Halloween Mason Jar Light-Up Ghost

I just love Halloween for all the crafty possibilities it brings and what better way to celebrate and showcase Halloween than with a Craft Lightning Round!

I always love participating in this great crafty collaboration with other bloggers and I am so appreciative of the Hosts: Angie from the Country Chic Cottage and Carolina from 30 Minute Crafts. For this edition of Craft Lightning there is a guest host also, Jen Goode, from 100 Directions!

So be sure to check out all of the other great 15 minute Crafts on their blogs also!

I was at a local craft store recently and saw a display of some of those popular glass blocks with lights in them and it gave me the inspiration for my project...a Spooky Mason Jar Ghost that lights up!

I didn't know how to make the mini string lights work well with a Mason Jar in the past, so I was pleasantly surprised to see this gem at my local Hobby Lobby!

It's already set up to fit a mason jar perfectly and the batteries are hidden inside the round piece that attaches to the lid!

I was pleased at the amount of light this gadget gives off considering it's powered by only a couple of AAA Batteries!

I decided to make my ghost a "girlie" ghost by adding a pretty faux fall flower.
It gave her a little flair and didn't take away from her "spookiness" at all!

Here is a video showing the steps to make this project:

Here are the tools and supplies I used for this project:

Supplies/Tools List:

Ball Mason Jar, Large, 7"
Transform Mason Jar LED Light Insert, Loew Cornell
Plastic Wrap, Sunny Select Brand
Aleene's Fabric Stiffener & Draping Liquid*
Plaid Stiffy Fabric Stiffener*
Foam Paint Brush
Scissors
Googly Eyes, Plastic, 25mm, Paste On, Darice
E6000 Adhesive
Aleene's Tacky Glue
ACE Premium Enamel Spray Paint, Antique White/Cooler Beige
Cheesecloth, Food Grade, 100% Cotton, Sew-Ology Brand
Black Felt
Faux Silk Flower, Orange
Latex or Nitrile Gloves
Empty Plastic Food Bowl

*(Note: You don't need both brands of Fabric Stiffener, but I decided to mix the two, because one was really thick and the other real thin and I happened to have both on hand)

Thanks so much for checking out my blog and be sure to click on the graphic below to see more great Halloween Crafts you can make in 15 minutes or less!
















This project/post is linked-up to the following sites/link-up parties:

Matching Aprons for a Child and Doll

One of the best gifts you can give during the Holidays is one made from your heart and hands!

I love to sew and was happy to have found this great printed fabric pattern of a child's apron with a matching doll apron for an American Girl Doll (18" Doll).

It was on clearance at Hancock's awhile back and I immediately thought how cute it would be for a gift for my Granddaughters!

Unfortunately, they only had one set left, so I made a pattern out of tissue paper of the one that I had so that I can make another one in the future and use different fabric if I so choose.

I really did like the fact that it was printed on fabric though. It takes a big step out of sewing...the cutting and pinning of the paper pattern! What a great idea!

I had seen the "panel" type patterns before for stuffed animals and such, but had never seen one for an item of clothing like this, so I was really excited when I saw it.

The printed fabric pattern and directions were easy to follow.

This made for a great gift and was quick to put together, you can probably finish it in an afternoon and you don't need to be a sewing expert!

Supplies/Tools Used for this Project:

Singer Superb 2010 Sewing Machine

Bobbin Winder

Sew So Simple Pattern, Top Drawer, Westminster Fibers Inc., Hot House Child and Doll Apron

Scissors, Fiskars, Large

Scissors, Fiskars, Small

Thread, Coats and Clark, Cotton/Poly, Dual Duty Plus, Blue 

Hook and Loop Fastener, Sew-On, 100% Nylon, 3/4", Pink

Straight Pins

Rubber Heat Resistant Fingertips

Marking Pencil

Measuring Tape

Seam Ruler

Seam Ripper

This project is part of the 99+ Handmade Gift Ideas Hop Hosted by: 365 Days of Crafts and Always Expect Moore.

Don't forget to enter the awesome giveaway for a $100.00 Amazon gift card also by completing the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you would like some great inspiration for more handmade holiday gifts, just click on the projects below and visit each site for more details!


Thank-you for stopping by to visit!

