Spider Wreath

Halloween is on the way, which always puts me in a crafty mood. This spider wreath is perfect because it is light on the effort and heavy on the creepy. I was able to create the whole thing in less than an hour. A small disclaimer though, I live in Arizona so the spray paint only took a few minutes to dry. If you live in a more humid climate the project may take a little longer. On to the details....

Supply List

• Grapevine Wreath (I used a small size but use any size you want)
• Black Paint (preferably spray paint)
• Glue Dots®
• Plastic Spiders
• Ribbon
• Scissors

The Goods

Begin by spray painting the wreath black. Be sure to get in all the crevices and paint both sides. Allow the wreath to dry thoroughly before attaching the spiders.

Starting to get Creepy

Attach the spiders to the wreath using Glue Dots®. It looks best to attach them in random directions rather than all in one direction. I prefer to use a lot of spiders rather than just a few. Be sure to leave a gap where you can later attach the ribbon (if you choose to attach a ribbon for hanging.)  

Demonstrating!

Connect the ribbon by creating a loop at the top and secure using a Glue Dot®.

So Close to Completion

If you choose you can fasten the ribbon to the wreath using Glue Dots®. This will prevent the wreath from shifting.

Final Touches

Place a single spider on the ribbon as an accent.

Done!!!

Cool and Gross and Perfect

Your wreath is now ready to hang! Or to take artsy pictures of! Your call!


Full disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the Glue Dots® design team.

Photography Website!

Big news! I have finally gone into business as a photographer. I specialize in dog photography, which makes me a dogtographer. So, you will see less photography here since I will now put it on the photography site and corresponding blog. Once my life slows down a little I will do some more crafting blogs as well. Check out my new website HERE. Thank you!

Valentine's Day Cards (Slightly Delayed)

This post is rather silly seeing that May is almost here, but honestly if I don't post it now it will never happen. 

I was commissioned to make Valentine's Day cards for a local business as part of a promotion they were running. After a few days of hard work 130 cards were produced in 3 different designs. Here is a peek of what I did.

The first card was the "sweet" card. I made all of the cards using Fabriano Medioevalis paper, which is a super nice quality paper. It has a deckle-edge and feels amazing and so soft. Step one was creating an image, and I came up with the bunny sniffing some flowers. I drew the image, photocopied it, and then printed it using my nifty  Gocco Printer. To jazz it up a little I added a sparkly heart embellishment. I think it turned out rather cute. On the inside I printed "Love is Sweet" in pink.

Sweet Indeed

Close-up sniff

The next card was my take on a more "masculine" card (or whatever that means in reference to Valentine's Day.) It is a pun, which to me is the essence of Valentine's Day. 

See what I did there?

I used a heart shaped punch on wood grain printed paper to create the hearts. The blue paper is just scrapbook paper cut to fit the card and adhered using Glue Dots. I prefer to use Glue Dots on paper projects because you don't get the rippling that happens with more wet adhesives like Elmer's Glue. In addition the Glue Dots are cleaner to work with so you don't get glue all over everything you are working on. The border is made of ribbon and also adhered using Glue Dots. The "Wood you be mine?" text was printed on address labels. Address labels are a fantastic trick. You can use the opaque ones or to look really slick use the transparent ones like the one below.

I was a Creative Writing minor in college

Detail shot for the fans

I used a Glue Dot Pop Up to secure the heart to the card.  These are basically thick double-sided stickers that give height to your object. You can use one for a little height or go crazy stacking them for even more lift. 

The last card I created was the "romantic" card.

Seduced yet?

The background and red of the heart were created using scrapbook paper. The map is actually taken from on old road atlas. I love this idea because I always have old atlases or maps hanging around from trips and other activities. I cut a heart in the map using a paper punch and mounted the red paper behind it. That was all secured to the card using a Glue Dot Pop Up to add some interest.

Inner text- nothing witty to say

I printed the text in the transparent address labels I mentioned earlier. They are barely noticeable in person and only a little visible if you decide to take a really close-up picture. This technique works well when you a.) Don't want to hand write the text b.) Can't send the card through a computer printer.

Drama

I would like to wish all of you a Happy Valentine's Day about 2.5 months late! On a side note, I do custom cards for ANY occasion. On occasion I will even post them before it is embarrassingly late.

Long Lost Return

So, 2010 has been a hell of a year. A hellish year really, and because living sometimes takes 100% effort the blog has suffered. Horribly. Well, things have calmed a little and I am back to posting. Thank you for sticking with me and here is to better times ahead.

My return to blogging is a good one. For as long as I have been working at my current job there was a rusty stand alone ashtray outside. Because you can't smoke anywhere even remotely near a building in Arizona this ashtray had seen its last days. Rust everywhere, twigs, leaves, you name it. I knew that eventually this relic would go to the big dumpster in the sky, but I knew it had such potential!

Take a peek at the lovely before images below.

Fact: This is also what your lungs look like after smoking

Hope you have your tetanus shot!

Yum

When dealing with rusted metal (in this case rust that may have some metal in it) it is easiest to just paint the whole thing with Rustoleum. Rustoleum is amazing stuff really. It is spray paint that magically paints beautifully over rust and also stops it from progressing.You can get it at any hardware store and it comes in all sorts of colors. I went with a leafy green color. 

The key to working with rust is that you have to cover all the surfaces well with paint. Any exposed rust will continue to develop and eat away at the metal under the paint. My helpful spray painting tip is keep the can at least a foot away from your project. Any closer and too much paint will dispense and create drips. You will be pretty sad. Be sure to shake the can often. A little shake and spray wrist action also works really well. Do a coat and let it dry before applying additional coats for coverage. Please also work outside or in a well ventilated area and cover your work surface because spray paint does just that- sprays.

After just a little spray paint here is what I got.

 

Maybe a little better

Fancy

And now to solve the mystery of WHAT I was creating out of this nasty old ashtray...

A Lovely Bird Feeder!

I am happy to report that all the birds in my area really enjoy it. The quail especially love the treats, and I need to refill it every single day. Greedy birds.

Dia de los Muertos Masks

Dia de los Muertos is one of my favorite holidays! Living in the Southwest I have noticed that this celebration has becoming increasingly part of popular culture without becoming over commercialized. If you are unfamiliar with Dia de los Muertos I highly recommend reading up on it. It is a meaningful holiday that celebrates life and death. Added bonus the decorations are amazing.

To celebrate this year I made my own Dia de los Muertos skull masks. I picked up the paper mache masks at Michael's right before Halloween. If you are lucky they still may have some!!! Next I painted them using regular craft paint. The traditional skulls are usually colorful and celebratory. We tried a little bit of everything.

Paper mache mask primed in white craft paint

Decorating with swirls and things

Good thing about being a skull: No double chin

Luchador! Courtesy of Casey

Muy traditional

Finished Mask- Like the Platinum Grill? It was unintentional.

What if this is what I look like inside?

This scares me pretty bad

Someone give this guy a sandwich

I know that you are thinking: Finally! A use for all those skull masks I have just laying around the house. You are welcome!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Milo as El Diablo

Hannah as a bat (naturally)

Felt Squid Gift-O-Rama

My friend Jenny is a fan of the wool felt animals, and for the past few months she has hinted that a wool felt squid would be really great.  Always being one to please, I whipped this little guy up for her. I hope Jenny enjoys her new friend!

Arty Squid

Orcas better watch their backs

 Please do not do this with a real squid

It is all in the eyes