Advent Calendar

I absolutely love Christmas.  Every year we have a count down to Christmas with my kids, but I never really had anything that I liked to display for our countdown.  This year I decided to make a calendar that I could use every year.  I sewed the fabric bags, added Velcro to the top, used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the iron on numbers and had my husband make a frame.  This is what they turned out to look like.  I love them. I am selling them on Etsy if you do not want to make your own. 

 

Hope your kids enjoy the countdown and eating candy every morning like my kids do!

Keep on sewin'!

Our Halloween Party

So today we had our Halloween party with our family.  It was a lot of fun!  I got my inspirations off Pinterest and I will link all the websites because I need to give all the creative people credit.

 

Bought these for $1.19 at Michael's and used the Cameo to make the labels.

 

I know this one is a little over the top, but everyone thought it was pretty cool.  I used a doll from a thrift store and just took off the plastic parts and made sure I washed them VERY well.  I apologize if I offend anybody.  I just had a vision and wanted to go with it.

 

It's not a Holiday if you don't have the PEEPS!

 

My table.

 

Used Nutter Butters dipped in white chocolate, Wiltons finger mold, skeleton veggie tray and Beendoozled Jelly Belly's game.  This game was a hit!  I apologize for the skeleton link.  My sister just sent me a picture and I do not know who to give credit to.

 

 

 

The puking pumpkin I got the idea from here.  The monster claws from here.  I made a pumpkin cupcake that I found on allrecipes.com.  I used a cream cheese frosting and used a marshmallow fondant for the frosting.  We painted the claws black after we molded the fondant.  The witch hats and brooms I found here.  Gosh, I love Pinterest!!

 

 

Eye deviled eggs, idea from here.  I must say we made them the night before and the red bled a little.  I would recommend make them as close to possible of when you are going to put them out for the party.

 

 

I  got the bloody hand towel from here

 

A healthy treat brought by my mother in law.

One of our 5 pizzas! Idea can be found here.

 

 

 

 

For this I made the web out of sour cream, minced black olives to make the spider and cut black beans in half to make the legs.

 

I found this for $1.50 at the thrift store.  It was gold and did not work.  Spray painted it silver, oiled it with black , added Spanish moss and bones.

 

 

 

And my fireplace!  I redid the cauldron with a solution of sand, Elmer's glue, water, and oatmeal from a site I found. I would not recommend the oatmeal.  It was falling off and not working.  I rubbed off the oatmeal because it was falling off every time I touched it.  After I did that I primed it with flat black spray paint.  After it dried I used browns and greys to make it look aged.  The problem was I did not know what to do with it afterwards so I just put it on the fireplace.  I have to find something clever to do with it next year.

 

 

 

So there it is.  Can't wait until next year.  I must say I could not have done this without the help of my husband and kids.  My oldest helped me decide what we would execute and what could be put off for another year.    My sister is doing Christmas this year and after she saw everything she said she has to out do me.  She started "pinning" and surfing AT the party on my ipad.  I guess we have a battle now!  :)

 

 

Happy Halloween and keep junkin!

 

 

And Yet More Halloween Decorations..

So the Halloween party is just a week away and I needed to step it up and start getting more stuff done.  I finally finished my mantle late last night.  I would add stuff, take it off, rearrange, but hopefully it will stay this way. 

 

 

The banner I made from burlap and just sewed the sides so they would not unravel.  Below is a close up of the shutters.  I was able to get them for 7 dollars at a flea market, but I wanted to make them look aged.  I spray painted white primer, than spray painted a darker color as the base.  From there I put a light layer of Elmers glue in various spots and then painted using a white ceiling paint.  I tried on a small board to see if the glue would crackle properly using a spray paint as the top layer and it did not.  Bummer, because I  love spray painting things.  I saw some websites say that you have to wait until the glue gets a certain tackiness.  I am pretty sure I did not do that because I was impatient.  After applying to the shutter, I probably only waited a minute and it seemed to work.  

 

As far as the candy decoration, I used old candy corn that I bought last year for $0.25 a bag.  I spray painted a stick black, hung $0.99 bats I bought last year.  The vases I bought from Salvation Army and the ribbon I bought from Michaels using my 40% off coupon.  The owl picture, the candle stands and pillars were also bought at a thrift store and primed and painted.

 

 

 

Below are some more decorations.  I found the spider nylon one from a website, but now I cannot find it.  When I do I will link it here.

 

 

 

Hopefully I can get the rest of the decorations done before the party!!

 

Keep on junkin!  It makes fun and cheap decorations.

 

 

Kristy

More Halloween Decoration Fun

My boys and I love Halloween.  Here are some of the latest things we made.

 

I bought a dowel from Menards and cut it in half.  One I painted brown and the other black.  Then I used willow branches for the broom part and dried cattail leaves or the other. It worked out great !

 

 

 

 

I bought the shoes at a thrift store and just added the spiders to them.

 



 



For these I bought 4x4 ( I think that is what they call them) and cut them and painted them.  I have to say my husband painted them, not me.  I did the base coat, but he did all the details and added the bolts to Frankenstein.  I did the mummy's burlap at least :)  I love them.

This chair I got from the thrift store for a dollar.  I painted it yellow and put the Model TT Ford wheel we found on our cabin's property  I love the history behind something like this. 

This one I used my cake top and just put bones, spider web and spider in it.  The kids thought it was awesome.

Hope you are inspired to find some cheap Halloween decorating ideas

More Cheap Decorating Ideas

I didn't know how to decorate the peninsula in the kitchen.  But it seemed to all come together for next to nothing.  Last month we were in Clinton, IA to visit my husband's grandma and he met his birth mom for the first time.  He is 39 and it was an amazing experience.  Anyway, when I was there I of course had to hit the thrift stores. I found white milk glass vases for 25 cents each!!!  I bought 5 of them not sure what I was going to do with them, but were so cheap I could not pass up.  Then 2 weeks ago I walked down to the end of our road and collected cattails leaves for a witch broom I am making and will post tonight too.  Anyway, while I was there I decided to cut some cattails.  A lot of my accents in the house are white so I painted the cattails white too.  I used white ceiling paint because we had 5 gallons of it.  I basically just hung them from the garage ceiling and painted them white. I will not tell you what my husband said they looked like, hanging there, but here is the end result.  I love them and will probably add fall colors to the vases for Halloween and red for Christmas.  I will also post on my kitchen later on.  We bought our house in foreclosure and it was BAD!!  My husband installed all the tiles, cabinets, trim and everything himself to save of thousands of dollars.  I will have to post a before and after soon.

More Halloween Decorations

More Halloween fun!  I used a straw wreath that I had bought a couple years ago and never used.  I wrapped it in fabric that I got for a $1 a yard from Walmart and them hot glued black flowers and the owl on.  I could have used a crow, pumpkin, skull or something else, but I just love owls.  I must say the owl and flowers are more than I usually like to spend because I got them new instead of at a thrift store.  I really wanted to get the decorations started for the party so I did not want to wait to long to start making the stuff.

 

 

 

Last year I bought a pack of 4 canvases at Michael's using a 40% off coupon.  When I came home last week, to my surprise, I had these waiting for me that my kids made from their hands and feet.  

These Halloween decorations will be forever treasured!

 

 

Keep on booin"!

Halloween Decorations

My kids and I love Halloween, we have already started planning the party and making decorations.  I will post the decorations I made as I complete them and start decorating.  Here are two that I made form painting the picture frames black, tea staining old dictionary pages, and using my Cameo Silhouette to cut out the vinyl.  I am actually putting these on etsy (my shop is ksjknits) and will make more for my house.  So if you like them feel free to bid :)

 

 

 

Happy Halloween early!

Christmas Wine Bottle Cover

My three favorite things come together: wine, Christmas, and knitting  I decided to create a snowman wine bottle cover that I can put on the bottles of my homemade wine when I give them away at Christmas.  Here is what I created.

 

 

 

 

Hope you like it!

Backyard Chickens

I have been buying fresh chicken eggs for about 2 years now from a friend.  The eggs are more flavorful and the yolks are extremely yellow compared to those you buy in the store.  Yes, they can be more expensive.  I have heard they range from $1.50 - $4 a dozen around me in Wisconsin.  I pay $3 a dozen, but they are well worth it.  This spring we decided to get 2 chickens of our own.  My friend who raises chickens bought 40 in April and he let my boys pick out any chicken of their choice.  My youngest picked an Araucana chicken and named her Pillow Tiger.  This type of chicken lays either blue or green shelled eggs.  My oldest picked a Buff Orpington, named her Cinnamon, and she lays brown eggs.  Having the birds lay different color eggs is perfect because now we know whose chicken egg we are eating.  :)   Our chickens will start laying eggs mid to late October and we are very excited. 

If you are thinking about having chickens there are some things you should think about.  By no means am I an expert seeing I have just recently started owning chickens. 

• You will need a chicken coop/house for them to be safe in and roost at night.
• Make sure your municipality allows them and there may be a limit on how many you can own.
• Know what is appropriate to feed them (chicken treats).  There are different feeds through the different stages of their growth. Here are some things chickens should not eat.
• Do you need a winter hardy breed?  Living in Wisconsin this is a must for us. 
• Chickens only lay eggs for 2-5 years but live 10-20 years.  Will you keep them after they stop laying?  If not, maybe get a breed that is a good egg layer and has good meat to eat.
• Do you have an area for them to free range?

My husband built the chicken coop for us in an afternoon, it works perfect.  Each chicken needs 4 sq feet in the coop.  I let out the chickens every night to free range in our yard.  I am a little nervous because we do not have a fence and to each side of us they have a dog.  Eventually we would like to have a small picket fence area and have them roam free in it.  Due to lack of funds it will have to wait until next year. 

The first night I let them out of the coop I was so nervous that I would not be able to get them back in.  However, it is in their instinct to go up higher for protection.  Every night, I find them back in their coop at dusk, so no worries. 

Look at the color of those yolks!  It is hard to tell, but the shell is green.  I must say you have to be careful in what you use these eggs in since the yolk is so yellow.  If you bake a cheesecake or are making something white that requires yolks, be warned, it will discolor the finished product.  I made a cheesecake with them and it was almost yellow!  I still brought it into work, but had to explain the coloring. 

Make sure you do your research before you decide on chickens.  I am lucky, because if they do not work out, my friend said he will take them back at anytime.  Most people do not have this luxury though.

Keep on cluckin'!

More Inexpensive Decorations - Foam Cones and Candle Holders

Sometime ago, I had bought 3 candle holders.  I didn't know what I was going to do with them, but they were a steal.  Since I am not big on candles, I wanted to put something else on them.  I decided on foam cones, but had no idea how I was going to cover them.  Then I came across a pillow case at the thrift store last weekend that I knew would work.  The best part was it was half off day so I only paid $1! One down 2 more to go, the mission had started.  Then after going to 2 more thrift stores and finding nothing, I had to use the bathroom from all the Diet Coke I drink.  Sitting on the toilet in a public bathroom, I had an epiphany!  I looked at my purse and thought, why not?  I got it cheap at a thrift store and  my cat had bit some of the beads off of it so it was not in the best shape anymore.  However, it would be perfect for repurposing.   The last tree I decided to cut scraps of fabric and hot glue them to the cone. 

So here they are.  I also decided to spray paint the candle holders bronze to match the room they are in.  I have to say the scraps of fabric cone is my least favorite.  I think I will be redoing this one with cuts of burlap fabric.  Otherwise, I think they are cute and were very inexpensive.

 

 

 

Keep on junkin'!

Window Creation

After painting our great room I was in need of art work that matched the color scheme.  I was going to go to Michaels after work the other day to buy a canvas when I thought why not use the free windows I have as a canvas.  My friend knows that I will take anything that may have a purpose in the future gave me about 12 windows when she replaced hers.  I must say, my husband does get quite annoyed at me at times when I have so much in the garage in projects and "future" projects we can not park in it.

I sanded the glass to get it roughed up for the primer to adhere.  I then taped it with painters tape and spray painted primer on it.  I ran out of black primer so I had to use some white.

 

 

After this, I just used the same color on the back as on the wall with the fireplace.  My husband painted a tree and a bird and we have art for FREE!

 

 

 

 

I love it and it fits the room perfectly!

 

Keep on junkin'!