Lifestyle- New Family Member

Hi everyone,
Sorry for the late nature of this post. Things have been a little bit hectic around here for the past few days as we are hoping to adopt a lovely little collie from the Dogs Trust on Saturday. As such we are currently spending a lot of time making sure our garden is secure, getting all the necessary doggy bits and pieces together and doing a general cleaning and organising of the house. This is very exciting as we have wanted a dog for years but have never been in the position to have one until recently. If all goes well we will have a new member of the family to introduce to you in a few days. :-)

Halloween- Fake Skin

This DIY will really creep people out!

Things you will need-

• Rice paper
• Paint brush
• Red and flesh toned acrylic paint
• Water

Take a sheet of rice paper and tear it up into 3 or 4 pieces. (Jagged lines will look better than straight lines.) You can make a couple of small sample pieces to get used to the material but larger pieces will make more of an impact.

Now things are going to get a bit messy, when rice paper gets wet it becomes both sticky and delicate. Take your water and brush a very thin layer of water onto the rice paper, then while it is still wet start to apply your paint. I used a flesh toned acrylic paint in the centre to mimic skin and applied red around the edges of the paper to imitate a bloody edge where the 'skin' has been cut away from the body. 

When you are happy with your paint job you will need to very carefully lift the rice paper up and place it in the location you want it to be. Below you can see I stretched mine out on my witchy dream catcher. Don't worry if your first few pieces break apart, it takes a little practice to handle the rice paper. 

Once the rice paper is in place it will dry out and maintain it's shape. If you want to go for an extra ick factor though you can re-wet the rice paper before your guests arrive and it will have a nasty freshly peeled skin feel to it should anyone touch it!

Crafts- Hanging Organiser

I'm using this organiser for keeping track of my Wedding To Do List but it can be used as a reminder of daily tasks as well as big projects.

Things you will need-

• Ribbon, cord or wool of your colour choice
• Wooden pegs
• Acrylic paint
• Paint brush
• Lined paper
• Marker pens
• Tape or stickers
• Scissors

I am using black wool for my organiser but if you would prefer you can use an alternative such as ribbon instead. Measure and cut a one metre length. If you are using wool you will need three one metre lengths to plait together. Tie a knot at the ends of your wool and plait them together (left over middle, right over middle, left over middle, etc) and tie a second knot at the other end once you finish. 

 

Write out your tasks on lined paper. I just used a plain black marker but if you would like an extra level of organisation you can use different markers to colour co-ordinate your tasks. Leave a margin of approximately 1cm on the left hand side of your tasks so that they can be clipped to your cord without hiding what they say. Cut out your tasks along the paper lines. 

Unless you have used very thick wool/ribbon for your cord you will need to use mini clothes pegs rather than normal sized pegs as they will be too heavy for this project. You can see the size comparison below. 

Paint your clothes pegs in colours of your choice. I have chosen black and purple for mine. If you don't mind spending a bit of extra time you can pattern your pegs with stripes or polka dots. 

Once your pegs are dry there's nothing left to do but hang up your cord. I placed mine along the top edge of my desk shelf so that I can see it every time I sit down at my desk. I used plain black tape to secure it to my desk but you can use shaped stickers if you want something a bit fancier. After you've hung up your cord peg your tasks along it in the order that pleases you most. You'll see in the picture below I have pegged some tasks onto the bottom of each other, this is to link together tasks that need to be done in order so that I know to complete the first before I can start on the second. Sorry for the poor quality photo, it's hard to get a decent picture with back light coming in through the window. 

Halloween- Witchy Dream Catcher

We all know what dream catchers look like and most of us will either own one or has a friend who owns one. They're usually associated with nice things like peace and tranquillity so we're going to make a creepy version for Halloween, one that looks like it catches nightmares to save for handing out later.

Things you will need-

• Sticks/small branches in various sizes
• Hemp cord/yarn or similar

I cut my wood from a current bush I have growing in my garden but if you don't have any shrubs you can prune go for a stroll through your local woodland and gather some fallen twigs and branches from the ground. Remember never take more than you need and don't damage any rare species.

Once you have your wood roughly weave it together tucking your twigs over and under each other. If your branches won't stay together ask a friend to help hold them in place and use a small piece of cord to tie them together. As you can see in the picture above I have numerous twigs criss-crossing the middle of the dream catcher, this doesn't matter too much as they are going to get tidied up in the next step. 

Take your cord and start wrapping it tightly around the wood, pulling your sticks together and away from the centre of the structure. It's a good idea to tie a knot in your cord at every completed third of the dream catcher so that if for any reason your cord breaks the whole thing doesn't fall apart. Once you have gone all the way round the outside of your dream catcher you can then start wrapping, weaving and knotting your cord throughout the centre of the structure. I didn't follow any set pattern for mine but just played around with what looked unusual and organic. 

