Bat Hair Ornament!

Loving Cut Out and Keep this week! I guess I just haven't browsed around there in awhile. ...haven't had much time to do any interneting for fun in awhile, come to think about it.

But oooo! Bat headband. It's like a bow, only much, much cuter.

The creator also has a cute blog (leastofways I think this is from the creator): http://gothicallyyours.blogspot.com/; it reminds me of the good-ol' babybat days of my youth.

And oo neat look! Cleopatra eyemake-up tips. Very cute.

DIY Skully Tee

Cut Out and Keep has this neat, easy skull-shirt  tutorial.

Oooo! Fashionable. :) In a way I can get behind.

Needs: t-shirt, scissors, some idea where to place the holes (I was going to direct you to Chic Steals for this... but that blog seems to be SOL for me. Try this instead).

Devillish Shoes

Brilliant idea for customizing shoes... though I wish I actually knew what "sugru" was so I could make them.

Devil shoes (men and women's ideas posted at Instructables).

DIY Spectrespecs

Luna is kind of my Harry Potter fashion hero.

Make your own Spectrespecs! They won't help you with the 3D, but they'll look really radical.

Crochet Mummy Gloves

Oh oh look! Crochet mummy fingerless gloves.

I wish my crochet ideas were this good. I also wish this wasn't distracting me from my current crochet project (a blanket for my father in law... wooooo, boring).

UnWelcome to Lowe's!

It pains me to say this, considering I live and work in Atlanta, home to the fantabulously orange Home Depot, but I do my supply shopping at Lowe's.

Scouring the web for my 'what next' project or for Halloween party ideas, I ran across their 2010 project page for everyone's favorite holiday: http://www.lowescreativeideas.com/Halloween_2010.aspx

I am particularly smitten with the Unwelcome mat, although I already have a heavy duty one (i.e. not based around cardboard) that says "Go Away" sitting at my front door, year-round.

Still, who couldn't use some home-improvement store ideas for making Glowing Ghoul Eyes in their bushes, or putting together spider pictures for their wall at under $10 each.

Gah! Which reminds me -- we still have lots of great Halloween Party Ideas to sort through from February! Only 223 days left!!!

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 16: Showing off the goodies

Make it now.

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 12: Felty Bat Pillow

Gosh darn it, I was going to make something like this and post about it. I am not even kidding... I was inspired by one I saw in a store with butterflies and thought, 'bats would be so much better.'

Oh well, now I don't have to take pictures as I make one for myself. :) Ameroonie Designs did a much better job at crafting a diy felt bat pillow than I could have hoped to!

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 10: Trapped Soul Mirror

Sawdust and Paper Crafts, you are brilliant--BRILLIANT!



This is a quick, easy way to make your mirror Halloweeny. And if you're willing to do some paint-scraping after the haunting season, you can use it on pretty much any mirror in your home (that can be taken outside and carefully covered)

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 9: What is it with me and coffee this year?

I was getting all ready to craft something to post, when I ran across this in the blogosphere:

Hello, I Love to Create Blog, I am now smitten with you.

There are DIY instructions at the link. It's so blessedly brilliant!

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 5: I *do* Believe in the Graphics Fairy

Who, you may ask, is the Graphics Fairy?

The graphics fairy is a magical internet being who brings us easy, fast, printable projects that make us go squeee! Because, let's face it, these are at once eerie, fun, and elegant. Always vintage or vintage-inspired, these projects are printable magic.

Above are spooky fabric-printed designs displayed using embroidery hoops. Details on how to accomplish this can be found here.

Then there are the eyes. This project presupposes you already display photos or works of art with people/animals in them. If that is not the case, you could easily spend a few minutes re-fitting your frames with a few old-fashioned pictures you find on the internet -- then stick the eyes to them!

Here's looking at you, kid.

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 3: Blood Jars

I have this weird hoarding habit when it comes to glass jars and bottles. I think it's because my dad find such cool uses for them that seem both homey and eclectic (like storing and displaying grains in the kitchen, or holding tealights in for subdued outdoor lighting).

This comes in handy, though, when I sit down to craft because -- obviously -- I like lights in jars and I like to craft mood lighting. On this year's list, blood jars:

Just as accent pieces. And if you are a crafty type of person, you have all the supplies you need around your house already:

• Old spaghetti jar (cleaned, of course -- I like Bertolli for their jars)
• Modge Podge (or other gluey sealer; come to think of it, white glue would probably work fine)
• A cheapy paint brush
• Red food coloring or dark red paint
• a tealight/small candle

I reused one of my test jars from last year -- I was inspired by Pumpkin Rot's Witch Jars and spent a long evening with glue and paint before being reminded (nicely) that it was not the priority wedding preparation project I thought it was, and that I was behind on other things.