This post/project is linked to the following blogs/link parties:

Ribbon Fan Ornament

Making Christmas Ornaments has always been a great way to get in the Holiday Spirit for me and I was pretty excited to be participating in this Handmade Christmas Ornament Blog Hop, hosted by Diana over at "The Girl Creative".

Just look at all the cute and creative ornaments that the participants have come up with!

This year I wanted to make something simple and fast since I am on a time crunch because of my crazy schedule.

I still wanted the ornaments to look somewhat elegant though, because I always dream of having one of those fancy designer trees where all the ornaments coordinate!

Of course purchasing ornaments for these type trees can be a huge financial hit to your pocket book especially if your tree is big...and who has tons of free cash hangin' around during the holidays??!!
(Not me, that's for sure!)

I thought about what craft materials that I already have on hand and that I would have a lot of and the first thing that came to my mind was ribbon.

I am swimming in a sea of ribbon!

I started playing around with some of my really wide fabric Christmas ribbon and this is what I came up with...a fan ornament!

I decided to make a few different one's for experimentation since I have no clue what kind of "theme" tree I might decide to do...

These were so fast to make, you could make a whole slew of them for your themed tree in no time at all!

I was pretty happy with the outcome considering it was so fast and easy.

I have been collecting lots of jewelry pieces, beads, buttons and nick-nacks over the last couple of years from all the yard sales and thrift stores hubby and I visit and what a perfect way to compliment these ornaments than with some pretty embelishments!

For one of the ornaments I actually used some lace ribbon that was not stiff enough to hold the fan shape, so I added a coat of fabric stiffener to it and wah-lah! I was able to make it stand up and the lace perfectly complimented my Mardi-Gras themed ornament.

There are so many possibilities of what you can make and so many cute ways to embellish them.

Here is one where I used a button from my stash for accent:

Here is a collage of the steps in making these ornaments:

(NOTE: If you click on the photo collage, you can see a larger version of the picture for clarity)

Here are the supplies and tools I used to make this project:

List of Tools/Materials used:

Ribbon (I used 81/2" - 9" of each for the fan base)
Ribbon, Offray Ribbon Treasures, Cloth, 2-5/8" wide, Christmas Pattern
Ribbon, Gold Braid (Brand unknown, scrap piece from stock on-hand)
Ribbon, Lace, Black, Yellow/Gold, 3-1/2" wide, (Brand unknown, scrap piece from stock on-hand)
Ribbon, Sheer, White, Gold Trim, Wired Edged, Gold Patterned Swirl, 2-1/2" (scrap, stock on-hand)
Ribbon, Nylon/Lace, Old Gold, Scalloped, 5/8"
Ribbon Trim, Beaded, Red Cord/Gold Beads (Brand Unknown, scrap piece from stock on-hand)
Trim, Gold Cord
Decorative Trim, Bead, Gold, Plastic
Jewelry Piece, Old Earring, Holly w/Bell and Gold Bow
Jewelry Piece, Jester Face from Mardi Gras Costume Jewelry
Button, Faux Gold w/Pearl Inset (from stock on hand)
Scissors, Heavy Duty, Cutco
Scissors, Med. Size, Westcott (from WalMart)
Glue Gun, Multi-Temp, Ad Tech
Jewelry Tools, Cutting Dikes & Pliers
Rubber Finger-Tip Protectors
Paper Clips (to hold fan bottom while glue dries)
Paper Weights (to assist with some gluing tasks)
Glitter Glue Pen, Gold, (from set), Advantus Corp, (from Ross)
Glue, Fabric, E6000 Fabri-Fuse
Glue Sticks, Multi-Temp, Full Size, Ad Tech
Fabric Stiffener & Draping Liquid, Aleene's
Foam Brush
Plastic Container (for ease in applying fabric stiffener)
Ruler
Toothpicks (for help in precise gluing)

I hope you liked my project and are inspired to create some ornaments of your own!

Be sure to check out all of the other great Christmas Ornaments in this blog hop by clicking on the link-up below!

Thank-you for visiting my blog!
Hope you'll stop by again soon!

An InLinkz Link-up

Scrap Fabric Frame

I just recently finished my first "Rag Quilt" and had lot's of leftover fabric scraps from that project and since I hate to throw any thing away...I decided to come up with a way to use them and here is the result!

