Vintage Chenille Halloween Ornies Tutorial

Decorate with a jaunty Halloween Chenille Figure - or a few!  Stand them upright, hang them from your Halloween tree, or wear them as lapel pins!

(click here for a larger Halloween Chenille Figure image)

Ever since we made one of these fluffy characters with a 4th of July theme, we've thought about other holiday guises. Our first are these Halloween chenille figures - the princely black cat and his melon-headed sidekick, Jack.

These couldn't be easier: Two bump chenille rods per figure, a cut-out vintage image head, and some flashy embellishments. We particularly like the glitter encrusted candy-corn scepter.

These guys are based on our Patriotic Chenille Doll, where you'll find more tips and ideas. They also serve as decoration for the paper Halloween Treat Basket craft, so be sure to check that out!

The friendly gargoyle in our photo was a souvenir from England, home to many of his kith and kin.

Materials

1. Vintage images, (Free Adobe PDF download) printed on heavy matte photo paper.
2. 
   
   Bump chenille rods, 1 1/2 rods for each doll. (Black for the cat and orange for the Jack O'Lantern)(See Tips).
3. Green construction paper (see Tips).
4. Silver tinsel chenille rod (see Tips).
5. Candy corn.
6. Ultra-fine clear glitter.
7. Tacky craft glue (like Aleen's) or hot glue gun.
8. Gold or silver lamè braid or ribbon (optional).
9. Lapel pin back (optional).
10. Large sewing needle.
11. Scissors (small, for cutting detail).
12. Pliers.

Instructions for Halloween Chenille Figure

1. Cut two 12" bump chenille rods into four 6" pieces. You will need three pieces to make one doll.
2. Bend two of the chenille pieces in the center into a "V" shape.  These are the legs and the arms.  To form the body, bend the center of the third chenille piece around a pen (or your little finger) and twist the ends twice.  This loop is the figure's head.
   
3. Connect the arms and legs by linking the pieces in the center and twisting them together two or three times. In this photo, the head and body are at the top, and the arms and legs are below.
   
4. Place the arms and legs on the center of the body (with the head at the top). Bend the ends at the bottom of the body between the legs and up over the shoulders, pinching firmly to attach.  You should have a cute little figure with a hole for a head.
   
5. Cut out the heads from the vintage images with small scissors. For the black cat, cut around the collar on the red line. Edge the cat's collar with glue and a dusting of ultra-fine glitter.
6. Trace the Jack O'Lantern's collar template to green paper (or print directly on green paper), and cut out the collar. Outline the leaves with glue and dust with glitter. Glue the Jack O'Lantern head to the collar and let dry.
7. To make a hanging ornament, tie a loop of gold cord through the chenille head loop. To make a lapel pin, glue a pin back to the back of the figure with a hot glue gun.
8. Glue the heads to the chenille bodies.  Clamp with clothes pins over a small piece of wax paper until the glue is dry.
9. For the cat's scepter: Cut out the small pumpkin head as the topper for the cat's scepter. Wrap a tinsel rod in a spiral around a bamboo skewer or thin dowel. Carefully pull the skewer out without crushing the spiral. Glue the pumpkin to the top end (add some glitter if you wish). Place the scepter in the cat's hand, trim the bottom so it supports the cat in a standing position, and pinch the cat's hand around it.
10. For Jack O'Lantern's scepter: Melt a 1/16"-deep hole in the large end of a piece of candy corn with a red-hot sewing needle (See Tips). Put a drop of tacky craft glue on the end of a tinsel rod, insert it into the hole in the candy corn, and let the glue dry. Brush a thin coat of glue on the candy corn (don't over-brush because the candy color will run) and dust with ultra-fine glitter. Place the scepter in the Jack O'Lantern's hand, trim the bottom so it supports the figure in a standing position, and bend the hand around it.
11. Bend the other hand and the tips of the legs to form feet. Now bend his little arms and legs the way you like!

