HALLOWEEN CONES FOR THE FAB FIVE!

                                            
One down and four to go.  Cone contains Halloween tee, Halloween erasers, pencils and topped off with a bag of Reese's pieces!

You will need:
1. Paper mache cone (craft store)
2. Crepe paper ($ store)
3. Card stock
4. Black craft wire (craft store)
5. Garland from ($ store)
6. Garland from Etsy seller CNASH12
7. Hot Glue
8. Martha Stewart Spider (craft store)

Either use Halloween paper or do as I did make your paper.  In Corel Draw filled in with orange and then just placed random black circles in different sizes.  Two sheets of 8 1/2 x 11 works perfectly with just one place where you can cut a piece to fit and glue to the cone.  Note: if you make your paper do not use hot glue, I used Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive. If you use card-stock paper you can use hot glue. Now the cone is covered (I just tucked the paper over the top and sealed it to the inside of the cone with some Halloween themed Washi tape), this step not necessary with the printer paper but the heavier card-stock may have to be taped down for a finished look.

Use hot glue to attach the garland around the top.  If not using two different types make two rows of the same garland.  The one from the $ store came with pumpkins on it and I did not like the look and pulled them off of the garland.

To make the crepe paper circle  cut a length of crepe paper fold and trim the edge with your favorite crinkle cut scissor or just leave plain.  To make the "flower" look just take a needle & thread and sew in and out in the paper and then pull the thread to gather, tie off the thread and glue the circle.  Cut a piece of card-stock and glue to the back (no hot glue with crepe paper) to make it easy to adhere to the cone. I used a scallop punch glued to the front of the crepe paper and then just printed out my grandson's name and the Trick or Treat "ribbon" cut them out and adhered to the front and then hot glued it to the cone.

Lastly I removed the yellow eyes from the Martha Stewart spider, glued a little piece of black card-stock to the back and hot glued to the bottom of the cone for a little extra spooky look!

MILK JUG GHOSTS FOR HALLOWEEN

Just saw this on Facebook and just too cute not to post - also too simple, see the photo no instructions needed, let your mind go wild, any Jack O'lantern face will do!

FREE DRAW PROGRAM

I am often asked what program do I use for graphics and the answer is always the same - Corel Draw.  I have used it for years but the original investment is quite a bit - over $400 but once you invest the upgrade is much, much less and I do not upgrade unless forced to do so.  The last time I upgraded was because the version I had was not compatible with Windows 7. There is also a home & student version which sells for around $80.  However having said all that I have been hearing about some of the "free" downloads and finally have taken the time to "beta" test one of them.  Inkscape is a free program (when I downloaded I was warned that the software mfg was not recognized but I did some research and determined that I thought it was OK to download). I downloaded, went in and created a file, imported some graphics, did some manipulation of the file and all and all think that with a little patience anyone could figure this program out if they desire to be able to use a graphics program.  It takes 33MB of space and under "Help" you will find a useful manual. If you download be sure and go to their website http://inkscape.org/download/. I won't be able to answer any questions regarding this software because I have removed it from my computer but I see there are plenty of forums out there to answer questions. I just checked and Amazon.com has the Corel Draw Home & Student for $51.99 - that would be my recommendation but maybe try Inkscape first.

USING TAKE-OUT CUP FOR INDIVIDUAL INVITATION, ETC.

 

 

I like to use these little take-out cartons for all kinds of craft items because they are made for food they are perfect for cookies, candies, etc. and oh so easy to make a cute label for the top and decorate the sides. You can find these on Amazon.com and on Ebay.  Unless you want to purchase a boat load Ebay is probably your best bet.

Here is how this “Invitation” was made.

1.     I used Google images and found basketball scrapbooking paper image and printed it out on my ink jet printer.

2.     Probably a good idea to make a pattern for these cups, save time in the long run.  Go to Wendy’s and enjoy a large chili and then wash the carton with soap and water and gently take apart to use to draw a pattern on paper.  It is almost like making a pattern for an itty-bitty lampshade.  Once you have the pattern you can position it on the paper you printed out (or have on hand) and cut out the covering for the take-out carton.

3.     Next I glued handmade crepe fringe to the inside of the carton with a hot glue gun. I purchased this from an Etsy seller  cnash12.  She sells her fringe in small rolls and has a wide assortment of colors.

4.     The “fan” is made by just doing folds on cardstock, this particular paper is made by October Afternoon, PP-583 Wax Bottles, the stars are on the reverse of the paper.

5.     Found a cartoon image once again on Google images then found a cute picture of my grandson and cut and pasted.

6.     The “ticket” is also a graphic found on Google images.  I use Corel Draw for my draw program but any draw program will work.

7.     Cut a square or round of florist oasis and push into the cup to stabilize it so you can stick the picks in and they will stay at the correct angle.

8.     Both the cartoon image and the pennant are affixed to a wooden skewer using a hot glue gun.

9.     I normally would finish this off by putting some colored Sizzle crinkle cut paper but just could not resist putting in foil wrapped milk chocolate basketballs.

10.  Don’t forget to save the pattern for next time.