Category Archives: Halloween

Pinecones 103 – Decorating Ideas

Pine Cones 102 – Not So Itsy-Bitsy Spider!

“No living thing is ugly in this world. Even a tarantula considers itself beautiful.”

– Munia Khan (poet) Source: Goodreads

For our second mini-blog, we created a spider out of pine cones and mini pumpkins. A fun project to do with your kids. Perfect for Halloween!

You will need:

Six 5-inch pine cones
One 3-inch mini pumpkin
One 4-inch mini pumpkin
Black spray paint (Satin finish)
1 black chenille stem (we used Jumbo Fuzzy Sticks from Target) cut to 5 inches
Craft glue
Two 1/2-inch googly eyes
One 14-inch platter

How to create your spider:

In a ventilated area, spray paint pumpkins and pine cones thoroughly. Use newspapers to protect surfaces.

Allow to dry.

Place 3-inch pumpkin upside down below and in front of the 4-inch pumpkin on the platter or whatever you choose as a base.

Add googly eyes with craft glue. (Some come with adhesive backs, use those if you have them.)

Decide which pine cones go where. We used larger pine cones as the back legs.
Place 3 legs on each side.
Bend chenille stem to create feelers and position under spider head.

Watch the bugs (and some people) disappear in fear!

Hint 1: This display is temporary because we will be using the parts for future holiday decor. Stay tuned! For more permanence, attach spider parts to platter with double stick tape.

Hint 2: If paint comes off pumpkins during assembly, touch up with quick drying, matching acrylic paint.

Be creative with your spiders! Use colorful googly eyes, make a purple spider or whatever you favorite spider color is, add stickers and designs. We’d love to see pictures of your creations!

Enjoy!

Roy & Kevin

Pine Cones 101

September’s Bounty!!!

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This week’s blog highlights a new (for us) kitchen gadget, a classic tomato salad, a garden update, and of course, the bears! Plus, we are announcing an exciting venture for the holidays!

SPIRALIZER

We just bought a spiralizer, a cool gadget that makes noodles out of vegetables.

Our new Oxo spiralizer is easy to operate and clean. If you get one, read the instructions and handle with care because the blades are sharp.

The first time we used it was with a combination of zucchini and yellow squash. We sautéed our “noodles” with olive oil, salt and pepper. Next, an English cucumber got spiralized. We tossed the cucumber noodles with vinaigrette and served it cold.

Both dishes were delicious! We highly recommend this kitchen tool. It is easy to use and makes healthy eating fun!

CAPRESE SALAD

In Rhode Island, it has been a GREAT year for native tomatoes! They are delicious with a sprinkle of sea salt or in salads, but with our basil plant thriving, this year’s tomatoes called for Caprese salad.

Caprese salad is made with tomatoes, basil, extra virgin olive oil, fresh mozzarella cheese, balsamic vinegar (hint: warm vinegar for a few minutes – it will thicken and sweeten), sea salt and ground pepper to taste.

GARDEN UPDATE

“I’ve always felt that having a garden is like having a good and loyal friend.” C.Z. Guest – Actress/designer (Source: Quote Garden)

Sea grass we planted years ago has returned. The bee looks bee-fuddled!

BONUS PHOTO:

We had a visitor on the top of our patio fence. (This grasshopper is much smaller than it appears here, thank goodness!)

VEG ART

This year’s edibles – a great crop!

Another version of the picture at the top of the blog with our 2 types of peppers, tomatoes, oregano, basil, sage, rosemary, and thyme. (Surprisingly, the parsley didn’t make it!)

JOKE OF THE WEEK: “Gardeners know all the dirt.” (Source Bing.com /images)

THE BEARS

The Bears feel like stars, because this week, on September 9th, they celebrate Teddy Bear Day!

ANNOUNCING: HOLIDAY CRAFTING MINI–BLOGS

It is never too early to begin holiday crafting. This fall and winter, in addition to our regular posts, look for our weekly holiday crafting mini-blogs. These mini-blogs will offer some of our favorite craft and decorating ideas for the upcoming holiday season.