Tips

• Standard chenille rods are 12" long. "Bump" chenille rods are chenille rods with fluffy "bumps" every 3", or four bumps per rod.
• Silver tinsel chenille rods are not actually chenille, but a metallic or Mylar tinsel. We chose silver, but gold would be a striking option.  If you can't find tinsel rods, you can use regular chenille rods.
• We used plain green construction paper for Jack O'Lantern's collar, edged with ultra-fine glitter. You might prefer to use green glitter paper, crepe paper, or whatever will give you a leaf-like effect.
• To heat the needle point, hold the needle with pliers in a stove burner flame.  Hold the candy corn in a pot holder or dish towel in your other hand. Quickly press the needle point into the end of the candy corn. Any blackened sugar residue should come off the candy easily when it is cool - but it's not so easy getting the residue off of the needle so be prepared to throw it away.
• Here's some ideas: Attach your Halloween chenille figure to the handle of a small Halloween treat basket. These make great table favors, or doorknob gifts from the Office Fairy. Leave your Halloween chenille figure flat and attach him to the front of a Halloween greeting card. Hang him on your "Halloween Tree" - a spooky dead branch painted black and potted with some gravel or plaster of Paris. Decorate a grapevine wreath with chenille figures and black paper bats for your front door. Or, add a pin and wear him for Halloween!

Easy crafts like these Halloween chenille figures can be fun for children, to work that excess sugar out of their systems. These are pretty easy for kids with cutting and gluing skills. You might also try our Halloween card crafts, like the Padded Pumpkin Card, the 3-D Halloween Card, and the Halloween Pop Up Card.

See how this Halloween chenille figure craft adapts to the 4th of July with a Patriotic Chenille Doll!http://www.vintageimagecraft.com/
source:

Make a Halloween Witch Ornament

 

Source- http://www.vintageimagecraft.com/

Craft this very-Victorian Halloween Witch Ornament and deck out your Halloween tree in style.

(click here for a larger Halloween Witch Ornament image)

Our Halloween Witch Ornament is inspired by Victorian decorations of the late 19th century. This one has it all; a crafty witch in a pumpkin, woven black braid, and faceted beads. This is a very versatile design, and once you get started, you'll think of a hundred ways to adapt it into ornaments for all occasions.
There are two secrets to the construction.  The first secret is - shhh - foamcore board.  The other secret is printing two mirror-image vintage illustrations for the front and back. We give them to you, ready to be printed, but if you start making your own designs, start with two identical copies of your image and "flip" one of them with your graphics program.

Materials for Halloween Witch Ornament

• 
  
  Vintage images (FREE PDF download).
• Matte photo paper, heavyweight.
• Foamcore board, 3/16" thick, black (see Tips).
• Flat, decorative braid, 1/4" wide, black.
• Small, faceted plastic or glass beads (ours were 6mm orange beads).
• Beading pins (see Tips).
• Craft glue.
• Scissors.
• Craft knife (for cutting foamcore board) (see Tips).
• Self-healing cutting mat. 

Instructions

1. Print the vintage images on matte photo paper.  Trim them carefully with small scissors. Using one cut-out image, trace the shape on the foamcore board. Cut out the shape with a craft knife. Glue the images to each side of the foamcore, aligning the tops of the images carefully. Press them flat and let dry.
2. Cut a 17" length of decorative braid. This will fit around the ornament and leave 7" for a hanging loop at the top. Start at the bottom of the ornament.  Glue and pin the two ends to meet at the bottom.  Work up one side, gluing the braid to the foamcore edge, and pin in place every few inches.  When you get to the top, begin again at the bottom and glue and pin the other side, until the braid meets at the top. Be sure the hanging loop is centered at the top of the ornament. Let the glue dry.
3. Insert a beading pin into a bead, dip the point in craft glue, and insert it into the braided edge, next to the hanging loop. Continue pinning beads around the edge until you reach the other side of the hanging loop.
4. Done with your Halloween Witch Ornament! Now scour your collection of vintage images for likely candidates, and make a batch of Victorian Halloween ornaments (see Tips)!

