Denim pockets

Gotta love those denim pockets.  You can do so many things with them.  Below is a free tutorial on how to paint a couple of Halloween designs onto them.  A quick, easy, cute project.

Supplies
Denim pockets of your choice
Scissors-to cut out denim pockets.
Acrylic paints- Black, Burnt Orange, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Yellow, and White
Candy corn stencil-I cut my own from a piece of mylar using a craft knife, or you can just sketch them on with a pencil and paint them in. I purchased the mylar at Wal-Mart.
Witch boot stencil-purchased from Laurie Speltz(The Creative Coach).
3 Medium stencil brushes
#4 filbert, and a #10/0 liner brush.
Small checkerboard stencil-purchased mine at Michael's Craft Stores.
Candy of your choice
2 pieces of raffia
Fall bittersweet picks with rusty stars.
Wire cutters
2 pieces of black annulled wire-to make the hanger. Cut one to 24" and one to 18". I purchased mine at Ace Hardware.
2 small pieces of wax paper-to place in-between the pocket so that the paint does not soak thru the other side, and one for your paint palette.
Paper towel-to remove the excess paint of the stencil brush.
Small craft knife
Pencil
Masking tape or black electrical tape-to tape your stencil in place.
Small wooden dowel-to make curly wire(optional).

To learn more about stenciling see TIPS AND TECHNIQUES, on this blog and scroll down to stencilling.
Begin by cutting out your denim pockets. Once they have been cut out, place a small piece of wax paper in-between the pocket so that the paint does not soak thru to the other side, and set aside until needed.  Prepare your stencil by sketching a candy corn onto the mylar and cut out with a small craft knife. Be sure to cut it onto a surface that you will not cut thru. I use an old piece of hardboard to place the mylar on.  If your not feeling creative enough to sketch your own stencil, search the web for free candy corn templates.  There are several available.

  


Candy corn pocket
Begin by taping your stencil down onto the denim pocket, and stencil in the candy corns in a coat of white, then stencil in the  appropriate colors using your stencil brushes.  This will take 2-3 applications to get a good cover.  When dry tap in a bit of Burnt Sienna, just under the Cadmium Yellow.  Apply 2-3 coats of Black around the edge of the pocket using the #4 filbert, and allow to dry.  Once dry stencil in the checkerboard in Burnt Orange. Now cut your piece of wire to 24"  Starting on the back side of the pocket, gently push and twist until the wire pokes thru to the front side.  Leave about 2" sticking out.  Now take one of your paint brushes or a small wooden dowel and begin wrapping the wire around it, again leave about 2" to push thru to the other side.  Now pull the wooden dowel out and stretch out the wire a bit to form a nice hanger. Now twist the 2" piece in the same manner and push flat against the pocket. Allow to dry and cut your Fall pics to your desired size and stick them down into the pocket.  Add the raffia bow to the side and you have a cute Fall decoration.

Witch boot stencil
Follow the same instructions as above for stenciling in the witch boots.  I then lightly sketched in the socks with a pencil and painted them in with the #4 filbert, using the Burnt Orange.  This will take about 2 coats to cover.  Once dry add the black stripes with the #10 liner. Allow to dry and follow the instructions above to add hanger and raffia.  Fill with candy of your choice for a cute treat pocket.
You could also stencil in words such as trick or treat, Halloween, treats, or whatever else you see fit.

http://www.patternmart.com/pattern/3143/Free+Punkins+Pumpkin+E+Pattern+PM
Just ran across this  free pattern on Pinterest and had to share...so cute!

Paparazzi Jewlry

Have you heard about Paparazzi Jewelry......It is some pretty awesome jewelry and very inexpensive.  I purchased 2 bracelets for $11.00 total...can't go wrong at that price.  They have become some of my most favorite bracelets.  I liked them so much I purchased 2 necklaces for the same price and 2 bracelets for my 2 grand daughters that attended, and they were even less.  I think 2/$5.00  To view some of the jewelry or if you have questions, visit  http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Paparazzi-by-Jessica/452832284732191  Don't forget to like her page.

How to make your own silicone lights

   Check out the Pickled Pepper Patch....There is a great tutorial on how to make your own silicone lights, along with alot of other tutorials.  They truely have a great blog! A must see! Follow the link below http://charsethman.blogspot.com/2009/11/tutorial-tuesday.html

Styrofoam Easter bunnies

Since Easter is just around the corner, I wanted to share these little guys.

They go back to my childhood days.  My dear aunt has made these as long as I can remember.  She would sell tons of these at the church bazars.  God rest her soul she passed away last year at the age of 92.  She was a big inspiration to me as a child.  I used to spend a week with her in the summer, and it was craft heaven for me.  I could not wait for that week to arrive.

Winter Denim pocket

Cute and very simple winter craft idea.  I cut out a denim pocket from an old pair of jeans, and a hat and a mitten from an old flannel shirt. Used a small piece of white felt for the brim of the hat and the top of the mitten.  Whip stitched around the edges, and stuffed it full of pine, pine cones, and berries, or whatever else you may have laying around.   Hot glue a pom pom to the top of the hat.  Embellish with raffia, buttons, or ribbon.  Cut a small hole on both sides of the pocket to add the  wire hanger.  For the snowflake, I used a large snowflake stamp, dipped into white acrylic paint.

IDEAS for this project:
You could stick a wooden moose cutout and some pine, stencil a moose, or cabin on the front for a cute country cabin look, you could fill it with Cinnamon sticks, cloves, nutmeg, stencil a cute kitchen saying on the front, you could use iron on transfers and do some holiday ones using the free vintage images on the web, you could modpodge items onto the front of the pocket such as all red  buttons shaped into a heart for Valentine's Day, you could use acrylic paints and paint a primitive snowman on the front, you could stuff it full of primitive snowmen.  Lots of ideas for this simple project.  Please feel free to submit any ideas via my email, or on my comments page. 
enjoy!

Resurface a rusted cast iron pan

 


STOVE AND GRILL POLISH
Ever run across that perfect vintage cast iron piece you just gotta have. You want  to paint it, but it is so covered in rust you are having second thoughts.  Here is the magic solution.  It's called STOVE & GRILL POLISH-BLACK LIQUID.  I purchased this at Ace Hardware.  Thanks to my buddy Jack, he knows a little about everything.  I don't know what I'm going to do when he leaves.  I was lucky enough to get 4 cast iron campfire pots, but they were really rusted.  So, here's how it works.  Using a med to course grade steel wool I cleaned it up and washed it out with soap and water.  Allow it to dry completely and using a sponge begin applying the STOVE AND GRILL POLISH.  It protects and covers the rust like magic. This is amazing stuff! (See photos of before and after below).  You of course, can not cook with it after using this stuff or put food in it unless you line it with something that allows you to do so.  It is solely for decorative purposes.  I made a cloth lining for the Halloween campfire pot below so that it could be filled with candy.

BEFORE




AFTER

   



SNEAK PEEK OF FINISHED POT