Check out the blogs which feature the decorations shown above:

https://funclesarts.com/2014/10/29/halloween-blog-3-the-final-chapter/

https://funclesarts.com/2014/12/06/the-christmas-season-is-here/

Enjoy!

Roy & Kevin

Last Minute Halloween Mayhem!

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It’s Halloween week and we’re adding last-minute decorations to our house – a little late, but festive, nonetheless. As Halloween approaches, we share easy ideas for our lollipop ghosts, creepy pins, and tasty treats. Also, check out photos of our decorations, a garden update and of course, the bears!

LOLLIPOP GHOSTS

These lollipop ghosts are fun and fast. Simply wrap a napkin around a lollipop, tie with a ribbon and add a face with a marker. Fun favors that kids love!

EASY PINS

From the craft store, we bought 1.5-inch bar pins which have adhesive strips built-in. The pins were secured to the back of these small, plastic decorations for instant, creepy fun! Use flat-backed items for best adhesion. Note: The spider was a little heavy for the pin to support. A little hot glue solved this problem!

The pins pictured above were attached to a piece of cloth for display purposes, but they look great on a jacket or sweater. Crank up the creepy factor – add a little glitter or glow-in-the dark paint to your pin.

PORTABLE COSTUMES

We often take a cab to Halloween celebrations. One concern is – do we really want to ride in a cab wearing full costumes? When the answer is “no”, we opt for “portable costumes”.

Portable costumes are festive, wearable items that can be tucked into a pocket, purse or backpack, then easily put on before you make your grand entrance!

Some examples are:

Silly hats (note our turkey hat – upper left)
Campy glasses
Halloween ties
Boas
Clown nose and makeup kit. (Apply makeup when you get there!)
Foldable character masks
Plain masks with embellishments. (We glued bats and spiders to inexpensive masks.)
Lights: Battery operated lights can add a lot of pizzazz to any outfit!

HALLOWEEN CARD DECOR

Holiday cards received over the years make great decorations, and hanging cards each holiday is one of our favorite traditions. We enjoy reading them and thinking of the family and friends, both here and gone, who sent them. Some of our favorite saved cards surround a Halloween wreath (see last week’s blog for wreath instructions).

Here’s a small sample of our Halloween decorations.

Earlier this year, we bought inexpensive projection lights from QVC. These lights create great effects, including the witches’ shadow on the ceiling, and the creepy glow to our hand-made ghost.

We made the ghost (shown above, left) more than 10 years ago. Here is a version you can make. Our ghost has easy-to-attach felt instead of the googly eyes mentioned in the link. Boo!

http://weefolkart.com/white-stiff-fabric-ghosts/

BE SAFE!!!

This link has some good ideas about Halloween safety. Have fun! Be careful!

http://www.cdc.gov/family/halloween/

TREATS TO MAKE

Here are some easy, last-minute Halloween treats you can make:

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/shows/ros-tasty-treats-specials/specials/ros-tasty-treats-halloween.html

GARDEN

The garden is hanging in there despite some colder weather. The cold has hurt some of our marigolds and the tomato plants are droopy. But we picked 10 peppers this week!

For the first time, this week’s veg art is our featured image, as shown at the top of the blog.

OUR NEW ADDITION

We picked up these fall-colored marigolds today. Inexpensive fresh flowers are a great way to decorate for the holidays. This plant should last through Thanksgiving.

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Do zombies eat popcorn with their fingers? No, they eat their fingers separately!

Source: Psychology Today.

THE BEARS

The bears are ready for trick or treat after adding diddly-bopper headbands to their own portable costumes.

Fall back

Dont forget to set your clocks back an hour this weekend. Looking forward to an extra hour of sleep this Sunday!

Oh and…

Enjoy!

Roy & Kevin

We Fall for Halloween!!!

We’ve Only Just Begun!!!

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A year ago today, we decided to start a holiday blog and do one post a week from mid-October through New Year’s Day. Once the ball got rolling, we didn’t want to stop. The blog has been a lot of fun to do and it has inspired us to be more creative. Thank you to everyone who has followed and contributed to our the blog. We’re looking forward to another crafty and tasty holiday season and a fun 2016!

