Wordless Wednesday - Halloween Prep at our house!

Stuffed Pumpkin Project

Halloween is in just a couple of days and I wanted to get in one more Halloween craft in with the boys before we start making their class treats and snacks. I wanted it to be simple and easy, something they both could do and enjoy. Along with that I wanted to use items we already had around the house, a cost free fun project. So we came up with "Stuffed Pumpkins" and they were a hit!

Our supplies: Brown roll of packing paper, newspaper, orange paint, scissors, paintbrushes and a stapler.

First I cut out a big piece of brown packing paper long enough so I could fold it in half to make a front and a back side to staple together once we started to stuff them. Then "free handed" a giant pumpkin. It doesn't have to be perfect, pumpkins are never perfectly round anyways right?

Next I let the boys paint their pumpkin, it didn't matter if they went out of the lines, we were going to cut them out anyway.

Then I helped/let them draw a pumpkin face. My 5 year old wanted a scary mouth with nice eyes and mean eyebrows.

After the paint dried we cut the pumpkin out which ends up being two pieces of paper back to back the same size (see the two pieces he is stapling here). Not perfectly cut because he still needed to be stapled and stuffed. We stapled around over half the pumpkin before we even started to stuff him so that the newspaper wouldn't fall out. I let my 5 year old use the kids style stapler, he was really cautious and loved being able to staple to his hearts desire.

Last they stuffed their pumpkins with the crumpled newspaper!! As they got fuller and fuller we stapled more and more around the edges to close them up. Then when they were stuffed and stapled I trimmed the edges off with scissors to give them a cleaner look.

Here they are with their finished Stuffed Pumpkins!!! One for each of them and the little one for their baby sister, so sweet.

Crafting with Martha!

~ By Sam ~
                 
I love crafts, with or without the kids. It is fun to do them with the kids, but sometimes I need a grown up craft to make me feel "crafty." When I am looking for crafting ideas I like to turn to Martha Stewart. My Mom adores Martha and says she knew her way back when. Because my Mom has so much admiration for Martha Stewart, I do too. Her projects are relatively simple and always classic. I found this Bat Mobile from the Indoor Halloween Decorations page and knew it was the one for me to make this season. I love simple, black and I love things I can find for free, like the tree branch that the bats are dangling from.

Here is the original from Martha's site. 

                                  

And here is my attempt at making the "Bat Mobile"-

 I found a stick off of one of our trees outside and sprayed it with black spray paint.

While the spray paint dried, I printed out the bat template provided and got some black post board out. Card stock can be expensive so I just got a piece of black poster board at 2 for a $1.00 and cut it into pieces. 

Then I cut out the template, traced them by folding the paper in half. She gives you half of the bat so that you can trace it and both sides be equal. 

Last I got my dry branch, fishing string, and hole punch. I didn't punch it all the way through the paper, just punctured it a bit so I could slide the fishing string in. I hung the bats up randomly and at different lengths.

Here is my finished product! I hung it high enough over the sliding glass door to the deck so that the children couldn't reach it. It was late by the end of the day when I got it finished so there is a shadow from the light. But I think that makes it look a little spooky!

Frugal Finds: Yard Sale

This weekend we are having a yard sale. I thought its a great time to sell some things we no longer need to have money for things we now need. I am very much the type of person who thinks out with the old in with the new. My neighbor is also having a huge yard sale and I have been over there a few times. She has awesome stuff! Her and her husband are estate sale and flea market shoppers and man do they find great stuff!! She had a beautiful mirror for sale and I came back out to ask her about it and it was gone! But replaced with another one similar to it. She has a replenishing yard sale, so cool!!! I told her I would be back on Sunday with some of my money to see what else she has.

I found the coolest little book ends for only $1. The store price tag on the said $40. A great little find for my room. I want to do something with them more colorful or fun, not sure what yet.

Have you found any great yard sale or thrift finds this weekend? 

What would you do to these squirrels?

DIY Decorating: Sew A Throw Pillow Cover In 10 Easy Steps

One of the easiest ways to keep up with changing interior design trends is to sew your own throw
cushion covers. Making up a cushion sleeve is simple, even if you are not experienced with a sewing
machine. Before you begin, gather together your materials and tools.