Tips

• Who knew beading pins existed? We tried using our regular straight pins, but the pin heads were a little small for the holes in the beads. A quick trip to Joann Fabrics and Crafts, and we came home with a box of "beading pins", which are a little shorter than straight pins and the heads are larger.
• Foamcore board, or foam board, is a material constructed of an inner layer of polystyrene foam sandwiched between two layers of heavy paper. We used black (black paper on black foam) but this project will work as well with any color. If you fear that white foamcore might show through the edging braid, color the edge of the foamcore black with marker or paint before you apply the braid.
• Cutting foamcore board is tricky. Do not use scissors, because they will crush the edge as you cut. Use a long-blade craft knife or a micro-saw.
• When looking for other vintage images for these ornaments, here are the qualities you want:
• well-defined shapes are the best, like circles or other geometrics.
• avoid images with words, because when the image is flipped on the back of the ornament, the words will be reversed as well.
• if you find an irregular shaped picture you like, trim it with the background into a circle or oval, or cut out the figure and glue it to a geometric shaped background paper. We did this with a flying witch, and glued it to a yellow full-moon image for a great composite picture. Remember, you can resize any image.
• Go crazy with your beading. We opted for a single row of identical orange beads, but you might vary the size and color of beads for an authentically Victorian look. On the other hand - just the braiding looks great.

Now you have one, lonely Halloween Witch Ornament. For some other Halloween ornament designs, see our Halloween Clown Ornament, Halloween Chenille Figures, and Halloween Pumpkin Ornament!

