Witch in the Pumpkin Patch

I found a huge container of "Mini Pods" at Michaels this week, and although I don't know what they really are, they look like amazing tiny pumpkins to me! I don't know what I'll do with hundreds of tiny pumpkins, but they were on sale, and I just couldn't pass them up. Look how great they look in this little tin!

Aren't they just the cutest? Thanks, Michaels!

Witchy Bingo

One of the best things I've found on Etsy is awesome supplies. I love these Bingo cards I got recently; they're all so beautifully yellowed. Perfect for a little Halloween collage! The image is, of course, from Alpha Stamps. I added a rhinestone and a small black feather. Add few shiny stars for magic (including one on the necklace she's wearing), a silver moon, and the mood is set. The countdown to Halloween continues!

I'm ready for my close up, Mr. Mr. De Mille:

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Happy October! I feel like it's time to kick the Halloween crafting into high gear! Here's an altered tin I finished up today. Most of the supplies for this one came from Alpha Stamps. I gave the two lovely ladies witch hats to help get them into the Halloween spirit. The little skull is actually a bead. I painted the wooden spool, and then sanded it and inked it to give it some age. And the part on the top was a round filigree flower that I bent into a 90 degree angle so I could glue it on. I love how it looks.

Here's a closeup of the interior:

  

And you know I never like to leave those backs unfinished!

Another Trick or Treater

I really loved making my first little Halloween elephant, so I had to make him a little buddy. This one is similar, but many of the details are different.

Like his friend, his bag is separate so he can access his candy.

Trick or treat!

Grinning Jack

 Carving pumpkins can be such a mess.  I decided to paint a permanent grin on a faux pumpkin to help celebrate Halloween this year. He ended up looking a little crazed, but I think that's part of his charm.

He needed a bit of a lift, so I painted a wooden candlestick in orange, black, lime green and purple, and then aged it with ink so it wouldn't look so new. His collar is made of crepe paper.

I had a hard time getting a good picture of the candlestick in focus, so here's a photo of it alone. It's still a little hard to see the polka dots, but most of them are composed of three different colors; for example, the dots on the black part are orange, green, and black. I guess you could say it "looks better in person".

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Nevermore! Edgar Allan Poe's New Friend

 Here's the second raven. I made him a nice party hat, but he convinced me that he was too dignified to wear it, so he's arriving to the party "as is". He's perched on a block with great vintage images (from Alpha Stamps, of course!) I painted the block he's sitting on and the little wooden feet black, and then misted them with some copper colored glimmer mist to give them some shine.

Aaaand, his back:

That's enough ravens for one season! Tomorrow, it's back to elephants. I have a custom order for a little girl's birthday, in great colors: cream, red, and turquoise. It's going to be fun to paint.

Halloween Raven

 I've been working ahead for Christmas, but I just had to take a break and do a little Halloween crafting. On Pinterest, I saw a wonderful raven perched on a wooden block, and wanted to make one similar. (Actually, I'm going to make another, but I decided to do one at a time, just to see how things would go together.) Here's my first one. Of course I had to give him a party hat, but he also demanded a ruffled collar. I wanted to give him something to do, so I let him hold a key.

There were a few things I struggled with on this one: I used crepe paper for his collar. It was hand pleated and then glued to a ribbon, which is tied around his neck. Because the ribbon wouldn't lay flat and I was afraid the glue wouldn't hold well, I ended up actually pinning the collar into his neck, which made it nice and secure. Getting that beast to hold the key was a bit of a struggle as well. I made a small hole in the beak, but didn't want to make it so big that the jump ring was loose. There was a lot of trial and error (and perhaps a bit of cursing) over that.

The block was easy; I painted it, sanded it, and then used Mod Podge to adhere some scrapbook paper to each side. I was going to use just the paper on the sides, but it looked too plain, so I added the buttons, which helps break up the space a little. I wanted to give it all a bit more height, so I added wooden beads for feet.

I'm not sure how I'll do the next one. I want it to be different, so it will be a surprise as to how he turns out.  Perhaps I can get to him tomorrow.