But that was last year, and this year that gluey jar that had never gotten a proper coating of paint to make it gooey and gory got a little bit of blood and mess!

I poured some of the modge podge into a disposable container and added quite a bit of food coloring (why? because I didn't have any red paint and the modge-podge ensured it would dry with an opaqueness that would look, well, a bit bloodier).

I painted a generous amount around the rim of the jar, then blew downward to start it spreading in natural curves down the jar. I added more food coloring and darked the rim, letting it glob in places to make for a gorier impression when it dried.

Then I flicked a little red modge podge with the paintbrush across and around the jar to make a splatter pattern. Just because I don't mind my fingers being stained, I also dipped them in the 'blood,' blotted them lightly, and then grabbed around the jar to make a handprint (for some reason, this refused to photograph properly).

Let dry and insert tealight and you have a bloody little lamp to set about at your party.

Happy Haunting, fiends!

READY FOR HALLOWEEN DAY 1: You Need Your Coffee

It's happening, starting RIGHT NOW!

Let the month-long scramble to get ready for the 31st begin!

So, ghoulfriends -- what better way to get your skull in the game than starting the best month of the year with some caffienation? You owe yourself a seasonal coffee beverage (or a nice, hot tea) to get the Halloween creative juices flowing.

Mmm. Pumpkin Latte...................................................

So when you scout out the fall-flavored options at your local evil coffee chain, grocery store, etc, be sure to take a little cheerfully worded cup decor with you from living locurto. Those cup labels are free, and they are printable, folks!

With that kind of coffee in-hand, you'll be ready to face the costume aisles, the hardware store, and the craft shops you stalk around this time of year to fulfill all your last-minute home-haunt needs.

Happy Haunting!

DIY Standing Candelabra

A standing candelabra diy project, created for under $30. Wish I'd thought of that!

Spider Web Skirt

This is so simple it's almost silly; all you need is a solid skirt (preferably black or white) and a contrasting, thick thread.

The long strands are pinned at the top of the skirt, and then each layer of the 'webbing' is pinned to the skirt to let it fall in a scalloped pattern.

Check out MarthaStewart.com for full details!

Year-Round Halloween Lampshades

Ladies Home Journal did some spectacular lampshade revamps.

Kitties, Batties, and Spiders -- oh my!

You can find the patterns at their site for printing along with instructions.

Enjoy!

Bloody Nails Project

This is a lovely alternative to french tips, isn't it? Bloody fingernail tips!

You need:

• Red Nail Polish
• Darker Red Nail Polish (you could mix red and black, as is done in the tutorial)
• Black Nail Polish
• Clear Nail Polish
• A make-up sponge

This would make a beautiful manicure for a vampire bride. Or for your next Zombie Pub Crawl costume, ladies and gentlemen.

If wanting this to look glamorous, I would suggest finding a really thick-drying top coat. Or doing several layers of the clear coat, letting it dry completely between takes. The reds will be very textured, and this will help smooth out the look.

Striking Chandelier

When you see this chic black chandelier, do you swoon? Yes? Me too.

I need a black chandelier with lots of dangly bits and bothers. It would be perfect in my... I don't even know what room to put it in. I already picked new light fixtures before seeing this project, and I don't think my Husband is going to let me spray paint any of them a shiny black.

And adding mardi gras beads? Out of the question.

But let's just say I found a crazy old chandelier in a second hand shop of some kind, or that someone was throwing out when remodeling... well, we could probably find a place for it. right?

Chandelier + Mardi Gras Beads + Hot Glue and Shiny Black spray paint = Magic

Pillow Pumpkin Patch

Barbolot over at Craftster made this excellent stack of pumpkin pillows with her family this past year, in lieu of carving the real thing.

What a fantastic idea -- stitch together and stuff some pumpkin-shaped orange pillows, then let friends or family come over and cut out felt faces!! A little bit of fabric glue and you're all set. Plus, they could make great themed accent pieces.

Do you see that guy with the mustache in the bottom right corner? I'm so making him when I get some more free time. He's rad.

paper Skeletal Hand mask how-to

What a project! I'm not patient with paper, but this looks so good and the directions make it seem so simple.

Sure anyone with an exacto knife and a little time on their hands can make this look fabulous, yes? Even me? No?

You're right. I probably shouldn't try it. But if you do -- let me know how it turns out!