Halloween Pompom Garland

If you haven't decked your halls for Halloween yet, you're running out of time! Don't worry--I have a last-minute project for you that's super cute and super simple. All you need is a small amount of orange, gold, black, and white yarn. If you have purple, green, or gray yarn on hand, you can throw them into the mix too. You'll also need a pompom maker--one of my all-time favorite craft gadgets. (Mine is from Clover.)

Just use the pompom manufacturer's directions to whip up as many pompoms as you like. Beware--as I've said before, pompom making is addictive. When you finish your pompoms, give them a trim to even the edges, and then fluff them up. (Don't trim the two ends of the tying strand; you'll use those to assemble your garland.)

For the base of my garland I just crocheted a length of white chain stitch, and then tied my pompoms along it, evenly spaced. If you'd like to make this project even easier, tie your pompoms to a length of Halloween ribbon or colored craft twine. When your garland is finished, hang it around a window, wrap it around a chandelier, or wind it around a centerpiece for an extra splash of Halloween color.

If you still have a few minutes to spare, here are two more quick crafts from Halloweens past:

Candy Corn Hair Clips

Scrap Basket Halloween Pumpkins

My Halloween Designs in "Just CrossStitch" Magazine

As you can see, I'm going to be having a very-cross-stitched Halloween at my house this year. I was lucky enough to have four of my designs featured in the special Halloween issue of Just CrossStitch magazine, which is on newsstands now. Here's a peak at my projects: first up is the Halloween Welcome Banner, pictured above.

I've got to admit, this Monster Movie television is one of the favorite things I've ever made. Maybe because I love watching campy 1950s sci-fi movies at Halloween or any time of year.

As you can see from the Nevermore cross-stitched picture above, I'm also a big Edgar Allan Poe fan.

Last but not least is this creepy Spiderweb ornament, which is embellished with a shiny spider charm and silky fringe. (The satin floss from DMC can be a little tricky to work with, but I think it's totally worth the effort.)

If you'd like to stitch one of these designs--or any of the other 49 projects featured in the magazine--look for this cover on your newsstand. And if you want to finish in time for Halloween, you better start stitching soon.

Happy stitching!

Scrap Basket Halloween Pumpkins

Happy Halloween! My treat for you on this spookiest of days is a super-simple pumpkin decorating project. I used a few buttons and  scraps of ribbon and rickrack to make two happy little Halloween pumpkins. Like Linus in "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," I prefer not to "kill" my pumpkins. This minimally invasive method just inflicts a few pinpricks. The instructions are self-explanatory: assemble your materials, as in the photo at right, and fasten them to each pumpkin with straight pins to make eyes and a mouth. I tied a bow on the orange pumpkin, because I thought its curvy stem looked like a ponytail. The white pumpkin got a cool ribbon-wrapped hairstyle.


As an extra treat, I'm also sharing a list of my favorite scary movies:

Dracula (1931)
Frankenstein (1931)
The Wolfman (1941)
The Body Snatcher (1945)
Thing from Another World (1951)
 Them (1954)
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Tarantula (1955)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
The Blob (1958)
Earth vs. the Spider (1958)
The Fly (1958)
The Screaming Skull (1958)
The Mummy (1959)
House on Haunted Hill (1959)
The Tingler (1959)
The Killer Shrews (1959)
Psycho (1960)
Thirteen Ghosts (1960)
The Day of the Triffids (1962)

As you can see, I prefer my horror classic and/or campy. If all goes well, I'll be watching at least of few of these tonight while I stitch and snack on Halloween candy.

Itsy-Bitsy Spider Necklace

I used to love coming up with crazy Halloween costumes every year--for myself, when I was younger, and later for my two daughters. These days, my costume consists of a black shirt with a ghost applique that I pull out of the closet once a year. But even though I don't dress up for my second-favorite holiday anymore, I still like to have some fun with Halloween accessories. This year, I came up with a simple, spooky spider necklace.

I got the idea for this project when I found these little metal spider charms at my local Michael's store. Spiders need webs to hang from, so I put some crochet thread that I had on hand to work. It's Aunt Lydia's silver metallic crochet, so it has a little sparkle.

To make the necklace, use a size 4 steel crochet hook and chain about 40 stitches. Attach one of the spiders by drawing the thread through the loop on the charm with the crochet hook, then complete the stitch to hold the charm in place. Continue working in chain stitch, adding a spider charm every 40 stitches or so until the strand reaches the length you want. Join the end chain to the beginning chain with a slip stitch and fasten it off. You can wear your necklace in a single strand or double as shown in the photo below. 

An extra treat . . .

If you're looking for another adorable Halloween accessory, how about a pair of candy corn hair clips? Click here to go to the original post, which appeared on my blog last October.