I made the quilt for my sweet Momma for Mother's Day and figured what could be better than a matching framed picture to go with her quilt!

I decided to use a photo I found in a box of old photos that my Sister recently sent to me.

We had to move my precious Mother into an assisted living facility recently and a lot of her "things" couldn't go with her and my Sweet Sister knew that I would love having some of Mom's old photos and I'm thankful she sent them to me...it has brought back such great memories and this is one of my favorites!

It is a throwback photo from 1975 of my Grandma Walker (Maternal), Me and my Mom!

I cherish this photo so much and of course didn't want to give up my recently acquired only copy, so I scanned it and had a copy made at my local Walgreens.

NOTE: Just a tip here for those who don't do a lot of scanning...most commercial scanners that are built-in with your printers will default scan to a low to medium resolution (75 - 300 dpi), so if you are wanting to get a good quality print to have printed out, it's wise to choose "custom" scan from your scanner/printer software and scan the photo at a little higher resolution, because it will turn out better.

I originally scanned this at 300 dpi and tried printing it out on my Lexmark Inkjet printer and it turned out decent but because the photo was from the 70's and not the greatest quality to begin with, that print-out showed lines and some decreased clarity. 

When I went back in and scanned it at 600 dpi and printed it out, it was a lot better, so that is the one I used when ordering the final print from Walgreens and it came out really nice and I was also able to order another larger 5x7 print without sacrificing the clarity and quality of the photo.

I added a bit of family memorabilia to the photo above, and it is fitting for this group photo of me, Grandma & Mom.

My Grandma Walker had this family sign hangin' in her kitchen/dining room for as long as I could remember and it was something us kids LOVED to play with!

It was a family "Dog House" wooden sign that had 7 wooden doggies hanging on it with the names of my Grandparents and all their children on it.

Whenever someone was in "trouble" they were put into the dog house, by removing the doggie from it's hook and placing it in the dog house portion.

We had so much fun when visiting Grandma, by putting our own parent's into the "Dog House" and laughing about it!

That is such a treasured memory for me and when my Grandmother passed away, my Mother got this treasure and it hung in her kitchen until a few years ago when I asked her if she minded if I had it.

She knew how much it meant to me and lovingly handed it over to me!

I am happy to be showcasing my scrap frame in another "Craft Lightning" series hosted by Angie at the Country Chic Cottage and Carolina from 30 minute crafts.

I just love this ongoing quick crafts series and for this one there was no particular theme, so it fit right in with my scrap fabric frame idea as it is real quick to make and can be finished in no time at all with a little patience for drying time for the Mod Podge finish!

One tip though...to make the craft quicker (if you are in a hurry)...use larger fabric scraps than I did.

I didn't think it through and used pretty small scraps which made it a little more time consuming than I originally planned, but it still turned out nice and will match my Mom's quilt, so I am happy with it!

Here is a collage showing the steps used to complete this project:

Here are the tools and supplies used:

Supplies/Tools Used for this Project:

Plaid Rectangle Wooden Frame - 4-1/8" x 6-1/8" 

Fabric Scraps, Assorted

Favorite Photo

Aleene's Tacky Glue

Mod Podge

Foam Paint Brush

Scissors

X-acto Knife (not shown in photo above)

Black Gel Ink Pen

Marking Chalk 

Felt (for frame backing)

Cardboard (for backing insert)

Lexmark 4975 Printer, Scanner, Copier

Thanks for stopping by today and if you get a chance, stop by Angie and Carolina's blogs to see some more awesome 15 minute crafts! 

New Simplicity Craft Pattern - #1602 Backpack and Giveaway!

*Please Note: In the interest of Disclosure and IAW FTC 16 CFR Part 255: I was given a complimentary copy of this pattern for review from Simplicity and the Pattern Designer.
The opinions expressed in this review and any further review or mention of this product are my own and have not been influenced by anyone or any compensation monetarily or otherwise.

Okay, now that THAT is out of the way...I am so totally excited to share with you all this awesome new craft pattern from Simplicity!

It's in Craft, Hobby and Sewing Stores now...as you can see, I spotted it at JoAnn's yesterday while shopping there!

This pattern is beyond adorable and I can't wait to try it out and make one of the back-packs for  my Granddaughter!

