October Daily 2019 Preparation & Day 1 - CraftOnline Creative Team

Last year I did my first October Daily project, I decided to do it the way I found success with December Daily and combine it with my journal keeping.  I loved how it turned out and wanted to do the project again this year but I am torn, I love doing my October Daily and December Daily combined with my journal keeping but I also really want to do a cute Halloween mini that is focused on doing Halloween prompts so I decided to prepare for both.




















As I couldn't find my small Halloween stash so I needed to start from scratch this year and ordered some great goodies from CraftOnline.


Items used in this project
Poppy Crafts Candelabra Die
Poppy Crafts Cute Cat Die
Poppy Crafts Blooming 6x6 Paper Pad
Poppy Crafts 6x6 Textured Cardstock Pad
Poppy Crafts Christmas Glitter 6x6 Cardstock Pad
Simple Stories Say Cheese Collection
Doodlebug Planner Insert Daily Dots Daily Doodles Calendar
Tim Holtz Ideaology Countdown Brads
Helmar Acid Free Glue
Helmar Chrystal Kote Matt Varnish
Dorland's Wax Medium
Universal Crafts Embossing Tool
Stickmaster Heat Resistant Double Sided Tape 
Distress Oxide Seedless Preserves
Distress Oxide Carved Pumpkin
Distress Ink Peacock Feathers
Distress Ink Wild Honey
Distress Ink Black Soot
Distress Ink Carved Pumpkin
Vellum
Silhouette Die Cutting Machine
I used the older Universal Crafts Fine Line Applicators but here is a link to the new ones that I can't wait to try.


I adapted Serena Bee's October Daily Prompt List to a list that better suited a Halloween specific project as the Fall prompts don't suit me since I live in the Southern Hemisphere and I wanted to save Spring Prompts for a November project or maybe for September next year.  You can download a copy of my Prompt List here, I also added a October Awareness & Cultural Day List to the document, some Awareness & Cultural Days change each year so some may be incorrect for 2020.

I printed my prompt list on to vellum and distressed it with Distress Oxide in Carved Pumpkin and Seedless Preserves and added some Distress Ink in Black Soot and Peacock Feathers to give it a grungy Halloween look. 
I glued some adorable pumpkin paper from Simple Stories Say Cheese Collection to my page and adhered my list to it with Helmar Acid Free Glue,  washi and stickers from the Simple Stories Say Cheese Collection.

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 I cut out the Poppy Crafts Candelabra Die from white cardstock and black glitter cardstock and then coloured the flames with Distress Ink in Wild Honey and Carved Pumpkin.
I cut the candles from the black glitter cardstock die cut and glued it to the white cardstock die cut.
I think it turned out super cute.













Click on this photo or the video below to watch my Process Video and see how I created my cover, a pocket inside the pocket, added my lists and completed my Day 1.

October Daily is a lot of fun no matter what format you choose to do it in so why no join in the fun and give it a go, it doesn't matter that it is a few weeks in you can still join in the fun.
Serena has a great Facebook Group that are full of inspiration.

EEK Banner

I loved my Paper Clay Halloween Embellishments I created with the left over paper clay from making my Pumpkin Stack and I felt they were just perfect for creating a small banner for Halloween.

In addition to my Paper Clay Embellishments I also used 

3 burlap banner flags from my stash 

some trims from my stash 

some of the last bits of my Scrapping Fun Kits October 2017 Kit 

Paper scraps left over from making my Halloween Mini Album  You can find this paper pad here.

I die cut the letters for EEK from black cardstock using my Silhouette Curio and the font cut file from the Silhouette Design Store called SW SPOOK 31 FONT.

Once I had all my bits ready to go I started playing with each flag.  I used Helmar Premium Craft Glue to put it all together so it will last.

Here is the Process video for creating my banner.

I love how it turned out.

How cute is that treat bag?  And that little Pumpkin charm from the Scrapping Fun Kits October 2017 Kit was a perfect bit to add to this cluster.

I love how the Moon turned out.

How cute are those Jack 'O' Lanterns?

Why not give making paper clay embellishments a go?  They are a lot of fun and if you use archival paper scraps and acid free glue they will be photo safe and perfect for your memory keeping needs.

Upcycled Paper Clay and Paper Mache decorations and scrapbooking embellishments

 I was inspired by Farrel's DIY plane embellishment she created with Helmar glue and a silicone mould to try making my own embellishments with silicone molds.  I wanted to make someone archival so I used archival paper scraps and Helmar Acid Free Glue to make my embellishments.
I simply tore my paper scraps up and soaked them in water overnight.  I then pulped them with a blender.  Squeeze as much liquid out of the pulp that you can.  Then add Helmar Acid Free Glue to your pulp until you have a clay consistency.

