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Multiples and More: Halloween Paper Bats

I'm over at Multiples and More with a really simple craft project that kids can do this Halloween that can be used as decorations.

Kids will love these Halloween paper bat door decorations, so come over, say hello, and grab the tutorial.

My Halloween Mantel

The kids have been sick for the past few days. It started on Saturday, and ever since, 2 of the 3 have been sick. Only the 2 of 3 has been rotating between the kids and just when I think one is feeling better, the next day they are sick and one of the others is feeling better. It's crazy.

So while I'm stuck at home with sick kids I've been using this time to decorate for Halloween ... you know, in an attempt to avoid the housework.

Here's a peek at our mantel:

We don't tend to decorate the whole house, I have key areas that I like to work on; our dining room, fireplace/mantel, and outside. I also prefer to go the simple route, as opposed to over the top and themed, this makes it easy to mix and match pieces with other holidays and occasions.  You may have already seen our dining table, which looks like that day in and day out and will be changed over to Fall decor after Halloween, which will stay up until after Thanksgiving, then switched to Christmas decor after that.

I don't want our decor to look the same each year, I like to mix it up so the kids are always surprised, and I like to build on our collection each year without spending a lot of money. This means I'm always on the lookout for basic items that can be mixed and matched between the holidays, and of course I upcycle previous years decor too.

You may notice that I always have the same green backdrop above our mantel. It is simply piece of fabric that I stretched around a canvas that blends in perfectly no matter the season. I also use a lot of basic candle holders and like to use a lot of silver because that can be used for other occasions as well, such as using our silver pumpkins for both a Cinderella party and for Fall and Halloween table decor.

For this years Halloween mantel I purchased 2 new items and then re-used old items as well as upcycling others.

Let's work our way around the image above.

• Black glitter crow - this was a new purchase from Michael's craft store, it was $9.99 but I bought it for 50% off.
• Black pumpkin - I painted a fake pumpkin back in 2008 to look like a cat, you can see it in the garden in these Halloween photos. It is sitting on a candle holder that we have had for years.
• Orange owl - See below for the details on how this orange owl came to be. It is sitting on a tin can painted black.
• Emroidery hoop silhouette - I made this fun pirate silhouette of Flynn last year, you can view the tutorial by clicking on the link.
• Silver glitter tree - This tree was part of a collection of Christmas trees I made last year. I thought it would be fun to pull out this one again for Halloween too. It's sitting on top of a candle stick holder I found hiding in my candle cabinet.
• Clock - This clock is perfect for any and every occasion and sits on our mantel all the time. I found it on clearance at Target quite a while ago.
• Burlap and Spiderweb runners - I keep a burlap runner on the mantel all the time, it's easy to shake dust off and like the clock and canvas wall hanging go with every occasion. For Halloween though I added a few spider webs over the top of it and a couple of plastic spiders.
• Green vase and orange glitter branches - The green vase also normally sits on our mantel. When there isn't a holiday to decorate, it is clustered with a variety of colored glass vases, but for Halloween I popped in three orange glitered branches that I found at Michael's craft store for 99 cents each.
• You will notice a few other items in the photo below such as a large spider (hanging on a spider web draped over the wall hanging) which has been a part of our Halloween decor since 2008, and a cauldren that we have had since about 2007 (maybe longer). The skull inside the cauldron is propped up with an old broken black glittered spider web, last year it was in our garden outside. It's hard to tell in the small image, but the branches in the tall umbrella stand next to the fireplace are lighted Halloween branches that last year we had put outside by our walkway.

Now for the details on the orange owl. A few months ago I came across a glass owl at one of my favorite local re-sale stores Treasures and Beyond. I adore owls and plan on keeping this one on the mantel all the time. It definitely needed a pop of color though.

This was a matter of trial and error, with a lot of error before I finally got it right.

Tips for painting a glass ornament:

• Use Martha Stewart glass paint.  It's really easy to work with.  To paint a glass ornament that still appears clear you will need Martha Stewart Glass Paint 'Gloss Transparent' which comes in an assortment of colors.  You will also need the Martha Stewart Glass Spray Paint Kit, which comes with very simple instructions on how to use it.
• Clean your ornament with rubbing alcohol before painting.
• Do not spray a thick coat of paint especially if you have an ornament that has a lot of detail such as this owl.  The paint will run a little and will collect in ridges and bumps making dark patches.
• Spray a very light coat of paint.  Dry (until touch dry) with a hairdryer on a low, warm setting.  This particular project took about 8 light coats until I was happy with the color.
• Air dry for 21 days to ensure the painted has cured properly.

 

THIS POST LINKED TO:

Blissfully Domestic: How to Make a Pumpkin Pinata

Want to make a piñata for your Halloween party?  I'm over at Blissfully Domestic with an easy tutorial for making a fun Halloween Pumpkin Piñata.

