Here Comes {Halloween}!

My project/things I really wanna do list continues to grow, while funds seem to keep shrinking. {Studly and I just had to replace the hot water heater. I would have postponed this $3,500 investment and used the money for more important things...like throw pillows {you could buy a lot of pillows with that kind of dough} and lumber, but the constant seepage of water from said water heater onto the basement floor made it a little difficult to overlook.

So, since the budget is a little thin currently, I have had to resort to inexpensive projects...and by inexpensive I mean {free}.

Wanna see what I've been up to?

I have been wanting to make a "vintage" style garland for awhile and came up with this super simple, super cute, super cheap version.

I made one for a friend using black lace that I had in my craft supplies and pages from an old book I had from previous projects. I'm old school when it comes to my lettering...I don't have a fancy paper cutting/di-cutting machine or anything like that, so I just picked a font off of the computer {Algerian} and printed the letters onto my book pages {which I strategically taped onto a piece of printer paper...old school remember}.
Turned out all right, no?



After I made hers, I decided I wanted one too. I was out of lace, so this time I used pieces of scrap fabric tied together.

I found the cool vintag-y pumpkin image online and used it to divide my words. I love how simple and classy they are...just the right amount of "festiveness" for my dining nook. Best part though, they were free and took only minutes to make.

I figured since I had the book pages and glue gun already out I may as well make some paper wreaths to accompany the garland.

I started out using black lace again and a spooky, cat image.

I still had some time on my hands so I made a second one using glitterized bats and little black gem for the center.

I still had some time on my hands so I made a third. This one is my favorite of the bunch. I used an old frame with a festive greeting, printed from the computer, which I embellished with more glitterized bats and glued it to the wreath with crap loads of hot glue. It turned out fan"freakin"tastic, if you don't mind me saying so.



The frame is actually made out of plastic instead of wood, so it's fairly lightweight. I'm thinking a solid wood frame would be to heavy to work for this project.



And again, the best part about these wreaths is that they cost me nothing, just a little of my time.

After finishing all of these projects I had to see how they would look in their new home...the porch.



This just goes to show, that you don't need expensive equipment {though it doesn't hurt} or a lot of money to create cool things. You'd be surprised what you can come up with limited supplies. As the old adage goes "poverty breeds creativity". Okay, so I just made that up, but it works. Happy crafting!

Halloween Garland-Tutorial

Kay. I've made it pretty clear how I feel about fall...Halloween specifically. But in case you didn't already know, I love, love, fah-reakin' love Halloween.
I love making all sorts of crafts and decorations for the holiday and I'm always looking for something fun and new.
Here's a simple and festive tutorial on how to make a Halloween garland that will totally get you excited everytime you look at it.

First you need to decide on a salutation: Happy Halloween (a little bland, but it works). Perhaps, All Hallow's Eve, Boo To You, Eat, Drink and Be Scary or Trick or Treat.
Once you've settled on your wording you can start gathering supplies. For this project you will need.
Letters...which I just enlarged and printed off the computer.

An assortment of scrapbook paper.

Some embellishments...buttons, stickers, ribbon etc.

A glue gun.

Twine...or something to sting your garland on to.

To start, cut out all of your letters and set them aside.

Next, cut squares/rectangles out of your scrapbook paper. Make sure they are large enough to fit the letter and some embellishments.


Arrange all of your squares and letters.

Layout all of your embellishments.


Once you have everything the way you want it, start glueing.

You can stop here, or mount the squares on a contrasting piece of paper, like I did.

If you have distressing ink you can add a little of that around the edges for a more vintage feel.


Finally, punch holes in the upper right and left corners of the squares.

Then string them onto your twine.

You can hang this baby just about anywhere, on a wall, above a door, over a mantle...
And it costs only dollars to make. Bonus!!!