Black Cat Cross-Stitch Kit

Everyone likes Halloween treats! This black cat cross-stitch kit is a perfect gift for stitchers who are searching for a seasonably scary project. A black gossamer bag holds everything you need--chart, fabric, embroidery floss, and needles--to stitch up a spooky little black cat like this one:

If you're like me, you probably never throw a gift box or bag away, so chances are you have a gossamer bag on hand. (Mine is black, about 4 inches square, and once held a bracelet, I think.) If not, you can find one at a craft store. When you have your bag, click  here to download and print the Black Cat Cross-Stitch Kit Printable. Cut out the chart and place it in the bag along with a small piece of Aida fabric, a skein of black embroidery floss, and an embroidery needle or two attached to a scrap of black felt.

Next, cut the tag from the printable sheet and punch a hole in the top left corner. Fasten the tag to one of the ties on the gossamer bag, tie the bag closed, and kit is complete. Happy Halloween stitching!

Mini Halloween Pillows

October has arrived, so it's time to scare up some Halloween decorations. How about a pair of frighteningly cute mini pillows? They're simple to sew from fun green and orange print fabrics, felt and rickrack.

My pillows are about 6 1/2" by 4 1/2", but you can make yours any size you like. First, cut two rectangles with rounded corners from cotton print fabric, adding 1/4" seam allowance to all edges. Now comes the fun part--creating the "Boo" and "Eek" lettering. To make the templates, choose a nice fat typeface in your word-processing software (I used Garamond bold). Remember--the fancier the font, the trickier the cutting will be. Adjust the size of the typeface so each word fits within the pillow front with at least an inch of space all around. Print the word out and pin it to a piece of black felt. Use sharp small scissors to cut the letters from the felt. Center a word on each pillow front, pin in place, and whipstitch with black thread. 

Now, let's give some attention to the pillow backs. Cut a rectangle of green or orange felt and pin it, centered, to the pillow back. Sew it in place along the side and bottom edges to create a pocket to hold small treats or a gift card.

To assemble the pillow, press the edges of the pillow front and back 1/4" to the wrong side. Pin the front and back together with wrong sides facing, sandwiching a length of wide black rickrack between the pieces. Sew the pillow together with running stitch and matching sewing thread. Leave an opening and stuff the pillow with fiberfill before you complete the stitching.

I added ribbons to my "Boo" and "Eek" pillows so I can use them as ornaments. To give your kids a Halloween morning surprise, tuck treats in the pockets and hang the pillows on your little goblins' bedroom doorknobs.

Owl Treat Bag

Who doesn't love owls--and Halloween? I made this owl treat bag a few years ago. I had been playing around with the idea of making felt fringe, and it seemed perfect for this project. The cylinder-shaped bag is made from felt and embroidery floss, with a few button details. I designed the project as a Halloween treat bag, but you could also use it as a tabletop decoration. That's where my owl will be landing soon.

This little guy was featured in the Fall 2013 issued of Crafts 'n Things--now Craft Ideas--magazine. (That's him up there on the cover.) Instead of giving you the directions here, I'm sharing the link to the project page on the Craft Ideas website: Owl Treat Bag. You can print the directions right from the page, which also has a link to printable patterns.

Here are some additional photos to help you understand how the owl is constructed:

Back view

Inside view and handle

Wing detail

Knit Cobweb Scarf

I live in Northeastern Pennsylvania, and by the end of October, the weather is starting to get pretty chilly. Temperatures on Halloween night can be mild or freezing. Sometimes we even get snow flurries. I made this scarf so I'd have something warm and a little spooky to wear during the Halloween season.

My inspiration for the design was cobwebs. After much experimentation I think I came up with a pattern that's lacy and airy--just like the webs that hang around haunted houses. The yarn I used is Simply Soft Party by Caron International. It contains shiny filaments that give the scarf a little bit of sparkle. And can I just say how much of love this fringe? A little bit time-consuming, but well worth the effort. 

This scarf was featured in the Fall 2014 issue of Craft Ideas magazine. Here's the link to the project page: Cobweb Scarf. You can download and print the directions right from the Craft Ideas website. 

Candy Corn Hair Clips

For me, the month of October is a countdown to Halloween. So for the first blog craft of the month, I came up with a project that combines two of my favorite Halloween activities--crafting and snacking. These sweet candy corn hair clips are easy to stitch from orange, yellow, and white felt. They start with plain hair clips that you can find at a craft store.

I made two different sizes of clips, but the directions are the same for both. First, measure your hair clip and draw a triangle on a piece of card stock that's just a smidge longer than the clip. The base of the triangle should be wide enough to conceal the bottom of the clip. For each clip, use the pattern to cut two triangles from orange felt, and one from yellow and white felt. 

Cut the yellow and white triangles--and one of the orange triangles--into thirds. (The other orange triangle will be used as the background piece.) Arrange three of the cut felt pieces on the background triangle--orange on the bottom, yellow in the middle, and white on the top. Use matching embroidery floss to sew the pieces to the background triangle. When the stitching is complete, snip the pointed end to give it a blunt shape. 

To finish, just sew the your felt candy corn piece onto the plain clip. I stitched through the existing holes at each end of the clip, and that held the felt piece in place securely. 

There you are--one candy corn hair clip complete! Make a bunch and give them to your favorite trick-or-treaters. Be warned: making these candy corn clips is almost as addicting as eating the real thing. 

