DIY Halloween Yard Display: Glowing Ghost Graveyard

This year I debuted my first full-yard Halloween Haunt featuring a black light themed graveyard we've now named, "Rose Hollow" - with life-size DIY ghosts and upcycled glowing decor. 

I managed to put this display together on THE CHEAP! Just about every feature was either completely DIY or upcycled from household materials or super cheap Dollar Store & Goodwill finds.

Here's a closer shot of my little graveyard space.  Basic styrofoam tombstones bought on sale or at Dollar Tree were brought to life with a little UV paint. I bought eight 2ft sections of plastic 'skull' fence at the 99 Cent store ($1 per section, around $8 total!).  I secured it to cheap wire landscaping border ($11 for a 15 foot roll), and sponge painted the skulls with UV reactive paint. I love the way they turned out! 

 

After spending lots of time researching different construction methods and playing with materials, I finally started to get the hang of making ghosts.  Using large, sturdy tomato cages as the base for the body (turned upside down), I was able to create a realistic upper body shape using chicken wire shaped into a torso.  The head of the "mom ghost" was made using formed chicken wire -- a method I will never use again for ghost heads!  From now on, my ghosts will have a head like the "little girl ghost" - a basic styrofoam mannequin & wig head secured to the chicken wire torso. EASY PEASY!

Here they are using a flash.  I dressed "Mom" in an old wedding dress I found at Goodwill, cutting, pinning and fitting the fabric to fit her. I then draped various sections of white cotton, recycled lace tablecloths, gauze and cheesecloth until I got the look I wanted. For the "little girl", I cut and created a makeshift short-dress using white cotton fabric, then draped her with lace and cheesecloth. I created a gathered skirt by folding over a section of lace and creating a channel seam with a bead of hot glue. Once cooled, I threaded a strip of lace thru the waist and gathered it around her waistline to give the appearance of a cute, poofy dress.  It also gave the impression that she was ACTUALLY floating!  All the ghost heads were wrapped in fitted black cheesecloth for an eerie feel.  Finally, using a large flat paint brush, I swiped a bit of Tide liquid laundry detergent in random areas. The Tide is very UV reactive and glows like crazy!

For my third and final ghost, "Dad", I formed a large torso from chicken wire and fixed it to a tomato cage.  I allowed the chicken wire to extend down his back side so that when I suspended him from our front yard tree, the flap of chicken wire would support his draped fabric and give the illusion of him flying. It worked like a charm.

Easy DIY Sugar Skull Charms

A simple, mess-free art project using shrinky dink film that results in awesome, personalized plastic charms for necklaces, key chains, backpacks or luggage.  

A Halloween kids project that both you and the kids will love!

First, let me start off by saying that the Mexican holiday 'Dia De Los Muertos' is highly under-recognized in the U.S.  When trying to decide on our class Halloween art project, I jumped at the opportunity to introduce my 2nd graders to all things 'Day of the Dead'; two days of celebration and remembrance spent showing respect and honoring the memory of departed friends & family complete with parades, music, glorious costumes, colorful decorations and an infinite supply of fresh cut flowers. 

So, out of respect for this deeply meaningful tradition, I presented a brief lesson to the kids using a DIY visual board full of beautiful photos I printed from Google Images. The gorgeous pictures quickly removed any fear or preconceived ideas the kids had upon hearing about a foreign holiday that centers around death, skeletons & spending the night in cemeteries. It was a wonderful introduction to approaching loss and death in a completely different and positive way. By the end of my lesson, they were completely pumped to make their own sugar skull!

SUPPLY CHECK-LIST

• Sheets of white shrinky dink film (will make 4 skulls per sheet)
• Pencils
• Sharpie ultra-fine point markers (or any permanent art marker)
• Oven - for shrinking
• Split rings or keychain rings (lots of options to choose from)
• Any kind of chord, chain, string for necklaces (or key rings)

 First, I used the above template to trace outlines of the skulls onto each of my five shrinky dink films.  Each sheet allows for four skulls. Note that I did NOT add any detail or features, I just sketched the outline using light pencil.  I then cut each skull and punched a standard size hole in the top center to allow for the key ring/split ring.

I distributed several sheets of printed sugar skull examples to each of my four table groups for the kids to draw inspiration from, however, I encouraged that they create their own, signature sugar skull that best fit their own personality rather than copy the examples. Above are a few I shared, however a quick search on Google images will result in hundreds of great graphics.

First, have the kids write their names on the back in sharpie.  Include their classroom number or teacher's name if you'd like these to double as backpack tags.  Start the design by first adding the basic features with pencil; eyes, an upside down heart nose, and a row of teeth.  That way, the kids have a reference for the rest of their design. Trace over pencil lines with a black sharpie.  I suggest they continue to first sketch in pencil, then apply their choice of sharpie. Be sure to remind the kiddos to use plenty of color!

