Happy Halloween Week! I'm so excited to share with you today the photos and craft ideas from the painted pumpkin craft night I hosted two weeks ago. To decorate our pumpkins we used items from the Plaid® Crafts box of Mod Podge goodies I received in the mail including glow in the dark Mod Podge, Folk Art paint, mod molds and mod melts. We used scrapbook paper and glitter as well (tons of glitter). I also put together a fun last minute Halloween decoration inspired by a post I saw on Michaels Stores Instagram page. 

Wicked DIY Spider Frame

Supplies Needed:

Picture Frame

White Yarn

Mod Podge Mod Melts

Mod Podge Mod Molds 

Paint {I used Folk Art Multi- Surface in Lime Green and Sequin Silver}

Hot Glue Gun

Scissors 

Paint Brush 

Spider Cut Out

An awesome daughter who is willing to help!

1. Remove the glass from your picture frame. Next paint the frame with the Folk Art multi-surface lime green paint and let dry. Then paint the multi-surface sequin silver on top and let it dry again. The box of goodies also included a silicone craft mat and was the perfect surface to use while painting my frame and using the hot glue gun to make the molds. It cleans up so easily, the paint wipes right up with a wet paper towel and the mold melts peel right off! 

2. Recruit a family member (my step-daughter helped me!) or friend to help you make the yarn spider web. Cut the yarn into long strands and start with the legs of the web, then the inner circles. 

3. Next I used my Cricut® machine and Doodlecharms™ cartridge to print out the spider. If you don't have a Cricut machine, search Google for a free spider printable. 

4. Using the Mod Podge mod melts, mod molds, and a glue gun make the fun skull character and spell out the word "EEK" to attach to your frame. 

5. Find a spot to hang your DIY spider web frame and get your Pumpkin Craft Night on! 

Painted Pumpkin Craft Night

I was finally content with the look of my decorated space and was ready to host the best painted pumpkin craft night ever! I set up the table the night before and pre-made a few mod molds including DIY skull push pins. 

DIY Skull Push Pin

Supplies Need: 

Mod Podge Mod Molds

Mod Podge Mold Melts

Mod Podge Silicone Craft Mat 

Hot Glue Gun

Push Pin

1. Plug in your hot glue gun and put your mod melt into the gun to heat up. I used orange and pink mod melts for our craft night, orange being the more popular color of the two. 

2. When your mod melt is ready to go fill in your skull mold starting at the center and working your way out. Make sure to fill in the entire mold. 

3. Once the mold is filled quickly place your push pin into the middle of the skull before it hardens. 

4. Use your glue gun to put a few more drops of the mod melt over the area of the push pin and let it cool/harden for about 10 minutes. {You can check the temperature by touching the bottom of the mod mold, if it's still warm to touch let it sit longer.}

5. Once it's cool enough, remove from mold and decide where you'd like to use it in your Halloween decor. Or make a few more to give as Halloween gifts in your office or to your teens! 

After painting my pumpkin with the Folk Art multi-surface lime green paint, I covered the stem with the Mod Podge and sprinkled on the glitter (tip: place a paper plate or folder under your pumpkin to gather the falling glitter and pour it back into the bottle to reuse). I let it dry overnight then added a top layer of Mod Podge to seal in the glitter so I wouldn't have glittery hands every time I picked it up! Then I topped it off with the skull push pin! 

We each had two pumpkins to decorate for the party and I was very excited about trying out this next technique... 

DIY Mod Podge Pumpkin

Supplies Needed: 

Glow in the Dark Mod Podge

Colorful Scrapbook Paper 

Paint Brush

Scissors

1. Cut strips of 12 x 12 scrapbook paper to the length of your pumpkin. {Tip: Make sure you have enough of the same pattern or color for your pumpkin, as you can see in the photo below I ran out of the butterflies and used a similar patter/color!}

2. Using the paint brush, generously brush the glow in the dark Mod Podge onto the bottom of the scrapbook paper strip and onto your pumpkin. 

3. Neatly place the paper strip on your pumpkin, smoothing out any creases. 

4. Once your pumpkin is covered with scrapbook paper, brush a top layer of Mod Podge over the entire pumpkin. Be sure to brush out any clumps, the Mod Podge dries clear but clumps of it will dry white. 

5. Next, brush your stem with Mod Podge and cover it in glitter. 

6. Once your pumpkin is completely dry hold a light up to it for a minute or so, then turn out all of the lights to enjoy not only a Mod Podge pumpkin but a DIY glow in the dark pumpkin as well! 

I love that I have two ways to enjoy my one pumpkin design. In the day time she's fancy and glittery pink, but at night when the lights go out she's a green glowing machine! 

