Halloween Cheesecloth Ghost Video

Last week I was invited to WDRB in the Morning to demonstrate the Halloween Floating Ghost DIY.  Take a look at the video to see how easy and fun it is to create this friendly ghost for your home. 

First, you need to create a ghost form from a soda bottle, Styrofoam ball, and wire.  Then you’ll need to drape the form with cheesecloth leaving lots of extra fabric on the front and back so that the ghost will stand once it has dried.  Next, generously spray the ghost with liquid starch.  Once it has dried, remove the ghost from the form and create a ghost face from black felt.  Display on any table or hang from the corners of your room.  So simple, and spookily adorable!

Happy Halloween!

~julee~

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Halloween Crafts Roundup

Still looking for great Halloween craft inspiration?  Check out these 13 awesomely spooky Halloween crafts by Craft E Magee and D.I.Y. Louisville:

Eat, Drink, Be Scary Sign

Edible Dracula Blood

Frankenstein Candy Pail

Ghost Garland

Monster Wreath

Spooky Styrofoam Spider

Needle Felted Pumpkin Scarf

Trick or Treat Bag Tutorial

Wall Witch

Floating Ghost

Halloween Owl Plaque

Halloween Cupcakes with Edible Ghost Toppers

Crayon Transfer Treat Bags

 

What crafts did you make this season?  Share a link to your project in the comments – I would love to see what you’ve been up to!

Happy Halloween DIY’ers!

~julee~

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DIY Witch Legs Halloween Table

My trick-or-treat table is all ready for neighborhood ghouls and goblins.  I created this witch legs Halloween table to sit in our entry way to hold our treats for Halloween night.  Creating it was super simple, but the outcome has a  big impact.

Here’s what I did:  I look an old pair of striped tights and placed them on two legs of the table.  My table was skinny enough that I could just stretch them over, but if creating this for a wider table you will have to cut them and tape them up underneath.

Then I created witch shoes out of black felt.  I drew a simple template and created two shoe pieces for each leg.  Using tacky glue, glue the pieces together, but leave an opening wide enough to slide on your table legs.  Use a hole puncher to create lace holes, and use a ribbon to create laces. 

That’s it!  Slide the shoes on the table legs and now you’ve got a festive witch table for your Halloween festivities!

Happy Halloween, DIY’ers!

~julee~

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Last Minute Halloween Cupcakes

Looking for a quick but cute last minute Halloween cupcake decorating idea?  Create ghost cupcake toppers out of white bark.  It only takes a few minutes to create these cute, edible ghosts.

Not every party calls for time-consuming homemade desserts.  I am the queen of throwing a party and setting up dessert tables last minute, so I make sure I always have boxes of cake mix, cans of frosting, and white chocolate bark in my cabinets.  Even with these basic items, you can make your Halloween dessert table look fabulously festive.

To create white chocolate ghosts, simply melt the white bark in the microwave according to package directions and spoon the melted bark into a plastic baggie.  Then, snip of a tiny corner of the baggie to create your piping bag.  Line a cookie sheet with wax paper and pipe out a ghost shape.  You can also draw a ghost form on a piece of paper and slide it under the wax paper as a template.  Once you have all the ghost shapes you need, pop the cookie sheet into the freezer for a few minutes. When they are hardened, gently peel them off the wax paper.  The back side will be smooth.  Use icing or gel to create a ghost face and they are ready to spook atop your Halloween cupcakes.  So easy and cute!

Add a few extra elements to up the fun factor on your dessert table.  This bitty cupcake stand and these jack-o-lantern cupcake liners are from Wholeport.  They give your dessert table the perfect spooky vibe for your edible ghost toppers.

Other last minute Halloween dessert table ideas include filling decorated paper cups with store-bought candy and making Peep suckers by adding a lollipop stick.  These adorable black and white polka-dot cups also come from Wholeport.  Paper straws always add a festive element to your party.

What are your favorite last minute decorating tips?  Share in the comments – I’m always looking for ways to save time on party planning!

Happy Halloween party planning, DIY’ers!

~julee~

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DIY Floating Ghost

I saw this DIY Floating Ghost on Pinterest and knew that I immediately needed to make a few to decorate my home.  Even though I had seen several versions of this project on Pinterest, I was still a little skeptical that it would turn out and that the ghost would stand on its own.  Well guess what?  It totally does work and it gives a really cool illusion of a floating ghost!

And now I’m pretty much convinced that all homes need a floating ghost or two as decoration this year – especially if you have kids.  This is an easy project for them to help with, plus the cool factor is off the charts on this one.

