Upcycled Halloween craft - tic-tac-toe.

Walter has delighted us with his projects for over a year now - and I really really love what he does for Halloween! I'm not sure if you remember his fun jack-o-lantern magnets or his cute Halloween cupcake pedestal tutorials, but those are a must see. He's back again with a recycled project to have a little bit of fun this Halloween, and I love it. Here's how he made his Halloween tic-tac-toe.

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As you may know, I too adore Halloween and the imagery. I have been wanting to create a recycled craft tutorial for some time and this "Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe" item is super FUN to make.

Supplies:

Sometimes making stuff from discarded items can be surprisingly good . . . I am so pleased with the way this traditional, fun game came out. This is how I made it:

• Any Mod Podge will work . . . I used Gloss and Mod Podge Dimensional Magic.
• 10 plastic caps, washed and dry! Mine came from the Almond Milk I drink and have a 1" opening.
• 1" Friskars Circle Paper punch
• Halloween themed rubber stamps
• Paintbrush
• Mod Podge tools
• 6" x 6" jewelry box, got mine at a yard sale . . . you can buy newer unfinished boxes available at most craft stores

I created a 6" x 6" digital image using vintage Halloween ephemera and had a laser copy made. If you don't have Photoshop skills, no problem - use scrapbook paper with pre-printed graphics! Divide the square box by three vertically and three horizontally and Mod Podge your grid to your liking. I then decoupaged the the sides of the lid and sides of the box with, orange and black textured cardstock.

It looks so good! Next, seal the whole box with Mod Podge for a durable finish. TIP: I used the NEW silicone Mod Podge mat. WOW, I love this product!!! This mat is fantastic! I use to decoupage on old discarded newspapers. No more unwanted "image transfers" on my decoupage items . . . and clean up is so easy! I hope Plaid introduces bigger sizes in the future.

For the game pieces I created two (1" square) designs with some Halloween themed rubber stamps (skull and jack o' lantern) and used my 1" Friskar Circle paper punch to cut out the images. Decoupage the images into the cap, let dry and repeat!

***You want to make sure the insert is fully coated with Mod Podge, including the sides or the Dimensional Magic will seep into the image. I tripled coated my game pieces. Then I added the Mod Podge Dimensional Magic and let dry over night. They came out AWESOME; it looks like I used a resin coat without the mixing and toxic smell. 

The game pieces are stored inside the box for storage . . . genius! Project completed! Let's play Halloween tic-tac-toe on family game night! This is a great craft for children and parents - a far cry from playing video games and no interaction with family members. I plan on making another with my niece and nephew and introducing them to a game of tic-tac-toe. Happy Halloween!

Don't forget to visit Walter's Etsy shop or follow him on his blog, Facebook and Twitter.

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DIY fall napkin rings using raffia.

Hi Podgy People! It’s Shannon from Madigan Made back again. Today I want to show you an easy fall craft project that would be an elegant idea for your autumn table scape.

I’m always amazed at the versatility of Mod Podge. Not only can you cover and seal stuff with it . . . but you can shape things, too! Fabric, yarn, rope . . . decoupage is a wonderful sealer and shaper for these materials. I made a bracelet with raffia and Mod Podge this past summer and it inspired these fall napkin rings that I made this month.

There are some things to remember when you use Mod Podge to hold fibers together.  First, you need a surface that will serve as the mold for your material. But  you also need to ensure that the fibrous material and mold will separate once the glue is dry. When you are working with a small object like a napkin ring, how do you find a cylindrical object that will allow you to easily release the rings once everything is dry? I figured out that a long balloon works perfectly! Especially the kind that you can use to make balloon animals. The diameter is perfect for a napkin ring!

These napkin rings were also affordable to make… I found my balloon kit and raffia at the dollar store. And the gems were only $1.50 for a big box of them at the craft store!

Let me show you how I made these simple fall napkin rings.

Supplies needed:
Raffia
Mod Podge, Satin formula
Long Balloon Kit
Rhinestone leaf gems
Hot glue
Scissors
Foam brush
Pin

Step One: Inflate your party balloon with the pump provided and tie the end shut.

Step Two:  This is where we get a little messy! Brush a thick coat of Mod Podge around a section of the balloon. Take one end of the raffia and wrap it around that area. Keep in mind that you are decoupaging the raffia onto itself . . . not to the balloon. The cylinder is just there to support your shape. Liberally apply more Mod Podge as you continue to wrap the fiber around the balloon.

If you need more raffia, you can add it. But one strand of raffia gave me a decent width for a napkin ring. Secure the end down with more Mod Podge. (You may need to tuck the end into fibers to get it to stay put, too.)

Step Three: Repeat step two and work your way down the balloon. Wrap more pieces of raffia with Mod Podge to make your desired quantity of napkin rings. Hang the balloon to dry overnight.

Step Four: Now comes the fun part! Use a sharp pin or scissors and pop your balloon to release your pretty napkin rings. Pop! The balloon will peel right away from the decoupage and raffia.

Step Five: Use scissors to clean up some of loose or hanging raffia and dried decoupage from the edges of each ring.

Step Six: Attach a jeweled leaf to each circle with your hot glue gun. If you can’t find a pretty jewel, try a button or an acorn top. Personalize it for your table!

Enjoy your new napkins rings at your next dinner party this season! See how easy it is to use decoupage to turn fibers into a shape? I’m loving how the natural material resembles corn husks. The contrast of organic raffia with a pretty jewel is simple and understated.

Why not make a set of these napkin rings for your Thanksgiving table? You can tell your relatives all about  the amazing things you can make with Mod Podge over pumpkin pie. (Beats talking about your aunt’s latest bunion trouble, right?)

About the Podger: You might call Shannon the Clark Kent of craft blogging. By day, she is a pharmacist and by night she shares simple ideas for crafts, décor and much more with her readers. She also craves chocolate, loves a thrifty find and tries (often unsuccessfully) to avoid glue gun burns. You can find Shannon on her blog, Madigan Made, and on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest, too.

I’m participating in the following linky parties: I Heart Naptime, Skip to My Lou, Someday Crafts, Somewhat Simple, Tatertots and Jello, Tidy Mom, Tip Junkie, Today's Creative Blog, Creative Jewish Mom

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Glow-in-the-dark skeleton decor using dowel rods.

So . . . what does one do when they have some dowel rods laying around, they want to make a Halloween project AND they want to use Glow-in-the-Dark Mod Podge? Well, they make glow-in-the-dark skeleton decor, of course! This spooky plaque has a skeleton face made entirely of painted dowel rods, and as you can see, he glows in low light.

Here he is in the light. I love the interesting effect of the dowel rods as his face and am so happy with how it turned out. My friend Chris saw my idea as I was initially working on it and wasn't so sure - and I can't blame her - but it turned out just like I saw it in my head. Don't you love when that happens? Here's how to make a glow-in-the-dark dowel rod skeleton for yourself.

Gather These Supplies

Wood plaque
Mod Podge Matte
Mod Podge Glow-in-the-Dark
FolkArt acrylic paint - Pure Black, Lime Green, Titanium White
Skull graphic - large enough to fit on your plaque
Dowel rods - an assortment of sizes from 1/16" to 1/4"
Scissors
Pencil
Paintbrush - large and small
Saw and miter box
Craft glue

Print out a skull graphic to fit your plaque (look for free clip art or design your own). Start cutting the dowel rods to fit the skeleton face. How do you do that, you ask?

Get a handy dandy miter box and saw and start . . . sawing. I got this for $15 at Home Depot. This is my first saw and I'm so proud of myself. My friend Sherrie attached it to a desk with some clamps so that I could saw with ease.

I used a pencil to mark where to saw, then alternated size of dowel rods as I worked. I sawed some pieces at an angle and some straight - I tried to follow the shape of the skeleton face as best I could.

