Inspiration File

Just a couple things to share with you today.  Jen over at Tatertots and Jello did it again and completely blew me away with her chalk board chargers.  She took cheap plastic charges, primed them, and sprayed them with chalkboard paint.  So easy and smart.  Now she can decorate them for any holiday or occasion.  Love this idea. A set of these would make a FAB gift!



And then Miss Mustard Seed showed off her Christmas ornament line. WOW.  I adore Miss Mustard Seed and kinda want to be her.... except she works way to hard.  I wouldn't like that part.  But I would love to have half her talent and inspiration.  And making my own Christmas line.....wow.  All I can say is WOW.

Well, that all.  Have a fab weekend and holiday!

Dressing Up

Do you dress up for Halloween? While I love to get the kids all decked out, I usually don't go all out on a costume for myself.  I do like to do something though.  I will admit to being a cat many many times.  I simply wear black and a "cat ear" headband.  I like it because I feel dressed up without feeling silly.  This year however I had another idea.  I am being "the other mother" from the movie Coraline.

Have you seen Coraline? Great show.  My kids love it and I love that its one of the few that my husband and I can actually sit through.  If you are looking for a good, family friendly Halloween movie, I would recommend it.  Creepy without scaring your children to death! :)

Anyway, back to the other mother.  This is what I was going for.

Its the perfect character because, other then the button eyes, I can basically be myself.  And its creepy!  So this is what I came up with.

I apologize for the totally dorky picture, but whats a girl to do?

Haha.. too funny huh!?!  I love it. And it case you are wondering, yes I can see.  I wouldn't recommend driving with them on or anything, but I can definitely wear them trick-or-treating with the kids.  I actually made them with Palmer's clay.  They have a rim, like you'd do with glasses, so that I can blink, and I can see out of the little thread holes.  I attached them to each other and my head with stretchy clear beading string. 

So are you dressing up this year? Do tell!

More Pumpkins!

Last week a few ladies from my church got together for our craft night and we made my 2x4 pumpkins.  They all turned out so cute so I thought I'd show them off to you guys.  They were a blast to make and it was a lot of fun seeing how everyones turned out just a little bit different.  Too much fun!

A haunted house, spider web, and window clings.

So do you remember when Crafty Sisters made the cutest little Halloween village out of bird houses? Well, I totally copied them.  I only made one house but still I think it turned out pretty cute and is a fun addition to my Halloween decor.

As always, I had to get a "front step shot" so I could get a good pic.  But I thought I'd show you what it actually looks like mixed into my "stuff" too.

All I did was paint a craft store birdhouse black and then "decorate" the back side of it with scrapbook paper and embellishments.  It was a fun project.

And since we are on the topic of coping my fellow bloggers, here is one more.   I was asking my husband the other day if he thought our front door Halloween decor (Say that 10 time fast!) was cute, and he said "Well, yeah but its a little boring."  We can't have that! So I totally copied Staci at Craftify It and made a yarn web in my front window. I then put up some fake cobwebs and a few more spiders and now it looks a lot more "done."  (We still need a few big pumpkins on the steps but we haven't made it to the pumpkin patch yet.  Were getting there!)

But I do have one original idea for you!  After making my haunted house, I had a bunch of adorable Halloween scrapbook embellishments left and I was determined to use them somehow.  I had heard that you could use hot glue to make window clings, so I grabbed a few, put a bunch of glue on the back, let them dry and stuck them to the window.  It worked great... until the sun went down.  As soon as that glass got cold they all fell off. (pout)  I'm not easily deterred though so after some research I found that there is actual "window cling" paint. So I got a bottle of this...

And did this...

And now I have this!

 

It worked perfect! Make sure your glue dries completely before putting them on the window, but since it dries clear, it looks cute from both sides. (my embellishments were two sided.) Oh, the possibilities are endless!

Inspiration File

Wow, my inspiration file is full this week! So many fun things out there in blog land.  I hope you guys aren't getting tired of Halloween yet because most my features are Halloween related this week.  I love Halloween so I don't really mind.  However, I will admit my mind has started to shift to Thanksgiving and even (gasp) Christmas.  I got Pottery Barn's holiday catalog in the mail this week, and oh boy, do I have plans! I'm really excited but am refusing to allow myself to start crafting for Christmas until after Halloween at least.

Anyway, on to the features.  First off I was excited to get a note from Megan at The Barefoot Copy Cat telling my that she followed my rag wreath tutorial and made not one but two adorable wreaths.  I have to admit, I'm a little jealous.  I can tell she found a larger frame then the one I used and I just love the size.  Too cute, great job Megan.


Next up is this advent calender from Something From Cassie.  I think this idea is BRILLIANT! She made adorable magnetic squares using scrap papers and then put them on a muffin pan filled with treats.  I'm so going to make a bunch of different covers for all kinds of count downs.  Great idea, thanks Cassie!



