Projects Part I--Halloween Decor

I need to take a little breather from the family. Today was a great day...we're just all tired now. Got up and went to the gym for a short run, ran home, showered and dressed boys in Halloween outfits for the library Trick or Treating, went to library, home in time to start lunch, short nap time (for Isla), craft time(I dread craft time at this age), tried to teach boys how to play "war" card game(Bliss assumed we line up the cards and they fight...but he caught on quickly and loved it), dodged many a tornado, made dinner and the whining that ensues at dinner time, and now we're done...I'm done. I just needed a minute for my brain to download, upload, reload...something. 

So, I thought I'd share those projects I mentioned last week in my quieter more peaceful times. 

Let's start with the Halloween Decor...I cut out a million bats(not quite a million, but lots none-the-less). Here's the link to the template. Cheap project. All you need is the card stock, which I think I paid $2 something for 50 sheets and I got 3 bats per sheet. I downsized mine to 75 and 90% so I could fit them right and have two different sizes. Then I just cut them out at night when I sat and watched some television. I had them up to surprise the kids and they love them. We had to cut out extra for over their beds when they got home from the grandparents. 

The second Halloween Decor item was this banner. I've been wanting to do one of these for years now and finally got around to it. I actually bought the burlap last year and I'm just getting around to using it. Burlap can be sort-of pricey, so look for it when it goes on sale. I know that Hobby Lobby and Hancocks has it on sale  semi-regularly...sometimes better priced than others. There are lots of ideas out there on how to do it. Here's how I did it: Cut squares for you letters. Mine were, I think, around 9x10. Then cut from top corner to bottom center to make triangle. (I used my cutting board, rotary cutter, and yard stick for this and I think it makes it super easy...especially for those of us that can't do anything in a straight line.) Now, run a basting stitch about 1/4-1/2" from edge to cut down on the raveling. Your burlap should be ready for letters. Here is where there are a bazillion ideas you could turn to. You could paint, glitter, sew, stencil, etc your letters onto your burlap. I went with quick and easy. I came upon some cardboard letters called "Chip Decor" in the paper section. I paint them black and glued them onto the burlap. For the tying them together, again, tons of ideas. An easy way would be to used some jute twine and run it through holes you snip in the burlap. I decided to use double fold bias tape. I found some on clearance for the HARVEST banner that worked perfect. For the BOO banner I made some out of leftovers in my fabric stash. I used this tutorial that I've used before for quilt binding to get my fabric length, then folded and pressed to make my bias tape. 

The HARVEST banner's letters I had already. I bought them tied together as a banner that needed to be painted years ago. I cut them off their twine, painted, then glued them on to the burlap. Like I said, I lucked out on the spice colored double fold bias tape that I found on clearance. Granted it's not Halloween Decor, but can go up after the other comes down. 

A big "Thanks" to Dana of Made who posted about the bat templates which she found by reading someone else's blog.