Something Strange in your Neighborhood?

Something weird and it don't look good?


I ain't afraid of no ghosts.*

In fact, I love ghosts. And costumes. And Halloween.
And with Halloween comes decorations. Or at least it does at this house. Or this cabin.

Because this year's decorating budget is less than zero and all of my real Halloween decorations are in Texas, I had to get creative.    It is so true that necessity is the mother of invention.
And poverty is the father of decorating on the cheap!

What did I have to work with?
Three tiny pumpkins that I actually harvested myself back when I volunteered with Colorado Farm to Table.  Some card stock in black and white plus some twine. A straw pumpkin leftover from last year. I looked for pinecones but had to settle for seed pods. Some pumpkin candles. Three smallish frames. And an empty Ball Mason jar.

What did I go buy? Two squashes and a couple of larger pumpkins. A $3.00 felt Halloween banner from Target.

And what did we end up with?

A wonderfully festive mantel.

Ghosts guarding the kitchen.

And B-O-O propped on a ledge.

Aren't you jealous?


Want to know how to make your own garlands?

It is so easy peasy I even made a ghost one to send to Belle in Florida.

The Ghost Garland requires twine, white card stock and a small hole punch.  (Or something to make holes for stringing.)

Search ghost images online or you can just use the one I found:
http://lizoncall.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Happy-Haunting-Ghost-Banner.jpg
from the blog Liz On Call.

Print out three sheets of the 4 to a page ghosts on white card stock.
Then I enlarged to 150% and printed two sheets of 2 to a page ghosts.
Enlarge again to 175% and print one large ghost.
When you enlarge, you may have extra ghost parts on your pages so make sure you just print PAGE ONE only.

Then plop down in front of your favorite TV show and cut out all your ghosts. Punch holes in the top of their little heads. Cut a length of twine about 8 feet long. Tie a loop at one end.
Arrange your ghosts like so :
6 small ghosts, 2 medium ghosts, 1 large ghost, 2 medium ghosts and 6 small ghosts.
String them in that order and tie off a loop at the other end.
Done!

The Bat Garland requires a sewing machine in addition to black card stock.

Again, search bats online to find a template.  I used this one:
http://www.madebymarzipan.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/bat.pdf
from Made by Marzipan. (She used hers for felt bats, mine are just card stock.)

Print out one bat, cut it out and then trace around that bat onto your black card stock.
Trace as many bats as you want, then cut them out. I had 13 bats, some a little smaller than others.
Get out your trusty sewing machine and, leaving a tail of thread, start sewing at the end of one wing, all the way across the bat body to the other wing and then once you are off the wing, let the machine keep stitching for about an inch. Add another bat, stitch all the way across allowing the machine to make some extra stitches again at the end.

Yes, you can sew through card stock.
Continue sewing your bats in a row until all of them are attached. Leave another tail of thread at the end.
Voila!  A bat garland.

The framed B-O-O just required some small empty frames and white card stock.
Using Microsoft Word I started with a blank document and picked the scariest fonts I could find.
The only real trick here is to space the letters apart enough to give you room to frame them.
Also, I may be the only person in the world that did not know this, but if you can't get the font large enough, you can just type in your own number for font size.   As in my font only goes up to 72 points but I wanted 100 points. Type 100 in that font size box and there you go.

My final project was the flower arrangement.

Bare branches and dead sunflowers stuck in a Mason jar. No water required!

Have a deadly time decorating.....


*Ghostbuster lyrics

Decorating the cabin:Part One

Decorating the Cabin: Part One/Garland

Back in September I made a pine cone garland to go over the cabin door.

The original garland back in September.

You can see that tutorial here.

Amazingly, the pine cone garland is still alive and still hanging over the front door- in spite of some pretty heavy duty winds and lots of snow.

But now I am ready for some festive Christmas decor.
And I'm not interested in spending much money or doing too much, because we will head back to Texas for Christmas day.    But I do want the cabin to feel joyous while we are here.

So this morning, working against the clock and the snow fall to come, I reworked the pine cone garland.

First I gathered a large amount of greenery. I'm sure these greens have specific names but I'm calling them pine and fir. And that is probably incorrect. Whatever.

Two different kinds of greens.

A great place to start!

Then I spread my original garland out on the front porch so I could work on the entire length at once.

The original garland about to get

gussied up for the holidays.

I also gathered my supplies:
Wire nippers
Floral wire
Gloves

Today's cast of characters.

If you do not already have a garland to use as a base, you can start with a length of jute or wire. Cut the jute/wire the length that you wish your garland to be.  If you are using a light weight wire you might want to cut three lengths and braid it together- making your base a little sturdier. (If you do this, be sure to cut your wires longer than you want your finished project. Twisting/braiding will take up some of the length.)

I cut about 25  ten inch lengths of floral wire to start. You'll probably need more than that before all is said and done, but 25 will get you started.

