Craft semi-fail

I spent the day with my mom yesterday.  We decided to do some crafting!  Of course, we treked on over to Michaels.

I had every intention of making this DIY clay necklace from Henry Happened.

Naturally, I got sidetracked.

I came across colorful chargers on sale for $1.00.  I love things that are a dollar!  Even better? I had a 20% off coupon (including sale items!)  WOOT!

I grabbed 10 chargers. Some in brown, purple, silver and one in black (I would have bought more black but there was only 1 that wasn't broken or scuffed to shit)

I immediately knew what I wanted to do with them.  Pair them up with some words and phrases from my Silhouette and I'll have a nice mantel piece or wall decoration!

I should have known this is where the project would take a turn for the worse.

At the register, I find out my coupon isn't valid.  (Ok, not TOO bad.)

My Silhouette was at my house, not my moms.  I am impatient.  Very impatient, so of course, I had to work on one right then and there.

I break out some posterboard to use as a stencil, some white paint, 3M adhesive spray and went to town.   (I started to take pictures of this step, deleted them when I got frustrated and almost threw the project across the street.)

That is some lovely adhesive residue.

Don't ask how long it took to come off.  You like the stenciling too?  Yeah, thought so.  Thank goodness it's a halloween platter- creepy is good in this case.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Once my fingertips were raw from rubbing the adhesive from the stencils off, I cleaned up the lettering a bit and sprayed it with some polycrylic to set the letters.

Holy epic fail, batman.  The can was spitting, not spraying right and it was just a mess.

Once the mess of Polycrylic dried (yes, there were more steps...I didn't give up!) I tried to sand it off.  You may laugh.  Needless to say, it didn't work. 

I glued some googly eyes to the middle which was part of the original plan.

The sanded polycrylic finish kind of ups the creep factor.... right? RIGHT?!

 

Sigh.

Mom suggested I paint a spider web on it, so I grabbed some gold glitter paint and freehanded one.

I can't draw a straight line with a ruler, so freehanding probably wasn't my best option.

Anyway.

Here is the completed mess in my mom's kitchen.  She really liked it so I let her have it.

I have 9 other chargers.  They WILL come out better than this one. I hope.

A haunting mantel

It tires me just to write to this post, thinking of the month yet to come.

Halloween is my favorite holiday (echoooo echoooo. Pretty sure I mention that in every post)

It also means the busiest for me.  I have a full time job that I work M-F 8am-5pm.
The month of October, I work at a haunted attraction on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

I also got hired for a chain Halloween store M-Thurs evenings and Saturday and Sunday mornings.

What?? I'm getting married....I need money. ;)

See why I'm already tired?

 I have been debating decorating my apartment for Halloween this year, and the fact that I even have to debate, makes me sad.

I have TONS of decorations in Storage.  I don't want to bring it out.  I really don't.  I won't be home at all to enjoy it.  I'd be setting up these decorations for what?  Not my Fiance either.  He has a full time job, a part time job and works the haunt with me as well.

Neither of us can enjoy it, so why put it up?  Let the saddness commence.

What I DID do however, was decorate my mantel with some things I had around the apartment..

Here's what you see!

The big candle holder on the left, a friend bought me on clearance for only $5  last year. (it's been in my closet, yes...all year. I was too lazy to bring it to storage)

I found the "cheesecloth" stuff at the Dollar Tree, along with the little skull candy dish.  Yes, the candy dish is empty and that makes me sad too.  (We don't get trick or treaters in our apartment complex.  Don't even ask how sad that makes me.)

I found the 2 brass candelabras at a yard sale.  $2 bucks! Those suckers are heavy! Fiance wants to scrap them to make some cash, but I refuse.  I'm debating on painting them.

The 4 paned mirror was a garbage find, spray painted black.  I had 2 of them.

Mr Bones, the skeleteon is a candle holder.  I ordered that in my last book party with Partylite.

Behind Mr. Bones is a dollar store plate.  Some verses from Poe's "Nevermore" are written on it in dry erase marker.  I love that little touch.  I can erase it whenever I want and change it up for the seasons!

I might move the big bulky luminary- something seems off with it.

Overall, I love my mantel considering it was mostly stuff laying around the house.

What do you think?

Happy Haunting!

Partying at :

Hookin Up with HOH #117

Someday Crafts: Whatever Goes Wednesday 

52 Mantels: Fall Mantel Link Party!

Halloween is everywhere...

I may have mentioned how much I love Halloween.  If I didn't mention it before- I'd be shocked. I love it. Adore it. Cherish it.

My favorite time of year! I love everything about it.  The crisp, cool breeze, crunchy, colorful leaves- it all screams Halloween to me.


I also may have mentioned that my Fiance works for the Department of Public Works.  In crappier terms, he works on a garbage truck.  This means he comes home dirty and stinky and and and....
He's become a great picker though! He will bring home some pretty useful things that he sees laying on the side of the road.  Somethings are brand-spankin' new!  It amazes me what people will just throw away!

The most recent find was a piece of art.  Now, I'm not a big, typical art fanatic.  I can't name artists by looking at a piece, I can't get down with the abstract stuff.  This piece.... it's hard to describe.  It's three dimensional.  It's definately eye catching... it's quite downright disturbing actually.

