3 fiskateers: Halloween Decor

• posted by: Legends
• posted in: Crafts, Challenges, Projects
• on: October 12, 2007

 My little ghouls keep asking for pumpkins. The leaves are falling, the air is cool, and so I know it’s almost time. Halloween. One of my favorite holidays for sure! I asked 3 fiskateers to craft some home decor items with Cloud 9’s new Halloween line to inspire us. Here’s what they came up with…

  Jennifer Muller (#1634)- Halloween bucket:  This was the main project for my mission.  This started out as a plain white metal pail from Michael’s (priced about $6).  To cover the main part of the pail requires 2 12×12 pieces of paper, so I decided to use 2 different pp, although 2 of the same would be ok, too.  I cute each pp in half (leaving 2 6×12 pieces per sheet).  Then I ran all 4 pieces through my Xyron 900.  It doesn’t really matter which pieces you adhere to the can first, since you’re going to cover the seam with ribbon, but the bottom pieces are the easiest, since you don’t have to cut around the handle.  I do attach the bottom pieces so that the side seam lines up pretty well with the handles, since that is where the top pieces will have a seam as well.  When attaching the top pieces, I start at the middle of the pail (between the 2 handles), and gently press it to the pail, stopping when I get to the area around the handles.  Then I take my fantastic Fiskars scissors (best scissors, ever!) and carefully trim around the handle part.  I’ve found that if you trim a little smaller than the area around the handle, you can “tuck” the paper under the handle and it looks very clean.  I think you could probably use a 1″ circle punch to make it more exact, but then you would have to be very careful with your measurements so that it lined up exactly right (I hate measuring my stuff, so I opt to do it freehand).  To do the lid, you just trace the lid to the back side of the paper you want to use, cut it out, xyron it, and attach.  Now comes the fun part!  DECORATE! I think this bucket could be a pretty decor piece, maybe filled with some fun Halloween picks or fall flowers, a candy bucket for passing out goodies to trick-or-treaters, or a trick-or-treat bucket for your little goblin!
 
Frame: This started out as a plain wooden frame (without the glass) from Michael’s ($1 regular price).  All I did was spray-paint it black, both sides, trace the front to the back side of pp, run it through my xyron, and attach!  Then again, decorate!  This is SUPER easy (and cheap!) and I think this would be a great home decor piece, if you made one for each Halloween and put a current picture of your child, yourself, your dog, etc. dressed up for the holiday, then each year added to the collection!  What a fun way to showcase the different costumes.
 
Door Hanger:  This was literally just an afterthought, as I had so much fun stuff to play with!  I bought these wooden door hangers at the Dollar Store (3 for $1), they were plain wood and pretty ugly!  So, I spray painted, traced on pp, cut out, xyron, and attach!  Then decorated…now I have a fun piece to hang on my front door for the holiday.

  Misty (Fiskateer #33):  My mission was to come up with a home decor idea for halloween.  My project is halloween lanterns.  To make the lanterns you will need at least 12 strips 1 inch wide and 6 inches long, two large or extra large circle punches, a length of ribbon about 12 inches and embellishments. 
First you will need to punch holes in the center of your circles and at the top and bottom of your 12 strips.  Next thread your ribbon through one circle, then through the top front of the 12 strips and the back of the strips on the bottom and finally through your second circle.  Tie a knot above the top circle and push the bottom circle up so it creates the shape of your lantern.  Tie a knot at the bottom.  Separate each strip forming the globe shape.  I added cloud 9 chipboard stickers to the bottom of mine to embellish.  You can make the strips longer and the lantern will be larger.  You can also add strips to make the lantern look more full.  I made the tiny lantern by cutting 1/2 inch wide strips and 4 inch long.
 
These are fun to hang around the house or make a centerpiece for your table.  For my lanterns I cut a tree branch from the yard and spray painted it black.  I then put it in a Halloween bucket I had and filled the bucket with spanish moss.  This gave me a perfect place to hang my lanterns.  It would also be fun to buy the light sticks and place inside to make them glow.

  Sara Robison (#1314)- I kept this project simple. I wanted the letters to stand out (ie. didn’t want much “clutter” from embellishments) and be easily read. I plan to hang this on my front door during the month of October. I traced the letters each on a different piece of Cloud 9 paper and adhered them to the wooden letters. I then decorated them with painted wood shapes (ghost and bat), word stickers, rub-ons, and Rain Dots (bat shaped). Each of the letters is outlined with black paint. This was such a quick and easy project! The Cloud 9 products were perfect! I have plans to make a couple more for some friends.

Supplies: Cloud 9 patterned paper, stickers, rub-ons, shaped Rain Dots;  Wood letters and shapes from Michaels; black paint, ribbon

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