How to Make a Rustic Wood Sign -- Trick or Treat

A few weeks back I made a rustic trick or treat sign.  I have used in when photographing my kid's costumes for the blog.  :)  I thought it would be cute to show them "saying" trick or treat!  I thought I would give y'all a quick tutorial on how to make your own....

Frankly, my hubby is always building something it seems.  So we have end cuts...lots of end cuts.  We end up burning them in our wood stove for heat in the winter.  But I can go out and steal a piece whenever I feel like it.  So this was the piece I started with...

 

I gave it a SUPER LIGHT coat of white paint.  As in you can still see the wood in places.  I just wanted to lighten the wood a shade and give the piece a rustic feel.  Plus for the next step, the stamps stand out better against the white back ground...

 

Wait for your white paint to dry.  It should not take long as the coat is super light.  Then I broke out my stamps and ink from PSA Essentials and started randomly stamping Halloween themed items around the wood.  Yes it is just standard orange ink.  Nothing special.  

 

Wait for your stamps to dry.  It did take a while for that step.  I used my Silhouette to cut out a "trick or treat" stencil out of a scary font.  Okay I think the font looks a little scary...you might not.  :)  Then stencil on your writing with black craft paint...

 

Let that dry and you are done!  I heart the rustic nature of this sign...but I heart rustic...y'all know that already...

 

When the kids aren't holding it up for blog pics, I am displaying this sign in my home for Halloween...

 

Fits in great with a blue mason jar...don't ya think?

 Posted at Transformation Thursday on The Shabby Chic Cottage.

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~Thanks for stopping by!~

~Angie~
The Country Chic Cottage

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BOO Halloween Candle Wraps

I love quick, easy home decor fixes!  We are all busy moms and don't have a lot of time.  So let's make a quick 5 minutes addition to our Halloween decor...a quick and easy Halloween candle wrap...

A candle wrap turns any plain ordinary candle into something festive!  I had some wide black ribbon for this project but you can totally use a black piece of paper cut into a strip.  You will also need a stencil of some sort.  Or be a rebel and free hand it!

So chalk showed up the best and wiped right off so that is what I used.  A pencil will totally work too!  Trace around your letters...

Cut them out with an exacto knife...

Wrap it around your candle and tape it in the back...

Yes you are DONE!!  You can of course choose to use something else besides letters...maybe a pumpkin face, a witches hat, a raven silhouette, a bat...the possibilities are endless!

So take 5 minutes tonight and make yourself some SPOOKY candles!!

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~Thanks for stopping by!~

~Angie~

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How to Make a Jack Sparrow Costume and a COSTUME CONTEST!

Time to show off my little Jack Sparrow!  Plus I am entering a costume contest and you can enter too!  Are you ready to make your own Jack Sparrow costume??

We will get to all the costume details in a second.  First though I am entering this one into a great costume contest and thought y'all might want to join me!

PennySaverUSA and Mogasa are having a Costume Bash for Cash!  Submit a photo of your kid's halloween costume or YOUR halloween costume for a chance to win up to $300!!  Yes this one is definitely worth entering!

Contest details: 

Enter a contest photo of you or your kiddo all dressed up for Halloween anytime between now and November 1st, 2011 at PennySaverUSA.com. They pick the top three photos and host them on PennySaverUSA’s blog for voting between November 2nd-4th. The photo with the most votes in each category wins $250.  Or bonus...if you sign up for Mogasa you will win $300!  For full contest details, please visit: PennySaverUSA. 

Rules: Contest is open to anyone in the contiguous US. Must be 18 or older to participate. No entry fee or purchase necessary to participate. Can only enter one photo in either the Ghastly Grownup or Little Monster category.

Now let's talk about my entry!  Jack Sparrow is pretty simple to make and I personnally think it is adorable!  My little man thinks he is a super scary pirate though so don't ruin it for him...  :) 

I took a black witch's wig.  Cut it off to be about shoulder length.  Then I added on some beads, etc for authentic Jack Sparrow hair.... 

His mustache and goatee are just Halloween facepaint.  Easy to apply and remove... 

He got the pirate necklace for his birthday this year.  It was the only thing he wanted.  :)  I dug out two old belts that came from who knows where.  I added a hole for his small waist.  There is also a black sash in there.  I just took a long strip of fabric that I ripped off of a remnant in the closet.  The sword he has had forever but you can certainly find one at a dollar store...

The pants came from goodwill and so did the boots.  I looked for over a month and finally found the perfect pair of boots!  The key to a great budget Halloween costume is deciding waaaay in advance what your kids are going to be.  That way you have time to look for budget options at goodwill, thrift stores, or garage sales.  (Hint the Mogasa app will help you find garage sales in your area.)

I took a woman's red shirt from the goodwill and cut it into a vest.  I then used the arm fabric to make a bandana to go around his head.  The white shirt is just a button down shirt.  I actually got that one at goodwill as well but you may already have that in the closet...

Budget total -- $12.97!!  Any Jack Sparrow costume I looked at that even came close to looking like this was over $50. 

My little Jack Sparrow is ready to go trick or treating next week!

We had to get down in the creek at the house to get all of these pics.  Little man insisted that pictures with cows in the background were not good enough for Jack Sparrow.  :)

Do you have your kids (or your) Halloween costumes complete?  Are you going to enter them into the PennySaverUSA costume contest??  Ah...come on...come over and join me and Jack...

Mogasa paid for a link to the costume contest.  However, all opinions are mine.  And I will truely be entering -- I think it is a great opportunity!

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~Thanks for stopping by!~
~Angie~

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What is Halloween without candy??

I broke down and bought some Halloween candy!  Of course I used a few thrifty finds to display it!  These skull cups came from a yard sale...how cute is that filled with candy corn!??!

These black chippy pots were also at a yard sale.  I think they were meant to be planters.  But it is perfect for a spooky addition to Halloween! 

Right next to the candy, I have our fruit bowl.  Gotta have choices! 

This picture was taken last week.  Any guesses on how much of that candy is left??  :) 

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~Thanks for stopping by!~
~Angie~

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Zombie Girl Costume and PLEASE VOTE FOR ME!!

American Crafter has begun!!  And I need your votes!!  My Zombie Girl Costume is what I submitted this week...

My preteen thinks she is too old for a "cutesy" Halloween costume.  But she is not too old to want to have some Halloween fun!  So I made the "Zombie Girl Costume" for her this Halloween!  You will need some bloody clothes and lots of makeup.  The headless, bloody teddy bear completes the outfit cause every girl zombie carries a headless teddy bear!  Head on over to my blog for more info on how I brought this costume together.  It is super easy....let's face it moms need easy projects this time of year!  

 

So if you have not already....

VOTE FOR ME AT THE AMERICAN CRAFTER BLOG!!

Now do you want to know how to make your own costume??  It is super, super easy!

The "star" of the show is a headless teddy bear!  Just cut off his head and add some paint to appear as blood.  I took red paint and added a hint of black for all of my "blood" painting.

The other star is the make up.  I covered her face in white eye shadow to make her skin very light.  I used a mix of dark eye shadows around her eyes.  The blood and veins are just those make up crayons that they cell in the Halloween aisle.  Just draw on various veins and lines...I also added a "cut" with a black crayon on her neck...

Don't forget to also add make up to the hands.  That is why it is important to get a long sleeve shirt.  Again use white eye shadow to make the skin light and crayons to make the veins...so spooky...

For the clothing, I got pj bottoms and a long sleeve shirt from goodwill.  I mixed red paint with a little black and painted it on various areas on both the shirt and the pants.  Oh so spooky....

We are ready for some trick or treat fun!  And my daughter is THRILLED with her costume...that is priceless!!

Pretty please with sugar on top....

VOTE FOR ME AT THE AMERICAN CRAFTER BLOG!!

Linking up to Halloween Party on It's a Blog Party.
Thanks so much!!  Can't wait to see the results!!
~Angie~

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My Halloween Mantle -- and a blog hop!

Hi y'all!!  Today I am participating in the Tennessee Mantle Hop -- Fall Edition!  The Tennessee bloggers are getting together for a little blog hop fun!!

Y'all be sure to check out all the mantles!  If you are starting here, I will have the next link at the bottom of this post.  Otherwise, you came over from Deneen's blog after checking out her mantle!  Continue on with the hop after reading this post!

Okay if you have not been here before....I don't officially have a "mantle".  But I dress up a shelf in my living room and pretend...a blogger has to do what a blogger has to do...  Here is my completed Halloween "mantle"....

The big piece that is the star of the show...that is my DIY tobacco basket!  It was the perfect large piece to start the mantle off with...

If you hang out here alot you will recognize many items on the mantle from the past few weeks posts.  My lantern got a spooky hand in it.  The barnwood sign I made last year.  The black birds are from the Dollar Tree (I heart the Dollar Tree!!).   

For this candle, I used a dictionary page with a spooky knife on it.  Just cut the page to size, wrap around, and use tape to secure.  All of the spooky looking webs you see are actually cheese cloth.  The perfect Halloween decoration that you might just have in your kitchen cabinet.

 The black pedestal bowl I made myself and you can find the instructions here.  I have used various spiders and creepy crawlies around my mantle.  Those are toys borrowed from the kids!  So nice to have a boy that is into creepy crawly things!!  That "BOO" candle wrap will be coming to a blog near you...stay tuned for a tutorial!!   

More of the creepy toys got put on the tobacco basket along with some more cheese cloth.  The bat and spiders are just stuck into the basket.  No glue needed...

My SUPER easy book of spells also ended up on the mantle.  Under the bird is a trio of books I found at a yard sale a few weeks back.  They are old and worn and wellll...slightly creepy looking!  I also gave you super easy instructions for that trick or treat candle wrap.   

What mantle would be complete without a banner??  I used canvas drop cloth and fabric spray paint.  Just slightly color your pieces orange then use a fabric marker to write your letters.  It is strung up with twine then I used even more cheese cloth to cover up the twine.  Told ya I loved the cheese cloth...

See that framed picture peeking out...I looove that!!  It is simply an old picture from a book framed up really quick.  Reminds me of those spooky pictures in haunted houses where the eyes follow you!!

So there you have it...a mantle (shelf) that screams Halloween!  I absolutely adore how it turned out!

A perfectly spooky mantle to enjoy this fall...

Next stop on the mantle hop is Jessica at Sunny Tuesday.  Head on over there and see what she has in store for you!  Hope you enjoyed!
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~Thanks for stopping by!~
~Angie~

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