the cocktail picks into the top of the Styrofoam.

An Introduction to Refinishing Furniture

     Last summer I came across this gorgeous wooden table at Goodwill.  The paint had worn off in places and it was missing some hardware (see below), but it only cost $3, so I figured there was no reason not to buy it and try fixing it up.  My original plan was to give it a coat of glittery spray paint, but Brian pointed out that this table was actually really nice and perhaps we should fix it up properly.  So I looked up how to refinish furniture online and decided to give it a try.  After all, how difficult could it be?  Cue foreboding horror movie music.
     It might not have been so bad had I selected a nice, flat, rectangular table, but this table was full of curves and indentations that required lots of hand sanding.  If your intended DIY project sounds anything like mine, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Are you a seasoned refinisher with years of experience refinishing tricky furniture items?
2. Are you a masochist?
3. Do you enjoy monotony and do you have endless wells of patience?

If you answered yes to 1, you should probably be writing this post instead of me because I know nothing about refinishing furniture aside from this one experience with my (evil) table.  If you answered yes to 2 or 3, congratulations!  Try refinishing your furniture item at your own risk.  If you answered no to all 3, put down the sandpaper, take three steps back from the furniture item (slowly, and with your eyes fixed on the object so that it cannot sneak up on you), and get out while you still can.
     If you have a more manageable furniture item or choose to proceed in spite of my warnings, here are some tips to help you along with your project.  For more detailed instructions on refinishing furniture, see e.g. HowStuffWorks.

Materials:
*100 grit medium sandpaper
*220 grit very fine sandpaper
*Stain and polyurethane coating (can be a 2 in 1 combo, like I used, or separate)
*Paintbrush
*Sander (optional, but highly recommended)
*Protective goggles
*Ventilation mask
*Ear muffs (if you're using a sander)

Tips:
*Do not use any sandpaper of lower quality than 100 grit.  Brian and I got some 80 grit paper in hopes that it would speed up the sanding process and it did, but it left scratches in the wood.
*If you have access to a sander (and if it is an appropriate tool for your project), I recommend using it.  Hand sanding is no fun.
*If you're not looking for perfection (which, if you are, you should probably find an article written by someone with more experience refinishing furniture), you don't have to scrape the paint off all the way.  You just need to rough it up enough that the new coat of paint will adhere.  Choose a paint color a few shades darker than the furniture item's original color and no one will be able to see the old paint underneath.

The table in the state in which we bought it.

Me sanding down the table

Halloween Spider Cupcake Stand

Materials:
*Two clear plastic plates (I used the clear plates with textured-line pattern from Dollar Tree)
*Tea light candle holder
*Plastic spider ring
*Spider webbing
*White fabric paint
*Sparkly black spray paint
*All purpose adhesive
*Scissors

Directions:
*Turn the plates upside down so that the backside of the plate is facing upward.  If you're using ones with a textured line pattern like I did, follow the lines with the white fabric paint.  Otherwise, design your own webby pattern.  Once you've finished adding lines, set aside to dry.
*Once the paint has dried, spray the backsides of the plate with glitter paint, following the directions on the bottle.  Let dry.
*Once the plates have dried for the requisite amount of time, glue the bottom of the candle holder to the center of the front side of one of the plates.
*Place some spider webbing inside the candle holder.
*Cut the ring base off the spider ring and then place the spider inside, pulling the webbing around it a little.
*Glue the top of the candle holder to the center of the backside of the remaining plate and then set aside to dry.

Top view of the plate design

Close up of the spider

Halloween Perler Fuse Bead Spider Web Coasters

     Hi everyone!  So as you may have noticed, I recently took a hiatus from crafting for several weeks.  I was recovering from oral surgery and in the midst of a writing project that I wanted to finish before school started up again in September, so I decided to let my crafting take a backseat for a few weeks.  However, I'm back now with some fun Halloween crafts.
     Last year I wanted to host a Halloween party (and by host a Halloween party I mean invite my siblings over to my creepily decorated house to eat cupcakes), but between coursework, teaching, and writing my master's thesis I did not have the time I needed to plan one.  However, this semester my schedule is looking a little lighter, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to and have been planning my crafts accordingly.  First up are these fun Halloween spider web coasters.  Hope you enjoy!  Also, if you're looking for more Halloween craft or costume ideas, be sure to check out my Halloween section of my blog.

Materials:
*Fuse bead kit (e.g. Perler beads kit)
*Iron

Directions:
*Arrange beads on a hexagonal pegboard, using the pattern shown above for guidance (for more detailed instructions with pictures, see here).
*Cover your pattern with a sheet of waxed paper and iron the first side, then remove from the peg board, flip over, put waxed paper on top and iron the second side.  You can find more detailed directions here.
*Perhaps it's because I tend to use a hotter setting on my iron, but I've noticed that my fuse bead creations have a tendency to curl slightly.  To prevent this, while the coaster is still hot, press it underneath a heavy book for several minutes.