This pattern was designed by a sweet Blogger Friend of mine...Heather Valentine from "The Sewing Loft" and she is sponsoring a cool giveaway on her blog right now in celebration of the release of this new pattern.

You can enter this giveaway via the form below or by clicking the above photo and going to The Sewing Loft. 

Upcycled/Recycled Gift for Teacher Appreciation

I have been volunteering in my Granddaughter "B's" class this year and when it came time for teacher appreciation week I knew I wanted to do something for B's teacher.

I've really loved being in her class and watching how she interacts with the children and helps them learn and grow.

She is just plain amazing in my book!

I really thought it was awesome how she dressed like a Dalmatian on the 101 st day of school!

The kids REALLY loved that!

I asked "B" what kind of things did her teacher like and she told me "Coffee, Monkey's and US!" (meaning the whole kindergarten class.) That really made me smile!

I decided to go with the coffee theme for a gift since I already had something in mind that would fit perfectly with coffee.

A few months earlier I had made some Green Bean Casserole and was pleasantly surprised to find that French's had a new container for their French Fried Onions.

When I saw it, I immediately started thinking of all the cool things I could make with it later on.

I have a bit of a confession to make here...I am a recycle junkie!

(And I don't mean the environmental kind who loves to "turn in" all her recycles to the local county recycle program...) I keep all kinds of "crap" as DH would call it because I am CERTAIN something can be made from it later! LOL!

The problem is...most of the time...LATER never comes and I am over-run with all kinds of glass, plastic and cardboard containers.

(Yes...I would be a perfect candidate for that reality show "Hoarder's"...
My husband is constantly reminding me of this. He isn't amused!)

I had saved a couple of those cool containers and thought one of them would be PERFECT for this project.

I loved the way the lid snapped on securely and knew it would work good for coffee.

The smooth plastic surface would be easy to cover with fabric or scrapbooking paper.

I decided to go with fabric because I thought it would hold up better with repeated use.

I bought some little coffee packets at the dollar store to store inside the container, knowing that B's teacher would probably want to eventually replace it with her own brand/taste in coffee when it needed to be refilled.

I had some jewelry findings that I had purchased at an Estate Sale and found the perfect embellishment to add to the container along with some coordinating ribbon.

I added black felt to the top of the lid and to the bottom of the container using a pattern I made from tracing the lid and bottom.

You can do this yourself or I created a PDF version of my pattern that you can download here for free to save you some time.

I wanted to personalize the container a little more, so that it would somehow hold a memory for the teacher of my sweet Granddaughter, so I took her kindergarten school picture and cut it to fit in a round frame (old earring from the jewelry findings) and attached it to the outside lid of the box.

I also wanted to let Mrs. R know how special she was to me and B and what a good teacher she is, so I included a quote about teaching on the inside of the lid, so she would see it whenever she opened the container.

I found this cute graphic/quote at a great website called Bitsy Creations. They have some really cute designs and many of them are offered as free printables.

If you'd like to download this particular graphic/quote please go here for the link.

As a final touch I purchased a small coffee themed kitchen towel and a gift card to Starbucks for when Ms. R wanted coffee on the go!

Little B was pretty excited when I told her that I had made something special for her teacher and she couldn't wait to give it to her!

Supplies and Tools used for this project:

Supplies/Tools List:

Re-useable/Re-sealable Plastic Container
Fabric Strip - 14" x 14" (approx.)
Black Felt - 5"x3" (approx.) (2 pieces)
Pattern for Felt Pieces - 2 pcs. (Traced from top and bottom of container onto paper) Download Here.
Glue Dots - Glue Lines, 1"
Ribbon, Sheer Organdy, Black, 7/8" (Ribbon Trends)
Ribbon, Grosgrain, Black, 1/4" (Essentials)
Aleene's Tacky Glue
E6000 Glue
Jewelry Findings/Embellishments - (Not shown in photo above) I used an old round earring and a cabochon
Scissors
Jewelry Pliers
Popsicle Stick (for use spreading glue)
Straight Pins (to pin pattern to felt pieces)
Printed Quote/Poem for Inside of Lid - (The one shown above can be downloaded here)
Gift Card
Small food/candy items to fill container (in this case coffee packets)

Thanks for stopping by!

This post/project is linked-up to the following sites/link parties: