DIY Felt Christmas Light Garland

     Brighten up your home this holiday season with this fun, festive garland.  While I opted for a rainbow color scheme, you can use whatever colors of felt you would like to make this DIY your own.

Materials:

*Sheets of felt in colors of your choosing.  Since I used seven different colors of felt for the "light bulbs," I only needed one sheet of each color.  However, if you are using fewer colors, you may need more sheets of each color.
*Gray felt
*Metallic marker
*Scissors
*Thread in colors of your light bulbs
*Silver or gray thread
*Stuffing
*Ribbon to string the lights together

Directions:

*Print out a copy of the light bulb template given below:

*Cut out the whole template as one, leaving the light bulb cap attached to the rest of the bulb

*Determine how many lights you would like to have on your garland.  Trace and cut out twice as many felt pieces as you would like lights, one piece for the front of each bulb and one piece for the back of each bulb.

*Trace and cut out twice as many copies of the light bulb cap as you would like lights from gray felt.

*Take two light bulb pieces and two light bulb caps and sew the caps to the light bulb pieces using a back stitch and gray or silver thread.

*Place the two light bulb pieces wrong sides together and sew together using a blanket stitch.  Leave an opening at the top for stuffing.

*Add stuffing and sew closed.

*Repeat the sewing process until you have sewn all of your bulbs together.

*Sew the bulbs to a piece of ribbon to complete your light garland.

Thanksgiving or Autumn Pie Garland

     For many of us, the best part about Thanksgiving (aside from spending time with loved ones) is the food, and what better a way to show this than by adding a pie garland to your seasonal decor?  One great thing about this pie garland is that it is easy to customize.  I opted for apple, pumpkin, and chocolate pudding pie, all classics in my family, but if you have a different pie you'd like to include, such as cherry, all you need to do is use a different color of cardstock.
     This craft is adapted from a craft by Martha Stewart.  For her version, see this post.

Materials:

*1 sheet dark brown cardstock
*1 sheet light brown cardstock
*1 sheet orange cardstock
*2 sheets cream colored cardstock
*Scissors and pencil or die cutting machine
*Glue
*Hole punch
*Ribbon
*Large white pom poms

Directions:

*Use the template below to cut out 4 dark brown triangles, 4 light brown triangles, 4 orange triangles, and four cream colored lattice grids.

*Glue the lattice shapes over the light brown cardstock triangles.

*Punch holes in the top corners of each triangle and string the triangles onto the ribbon.  Use a dab of glue to hold each triangle in place along the ribbon.

*Cut the cream colored cardstock into strips that are about 1/2" wide.  Fold strips accordion style, making little handles at either end to use to attach the strips to the pies.

*Glue the ends as well as the bottoms of each fold to the pie shapes.

*Glue white pom poms to selected pieces of pie.  Let dry.

*Once your garland is dry, it's ready for display.

Fall Leaves Felt Table Runner

     Add a fun, seasonal touch to your table with this fall leaves table runner.

Materials:

*Felt in colors of your choice
*Thread in corresponding colors
*Sewing needle
*Metallic marker or fabric pen
*Scissors

Directions:

*Print out leaf templates of your choice, such as the ones included below:

*Trace leaf templates onto the felt sheets using a metallic marker or fabric marker.  The number of leaves you need may vary, depending upon the size of your table.  I used 10 leaves to complete mine.

*Cut out leaf shapes and arrange them on your table in a sequence that you find pleasing.

*Choose a color of thread corresponding to the color of felt of the leaf that you want to go at one end of your table runner.  Begin sewing using a running stitch at the bottom of the leaf.  At first you will be sewing just this one leaf, but once you reach where the stem of the next leaf begins, you will sew the stem to the back of the leaf you are sewing, like this:

*Once you reach the end of your top leaf (the one you started sewing first), tie off the thread.

*Select a color of thread corresponding to the leaf you attached to your first leaf via its stem and begin sewing in the same fashion as you sewed your first leaf.

*Repeat procedure to sew all of your leaves together.

Creating a Digital Wardrobe

     As the end of 2019 approaches, many of us will be looking for new year's resolutions.  Since becoming more organized is a common resolution, I thought I'd share an organizational project I've been working on with you: creating a digital wardrobe.  If you have a lot of clothes and have a tendency to lose track of some of them or forget that they exist, then a digital wardrobe may be the solution you need.  I've included a video tutorial walking you through the process of creating a digital wardrobe below.  I've also included some written instructions, although the video tutorial is more thorough.