You should start with around 137cm of 45-inch fabric, or about 91cm of 55-inch fabric, a pencil, glass
(of the drinking variety), ironing board and an iron. In addition to a sewing machine, you will also
require a pair of scissors, a handful of pins and a sufficient amount of thread. The scissors will be fine
for cutting fabric, but you might prefer to use a rotary cutter.

Measure and cut

Measure your fabric. One will want to cut a 21-inch by 21-inch square for the front part of the
cushion. Two rectangles measuring 13 inches by 21 inches will be required for the back of the
cushion. You can produce rounded corners to make the task of sewing easier (especially when
you have to turn the fabric). You can achieve this by positioning the glass on the other side of the
material. Then trace around it with the pencil. You should do this on each corner of the square fabric
and two of the long-edge corners on each of the rectangular pieces. Simply cut around the area
marked by the pencil. This will reveal the straight edges on both of the rectangular pieces, so it is
important to hem them for a neat finish. Fold over about a quarter of an inch of the raw straight
edge on each of the rectangles, then fold again, pin and stitch.

Pin together and sew

Next pin the whole cover together. Place the square face up on your work surface, then place one
of the rectangles face down on top. Make sure the rounded corners are positioned on the outside
before lining them up and pinning them. This can be tricky and it is surprisingly easy stretch the
material, so take care.

Position the other rectangular piece face down on top of the first. If you have done everything right,
the hemmed edges should just overlap. Pin this rectangle carefully, as before. Make sure that any
pins hiding under the overlap are removed to prevent problems when stitching later. Sew around
the cushion cover edges, removing pins as you go before the fabric passes through the sewing
machine.

Turn the completed cover inside out to reveal the right side of the fabric. Press with a hot iron and
fill with a cushion pad. Voilà! Your new cushion cover is finished. Pretty throw cushions can make
the plainest sofa look like a designer piece and can even be placed on a bed to give a small double mattress a touch of luxury.

Seasonal fabrics

Choosing a washable fabric is a clever move, as this will allow your covers to be removed and
laundered, keeping them fresh and clean. You can also regularly change your style by picking out
several types of fabric, which can be changed every season. Plush velvet is wonderful for winter,
while light cotton seersucker is cool for the summer. Changing your cushion covers is an easy and
cheap way to keep abreast of new furnishing trends and can be tailored to suit any changes in your
colour scheme, making changing your whole look affordable and simple.


*This is a sponsored guest post by Zoe for Archers Sleep Centre. Zoe is a blogging enthusiast who loves to cover a variety of topics, including health, home improvements, fashion and beauty. Zoe is currently writing for Archers Sleep Centre.

Using Mom's Back To School Guide To Shop At Walmart For Kindergarten School Supplies

This year back to school means something very special to me. My oldest grandson JJ is going to kindergarten. I'm thrilled, sad, and amazed all at once. It seems like the years went by so quickly, and only yesterday he was still only a baby.

Going to kindergarten means shopping for school supplies and I was very happy to volunteer to take him to Walmart and get him what he needed. What is Back to School without Elmer's School Glue and Elmer's Glue Sticks? They are absolute musts at any age and we are going to stock up on them today.

Back to school shopping is a whole lot easier if you use the Mom's Back To School Guide. It has all kinds of  wonderful suggestions and tips on buying great products for back to school. #momsguide

There's a whole section on great Elmer's products and the Elmer's 1st Day App, which is a free download.
Check it out and see how it can make your child's first day of school even more memorable.
#momsguide.

We loaded up our cart with plenty of school supplies. Did you know that Elmer's makes a lot more products than just glue? One of our favorites is Elmer's Painters Markers. My grandson and I are going to use the markers and other things we are buying to make some special back to school crafts.

We got lots of Elmer's glue and glue sticks because I know he will need a lot for school, but he also uses  them all the time for the craft projects he does with his Mom and Dad at home.

Of course, no back to school shopping trip would be complete without a new backpack. Even after all these years, little boys still love Superman and Batman. So do the big boys!

My grandson wanted to make a present for his kindergarten teacher. I suggested to him that we also make some containers to hold all of his new pencils, crayons and markers so that he wouldn't lose them.
We have gathered up all our supplies to make our craft projects. We are using an old paper-covered coffee can and some smaller cans. We also need lots of pencils for this project!