PAPER

For wedding anniversaries, the traditional gift for the first year is paper. With that tradition in mind (sorta), we share two crafts made from paper. The first paper project is a clip-on Halloween witch made from construction paper and a clothespin. The second project is a banner we made for Kevin’s brother’s family, wishing them luck on their upcoming move to Florida. Additionally, we offer a recipe for broccoli rabe, a garden update and, of course, the bears!

WITCH CRAFT

Halloween is coming and we are creating a few fun and easy crafts. This week, it’s the cute clip-on witches shown above.

You will need:

clothespins
black, orange, green and white construction paper
glue stick
double-stick tape
scissors
a fine marker (black ink)
ruler

To make:

Cut the following equilateral triangles:

three 1-1/4 inch triangles – 1 green (head), 1 orange (hair), 1 black (hat)
two 1-1/2 inch triangles – 1 black (dress), 1 yellow (broom head)
two 1/2 inch black triangles (shoes)

You also will need:

one 3/4-inch x 1-1/2 inch white rectangle
one 1-inch x 1/8 inch strip of green construction paper

Draw (as shown in picture below):

lines on the white rectangle – every quarter-inch
a face on the green triangle
a black verticle line on the yellow broom head

A little more cutting (see picture below):

cut the white rectangle in half lengthwise to form the legs
cut broom bristles 1/16-inch wide ending at the verticle line
cut 1/16-inch wide strips in bottom of orange triangle to create hair
cut 1/4-inch off the tops of the yellow and black 1-1/2 inch triangles
cut the tops off of the 1/2-inch triangles (1/8 inch off the tops)

attach orange hair to the back of the head with glue stick as shown below.
attach shoes to legs and legs to body
attach arm to body

attach head to body and hat to head
using double stick tape, attach broom bristle to end of clothespin

Before attaching, the back of the witch should look something like this:

Attach witch to clothes pin as shown using double stick tape.

The completed witch will look something like this.

These witches love to help decorate! Use them to clip Halloween cards to curtains or on our clothesline banner (search previous blogs for info). Looking forward to seeing photos of your witch creations!

This is a simple, kid-friendly craft which is more difficult to describe than to create. Use these basic guidelines and have fun!!!

BANNER

We designed this special banner by thinking of what symbolizes Florida and came up with the two obvious answers: oranges and sunshine. We cut out orange and yellow circles to represent those iconic images. Some quick cuts turned the yellow circles into suns and green leaves attached with small black paper fasteners transformed the orange circles into fruits. Stickers express the sentiment, “Enjoy FLORIDA!”. The banner was strung together using curling ribbon and embellished with sandal and beach themed stickers. (The top of the exclamation point at the end of the banner is a surf board sticker; the paws represent their dog, “Sadie”.)

This was a fun project to create, making use of quality stickers, craft paper, and a new circle cutter. We’ve said it before, but it bares repeating. Always look online for coupons from craft stores (and any stores for that matter). We saved money on all the items use in this banner with just a few minutes effort to print the coupons.

BROCCOLI RABE

In our effort to explore new foods, this week we tried broccoli rabe. The first recipe found on- line did not boil the rabe first. It was awful – very bitter! Our second attempt is this recipe from one of our go-to favorites – Rachael Ray. It’s a delicious, healthy way to cook this green.

Here is the recipe:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/broccoli-rabe-with-lemon-and-garlic-recipe.html

GARDEN UPDATE

The recent, unseasonably good weather has kept our garden thriving! We have at least 70 green tomatoes on our two cherry tomato plants and 25 peppers in various stages of growth on our Shishito pepper plant. They better hurry up and ripen before this weekend’s predicted frost or we may be growing them in the house. Wonder how much indoor grow lamps cost!

Kevin spotted this lone flower today on the vine that grows on the fence that surrounds our property! This vine has never flowered in our eight years here!

VEG ART

The apples have taken over. (No, we didn’t grow them!)

THE BEARS

The bears are starting to figure out their Halloween costumes!

Enjoy!

Roy and Kevin

MONSTERS, MASH AND MORE!!!

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In this blog, we share a monster craft and our tasty reduced calorie mashed potatoes with cauliflower and parsnips and, of course, our garden update.