Now the next three are all from Tatertots and Jello.  Jen sure had a great blog week!  I figure most of my readers probably read Jen's blog so this will probably be a repeat for most of you, but I still want to document all these great ideas so I don't forget about them.

Jessica, who blogs at Craftily Ever After, made these adorable beaded spiders for a guest post.  Aren't they too cool? She has some great ideas on how to use them two, like magnets for your fridge and on a headband. Love them!



Then Jen showed us her Christmas version of her painted pillows.  These are SO cute! I love all the embellishments she used to really make the ornaments special.  Great idea!



And finally, Jen showed us her adorable Thanksgiving garland.  I love that you can clip all the things to be thankful for on it and get the family involved.  Plus it is simply BEAUTIFUL!  Gotta make one of these for sure.



And last, Layla Grace showed this adorable Halloween Cake.  Its an old Martha Stewart cake and recipe but such a cute idea.  Plus, its looks easy enough that even I could do it! Love that!

Well, that's all for now.  If you were featured remember to grab a button.  See ya soon!

Kitchens

I have a perfectly nice, serviceable kitchen. 

Sounds like true love huh? NOT!  While the layout is fine and everything is in good shape, it is just not me. 
I would love to refinish the cabinetry, update the counter-tops, install a back splash, and put in hardwood floors.  Unfortunately my husband has pulled the reigns and determined that we cannot put anymore money onto our home, and he is right.  We are on the verge of over improving for our neighborhood.  If this was our forever home, I'd say who cares and do whatever I want to it.  But its not.  Its our "I'm so over you and can't wait for the market to pick up so we can sell you and move on" home.

So while I don't have the kitchen of my dreams, I can still dream what that kitchen would be.

I love me some modern design...

images via Bradburys

But lets face it, I'm a crafter and could never pull off the simplicity.

Now I know everyone is drooling over white kitchens lately, but I love warm woods.

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Of course, I could totally rock any of these white kitchens!



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This last one is my favorite, and someday it will be mine. Okay, not this exact kitchen but a knock off version for sure!

But until that day comes,  I will just be happy with what I have.

Drum Roll Please...

First off I want to give a big Thank You to everyone who entered my giveaway.  It was so fun reading all your great comments and browsing your great blogs.  I was so worried that no one would enter this little giveaway so your support means so much to me.  Thank you!

Now, I have to admit that I was planning on looking through all the blogs and picking whichever one I thought would be fun to makeover, but in the end I just couldn't pick! You guys all have such fun blogs and great ideas.  I would be proud to add any of your blogs to my portfolio.  So in the end I let random.org do the dirty work and the winner is.....

Angi at Feeling Kinda Crafty

I'm so excited to work with Angi.  She is a brand new blogger but already I can tell her blog is going to rock.  We are going to have a lot of fun so shoot me an email Angi and we'll get this party started!

For the rest of you, if you'd still like a makeover I'm offering an additional $10 off any of my makeover packages for a limited time.  That mean you could get a new look for as little as $25.  Also, I'm flexible so don't hesitate to ask if you want to create a custom package.  I'd happily switch out a button for some sidebar labels (or whatever)  in any of my packages to create what works for you.  You can get more information on my blog makeovers HERE and I hope to hear from you soon.

The (not so) Itsy Bitsy Spider

I really hate spiders.  Or at least I really hate real spiders.  But during Halloween I think spiders are a lot of fun to decorate with so I set off to create a big old spider to hang from the light by my front door.  He turned out SO cute too! I just love him! Wanna see?

Isn't he fun!?!  Here are a couple more close up.

And here is the front door so you can see it all together.  It really is big.  I would totally die if I saw a real spider that size, but he is too cute to be scary.

So, do you want to make your own? It was really easy and fun! Here's how.

You will need:

6" Styrofoam ball
black paint
black glitter paint (optional)
1 large puffy chenille pipe cleaner.  Not sure what they are really called, but I found it at Micheal's with the rest of the pipe cleaners.
3 googlie eyes. (that's the technical term) Or however many you want your spider to have.
hot glue
string or yarn

Step 1:  Paint the ball black and let dry.  This was the hardest part of the whole project because it took forever to dry and I'm not the most patient crafter.
Step2: Do a coat with black glitter paint.  While the glitter added a little, I'm not sure it made enough of a difference to be really worth the extra step.
Step 3: While that is drying, cute two 2-3 inch pieces off your pipe cleaner for the fangs.  Divide what it left into eight pieces for the legs.  I gave the fang pieces a little hair cut so they weren't to furry.
Step 4: Once the ball is dry, decide which side is the front and hot glue on a couple of eyes.  I started with two and later added the third.  Use a pencil or something to make a hole in the ball.  Add some hot glue into the hole and push the fang in place.  Do the same thing for the legs.  Shape the legs to look like legs by bending a the "knee" and giving a little foot.
Step 5.  Add another hole to the top.  Tie a big knot in your yarn and use the pencil to shove the yarn into the glue filled hole.  Add a little more glue on top for extra measure.
Step 6: Hang and enjoy your cute new friend!