Here's the entire thing covered.

Now paint all the dowel rods white. It doesn't matter if they shift left or right on the paper, as long as they stay in the same order vertically.

While the dowel rods are drying/you are in the midst of painting them, paint the top of the plaque with Lime Green. Let it dry.

This is how you will get the dowel rods in the right place. Slide them off of the skull design, making sure that they stay in the right order vertically. Then cut out the skull face from the paper and trace onto the center of the plaque with a pencil.

Then starting at the bottom, glue the dowel rods to fit the pencil template using craft glue. Having the template makes it very easy. Once you have glue all of the dowel rods down, coat all of the them with white again to touch them up.

Don't worry if the white paint goes onto the green a little bit - we're going to touch that up too.

I had no idea how to get the mouth, nose and eyes onto the dowel rods. Then I realized I could cut out those areas and use the skull face as a stencil. So that's what I did.

I used a smaller brush to paint in the black eyes, nose and mouth. It takes a little bit, but it's fun to do the detail work (at least for me). Let that dry.

Paint the edge and back of the plaque with black and let that dry.

Then turn the plaque over and touch up the green. After that, put at least 4 - 5 coats of Mod Podge Glow-in-the-Dark on the skeleton face, but ONLY on the white parts. Let dry. You need this many coats to get a decent glow.

Paint the rest of the plaque (not the skeleton) with Matte Mod Podge. Let that dry.

Supercharge your skeleton face by putting it under a light, then shut the lights out and let it glow! It wears off after a a few minutes, but it's totally worth it.

And of course I just like it sitting out on the table as regular Halloween decor, smiling.

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Candy corn un-welcome Halloween sign.

Hello Mod Podge fans! I’m so excited to be here today sharing a fun project using RIT Dye. But first, let me introduce myself.

I’m Vanessa from Our Thrifty Ideas. I blog about my family, crafts, and being thrifty. I am a play at home Mommy of 2 littles and a wife to an amazing and hard working handy man husband! I am living the life, and love being able to share it with those out in the www.!

Today I’m going to show you how I made the fun Candy Corn un-welcome Halloween sign using RIT Dye product!

Supplies:
Wood – whatever shape you choose
Orange Paint
White Cotton Fabric
RIT Dye in Orange and Yellow
Paper Letters
Mod Podge – Matte Finish

This was my first time using RIT Dye. I am loving every bit of it, and dying everything within reach! And plus, it is so easy.

Following the directions on the bottle, I just mixed 8 cups of really hot water with 1 tablespoon dye and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mixing continuously to avoid uneven coloring, soak your fabric for 10 minutes. Then rinse in warm (then gradually getting colder) water until the water runs clear.

Run the dyed fabric thru a regular cycle of laundry (wash and dry) to prevent any dye bleeding. Repeat these steps for the orange dye.

Cut the dyed fabric, and some of the white, into 1 inch strips. The number of strips will depend on the size of your wood. I made the mistake of cutting my strips and THEN dying it, causing my fabric to fray and become messy in the finished product.

Ok, so now that we have the fabric dyed you will want to prep your wood. I painted the sides and the back incase you see it while it’s hanging up!

Then Mod Podge strips of the fabric onto the wood in a candy corn pattern; white, yellow, orange. I left long strips of fabric on the edges to create a hanger.

Once this is dry (or a little tacky) place your wording onto the fabric and Mod Podge them on.  Let dry.

Cut the excess fabric off the ends, except the 3 left and 3 right ones on the top of your sign. Braid these and tie them together at the ends to create a hanger.

Hang on your front door or an entryway for the Halloween season!

Make sure to check out all the RIT Dye products on their website. And of course, follow them via social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

Thanks so much for having me over here at Mod Podge Rocks. I’m so honored to be able to hang out with you guys for the day!

You can also check out some other fun seasonal projects made with the products from some great bloggers.

Find the post disclosure here.

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