Corrina's Place

This is one egg that trick-or-treaters will scramble to get away from: an orb of hatching spiders hanging from an entryway ceiling or a door frame.

Materials

• White glue (we used a 7 5/8-ounce bottle)
• 2 bowls
• Plastic spoon
• Balloon (we used an 11-inch size)

• Cheesecloth cut into 12 or so 3- by 18-inch strips
• Pin
• Clear fishing line
• Plastic spiders (available at www.orientaltrading.com)

X  Instructions

1. 

   Empty the glue bottle into a bowl. Then fill the bottle halfway with water, shake it to dilute any remaining glue, and add the contents to the bowl. Stir the mixture well.

2. Inflate the balloon to about 9 inches tall and set it aside in another bowl.

3. 

   Individually dip the cheesecloth strips into the glue, gently squeeze out the excess fluid, and spread the strips flat on the balloon. Cover the balloon this way, leaving 3 or 4 small gaps (as shown) and a 1 1/2-inch opening around the knot for tying on the spiders later. Let the glue dry, rotating the balloon occasionally to speed the drying process.

4. Pop the balloon with a pin and remove it.

5. Tie a loop for hanging the egg at one end of a long piece of fishing line. Near the top of the egg, insert the other end of the line through the cheesecloth, then reach inside and pull it out through a nearby gap and tie a spider to it. Gently pull the line back until the spider comes to rest against the inside of the egg, thereby securing the line.

6. Use more fishing line to create strings of spiders. To tie them to the egg, thread one end of the line through the cheesecloth and out a gap, knot the line, and pull the knot back inside the egg. Attach more spiders directly to the egg simply by poking 2 or 3 legs through the cheesecloth

These gnarled, freestanding trees create a fitting backdrop for Halloween decorations, such as Salt Dough Ghosts or other tabletop ornaments. You can even turn the trees into goody bags by filling them with candy (in lieu of the pebble weights).

Materials

• Medium-size brown grocery bag
• Scissors

• Small beverage bottle
• Pebbles or other weights

X  Instructions

1. 

   Cut off and discard the bottom of a medium-size brown grocery bag. Then slit open one side so you have a rectangle. Place a small beverage bottle on the center of it.

2. 

   Gather the paper around the bottle and twist it around the neck. Snip down from the top to create several strips that will become limbs. Twist them to within 3 or 4 inches from the ends.

3. 

   Snip the untwisted ends, as you did in step 2, and then twist them into finer branches.

4. 

   Remove the bottle and fill the trunk with pebbles or other weights.

5. 

   Retwist the trunk shut.

You will need:
card stock paper
gold letter sequins
round gold sequins
glue

I used a piece of green card stock paper about 12 by 7 cm, any size of paper will do. You can also use a larger size paper to make a greeting card and embellish it with a couple of owls. Use the picture above as a guide and glue 16 small gold beads for the owls body. Use two medium sized sequin beads for the eyes, place them side by side. For the nose, I used a gold “V” letter, which I cut in half and flipped upside down. I used two whole v shaped letters for the ears and the letter “Y” placed upside down for the feet. You can also glue a small string of brown yarn under the feet for a branch.

You may be like me and have a brother who loves comic books - in which case, geeky coasters are the perfect gift for said brother.  And trust me, I’m not throwing stones.  I’m a Star Wars fanatic.  I even have a t-shirt (I wear it) that says “Be Nice to Nerds.”  Haha!

I’m quite pleased with Man Podger David’s project because I know a lot of you are looking for gifts and project ideas for the men in your life.  David is great with coasters, so you’ll want to pay attention (especially if you’re a beginner); and he used an unusual surface for the base.  Here’s the tutorial straight from David.

If you’ve visited my Etsy store you know I’m the coaster guy.   I have coasters of every style under the sun but they only come in one shape: square.   So, I’m always looking for new possibilities and I was so happy when in the electrical/lighting section of Home Depot I came across these metal blanks that are made to cover up unused outlets ($1.40 each). 
You can buy round wood or chip-board blanks for coasters but for me they are just too lightweight (nothing is more annoying than a coaster that ALWAYS sticks to your glass).   However, these are perfect – less clunky than making a coaster out of a tile but still heavy and versatile.
For this project you will need:

I wanted a white coaster, so after a light sanding with some 220 grit sandpaper (just to rough up the surface and give the paint something to stick to) I used some Antique White spray paint and allowed it to dry thoroughly.

I love old comic books and decided to use some graphics from a book I found on the Remainder Table a while ago. Sometimes I find it hard to visualize what a section will look like when it’s cut out so I used my Fiskars Circle guide to get a sense of where on the page I wanted to cut.

There are two screw holes in the blank and your paper will need to cover them. I chose to leave a little edge showing, but it would also work to cover the entire surface with paper.  If you choose this route, just cut a circle a little larger than the blank and after applying it and allowing it to dry you’d cut away the excess paper with a craft knife. After deciding and cutting out the images it’s time to Mod Podge. I like to dampen my images before attaching them as it reduces the bubbles and wrinkles that plagued me in my early Mod Podge attempts. NOTE: This method will NOT work with images printed on an ink jet printer as the ink will run – you should always test a little section of the paper to make sure it will hold up. I fill a container with water and drop the image in to soak a little while I prepare the surface.

When I pull the image out of the bath I run my fingers along either side of it to remove any excess water. After that I lay it on the surface and gently smooth it out, pushing out any air that gets trapped or any excess Mod Podge (having a paper towel handy is helpful) and allow it to dry. After about 20 minutes, I top coated the coasters with a layer of Mod Podge and allowed it to dry, then sanded it with my 220 grit sandpaper and gave it another coat. 

I glued the gaskets that come with the blanks onto the backside for my padding using E-6000 glue – you could also use cork or felt if you’d prefer. 

And you now have finished coasters to gift.  Or keep for yourself.

Funny what sticks out at you sometimes, eh?
Take dead branches for instance. Trimmed just so, you get these nifty little boots…

Which, when painted up…

Are drilled, decorated and hung…

Make some fairly fab festive footwear!

Seen anything interesting in your fallen leaves or dead wood lately? If so, I’d love to hear about it!

CameraBlackBerry 9780High-res →

Animal eye rings! I saw these glorious rings the other day and thought I’d try to make my own. I’ve gone for Lion, Crocodile and VELOCIRAPTOR. I’m gonna re do the last one, it’s a bit derp.

Excuse my dirty painty hands!