Linking up to these parties and these events:

 

Inspiration File

As always, there were a ton of amazing projects this week.  Here are a few that particularly caught my eye.

First off, Creative Decor by Brook made my 2x4 pumpkins.  It was so much fun seeing the result of someone actually following one of my tutorials.  Hers turned out great too.  She left off the scrap paper and its fun seeing this variation. I love her bows too, so pretty.  Great job Brook!


Next, The Magic of Ordinary Things made this awesome Halloween wreath.  Isn't it too cool?!? I love that its different from all the other wreaths we have been seeing.  She used Styrofoam balls and toothpicks, of all things.  This is actually her second Halloween wreath and her first one was equally cool, although sadly it melted.  You'll have to check it out!

Then, WhipperBerry made the most beautiful paper pumpkins.  I thought I was done adding fall projects to my list, but these are just too cool not to make.  I'm going to try to make a great big one so I'll be sure to show you guys once I do.  Check out WhipperBerry for their awesome tutorial.

Finally, I wanted to thank Katie from Not Just Decorating for passing on to me the Happy 101 Blog Award.  She sure made my day! She has a pretty great blog too, so be sure to check it out.  One of my favorite recent posts of hers are these can luminaries.  I think this would be a fun projects with the kids, with help of course!

Well, I've been a crafting junkie this week and have enough content coming up to keep this blog busy for awhile.  I can't wait to show it all off!

If you were featured on this blog, you can grab a featured button on my sidebar. Thanks!

100 plus followers and my first giveaway!

Its a momentous occasion here at Sassy Sanctuary, yesterday I hit the 100 follower mark! I know compared to the "big blogs" that's nothing but I'm pretty proud of the number either way.  So I thought the only way to celebrate is to offer my first ever giveaway.  I am giving away a free mega blog makeover to one of you! 

What does a mega makeover include? Well, just about anything you want that I know how to do.  You can get more information on my blog makeovers here and see samples of my past work linked on my sidebar.  This is only available to blogger blogs.

RULES
1. Please be a follower of this blog.  This is more of a plea then mandatory, but I would appreciate it.
2. Leave a comment on this post telling me why you'd like a makeover with a link to your blog.

This giveaway will be open till 12:00 noon Sunday, and I will pick and announce a winner next Tuesday.

Good Luck!

Oh, and I will love you forever if you will tell all your blogging friends.  I'm nervous about offering this giveaway for fear that no one will enter.  So please show some love and help spread the word!

Giveaway now closed.

Painted Glass Candy Jar

I have to tell you, for such a simple project this thing was trouble!  Some projects just fall into place, but this wasn't one of them.  That being said, now that its finally done I'm happy with the result.  Let me introduce you to the painted glass candy jar.

Now for my story.  I have had a bowl of candy corn sitting on my kitchen counter for the last few weeks.   My kids LOVE candy corn and since its a seasonal treat, we take advantage this time of year.  But the problem was every time I walked past that bowl, I grabbed a few.  I was having serious sugar shock and next thing I new I was chewing more candy corn.  Tell me I'm not the only one who eats without thinking?!?  I decided I had to move my candy into something with a lid.  That way I had to make the decision to take the lid off if I wanted candy, and would quite eating without thought.

My idea was to take a mason jar and use a stencil and frost the glass.  I did this and it turned out really cute, but it was subtle.  You had to look really close to see the design, not quite what I had in mind.  While I was making this first jar, I also made a few jar votive holders with the same technique. They actually look cute.

So I decided to try again and this time paint the jar with stain glass paint. 

Here's how I did it:
1. Cut out a design with contact paper and place it on your jar.
2.  Paint your jar with glass paint.  It will take many many thin coats.
3. Once dry to the touch, remove your stencil and watch half the paint come off with it.
4. Paint the design back on by hand.  I didn't actually lose everything, but I had to hand paint the eyes, nose and some of the detail around the bones.
5. Let cure for 24 hours
6. Bake glass at 300 degrees F for 35 min. (follow the directions on your paint) Once baked your glass will be waterproof.
7. Modge podge some fabric on the top of your lid.
8. Spray paint the rim of your lid black. I did a really crappy paint job and had a bunch of silver showing through, so I just scratched it up so it would look intentional.
9. Top with a cute bow

Like I said, I'm happy with the final result.  I think making a bunch of smaller ones to give as gifts would be a lot of fun.  Especially with a cute tag saying to use as a candle holder once the candy was gone. Maybe for Christmas, but I'm done painting glass for now.  Here are a few more pics.

Now if I could do something with all the cookies in my house....

P.S.  Just so you all know, not everything lives on my front steps.  But for the life if me I can't get a decent picture inside so its just easier to have outside photo shoots.

I will be linking to these parties and these events: