Bobby Pin Duct Tape Bow

Materials:
*Duct tape in two different colors/patterns
*Bobby pin
*Scissors

Directions:
*Cut off a piece of duct tape as long as you would like your bow to be in the color that you want your bow to be.

*Fold tape in half.

*Cut off a piece of duct tape in the second color as the first and then cut off a strip of that piece about 1/2" in thickness.

*Place this strip along the center of the strip that is to become the bow.

*Cut off another strip, also about half an inch in width, and set it aside.
*Pinch the duct tape in the center as demonstrated in the picture below to create the bow shape.

*Wrap the strip of duct tape around the center.

*Cut off a shorter, thinner strip of tape and secure the bobby pin to the back of the bow.  Make sure it is well secured (or perhaps use glue or some other method of adhering it.  I tried glue first, but could not get it to work as I wanted it to, so I went with duct tape), as the last thing you want is duct tape stuck in your hair.

Felt Gingerbread Zombie

     Looking for something cuddly and sweet to give your valentine?  Search no further than this craft ;).

Materials:
*Brown felt (for a more gingerbready aesthetic) or green felt (for a more zombie-like look)
*Gingerbread person template (I traced around a cookie cutter)
*Chalk
*Scissors
*Red and white (or black) fabric paint
*Needle and thread
*Stuffing

Directions:
*Trace two gingerbread person shapes onto your felt with chalk and cut out.
*Decorate one of your gingerbread cut outs with fabric paint to make it look zombie-like.  A few years ago, Brian and I made gingerbread zombie cookies for a Halloween party and I decided that I wanted to make mine resemble that, but you can also go for a more gruesome look.  Set aside your zombie to dry.

     The zombie gingerbread person that served as the inspiration for my zombie gingerbread plushie.

*Using a blanket stitch, sew the together the two zombie halves, leaving an opening large enough for you to add the stuffing.  Insert stuffing until your zombie reaches its desired fullness and then sew closed.

Zombie Valentine's Heart Banner

Materials:
*Cardstock

*Silhouette CAMEO (or heart template and a pen)

*All purpose adhesive

*Thread

Directions:

*If you have a Silhouette CAMEO, import the below template into Silhouette Studio and have it cut out the hearts for the banner.  (For more detailed instructions on using the Silhouette CAMEO with my templates, see this post.)

*If you don't have a Silhouette CAMEO, you can print out a heart template and trace 27 hearts (or 21 if you want to leave out the zombie bit) and hand write letters.

*Space out hearts as desired and then glue them to the thread.  Let dry.

"Bloody" Handprint Zombie Valentine's Card

     Valentine's Day is one month away, which means it's time for me to liven (or deaden, I suppose) up this holiday with some zombies!

Materials:
*Blood colored paint (I added a small amount of black paint to red paint)
*Tap water
*Paintbrush
*White cardstock
*Pencil
*Black marker

Directions:
*Fold paper in half to create a card.
*Cover your workstation in newspaper or other scrap paper and place the card at your workstation.
*Paint your palm with the blood colored paint and then place your hand at about the center of the front of the card to create a "bloody" handprint.
*Use your fingers to smear streaks of paint along the card.
*Add some blood splatters using the paintbrush.  I had to water down my paint a little to get it to splatter.
*Once the front of the card is decorated to your liking, set it aside to dry.
*When the outside of the card has dried, add some bloodstains to the inside and then let dry.  Make sure to leave some white space for your Valentine's message.
*Write your Valentine's message in pencil to make sure you get the desired spacing and then trace over it with black marker.

     The inside of the card says: In a ZOMBIE apocalypse, I'd choose YOU!  Seriously, you'd be way better at all that survival stuff.

Glitter Name Bottles

     I am a sucker for souvenirs with my name on them, so this summer when Coca-Cola released their name bottles, I was excited to find a couple with my name.  Brian suggested adding glitter to them to make them look prettier, so I decided to try that and it worked pretty well.  If you don't have any name bottles, some of the seasonal Coke bottles could look good with glitter, or any bottle you think looks cool but want to spruce up a little.
     The procedure for this craft is similar to that for making glitter ornaments, but the shape of the bottle makes it a little more challenging, so I decided to include a video tutorial.  Brian joins me again as my crafting assistant, so be prepared for more of his shenanigans.

Curious Cat Bookmark

     These curious kitties will hold your place for you.

Materials:
*Cardstock in color or pattern that you would like the cat to be
*Pen
*Scissors
*X-acto knife
*All purpose adhesive and googly eyes (optional)

Directions:
*Print out the cat bookmark template given below.

*Trace the outline of the cat onto your chosen cardstock and cut out.
*Draw on "arms" for your cat, as shown in the template.
*Cut along the "arm" lines using the X-acto knife.
*Draw a face for your cat.  Add googly eyes if you'd like.

Paper Snowflake Ornaments

Materials:
*Paper snowflakes cut from either plain printer paper or from sales flyers.
*Cardstock that matches your snowflake
*Pencil
*Drinking glass
*Scissors
*All purpose adhesive
*Ribbon

Directions:
Note: for a video tutorial of how to make a six-pointed paper snowflake, see my Six Pointed Paper Snowflake tutorial.  For a pictorial tutorial, see the beginning of my Sales Flyer Snowflake Bows tutorial.
*Create paper snowflakes by tracing around the rim of the drinking glass onto the paper that you would like to make your snowflake and then fold up and cut out either using your own method or by following one of the above tutorials.
*Trace the rim of the drinking glass onto the cardstock and then cut out the resulting circle.
*Glue the snowflake to the cardstock.
*Cut off some ribbon or thread and form a loop.  Glue the loop to the back of the ornament.