While my little one napped and I chatted away on the phone with a friend of mine, I cleaned out our Closet Garage only to realize I totally did follow through last year with my goal to throw out all of our Halloween stuff. I remember distinctly repeating to myself that we needed to par down and that it was just stuff. If it was not sentimental than it needed to go. We generally jet over to the Dollar Store to do our decorating and make a few things here and there, so no big deal. Except I think I may have thrown out our Trick or Treat bags. My first thought was it did not matter, as Pillowcases are the coolest trick or treat bag around, right? YES, totally, except when I was a kid I always the lofty goal of filling the whole thing up, and well, it never happened, not even once! You know there are those things that you remember as a child and you do not want your kids to have to go through it, because it sucked for you. I know I cannot protect them from everything, but this one I can. After sweating and breathing pretty hard during my phone chat and rummaging through the closet garage to come up empty handed, I remembered last year I had come across a box my mom had handed down to us. And, in it were two patterns for some pretty cool trick or treat bags. I cut some of them out last year and the rest while still chatting away. Maybe just maybe this will be squeezed in and accomplished before trick or treating on Sunday.
Coral and Lillitha got into our Art Cabinet today and wrangled out a few projects. The two of them diligently worked on this mosaic together and presented it to me gleefully. I love that they began with a white canvas and painted it black to look like grout before gluing on all of those tile pieces. Though, I think that I am even more in love with the fact that they worked so well together and both enjoyed themselves.
And here is a pile of cards that all 5 of us made using a Marble Art kit. I have never done this before and it took quite a few times of trial and error, but totally worth it. The kids were way impressed and did not want to stop for anything! I mean anything, friends dropped by to pick up a few things and they worked through while I stepped out for a few minutes, I made lunch and they let it get cold while still marbling.
You really cannot mess this up. The learning curve for us was getting enough paint into the water. We were a little skittish at using too much when we first started. You need a lot to get it to look anything like the pictures in the directions.
I am thinking a bit ahead this year. We usually become a factory during the Holiday Season, producing up to 20 of the same gifts. This year it may be one of a kind and this will hopefully make less stress and more fun. A set of these cards with store bought envelopes tied in Raffia will be just perfect for some recipient out there. Shhh...we already put your name on there.
Once we tired of Marbling we thought we would give the Japanese Paper Folding Dye a try. The directions said you could do this with paper or fabric. We did both and the paper was flop for us. The fabric turned out beautiful and vibrant where it took. I think we may have gotten a bit ambitious and used too much fabric. The ends took well. The middle not so much, as I think that the dye could not bleed all the way through. We tried a few different folds so it is not perfectly symmetrical, but we are all pretty happy with the outcome.
This newly dyed fabric is going to be sewn into another batch of Holiday Gifts. We have the perfect something in mind and the perfect somebody. Another Shhh...in place.
We ended the night while cooking dinner by sponge painting these jars green. I came across this a few days ago http://morningsunrae.blogspot.com/2010/10/sweater-jack-o-lantern.html
and would like to make something similar using the green painted jars and this sweater. We shall see what the kids and I come up with. Nishan would like to make Frankenstein or a Hairy Werewolf.
To keep it real, I felt compelled to take pictures of what our house looks like on days such as these. When we craft all day, something has to give. Today, that something was laundry. Loads and loads of laundry to be put away amongst other things you might catch a glimpse of in the picture.
I would be lying if I were to say that it was just one thing that was left astray, so I took a picture of our kitchen floor. Where there was fun had, there will always be a mess. We had fun today and that is my excuse.
A day like this just cannot end without a bit more to do. I sign off tonight to make a few more rounds on this pile of yarn.
and would like to make something similar using the green painted jars and this sweater. We shall see what the kids and I come up with. Nishan would like to make Frankenstein or a Hairy Werewolf.
To keep it real, I felt compelled to take pictures of what our house looks like on days such as these. When we craft all day, something has to give. Today, that something was laundry. Loads and loads of laundry to be put away amongst other things you might catch a glimpse of in the picture.
I would be lying if I were to say that it was just one thing that was left astray, so I took a picture of our kitchen floor. Where there was fun had, there will always be a mess. We had fun today and that is my excuse.
A day like this just cannot end without a bit more to do. I sign off tonight to make a few more rounds on this pile of yarn.
My son is in love with anything that he deems scary at this time. "Bats are symbolic of scary," he had declared and wanted to make bats to hang around the house in the spirit of Halloween. We used an old egg carton, paint, yarn, and a glue gun to create these very scary bats.