PAGING DR. FRANKENSTEIN!

Halloween is a time when monsters run amuck, but these easy-to-create monsters are fun and functional.

We made these funny monsters with coffee cans, fabric fur scraps and googly eyes. Fun and easy!

You will need: furry fabric; googly eyes; cans, jars, or other containers; craft glue (we use Aleene’s Quick Dry Tacky Glue); rubber bands; felt, pompoms; cloth scraps; construction paper; chenille rope; and anything else that will create the perfect monster!

To Make:

Wrap fabric around can and secure at the top and bottom with rubber bands;
Glue eyes onto fabric to create face;
Add a nose and mouth if desired;
For feet, we cut out 2 egg shapes, which were approximately 2 inches by 1.5 iches and glued them to the bottom of the container.

For the arms on some of the monsters, we used chenille rope found at fabric stores.
For the hands, we cut heart sharps from felt or construction paper.
Use your imagination and decorate with fabric scraps and whatever you like!

These cute monsters make great vases or containers for candy and silverware for your Halloween parties. Fill one with flowers or candy for a great hostess gift!

MASH

We love mashed potatoes, but they have too many carbs and calories. We change them up by adding cauliflower and parsnips.

You will need:

2 and 1/2 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut into one-inch pieces
One lb. bag of frozen cauliflower
One large parsnip, peeled and chopped
Butter or margarine
3/4 cup milk

To Prepare:

Place potatoes and cauliflower in Dutch oven on medium high heat and bring to a boil;
Saute chopped parsnip in butter or margarine over medium heat until tender – 5-7 minutes;
When potatoes and cauliflower mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes add cooked parsnips to potato and cauliflower;
Cook an additional 10 minutes until tender;
Heat 3/4 cup milk until it is warm; milk, butter and salt and pepper to taste;
These potatoes are great at this point. But reheated at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and they tasted even better!

AND MORE!

GARDEN UPDATE

Summer-like October weather this week. Garden is looking good and still producing!

Here’s a night shot of our patio. Some of this summer’s favorites – shisito peppers, cherry tomatos and impatients continue to thrive.

VEG ART – Welcome Apple (not the computer)

JOKE OF THE WEEK What do monsters turn on in the summer? The scare conditioner! source: Halloweenjokes.com

WATCH OUT BEARS – THE MONSTERS ARE COMING! (DONT’T WORRY -THEY HAVE CANDY!!!)

Enjoy!

Roy and Kevin

Halloween Blog 3 (the final chapter)

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This is our 3rd Halloween post for the year. We are still learning and having fun, creating new things and sharing a few ideas. This week we are focusing on the Happy Halloween Banner and some other random yet (hopefully) interesting Halloween and fall related things.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN BANNER: We saw a banner in a store not too long ago, and we decided to design our own and put our own twist on it. The banner we came up with is simple to make. We made ours out of things we had around the house, but if you were to buy the items, you could probably do it for under $10.00 Let’s make this a banner year!

You will need: 15 5X7 inch rectangles of burlap, 5-6 feet of Jute or ribbon, acrylic paint; black and orange, 15 wooden clothespins. tacks to attach banner to wall.

To make the banner:

Cut fifteen 5 X 7 inch rectangles out of burlap. Iron them with a t-shirt or towel over them.
Using black acrylic paint, paint one letter vertically on each rectangle spelling out H A P P Y H A L L O W E E N ! in approximately 4 inch capital letters.
Paint 15 wooden clothespins orange. Allow rectangles and clothespins to dry. ( about one hour)
Cut 5-6 feet of Jute or ribbon, hang 2 ribbons 11 inches apart one above the other.
Attach to the wall by tying the ribbon to tacks with the ends 5-6 ft apart (or what works for you).
Using the orange clothespins, attach (letter-by-letter) HAPPY to the top ribbon, HALLOWEEN to the bottom.
Center and adjust for your desired look.

NOTE: Perfection is not the goal for this project: burlap frays, clothespins can be tricky to paint, and hand-lettering is a challenge for some people, but that is part of the charm of this banner. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!)

