Happy Easter and Happy Spring!!!!!! This craft was very easy. All I did was blow up some balloons and dip some string in liquid starch and wrap around the balloons. Make sure you go in all different directions when wrapping the balloons. Set them aside to dry and then pop the balloon and pull it threw the side of the string egg. Take care with the eggs. They are kind of fragile!
Welcome Autumn!!!!
This wreath was easy but a little time consuming. We have a buckeye tree in our yard so every year I collect the buckeyes and this year I decided to make a wreath out of them. I just hot glued the buckeyes to a grapevine wreath and adderd some ribbon and checked flowers and small owl for a nice Fall effect.
Happy Halloween!!! Front Door Wreath. All I did was hot glue a couple bags of eyeballs to a corn husk wreath..super easy!!!!
Paper Mache" Pumpkins.
I found this on a website named STOLLOWEEN.com. Check it out he does some amazing work!! I wanted to make some pumpkins that I could keep from year to year and not pay the enormous prices of the styrofoam pumpkins you see in the stores, so I did some research and came up with the site. Make sure you have all the ingredients on hand before you begin your project and make sure you cover your work area. This tends to get a little messy.
*Step 1*
Get a garbage bag and stuff it full of bunched up newspaper and tie it at the top with anything avaliable once you have reached the size of pumpkin you want.
*Step 2*
After you have filled your garbage bag, use a toilet paper roll for the stem. You can try to get the cardboard roll down in the hole of the bag and then use masking tape to hold it in position. Next you want to define the lines of the pumpkin. Using twine or a heavy string bring it down over the sides of the bag to form definitions in the pumpkin. Tie tight on the bottom. Then using more masking tape, tape over the string to further add definition to the form.
*Step 4*
After you have your newspaper strips ready, mix your clay mixture. I used a bag of CelluClay I got at Michael's. I got the big bag but I was planning on making a lot of pumpkins, but they sell smaller bags if you are planning on just making one.
* Step 5*
Follow directions on bag but don't mix it too thick for the strips. Remember back to fourth grade when you did paper mache' projects. Remember you want it kind of runny for the paper strips. Try to mix enough to get a first coat on the pumpkin.
Begin to layer your newspaper strips all over the pumpkin form. Don't forget to do the bottom too. Make sure you also don't forget to do the toilet paper roll stem. I put four layers on my pumpkins but if you have the time I would recommend about 6. It just makes them sturdier.
After you have your layers on it is time for the thick clay part to add more definition. What I mean by that is the you are going to make some modeling clay.Once you have the desired thickness place it on the top portion of the pumpkin, Hollow out the lines of the string you first placed on the pumpkin to give it that realistic look. Don't forget the stem. Work your way down about the top 1/3 of the pumpkin and then let dry completely.
Here is a pic of all the pumpkins I did.
*Step 8*
This is the step that really adds the realistic features. Using a small utility knife cut out your face. A little word to the wise, make sure you do not cut out the mouth part to close to the bottom of the pumpkin. It makes the finished project too fragile. Once you have the face cut out cut out the bottom of the pumpkin and pull out all of the newspaper.
Now is the really difficult part. Using cereal boxes cut out strips and place into the eyes, nose and mouth spaces. You can use hot glue to set them. Just be careful the pumpkin without its' stuffing is very delicate now. The first pic is with the face just cut out.
This pic shows the cardboard cut outs inserted into the eyes and nose.
*Step 9*
After you have your cardboard inserted and it is firm, it is time for more definition. Once again, make some paper mache' clay. Make it thick enough that you can mold it but not to thick. Start at the eyes and work around the features to build up the ares where you used the cardboard. I didn't use any cardboard in this pumpkins mouth because of all the teeth so I built up the corners of the mouth. Once you get this accomplished place them in front of a dehumidifier if you have one. If not just let it dry completely. That could take a day or two or more depending on how much clay you used and the conditions where it is drying.
*Step 10*
Painting day!! First spray the inside with flourescent yellow. A couple of coats is good enough. Then I painted the base coat black. After that I put on a coat of orange, then dry brushed on yellow, red, green and some brown. The last coat I even lightly brushed on a coat of gold glitter.
This was a time consuming project but I think they turned out GREAT!!!!! I hope you give this one a try.
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Today was kind of gray and cloudy, so I decided to make my grapevine beehive that I have been thinking about. I have seen so many of these in the stores, but they are so expensive I decided to make my own. First I needed the grapevine, which I had a lot of since we were cutting trees and cleaning out the mass of trees we had.
Keep winding the vine around using the wire as you go. Make sure you start to wind inward. If you don't you will end up making a wreath.
You want it to start to look like this.
This is the finished project.
If you want to add lights and some type of decoration feel free. If you do add lights make sure they have the brown wire.
Looks beautiful on top of my piano!!!