Newbies for Sale

All these ready for purchase just email me or go to my Etsy Shoppe

http://www.rabbithollowprims.etsy.com

Making a Halloween Tree

Make this Halloween Tree and decorate it with your favorite ornaments, spiders and cobwebs every year. It all starts with a dead branch - the deader the better. (click here for a larger Halloween Tree image) Do you remember going out before Christmas to pick out the Christmas tree? Searching through dozens of shapes and sizes, to find the one, perfectly shaped tree? Well, picture your search for the perfect Halloween tree: "Nope, not dead enough... Not twisted enough... Not quite ugly enough... " That's what we found ourselves saying as we hiked through the overgrown acres of a local park. We pulled out plenty of dead branches, but only one was the perfect, gnarled, twisted and very dead branch we wanted for our perfect Halloween Tree. Trust us. You'll find yours, too. And you'll love potting it in this hand-cast Plaster of Paris Jack O'Lantern base. And for the final vintage touch - Halloween Pumpkin Lollipops! Materials for the Halloween Tree Vintage images (FREE PDF download) for the Halloween Pumpkin Lollipops, printed on lightweight photo paper. Dead tree branch, about 3' high when standing on end, including a "trunk" of about 10". Plastic Jack O'Lantern trick-or-treat bucket (see Tips). Plastic water or soda bottle, 1.5 liter. Plastic dish or plate about 7" in diameter (black) (see Tips). Florist foam (see Tips). Felt or sheet cork (for the bottom of the pumpkin). Plaster of Paris (at least 20 lbs) (see Tips). 5/8" or 3/4" ribbon with Halloween colors or design. Primer paint (tinted orange if you can) or Gesso. Acrylic craft paints (light, medium and dark orange, black). Matte acrylic varnish. Artist oil paint (burnt umber or dark green). Paint thinner or turpentine. Spray paint (flat black). Paint brushes (various sizes). Natural sea sponge. Old toothbrush. Nubby rag, like terry cloth. Tacky craft glue (like Alene's). Duct tape. Double-stick transparent tape. Masking tape. Rubber bands. Sandpaper (fine). Hacksaw or other fine-tooth saw. Craft knife. Scissors. Self-healing cutting mat, if using a craft knife. Instructions Fill the bowl with candy, like the Vintage Pumpkin Lollipops below. Eat some until it all fits. Wait for trick-or-treaters to dig in! Starting at the rim of the candy dish or plate, cut a straight line on the radius to the center, then cut a round circle in the center of the dish, large enough to encircle the tree trunk. Twist the dish and slide it around the tree trunk. Center it on the pumpkin (you may have to make some cutting adjustments if the trunk is off-center). Tape the cut edges of the bowl together at the rim. Take your perfect, ugly branch and  spray paint it flat black (if it is really dirty, hose it off and let it completely dry first). Mix a little black acrylic paint with an equal amount of water. Use an old toothbrush (or other stiff bristled brush) to splatter tiny black "fly specks" on the pumpkin (see Tips). Paint the entire pumpkin with medium orange acrylic paint and let it dry. Sponge on highlights of light orange acrylic paint down each of the ribs of the pumpkin and let it dry. Sponge on dark orange acrylic paint around the cheek areas and let it dry. When the plaster is dry and hard, empty the sand or gravel from the bottle. Remove the tape and gently pull apart the two halves of the mold. Lightly sand off any imperfections on the plaster (it will be very imperfect, which is fine, but sand off big bumps or ridges left by the mold). Wipe it gently with a damp cloth. Place the plastic water bottle in bottom of the mold. Mark a line around the bottle, even with the top of the mold. With a craft knife or scissors, cut off the top of the bottle above that line. Fill the bottle with sand or gravel, put some double-stick tape on the bottom, and place it in the center of the bottom of the mold (the gravel will keep it from floating up when the plaster is poured around it). Keep it centered with several pieces of masking tape across the opening of the bucket. Mix Plaster of Paris and water (see Tips) and pour it into the mold around the plastic bottle. Don't worry if a little goes in the bottle. You want the final poured plaster to be level with the top of the bottle and the top of the mold. Let it dry for two days. Remove the handle from the trick-or-treat bucket. With a hacksaw, cut the bucket down each side and across the bottom, separating the front and back halves. Lightly sand the rough edges of the plastic. Tape the two halves back together tightly with duct tape. This is your plaster mold. Paint the entire pumpkin with primer paint or Gesso, and let it dry. With a small brush, paint the eyes, nose and mouth openings with black acrylic paint and let it dry. Brush on a coat of matte acrylic varnish and let it dry. Antique the pumpkin with dark brown artist oil paint thinned slightly with a little paint thinner. Brush it on in small vertical sections with a wide brush, then immediately wipe it off with a nubby rag. Try to leave the dark paint in the indentations, with very faint streaks on the smooth surfaces. Let it dry overnight. Apply two coats of matte acrylic varnish. Cut a circle of felt (or