Halloween Cards

 

These cards were created with paper I've had on hand for years. You can use a similar shade or style of paper and achieve your own unique design. I often use punches of various sizes to capture design elements from seasonal papers, and always follow up with swipes of Stickles glitter glue (it comes in a squeezable container for easy application) to add some sparkle.

Supplies to make these cards*

Cardstock Orange or Kraft or pre-cut and folded Kraft Cards and Envelopes I use a ton of these!

Tag punch (similar here)

Oval punch (similar here)

Round punch

Lace Scallop punch (similar here and here)

Ranger Stickles Glitter Glue (Crystal)

Halloween paper (similar here and here and here and here!

*As an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a small commission on items purchased through provided links

Halloween & Christmas Magnet Tutorial

Here's some fun little projects included in a local paper crafting class I am teaching at my local library. They are super easy and fast to make. These magnets will be fun for tiny gifts or even to use as bows on top of your holiday packages. You can also use them as embellishment to a greeting card.

Supply list*

• 2-3 sheets of scrapbook paper
• Glue Gun (turn it on so it's ready)
• 3/4" circle magnets *(mine are pretty heavy duty, don't get the floppy sheets)
• Glue
• Two circle or scalloped circle punches, 1 1/2" and 1" or 3/4" inch

The reindeer magnet was made with 3 different sheets of scrapbook paper. You could pick any red print, any green print (mine has a bit of glitter on it, which really adds some sparkle) and then any type of center image. This was cut from a piece of scrapbook paper by Reminisce called, "Wish List." It is two sided, but the best part on the reindeer side is that are these tiny little reindeer--about 50 of them, on one sheet! 

Depending on how many of these you want to make, you can either score the paper every half-inch first if you have a score board and then cut the paper into 1x12 inch strips. If you are only making one, or don't have a score board, then cut the paper into the strips and then fold it by hand (accordion style) to half-inch folds. 

Punch the green (or center piece) paper with a 1 1/2" scalloped circle punch, and the deer head with a 1" or 3/4" scalloped or circle punch. If you turn the punch upside down when you punch the deer paper you can see exactly where you will be cutting... so you don't chop off the deer's ear!

Fold the 12" strip accordion style and bring the two edges together with a piece of tape or glue. I like using regular tape, just butting the two edges together and not overlapping. You can put tape on both sides if you like.

Then put the circle on edge on a table and push it down in the center. It will pop into a little medallion shape. Make sure the wrong side is facing you and the red side is on the table, Hold it with one hand in this shape and then drop a 1/2" dot of hot glue in the center of the wrong side and push the magnet on top and down. Hold the magnet there until the glue has hardened.

Use regular (or hot) glue to adhere the larger circle to the center of the right side of your scallop. Put a small 1/2" 3D foam dot on the back of the reindeer head and adhere it to the green circle.

That's it! Here's another one I made with Halloween colors. I added a little black cat (by Jolee's) to the center for some sparkle.

You can make these for every holiday or occasion. My daughter made a pink ribbon magnet to take to her office. They would also be cute little party favors for any occasion.

*As an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a small commission on items purchased through provided links

Pumpkin Style {Fall Porch Decoration Idea}

I showed you the pumpkin on the back deck the other day, but the one I was most excited about dressing up was the one I have in the front porch.

This little bit of Pumpkin Style is a new way of dressing up my front porch for fall. I actually copied the idea from a house I passed on my way to the north woods of Wisconsin a few weeks ago. I love passing the houses in Clintonville and Antigo on Highway 45. There are some gorgeous vintage homes (and some new) that always seem to embrace the season in style. 

 I wish I would have taken a picture, but I was driving so that was out of the question. Instead, I made sure to take a good look on the way back home and did my best to recreate the fall container idea.

It's very simple.... a large pumpkin surrounded by a tee-pee of cornstalks and accessorized with some fall leaf garland from Michael's. I emptied out some of the dirt and put the pumpkin on top of a small black flowerpot I stuck in the base rather then set it on the dirt hoping the pumpkin would last a bit longer if it wasn't sitting in the moist earth. I used three 6 foot bamboo stakes from Home Depot and pushed them into the base of the pot and used a rubberband to tie them together at the top. I then divided my cornstalk bunch into three piles and used wire to attach each bunch to one of the bamboo stakes. The two leaf garlands were wound around the stalks and wired in place, saving a bit for the back stake and the base of the pot.

I hope it holds up through the season; I figured keeping it on the covered porch might help. I hope you like this idea... passed on from a very cute house in Wisconsin... to me.... to you!

