It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like: HALLOWEEN!

I don't know why, but I am super into Halloween this year. I think the older my kids get, the more enjoyable it is for them...less scary, maybe. So last week I spent a day making my home look more like Fall, but specifically decorating for Halloween. These spiders and the scared cat are cut from vinyl. The patterns came from a magazine. They are pretty large cuts, though. The cat really kind of weirded out all of my kids the first day it was on the wall! ;) The Haunted House was actually built by my son in Kindergarten last year. And the wreath was decorated by me. I bought a cheap grapevine wreath, spray painted it black, and then used some embellishments and ribbon I found at WalMart recently. Thanks for looking!

Easy Wooden XOXO Blocks

Grab some 2x4, acrylic paint, vinyl, and ribbon, and you've got these blocks! I had the 2x4 blocks already pre-cut into these squares for a previous project that I never got around to doing. Then I painted them with a couple of layers of acrylic paint in Primary Red and Carnival Pink each. Next I used my Gypsy, Expression, and Mini Mono, Plantin Schoolbook, and Storybook cartridges for the scalloped square and letters in white vinyl. I placed the vinyl on the blocks, tied a cute dotted pink bow around one end of one block, and done! Cute blocks adorning one of the shelves of my fish tank in the living room. :) Very easy and super cheap. And festive for February!!

Valentine heARTs

For some reason this year I am getting super excited about Valentine's Day. I normally leave out some of my snowman decor until it's time to decorate for Easter. And with all the snow recently, it has been fitting to see. However, I have all kinds of ideas running through my head for Valentine's Day decor. Including these two heART pieces! ;)
For the first heART piece, I have been seeing lots of "subway" art for different holidays, and I decided to try my hand at it. I used my Cricut Gypsy and designed some pieces together and then layed them out on an 8x8 canvas. But first I covered the recycled canvas with some patterned scrapbook paper. Anyway, after the canvas was covered, I inked the edges, and then layed out the lettering. Once I had the words and symbols arranged the way I liked, I started applying the vinyl pieces. Once that looked acceptable, I used double-sided tape and applied the ribbon around the edges of the canvas, and then attached a ribbon piece for hanging using a hot glue gun. Easy enough, and pretty cute, too, right?!?! And CHEAP!
For the second heART piece, I had bought this cute heart-shaped plate from a yard sale for super cheap a couple of years or more ago. I hadn't ever decided what to do with it,...until tonight. It's simple, but I used the Cricut again and cut in vinyl the sentiment you see, and voila! Done! I had everything on hand and didn't have to run out in the snow for any piece of these crafts. And now I have some more Valentine's decor which will help fuel the love for the upcoming holiday! ;)

Chocolate Brown Bunny

I recently came across http://ishowoffcrafts.blogspot.com/ and found these super cute brown bunny vinyls that look just like the chocolate bunny you put in the Easter basket. I loved the way she created different Easter decor with it and decided I wanted to try my hand at it, too. So last night I came up with this altered frame. I don't remember where I got the frame itself...maybe Big Lots? I don't know since it's been in my stash for years. I painted the plain wooden frame with "buttercream" acrylic paint and let it dry. Next I cut the scrapbook paper to fit the window, rubbed the vinyl bunny onto it, and placed it in the frame. Then I wrapped the ribbon around, tied a bow, and used hot glue to hold it down. I didn't feel the frame looked quite complete so I made this pink yo-yo, and some twisted roses out of fabric in colors that matched the paper. Next, a rhinestone glued to the center of one flower, and it's done! It was fun, cheap, easy, and (I think!) adds a nice touch to my Easter decor.