A Halloween Crafting Compulsion: Part 1

We are planning for a little Halloween party here later this month, so you can just brace yourselves now for the posts to come about the search for the right supplies and the mad crafting that ensues.  It's all Martha's fault, really.  I mean, she has so many good ideas for Halloween out there that it is hard to choose just one or two--so why not 5 or 6 or 10?  Damn you, Martha and your wily crafting ways.

Exhibit A--the two projects above.  The first are the creepy-cool skeleton invites, instructions and downloadable templates found here (plus many more  genius invite designs here).  I did not have any brads handy when I made these so I just used some small grommets instead--worked just as well.  The black envelopes came from Paper Source, if you care to know.  The second is the creepy-crawly snake wreath--instructions here.  Not hard to make at all--bought the snakes at Target in the dollar bin, painted them with black craft paint, then had Mr. Beeper do the grapevine wreath up with some matte black spray paint. I just used thread and needle to attach the snakes to the wreath--worked fine aside from the fact that grapevines really like to snag your thread and thwart your sewing efforts.  This is the first wreath I have ever made.  I know.  Wreaths are just not my thing--but they are sort of a crafting staple (sort of like how Meg describes owls), and it seems that if you do enough crafting, you will be compelled to make one at some point.  Resistance is futile.

More Halloween madness to follow...

Sharing: Some Halloween-Inspired Projects

I had a really, really hard time selecting the final 8 projects for this post.  There are a lot of fantastically creative Halloween projects out there--more than almost any other holiday, I think.   But I love all of these and do believe I have sufficiently regained my crafting mojo that I will likely get around to making some of these this time around--in particular, that doily turned spiderweb by Betz White, those fossil cookies from Martha, and I have been meaning to do that glow stick in a jar trick with Beeper all summer.  I also have a soft spot for those "boo" and "eeek" embroideries from Sweet Paul--they just seem so simple to make so why not just do it?  Okay, also I love that ghosty garland by Ginger and George that is endlessly customizable by you and the kiddies and it probably needs to happen one afternoon after school.

Here are the links to the projects and their clever makers, clockwise, from top left:

Bird Masks by Martha; Ghost Garlands by Ginger and George; Pumpkin Pincushion by The Long Thread via Whip Up; Fossil Cookies by Martha; Spider Web Doily by Betz White; Stars in Jars (source, sadly, unknown) via this Tumbler; Softie Owls by Moonstiches via The Craft Army; Boo and Eeek Embroidered Pictures by Sweet Paul.

Happy Halloween Crafting, my pretties.

In My Shop: Skelly Men

Three little skelly men are in my shop--awaiting good homes where they can comfortably go bump in the night.  Find them here.

Who Knew Post-Its Could Be This Creepy?

Imagine: in your spare time, between raising twins and writing for a children's show, you draw these--on humble post-it notes, no less.  That's what John Kenn does.  He's Danish.  His website where he posts these office supply micro-masterpieces is mysteriously named "Don Kenn".  I really do not know anything else about him--somehow, I think he wants it that way.  

Whatever the case, I love these.  Every single one of them.  They channel Edward Gorey, but also, my own home-grown heebie-jeebies that compel me to still sleep with my bedside lamp on when Mr Beeper is out of town.  They are what we all know are out there, if only we would turn around and look.

You can see more of John's creepy beauties here.

Make This: Simple Skelly Men

Look: simple little skeleton plushies.  Inspired by their kinder, gentler, more edible cousin--the gingerbread man.  They are a family of skellies, really.  You can see that: papa skelly, mama skelly and baby skelly.  Because even skeletons need love.

It's just a nice little embroidered something you can make for someone who might have a thing for skeletons (ahem, Beeper).  They also function nicely as Halloween decor in between being played with.

Just know this: most of your time spent making these will be spent embroidering them.  I happen to love that because it means I can get in my jammies, sit on the sofa, feet up, Mad Men on, and embroider away (in between sips of wine and periodic bouts of cussing when I draw blood because I've pricked my finger again-- damn you, Don Draper, and how you distract me!).

You can download the tutorial here:

DOWNLOAD SKELETON MAN TUTORIAL

Happy Halloween.

Lucky Day Give-Away Winners of Microcrafts

Hey there lucky-day-give-away contestants.  I've got a couple of winners:

1) Amanda of comment #9, c'mon down and collect your copy of Microcrafts and get to work on that taxidermy deer head for Blythe.

2) Mandy, of comment #36, the girl with a soft spot for Pluto, get on over here too and get your copy--and I hope to continue to see you around these parts with your clever commentary that made me smile.

Both of you: please email me with your name and mailing addresses so I can get some of these books off my hands and into yours.    

The rest of you: go on back to your usual programming because I got nothin' for you.

Eat This: Sweet Corn Cakes

Sweet corn cakes.  Like pancakes hooked up with some corn bread and rolled out of bed to greet you on your breakfast plate.  Seriously, I know.  These make perfect autumn into winter breakfast fare--hearty, yes, but mostly because they are such a luscious golden color it will bring back memories of warmer summer days.  Until they hit your tongue--then all you will think about is how you can hoard the stack in the center of the table all for you, only you.

Ingredients?  Feel free to use frozen or fresh corn kernels in the batter--just make sure you cook them first.  Actually, I'm not sure why I add the corn kernels at the very end instead of with the other wet ingredients--but I do and it seems to work all right so why mess with it?

And the best thing you can do, if you really want to know, is top these with real maple syrup and a sprinkling of grated cotija cheese. This is how they serve them up at Maria's Cafe, a Colombian breakfast joint here and the inspiration for this recipe.  The dry and salty flavor of Cotija perfectly complements the tender sweetness of these cakes and makes your breakfast transcendant.  Or, just really, really good.  

Happy breakfasting.

DOWNLOAD SWEET CORN CAKES RECIPE