Fall ~ Halloween Inspiration

Hello everyone!
Rather than go into the long list of
reasons I've been away, I'll just launch
ahead into a Post of Inspiration!
I am already feeling excited about
painting new simple crafts for the holidays,
but until I can manage that,
here is a list of past Fall/Halloween ideas
along with a link in case you're
interested in having more information!
Enjoy!!

http://megpiedesign.blogspot.com/2010/10/autumn-gift-tags-work-in-progress.html

http://megpiedesign.blogspot.com/2010/10/skinny-scarecrows.html

http://megpiedesign.blogspot.com/2010/10/halloween-plant-pokes.html

http://megpiedesign.blogspot.com/2011/11/wood-slat-scarecrow.html

http://megpiedesign.blogspot.com/2012/09/halloween-skull-magnets.html

http://megpiedesign.blogspot.com/2012/09/mummified-pumpkin-jars.html

http://megpiedesign.blogspot.com/2012/10/2x4-hallween-characters.html

http://megpiedesign.blogspot.com/2012/10/glittery-halloween-bats.html

http://megpiedesign.blogspot.com/2012/10/happy-witch-door-greeter.html

http://megpiedesign.blogspot.com/2013/10/easy-halloween-tees.html



Can't wait to start my Fall crafting!

~ Peace out!! ~

Witchy Plant Poke - Great Last Minute Gift Idea!

Here's an easy~peasy Fall project
to make and give as gifts.
 In fact, I made a dozen!  True story.

So you start with a wood shim:

 ... or ten ... or twelve ...

Acrylic Paints: Green, Black, White,
Multi-Purpose Sealer
Glittery Spider brad, HALLOWEEN brad,
(these are brads I bought a few years ago~
I just placed a new order from
Oriental Trading Company for lots of
new Halloween brads ... can't wait!!)

The shims are usually pretty rough
and sometimes have splintery edges.
I used a sanding block
to smooth them down, and then
sealed the fronts with
Multi-Purpose Sealer.

Since I was making twelve of these,
I decided to cut a "face" shape
from a soda box.  Straight across the top
(where I'll put the hat brim)
and a "pointy" chin.
I used a 4" paint roller to apply
black paint to the fronts
of the shims.

I used a 1" flat brush to apply green
paint to the faces...

... all twelve of them!!
Once the paint is dry, sand lightly
with a sanding block.
Paint raises the grain in the wood,
so sanding lightly gives you
a smoother surface to paint on.

I trimmed the rounded ends off
of skinny craft sticks
to make hat brims.  Paint with
black paint, sand lightly.

Apply wood stain to the front,

sides,

and back of the shim.
I use an oil based stain, so I
wear protective gloves and allow
the pieces to dry overnight.

I used Tacky Glue to attach 1/2"
button plugs to the witch faces.

This photo shows me attaching 1/4"
button plugs as noses.
I waited until I'd glued on all twelve
plugs and the glue was
completely dry before changing
my mind.  I decided to use the 1/4"
plugs as warts, instead.

So, to recap, 1/2" plugs as noses,
1/4" plugs as warts, and
glue on the skinny sticks as hat brims.

The eyes are dip dots of black.
(I used a stylus, but you could use
a paintbrush handle if you
have one small enough).

I used a liner brush and thinned

black paint to apply a quirky mouth.

I used a liner brush and thinned

white paint to apply a spider web to

the witch's hat.

I added some black dots to the

nose and the wart; and

two crooked teeth to the quirky mouth.

I used my trusty rusty pliers

to snip the brad off the spider brad:

Then I used hot glue to attach the

now-bradless-spider to the hat.

I made the HALLOWEEN brad

bradless, too:

Snip! Snip!!

 Attach the bradless brad with hot glue.

Two years ago I bought each

teacher a potted mum,

and I poked in a Witch, a

Frankenmonster, and a Mummy.

They looked kinda (exactly) like this:

Here's this year's Witchy Plant Poke:

 Maybe Frankenmonster and the

Mummy need an update, too?  Always

nice to change your look

every once in a while.  I'll just

add those to my ever-growing To-Do List.

~ Peace and Happy Halloween Characters ~

2x4 Hallween Characters

This is a quick and inexpensive Halloween craft!

You can make one of these projects

with just a 2 foot length of 2x4!!
(and a few wood shapes)

 Doc and I spent one day last weekend in the

barn playing with his new saw and

the pile of wood leftover from our barn build-out:

 You are looking at sawed, sanded, and

ready-to-paint projects-to-be right thar!!
I. Am. So. Happy.!

So here are the pieces I planned to use for this

Halloween Character Project.
It doesn't look like much yet, I know.
But can you see the potential??

Cut one each in the following lengths:

3", 5", 7", and 9" - you should

be able to get one complete set from each

2 foot length of 2x4 board.

I love it when a plan comes together

in such nice, round numbers.

:D

There were a few sharp splintery edges,

so I used my palm sander to

smooth those down.  Also, there were

some numbers scratched on a few of these

boards, and my palm sander

made those disappear, as well.

LOVE my sander!!

 I have learned from experience that you

absolutely, positively must seal

your wood before you paint it.

Trust me.

There's nothing worse than completing a piece

and finding a day or two later that every

knot hole has "bled" through your paint.