Rusty and Rosy: 10 Candy-Free Halloween Treats

Looking for some healthier options to hand out to this year?  I'm over at Rusty and Rosy today with 10 fun candy-free treats kids will love.

Face Painting Ideas for Kids

This past weekend we celebrated Marisol and Flynn's 6th birthday at Legoland. They decided to do this instead of having a birthday party, but we are already members of Legoland so I wanted to make their birthday celebration there a little more special. I found a great Plum District for two nights accommodation in a villa with beautiful ocean views at the Grand Pacific Palisades, which is right across the street, and then we told the kids they could each invite a friend (and their friend's family) to join us at Legoland for a day of fun. Thankfully our Plum District deal also included tickets to Legoland and with a recent Klout Perk in hand too, we were pretty much covered for tickets for our guests.

On Friday afternoon Legoland was attempting a world record for having the most vampires in the same location at the same time. Unfortunately we fell short, but with over 700 vampires in attendance, it really was quite a sight. Of course the kids and I dressed as vampires to attend. This was a great way to kick off our weekend of fun.

Now, I don't profess to be an expert when it comes to face painting. I can whip up a quick costume, but I don't have a terribly steady hand so I normally stick to the basics when it comes to painting faces. However there is a bonus to being a Klutz Books Ambassador, they sent me the Face Painting book which comes with make-up, a sponge, and a brush. A bonus, was they had a tutorial for making a vampire face that was perfect for the little man.

The event was fun, the kids met Lord Vampyre, and were amazed at the size of the Lego Lord Vampyre that had been built, and the staff did a great job keeping all the kids entertained while we waited for group photos and for everyone to check in.

You can check out the group photo on the Legoland Facebook page and also watch a short video of the world record attempt.

On day two of our Legoland birthday adventure the kids invited a friend (and their family) to come and play at Legoland with us for the day. The kids chose a new costume to wear that day, or should I say old costume, they ended up wearing their kitty cat and pirate costumes from previous years because they would be the most comfortable for going on rides, and spending all day (10 hours) at the park.

This was perfect for me too, because there were also cat and pirate face painting tutorials in the book. 

There were actually two pirate designs, I let the little man decide which one he wanted.  

Aren't they just adorable. My face painting skills have definitely improved thanks to this book, especially when I look back at my attempt last year of painting Marisol like a kitty cat.

Here are a few more photos from our fabulous Saturday at Legoland.

If you have a chance to attend Legoland Brick or Treat I highly recommend it. We were there for three days and the kids had so much fun, we didn't do the same thing twice.

Don't forget to take a look at the Lego necklaces, and Lego travel boxes I made for our friends who attended on the weekend.

Here are the details for the Face Painting book.

Face Painting

The best face painting book ever just got better. Meet the new Face Painting, completely refreshed, revised, and revitalized for a new generation. We added more detailed directions for simple sponge and brush techniques. We created tear-out cheat sheets to make painting birthday parties easier than ever. The biggest change? Wolfe Brothers face paints. They go on smoothly, dry quickly, last beautifully, and wash off easily, with bold, bright colors that have to be seen to be believed.

Comes With: a six-color palette of face paints, a brush, a sponge, and 12 tear-out take-along design cards.

For ages 6 and up

Price: $24.95

Marisol's kitty cat face was still almost completely in tact after 10 hours at the park, I couldn't believe it. Flynn wasn't quite so careful with his, but it all wiped off so easily with a facial wipe at the end of  the night.

Stay up to date with all things Klutz by liking them on Facebook  and visiting the Klutz.com website to browse all their fun titles. Don't forget to enter their sweepstakes by clicking on the image below.

 

Disclosure: This post has been compensated in connection with my appointment as 'Klutz Crew' Brand Ambassador.

DIY LEGO Travel Box

Remember a couple of days ago when I showed you the LEGO necklace and I said I had another party favor to show you? Well here it is.

I was inspired by a post on Finley and Oliver to make a DIY LEGO travel box.  After all, we do love to travel and go on road trips, and we have two little LEGO lovers in our house. 

I decided to pop into Legoland during the week and came across fabulous LEGO storage boxes. I opened one up and was instantly inspired. 

I immediately knew what I wanted to do. I would cut up a couple of base plates and attach them inside the lid. This would be perfect because it wasn't too deep, yet with their being a side all the way around LEGO would be less likely to fall off and end up on the ground, plus they could still keep all of their pieces inside the main compartment of the box.

One standard square base plate will make 4 LEGO travel boxes (if you use this type of square box).

Measure the box, then using regular scissors, cut the base plate to fit inside the lid.

I used my favorite E-6000 glue for this project. 

The kids are having a Halloween themed LEGO birthday this weekend so I picked up a few packs of fun LEGO Halloween kits, which fit perfectly inside each box.

The kids are really looking forward to using these for an upcoming flight. I'll be interested to see how well they do on the airplane with lots of bits and pieces.

But for now, they make a great party favor too.