Everyone had a wonderful time painting, using the Mod Podge, glitter, scrapbook paper, and mod melts for pumpkin craft night. I can't wait to do it all again next year! Who needs to carve a pumpkin when there is glow in the dark Mod Podge to enjoy?!

If you're still looking for Halloween or Day of the Dead decoration ideas, fun gift ideas, or other ways to craft with Mod Podge products check out these great videos, posts and Pinterest boards....

DIY Faux Sugar Skulls with Collage Clay by Mod Podge

3 DIY Decoden Cell Phone Cases with Mod Podge + Dollar Store Jewelry

Introducing Mod Podge Modeling Clay

Mod Melt Spider Webs

Plaid Decoden Pinterest Board

Plus don't forget to follow Plaid®  and the Plaid Palette Blog on social media {YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google+ } and sign up for their newsletter for even more creative ideas. 

I'm linking up with other bloggers who participated so be kind and show them some love. I'm also linking up for the Dream Create Inspire Party and the Show Me Saturday Party. 

I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Plaid and Blueprint Social, however all opinions on their awesome products are my own.

Pumpkin Spice Chocolate Chip Cookies

I bought a can of Pumpkin puree a month ago and had been searching high and low for the perfect recipe to use to make something special for my Pumpkin Craft Night. Did I want to make pumpkin bread, pumpkin cookies, or something else? When it finally came time to make a treat for the craft night I wasn't up to making something with too many ingredients or steps. Luckily that's when I stumbled upon Desiree's three ingredient pumpkin chocolate chip cookie recipe on The 36th Avenue! 

Three ingredients, I can handle that...right?! Well, I actually used five ingredients, two are optional as you'll read below. Are you ready for these amazing, delicious, I want to eat the entire batch in one sitting, cookies?! 

I bet you are trying not to lick the computer screen right now, aren't you?! 

Pictured with the pumpkin spice chocolate chip cookies are the three main ingredients that Desiree mentioned on her recipe post. I included her one optional ingredient, brown sugar, but also added a few dashes of pumpkin pie spice to the batter as well. 

I figured the pumpkin pie spice would add a bit more pumpkin taste to the mix, plus I hadn't used it in a recipe yet and wanted to test it out! These cookies were so easy to make and would be a great recipe to introduce to your kids when they start to get interested in helping mom out in the kitchen. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 box of Spice Cake 
• 1 large can of Pumpkin Puree 
• 1 bag of chocolate chips 

Optional 

• Brown Sugar 
• Pumpkin Pie Spice 

Directions: 

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Combine the spice cake mix (no eggs, water or oil needed) and pumpkin puree in a large mixing bowl.  
• Add a few dashes of pumpkin pie spice. 
• Mix in the chocolate chips 
• Using a table spoon place the batter on a cookie sheet. 
• Sprinkle brown sugar on top of each cookie. 
• Bake for 7 to 10 minutes depending on your particular oven.

The cookies are a bit softer than your average chocolate chip cookie, but should be firm. 

I hope you enjoy making and eating these cookies as much as I did. They were a big hit during the pumpkin craft night, which I will have more details and photos from on the blog tomorrow so stop back. 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day! 

Halloween Craft Ideas

There are so many fun craft ideas for Halloween that I still want to try! Forget Christmas, I think Halloween is my new favorite holiday. Well, I say that now but once the Christmas craft ideas start rolling in on Pinterest it might be another story!

Today I thought I would share a few of my favorite Halloween craft ideas along with a sneak peek at one I put together. Who doesn't love sneak peeks, especially from TV shows...wow is Revenge, The Walking Dead and How to Get Away with Murder making me wish it was Thursday and next Sunday already!

{Mummy Mason Jars, Mummy Door, Skull Wreath, Jack String Garland, Halloween Yarn Hoop Art, Skull String Art}

After putting my Halloween craft ideas collage together, I noticed a pattern in the projects...do you see it?! No, well they either have string or a skull in them or both! 

1. Mummy Mason Jars

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You know I can't resist a mason jar craft! There are tons of Halloween craft ideas on Pinterest using mason jars, but these mummy jars were my favorite. Blogger Linda at It All Started With Paint used rubber bands to create the mummy effect on the jar and painted on the eyes to complete the look, pretty cool right?! I need to grab some more jars from the thrift store now that I've painted all the ones I have in my collection! 

2. Mummy Door...

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Monica is pretty creative at Halloween door decor, okay let's face it she's creative at everything she gets involved in! Hand her a few pieces of wood and a nail gun and you're sure to get something amazing in return! OK, so back to the door! Last year she created this awesome Mummy door and the year before she made a Frankenstein face. If your door needs a little help this Halloween stop by East Coast Creative for both of these fun door decor tutorials. 