Well, a shortage of Lemon Bars would be

worse.  But only slightly.

I used Mod Podge as my sealer.

~ I actually plan to make a dozen sets,

so I decided to purchase a gallon of 

water-based sealer from the lumber yard.

Much cheaper when painting,

uh-hem, sealing, large quantities of wood. ~

I brushed the Mod Podge onto

the fronts of each of the three shorter pieces,

and onto the front and sides of the larger

base piece.  I think some bleeding through

would enhance the rustic look,

I just don't want a big knot hole to

suddenly appear on Frankenmonster's face,

ya know what I mean??

Once the sealer had dried completely,

I painted (according to the photo)

purple (base), green (Frank), white (Mummy),

and orange (Jack-o-Lantern).

Then I used my palm sander to lightly

sand the front and sides of each

piece of wood.  I like to remove some
of the paint from the edges
so the stain will absorb into the wood.

Also, in my opinion, a project has a more "polished"
look when every side (including the back
or the bottom) is either painted or stained.

I used a sponge applicator to apply

an oil-based wood stain.

Wearing vinyl gloves, I brushed the front,

back, and all the sides of each

wood piece with the stain.

I immediately used a clean cloth to

wipe off the excess stain.
The longer you leave the stain without
wiping, the darker the stain will be.

Here's where painting multiple projects

comes in handy: drying time!
I like to stay busy, so all that time I
spend "waiting for the paint to dry"
is spent "painting something else" !!

I like to let my stained pieces dry overnight

before I begin handling them and

painting details.

The stain stays tacky for a few

hours, and I don't like getting the

oil-based stain on my bare fingers,

nor do I like leaving sticky fingerprints

in the surface of my paint.
Been there, done that, it isn't great.

So.  I wait.

For the base, I made a quick

pattern of the words HAPPY FALL!

and then centered them on the

side of the base and transferred the main

pattern lines with a stylus and transfer paper.

My eight year old asked me why
I wrote "Happy Fall" and not "Happy Halloween".

 Good question, Little Man.
The answer is simple:
 "Happy Halloween" just wouldn't fit on the board.

I outlined the main pattern lines with black

acrylic paint and a round brush.

Then, to give the letters some oomph, I used

my liner brush and white acrylic paint to

highlight the right and lower sides of each letter.

For the Frankenmonster, I painted the hairline

with black paint, and added scars and

small stitches with my liner brush.

The eyes are dip dots of black
(I used a paintbrush handle), the smile

is a curved line made with the liner brush.

I blushed the cheeks with

pink powder blush and a cotton swab.
 I painted two 1/2" button plugs gray,

and attached them to either side of Frank's neck
to serve as bolts holding his head on.

Poor guy!!  Still cute, though.

TIP: I'm actually making multiple sets of these
Halloween characters, so in order to paint
all the button plugs at once
(gray for the bolts, green for the noses)
I used masking tape:

For the Mummy, I used gray acrylic paint

to apply the wrap lines with a liner brush.

The eyes, eyebrows, and smile are black.

For the Jack-o-Lantern,

I painted a small wooden spool

for the pumpkin stem, and a heart-shaped

cut-out for the leaf.
(Ignore the unpainted triangles in
the photo ... I had a better idea!) 

I was trimming the points

off a wooden star, and realized they

were the right size and shape

to be candy corn ...

... I thought that would make for a

much more fun nose!  And noses should

be fun, as a rule.

After painting the candy corn shapes,

I used a sanding block to sand the edges

of each piece of candy.

I just like the sanded-edge look ...

here's a photo of some

un-sanded candy corn and some sanded

candy corn, side by side:

   

See??  The sanded corn is more interesting.

And noses should be interesting, as a rule.

So now we agree noses

should be fun and interesting.

Cool.

I blushed his cheeks with pink powder

blush and a cotton swab,
dotted his eyes with a paintbrush handle,
and gave him eyebrows and a
big smile with a liner brush.

Now to secure your characters
securely to the base ... you'll need
a power drill, a dowel, and something to
trim your dowel with.
I used Midwest Products Easy Cutter
Ultimate.  It's amazing.
 
 Using a 1/4" drill bit,
drill a hole into the bottom center
of each block character.

 Determine where on the base you want
the Jack-o-Lantern to sit;

(Sorry - this pic is for the mummy,
but I got so excited about this technique, 
I completely forgot to take a pic)

Once you have Jack centered on the
base, tip the block back and
place a screw with a large head into the hole -
(the screw will be flat against the
base, and the screw head will be 1/2 in
the hole you've drilled, and the
other half will make an impression when
you tap the block with a mallet).

Press Jack back down into
place, over the screw, and use a
rubber mallet to tap gently on Jack,
leaving an impression in the base.

Did ya get that??
Easier done than said, really.

Drill a hole into the base,
using the impression as your mark.

Put a drop of Tacky Glue into the
hole you've made in the base.  Insert
a 1/4" diameter dowel into the hole
and tap the dowel with the rubber mallet
to make sure it's secure.

Trim the dowel.

Add a few more drops of glue
before tapping each piece in place.

Repeat for each character.

There!  Quick and easy, right??

~ Peace and Happy Halloweenies ~