To get started you’ll need the following:  Cheese cloth, liquid starch, a spray bottle, black felt, soda bottle, Styrofoam ball, wire.  And a hairdryer if you’re impatient like me.  Everything but the liquid starch and soda bottle can be found at the craft store.  I found the liquid starch at a big box store that wasn’t Target.

I used a 2-liter soda bottle and a large Styrofoam ball for a larger ghost, but you may opt to use a smaller bottle and ball for a small floating ghost.  I filled my bottle with water to keep it weighted.  Remove the bottle label so the ink doesn’t bleed through.  Then, with the cap off, smoosh the Styrofoam ball onto the neck (lip?) of the bottle.  Stick wire pieces into the Styrofoam to create arms.  (Wings?   Floaty apparatuses…?)

Drape the cheesecloth over the form you just created and leave enough excess on the front and back to create a balancing stand for the ghost once you remove it.

If your liquid starch is concentrated, mix it 50/50 with water.  Now cover your work surface, and spray the ghost down.  You might want to sing the Ghostbuster theme song.  Just sayin’.

The more starch you use, the stiffer the ghost.  Use your best judgment, but I got mine pretty saturated.  Don’t forget to spray the excess cheesecloth at the bottom.  While the starch is still wet, you may want to pull out the shape and rework the cheesecloth to get the look you want.  Now, you can either leave it be to dry overnight, or you can use a hairdryer to help speed up the drying process.

Once the ghost is completely dry, remove it from the form.  He should now stand on his own.  But if he doesn’t, place him back on the form, and add a little more starch to the base and let it dry.  Create eyes or face pieces out of black felt and glue them on.

That’s it!  Now your DIY Floating Ghost is ready to haunt your abode.

Happy ghost making, DIY’ers!

~julee~

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D.I.Y. Louisville Crafty Halloween Party

This past weekend D.I.Y. Louisville members gathered at Louisville Nature Center and celebrated their 3rd annual Halloween Craft Party.  Crafts + treats + Craft E Magee dressed as a black widow = good times.  Good, good times.

With an assortment of Halloween scrapbook paper on hand, participants put together their own Halloween Owl Plaque.  I always love to see how unique everyone’s piece turns out.  I especially love the kid’s plaques.  I firmly believe anything adults can do, kids can do better.

No Halloween party is complete without treats, and we had them in abundance.  Wholeport treat cups filled with candy corn were placed on every table.  Members provided lots of sweets, homemade cupcakes, pumpkin dump cake and even pumpkin salsa for everyone to nosh on while we waited for our painted plaques to dry.

It’s hard to believe that our little craft group is on its 3rd year of celebrating holidays and crafty good times, but there it is.  I’m so thankful for all of the fabulously talented ladies who pull together every month to help put these events together.  I could never, ever do it all without them!  Here’s to many more crafty celebrations!

If you’re a Louisville Local and are interested in joining us for future craft parties and meet-ups, please join our Facebook page to stay up to date on all future events.

Happy Halloween, DIY’ers!

~julee~

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Video: DIY Halloween Owl Wall Decor

I took my Halloween owl plaque to WDRB in the Morning this week.  To make this adorable Halloween decoration, all you need is a wooden plaque, paint, scrapbook paper, and Mod Podge.  You can download the owl template at kiki(verde).  It all comes together quickly and is so cute hung amongst your décor or propped up on a shelf.

Louisville locals can watch crafts with D.I.Y. Louisville and Craft E Magee twice monthly on WDRB in the Morning.  We’ll be back on air with more Halloween crafts on Wednesday, October 23rd at 7:45 & 8:15am.  If you can’t tune in, check out our YouTube pages where we share all of our craft segments.

Happy Halloween crafting, DIY’ers!

~julee~

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DIY Halloween Owl Plaque

Are you ready to deck out your walls with Halloween décor?  This week, I made time to create my first Halloween craft of the season.  Such a sweet little DIY Halloween owl plaque, and so easy to make, too! 

Would you like to make your own Halloween owl?  You’ll need:  a wooden plaque (mine measures 7x7), black paint, Mod Podge, owl template, and assorted scrapbook papers.

First, download the free owl template from Kiki(verde).  Cut out your scrapbook paper in the shapes from the template.  Use stick glue to piece your owl together.  (This is not shown, because this genius idea didn’t come to me until too late, but it’ll make it easier, trust me.)

Paint your wooden plaque black.  After it dries, give it a nice smooth, even, thin coat of Mod Podge.

