Spooky Ghost Candy Jars

I originally wrote this post for the girls over at Eighteen25 for the September Spooktacular but thought it would be fun to share these spooky Ghost Candy Jars here too. I can't believe the month of October is almost over - ahhh, now that's spooky! :)

Supplies:

• white wool balls
• straws or sticks
• cheesecloth
• black sewing pins
• jars and lids with a hole punched in the center (I spray painted mine black)
• glue gun
• candy

These are so super easy and really accessible for kids too, mine had a blast helping me! What you do is use a big blob of hot glue to affix a wool ball to the end of a straw or stick and let that set up. 

Cut a few layers of the cheesecloth into about a seven or eight inch square and then center the wool ball and fold the cloth over the top. The cheesecloth will naturally stick to the wool ball so you don't need to add any additional glue or adhesive. 

Use two small black sewing pins for the eyes and to secure the cloth a bit. If the pins are long you might need to use some wire cutters to trim the sharp points at the back. 

Once the little ghost is done fill your jars with candy and stick the ghost into the hole in the lid so that it hovers over the jar!

If you have any extra wool balls and cheesecloth make a few ghosts without the straws and using a needle and thread sew up through the back of the ball to the top to create a loop for hanging or a garland.

I hung a bunch from the chandelier above our table and they are so tiny and perfect as a very subtle Halloween surprise, the kids went crazy for these!

I really love decorating - here's a few more from our Halloween House last year…still need to get our decorations up for this year!

Hope you guys have a wonderful day today! xoxo

pom pom hair clips

Josie got it into her head that she wanted to make pom pom hair clips after finding a big bag of pom pom's in the art closet the other day. I thought I would indulge her cute idea and broke out the glue gun for a bit of one on one time and let her design and pick out which colors she wanted for each clip. There are no secrets here it was pretty much glue gun + pom pom + hair clip but it was so fun to do this simple project with her.

After a few clips were made we decided they looked like caterpillars a little bit and so we hunted in the art closet again and found some giant goggly eyes and added those to the mix…

Then some little fabric hearts that were sitting in one of the bins turned into wings and she was so excited to make a little butterfly friend - adorable for sure!

Pretty soon Levi found us and he wanted in on the fun so we found him a clothespin and he made a caterpillar bookmark and a "quiet critter" as he called it (big pom pom with eyes) apparently his teacher used these last year - if you are holding it you are suppose to be a quiet critter…sounds good to me :)!

All in all it was a really fun little craft hour for a hot summer day - so many variations and so so simple so I thought I would share. What are some fun little projects you have done with your kids this summer so far?

how to make a loopy fork pom pom

I finally got a chance to photograph a little how-to for the loopy fork pom poms I made last week. They are super easy and quick and all you need is yarn, a fork (I used a larger silver serving fork) and scissors. It takes about three minutes to make one once you get the hang of it and are such a fun alternative to traditional pom poms, enjoy!!

Start by cutting about a six inch piece of yarn and laying it in the center prongs, this is the piece you will use to tie it all together so just hold it down with your hand the best you can while weaving back and forth with the skein of yarn until the entire fork is covered. Once you get to the top of the fork trim the yarn from the skein and then carefully pull that first short piece up and around and loosely tie it together before slowly sliding the pom pom off of the fork. Finish by tightly tying the pom pom with a few more knots and then trim the loose longer pieces and you're done! Easy and fun…hope your week is off to a great start! xo

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Target hacker

Chris and I did a little Target hacking this past weekend to one of the super popular tin Joy signs that everyone seems to have grabbed lighting fast this year. I liked the brown faux bois pattern but it just wasn't totally me. We thought about spray painting it red or covering it with Christmas fabric but in the end I used some of the Orla Kiely wallpaper scraps we have left over from our old place, and I kind of love the results. I might even leave it up after the holidays!

I had Chris take it apart for me, it took a little brute force and a few of the bulbs went out so if you are planning to do something similar make sure to do one letter at a time. I simply traced the letters, cut them out with scissors and used an exacto knife to create holes for the lights. It's really not perfect but with a little clear Mod Podge it's doing the trick in our living room right now patiently waiting for some more decorations to join it.

