Halloween Foam Tombstones

Materials:
*Sheet of craft foam
*Letter opener, serrated knife, or similar implement
*Gray acrylic paint
*Black marker
*X-acto knife
*Paintbrush
*Large paper clip
*Wire cutters

Directions:
*Cut foam to your desired size using an X-acto knife.
*Carefully sketch out a design for an inscription on your foam using black marker.  Make sure to space out your letters a bit, since when you compress the foam, if your letters are too close together then you may end up compressing the foam between the letters as well.
*Press down on the foam using a letter opener or a similar tool, following the design you drew on the front.  Work slowly and carefully, as the foam compresses very easily.  It's difficult to do very detailed work with this kind of foam, so if you want to do something intricate, you may want to try insulation foam instead.
*Once you have finished "carving" your stone, paint it gray, then set it aside to dry.
*Unbend a large paper clip and cut it in half using wire cutters.  Once the stone is dry, insert the two halves of the paper clip into the bottom of the stone.
*Set up the tombstone in the desired location, sliding the paper clip pieces into the ground.

Looking for more Halloween decoration or costume ideas?  Check out my Halloween section of my blog, where you'll find killer porcelain dolls, last minute costume ideas, and more!

Halloween Potion Pendants

Materials:

*Small plastic vial with cork

*String

*Scissors

*Potion filling (see below for examples)

*Label and all purpose adhesive (optional)

Directions:

*Fill vial with desired potion, then seal with a cork.

*Cut off a segment of string long enough to make the pendant.

*Wrap string around the neck of the vial and knot.

*Knot together the free ends of the string.

*Glue the label to the bottle.

Making a Label

Materials:

*Printer paper

*Coffee

*Baking pan

*Black ink pen

Directions:

*Lay a sheet of white printer paper flat in a baking pan.

*Brew coffee, then pour into the pan until the paper is submerged.  Let sit for half an hour.

*Remove the paper from the coffee and set aside to dry.

*Once dry, write the name of your potion on the paper, then carefully tear it off.

Nightmares Potion

Materials:

*Black glitter

Monster Blood

Materials:

*Water

*Red food coloring

Directions:

*Mix a couple of drops of red food coloring with water to create your "blood."

Tip:

*My monster blood started evaporating, so I have been storing it in the freezer to preserve it.

Eyeballs

Materials:

*White air dry clay

*Permanent markers in black, red, and other colors of your choosing.

Directions:

*Form miniature clay balls, then set them aside to dry.

*Once dry, decorate the balls to look like eyeballs using permanent marker.

Felt Sleepy Bat

     My first Halloween post of the year!  I love making Halloween decorations :).

Materials:
*2 sheets black felt
*2 sheets purple felt
*1 sheet white felt
*1 sheet lilac felt
*Chalk
*Sewing machine or needle and thread
*All purpose adhesive
*Scissors
*Stuffing
*Needle and thread

Directions:
*Enlarge the template below to the desired size and print.

*Using chalk, trace 2 of the large ovals and 2 large triangles onto black felt, 4 wings and 2 medium triangles onto purple felt, 1 large quarter circle and 2 small quarter circles onto the lilac colored felt, and 2 small triangles onto white felt.
*Cut out the respective shapes.
*Align two wing shapes and sew the two pieces together.  Draw veins onto the wing and sew along the lines.
*Repeat with the second set of wing shapes.
*Place a purple triangle on top of one of the black triangles to form the inner and outer ear and sew together.  Repeat with the second set of black and purple triangles.
*Fold up wings so that they fit inside the two ovals when the ovals are sandwiched together, but be careful to make sure that the tips of the wings to not touch the edge of the oval.  Place the ears between the ovals so that they spill over the outer edge of the oval some and the point at the top of each ear points inward, toward the center.  You should end up with a setup resembling the image below.  The wings and ears should end up sandwiched between the two ovals.

*Sew the two ovals together, leaving an opening at the bottom.  You will now have an inside out bat.
*Turn the bat right side in and insert stuffing into the opening in the bottom until the bat is as full as you would like.
*Sew or glue the bottom closed.
*Glue on the bat's face.
*Tie a piece of thread to a needle and poke it through the bottom of the bat.  Once it's through, cut off the needle and tie the ends of the string together.  This will give you something to hang your bat from.

Looking for more Halloween decorating or costume ideas?  Check out my Halloween crafts.

Flannel Pajama Pants

Here are the pants on me

Here's what they look like on their own.  Look at how cute those monsters are!

     September is here, which means back to the grind for me.  This semester I have another full load of grad classes, I'm TA-ing Calculus I again, and I'm working on my master's thesis, so I'll be quite the busy bee.  September also means cooler temperatures, so I figured flannel pajama pants would be a practical craft and with such an adorable print, these quickly became my favorite pajama pants I own.

     For my first attempt at sewing with a pattern, I would say these pants were a success.  To make them, I used Simplicity's free pattern and step-by-step instructions, so I'll just link to them since I don't really have anything to add or change.  Their pattern and instructions are part of a four part series explaining the basics of sewing, so if you don't have much experience sewing clothes I recommend looking at parts 1-3 before getting started.  It includes information about what supplies you need to get started with sewing, a detailed explanation of pattern sizing, which can be a bit confusing because pattern sizes don't always align with department store sizes, and a brief guide discussing fabric properties to help you select the appropriate fabric for your pattern.