Yes, this was brought into our home.  He had plans to put it on our "Trash Mantel".

(He has nicknamed our fireplace, the "Trash Mantel"  Rightfully so.  The fireplace was free. You can see how I acquired it here.  Most things we use to decorate the mantel come from the trash or yard sales.  It's a fun way to decorate on a budget!)

Don't get me wrong. It would be the perfect Halloween decoration.  It just creeped me out. Gave me the heebee jeebees.

We decided to donate it to the haunt we work at for the month of October. 

We didn't even have the poor, creepy dude long enough to name him.   I'm not quite sure what I would have named him.  What would you have named him?  ;)

Here is no-name...chilling in the barn of his new home.  Maybe he can get some good scares.  Better at the barn than at my house!

What unusual things have you found for Halloween decorations?

Ouch- ouch-ouch

I'm here.

Sore.

Ouch.

I completed an 8K on Sunday in the beautiful Wildwoods of New Jersey.  Check out the beautiful, peaceful sunrise from the boardwalk.   I love sunrises.  For this moment, I was so calm.  Obviously, this was before race start. Me? calm? Haha!

 
  I'm not much of a runner, but I would love to be.  Runners always seem so carefree, so light and airy.  Not THIS runner.  If you can even call it that.  I jog a bit, walk a bit, jog a bit, walk a bit. I feel so uncoordinated compared to everyone else.

I try not to worry too much about time but I was happy with my finish time. One hour and eighteen minutes.  

and.... now I'm sore.  My thighs hate me, my calves hate me and my feet LOATHE me. 
I've been stretching, using a foam roller and Advil has become a close friend. 

My cousin did the race with me and a friend was actually crazy enough to complete the half marathon.   Well, it's not a full marathon so you know what they say.  She was only "Half Crazy".
Maybe if I can stay consistent with my training, I'll be only Half Crazy next year as well.

Despite the pains and soreness, I'm already trying to find another race to complete.  It was such a great feeling, passing the spectators- the volunteers and EVERYONE rooting you on.  It was such a great feeling to cross that finish line and hear my name announced! I breathed a sigh of relief, was handed my medal and proceeded to want to pass out, and yet I can't wait to do another one!

5 miles is pretty far when you think about it.   I completed 5 miles!

Go me!

Is anyone else out there a runner? I'd love to hear your motivational stories!

I get to be a firefighter for a day!

Well not quite.
I always have wanted to be one though. 

My grandfather, my dad, plenty of past boyfriends and now my fiance were all/are firefighters.  I've grown up around it my whole life.

I get to do the next best thing, HERO RUSH.  Hero Rush is a fire fighter themed obstacle course.

According to their website, I have 3 days- 21 hours and 6 minutes! Eeep.

I've done 5k's before but in no way can I call myself a runner.

 I'm more excited for the fun obstacles, getting wet and getting dirty!

Hopefully by the end of the day I will have completed the race and be wearing this bad boy around my neck!

Hopefully I can get some photos!

Anyone ever do a race like this before?

I will post a race report when I get back.  I'm so nervous.

You are my sunshine...

♫ ☼ ♫ ☼ ♫

Yes, I'm singing. 

Be glad you can't hear me.

 I had a friend ask me to make her a sign for her baby, to put in her room.

Said friend lives all the way across the country. 

I've never shipped a sign before. 

Let alone a large sign. 

I was nervous. 

I still have no idea how to ship it...but I finally made the sign.

I stopped putting it off. 

Now that the sign is made, I HAVE to ship it.

I HAVE to figure it out.

She loves it though- which makes me happy.

Spreading the sunshine at these parties:

Make it Yourself Monday

Pinwheels!

I work at a Halloween haunt during the month of October.  It's usually pretty scary stuff.

Halloween doesn't HAVE to be scary, I appreciate the cutsey Halloween stuff too.  I'm a non-Halloween discriminator :)  (If that made ANY sense!)

I dug around my scrapbook paper looking for any kind of paper that I could use to be "Halloweeny".  It's been a while since I actually scrapbooked, I wasn't sure what hidden treasures I may have had.

I wish I was able to find a cute Halloween movie to watch while doing these.

Hocus-Pocus....Beetlejuice....Halloween High....

Yes, I watch Halloween High- Don't judge me.

I used the tutorial by Style Me Pretty 

It really is hard to keep your folds the same size! I had some wider than others, but all in all it seemed to work out. 

My poor little fingers started to hurt after a while.  I stopped after about 5 of them.

That doesn't mean I won't make more later, but 5 was my limit last night.

Also in my scrapbook goodies, I found these little orange and black buttons and Halloween themed squares.  I have TONS of them.  What a perfect craft to use them on.

I should have taken more photos, but I was not really prepared.  I was sitting on the couch with a storage bin lid on my lap as my "table", paper all over, square tiles all over and a hot glue gun that wasn't very steady on this bin lid.

I just need to add some thin dowel sticks and plop them in a Halloween themed planter, vase, pumpkin- something.

Real sticks might even look nifty! Give it a little creepy factor.

What do you think? Have you made pinwheels before?

I can see myself making these for just about every holiday.

Partying it up here:
Redoux Interiors
Creat Craft Love- Pomp Party
Simply Designing- Simply Link Party
52 Mantels Thursdays are YOUR days
Make it yourself Monday