Your dream catcher is now ready to be hung up. I didn't add any feathers or other dangling objects from my catcher as I felt that made it look too similar to a traditional dream catcher but if you would like to add hanging objects then go for it, the more unique and creepy looking the better. 

Halloween- Witchy Sigils

These sigils are a subtle but effective addition to any Halloween decor.

Things you will need-

• Rocks and/or pebbles
• Black paint
• Paintbrush

I am using rocks for my Halloween decor but you can also use large leaves to paint your symbols on instead. The smaller the paint brush you use the greater the amount of detail you can put into your sigils. 

I like to create my own symbols and make it up as I go along, but if you don't like the idea of free handing you can look up numerous different symbols and sigils online. Try looking at palmistry symbols, celtic runes and norse symbols for luck and protection to give you ideas. Don't worry if you make a mistake, just wipe the paint off with a damp cloth and try again. 

If you would prefer a different look for your sigils try using white paint on dark rocks instead of black paint on pale rocks.

Crafts- Recycled Candle Holder

Candle holders are great decorative ornaments and with either candles or LED lights inside they add instant ambience to any room.

Things you will need-

• Jam jar
• Paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Double sided tape
• Red and black acrylic paint
• Paintbrush
• Toothpick

This candle holder is going to have a cut out design on the front so the first thing to do is decide what shape you want. I sketched out several bat designs but they were't really speaking to me so I cut out a heart with dragon wings instead. If you aren't happy with your drawing skills you can find templates on the internet for shapes instead. Once you are satisfied with your design carefully cut the shape out. 

Next make sure that your jam jar is completely clean, any grease or dirt on there will affect how well your paint sticks to the glass. Attach your silhouette using double sided tape to the middle of the jar.

Apply a layer of red acrylic paint to your jar, be careful around the edges of the template. Leave the paint to dry completely and then add a second layer of red paint. (Depending on how thin your paint is you may need to apply a third coat, if that is the case again wait until the previous layer is completely dry first.)

Once you are happy that there are no thin patches in your red paint cover it in a layer of black acrylic. You should only need to apply one coat here but if your paint is thin it may need a second coat when it is dry.

When all your layers of paint are dry take your toothpick and carefully lift up and remove the template. You may need to go around the edge of the design and just touch up any areas where the template lifted off some of the paint with it. 

All that's left to do is place a tealight or an LED inside your candle holder.

Never leave a lit candle unattended. Always place your candle holders on a heat proof surface where they are out of reach of children and animals. 

Halloween- Potion Bottles

No witches kitchen is complete without an array of weird and wonderful (or hideous and terrifying) potions.

Things you will need-

• Empty glass bottles of any size
• Water and milk
• Food colouring or coloured ink
• Paper
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Glue or sticky labels
• Brown, yellow and black paint
• Wax candle and/or cork stoppers

Before you start make sure your bottles are clean and undamaged, you don't want food residue making mould in your potions or a small crack leaking your potion all over the floor. If you don't have a stash of glass bottles try asking around your friends and family for some of their recycling. You can also use plastic bottles for this if you don't have glass available but glass will look more authentic. 

The bottles above from left to right contain- water and blue food colouring, water and coffee grounds, and milk. Adding coffee grounds to your potions will not only change the colour of the liquid but will also add a floating scum to the surface of the potion. Adding a bit of milk to your potions will make them cloudy or opaque rather than transparent. You can mix and match your food colours (or inks if you are using inks instead) with the various colours of your bottles to create either dramatic eye catching shades or muted sinister looking sludges. 

To create labels for your bottles draw out one half of the shape you want your label to be, these can be as unusual or as simple as you like. Fold the design in half along the vertical axis and cut it out to create a symmetrical shape. I suggest drawing your designs on scrap paper first and then tracing around the edges onto either a sticky label or plain paper so that your final label doesn't have a fold line down the centre. 

Once you have cut out your labels apply a small amount of watered down brown or yellow paint to age the paper. For the label below I used a yellow ochre all over and a burnt umber around the edges. After the paint has dried use a black paint (or black ink if you prefer) to write out the name of the potion and even add an illustration if you are so inclined.  

To finish off the potion bottles you can either use a cork stopper or create a wax seal. To make the seal first scrunch a piece of paper over the top of the bottle and cut out a circle along the line made by the edge of the bottle. Place the cut circle of paper on the top of the bottle. 

For the next part you need to use a lit candle so please use extreme caution not to burn yourself or set fire to anything. If you are young please either do this next step with adult supervision or better still ask an adult to do it for you. If you don't have a crafting desk I also strongly advise putting down a sheet or two of newspaper so you don't drip wax on anything you shouldn't. Take your lit candle and very carefully drip wax onto the circle of paper. Go slowly and once you have dripped wax all around the seal to hold it in place you can add more drops of wax down the side of the bottle for visual interest.