It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like "BOO-time" Everywhere You Go!

A Boo-Doodles Hi!

Once again, it's almost that wonderfully witching time of year - Halloween! Never has Halloween been more popular than it is today. What used to be primarily a night for kids to dress up in elaborate costumes and ring neighborhood doorbells for treats has turned into a big-time party event.

Today, adults are hosting more and more Halloween parties for the kids and having just as much fun as the youngsters. They are going all out to make indoor celebrations big events for little ghosts and goblins, with spooky decorations, fun costumes and yummy treats. So much fun!

To help ease some of your planning ideas I thought I'd share something I came across the other day. Bird's Party Magazine has a Halloween Special of Spooktacular Parties! Stunning seasonal ideas and birthday inspiration from renowned designers, events stylists and party bloggers! 

Glad so many of you left comments about the freebie Christmas images offered in my last blog, I appreciate your thank you's and sentiments and would really love to see what you've created (attach it to that blog entry whenever you've created something so others can see too)!

BUT! Here's THREE MORE images that I'm offering for a limited time only as freebie's!!

 

Over at Crissy's Crafts {fresh and easy crafts on a budget} she shows you her HAUNTED HOUSE cut-out design made out of poster board. Now I'm a "foamboard-addict" and this has given me another idea-way to re-create something similar! Thanks Crissy!



Spider by Kathy Shaw

 Kathy Shaw's gorgeous beaded spider ... scroll down the blog page to her spider collection photo's offered on Etsy (you may need to join her site in order to get access to her studio).

Christmas Spider Legend

On Christmas eve, a long time ago, a gentle mother was busily cleaning the house for the most wonderful day of the year... Christmas day, the day on which the little Christ child came to bless the house. Not a speck of dust was left. Even the spiders had been banished from their cozy corner on the ceiling. They had fled to the farthest corner of the attic.

The Christmas tree was beautifully decorated. The poor spiders were frantic, for they could not see the tree, nor be present for the little Christ child's visit. Then the oldest and wisest spider suggested that perhaps they could wait until everyone went to bed and then get a closer look.

When the house was dark and silent, the spiders crept out of their hiding place. When they neared the Christmas tree, they were delighted with the beauty of it. The spiders crept all over the tree, up and down, over the branches and twigs and saw every one of the pretty things.

The spiders loved the Christmas tree. All night long they danced in the branches, leaving them covered with spider webs. In the morning, when the little Christ child came to bless the house, he was dismayed! He loved the little spiders for they were God's creatures, but he knew the mother, who had worked so hard to make everything perfect, would not be pleased when she saw what the spiders had done.

With love in his heart and a smile on his lips, the little Christ child reached out and gently touched the spider webs. The spider webs started to sparkle and shine! They had all turned into sparkling, shimmering silver and gold.

According to legend, ever since this happened, people have hung tinsel on their Christmas trees. It has also become a custom to include a spider among the decorations on the Christmas tree.

        

A TIRED SOAP PUMP HOLIDAY PROJECT IDEA: If you're tired of looking at the same old soap pump and are looking for a replacement soap pump, check out this Mod Podge Soap Pump Tutorial from Victoria Lavertu, which will show you how to create cheerful liquid soap dispenser pumps, perfect for a bathroom pump soap dispenser.

Materials: 

A soap pump that's ugly/outdated/out of season

Mod Podge

Sponge brush

Scrapbooking paper

Scissors or cutter

Pencil/marking utensil

Ribbon or embellishment of your choice

Hot glue gun

Instructions:

1. Measure to see how much of the pump you want covered. Measure up to where the sticker goes, and measure around it. 2. Cut your piece of paper to the measured size. 3. Pull out your Mod Podge and apply it to where you need covered. 4. Carefully place your paper onto the soap pump on the appropriate spot. Smooth the paper as well as you can. 5. Apply the Mod Podge over the paper. 6. Let dry and reapply another coat. 7. Once it's dry, you can embellish as you wish. 8. For the ribbon, line it up along the top and the bottom, and hot glue it on.

ARTIST: Deena Ziegler



Transform your candles into something more stylish. All it takes is a few decorative touches and you! Sizzix Texture Impressions, many of them on sale, make creating for the home a snap!  

I know some of you out there 'crochet' and like me you're always looking for gift-giving patterns that are quick and easily made up. For birthday's, but the Holidays especially, I love to give a 'container' of some sort of papercrafted boxey thing that I've designed, as a gift that includes the 'YUMMY' bath & body products AVON has with a little something I've crocheted included! Here's a BATH BUDDY MITT crochet pattern I always use and you may want to too! I don't add the floppy ears or facial details. It uses Lily Sugar'n Cream cotton yarn, and I've crocheted it using the nylon netting 6" wide strips pre-cuts (with and without the cotton yarn-instructions below) for an all-over-body sluffing.

Lily Sugar'n Cream yarn (or just yarn) and NYLON NETTING Scrubbies: Crafters are making a handy kind of dish or body scrubber, called scrubbies, using yarn and nylon netting, which they then give as gifts, sell to others or use in their own homes. Instead of buying dishcloths and scrubbers, make your own scrubbies. If you crochet, you can easily combine yarn and nylon netting to make a supply of scrubbies.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Things You'll Need

• 1 yard nylon netting
• Butterfly clips
• Scissors
• 1 ball worsted-weight yarn
• Crochet hooks, size G and K

• Fold the netting lengthwise until you have a narrow length of material. Clip the netting, using your butterfly clips. Space the clips about three inches apart, then cut the folded netting so each piece is two and 1/2 inches wide. Roll each piece of netting into a ball. Then, as you are ready to add a new ball, tie the end of the new ball to the end you have crocheted.
• Put one ball of the netting you cut earlier together with your yarn, matching the ends.
• Crochet a foundation chain of 15 chain stitches, using your K crochet hook. The 15th chain is your turning chain. Turn your work.
• Make one chain stitch and begin crocheting one single crochet (SC), starting with the second chain from your hook. Make one SC into each chain stitch to the end of the row for row 1. Crochet one turning chain and turn your work.
• Repeat row 1, adding new nylon netting strips as you use up a strip. One scrubbie should take four strips of nylon netting.
• Tuck in the loose end of the final strip using your G crochet hook after fastening off.

Diane :0)

Vist my newly designed Dizzy Designs Store where I'll be offering Avon deals, specials, and many of the things that I create! Although I'm still working on most of it, just click on the tabs, I'm constantly trying to add items as I get them done ... if they don'rt sell to my friends and neighbors before I do!

2011 (c) DZ Doodles Digital Stamps and DZ Doodles Doohikey Designs. All rights reserved. Any third party products, brands or trademarks listed above are the sole property of their respective owner. No affiliation or endorsement is intended or implied.