I have been slower than usual getting things out this year but enjoying the season nonetheless. Wishing for some snow and soaking in my busy bunch as much as I can. What about you are you all decorated for Christmas already or taking it slow like me? Hope you're having a great week! xoxo

DIY and a Giveaway with Furrow & Feather

Today I am so excited to share about the cutest new etsy shop, Furrow & Feather! Katie Egbert the incredible artist behind these adorable shadowbox framed vinyl hand lettered quotes is just the sweetest and she sent me two to DIY for my home! I had such fun deciding where to put them and what to use as the background for each. They come with a chip board background perfect for personalizing and so I used some vintage fabric and some spray adhesive to brighten up the wall in Josie and Zeb's nursery. I love how the Hello Sunshine one turned out!

For the Home Sweet Home frame I used a piece of the Orla Kiely wallpaper I had saved from our old home as a little memento and put it on a shelf in my kitchen. These frames are so fun and unique and are a perfect addition to any photo wall. They would also make a great gift idea for anyone special in your life!

Katie is so generously offering a Shadowbox frame to one lucky reader too and I couldn't be more excited! Thank you so much friend for sharing your beautiful work it's truly lovely and unique! Check out Furrow & Feather HERE and Katie's incredible website HERE enter below for a chance to win! a Rafflecopter giveaway

gold spray painted pumpkin buckets :: yay or nay?

A few weeks ago I asked Chris to spray paint some of those plastic pumpkin buckets after seeing really pretty gilded ones in a Crewcuts window display. He kindly obliged like he always does but then after bringing them in he deemed them a fail since the pain ran a bit. I looked at them for a few days and then decided to fill one with a bouquet of flowers for our piano, but I am still having trouble deciding if they should make the cut to put away for use again next year or to indeed agree that they weren't quite at cool as I thought they might be...what do you guys think?

I sure had fun dreaming about the idea. Concepting a project is often just as much fun for me as the actual completion. It just fills such a deep part of my soul to create something out of nothing and during these busy days with young kids even the dream of making something with my hands can be enough to keep me going for days until the time arrives. So what about you, is there anything you've been dying to try but haven't quite found the right moment yet? Either way I hope you find something to do this weekend that fills your soul, happy friday!

leather headband with The Merrythought

You guys I am so excited about todays guest post with Caitlin from The Merrrythought. I have been huge fans of the  girls behind this incredibly inspiring blog for a really long time and was first introduced to them through the Ten on Ten project - they are seriously some of the most beautiful, talented women and I know you will adore their blog if you haven't found it already. True eye candy almost everyday of the week over there!! Caitlin is showing us how to make this adorable leather headband today and I am honored to host her here!

Hey! My name is Caitlin, I am a vintage ­loving, craft­making lady that spends a lot of time behind a camera. I share a lot of pictures, projects and thoughts over on The Merrythought, where I blog with Manda and Marla! I am so excited to be here on Rebekah's blog to share a quick DIY beaded leather headband today!

What you need:

­Leather

­Leather lace

­Beads

­Needle and thread

­Scissors

­Mod Podge and brush

How to make it: Cut a piece of leather 12" x 1.25"  and lay out a design with beads that will fit in that space. (Sketching out your idea ahead of time will help.) Use your needle and thread to sew the beads in place. For bigger beads you will have to go through the leather between each bead and smaller ones you might be able to get away with stringing a few on the thread before stitching it back through the leather.

Cut four 19" pieces of leather lace. Use a dab of Mod Podge at each end of the beaded leather to help hold two pieces of the leather lace per side. Cut two pieces of leather .75" x 1.25". (I used the same type of leather as I did for my main band but I used the back side of it to add some contrast.)

Use another dab of Mod Podge to secure this over the pieces of leather lace. Once the Mod Podge has dried, use your needle and thread to stitch an X over the piece for extra support.

Tie it and wear it!

Thank you so much for being here today Caitlin and a huge kiss to your whole team over at The Merrythought you guys are definitely on my blog crush list! xo, Rebekah