Creating a Digital Wardrobe

Materials:

*Camera
*Computer

Directions:

*The first step to creating a digital wardrobe is choosing a location for your digital wardrobe to exist in.  I created a folder on my Google Drive called "Wardrobe" to store the digital images of my clothes in so that I would have access to the images from multiple devices, but creating a folder on your computer could work just as well.

*Once you've created your folder, choose a clothing storage location (e.g. your closet, a dresser drawer) to work on and photograph every item in that location.

*Inside your wardrobe folder, create folders for each category of clothing in the storage location that you photographed.  For example, you might have shirts and rompers hanging in your closet, so you would want to create a folder for shirts and a folder for rompers.  You may want to create more folders inside those respective categories.  For example, you may want to have separate folders for short sleeved shirts and long sleeved shirts, or you may want separate folders for formal rompers and more casual rompers.

*Place each photograph into its corresponding folder (e.g.. a T-shirt may go in your short sleeved shirts folder) and add a description.  The description should include a basic description of the item (e.g., red T-shirt) as well as the item's location in your wardrobe (e.g., closet).  The location is especially important if you have similar types of garments stored in separate locations, as it gives you a way to keep track of which garments are in which location.

*Repeat the process until you've cataloged all of your clothes.  You may also want to create folders for accessories, if those are an essential component of your wardrobe.

*I also have been cataloging my outfits as I wear them.  I have a folder in my "Wardrobe" folder called "Outfits" where I keep a photograph of each day's outfit.  Doing this gives me a chance to see what clothes I'm wearing often and which ones I'm not wearing.  It also reminds me which garments look good together and which don't and gives me inspiration for future outfits.

DIY Jack (Torrance) and Coke Couples Costume

     Here's a fun twist on the popular Jack and Coke couples costume.  If you haven't seen it on Pinterest or elsewhere, a commonly featured couples costume involves one partner wearing a Jack Daniels T-shirt while the other wears a Coca-Cola T-shirt or dress.  Brian suggested trying this costume, but with Jack as Jack Torrance from The Shining.  I thought that was a great idea, and so we decided to give it a go.

     I made a video tutorial for this one.  You can watch it below, or head on over to Youtube to see it.  Let me know what you think of the video tutorial format.  I'd potentially like to do more video tutorials in the future, so your feedback is greatly appreciated.  I've also included a written tutorial for the Cherry Coke dress, if you prefer written tutorials.

     Since this project uses removable vinyl, the nice thing is that once you're done with your costume, you can peel off the vinyl and wear your garment again.  Just make sure to test the vinyl first to make sure that it doesn't damage the fabric, and avoid using removable vinyl on delicate fabrics.

DIY Cherry Coke Dress

Materials:

*Dress or shirt in the color that you want your soda can to be

*White removable vinyl

*Green and red removable vinyl (if you're trying to imitate a Cherry Coke can)

*Paper, pencil, and scissors or die cutting machine

Directions:

*Lay the dress or shirt on a flat, clear work surface.

*Optional: cut out Coca-Cola lettering from paper or cardstock and position it on the dress to determine the placement that you'd like for the vinyl.

*Cut out letters from removable vinyl.

*Using a scrap of removable vinyl, press it down on an inconspicuous part of the garment and peel it back up to make sure that the vinyl doesn't damage the garment.

*Replace the cardstock letters (if used) with the vinyl letters.  Since the vinyl is removable, you can peel it up if you make a mistake in laying down the letters, but the vinyl may lose some of its adhesiveness.

*When you're done with your costume, you can peel off the vinyl and wash and wear your garment as you would normally.

Halloween Creepy Doll Costume Wind Up Key

     I'm not sure if it's because of the new Annabelle movie, but creepy doll costumes are on trend this Halloween season.  They can also be put together relatively inexpensively.  To step up your costume game, why not add a simple gold wind up key to your look?

Materials:

*Foam board  (you could also use cardboard if you don't have foam board on hand)
*Toilet paper tube
*Scissors
*Gold paint
*X-acto knife or box cutter
*1/2" to 1" Elastic
*Optional: acetone based glue

Directions:

*Print out a copy of the wind up key template given below, or design your own wind up key template.  If using the template I designed, you may want to increase the length of the key stem by a couple of inches.  It's better to cut the foam board a little too long and then trim it back later than to cut it too short.