Here is my grandson hard at work on his special present for his teacher. He was very patient and careful trying to glue on the pencils. We really enjoy doing all kinds of crafts together, including painting and making things out of old and recycled stuff. We use lots of Elmer's glue and glue sticks for our projects.
He wanted me to say that is not his sippy cup, but his little brother's. He's definitely a big guy now!

We love using the Elmer's Painters Markers for craft projects. They really last a long time and you can use them on all kinds of surfaces. Finishing touches are being added to a drawing.

Here is our finished projects. My grandson is so proud of his Teacher's gift. She can put pencils or anything else in it. I think it came out so beautiful. The cheerful covered cans will store all of his pencils, markers and crayons.
We had a great time using our Mom's Back To School Guide and shopping at Walmart for Elmer's glue and other Elmer's products. We are getting so excited as the first day of kindergarten gets closer.

I think this will be a wonderful year for both of us!

*I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Elmer's #CBias #SocialFabric All opinions are my own and your experience may vary.

Making A Mother's Day Craft Project with Painters Paint Markers

My grandson and I decided to make a Mother's Day gift for his Mom (my daughter Samantha). We have done projects together before, and they are always fun. He knew he wanted to give her flowers, so it was my job to come up with a craft idea that would go along with them.

I had heard about Painters Paint Markers from Elmer's, and that they will work on almost any surface. So I went to Walmart to buy some. I found them in the craft section.

They have a good selection, with packs of the paint markers in bright colors. They even have a pack of pastel colors, which are on sale for $7.

I decided to get the individual markers, they are a great price at $1.97, and you can buy only the colors you need. It says they work on any surface, and I'm pretty excited to try them out.

I have decided that my grandson and I will decorate a vase to hold the flowers that he wants to give his Mom.

I selected the colors yellow, blue, red and green to decorate the vase.

My grandson asked me to write "Mom" on the vase because he was giving it to her on Mother's Day. The word actually gave us something to work around, and made a great focal point. He loves using the Elmer's markers, and I can see more projects for us in the future. I thought they might be a little hard for him to handle, but they weren't at all.

We worked on it together and it was a lot of fun. We drew on hearts, flowers, and big dots. The paint markers were so easy to use, and were very fast drying so there were no paint smudges.

I really do love doing crafts and I can see that the Elmer's Painters Paint Markers can make any painting project much easier. Our vase project is coming along nicely, and we are almost finished.

Here is our finished project. I just love it, and so does my grandson. He is very proud of it, and the flowers he bought with his own money. We had a great time together making this very special project, and he can't wait to give it to his Mom on Mother's Day. #ExpressYourself

*I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™.

All opinions expressed in this shop are my own and your experience may vary. #SocialFabric #Cbias #ExpressYourself

DIY Compost

There is something so soothing to me about growing things. Planting, watering, harvesting, I love it! I always say my garden nurtures me more than I nurture it. Nothing taste better than food you have grown yourself. Its like home made cookies your Mom make, its made with love! This year we have planted new things like watermelons and jalapenos along with our regulars like tomatoes and basil. If you plant basil and tomatoes mixed in together oh my its good! The tomatoes take on the basil flavor a bit giving the flavor a boost.

This year we thought we wanted to try making some compost for our garden. I am always tossing eggs that expire, rinds and peels of produce and thought there must be a better thing to do with them. We decided to do a mini DIY Composting. For now its on a tiny scale just to see if it works but we plan to go bigger if we can make it work for us.

Here is what we did:

We took a box, lined it with a plastic bag added potting soil then eggs and shells

Next we added the rind from watermelon we had the night before (I am sure any fruit or veggie would work)

Then we added some grass

Then more potting soil. It was only $1 for a bag of  potting soil few weeks ago I stocked up

For a touch of beauty I added rose petals from the rose bushes that line our back yard

Layered more grass

A touch of Christmas spirit lol pine needles from our tree last year.  I chop it up and use it as bark in the yard and there was pine needles still in the bark pile.

Mint Leaves from the mint that has invaded a portion of my yard. Smells so good!

Another layer of potting soil

A bunch of decaying leaves, bugs worms and all

More dirt!

Add water to the mix, just regular hose water.

Cover with the plastic from the soil and rocks to hold it down. Leave in the sun to break down.

I hope it works! We will add more veggie peels and such to it and give it a stir here and there. I do need a real compost pile though. This is just my attempt at seeing if it works. Wish me and my decaying matter luck!