cork) to fit the bottom of the pumpkin and glue it on. Wrap the base of the "trunk" with two pieces of florist foam, trimmed to fit snugly in the base, secure the foam with rubber bands, and "pot" your Halloween Tree (see Tips). Cut a piece of ribbon to fit around the outside of the dish and attach it with double-stick tape or glue. Fashion a bow from the ribbon and attach it to the front. Now, hang your decorations on your Halloween Tree, like black garland, plastic pumpkins, fuzzy spiders, bats, and handmade treasures like our Halloween Clown Ornament, Halloween Witch Ornament, Halloween Pumpkin Ornament or the frisky Halloween Chenille Figures. Vintage Pumpkin Lollipops Print out the vintage images on lightweight photo paper. Cut out the pumpkin heads with small scissors. Optional: wrap the lollipop heads with squares of orange or black crepe paper. Using double-stick tape, stick the pumpkin heads on lollipops or Tootsie Roll Pops. Stick the lollipops, heads up, in the candy bowl under your Halloween Tree. Tips Rigid, molded plastic trick-or-treat buckets are in stores a couple months before Halloween. Try Dollar Stores and thrift shops before you pay full price. You might even have one in the attic somewhere. You want a pretty small one (ours was about 7" deep), with distinctly molded features and vertical ribbing you can feel on the inside. We used florist foam to secure the tree trunk in the base. Go thrifty, and wrap the trunk with plastic shopping bags and rubber bands until the trunk fits snugly in the base. Or, place your branch in the base and stuff foam packing peanuts around the trunk until it is firm. Plaster of Paris. Sounds romantic. Looks easy. Can make you hate the whole city and start you ordering "freedom fries." Do not panic, mes amis: Accept that it is messy and prepare your workspace and personal clothing accordingly. Know how much plaster to make. Fill your trick-or-treat bucket with water and pour it in a large calibrated container. That is your water measurement. Follow the P of P package instructions for the appropriate quantity of plaster to add (usually double the volume of the water).  Yes, you'll have some leftover plaster, but that is better than too little. Don't shovel the plaster into the water: measure the plaster into another (old) bucket, and stir in the water a little at a time until it is as smooth as very thick gravy. Fill your mold quickly because the plaster sets up in 10 minutes. Jiggle and tap the mold after you pour the plaster to eliminate air bubbles that will mar your plaster surface. Do not pour leftover plaster down your drain - put it in the trash. Wash your hands now or they will get very irritated. Let the plaster harden for several hours before you remove the mold. Let it dry for a day and lightly sand off imperfections. Ah, "fly specks." An entire industry of country-style crafts is based on this technique. Easy enough. Protect your work area with newspapers and wear painting clothes. Set your project up on a stand so you can get to all visible sides. Dilute black or brown acrylic paint 50/50 with water. Dip in an old toothbrush (or small stiff-bristled brush) and tap off excess paint. About 10" from your project, hold the toothbrush in one hand with your thumb on the bristles and aim it toward your project. Pull your thumb back against the bristles as you slowly move the brush, and paint will splatter in tiny blobs onto your surface. Practice a little first on newspaper to get the brush loaded appropriately and to perfect your splatter dispersion plan. Then splatter with confidence, remembering that less is more with this often overused technique. For the plastic candy dish, you can use almost anything that is thin and flexible enough to cut, twist and slide around the tree. Since we love "recycled" crafts, we used a plastic dish from a microwave dinner. You can see in the photo that it is a divided plate, which is just fine for this craft. You can also use foam dinnerware or a disposable aluminum cake pan. We designed this Halloween tree base to make the branch removable. We thought it would be easier to store the base and tree separately, and figured that over the years, twigs would get broken, or you might find an even more perfect branch in the future. You could, of course skip the water bottle insert and just embed your tree trunk in the wet plaster. If you do, remember that a solid ball of plaster is very, very heavy (VOE - Voice of Experience). We topped our Jack O'Lantern base with a candy dish, making this a multi-purpose Halloween tree. But there are many other options: heap on some florist Spanish moss for straggly hair, wrap Halloween garland in spiral around the tree, make a little tree skirt from Halloween fabric, or cut a funny old hat to fit around the tree trunk. Why not do them all and change it every year? This Halloween tree base makes a perfectly wonderful vase for flowers, too. Arrange a Halloween centerpiece with pussy willows, spiky grasses, and perhaps some blood-red roses. Don't forget: For some Halloween ornament designs for your Halloween Tree, see our Halloween Witch Ornament, Halloween Clown Ornament, Halloween Chenille Figures, and Halloween Pumpkin Ornament! source: http://www.vintageimagecraft.com/