Wear the gloves or risk poking yourself with the wire ends and pine cones. (Like I did...)
(Also, if you don't wear the gloves you will need to schedule a manicure post-garland, post- haste.)

Starting at each end I lay down some airy fir greens, twisting the existing pine cones around a bit just to hold it in place.

Start from the ends and work your way in,

overlapping as you go.

Next I placed the pine, overlapping the fir,  again laying it down and twisting a pine cone or two around the stems.

Alternating fir and pine I worked from each end to the middle. At this point I was just laying it out and not wiring anything into place.

Stop, admire your work and revel in the glorious evergreen scent.

Once you have reached the center and are happy with your lay out, start tying your wires about every 6 to 8  inches.  Tie them around the greens to secure everything in place. Once everything is secure, wrap  the wire ends up and down each individual stem- securing the greens to the jute and pine cones. If you just tie it without wrapping up and down, your ends will stick out and your greenery will fall off.

Just for balance I tried to make the center heavier and fuller, tapering down the sides to the airy fir at each end.

For the center I twisted three wires together and then into a loop which was tied around the garland center. The loop is used to hang the garland and help secure the centerpiece.

Three wires, twist them together, 

make a loop.

Once all your greens are tied on, hang your wreath back up. The exact center will still look a little bare where the greens meet.

Then make a bouquet of greens/dried flowers and stick it into the center spot, either through the hanging loop or tied to that loop. Whatever works and makes it stay put.

Make a little bouquet for the center.

A smaller bouquet is wired to the bottom of the center- filling it out and covering any bare spots that might be showing where it is hung.

If you are an over- achiever, add a bow.

I wanted a very simple cabin-y look and stuck with just greens.
(Also it started snowing and I was working outside.  Nothing like snow everywhere to make you decide you are done.)

Admire your finished product.

Carlos staring out the door and me standing in the snow.

Joy to the world.

Pine Cone Garland

An official DIY project:

A Fall Pine Cone Garland

As promised, I am posting a tutorial on how to make your own Fall pine cone garland.

If I can do it, you can do it.  Promise

First off gather lots of pine cones. Use your pine cone hunting dog if you have one.

                                      

Carlos being his usual helpful self.

Make sure you get the pretty ones, not the ones that the squirrels have chewed on.  Since this is Fall, this is also the perfect opportunity to throw on your son's hand me down flannel shirt and favorite ripped jeans. 

Unless you are in Texas.  

If that's the case, just keep on wearing your shorts and tank tops. I do not want to be responsible for anyone having a heat stroke.

Pine cone perfection.

Then get in the car and drive 35 miles round trip to the store to get jute twine and little eye hooks. 

Or maybe that's just me.  Everyone else run up to the Michael's or Hobby Lobby that is around the corner, probably within walking distance. 

It helps to get a couple of different sizes of pine cones. But watch out. 

Those little ones are poinky. *

                                         

The cast of characters. Large and small pine cones,

jute twine, eye hooks, scissors and gloves.

Wearing your gloves (because those tiny splinters are a pain to remove if you don't) carefully screw an eye hook into the top of each small pine cone.

For the larger pine cones I cut lengths of twine about 8 inches long, looped the twine around the top of the cones and tied a knot, leaving the ends hanging off in equal lengths. Then I took the ends and wrapped them around my finger into a knot, making a loop of twine at the top of the cone. 

                                        

Eye hooks on the small ones, wrap and tie a loop on the large ones.

Cut a piece of jute around 9 feet long. Any longer and it gets difficult to handle. 

Starting in the middle, string the cones onto your long piece of jute and tie them in place as you go.

If you don't tie them, they will all end up lumped together once you hang your masterpiece. 

I varied the numbers and sizes as I went but generally did two or three large ones interspersed with one small one.

At the ends I just tied on a large pinecone with the remaining jute. 

And...truth in construction. The eye hooks did not always stay in the small pine cones. If I had been very organized and committed  I would have added a drop of wood glue to secure the eye hooks.

Once I hung the garland, I realized a few small pine cones had fallen off.  Instead of trying to put them back on- I just tied a large pine cone in its place. This is definitely a no-sweat garland.

If you are feeling particularly festive, you can add berries or ribbons. 

I was only feeling celebratory and held back, restraining myself to just a bit of greenery.

The finished project.

Awww. 

Look at that cute little face staring out the door.

And I see a little bald spot on the left side. 

May need to go tie on another pine cone.

Maybe I will add the berries and ribbon after Thanksgiving, updating my Fall garland into Christmas garland.  If the wind doesn't tear it apart first.

Detail pic. 

Cute and rustic, perfect for a cabin in the woods.

*Poinky: A combination of pointy and spiky. Coined by Boy when he was about 2 or 3.  It's such a perfect word that our family has used it ever since.  Bunny was quite indignant in Second grade when her teacher told her it wasn't a real word. She had no clue.

Another word Boy came up with that I think should enter the general lexicon: Movie-ater.   Movie theater shortened into one manageable word. So much more convenient. It's another word that I use all the time.