*Trace the template onto the sheet of foam board.

*Cut out the key shape from the foam board using an X-acto knife.  Alternatively, if you don't have an X-acto knife, you could use a box cutter.

*Optional: If your key shape ends up looking a little rough around the edges, you can use a tiny bit of acetone based glue to erode away the excess foam at the edges.  If you do this, work slowly and carefully, and test on a scrap piece of foam board before you try it on your key.

*Slide the key inside the toilet paper tube.  The key should fit snugly.  Trim the end of the key so that it ends about 1/2" from the bottom of the toilet paper tube.

*Cut slits in the toilet paper tube about 1/4" from the bottom of the tube that are wide enough for your elastic to fit through.

*Paint the key shape and the toilet paper tube gold.  If you use spray paint, be careful, because the spray paint may eat at the foam.  Let dry.

*Once dry, place the key inside the toilet paper tube.  You could glue the key in place if you'd like, but I chose not to.

*Cut off a length of elastic about 10" or so longer than your waist measurement.

*Slide the elastic through the slits in the toilet paper tube.

*Tie the ends of the elastic around your waist to fasten the key to your body.  (I forgot to buy elastic, so I'm using ribbon to hold it up in the picture above, so that's why the key looks a little slouchy.)

Fast and Easy DIY Halloween Jewelry

     Things have been a little stressful for me lately, so instead of writing up a tutorial for one of my more elaborate Halloween props, I decided to do something easy.  If you would like to make some cute Halloween jewelry, but don't want to spend a ton of money doing so, this tutorial is for you.  I'll also be reviewing the Halloween shrink art kit I picked up from Target's dollar aisle, so check out the end of the post for that.

Easy DIY Halloween Earrings

Materials:

*Halloween charms (such as these ones, which are on sale at Joann)

*Ear wires

*Needle nosed pliers

Directions:

*Remove jump ring from Halloween charm.

*Using pliers, open up the bottom loop of the ear wire.

*Slide charm onto the ear wire.

*Close the loop using the pliers.

*Repeat process to create a second earring.

Easy DIY Halloween Necklaces

Materials:

*Halloween charms (such as these ones, which are on sale at Joann)

*Necklace chain

*Necklace clasp

*Needle nosed pliers

Directions:

*Resize necklace chain to your desired size by opening the link at the end of your desired length with your pliers and pulling off excess chain.

*Place one end of the clasp through open link and then close link with pliers

*Open the link at the other end of your necklace chain with pliers.

*Place the other end of the clasp through the link and close that link.

*Open the jump ring at the end of the charm and slide it through the chain link at the middle of your necklace.

*Close jump ring.

Target's Halloween "Make Your Own Shrink Art Bag Tags" Kit Review

Note that this is a picture of my already shrunk shrink art monsters on top of the empty packaging.  I forgot to get a picture of the kit before I opened it.

     I was at Target the other day when I came across this Halloween shrink art kit and decided to give it a try.  I've never tried my hand at shrink art before, so I figured this would be a good foray into the craft.  Here are my thoughts.

     First of all, I found the coloring to be fun.  There is a fair amount of detail work, so if you are making these with children or other individuals who have difficulty coloring in the lines, this aspect of the craft could pose a little bit of a challenge.  However, if your crafters just like coloring and don't care whether they manage to color in the lines, they will probably enjoy this.

     The shrink shapes were precut, which was nice.  The cooking instructions were relatively straightforward.  I expected that the shrink art might warp a little, and it did, but I didn't expect it to skew in quite the way that it did.  A lot of the shapes ended up slanting a little after cooking.

     I decided to go ahead and make the shapes into keychains.  I did not love the string, as it frayed quickly.  The glow in the dark beads were a fun touch, and I'm sure many crafters, perhaps particularly the younger ones, will get a kick out of them.

     All in all, I would say the kit was worth the $3 for the entertainment value.  It could be good fun for crafters of all ages (or at least ages 5 and up, as the package says).  I know that Target tends not to restock their dollar aisle merchandise after it sells out, so if you haven't picked one up already and want to give it a try, I would recommend checking your Target store as soon as possible.

Before shrinking

After shrinking.

     Have you been doing any Halloween crafting this season?  I'd love to hear what you've been up to.