Halloween Craft Roundup

It's Halloween crafting season! I'll be featuring some new projects on my blog this month--some spooky, some sweet--but today I'm sharing some Halloween crafts you may have missed. Follow the links below to find the original blog posts and instructions for these easy October projects:

Miniature Haunted House

Mini Monsters

Mad Scientist Bookmarks

Halloween Paper Chain

Halloween Treat Boxes

Mini Monsters

If you made the Miniature Haunted House from last week's blog, it's probably looking pretty empty. I made these little Halloween characters from wooden beads, paint, and paper to give the place a little life. I'm providing basic directions for each monster, but you can pretty much use any materials you have on hand.

Dracula: Paint a round bead and a square bead white and then glue them together when the paint is dry. Use permanent markers or paint and a fine-tip brush to create the vampire's jacket details, facial features, and famous hairline. Cut a bat-wing cape from black paper and glue it onto Dracula's back.

Frankenstein's Monster: Paint a large round bead black for the monster's body and a square bead green for the head. Glue the pieces together when the paint is dry and glue a square of black card stock to the base for the feet. Add hair, a mouth, eyes, and a scar to the monster's face with paint and markers.

Ghost: Paint two round beads--one large, one small--white and let them dry. Cut a circle from a coffee filter and glue it to the large bead, then glue the small bead on top. Draw eyes and mouth (bedsheet-style ghosts don't usually have noses) and glue on a white paper base to keep him from tipping over.

Pumpkins: These pumpkins are more cute than spooky, but you can add more menacing features if you like. For each, paint a round, ridged bead orange and add eyes with white and black paint. For the stem, glue a piece of green twist-tie into the center of the bead and wind it into a spiral. Glue the finished pumpkin on a circle of card stock so it doesn't roll away.

Witch: Since witches come in all shapes and sizes, you can use any beads you like for this character. Paint the body black, the head green, and then glue the pieces together. Add paper shoes with curled-up toes and painted facial features. Top the head with embroidery floss hair and a pointed black paper hat.

Mummy: My Mummy is on the small side, but I think he's still pretty creepy looking. Choose two beads--one for the body, one for the head--in any size or style you have and paint them white. Glue them together and use a black marker to draw a shadowy face and layers of bandages. 

Miniature Haunted House

My collection of boxes provided creative inspiration for this tabletop haunted house. I used a cereal box and an assortment of cardboard jewelry boxes as the construction materials for a creepy four-story mansion right out of a vintage horror movie. I had fun making it myself, but it would be a great Halloween project for kids too. 

Making the framework for the house was the trickiest part of this project. I started with a cereal box, cut away the top flaps and the back panel, and then used the scrap pieces of cardboard and a stapler to create the roof. It took several coats of acrylic paint--black on the outside, metallic silver on the inside--to completely cover the printed images on the box. I glued black and gray paper shingles to the top of the roof and sealed them with a coat of Mod Podge.®

Bottom floors

While the box dried between coats, I decorated the house's tiny rooms with paper cutouts, markers and paint pens. I furnished the hall with an ominous portrait and ticking grandfather clock--necessary elements of haunted house decor. Test tubes and a menacing machine fill the laboratory (every respectable haunted house has one). I decorated the dining room with a glittery chandelier and dramatic furniture. In the sitting room three creepy silhouettes watch over an overstuffed sofa. I created a stark kitchen, a deceptively cozy bedroom, an attic study, and a storage room to complete the house's layout.

Top floors

When the rooms were furnished and dried, a fastened them to the inside of the cereal box frame with heavy-duty double-stick tape. To keep the haunted house from tipping over, I mounted it on a base of corrugated cardboard dappled with black and silver paint.

Black and gray paper "shingles" cover the roof.

Mad Scientist Bookmarks

Part of my annual October ritual is watching as many classic sci-fi movies as I can before Halloween. My favorites involve creatures produced through science run amok--Them!, The Fly, The Killer Shrews--you get the idea. In the spirit of misguided scientific experimentation, I created these mad scientist bookmarks. You can make them as favors for a children's Halloween party, or--if you're a sci-fi fan like me--use them to mark your place in your copy of The Day of the Triffids.

To make the microscope slide bookmarks, I used scissors and hole punches to create germs and squiggly creatures from colored paper. I arranged the pieces on a strip of clear adhesive-backed paper and added eyes--white punched-paper circles dotted with black-ink pupils. If you want to give your bookmark a name tag like I did, cut a small square of white vellum, write a name on it with permanent marker, and place it at the top of the "slide." Seal the bookmark with another layer of adhesive-backed paper, punch a hole in the top, and add a knotted cord or yarn.

Although they are not scientifically accurate, the round bookmarks are supposed to look like petri dishes (remember bio class?) filled with microscopic creatures. I used a circle of white vellum for the base of each design and arranged paper germs, glitter, and snippets of ribbon, thread, and feathers on top. When I liked the way the arrangement looked, I added a circle of adhesive-backed paper to hold all the pieces in place. If you have no need for petri dish bookmarks, use them as coasters at your Halloween party instead.