P.S. I had some minor surgery on my foot earlier in the week and made sure I had plenty of pictures in my camera to hold me over for blogging while I am camped out on the couch. I did some nesting before the surgery like stocking the refrigerator, cleaning floors, getting laundry done, etc... But perhaps only the similarly decor and style- obsessed of you will understand that my nesting activities included gathering a few pumpkins and creating a fall decoration on the porch!

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Oregon Cottage

Enjoying the {Halloween} Backyard View

I have a little table on top of my backyard deck. It's a favorite spot to sit and enjoy the yard, but I also enjoy decorating it for the seasons with something simple.

This year it's a clay jack-o-lantern all dressed up with a new coat of paint. It used to be a bronze color, but it became chipped and definitely needed a makeover. I used the same process I use on much of my furniture, a quick sanding on the rough spots, a coat of primer and some ivory paint with tobacco glaze to shab it up a bit. A coat of satin polyurethane should help this new finish withstand the weather.

It's just a simple addition to brighten up my view from the kitchen for Halloween. Do you ever decorate in the back yard?

As usual, Marley is wary of any newcomers, including clay pumpkins!



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Spooky {Not Scary} Halloween Mantel

I decorated my fireplace mantel for Halloween a little differently this year.... it's a little darker, minimally orange and just a {tiny}bit spooky!

The inspiration started with these birds I found at the craft store. They're a little smaller than what I have typically seen, but their big attraction to me was the glitter {love glitter}.

I decided to bring out my vintage window frame, leave up the silver vase and bare branches from my early autumn mantel, and add a few other touches with items I already owned.

The Empire kitty treat bucket from my Goodwill Halloween Shop debut shopping spree is a perfect dark accent, perched upon a stack of  books from the library's used book shop. The books were chosen simply for their titles to use in Halloween decor and get packed away each year with my other decorations.

The candlesticks were a thrift store purchase and the jack-o-lantern candles are from various flea market trips. It was fun to find identical candle jars over a period of years; three is the perfect number for decorating.

A black ceramic kitty from a trip to Iowa to see my girls comes out only at this time of year and is a good addition for the black and white decor trend this year. I always manage to have a bit of time to stop at the thrift and antique stores in their college town.

The birds are the only new purchase for this Halloween mantel. All the other items were plucked from my holiday storage bins or stash of  trusty decor basics. I love mixing old and new to come up with a fresh look each year.

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Vintage Halloween Decorations {Surprise}

Vintage Halloween Decor... it can be cute, scary, or even... weird. I think this little retro witch is all of those.  A few weeks ago I happened to hit Goodwill on the opening day of their Halloween Shop. It wasn't planned.

 
If you remember, I picked up a few little trick or treat buckets, one of which was a lovely Empire Plastics kitty. I mentioned that a few larger items made their way into my cart as well....

 

and here they are. Although this witch was the one that caught my eye, the second figure was even better. It's an Empire Plastics figure. The clue was in the face... modern Jacks don't have the same wide-eyed skinny smile.

His second half is just a silly ghost with a goofy smile.

But together... the pair is  pretty cute. Not too spooky, not even weird... like the witch. It was a very good day at the Goodwill.

These light up figures are large, hard to store and don't appeal to everyone. I like them... I guess that's all that matters. I have a little neighbor girl who loves all the light up Jack-o-Lanterns in my windows each year. Won't she be surprised to see what I have added to the decor this year!

P.S... not everyone in the house is thrilled with the new decorations. Hopefully Marley's attitude will change before they go out October 1. 

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Goodwill Hunting {Halloween Shop Opens}

I stopped at the Goodwill shop in my area today to drop off some clothing and household goods for donation. Of course I had to stop in the store and see what was new. Today was the first day the Halloween Shop was open according to the sign on the window. They must have had a storage unit full of Halloween items. There were racks and racks of costumes, home decor and on top of every rack throughout the store were plastic pumpkins!

I picked up a few; I like to send one to each of my daughters at college as Halloween nears, filled with goodies from home. I always look for something a little different and not too big. I found three to bring home (even though I only needed two). Yes, some may think it's early to be posting about Halloween, but if you are looking for vintage, now's the time to shop. If you'd like to see all my Halloween posts, click HERE.

I think I will keep the kitty bucket. It was made by Empire Plastics, a maker of many plastic blow-mold figurines through the years. They are no longer in business. As I was taking photos of this bucket that tongue reminded me of an earlier post I did featuring one of my golden's "smiling"

Each of these buckets were marked 49 cents. I also came home with a few{much} larger pieces... {couldn't help myself, they were so cute!} they need to be cleaned upa bit and then I'll share them in a future post. Happy hunting!

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