Place you clay into your mold and allow to dry.  I hit it with the heat gun for about 10 minutes and then left it over night.

I then painted my embellishments.  I coloued the Jack 'O' Lantern's eyes, mouth and nose with a fine detail brush and black ink spray.  I used a normal brush to pain the main areas and to dry brush details were needed with some Vicki Boutin and Dyan Wakely paints.  I got some black ink mixed into my yellow paint when painting my moon and stars and I love the effect, the feel more Halloweenish.






I used Helmar Premium Craft Glue to add some bakers twine from the October 2017 kit from Scrapping Fun Kits as the handle of the Trick or Treat bag.












Now my paper clay embellishments are ready to use when recording my memories or when making decorations for Halloween.  Hmm I might make a banner with these cuties.


Since I had some paper clay left over and inspired by a post I saw on Pinterest I decided to make a paper mache pumpkin stack.   I felt this could be a great way to use those single use plastic bags that have now been banned where I live but many of us have a heap of and any other non-recyclable soft plastic.  So I stuffed my bags with single use plastic bags and any packaging that wasn't recyclable but was soft and clean.
I wound some washi around each bag to get the desired shape and then set to work applying paper mache to each pumpkin.
The top pumpkin was small enough to do on my desk so here is a video of how I did each pumpkin.

I used a assortment of Helmar white glues as I was towards the end or each bottle so it was a great way to use them up.   Glues I used to apply my paper were Helmar Decoupage & Craft Glue, Helmar Tacky Glue and Helmar Craft & Hobby PVA.  I added 1 part water to 4 parts glue.
Due to limited space to craft I had to do each pumpkin individually and wait for them to dry between each layer so this made this project much more time consuming than if I could do 1 coat on all of them, let that dry and repeat.  So the time it took me is not a good gauge of how long this project will take.

I planned to not use a pole/pipe in the middle but I found a scrap piece of PVC pipe from my son's Physics assignment and used it to make the stack a stronger stack.  I decided to seal each pumpking top.  First I tried tape and then I grabbed my Helmar Premium Craft Glue and ran it round where the paper mache and pip meet, adding scraps to fill in gaps if needed.

I needed to make a 4th pumpkin as once I squished the pumpkins down a little and sealed with the Helmar Premium Craft Glue there was extra pipe left to cover.    This is the one that is in the above video.
Once the 4th pumpkin was on I used my left over paper clay to make the stalk.  I left this to dry for 48 hours before painting.

The boys and I spent a day applying coats of orange paint to our pumpkin stack.

Once it had a good coat of orange on it I applied watered down brown paint in small sections and then wiped off the paint before it dried.  This helps add detail to the pumpkins.  I also painted the stalk brown.

I love how my pumpkin stack turned out.  I love that it is much more environmentally friendly than anything I could buy.

And I just had to make a cute Banner with my paper clay embellishments.   A blog post and process video for making the banner will be up on my blog and YouTube channel shortly.

So why not save any clean soft plastic you have that is not recyclable and use it to make a paper mache decoration.  Great for the budget and the environment, so a win win.

Halloween Upcycled Mini Album - CraftOnline Creative Team

While I was experimenting with my Distress Oxides the The Stickmaster Heat Resistant Tape was there on the back of my desk and I was inspired to put what I was doing away and instead create a mini album like the one I made for Earth Day this year.  Since it is heat resistant I wanted to see if it would survive a summer in my home and I thought I should make the same style I made for the Earth Day album so I can make a true comparison, I will also make a Christmas themed one with the tape I used to use to make a fair comparison.
I am excited to see the results of my test next March.

Items used
Fancy Pants Designs 6x6 Spellbound
The Stickmaster Heat Resistant Tape
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Carved Pumpkin
Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Trimmings Halloween 6 pack
Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Trimmings 2 pack black and orange
Jolee's Boutique Dimensional Stickers Moveable Skeletons
Jolee's Boutique Gauze Ghosts (no longer available)
Silhouette Curio
Helmar Acid Free Glue

The Halloween supplies I ordered to make a card for my friend made decorating this mini so easy, the 6x6 pad was perfect for a quick crop and glue down.
I also die cut a few Halloween items with my Silhouette Curio that I bought from CraftOnline last year.  Having a pile of die cuts that suited my theme ready to go really helped the creative process.