Vintage Chenille Halloween Ornies Tutorial

Decorate with a jaunty Halloween Chenille Figure - or a few!  Stand them upright, hang them from your Halloween tree, or wear them as lapel pins!

(click here for a larger Halloween Chenille Figure image)

Ever since we made one of these fluffy characters with a 4th of July theme, we've thought about other holiday guises. Our first are these Halloween chenille figures - the princely black cat and his melon-headed sidekick, Jack.

These couldn't be easier: Two bump chenille rods per figure, a cut-out vintage image head, and some flashy embellishments. We particularly like the glitter encrusted candy-corn scepter.

These guys are based on our Patriotic Chenille Doll, where you'll find more tips and ideas. They also serve as decoration for the paper Halloween Treat Basket craft, so be sure to check that out!

The friendly gargoyle in our photo was a souvenir from England, home to many of his kith and kin.

Materials

1. Vintage images, (Free Adobe PDF download) printed on heavy matte photo paper.
2. Bump chenille rods, 1 1/2 rods for each doll. (Black for the cat and orange for the Jack O'Lantern)(See Tips).
3. Green construction paper (see Tips).
4. Silver tinsel chenille rod (see Tips).
5. Candy corn.
6. Ultra-fine clear glitter.
7. Tacky craft glue (like Aleen's) or hot glue gun.
8. Gold or silver lamè braid or ribbon (optional).
9. Lapel pin back (optional).
10. Large sewing needle.
11. Scissors (small, for cutting detail).
12. Pliers.

Instructions for Halloween Chenille Figure

1. Cut two 12" bump chenille rods into four 6" pieces. You will need three pieces to make one doll.
   
   
2. Bend two of the chenille pieces in the center into a "V" shape.  These are the legs and the arms.  To form the body, bend the center of the third chenille piece around a pen (or your little finger) and twist the ends twice.  This loop is the figure's head.
   
   
   
3. Connect the arms and legs by linking the pieces in the center and twisting them together two or three times. In this photo, the head and body are at the top, and the arms and legs are below.
   
   
   
4. Place the arms and legs on the center of the body (with the head at the top). Bend the ends at the bottom of the body between the legs and up over the shoulders, pinching firmly to attach.  You should have a cute little figure with a hole for a head.
   
   
   
5. Cut out the heads from the vintage images with small scissors. For the black cat, cut around the collar on the red line. Edge the cat's collar with glue and a dusting of ultra-fine glitter.
6. Trace the Jack O'Lantern's collar template to green paper (or print directly on green paper), and cut out the collar. Outline the leaves with glue and dust with glitter. Glue the Jack O'Lantern head to the collar and let dry.
7. To make a hanging ornament, tie a loop of gold cord through the chenille head loop. To make a lapel pin, glue a pin back to the back of the figure with a hot glue gun.
8. Glue the heads to the chenille bodies.  Clamp with clothes pins over a small piece of wax paper until the glue is dry.
9. For the cat's scepter: Cut out the small pumpkin head as the topper for the cat's scepter. Wrap a tinsel rod in a spiral around a bamboo skewer or thin dowel. Carefully pull the skewer out without crushing the spiral. Glue the pumpkin to the top end (add some glitter if you wish). Place the scepter in the cat's hand, trim the bottom so it supports the cat in a standing position, and pinch the cat's hand around it.
10. For Jack O'Lantern's scepter: Melt a 1/16"-deep hole in the large end of a piece of candy corn with a red-hot sewing needle (See Tips). Put a drop of tacky craft glue on the end of a tinsel rod, insert it into the hole in the candy corn, and let the glue dry. Brush a thin coat of glue on the candy corn (don't over-brush because the candy color will run) and dust with ultra-fine glitter. Place the scepter in the Jack O'Lantern's hand, trim the bottom so it supports the figure in a standing position, and bend the hand around it.
11. Bend the other hand and the tips of the legs to form feet. Now bend his little arms and legs the way you like!

