Crafty

Boo Balloons

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Decking out the front yard for Halloween, my husband enjoys drawing some spooky balloons to hang from trees.  He also let’s the grands join in and either take their balloons home or hang them from our trees.  To make these, you’ll need:

  1. large white balloons
  2. permanent markers
  3. string
  4. white large garbage bags
  5. scissors

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Blow up the balloon and tie a knot in the end . (Kiddos may need some assistance with this.)

Let your creativity lead you, but still keep an eye out for little ones who may not know the meaning of “permanent marker.”

My husband likes to draw a face or design on both sides of the balloon, since the balloons twist in the wind.  Once the balloon is done, tie the string on the balloon knot.

Next comes the tricky part.  With the scissors carefully slit one side of the large white trash bag.  At the opposite end of the slit, cut a small hole for the string.  Thread the string through the hole so the bag flows around the balloon.  Remove bag’s drawstring.

Enjoy.

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When at first you don’t succeed…

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Ribbon and a fake pumpkin….. yup.  I like it.  But it did not start that way.  Sometimes I have this idea and I think, that will look great.  Then I try it.  Below is my first attempt.

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Hummmm, this looked better in my head than it did in real life.  So, I didn’t give up.  I just took it apart and tried something else.

There’s a moral in there somewhere.

 

I am Lightening

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Birthday party costume — crafting fun

A quick trip though a fabric store (silver material) and a scrapbooking department (for two sheets of glitter paper) was all I needed for this terrifying costume.

I already had the plastic nails (doesn’t everyone), and only needed to paint the nail part silver.

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What took the longest was drawing out lightening bolts and cutting them from the two glitter papers stuck together.  I did all sizes of bolts.  Two bolts were connected to a ring, which secured the cape.

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Small lightening bolts were taped onto an old bracelet.

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The hardest part was making the earrings, which I combined with crystals to add some extra sparkle.

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The crowning glory (pun intended) was three bolts punched and woven with a sparkle pipe cleaner around an old plastic tiara.  We all have those lying around, right?

I dressed in black and had a blast (there’s another pun for ya) at the party.

Kid’s Kubb

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While thinking about our grandchild’s birthday party at a park, I wondered what field games could be played with the variety of ages in attendance.  My brother, who was visiting at the time, introduced us to Kubb, a game from Sweden he had heard about.

There was a great deal of information on YouTube and Google about the game.  A few of us watched several videos and thought it would be a splendid game….and one we could make rather “easily.”  Lincoln and I discussed colors and how to change the original rules to something more birthday-friendly.

My husband, who can make anything, bought a couple of dowels, a piece of wood, and gathered some wood from a wooden pallet.  He cut everything to size and rough sanded the pieces.

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I took over the blocks and painted them with used paint from the garage.  It took a while, but it helped to give the wood two-three coats.

The next step took the longest.  I taped off each block and baton in preparation for the colors.

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To say this step took hours would not be hyperbole.  Still, it was fun to see the colors bring the set to life.

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Once the set was painted two or three more times, everything was handed back over to my husband who sprayed a sealer on the entire set.  Yes, several coats.

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The game turned out to be a lot of fun.  After the kids played a couple of games, the adults played as well.  It was a success, and a game I hope we will play for years to come.

Peppermint

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The website Pinterest.com often inspires me to try new things.  This holiday I melted peppermint candies.  It really helps to have a special stick-free Silpat mat.  I attempted to make a peppermint tray, but didn’t keep my eye on the oven and the edges started to over-melt.  So I slid the mat over a bowl which I had turned upside down on the counter and formed, through gravity, a lovely bowl.

I also made some large candy canes.

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I had also read how to turn tiny candy canes into hearts.  I used some saved chopsticks to make hot chocolate stirs.

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They made the table festive.

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Lastly, I purchased some peppermint bark from a local Costco and piled it, along with the big candy canes, into my bowl.  Festive dessert.

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