DIY: Creepy Crawly Halloween Wreath

I just love Halloween!

Pretty much as soon as October hits,

 you can bet your bottom that I am scouring the house looking for 

something to spray pain gold or black.

Fall DIY's make me so happy because they give me good reason to 

celebrate the creepy and weird.

As I was cleaning out the boys room the other day,

we landed on a bin of forgotten plastic animals, insects, and dinos.

The boy and I decided that he's outgrown playing with these and we were about to 

dump them all in the donation bin when the DIY light bulb went off.

I pulled out all of the creepy crawly snakes and spiders and set them aside.

We also decided to keep two special dinos 

that were destined for a new paint job as well.

So here is what you will need:

Enough plastic toys to cover your wreath

black spray paint

hot glue gun and glue

Rubbing alcohol

Step One:

First I gave all the plastic toys a good rub down with 

a clean rag and alcohol. 

 I had to remove all those grubby finger prints from years of play.

Then I wrapped the snakes around the wreath and began to glue them down.

I glued the spiders down to fill in the gaps.

Step Two:

I then gave the wreath a

few light coats of flat black paint,
making sure to let the paint drybetween coats.

And that's it.  Easy, up cycled, and spooky!

Enjoy!

inspiration lookbook: beautiful bones

for a long time growing up and even still now, I thought that I wanted to be a medical illustrator.  In the many anatomy classes that I took in high school and college, my favorite thing to do was draw the skeletal system.  It's so eire and beautiful. So in honor of October and Halloween quickly looming near, here are some of the most beautiful skeletal images.

(source 1, 2)

(source 3, 4)

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DIY: Haunted House Marble Maze

The boy has been very interested in all things that are maze and puzzle related lately.  I, being quite the puzzler myself, fully support and try to nurture the obsession.  So with all this in mind, and Halloween right around the corner, I thought that we would throw together our own little haunted house maze.  Everything needed to make this maze I pulled from my giant container of "this could be crafted" materials.  The hubs gets on my case about keeping things like shoe boxes and toilet paper tubes, but as any good crafter knows....you never know what kind of supply you are going to need.  So, here we go!

Step 1:

Gather your materials:

a shoe box lid

poster board

glue

scissors

pencil

paintbrush

paint

stickers (decorations are optional)

*tip: I was going to use elmer's glue, but realized that we were out. 

 I opted for super glue, and in the long run was really happy that I chose it 

because of how quickly it dried.

 Step 2:

Cut an opening large enough for your marble to fit through at the beginning of the maze.

With your pencil draw a sketch of your puzzle keeping your end point in mind.

*tip: Keep the size of the marble in mind when 

making your twists and turns and openings.  

Take it from someone who did a lot of erasing.

Step 3:

Cut strips of poster board about 3 inches wide.  

Fold in half and then have another quarter inch lip folded up on either side. 

*tip: Keep your poster board handy.  

I ended up cutting way more strips than I thought I would have needed.

 Step 4:

Glue the internal wall along the paths that you sketched in step 2.

Step 5:

Paint the entire maze.

After your paint is dry, you may decorate however you would like.

10 things i couldn't live without this week

1. alone time. monday the boys school had an all day halloween party so i brought him in....even though i didn't have to work.  i toyed with the idea all weekend and couldn't decide if i could justify sending him to daycare for no reason. well the guilt sunk in come monday morning. how could i deprive him of a fun party at school? so dropped him off for a few hours and i got to go grocery shopping alone! it was amazing!
2. halloween was a huge success this year. i am pretty sure that it was the best family costumes that we've ever done! can't wait for next year!
3. the hubs blog is blowing up huge! and all the things he's written about are all so sweet. i can't lie....there have been a few posts that have brought tears to my eyes.
4. trick or treating with the boys friend violet. we never  get to see her anymore, but we had to keep our trick or treating tradition. last year they had a blast together and this year was so much better! they are both a year older and watching them interact with each other is so much fun. they were a fearless little duo!
5. finally watched the vidal sasson movie. it was amazing, inspirational, and moving.  even if you are not a hairstylist i recommend it. great movie about a legend.
6. thank you notes in the mail for no reason. i received a "thank you" from my dearest sweet Jessica. it was just to thank me for being me.  i mean how flippin' sweet! everyone deserves a friend like her.
7. while i am on the topic....i am so pumped up for jess and jonny (of our august fame)! they finally found their perfect apartment in the BK! when can i come visit?
8. i was starting to feel a little down about missing out on all the prime yard sales lately! since i am normally driving to work during yard sale time.  but when i saw that my friends were doing a sunday yard sale i jumped in the car and headed over! scored some amazing finds! (thanks kelly) and even realized on my way home that there were more yard sales in the neighborhood...scored a few more items as well.
9. the hubs took the boy to gumbo limbo nature center this weekend. while i am totally jealous that i didn't get to go, i am so excited to go with them eventually. they haven't stopped talking about how amazing it was.
10. speaking of the amazing hubs.....do you know that man ordered pizza for dinner to surprise me after my long day at work......that man sure knows how to make me happy.

