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.

Five Things: I Loved About BPW PA State Convention

When I moved to my area a few years ago I didn't know many people and had a difficult time with the transition. Not only did we move, but I changed jobs and went from working in an office to working at home. It was a bit of a change to say the least; from interacting with co-workers and customers all day to sitting alone in my home office with no one to talk to while my step-daughters were at school and the hubby was at work, ladies working from home isn't always what it's cracked up to be! 

Yes, I am very blessed and fortunate that I can work from home, but I felt lonely and lost in this new home. Thankfully about six months later I met Katie of Vintage Vinyl Journals  and now Busy Bee Kate. She told me about an open house with a local women's group that she was a part of and I figured why not give it a chance. I joined in 2012, and though it's only been two years I feel like this amazing group of women have become part of my family. 

So, as the group's (Business and Professional Women aka BPW) youngest member, they asked me to consider the Young Careerist competition. On the local level you choose one of three topics and write a four minute speech and have a speak off against another Young Careerist from your BPW District. 

Well it turned out that no other woman from our district had signed up for the program, which meant that I was automatically going to the BPW PA State Convention! Sorry, this was supposed to be a short intro into my Five Things link up of what I loved about the convention, shall we get started?! 

1. Five Things link up is posted every Thursday at Midnight EST. Share any five things that are on your mind right now. Whether it's something you are obsessing with on Pinterest, a new and exciting event going on in your life, or even sharing five of your favorite books; it's totally up to you. 

2. Please put the Five Things button on the post you're sharing for the link up; sharing is caring, the more players involved the more fun we'll have.

3. Please follow both your hosts Diana from The World Around Her and Tairalyn from Little Miss Mama via Facebook {here and here} and/or Twitter {here and here}. As it’s not mandatory it is greatly appreciated.

4. If you tweet about your post or Instagram it, feel free to tag me or Tairalyn and use the hashtag, #FiveThingsParty

5. Check out the other bloggers who have linked up, show them some love and comment on at least one other bloggers link-up post.

Shall we get the party started...

1. That's me giving a little thank you speech after receiving my award on the night of the BPW PA State Convention banquet dinner. When I joined my local BPW I worried that I wasn't professionally looking enough and wasn't very confident about myself. However, the support of my group has changed all of that, they had faith in me that I could represent their club as the Young Careerist and I was truly honored to stand up and speak as a member of our local. 

2. These are just a few of the ladies from my local that came to support me, it was actually one of the largest they've had attend the state convention in sometime! Not only have I made friends on the local level, but also on the state level. There were so many amazing women at convention that just came right up to me to say hello or congratulations, you really can't put a price on this experience. Before I joined BPW I felt lost, but now as a member of their sisterhood I know that I'll never feel that way again. I've never felt more liked in my entire life! 

3. The BPW PA State Convention isn't just about us on a local or state level, it's about all of us on a country level supporting women's rights and equality, as well as many other things. Did you know that Kathleen Kane is the first woman Attorney General of Pennsylvania? Ladies, it's 2014 why are we still having these firsts? Why is it taking so long? Did you know that women only make 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes? It's also really astounding in this day and age that Kathleen Kane our Attorney General of PA is still receiving comments like, "You’re a little girl running for this big job,” seriously guys?! To hear more about what Kane said during her inspiring speech stop by The Times Tribune article here.

4. It wasn't all business though, we had time to play and explore the town of Scranton as well. I was very fortunate to be with a group of ladies who wanted to explore and not just sit in a local pub and hang out! If you ever get the chance to visit Scranton I highly recommend visiting Nay Aug park to see the tree house and the beautiful gorge! 

5. Scranton has so much history; they were once a booming Steamtown, and the hotel we stayed in was a popular train station at one time! Who knew that during my BPW PA State Convention I would visit a train museum and get to ride a steam train?! (The one pictured is stationed in the museum and not the one we rode!) I encourage you to explore the towns of any convention you attend, whether it's for blogging, fashion, moms, women, etc. There is so much more to enjoy during conventions than just attending the events that occur inside the hotel! 

Sorry for my lengthy post, I just really really enjoyed my first ever convention and look forward to next year's! 

Now it's your turn to link up with us and share five things that are on your mind this week...