Bring the finished skulls home to bake. Start by preheating the oven to 325 degrees, and place 4-5 skulls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, ink/color side UP and spaced at least 2-3 inches apart.  Set a timer starting with 3 minutes.  The pieces will bend, and fold, and curl during their shrinking process - THIS IS NORMAL!  After 3 minutes, check the skulls for progress.  When they are done shrinking, they will lie completely flat on the cookie sheet.  About 3-3 1/2 minutes per batch.  Remove sheet from oven. If the skulls are slightly curved, or not completely flat, gently press the skulls with a flat spatula or a piece of parchment paper while they are still hot.  You'll have about 10 seconds to manipulate them before they harden. 

Wait for them to cool enough to handle and set them aside to cool completely.  In about 10 minutes, they'll be completely hard and ready for whatever hardware you're using (jump rings, key rings, etc.)

BOOM! How adorable are these??  I strung the charms onto elastic cord for necklaces, but these make awesome key chains, backpack tags, name tags, luggage tags, etc. The possibilities are endless!  The color intensifies after shrinking, and the skulls become durable, solid plastic charms that won't smear or rub off.

Handprint Turkey Kitchen Towel Tutorial

How to Create an Adorable Handprint Turkey Towel the RIGHT way!

A perfect DIY Kids Gift for the holidays.

Acrylic paint & fabric medium printed on 100% cotton flour sac tea towels.

These painted hand print Thanksgiving turkey towels are one of the most adorable DIY kid gifts I've made to date!  But believe it or not, painting fabric is not as easy as it might seem. Sure, you can grab the cheapest craft paint and print away....but, if you want these awesome flour sack tea towels to last over the years without fading or flaking (and be MACHINE WASHABLE!) then there are a few important steps you do not want to overlook.  After lots of product testing & research, I can confidently say that the below method may be a bit tedious, but it is by far the BEST way to create a vibrant, quality towel that will last for years.

Before you begin, it's worth noting that if you're making these for a larger group (specifically for a classroom project 15+ kids), make sure you schedule plenty of time. While it may seem like basic handprints, preparing the mixed paints with the fabric medium, application, labeling each towel, adding hand-painted details (legs, beak, eyes, etc.) and of course clean-up will take A LOT longer than you will probably anticipate. This is not a project you can rush through!  I also suggest prepping the towels beforehand so that you can assembly line the printing process with the kids.  I explain how I did this below.

SUPPLY CHECK-LIST

• Flour Sack Towels (100% cotton 30"x30") - or any fabric base you wish, like napkins.
• Multi-Surface Acrylic Craft Paint (brown, red, orange, yellow, green, white & black)
• Fabric Medium
• Stir Sticks
• Paint Tray
• Sponge applicators or paint brushes
• Spray Bottle w/ Water
• Wax Paper
• Straight Pins 
• Iron & wooden board
• Iron On Transfer Printable Sheets, light fabric (optional)

 The first thing you will need to do is pre-wash all your flour sack towels in warm water. Do not use fabric softener!  Follow with standard machine drying, and then iron the towels. Finish the prep by folding the towels lengthwise in half, then in half again. Then fold towel over and set aside as pictured above.

OPTIONAL LABELING:  Because painting text is extremely difficult & messy, I opted to label the lower back edge of each towel using Iron-On Transfer sheets so that I could reference the date & class info (a MUST for all keepsakes!)  Just use your basic software to type out your text or message, and repeat to fill the sheet. Print using "Iron-On Transfer" settings, or as a mirrored image, then simply cut each tag.  As you can see above, I created a basic template with scrap paper so that I could uniformly place the tags on the backs & iron through my stack.

 The last prepping step I completed before hand was to insert cut pieces of wax paper behind the single layer of the future printing surface.  Be sure the wax paper is large enough to protect the entire area that will come in contact with paint!  Otherwise, the paint will seep through and transfer to the other layers of towel.  In my case, I cut 6" wide strips using the standard length of the paper roll.  I think carefully inserted the sheets and placed a straight pin at the top to secure the wax paper in place for project day.

PAINT MATTERS:   Let me start by saying.....I tested and experimented with several types of paint & application styles prior to settling on the below method.  DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME with prepared "fabric paint"!!!  This paint's coverage is SO THIN, you'd have to apply 3-4 coats to achieve a clear print!!  "Puff Paint" has much better coverage, but I quickly found out how limited the color selection was.  It basically comes in a small handful of colors, and in small bottle sizes. Plus, it's a LOT more expensive than mixing your own fabric paint.  Your best bet is to use acrylic craft paint along with a paint additive called "fabric medium".  Acrylic paint comes in hundreds of colors and is extremely affordable.  For my class of 21 kids, I used about 1/2 bottle (or less) for each color. You'll find several brands, most of which make the preferred finish "multi-surface". However, if multi-surface isn't available, you can also use the standard matte or satin acrylic paint. The fabric medium is a milky, thin liquid additive available by a few manufacturers. I used Martha Stewart's 'Fabric Medium' and it worked great. Fabric medium will make your acrylic paint more flexible on the fabric and will help keep the print from fading with washing. Without it, your painted area will be crunchy & stiff, and will fade quickly & flake over time.