Here is the unboxing of the supplies.

Here is a process video of how I made this album.

I love how this mini album turned out and can't wait to give it to me friend.

Why not give making a upcycled mini album a go, they turn out so cute.
I will have another post later in the month with my decorating of the cover of my October Daily and experimenting with that gorgeous haunted house stamp, so if you haven't subscribed to my blog and YouTube Channel yet make sure you do so you don't miss out on seeing that post.  :)

Easy Ucpcycled and DIY Halloween Decorations - Helmar Creative Team

I wanted to decorate for Halloween this year but I wanted to be a bit more environmentally friendly with my decorations so instead of buying new I decided to DIY as many things as I could and include some Upcycling where possible.  I also wanted some projects the boys could help with.
Today's post is about the easier decorations we made.

First we made some Witch Legs, Pinterest suggested a few pins of this fun project.  I wanted a really quick version that E could help with and to Upcycle where possible, so I went with the under the door mat/cupboard/house, etc version.

I picked up these glittery shoes for $2 at my local St Vincent De Paul Op-shop, some cute purple & black striped knee high socks to make this project with E.  We used stuffing from a pillow that is really uncomfortable and no one likes to stuff the legs, I set E the task of stuffing the legs.
To close the tops of the socks I used Helmar Fabric Glue, applying a spot and folding down on itself, and repeat until the top is closed.

I then used Helmar Fabric Glue to glue the stuffed socks into the shoes, applying some directly on the sock and some inside the heal.








Our Witch Legs are now ready for poking out of a wall, door or furniture.





















For our second easy DIY we upcycled a empty liquid soap refill bottle into a potion bottle.
Start by applying 2 coats of black paint to the bottle (apply a third if you need to).  Then smudge some streaks of Distress Oxide in Seedless Preserves and some gold paint on the bottle.

Paint the lid gold but rub it off a little so the black is kind of visible to give it that ages look.
My paint peeled a little so I used a scrap of gauze that I had wiped black ink, and Distress Oxide in Seedles Preserve and Spiced Pumpkin with to hide this and my excess gold paint near the lid.  I just draped it around the bottle and glued it down with Helmar Premium Craft Glue.


To finish my potion bottle off I printed some free printable apothocary labels and adhered them with Helmar Premium Craft Glue to the bottle and gauze.  I love the results.  I need some more interesting shaped plastic bottles so I can make more.

For our third project in Today's post I Upcycled a wire mannequin jewelry holder into a witch.
It was gold so I smuged some watered down black paint all over it, you can still see hints of the gold but I love the look it now has.

I grabbed some scrap purple fabric and black lace.  I wrapped the fabric around the mannequin and adhered the seam together with Helmar Fabric Glue, adhereing the lace to the fabric with Helmar Fabric Glue.

I made her a cute witch hat by cutting 2 circles from felt, I cut 1/4 away from one circle and glued it into a cone shape with Helmar Fabric Glue.  I then snipped the middle of the base into triangles so that I could glue them to the inside of the cone. 

I made a tassel of trim and glued that inside the hat to represent hair.  I then finished it off by gluing some purple lace around the hat and poking a old earing through the front and bending it over with pliers.

I then tied some ribbons and trim around the waist, chest and underneath in the centre so they would hang out from under the skirt and represent the legs.
I adhered a dimensional bat sticker to her chest and a cat die cut from black glitter foam which I received in a die cut swap to the fabric with Helmar Premium Craft Glue.

How cute did she turn out?

Halloween Planner Spread - Scrapping Fun Kits Design Team

Today I am up on the Scrapping Fun Kits blog with this planner spread that is part of the challenge Morgyn and I gave each other to use something from each kit in our planners.

I created a cluster with the pumpkin stack from the cut apart, 2 of the flair that I took the epoxy off and a label from the cut apart which I penned in the day on since my cluster hid the day.
Simple but cute bit of decorating for October 31st.









I am not big on decorating my planner pages as I can often have last minute appointments especially at this time of year, so like to leave space.  When decorating my pages with the October kit I wanted to have a fun spread in the last week of October but still leave ample space for last minute appointments.

I love using little stickers to mark things I need to do as it saves me writing them with my hand issues so I have a cute mailbox from Lady B Creations to mark the day I have to send orders out and a cute cupcake from a sheet that came with a old calendar to mark a relative's birthday..

I can't wait to create some scrapbooking layouts with the rest of this cute kit.