3. Skull Wreath...

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I just have to say it, this Halloween skull wreath from Desiree of The 36th Avenue is bad-ass! I showed this Halloween craft idea to my younger sister and she wanted one to hang up in her room all year long! It's Gothic, but romantic at the same time. It sort of has a 1920's look and feel to it. I love the texture of the yarn she wrapped around the wreath foam and how she spray painted the colored flowers black. I need to get a wreath form and start creating awesome ideas like this one! 

4. Jack String Garland...

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I love The Nightmare Before Christmas and Jack Skellington, I mean who doesn't right?! I spotted this amazing Halloween string garland on my friend Heather's round up on Brit & Co. and just had to share! The original tutorial can be found on Disney Family. If you've ever used a balloon to create a string lantern or ornament then you will have no problem creating this Halloween craft. 

5. Halloween Yarn Hoop Art...

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I saw this fun Halloween craft idea on Pinterest a few weeks ago and I'm just learning that the blogger who created this is only 14 years old! If you haven't heard of Emma at Craftinge then I urge you to get on over to her blog, check out her crafts and share, share, share! I love that she's a teen with a DIY blog sharing her ideas with the world. 

6. Skull String Art...

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More awesome string art and another skull!! You really can't go wrong with skulls for Halloween, they can be a little too creepy at times, but with clever craft ideas like this one you can make them fun and cute. Elsie at A Beautiful Mess used a large skull print out to create the shape she wanted with the nails, then got to work with the string! Have you created string art before? It's something on my to-do list that I hope to make one day! 

These are just a few of my favorite Halloween craft ideas, if you're looking for more follow me on Pinterest and check out my Holiday and Halloween Crafts boards! 

Are you ready for the sneak peek of the Halloween craft project I made?! 

I also shared a bit more on my Instagram page, are you following me there? I'll have this tutorial and my painted pumpkins on the blog next week so make sure to stop back for more Halloween craft ideas! 

Have you started decorating and making Halloween crafts yet? 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day! 

Fall and Halloween Decor Ideas

I've never been afraid of mixing different decor ideas for one party. Our wedding was a little bit Spring and a little bit Summer with yellow calla lilies, hydrangea and lemon centerpieces, and a beach themed cake! 

My pumpkin craft night is next week and I wanted to have fun with the same idea and mix fall and Halloween decor ideas together for the party.  The inspiration for my party decor started with this incredibly awesome spiderweb garland Jen of 100 Directions created for the Cricut Design Space Star Challenge.

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Jen made a downloadable SVG file of the spiderweb and since my boss Monica of East Coast Creative blog is part of the Cricut Design Space Star challenge as well, I already knew how to use the new Cricut Design Space. 

However, that's when I found out the hard way that my Cricut Expression is not compatible with the new technology that the new Cricut Explore machine uses. Therefore I was unable to download and use Jen's awesome spiderweb in the design space. 

So I went through the cartridges I had on hand and luckily I found a few fall images, like the pumpkin seen below, that I could work with.   

I have a lot of scrapbook paper in my craft collection and found the perfect colors for this project. 

Items Needed for DIY Pumpkin Garland: 

Cricut Cutting Machine

Cricut Mat

Cricut Cartridge: Stretch Your Imagination 

Scrapbook Paper

String, Ribbon, or Tape 

Hole Punch

Zots (glue dots)

Step 1: Lay your paper on the Cricut Mat and load it into the Cricut machine. Determine what size you would like your pumpkins, mine are 4'', then on the Cricut Expression machine you will hit the "blackout" button then the pumpkin symbol, and hit cut.

Step 2: Once you have enough pumpkins cut, I printed 24 of them, punch out a hole on the edge of each pumpkin. Next string them onto your ribbon. (Note: If you don't have a hole punch or ribbon you can just use glue to hang them up in a line like Jen did with her spiderweb garland, easy peasy!)

Step 3: You can leave it as is and tie the ends of the string so the pumpkins hang with space between them. Or if you want your garland to look like mine, use zots or craft glue to connect each pumpkin together. I overlapped mine so the hole from the punch wouldn't show. 

Step 4: Hang your garland and enjoy the beauty of your work! 

After I hung my garland I stood back and felt like I needed more decor on the wall (the garland came first then the owls and leaves!). I went back to my craft room/office and grabbed my Hoot 'n' Holler cartridge to look for an owl image to cut. 

I just couldn't host a fall party without a few owls on the wall! Look how cute this little owl family is. Why haven't I been using my Cricut machine more?! 

I now had the fall decor look I was going for, but still needed more Halloween decorations to go with the spooky signs I had. 