When mixing your paint & medium, use (2) parts paint with (1) part fabric medium.  It doesn't have to be EXACT, but since I was making enough for 20+ kids, I used my food scale to take the guess work out of it.  Be as consistent as possible. Just blend well until smooth.  Now you're ready for printing! (....get your water bottle handy!)

Unfortunately, I don't have any photo examples of the actual hand printing process, but it's very basic.  I used sponge applicators (but you can use brushes). You'll find that the paint dries relatively quickly on the kids hands, so work quickly.  IMPORTANT PRO TIP:  Once the colors are applied, use the spray bottle of water to very lightly spritz the painted hand to refresh the paint for printing.  Do not saturate the hand. You just want to lightly moisten the paint surface enough to transfer a nice, even, bold hand print.

Guide the child's hand to the print area, having them keep as still as possible. In one motion, press the child's hand down onto the fabric and hold it in place. Press around their hand and each finger with even pressure, making sure the paint comes in full contact with the fabric.  Lift their hand straight up and away from the fabric to reveal the print.  

It's up to you, but I chose to paint the final turkey details myself to save time.  Painting fabric is very tricky, and having the kids paint the details will definitely increase the project time. It also increases the risk of paint smearing etc.  To apply features, use detail brushes & paint the orange legs, a small triangular yellow beak, and a red gobble.  Wait a bit before applying the eye & pupil otherwise it can blend with the wet brown paint.

 Once I finished printing the entire class, I painted on the features and laid the towels out to air dry over the weekend (although 6+ hours should do the trick). This also gave me a chance to make sure each towel was labeled with the correct name and ready for the final steps. I also created cute little gift tags for the kids to sign. They're also the perfect place to attach "Care Instruction" labels (see below) so that mom & dad know how to take care of their new functional artwork. I created these using Avery matte square labels and designed them using Avery's free online design platform on Avery.com. It's a great design program and easy to use!

I figured what was the point in spending so much time and effort into making a kitchen towel that the parents wouldn't know how to wash?  A quick label resolved that  and I'm sure they're happy to have it handy. ON TO IRONING:  Use a very high temp setting, dry iron NO STEAM, and a protecting sheet of cloth or some parchment paper over your hand print.

TO HEAT SET: Once the towels are completely air-dried. They MUST be heat-set to insure the paint permanently fixes to the fabric.  Place your protective cloth or parchment over the hand print and quickly press and iron over the surface. Again, use only a DRY iron, no steam. A few passes (20-30 seconds of direct heat) should be  plenty.  Your hand print is now set and permanent.

OPTIONAL:  While I completed the heat-setting, I also ironed-on printed name & year text using easy print-at-home iron on transfer sheets (the same I used to create the back labels). It only took a couple extra minutes per towel and the result was really cute. It was my solution to including the kids names without the extra time it would have required to have each kid attempt to hand-paint their own names. Initially, I was worried they'd lose their personalized appeal, but in reality, the hand print turkey was more than enough and the clean, printed names made the towels look fancy.

So there you have it!  While this holiday project ended up being a bit more complicated and time consuming than I anticipated, the end result was fantastic. High quality, durable, washable kitchen keepsakes that will surely impress anyone on your DIY holiday gift list.   Taking a few extra steps and using the proper products will insure that these cute towels will last to become childhood keepsakes.

This Cheese Log is LIFE

 

Jenn's "Damn Good" Cheese Log

This cheese log is LIFE. This sinful threesome of ingredients is like 'Fifty Shades of Grey' for your taste buds. Because it's so easy to make, pack & set up - It's the perfect appetizer for Thanksgiving. You'll see how it got it's name once your guests take a bite. Everyone will agree, "Now that's a damn good cheese log."

* (2) 8oz blocks cream cheese, lightly softened (microwave 30 sec in glass bowl)
* (1) pkg dry ranch dressing mix
* 2 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (avoid finely shredded if possible. Use chunky shreds)
* 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Fold ingredients just until blended evenly. Don't over mix! You want the cheese to stay in tact for texture & appearance. For best results, chill mix at least 30 minutes before shaping. Using clean, slightly wet hands, form a ball, then shape into a log. Lightly roll into finely chopped pecans and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Finish final shape & refrigerate at least one hour before serving. Plate with a sprig of fresh herbs.

Serve with your favorite simple cracker - I like Wheat Thins best with this, but an assortment will please all your guests. Feel free to share!

The Perfect Egg Salad Sandwich

Egg salad sandwiches are underrated. This simple method made the most delectable lunch...so good I had it for breakfast the next two days!  How simple?  Easy: Rough chopped eggs, capers, diced celery, onion powder, cracked pepper, dash of mustard, a little mayo...piled on toasted wheat with a bit of arugula. Boom. You're welcome.