RANDOM STUFF:

Here’s another picture of our Halloween decor.

TREAT TRICK: An easy way to make popcorn balls is to use the Rice Krispies treat recipe (on the box or online), use the same amount of popcorn instead of Rice Krispies!

PETS WARNING: Remember chocolate is toxic for pets, keep the kids trick-or-treat candy out of their reach! (The pets reach that is, well maybe the kids too!)

GO FLAMELESS: Flameless candles make for a safer Halloween. Use them in Jack-O-Lanterns and all over the house!

JOKE OF THE WEEK: What’s the problem with twin witches? You never know which witch is which! (Source: jokerz.com)

Up next week: Thanksgiving!

Thanks everyone for reading this and the other entries. Please share, like and follow!

We wish you and yours a Happy, safe and creative Halloween!

Roy and Kevin

Halloween Blog 2 (the sequel)!

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PUMPKINS AND SCARECROWS AND GHOSTS -OH MY!!

Post number 2! We had fun putting up the last post and are still learning about this blogging stuff. Anything worth learning is going to take some time. We are just starting the process of creating a routine for getting more of these posts out with better and better content.

Last Sunday we decorated our place a little bit with the contents of the buckets of Halloween items we have collected over the years We used that as inspiration for the few tips we are sharing this week. The Lighted Stacked Jack-O-Lanterns are so simple and affordable. The scarecrow ideas we share make use of household items and thrift store finds. We hope you like these ideas and are enjoying this magical holiday season!

ADD A LITTLE PUMPKIN SPICE TO YOUR DECOR!

Decorating tip: The Lighted Stacked Jack-O-Lanterns shown here is a cute display that is easy to create. You can make this for under $10.00. We had 3 pumpkins but needed a forth. We also needed a set of lights. We went to Target and bought the pumpkin for $1.00 and a set of lights for about $5.00. Start with four plastic pumpkins that are the same size. The ones here are 8 inches. Using a utility knife, cut the bottoms out of the 3 top pumpkins. The very bottom of these pumpkins are usually thicker plastic, so cut along the edge where it is thinner and easier to cut. Stack them together with the uncut one on the bottom and string lights through them from the top. Our’s shown are just stacked, but you may want to attach them together with duct tape in the back. The light shines through the plastic and gives the room a great glow!

SCARECROWS!

I made the scarecrows shown at the top of this page. I made mine like dolls, and used thriftstore clothes. There are other ways too. Included here are a few tips for making scarecrows :

Children’s feet pajamas make great scarecrow bodies. Just stuff them and dress them. Dress them in used clothes , either your own or some bought from a thrift store.
Heads can be made from paper bags, burlap sacks, wig heads, and as one tip from Martha Stewart suggests, use (clean and empty) laundry detergent bottles, upside down using the handle as a nose.
Stuff with fiberfill for a more permanent indoor scarecrow.
Give your scarecrow personality. Maybe glasses and a book for a studious scarecrow, tie-dyed shirt for a 1960’s inspired scarecrow, etc.
Gloves for hands, shoes for feet, buttons for eyes.
Finish with straw and plastic leaves for a realistic look.

Vignettes! We like to group like items with like items. This decorating idea works in all sorts of decorating situations, holiday or not. Here (below) is a ghost vignette with some of our favorite ghost decorations we have collected and created though the years.

SPOOKTACULAR!

Joke of the week: What do ghosts eat for breakfast? Boo-berry pancakes!

MORE NEXT WEEK!

THANKS TO ALL WHO READ THIS AND LAST WEEKS POSTS! PLEASE SHARE FOLLOW AND LIKE.

ROY AND KEVIN

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Funclesarts

Because creativity can be simple, affordable, and it makes life more fun!

Category Archives: Halloween

Pinecones 103 – Decorating Ideas

Pine Cones 102 – Not So Itsy-Bitsy Spider!

Pine Cones 101

September’s Bounty!!!

Last Minute Halloween Mayhem!

We Fall for Halloween!!!

We’ve Only Just Begun!!!

MONSTERS, MASH AND MORE!!!

Halloween Blog 3 (the final chapter)

Halloween Blog 2 (the sequel)!