Who doesn't love getting a box full of mystery craft products in the mail...#happymail?! 

When I received Krylon's Mini Mystery Box I couldn't wait to open it up to see what was inside and get started on creating something with the pieces they sent. Inside the box was a mini craft crate and adorable wooden buttons from Walnut Hollow, a strip of burlap, two pieces of white fabric, and two cans of Krylon short cuts spray paint in Antique Bronze and Bonnet Blue. 

I love craft crates and was super excited to see this mini one in the mystery box. The burlap was another item I was happy to work with, but what was I to do with the two pieces of white fabric?!

I turned to Pinterest and searched for craft crate centerpiece projects and stumbled upon many creative ideas for the holidays that included mason jars and evergreen cuttings. That's when the idea of using mini bottle brush trees came to mind. How I got that from what I saw...well inspiration strikes where it strikes...right?! 

It only took a few seconds to turn the white and green trees I purchased from the Dollar Tree into blue ones with Krylon's short cuts spray paint, and I couldn't be happier with the results! 

I love...love...love the way the antique bronze spray paint turned the plain, yet beautiful, craft crate into well an antique masterpiece! Thank you Krylon for selecting these two gorgeous colors to send me. 

As you can see I finally came up with a plan for the white fabric. Luckily I have a craft room filled with Christmas craft supplies from past holiday projects, including the scrapbook paper ornaments you see on the tree in the background! 

Among my Christmas craft supplies was a pack of holiday stencils that included a snowflake, and that's when I knew my Frozen inspired Christmas centerpiece was really going to come together. You can't call it Frozen without snowflakes! Oh, and the reindeer...I do wish I had a snowman though! 

I also used the blue spray paint on the little heart buttons from Walnut Hollow, so cute right?! The burlap added the extra rustic element I was looking for and only took two lines of hot glue to secure.  Once I came up with an idea it was easy to see how all the items in the Kyrlon Mini Mystery Box could work together.

I still felt like it needed a little something more and dug back into my Christmas craft supplies to see what I could find! I really love the way the Merry Christmas sign completes the look. 

What do you think? Do you like the ornaments inside the craft crate or the bottle brush trees? Either way, you'll have yourself a Frozen inspired Christmas centerpiece that will only take about 15 minutes to put together, who doesn't love that?! 

What are some holiday crafts you're working on? 

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day! 

DIY Spider Web Frame & Painted Pumpkin Craft Night

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.

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

{source}

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...

{source}

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...

{source}

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...

{source}

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...

{source}

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...

{source}

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!