Here's Your Sign-- Day 3

Yesterday I was informed by my 5 year old niece that I apparently do not have enough Halloween decorations in my house. So for today's deco project, I decided to do a couple of simple signs. Have I mentioned how much I love (and miss) SEI? Well, here is a great product just for Halloween. They have these FANTASTIC iron-ons that allow you (or your child) to create one-of-a-kind projects. They have this cute little witch....

Or, this handsome li'l Dracula. There is 60 little pieces to help you create whatever your heart desires. You can also create a monster or jack-o-lantern. To see all their options click here.


To begin, you want to cold peel your pieces to create your sign. Go slowly or you'll tear the iron-on. These signs are done on a piece of foam core. The witch sign measures 10"x12".
Once I had them placed where I wanted, I ironed them on to the foam core. I placed a piece of paper between the iron and the iron-on, since I wasn't sure how the foam core would react to the heat. It wrinkled just slightly. Next time, I think I would iron it on paper and then adhere it to the foam core.

To finish the witch sign I cold peeled black iron-on transfers and spelled this out. Then used SEI brand Black ink on the edges to give it that extra touch.

Then repeated all the steps above to make Dracula. This sign measures 9"x10".

Don't throw away the paper left from the iron-on transfer. In a coming tutorial I'll show you how to use those too.

Day #2 (I'm on a roll)

Day #2-- Yarn Monsters!! EEK!

For this project you need:

*3"x4" piece of either box cardboard(heavy duty) or cereal box card board. You will need it to be able to bend in half and still maintain it's basic shape
*yarn
*Scissors
*Elmer's Glue
*Googley eyes
*ribbon, buttons, etc to create the face of the monster and accessorize it

Start off by taking the yarn and wrapping it around the cardboard 90-100 times. (if you want the monster to be more full wrap up to 120 times. The more you wrap, the fluffier it will be).


Once you've finished wrapping the yarn, carefully fold the cardboard in half and slide the yarn off. Then tie it in the middle with a 6" piece of the same yarn.

Begin clipping the loops. If you want one that looks kind of like an octopus then only clip one side. Otherwise clip both ends. You may need to do some clipping to even out the ends, or you can leave it scraggley looking.

Then let your little crafters go to work adding a face. Favorite on this one was the *N* found one of my crown shaped buttons so now it's a monster princess.

This was mine. I told them it's a ghost.
I decided to add crafting sticks to the orange one so that it had horns.(or maybe antennae. can't decide which :] )



*B*'s-- all she really wanted to do was put the buttons on the hat.
Aren't they adorable! And such a good way to use those little leftovers of yarn and make the kids feel like they helped make decorations for Halloween.


*** Be sure to keep an eye on the little ones. If your child is very small consider using BIG buttons and BIG googley eyes. To make the monsters bigger simple cut a larger piece of cardboard.

BEWARE!!!

My goal this week is to post a new craft project every day for Halloween either for your home, or kids, or both. Here's the first one.


I scored this skull and cross bones at Michael's for $1.99.

First I removed the hanging wire from the top of the cross bones. I laid out newspaper so I wouldn't get white paint all over my "fancy" kitchen table. And painted the skull/cross bones white and the plaque black. I just poured the paint directly on the newspaper. I painted the front and sides of both and painted the wire white as well.

While the sign was drying I found some White 2" iron-on letters I had in my stash from SEI.
Then in random places I clipped out chunks of the letters to make it more scary.


To finish I sanded down the sides of the plaque a little, ironed on the letters (make sure to follow manufacturer's directions), inked the outside of the skeleton SEI Tobacco Ink, and replaced the wire.

I decided to put "Beware" on the side so it can double for Pirate party decorations. Clever, huh?

W & S Families Children pictures

About a month ago I was given the opportunity to go up to Idaho Falls and take some kid pictures for a gal my sister works with and her sister. I just love how they turned out. My favorite is the one with the three umbrellas.




These two were good sports and so photogenic. Don't you just love this old truck?

I scored these umbrellas for $5 each at the Weber County Fair. Yay for discount Chinese booths.




Such cute kids!

This bird matching the outfit could not have turned out any better!

Bi-plane tutorial with a free download pattern

Alright everyone, I finally have some time to get this tutorial up. Big shout out to Maria at Yay, I Made It! She's a great gal and someone I used to work with quite a bit when I worked at SEI. I did the Club SEI kit-of-the-month club and she is a graphic designer in the art department. This plane was originally one I did for a gallery project. She made the pattern all fancy shmancy for you all and you can click here to download the pattern.

For this project you will need:

*1 12"x12" sheet of double sided paper
*scissors
*Fast stick/dry adhesive (I recommend either a hot glue gun or glue dots. double sided tape will not work for this project)
*small brad
*ink pad
*pencil
*pen
*bone folder or paper clip

Here's the project. Aren't you excited!!


First start on the opposite side from what you want the main color to be and get the plane as close to the edge as possible leaving about 1/8" gap between the tail and the edge of the paper. Trace around pattern with PENCIL.

Now, flip the pattern over so that you have the body of the plane facing in two separate directions and trace around that.

This is what it should like like after you have both sides of the body traced.

Next, add tabs to the plane all the way around except for the tail. Start a little bit bigger around the nose of the plane and eventually get very small tabs (approx 1/16") to allow the plane to angle to a point at the tail. To save paper next do the two wings directly below the body. You don't need to worry about flipping the wing pattern over. It won't matter because it is the same all the way around.

Do the top and bottom of the plane on the side as close to the edges as possible.
Fill in blank spaces with the tail, wing supports, front window, propeller and side windows. Make sure the side windows are are facing opposite directions like the plane body. If you used the space wisely you should have approximately 3" of paper left over for future projects. :)

Score around the body of the plane on the lines to make it easier to fold in the tabs using either a paper clip or a bone folder.

Clip around the rounded edges of the plane body as you see below. You will need to clip these in order to make the curve bend correctly. You can clip the tabs all the way around if you would like. It is up to you.

Then fold in your tabs.

Once you have the tabs folded in, ink all the way around each piece of the plane. I will add a little something extra, I promise. I use black for most of the planes I do. (unless you decided to do a black plane)
First attach the top piece start at the nose and moving back to the tail. Bend the top piece slightly where the nose and windshield meet. Only put adhesive on the tabs as you go to avoid unwanted sticking. (i.e. add adhesive to all the nose tabs, stick the paper to that piece, then adhere glue to next section)

Once you have both the front and back attached, glue the tail pieces together and score the small tail pieces you are sticking to the tail. (For the sake of the project we'll call them tail wings for lack of a better term :D) Fold them inward and attach to each side of the tail.


Next, attach the propeller using the small brad you have. Important: attach the propeller before the bottom piece or it won't work. To make the hole for the brad use a needle or thumb tack. Do not use a writing utensil or a knife. the needle/thumb tack will make a cleaner hole. Make sure to bend the back part of the brad. This will make your propeller spin. (Isn't that fun?)

Next add the front and side windows. You'll notice these are inked on the side of the paper we drew the patterns on. The ink will help cover up any pencil markings you make have left on the paper (see. That's why I use black ink). Some trimming may have to occur depending on where the bend in your top piece is located. No biggie. Couple of little snips, maybe a re-inking and you are good to go.
Then attach the side windows.
And attach the bottom using the same glue-as-you-go technique from the top piece.
See how the tail wings are on the plane? I inked both sides of them just for looks.

Next, take your pen and roll the wing supports around them to make them rounded. Then add adhesive to hold the support in the cylindrical form.

Attach your wing to the bottom, add the wing supports on each side and add your top wing. Make sure to glue the supports to both the top and bottom wings.

And SHABLAM!!! You've got a cute little plane. Perfect for bedroom decorations or party favors for the favorite little guy in your life. They'll love it, especially since the propeller moves.

Enjoy! :)

I linked this post to the DIY Project Parade. Click on the button for oh so many GREAT ideas.