Spooky Tree

Happy October! Fall has officially arrived and the weather is so cool and refreshing. October is my birthday month and also, of course, Halloween. I've never really been into Halloween but I don't mind a few decorations. I usually just skip over it and have some fall decorations and then add stuff for Thanksgiving, which we nearly always have at our house. But every now and again I remember to add a couple little things.

A few posts ago, I mentioned my friend Meg and I made 'Spooky Trees' but I couldn't figure out how to finish mine.

2013 Update: To make these, we just twisted black pipe cleaners into a stem for the trunk and added more for branches until we were happy with the way they looked. We painted blocks of wood that Meg's husband cut for us black and glued some fake moss Meg has lying around on top.

Well, I ended up finding images of a bat, a ghost, and a pumpkin I liked from ClipArt, edited out the stuff I didn't want, resized them, printed them, traced them, and cut them out on a few pieces of construction and glossy paper I had lying around from my scrapbooking. I then poked a hole in them with a pin and needle and made a loop to hang them with black thread. They're not 100% great (I went a little overboard with some red glitter and faces on the pumpkins) but I still think it's cute.

I also added a little gravestone just made from construction paper that says 'Happy Halloween' on it!

Stay tuned for more crafts coming your way! I've been super busy lately with them but I've got a few finishing touches that I'm trying to wrap up before sharing...

2013 update:

Autumn Wreath

Today was my friend Meg's birthday. She's a really good crafter so when she invited me over to make some things, I immediately said yes! I've really been wanting to learn how to make new things. I especially love her wreaths so I had her instruct me on how to make one. Here is the finished project:

I love it! You can't really see it, but a lot of the leaves have gold glitter on them so it shines really nicely. I bought one Styrofoam circle wreath from Michaels and those bunches of plastic autumn leaves and berries (some with glitter, some without) and cut them off. Then I glued the leaves on top of the Styrofoam then around the inside and outside and again on the top so they stuck out more. Last, I glued bunches of berries and finished it off with a cranberry red ribbon for hanging. It was super easy! I'll definitely be making some more!

We also made Meg's idea of 'spooky trees'. Mine isn't finished because I can't decide what to hang on it (or, more specifically, how to make them). Any ideas? I'd love to do some bats or ghosts or something. I just don't know how I'd make them super tiny.

Over at In the Loop, Meg should be posting instructions on how we made them pretty soon! She also made a great wreath for her favorite Ohio State team, the Buckeyes!

2013 update:

Here's a new picture of the wreath!