Happy Halloween!

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Halloween!

Don't forget to enter in the coupon code TREAT08 in the store for your orders over $20. You get free shipping! It expires tomorrow night, so use it before you turn back into a pumpkin. :)

I can't wait until next week as I've got some GREAT fall and holiday ideas and tutorials I've been working on. I'm super excited about these!!! There's decor tutorials, and gift ideas....and lots more! Yea! See you then!

Tutorial Tuesday-Spooky Shadow Box

This is another super quick one!

Supplies needed:
Shadow Box (get these at pretty much any craft store, even Target and Wal-mart have them)
Foam Tape
Spooky Patterned Paper

Instructions:
Cut the patterned paper to fit into the back of your shadow box.
Print from your photo editing program a spooky phrase. I used the Bleeding Cowboys font and printed it onto orange paper.
Stack about 4 squares of foam tape to each other and tape your phrase to the back. You're finished!

Try adding a spider to the front, or a few gravestones. You have lots of space to work with, so make sure you use things with different depths to take advantage of that!

Happy Crafting!

Halloween Treats for You!

I love treats! So in honor of the spooky holiday of Halloween, I'm having a special treat for you at my store: Schlosser Designs

Starting now, through Halloween night, October 31, 2008 you can get FREE shipping on any order of $20.00 or more. (The total must be $20 before tax.) I always have free shipping on orders over $40.00 but everyone needs treats of the non-sugar variety sometimes!

When you check out just use the coupon code: TREAT08 and the cart will automatically give you FREE shipping on your orders over $20.00. If you've been waiting for the right time to try some of the clear stamps now is the time!

Here is a couple of ideas to get your order to $20.00:

1 stamp set $12.50
1 project recipe book $10.00
TOTAL: $22.50

1 stamp set $12.50
2 hinged storage tins $4.50 each (these DVD sized metal tins are great for making mini brag books!)
TOTAL: $21.50

2 stamp sets $12.50 each
TOTAL: $25.00

1 stamp set $12.50
1 mounting block starter set $5.50
1 borders mounting block $5.50
TOTAL: $23.50

So, have fun shopping!

Ack! Please forgive me!

I'm so sorry I didn't post a Tutorial Tuesday today! I honestly have no idea where the time went to and with family coming into town tomorrow I had to clean out the guest room and guest bathroom. Don't worry! I'll be crafting with them and there's a few things in my sketch book I hope to do this week! Thank you everyone for the great comments that have been posted and emailed to me. I truly appreciate it! See you soon!

Tutorial Tuesday-Googly Eye Wreath

I LOVE the googly eyes that you buy at the craft store. What better time to use them than Halloween time! So today's project is a spooky googly eye wreath. It rained last night so I took the picture inside on my pantry door. (I usually have a wreath hanging there too. Who said that you could only use wreath hangers on your outside doors!) I bought the wreath at Michaels using my 40% off coupon.

Items you'll need:

1 wreath
Glue gun
1 can black flat/matte finish spray paint
1 bottle each green and purple acrylic paint
googly eyes in various sizes (my Michaels had a bag with a variety of sizes for about $2)

First, paint your brown wreath to make it a nice spooky black. I used the flat finish paint so it wouldn't look so glossy and unnatural.


After it is dry I used a foam brush with a little of the purple and lime paint on it and painted some streaks of color on the wreath. You can see it best in the bottom picture. Don't worry about picking just one or two branches and painting the entire thing. Streaks here and there are just fine!
Then glue gun your googly eyes onto your wreath. I paired mine together so at night it looks like little creepies looking at you from the wreath. Next time I'll probably add some glow in the dark paint streaks also!

Every time I say googly eyes I'm reminded of this skit:




Happy Crafting!

Fabric Pumpkin Update!

Thank you so much everyone for all your comments! I appreciate all of them! I've worked out an alternate top for the fabric pumpkin pattern. This top involves much less hand stitching, well, actually none. If you don't remember how to do a blanket stitch, or want to get your cute little pumpkins done faster than this pattern is for you!

Download here.

It also involves some slight changes when you're sewing your pumpkin. The changes are as follows:

Once you get your pieces cut out, sew them together so you have two groups of three pieces. This will give you two halves of the pumpkin. Below is one half of the pumpkin.
Then, sew up the stem with right sides facing each other. Clip the corners and turn right side out. Stuff the pumpkin stem and then pin it in between your two halves of the pumpkin. This is shown below. It's a little hard to see, but the stuffed pumpkin stem is between the two halves there.


