Today was much better (anxiety wise) than yesterday. My upset stomach continued until about 7pm, but really, others often have it so much worse. Maybe we all ate the same lead paint chips when we were young. Sheesh. Sometimes I wish there were more defined causes to the onset of anxiety.
On another note, Halloween is fast approaching, and I have promised many a great diy holiday projects. Meet the creepy wreath! Appropriate for small kiddos, and older ones alike. The best part? IT COST ME LESS THAN 4.00!! Yay for a DIY project!
Here's how she went down:
GATHER:
the mirror (a serving platter from Dollar tree, which happens to be reflective)
a diaper (or ask for a free one from you neighbor with 4 kids. She's bound to have one.)
Scraps of satiny emerald green fabric...from a dress your grandma made you when you were 12
(thanks grandma!)
Scraps of black felt and old lace (optional)
2 fake plant stems from the dollar tree as well (any creepy stem with black fuzz on it works)
Raffia or straw
6-10 purple fuzzies or pom pom balls (optional)
12-15 black feathers (from a craft store - I already had these)
glue gun (are you a DIYer? You already have this)
a scrap of white toole - or tole. Why doesn't English spell like it sounds? (any mesh fabric will do.
You only need like a 7x9" piece)
MAKE THE WITCHY FINGERS
This is the creepiest part of the mirror, and really just a feat of imagination. This is also the coolest part, according to my kids. They can't believe the scary fingers are really just diapers.
1. Get your diaper out, and cut 4 pieces of 1.5x3" strips. The stuffing will want to come out, I know.
2. Now you roll up your little strip length wise, and tape it 1/3 of the way up. Bend the roll in half, and THEN tighten it on the un-taped section. Once you've got it pretty tight, tape in place. Stay with me, I know this is weird.
3. You can tighten the tip even further and tape it again, making it pointy like the fingernail of a witch finger. Depending upon how tightly you rolled each section, it should stay pretty bent and pointy! It's ok if not. Try it again, or accept that your fingers are arthritic and won't bend like they used to.
4. Finally, wrap the whole thing in your shimmery green black fabric. Use the glue gun to tack it down, and make sure to burn your fingers at least 6 times. Sacrifice makes it valuable :) Cut out some raisin size fingernails from the black fabric and glue them on there.
5. Position all 4 fingers into the most natural look you can. I recommend posing your own fingers and then modeling the diaper fingers after that. Glue the unfinished bottoms to the back of the mirror, and then again at the lip of the front of the mirror. Cut a strip of felt out to cover the back of fingers on the mirror and glue it down. Cut out a piece of lace and glue it on the knuckles and on top of the black felt. Now it looks like a sleeve.
MAKE THE GHOST FACE
1. Get your piece of white mesh and fold it over itself.
2. Cut a tear drop shape out of both pieces, so that you get two ghost heads.
3. Fold one of the heads down by 1/3 (tip of the tear drop downward) and cut out some pointed oval
length-wise slits for eyes.
4. Unfold.
5. Fold the whole head in half, and cut a long wavy mouth. Now you have a screaming ghost.
6. Using spray adhesive (or the glue gun) tack down the screaming ghost to the mirror.
7. Bunch up the fabric of the uncut ghost head and tack it down the same way, but make it a little
bunchy and irregular. That gives it dimension.
BUNDLE THE STEMS
1. Get several pieces of raffia and wrap around the stems. Keep going until you've wrapped up 3-4
inches of the stem.
2. Tie a square knot.
3. Cut off the excess close to the knot, so it looks like broom ends.
4. Arrange branches to poke out and jut like a creepy tree.
5. Glue along the side of the mirror, and hold it there for a few seconds till it sets.
ADHERE THE FEATHERS
1. Arrange 12-15 black feathers along the bottom of the mirror
2. Glue the stems only in place, letting the tufts on top free to blow.
3. Enjoy that your mirror has no crow, just the remnants of one.
4. Glue on a few purple pom pom balls/fuzzies because your kids like to think they're spiders
(optional)
tape on a wire to the back of your mirror with packing tape, and you are ready to hang!
You can add a 'boo' on there, or even write some creepy message in red/black sharpie if you want! I'd love to know if you make one of these! Have fun and Happy Halloween!
