DIY Dessert Stand from Dollar Store Items

I found these glass candlesticks and burner covers there at a dollar store. I've seen other awesome projects done online with these items, but I decided to twist them a little. I converted them into a dessert stand.

Using regular paper that I stamped in a diamond pattern, I cut around the burner covers' shape. Then I decoupaged the paper onto the burner covers and added decorative ribbon on the sides. Any type of strong glue will hold the pieces together.

This is the finished product:

Thanks for reading and please leave your comments!

Fall Decorations

As soon as the color of the leaves change, varying from beautiful browns to burnt oranges and almost gold tones, it is an announcement that fall is here. The weather starts getting colder and you get the sensation that the holiday season is starting. So much preparation is ahead for the holidays and so little time is left.

One quick trick is to use transitional decorations that can go quickly from Halloween to Thanksgiving, with minor adjustments.

 Use the same basic color scheme just change the accessories. Here I kept the orange color, took away the skulls, and added pumpkins and hay.

 Using natural elements like: raffia, branches and leaves from your backyard, you can create a marvelous floral centerpiece.

I always try to use unexpected places to decorate. The hutch in my dining room was decorated using pumpkins, candles, orange leaf plates, and napkins.

A simple wreath made with branches adorned with fall floral, leaves, pumpkins and acorns bring color to my home entrance.

Thanks for reading and I love getting your comments!

Fall Craft: Happy Thanksgiving sign

I had some leftover wood from another project, and it gave me the inspiration to create a Happy Thanksgiving sign for my foyer entrance.

The materials were very cheap: wood, 24  X 3 1/2 inches, black craft paint, orange burlap scrapbook paper, and mod podge. I also used some fall leaves from a package that I bought at the dollar store.

The Happy Thanksgiving letters were made with my Cricut (my trusted helper).

Here's the finished product:

I'm very pleased with the way it matches my fall decorations:

Thank you for reading, and please leave your comments!

For My Best Friend's Birthday: Halloween Mini Album

My best friend's birthday is no other than on Halloween. So I decided to give her a scrapbook mini album this year. I filled it with some pictures that we took at work on a previous Halloween. We now live in different cities, and don't spend Halloween together anymore, so I know it would be a good surprise for her.

My friend doesn't do scrapbooking, that's why the album was very simple in construction. I used the K&Company Halloween designer mat pad and embellishments. For the cover I drew a spider-web that was embellished with purple glitter and the sign and scrolls were made with my cricut.

For the inside pages the colors I choose were the classic Halloween colors: orange, black, purple and some bright green. 

I used some Halloween stamps for decoration.

Some of the embellishments I used black glitter to make them pop.

I'm not publishing this post until she gets it in the mail and I hope that she likes it. Thanks for reading and I'm always happy to get your comments.

Halloween craft: Candy wrappers

This week is Halloween! Finally! For my last craft of the season, I wanted to do something for my trick or treaters. I did not want to hand plain, old candy, candy wrappers looked bland too. So this was my alternate solution: pretty candy wrappers.

I used clear cello bags to pack the candy and used my Cricut to cut the top design of my bags from scrapbook paper. I printed tags with: "trick or treat", "eek!", "boo!", and "Happy Halloween" from my computer to finish the look.

They were so easy to do that in a minute I made a pretty good stash!

They are now displayed in my foyer awaiting my trick or treaters.

Happy Halloween to all of you, and have lots of fun this holiday!

Pumpkin Carving

My favorite fall activity is pumpkin carving. This year, my daughters were very excited to create their masterpieces. I, on the other hand, was just very pleased that they wanted to do something crafty, like me.

The hardest part of this is picking your pumpkin. Always try to get one that has a surface area good enough for your intended design. 

First we carved the top off at an angle, to make sure it would stay when put it back on.

And gutted the insides.

We printed stencils we found online and cut the negative shape with an exacto knife. Then we traced the stencils onto the pumpkins with a Sharpee, that way we could see exactly where we wanted to cut.

One of my daughters made a Jack Skellington stencil from this website:

For the Jack Skellington stencil, click here.

My other daughter is obsessed with Hello Kitty, so she used this stencil.

For the Hello Kitty stencil, click here.

Here's how the first one came out:

And the second one:

Right now they're on display in my foyer along with a light-up witch that I bought years ago. 

I like to keep it dark there so you can see the contrast.

I still can't decide which one is my favorite.

This project is really easy, and very customizable. There's so many cool, free stencils downloadable from the internet. Really, this project can go as far as you want to take it!

Thanks for reading. And please leave your comments!

Haunted House Halloween decor

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year.  I love to decorate the house, look for costumes and prepare candy for those trick-or-treaters that dare to knock on my door.

This year I'm going for the haunted mansion look. It is incredible how much inspiration you can get by searching online and then transforming the ideas into your own.

Here are some of my favorites inspirational pictures:

This sign is adorable:

Love this house entrance idea:

Oh so spooky!

I like to spend as little as possible, so my imagination and thrift or dollar stores are my best friends. Here are some of my own house pictures:

This witch is one of my favorite decor items because it lights up making her more frightful at night.

For your table decorations you can use inexpensive items from the dollar store, like napkins and paper plates in matching Halloween colors. Some creepy creatures finish the look.

 Don't forget unusual spaces, like the garage door, it creates a good opportunity to continue your haunted theme.

Use natural elements like Eucalyptus and branches from your backyard,then add some black roses to create a daring floral decor.

Thank you for reading and happy haunting!