Then sew along the edges and turn your pumpkin right side out. You're pumpkin will now have a little stuffed stem on top. Continue to follow the rest of the instructions from the original post here.

*Also included in the pattern above is an alternate felt pumpkin stem pattern that is more straight.
Enjoy!

Tutorial Tuesday-Quick Napkin Rings

Alright, how about another super quick project? I found this awesome clear transparency "paper" from Hambly Prints (I love Hambly Prints!) and thought it would look really fallish with an orange background. Is fallish a word? Anyway, here are the directions:

Cut a 12" long, 1 1/2" wide strip of the orange paper. Cut in half and this will be the base for two napkin rings.
Cut a 12" long, 1" wide strip of the transparency paper. Cut this one in half as well.

From here, you can make the more modern one, or the one with the ribbon.

Modern: Wrap around and staple. All done!

Ribbon: Set two eyelets about 1/4" inside of the ends. Tie with a coordinating ribbon. Done!

These will make great, simple party decorations. Use Halloween paper, or bold geometric paper for a birthday! If your napkins are patterned, try using a colored vellum... that way you get a little of the pattern showing through.
Happy Crafting!

Tutorial Page Updated

I just updated the Tutorial Page today with some more fun Halloween projects from last year. So be sure to check out the following projects:

Quick & Easy Accent Pillows

Halloween Wall Art (I used some papers that were available last year, these can easily be substituted out, depending on the look you want.)

Tutorial Tuesday-Embellished Candles

I can't believe it's time for Tutorial Tuesday already! This week's project will only take you about 1 minute. Yep, only one minute! For this project you'll need the following:

Candles (Any color will work. Since the embellishments are NOT flame proof it doesn't matter too much what they smell like because we're not going to light them. Mine are peppermint, leftover from projects last Christmas.)

Halloween/Fall themed ribbon

Scotch Transfer Tape (The red Tacky tape will work too.)

Now, cut a ribbon piece slightly longer than the circumference of your candle, put tape on the back, and tape the ribbon onto the candle. Done.
Hint: Try layering different widths of coordinated ribbon for a different look. This one has a wider black ribbon, with a smaller purple ribbon on top.
This ribbon was from Michael's. The ribbon in their $1 bin is the perfect length to make 1 or 2 of these candles. These would make great little I'm Thinking of You gifts for neighbors and co-workers as well! Happy Crafting!

Quick Glitter Card

It's been a while since I featured a card so here's a quick one for you:
How did I get that fun green glitter accent you ask? I found this awesome tape at the craft store! It's CLEAR mounting tape. It's as strong as the foam mounting tape, but clear instead!
To make the card I cut a overhead transparency in half, cut a piece of white cardstock slightly smaller, and ran the paper through the Cuttlebug to give it a little dotted texture. Isn't it cute! Then, just run a stripe of the clear tape up the front of the card, sprinkle on glitter, and your glitter border is done. It's that simple.
Stamp the border and "Thanks" sentiment from the Borders and Corners stamp set, cut out, adhere, and you're done!
I LOVE how the glitter has a transparent feel to it, since it's adhered to a clear backing! Happy Crafting! I've got another quick Halloween project for Tutorial Tuesday! See you then!

Tutorial: Fabric Pumpkins

Ok, so I think I'm ready for fall, and in a pumpkin mood.... So here's today's tutorial!

Fabric Pumpkins


These ones will last you just as long as the pumpkin pets in the previous post, and are a little more lightweight. :) You'll need these three PDF's:

Pattern: Panel

Pattern: Stem

Tutorial Instructions

The finished size is about 7" around (not including the stem.)

You can enlarge the patterns to make different sized pumpkins. I'm working on one about twice as large and will post a separate pattern for that one very shortly. The larger one will also have a fabric stem as opposed to a felted wool stem. (Thanks to my friend Celia for letting me borrow some felt from her stash!!) Leave me a comment if you use it. I'd love to see what everyone creates! Happy crafting!


Updated: I added a new pumpkin stem pattern in a new post. There are two patterns. One is for a more straight stem that involves no blanket stitch, and the other is for a felt one that is a little more straight. Find the new post here.

