Kids Halloween Pillowcases

I've always had this irrational fear of the sewing machine and have never wanted to learn how to sew because of it. But I finally decided to suck it up and let my mom teach me how to sew.  :P

My very fist project were some halloween pillowcases for my kids. I thought these would be a fun way to add some halloween decor to their rooms. These pillowcases were sooo easy! I used THIS great tutorial but I used slightly different measurements. I wanted my trim to be a little bigger and my cuff to be a little smaller. Other than that I followed the tutorial exactly and am so happy with how they turned out! And now that I'm finally over my sewing fears I can start making more fun projects. :)

Here are the measurements I used:
Main body: 27"
Cuff: 7"
Trim: 4"

I made these while the kids were at school and surprised them when they came home. I added a few candies and crafts to get them in the Halloween spirit. :) I love how they turned out and my kids love sleeping on them. I'm planning to make them some Christmas ones, too. :)

-marie

DIY Halloween Spell Book

 I've been wanting to make a spell book for my Halloween decor for a while now and have seen a lot of great ones on Pinterest. But I wasn't able to find any with pages I could print off. So I created my own in Photoshop and am sharing them with anyone who wants to make their own. With the pages already created, this book is soooo easy to put together. There's still time to whip one up before Halloween! :)

To begin with, you'll need a book. I found this one at Savers in the "vintage" book section. I liked that it was already black and the pages were yellow and aged so I didn't need to do anything extra to the book.  A huge time saver!

To get the pages to curl, I used my handy little squirt bottle. I sprayed water on the corners as I lifted the pages. This gave it some texture and the water made the pages more pliable.

Next, you'll want to print the spell pages. My book was 8.25"x5.5" so if you have a different sized book make sure to size it properly. I just printed it on regular copy paper.

 This next step is completely optional, but I wanted the paper to feel just a little more aged. So I set the oven to 200º and lined a cookie sheet with foil. I sprayed a light mist of water over the pages (make sure the printer ink is dry!) and bake for about 5-7 minutes until the edges begin to curl.

 To mount the spell pages in the book, I used Mod Podge, but a spray adhesive would work really well, too.

Next, I super glued a black ribbon down the middle of the book.

 

Now it's ready to be displayed!

If you want to make your own, you can download the spell pages HERE.  Be sure to let us know if you make one, we'd love to see it!

-marie

Easy Fall Tree

I had some branches in my backyard from a tree we took down forever ago and wanted to spray paint them black for some Halloween decor. But I was talking with Chelsea one day about it and we got to thinking that it might be better to paint the branches white so that we could use them for other holidays as well. 

The first thing I wanted to make was a Fall Thankful Tree. I've seen these around a couple places and think they are just so pretty. So I gathered up my branches and gave them a couple coats of white spray paint. I used the cheap white paint and it took an entire can to do two coats. I didn't cover the branches completely because I still wanted them to have a bit of a rustic feel. 

Once they were dry I found an old vase I had sitting around and I arranged the branches how I wanted them and tied a bow on it. Then I used a circle hole punch to cut out some circles from scrapbook paper and hung them on the tree. I'm planing to do a family night soon about gratitude and have the kids all write down things they are thankful for on the back of the circles.  

I really love how it turned out and think it goes nicely with my fall decor. I just love decorating for this time of year!!!

Personalized Christmas Ornaments

I love to have personal touches in my Christmas decor, so I decided it would be fun to have each member of our family's name on the tree! I was so excited to start this project and my kids just loved the idea of having their own special ornament on the tree. 

Here's how I made them:

I used 2 frames that I already had and got 3 more from the dollar store. I used 4x6 frames cause I did not want them to be too heavy for the tree. 

I spray painted the frames white and roughed them up a little with sand paper. I chose white for the frames cause I wanted it to pop against the tree but you could use any color.

I used the stencils that I had gotten from the Martha Stewart campaign. I think you could achieve the same effect with vinyl or paper and mod pod.  I baked the glass in the oven for 30 min at 350 degrees to set the paint. Then I used a hot glue gun to secure the glass to the frame.

 I then cut strips of ribbon and hot glue gunned it to the back of the frames. Finally we placed them on the tree!

These were so easy to make and I love how they turned out! They just add so much to our tree!

Merry Christmas!

-chelz


Linked to: Rea Gun Ramblings

Printable Teacher Card Set

One of my favorite gifts to give teachers is a set of personalized cards.  They can use them as thank you's, notes home, etc.  I made a set last year but ran out of time to make some for the teachers this year.  I decided a printable set would be quick and easy and I could use just print up new ones each year.

I love this natural brown paper and decided to do a few in white and a few in brown.

After printing, cutting and folding I just added some envelopes and a little bit of bakers twine.  And there you go - a quick and easy gift!

If you'd like to print up a set of your own you can get a blank copy HERE and add in your teacher's name.  Or if you don't know how to do that, you can get a generic "just a note" set HERE.  Enjoy!

-marie

Things We Love Thursdays: Rold Gold Peppermint Snowflakes

My friend introduced me to these delectable little treats. I picked them up from Costco, but I'm not sure where else you can get them. They are snowflake shaped pretzels dipped in peppermint white chocolate. They are soooo yummy! They satisfy my craving for a salty/sweet treat.

Do you have a favorite treat you can only get during the holidays?

-marie