So I went back to look through my cartridges for a third time and couldn't believe the Halloween images I discovered on the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge. There was a witch hat, a bat, a mummy and a skeleton, a ghost, and wait for it....a spiderweb! Can you believe that I found a spiderweb image right in my own cartridge collection, who knew it would be hiding among the paper dolls?!  

I used tape instead of stringing them together since the web was so delicate, a few of them actually ripped as I was trying to hang them up!

The paper doll cartridge was hiding these awesome skulls as well! 

Have you started decorating for Halloween yet? Or do you keep your October decor strictly fall themed? 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day! 

Linking up with Sarah at Sarah Halstead for her new link party...

Friday Favorites: High Five for Friday!

Wow, it's Friday already, where has this week gone...where has September gone?! This morning I saw a tweet from a new blog friend Ricci at Imperfectly Ricci about a High Five for Friday link up from Lauren Elizabeth and thought it would be fun to join in and wrap up my favorite things about this week. I had a pretty good one so why not share it...

1. You know the week is going to be great when you start things off with a rainbow...

2. Although I still can't believe it's October, I love the changing of the leaves, the cool night air, and can't wait to get together with my girls for pumpkin craft night! 

3. I have the sweetest friends and family members in the world who still continue to surprise me with little owl gifts. This adorable fall owl flew all the way to Pennsylvania from Florida via my awesome friend Casie! She has such a big heart. Right now she is trying to raise funds for her local St. Baldrick's Foundation chapter to help kids who are battling childhood cancer. Stop by her personal page for more info on how you can help #whipchildhoodcancer.

4. Halloween is in 28 days! Even if we don't get the chance to dress up this year, I still love the thought of just giving out candy and seeing the costumes of the trick o' treaters. Do you give out candy in your neighborhood? 

5. I have a feeling it's going to be a crafty weekend! I'm in the mood to get back to my Project Life scrapbook, make a few cards, or maybe even spray paint something! 

Oh and one more thing, if you haven't heard about the #IAmBraveandBeautiful movement then you need to head on over to Brassy Apple and join in!

That's it for how my week went, how was yours? 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend! 

#IAmBraveandBeautiful

We all have those days when we just don't feel brave and beautiful. We don't feel like getting out of bed, showering, doing our hair, and putting ourselves together.  There are days when I think, "Heck I work from home and don't need to go any where today, why should I bother!" However, those are the days when I feel less energized and less motivated. So, why bother? Because it makes me feel good inside. It doesn't matter if no one else knows that I'm having a great hair day or can see the awesome new color I painted my nails, I can see it. I'm doing this for my soul, because if I can't make myself happy, no one else ever will. When you start your day off right and have a happy heart you can accomplish and conquer anything. 

Today I am putting myself out there thanks to blogger Megan at Brassy Apple and 101+ other bloggers who shared their #IAmBraveandBeautiful story. Megan was inspired by Colbie Caillat's new song and video Try....

Colbie and the women in her video take their makeup off, let their hair down and show us who they are beyond what everyone sees every day. 

These women are being Brave and Beautiful and that's what Megan, and her friend Cobi of Peace from 6 Pieces want every woman to feel, makeup or not. So together with a few other bloggers and with the help of Robbins Creative they created this beautiful and inspiring video to keep Colbie's message and movement going....

A lyric and powerful message from Colbie Caillat's Try:

 "Take your make-up off. Let your hair down. Take a breath. Look into the mirror, at yourself. Don't you like you? Cause I like you..."

I didn't always like myself, because others didn't like me. 

I was never trendy and wore clothes that no other kid or teen would be caught wearing to school. I was taller than everyone in my class, and even a few of my teachers. My deep voice makes me sound like a man, and more often than not I was overweight. These are the insecurities I carry with me because other kids and teens didn't like these things about me. 

It wasn't until I met my husband that I finally started to believe someone could love me for me. I actually thought I would end up a scary cat lady! Yes, I knew my parents loved me, but the hurt and pain was already there and will always be there. However, I have come to learn that it's not about how someone else feels about me and whether or not someone else likes me, it's about who I see when I look in the mirror. 

Do I like me?

My wedding day was probably one of the few days where I actually wore makeup on my entire face. But it wasn't about the makeup, it was about me loving myself makeup or not. It was also about the man I met who loved everything about me and wanted me to love everything about me too. 

Give yourself the power to be brave and beautiful, don't give that power to someone else. Stand up for yourself and be kind to others. This movement is not only about how we see ourselves, but how we see others as well. There are too many young girls and women out there who hate on each other and bully because they have their own insecurities. But it's time to let it go, it's time to inspire one another and reach out to the women who don't feel brave and beautiful. 

Join the movement and help us inspire the world...

#IAmBraveandBeautiful makeup or not.