While the Mod Podge is wet, lay your owl down.  Then, top your owl with a nice, smooth, even, thin layer of Mod Podge.  Not too much or your paper will warp.  Smooth out any air bubbles. 

Once dry, your owl is ready to display amongst your spookiest décor.  Whooooooo!

If you would like to hang your Halloween owl plaque, simply hot glue a ribbon to the back as a hanger. 

D.I.Y. Louisville is having a Halloween party!  If you’re in the Louisville area and would like to join the Crafty Halloween Party, see the full details here.  For only $10 you can join us and we’ll have all the supplies you need to make your own DIY Halloween owl plaque.  Plus, we’ll have refreshments and prizes, too!  Email me at diylouisville@gmail.com if you have any questions!

Happy Halloween crafting, DIY’ers!

~julee~

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D.I.Y. Louisville 3rd Annual Crafty Halloween Party!

Louisville Locals join us for our 3rd annual crafty Halloween party!  We’ll be making a spooky owl wall hanging, plus giving away prizes and sharing lots of treats!  The cost is $10 and includes everything you need to make the craft.  Purchase tickets and RSVP at Eventbrite:  diylouisville.eventbrite.com.

I hope to see you there!

~julee~

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Hello, Friday

    

I’m reflecting on my simple moments from this week, because is it just me, or did this week just fly by? 

True story, my daughter actually cried when she realized my husband would not be home to carve our pumpkins this year.  The hubs does really awesome jack-o-lanterns, and I…well…I have zero artistic skills.  Of course I used this opportunity to carve into our pumpkins with a  We don’t need no man! fervor, and then I dressed up as a man for Halloween.  I don’t know, a little Rosie the Riveter perhaps, but I think there was some important life skills doled out for my daughter along with her Halloween candy this year.

I hope your Halloween was safe and full of fun.  Kim and I are still sending positive thoughts out to our friends and readers on the east coast.

Happy Friday!

~julee~

 

linking up with Life Rearranged and Hello Hue and High Five For Friday.

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D.I.Y. Louisville Halloween Party

The D.I.Y. Louisville group got together for a little Halloween crafting party this year.    Kim led the group in sculpting pumpkin and ghost charms made from polymer clay.  We also noshed on delicious Halloween treats, met new friends, and held a costume contest.  Miss Happy Pink passed out treats and sponsored one of our great giveaways of the night.  As you may have guessed by now, the DIY gals love Halloween!

The group working on their clay charms.

Everyone’s charms are unique.

Goodies and treats from Miss Happy Pink.

Miss Happy Pink as Hello Kitty.

Craft E Magee came dressed as – what else? – a Craft E Magee doll.  So cute, and she won the costume contest, too!

Schlemiel, schlimazel, hasenpfeffer incorporated!  Kim & Julee – A modern day Lavern & Shirley.

We have more pictures up on our Facebook page if you’d like to stop by and take a peek.  Happy Halloween, DIY’ers!

Kim & Julee

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Good Fortune: Fortune Telling Game for Kids

For my daughter’s Halloween party, I had the idea for bring in Madame Good Fortune to tell good, positive fortunes for the girls.  The girls at our party were ages 9-11, and while I thought that they would enjoy this, I had no idea that it would turn out to be the biggest hit at any of my parties ever.

I needed someone to play the part who would also be able to think up creative responses quickly.  Luckily my good friend Robin was perfect for the role and willing to play along.  Between the two of us, we came up with this sort of on-the-fly good fortune game.



To play:  Print out cards with the words Love, Beauty, Wealth, Friendship, Truth, Travel, Adventure on them.  (I have a free printable HERE that you can print.)  Adhere these to black cardstock so that you can’t see through them.  Lay them face down on the table, and let the kids turn over 2-3 cards.  Their good fortune is based on the cards, in the order they are turned over.  For example, if Truth and Love are selected, their fortune might be something like Keeping truth in your heart will always lead you to love, or You love with a true heart.  To engage the kids, you can ask them if they know an example of how this has happened in the past or may happen in the future.



Additionally, we had a selection of colored beads.  At the end of the encounter with Madame Good Fortune, the girls each selected a bead.  The color of the bead represented another fortune.  Here are a few that we thought of:

Red:  You love with a true heart.
White: You are guided by the stars.
Green:  Your beauty comes from within.
Blue:  You are a true and loyal friend
Amber:  You are grounded to the earth.
Purple: You will achieve what you set your mind to.

Afterwards, we used jewelry wire to turn the beads into rings so that the girls could wear their good fortunes.


Both of these ideas can be easily adapted and expanded on for your group.  Have fun thinking of your own good fortunes!

~julee~

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