10 things i couldn't live without this week

1. carving pumpkins with the family.  there is nothing better than watching your 2 year old freak out about how gross the guts of a pumpkin are....honestly i love the way they feel. weird...i know.
2. finally got all the parts and pieces to our halloween costumes! can't wait to see the boy and the hubs all dressed up.
3. our monthly meeting at work was beyond inspirational. listening to chuck hastings speak about the profitability of salon professionals really was a huge catalyst to strive for personal and professional  greatness. if you ever have the opportunity to hear him speak, take it!
4. brought the hubs to the "pretty in pink" party at the blind monk. he was a wonderful date. we snacked on popcorn and fine cheeses while watching one of our favorite brat pack movies! i was so proud to finally introduce him to the david k space crew.
5. be on the look out for more details about the art benefit for the boys and girls club of palm beach hosted by melrose telles.  we had our first meeting and it is going to be amazing!
6. we dressed up in costumes on saturday at work, and boy oh boy was it fun! it was so great to see everyone having so much fun.
7. the boy loves his new tool set that was handed down to us by a friend. there has been a day that had gone by since sunday that hasn't involved some sort of "project" with wrenches and power drills. he loves to pretend that he's daddy and fixes his toys.
8. the boy also got a john deer gator power wheels from our neighbor.  he's just a big man driving that thing around the neighborhood. and did i mention that we got it for free?!?!?! i am still in disbelief!
9. made some delish pumpkin seeds....i'll post the recipes later!
10. while i was sleeping the hubs stayed up all night working on his website that he's owned for the past four years! it's almost done and is looking great. he's also been working on some fresh beats in his spare time.....check them out!

10 things i couldn't live with out this week

1. coffee...which was made even more apparent this morning at 6am when i realized we were out. wah!
2. catching up on season one of the walking dead with the hubs. i think that i made his year when i told him that i wanted to watch it before season two started.  he loves horror movies and i DON'T...but an artfully done zombie series with an actually story line....we can compromise on that!
3. homemade ribs....all i can say is yum yum!
4. this week at work my coworkers really started to let their true colors show....no more behaving for the new girl.  and i have to say i love them even more than before....there was tap dancing in the break room, fake british accent take out orders, and amazing conversations about hair.
5. i finally found the perfect/fastest route to work, and it just so happens to be right along the intercoastal water way.  driving down flagler for twenty minutes is the best way to start and end my work day!
6. the hubs has been like super dad this week. we are all settling down into our new routines and adjusting.  the hubs has been busting his bum around the house helping with the boy and the chores. how did i get so lucky?
7. i decided that for the month of november in honor of "thanksgiving" i will be doing another gratitude project. a photograph of something that i am thankful for for every day of the month. i really hope that you guys all enjoy this project and that you all join in with me and reflect on the things that we are thankful for!
8. we have a change in the weather down here this weekend and i have to say i really like it. with the exception of the gloominess (which isn't even that bad after all the sun). it's been very windy and not humid at all.  fall is coming...almost time for windows open!
9. took the boy and the hubs costume shopping today....what a bust.
10. funkin craft pumpkins (carvable foam pumpkins)....can't wait to see how this project turns out.

Costume Time

It's almost officially October and this year I promised myself not to wait until the day before Halloween to craft a costume. This year I am responsible for two children's costumes. One for Ash and one for his new bff Violet. Last years martian/ufo are going to be hard to top! Wish me luck and let the crafting begin!