Boo Blocks

I'm usually not one for Halloween decor (purely because I do not enjoy the holiday, and I prefer fall-themed decor so I can leave it out for a few months rather than a few weeks), but these were super-simple and cute. I cannot take credit for the idea (I made it at a church enrichment activity), but I can take credit for the fabulous blocks you see!The blocks themselves are just pieces of a sliced 2x4. You could easily purchase them from a craft store, but you'll probably ended up spending more money. I painted the first three black and the last one orange, then roughed the edges a bit with some sand paper. For the checker-board "stencil" I just took a small piece of wood, painted the edge, and stamped it on! No actual stencil was used. Some of the other women painted an exclamation point on the last block as well, but I liked leaving it for creative decor. Plus, it gives me some options: I can leave it at the end, put it at the beginning, stack it on one of the other blocks, leave it out all together, etc. The lettering was cut with a Cricut, but with only three letters, you could easily cut them from paper or even paint them on!. Finally, I embellished the blocks with little foam stickers.

DIY Minnie Costume

Here's my version of a DIY Minnie Mouse costume

all you need is:

-1 pair of Minnie ears

-1 yard of Minnie polka dot fabric

-2 yards red tulle

- yellow shoes

I found THIS tutorial for the skirt,

and added a top piece and straps to make it

a dress.

And for the shoes I found these white ones

at The Salvation Army for 50 cents and spray

painted them yellow.

I stuffed them with newspaper to keep from

spraying the inside.

It came out exactly how I hoped

which is always a nice surprise!

Free Halloween/Fall/Thanksgiving Buttons

So, I was thinking I had one more week till Creative Freedom Week but had already made these Halloween buttons under my topic of blogging out of the shear excitement that Halloween is so close. So I still have to post them before they expire! Snag them before Halloween is over! And I did sneak in a Thanksgiving one for those of you that are thinking ahead. More Thanksgiving ones are coming soon... 

Click HERE for more Halloween buttons, as well as instructions, if you need them, on how to install them onto your own blog.

And if you have any requests for sayings for future button freebies, for Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc., don't be shy! Leave a comment and I might just make a personalized one to fit your request! I'm gonna make the free buttons either way! You might as well get a personalized one out of it!



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Halloween Decor

My home is lacking in the Halloween decor

so this week I decided to make a Halloween garland.

Here is a little tutorial.

-First I made a template from card stock for my pennants.

-I then cut out the fabric and sewed two together,

with the right sides facing in, leaving the top open

and they looked something like this:

-I then turned them right side out, ironed them

and stitched around the outside to give it a

more finished look, once again leaving the top open

-I then used bias tape (1") to conceal the open edge,

and string the pennants together

-I then hung it, and admired my new Halloween decor!

It was an easy and inexpensive project to get us

in the Halloween mood!

Candy Snakes

My mom made these little guys for us when we were little before we embarked on a long car trip. Her intention was to keep us quiet during the journey, and boy did it work. That is, until we started stealing each other's candy!
You will need:
A strip of fabric 5" by 30"
Small strip of felt
Googly eyes
Velcro
Candy
Stitch along the edge and along one end, turn right side out.

Cut the open end into a point for the face.

Stitch the rough edge. You will need to do some trimming at the point along the way to prevent a buildup of fabric.Glue in the tongue, Velcro, and attach the eyes. Lastly, fill their little tummies with candy!

My daughter loves her snake, but I have to say, I think my husband loves it more!

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Today's Creative Blog

Halloween Necklace and Earrings

This is a great idea for a cute, simple Halloween necklace and earrings. If you're like me you want to be festive without having to wear a dangling ghost or witch around your neck. This is a simple way to throw some black and orange into your wardrobe without screaming "Happy Halloween!"

For this necklace you will need anywhere from 20-30 each small black and orange beads, 40-60 earring wires with the flat piece at the end, necklace chain for both your earrings and the necklace (you can do whatever length you want on your necklace, I chose a length that would fall just below my collar bone), earrings, 40-60 small jump rings, 4 regular size jump rings, and a lobster clasp.

Your next step will be to put each of your beads on an earring wire, bend it just above the bead, cut it off 1/2 inch from the bend and twist it into a loop.

Before too long you will have a pile that looks like this...

Next, count out two pieces of chain 10 links each, and use a jump ring to attach each of them to an earring post.

Using the small jump rings attach the small beads to the chain, putting one bead in each link and alternating black and orange. I put eight beads, 4 black and 4 orange, on each piece of chain. Then you will use the same concept for your necklace. Cut your chain to the length you want it and start putting beads on in the center and working out to each side to assure that the necklace looks even. I placed my beads in every fourth link, but you can go closer or further apart depending on the look you are going for. The last step will be to attach your lobster clasp with the two remaining regular jump rings.

Now you have a cute Halloween look without being overdone!

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eighteen25

Free Halloween Buttons For Your Blog

I thought that since Halloween was coming up, that I would make you all some fun free buttons to spook the visitors on your own blogs! They are yours for the taking! They will show up just how they appear on this post.

If any of you don't know how to add these to your blog, here is a quick how to:

1. Copy the code in the box from below the button you want

2. In your "Design" tab of your blog, click on "Page Elements"

3. Click on "Add a Gadget" and select "HTML/Javascript"

4. Paste the code

5. After you have saved your new gadget, drag it to where you want on your page elements layout :)

A bigger spooky one:

<center><a href="http://www.thisandthatcreative.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i754.photobucket.com/albums/xx186/thisandthatcreative/Megan%20Schaugaard/halloweenbutton1.png" /></a></center>

A smaller spooky one:

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A kitty one to persuade visitors to leave comments:

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To send best "witches" to your visitors:

<center><a href="http://www.thisandthatcreative.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i754.photobucket.com/albums/xx186/thisandthatcreative/Megan%20Schaugaard/halloweenbutton3.jpg" /></a></center>

Happy Haunting and Blogging! Enjoy!

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eighteen25

Halloween Party Must-Haves

It's time to start planning your Halloween parties.

And here is a little inspiration to get you started.

Check out these amazing cookies!

The spiders are made from Trix Cereal!

image via Bakerella

Or these creepy crawly cupcakes!

AMAZING!

image via Bakerella

Or how about these Halloween Tinsel Toppers

for your cupcakes?

image via Bake it Pretty

I also LOVE this zombie brain gelatin mold.

Perfect if you have little boys!

image via Bake It Pretty

And check out these free printable drink labels

to turn your everyday beverages into Halloween drinks!

image and printables via Centsational Girl

Hope this gets you in the mood to start

planning your Halloween Bash!

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eigteen25

Creepy Crawly Wreath

I saw this "wriggling wreath" on page 54

of the latest Martha Stewart Living magazine.

And LOVED it!

I decided to attempt my own.

I headed to the dollar store and bought a

wreath and 3 bags of creepy crawly bugs,

snakes and bats and spray painted them all

black. I then hot glued them onto my wreath.

I love that Martha's is all snakes, but when I saw

the bats I had to have them, so I changed it up a bit!

So for $4 my front door is now ready for Halloween!

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and
eighteen25