Make Your Own Halloween Plates

I made these Halloween plates by printing on contact paper and adhering it to the bottom of a glass plate.
Here is what I did....

1. I purchased glass plates from the $ Store and washed them. The sticky tag didn't come off nice - so I put some peanut butter on and scrubbed it off.

2. I printed out a circle from my computer and tested on my plate for size - I was lucky the first time - I got a size that worked. It is best if the circle is a little smaller than the flat circle part of the plate.

3. Cut out two pieces of contact paper that will fit over the circle. With one of the cut out contact papers, put double sided tape on the peel off backing and adhere over the printed circle. The plastic side should be facing up to be printed on. I used two varieties of contact paper - one from the $ store and the other from Zellers. The Zellers contact paper was way better quality and not as shiny. Both did work but I definitely liked the matte contact paper.

4. On your computer, copy and paste desired images in the circle - if you use printing reverse it. The images I used were from Graphics Fairy. Click Here to go to the skull - Click Here to go to the Skeleton Man. Put the contact paper sheet through the printer in a manner that the image will print on the contact paper.  Do not touch image as it is like a dry erase board and the ink will smear.

5. Take the pre-cut contact paper - peel off the back and stick it on top of the printed contact paper. You might get some bubbles - but most if not all of them can be worked out by pressing them firmly.

6. Remove the contact paper from the printer paper. Cut around circle.

7. Remove backing.

8. Apply to plate. If you have the good quality contact paper, it can be removed for washing and put on again after. Stick it on the fridge or window until dishes are washed and re-apply if desired. The cheaper contact paper didn't work so well taking it off and using it again.

So there you have it - make your own custom Halloween plates!

Check out some of my other Halloween posts...

Print on burlap and make a banner - Click Here

Halloween Food Ideas - Click Here

Planter with a free typography printable for a lantern or other uses - Click Here

Trick or Treat Wood Blocks - Click Here

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up to...

Tatertots and Jello
Graphics Fairy

Halloween Food Ideas 2011

I saw this CUTE idea and HAD to do it. Please go look at the blog where I got this idea from. It is called "The Smith Family" blog. She has a whole Halloween party laid out for you to look at - FABULOUS. I liked this idea because it was super easy and super cute. CLICK HERE to go to the post.

Sandwiches are easy to make - the only extra touch is printing out the clip art, cutting it out and adhering the legs and hats to toothpicks. 

Here are the links to the clip I used - LEGS CLICK HERE   HATS CLICK HERE

I saw this idea on BHG. They had a refried bean dip with lettuce for grass. I made a black bean dip RECIPE HERE, and made guacamole for the grass. The guacamole helped hold up the tree and grave stones. Cut out shapes from tortillas, brush with oil, cook until golden brown. 

Also, check out the gingerbread skeleton men I made. Click HERE to go to the post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up to...

Tatertots and Jello

Gingerbread Skeleton Man Cookies

I saw this really good idea on Pinterest - gingerbread men that were iced like skeletons. Gingerbread cookies are one of my favorite cookies. The secret I think to good gingerbread is to not cook them that long. The longest time I leave my cookies in the oven for is six minutes - but it does depend on how thick they are. Click here for my gingerbread cookie recipe - and the royal icing recipe.

My icing is something that needs to be improved upon - but I basically strived to make a bone shape in each arm and leg - an anchor like piping for the ribs, and then the skull. My icing could have used a bit more sugar to thicken as it spread a bit after I piped it - but I got the hang of icing after a while. The first few were really creepy looking - but hey - they are for Halloween!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Halloween Burlap Banner

I have been admiring the burlap banners that I have been seeing around - and I thought I would make a couple of small banners. I recently tried printing on burlap with the Thanksgiving Block project - and it was so much fun - I wanted to run burlap through my printer again but this time using a bit of color.

       I made an "eek" banner and a  "boo" banner.

This is how I did it....

1. I made the graphics on my computer (I have the images below so you can use these for personal use). I ironed burlap to freezer paper and then ran it through my printer. Last time I don't think I ironed the freezer paper to the burlap long enough - when it went through my computer it made a freeky sound - but it still worked - this time it didn't make the sound which was much more pleasant.

2. I cut out the banner with the freezer paper still attached as it is easier to cut. I also left an inch of burlap on top of the banner to fold over and encase the string.

3. I took the freezer paper off.

4. I folded over the top encasing the jute I used to string the banner and stitched the length of each pennant.

                                                          Here is where I hung them...

   Here are the banner images so you can try them yourself... Right click, copy and paste, resize in your favorite publishing program.

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up to....

Halloween Decor in a Planter

I had been eyeing up some dead sagebrush for a while, knowing that I wanted to put them in my planters for Halloween. I think it is a perfect creepy looking tree. I just dug a hole in my planter and stuck it in, securing it with a few rocks. I also dressed up a lantern with some typography I made - CLICK HERE to go to that post. I printed the typography on some vellum and adhered it to the front of the lantern. I also found some cob web clip art to put on the other sides.

I haven't figured out how to take night time pictures yet - so please excuse the way the pic looks - I lit the lantern up using glow sticks. I would have put cob webs or something in the sagebrush, but we live in a very windy area so things like that don't work for me. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up to...

Tip Junkie

Italian Dinner Gift Basket

I was blown away by the gift my niece gave me for my birthday. She went to a lot of work to make it, and it was right up my alley with a theme to it. She made me an Italian dinner gift basket. Here is what she did....

She made home made tomato sauce in the crock pot. Then she put it in a nice jar with the hand written recipe on how to make it. 

My niece also made  Italian seasoning. She put it in an adorable jar, again with the recipe written out. 

Included in the gift basket was some gourmet pasta, four Italian style place mats, and some adorable Italian flags that my niece made. The dinner was very yummy. All I had to add was some hamburger and parmesan and I was set!

Here are some pictures of my creative, gourmet chef niece putting the gift together. I feel like the luckiest Auntie in the world!

Thank you so much kiddo - your gift was awesome!!!

Halloween Typography

I made this Halloween typography for an insert to a lantern. Stay tuned to see the lantern within the next couple of days. If you would like to use this image for personal use - right click - copy and then paste to your favorite imaging program. Resize as desired. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Mini Treat Bag Tutorial - No Need for a Template

Here is a super easy way to make your own treat bags - no template necessary. Basically you take a small box, and wrap it like a present, except you only enclose one end. Here is the tutorial....

1. I used a piece of paper that measured 6 inches x 9 inches. The size of the paper you use will depend on the box you use. The white strip on the left in the picture is double sided tape. 

2. The box I used was a single box of soap. This box makes bags that are 4 1/2 inches tall, 2 3/4 inches wide, and 1 1/2 inches depth. You can have fun making all sizes of bags with the different boxes you have around.

3. Wrap the paper around the box and adhere sides together. I used double sided tape.

4. When enclosing the bottom, move the box up or down the paper so that the paper you fold down totally covers the box. This makes the bottom stronger and gives you room for the tape or whatever you  adhere it with. You do not want tape or glue on the box because you are removing it.

5. I put double sided tape along the bottom of the paper at the end.

6. Fold in the sides - if you use double sided tape it will adhere as soon as you fold the flaps over.

7. Adhere the last flap.  I used double sided tape again - but the last flap on my bags did not hold up. I put a strip of packing tape on it and that does the trick. It is the bottom of the bag so it is not noticeable. 

8. After making prominent paper folds at all the corners - I removed the box. I opened the box end so I had a flap to pull the box out with as I wrapped the box fairly snug. 

9. I made a fold in the middle by pinching the two edges together, but I did not pinch all the way to the bottom (about 3/4 of the way down).

10. I cut a half circle out of the top of the bag with a small circle punch. 

These are proving to be addictive. Now on to making tags....

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up to....

Trick or Treat Wood Blocks

This is the first of my Halloween decorating this year. I started with the blocks that I made for Thanksgiving - that I was planning on switching up for different seasons...

These Thanksgiving blocks have a quote printed on burlap - CLICK HERE to go to that post.

For the Halloween blocks, I used a batty dictionary page for my background that I found on Graphics Fairy.  I tinted it orange on my iphoto program. The words "trick" and "treat" were printed out using the font "Pieces of Eight". The word "or" is printed out using the font, "Rage".

After printing out the sheets, I cut the paper to fit each block, I stamped some scrolls randomly on the paper, and I inked the edges with black. I tacked the paper on the blocks with black upholstery tacks.  

I got the idea for these blocks from the Horton's of Tipton site. I cannot find that exact post now to link to that - but I suggest you check out this site as it has some amazing stuff.

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up to...

Graphics Fairy

Toy Story Halloween Costume

I do not make Halloween costumes for my daughter anymore, but I thought I would share my favorite costume that I made her. My daughter loved Jessie and Bullseye from Toy Story once upon a time - and we had watched a neat segment on one of our favorite shows, Art Attack, on how to make box horses. Although I did not know how to draw at all, I set out to make this outfit. I used pictures to be my guide, and I think I did pretty good considering my drawing skills are not very good. 

I couldn't find the Art Attack tutorial on how to make a cardboard horse - but I found one on ehow. CLICK HERE to go to it.

I used to make and sell baby western wear, so making the western shirt for me was reasonably easy. One could easily get a white shirt from a second hand store and add on the yellow yoke and cuffs, with red braid. I found the hat at Value Village, and I bought some cheap cow material from a fabric store and baste stitched it to a pair of her jeans - to remove later. I borrowed a pair of cowboy boots - but warning - cowboy boots are not comfortable - if I did this again I would go with runners all the way.
I did braid my daughters hair. 

Other costumes my daughter wore:

 Little Red Riding Hood

 Lion

  Princess

Elephant

 bunny

 lady bug

skunk

wounded dirt biker

This year she is dressing up as Jessie from Pokemon - and she is going to put a pikachu stuffie in a butterfly net. She might dress her dog up as James. Too funny.

Happy Costume Making!!

Linking up to...

Cinnamon Roll Bouquet

I like to give little gifts to my neighbors once in a while - and Thanksgiving is always a good time to show my appreciation. I saw the most adorable cinnamon rolls on a stick made into a bouquet. I saw this on Tasty Kitchen. The cinnamon rolls were made from Pillsbury Crescent dough. The picture for these is adorable - they were put in a mug with tissue paper and raffia was tied on the bags. The secret I think to making these mini buns is cooking them in mini muffin tins.

  CLICK HERE to go to the post. 

I was making a batch of cinnamon rolls from scratch and decided I would try this. I use Pioneer Woman's recipe - it really is very simple to make from scratch - and homemade tastes so good. The tutorial on her site is very helpful. CLICK HERE to go to it. One thing I tried different this time, and I personally liked it better, I waited for the cinnamon rolls to cool completely before I poured the icing on. 

Other things I do different:  I do not follow the instructions to not skimp on the icing. I love my icing - but I like tasting the cinnamon roll too. I do not put coffee in the icing - I pour more of the maple flavoring in. I cut the recipe in half. This makes a huge pan (15 large buns) and then I made 24 mini rolls. Of course the large recipe would work for a large group or a lot of give aways. 

After the cinnamon rolls were made and wrapped - I dressed up a can using my THANKSGIVING TYPOGRAPHY. I copy and pasted the image to my favorite graphics program, and resized it to fit six on the page. I printed it out on kraft wrapping paper (taping it to cardstock so the printer would not eat it) and then I cut it in half to fit on two cans. I used a piece of styrofoam to stick the rolls on the stick into, and used some paper grass to cover it. 

I made a "welcome to the neighborhood" tag and can too, as I had some new neighbors to greet. The inspiration for this tag came from Sankari Wegman. Please go to her post to see this tag - as mine does not do the original justice. CLICK HERE.

So there you have it - a yummy treat that makes a sweet gift.

Thanks for stopping by!

T-Shirt Market Bag

If you are on Pinterest - I am sure you have seen these fabulous market bags. This is a project I made on the beach this summer - after doing the sewing prep. This project was fun to do. This is made out of a t-shirt, with slits cut alternately through the fabric. The tutorial is found on the blog called Delia Creates.

Click here to go to the tutorial for this really cool project.

Without anything in the bag - it looks funny - but with stuff in it, it looks great! I was making a harvest gift bag for my boss and this market bag was perfect. 

I made a tag to put on the bag - inspired by a wood sign that I made last year. Right click on the image

and save to your computer if you would like to use it.

Click here to go to the post on how I made these blocks.

I am going to have to always have a t-shirt market bag on hand. I suggest you give it a try as it is fun and very frugal!

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up to...

Tatertots and Jello

Printing on Burlap Trial

Well, I have gone and done it. I mustered up all my courage and put burlap through my printer. I don't know how other people feel - but I get a warm fuzzy feeling inside when I try something that is a little out of my comfort zone - and then it turns out amazing. Here is what I made....

I found a tutorial for printing on burlap via Pinterest. CLICK HERE to go to the tutorial found on the wonderful blog called "Domestically Speaking. It has great step by step pics. Basically, you need to find Reynolds Freezer Paper. You iron the freezer paper (shiny side down) on to ironed burlap and cut it to the dimensions to fit your printer. The freezer paper gives the burlap the stiffness it needs to feed through the printer. I live in Canada - and the blog comment chatter I had heard was that it was hard to find freezer paper here. I went searching high and low with no luck. I was beginning to think a 6 hour journey to shop in the States was going to be my only hope for finding this beloved paper - but I found it where I shop all the time - SAFEWAY! I have seen a tutorial for printing on burlap using contact paper too - but I am thinking one could even use the technique for printing on regular fabric - using adhesive spray and adhering the burlap to paper. Anyhoo - I found the freezer paper - I tried it - and it works. Of course I had my finger over the CANCEL button the whole time, and I ALMOST hit cancel as there was this terrible paper jam sounding noise. It turned out it was the freezer paper just making crinkling noises as it was going through the printer - so beware of the crinkling noise. All went well and I am so excited with how easy it was. One thing I do suggest is vacuum the printer after - as burlap seems to shed worse than my daughters dog.

The saying I printed out is my all time favorite Thanksgiving saying -

Here are the images if you want to try making this saying using the three wood block idea. Right click on each image, copy, and paste to your favorite printing program and resize as needed.

I am definitely going to be printing on burlap more. 

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up to...

Whipperberry