Tips

• Standard chenille rods are 12" long. "Bump" chenille rods are chenille rods with fluffy "bumps" every 3", or four bumps per rod.
• Silver tinsel chenille rods are not actually chenille, but a metallic or Mylar tinsel. We chose silver, but gold would be a striking option.  If you can't find tinsel rods, you can use regular chenille rods.
• We used plain green construction paper for Jack O'Lantern's collar, edged with ultra-fine glitter. You might prefer to use green glitter paper, crepe paper, or whatever will give you a leaf-like effect.
• To heat the needle point, hold the needle with pliers in a stove burner flame.  Hold the candy corn in a pot holder or dish towel in your other hand. Quickly press the needle point into the end of the candy corn. Any blackened sugar residue should come off the candy easily when it is cool - but it's not so easy getting the residue off of the needle so be prepared to throw it away.
• Here's some ideas: Attach your Halloween chenille figure to the handle of a small Halloween treat basket. These make great table favors, or doorknob gifts from the Office Fairy. Leave your Halloween chenille figure flat and attach him to the front of a Halloween greeting card. Hang him on your "Halloween Tree" - a spooky dead branch painted black and potted with some gravel or plaster of Paris. Decorate a grapevine wreath with chenille figures and black paper bats for your front door. Or, add a pin and wear him for Halloween!

Easy crafts like these Halloween chenille figures can be fun for children, to work that excess sugar out of their systems. These are pretty easy for kids with cutting and gluing skills. You might also try our Halloween card crafts, like the Padded Pumpkin Card, the 3-D Halloween Card, and the Halloween Pop Up Card.

See how this Halloween chenille figure craft adapts to the 4th of July with a Patriotic Chenille Doll!

Gelda Witch Vacuum Cover

I showed this gal on my facebook fan page last night and she is gone gone gone.......I will take customs on her just go to my website under fall dolls cont page 4

Tutorials for Halloween goodies....

Vintage Pumpkin Tutorial

This "Vintage" pumpkin tutorial puts a classy spin on the usual pumpkins decorating porches, I love the use of sheet music, photocopies of 'The Raven' or other similarly eerie poetry would also be a nice touch. Hunt through your local book exchange or thrift store for old copies of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Lemon-Flavored Eyeballs

What's a meal without eyeballs?! Made from Gelatin, these lemon flavoured eyeballs are sure to go down a treat, take the time to hand paint the iris and pupils to get them looking as realistic as possible and you're sure to have more than a few people pull a face before giving in to curiosity.

Eyeball Necklace

If eating eyeballs wasn't enough, wear them around your neck! This simple tutorial will show you how to make your own eyeball necklace, pair it with a black dress, pointy hat and striped stockings and you have yourself a budget Witch costume.

Bleeding Candles

Add a spooky touch to your lighting with these bleeding candles from Blue Cricket Designs. Candles, spray paint and thrift store candlesticks makes this low cost and very effective in setting the mood for any sinister party.

Owl Invitations

As always, Martha has some wonderful ideas posted on her website, these owl invitations are just the tip of the iceberg, take a look around the site for more spooky ideas from the Queen of Craft. These invites would also be perfect for anyone planning a Harry Potter theme party at any time of the year, the perfect nod to the Owl Mail delivery system.

Floating Brain

Looking for the just the right beverage to drink at your party? Try this floating brain, using Peach Schnapps, Grenadine and Irish Cream. It looks disgusting and very fitting for any gory gathering. Substitute the peach for Butterscotch Schnapps and you have yourself a Jam Doughnut shot - a highlight of my college days!

California Roll Costume

Tired of seeing the same old witches, cats and devils on Halloween night? Do something different and come as a California Roll, this full photo tutorial gives you step by step instructions on how to turn some cardboard, packing foam and ping pong balls into a full sushi costume, if you wanted to save yourself some time and skip the roe on the outside, black duct tape would make a great nori seaweed wrap.

Amigurimi Glow-in-the-Dark Ghost

Glow in the dark yarn is the perfect touch on this sweet little amigurimi ghost. Although the pattern is written without a base, if you wanted to hang it from any door frames then one would be easy to add, either crochetted or a small circle of felt sewn on just inside the picot would seal it off and keep the polyfill contained.

Stay tuned tomorrow for part 2 of this Halloween Craft series!
Fern Treacy is blogging from Australia. You can check out her fantastic blog here!