Pet Pumpkin Rocks

So my husband and I carved our pumpkins a little early. :) Why you wonder? Because these are our little Pet Pumpkin Rocks and they will last until Halloween!


See that one in the back there? The one with the vampire teeth? His name is Edward. :)

So these are SUPER easy to make. You know me, I keep my projects short and simple. The longest time for this one is waiting for the paint to dry.

Here's what you need:

1 can each Orange and Green Spray paint
Various sizes and shapes medium sized rocks for the pumpkins
Smaller rocks for the stems
Sharpie Permanent Marker
E6000 adhesive

To get started, wash and scrub your rocks well and let them dry. Then paint them their respective colors. (This was the hardest part...waiting for them to dry!)


After they are dry, use your Sharpie to "carve" the pumpkins. It's ok if your rocks aren't perfectly round. Just use their shape to inspire your carvings. The pixelated face is one my husband did, see how the rock is almost a rectangle. And the happy toothy grin on the one next to it was done on a different side of the rock.


(To keep it as realistic as possible you can also use a yellow paint pen and make sure that the shapes you use are actually ones that you would carve.) Then use the E6000 adhesive to add the stems to your pet pumpkins and you're finished. If you're putting these outside, spray a clear coat of finish to protect your carving.

If you make your own I'd love to post a link here for others to enjoy. Just let me know when you post the picture and I'll link it right up!

And... here's a sneak peek of the tutorial for Tuesday! Enjoy!

Come for a free Make and Take!!!

Short notice, but this Saturday night at the Local Scrapbook Store, Scrappin' Bunnies, I'll be hosting a FREE make and take! We'll be getting you started early on holiday gifts. So if you live in the area I'd LOVE to see you there. Here's the specifics!

Where: Scrappin' Bunnies
400 N. Central Expressway
Suite 108
McKinney, Texas 75070
(Exit 40A from Hwy 75- Louisiana/Virginia
Street Exit. East side of 75 behind CiCi's)

When: Saturday, August 30 @ 7PM and again at 9PM!

Hope to see you there!

Every Other Tuesday-Quick Sketchbook

So this one is super easy to whip up! Gather the following items:

1 sheet of colored/patterned cardstock for the outside
5 sheets of cardstock, or more if you use plain printer paper (just remember your stapler will have to go through them!)
coordinating ribbon

Cut the following:
(2) 4" x 8" pieces for the outside of the notebook
(10) 3 7/8" x 7 7/8" for the inside

Now, just stack everything together and staple on the left-hand side. I then covered the staples with a piece of ribbon.
You can embellish the cover however you want. Try a monogram, embossed stamp, felt stickers, or anything else you'd like.
For mine, I used two strips of 8" long paper, one is 1" wide and the patterned paper is 3/4" wide.

Yep, really easy! Hope you like it!

(Also, I'm just about finished with an awesome autumn themed tutorial. So, dust off your sewing machines and prepare for some cute fall home decor items!)

Every Other Tuesday

So, how about a tutorial AND template for the first Every Other Tuesday event? Here is a little envelope template to get you started: You can download it be clicking here. (You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download it.)

Here's a quick tutorial on how to put it together:

The template will print out onto one piece of letter sized paper. For this project I printed it directly onto the back of the patterned paper. You could also print it, cut it out, and use it as a template. Whatever works best for you. :)

Below I've got the envelope and alternate flap cut out and scored on the dashed lines.

Fold the sides in, and adhere.
Fold the bottom flap up and adhere that too.

Adhere the coordinating paper flap on top of the flap. Now we'll add the brad fasteners. Just make a pencil mark about 1/2" from either side of the bottom of the flap. (See mine below:)
Place the brads into the holes you marked. Then cut a piece of embroidery floss 10" long. Tie it around one of the brads and wrap around the brads.

This envelope will hold an index sized card note, or recipe card. It would also work great for a journaling holder on a scrapbook page! Enjoy!

I'd LOVE it if you let me know what you make with it!


Now, since this is also a tutorial there's a giveaway! Yippee! Just leave me a comment with a joke or short funny story. Let's get each other laughing! I'll pick a random comment on Thursday night, August 14th. The prize will be as follows:
One package of the brads used to make the envelope. Don't worry if you don't live close. If you win I'll send you the brads for free!


Can't wait to hear your jokes/funny stories!