Blackbird Swirl Pumpkin

My boyfriend grew this white pumpkin for me and I wanted to do something simple and pretty. I decided to incorporate this $1 blackbird/raven that I bought at the Dollar Tree into the mix. Pixie (my black cat) won't be happy about this...she's taken a liking to this birdie and I've seen it dragged all over my floor into the other room. So if it's feathers look a bit ruffled, it's because they are. Cat saliva has a way of doing that. Haha.





Materials:
– White Pumpkin
– Tulip 3D Fashion Paint in Black Slick
– Blackbird/Crow from Dollar Tree (only $1!!!)
– Liquid Fusion® Clear Urethane Glue

Instructions:
1. Wipe off pumpkin to remove and dirt/debris.

2. Squeeze paint out into random swirls all around pumpkin. Keep tip clean to prevent air bubbles. I had to paint sections (3 in all) at a time and let dry.


3. Glue the bottom of the blackbird's feet to the pumpkin using the Liquid Fusion Glue. Let dry and display proudly!

I'm all about a great Halloween pumpkin you can make for under $5 bucks, aren't you?

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Halloween Spooky Swirl Vase Revisited

Here's a project I made last year for my 24 Crafts in 24 Hours blog celebration. I thought you might like to see it again...it's so pretty and super easy to make!

Make a sophisticated and spooky vase on the cheap! It will be the perfect accent for your Halloween dinner table. Here's how I did it!

Halloween Spooky Swirl Vase

What you need:
– tall cylinder vase
– orange 12x12 cardstock
– black diecut swirl cardstock (I purchased mine at Joann)
– Aleene's Tacky Spray
– paper cutter
– ruler
– double-sided tape

What you do:
1. Spray the back of your diecut cardstock and place on top of orange cardstock.
2. Measure the height of your cylinder vase. Cut paper to that height using paper cutter.
3. Wrap around cylinder vase and secure in place with double-sided tape.

Fill with your favorite floral arrangement. I chose flowers in fuchsias and orange; however you may want to use faux flowers or black roses.

In honor of my 24 Halloween crafts in 24 hours, I'm giving away a Swell & Spooktastic Halloween prize pack. Click here to check it out and enter!

Check back next hour for another spooktastic Halloween idea!

Alexa

Please join me for Terrorific Tuesday this October!

Terrorific Tuesday is back for year numero 3! What is it? Well, it's a little Halloween project/inspiration roundup that appears on my blog and participants blog each Tuesday in October!

Each week during the month of October, I ask you to post a Halloween project/craft/food craft/anything creative and centering around Halloween on your blog. I then compile all the posts of various participants and make a mini photo mosaic along with the links to each project. I then send you the code for you to insert into your blog on Tuesday, thus why it is called "Terrorific Tuesdays". This is a way for you to be inspired each and every Tuesday during the month and share in the joy of Halloween creativity! Everyone who has participated in the past has had a blast and has looked forward to making their Halloween creations week after week!

If you're still confused, here's a few examples from last year to give you an idea of how it works!

Terrorific Tuesday Week 1 2009
Terrorific Tuesday Week 2 2009
Terrorific Tuesday Week 3 2009
Terrorific Tuesday Week 4 2009

So what do you need to do?
If you are interested in participating this year, please e-mail me at swelldesigner (at) gmail (dot) com. I'll fill you in on all the details and upload information for your images via e-mail. I promise it's not incredibly complicated, I'm just doing it a little differently than I have done it in years past.

What projects/inspiration are considered for Terrorific Tuesdays?
1. Project can be a new or old idea. There will be no set theme from week to week. You can choose to include or not include instructions in your post, but I do ask that you post a photo and a brief description or explanation as to why you were inspired to make that particular project.

Consider one of the following ideas for your post:
- home décor
- jewelry/accessories
- spooky food and drink recipes
- party and table decor
- clever costumes
- cards and paper crafts
- invitations
- outdoor décor
- pumpkin carving/painting

If you have any additional questions, feel free to e-mail me at swelldesigner (at) gmail (dot) com! I can't wait to see what you create!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Orange Velvet Halloween Cupcakes

For the past couple of years, I've been wanting to make this recipe! Red velvet cupcakes are so huge, but what about Orange velvet? I've never really heard much buzz about them and I was determined to find a recipe to try!

I found several great examples...many being from Tennessee! The University of Tennessee colors are orange and white, so a lot of people make orange velvet cake to honor their team! I found this recipe on the Stirring the Pot blog on knoxnews.com in Knoxville. It turned out being a GREAT recipe and when I took it into work today, I got a lot of compliments and I think it will be a recipe you will want to make a Halloween tradition!

Orange Velvet Cupcakes
Makes approximately 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
– 1/2 cup butter, softened
– 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
– 2 eggs
– About 1 teaspoon orange powdered food coloring or about 2 ounces liquid food coloring made from yellow food coloring mixed with about 1/8 teaspoon red food coloring
– 1 cup buttermilk
– 2 1/2 cups White Lily all-purpose flour (sifted 3 times)
– 1 teaspoon salt
– 1 teaspoon vanilla
– 1 teaspoon orange extract
– 1 tablespoon vinegar
– 1 teaspoon soda

Directions:
Beat together softened butter and sugar. Add food coloring and eggs. Beat well. Add buttermilk, flour, salt, vanilla and orange extract. Mix well. Stir in by spoon the vinegar. When well-blended, add soda. Mix well.



Pour batter into cupcake liners. Bake 18 to 24 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cakes cool before icing



I iced using Wilton's Buttercream Frosting recipe. They turned out really cute and look professional! It's because I used the 1M tip and got tips from this video!

Wilton Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:
– 1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
– 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
– 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
– 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
– 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:
In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.

For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using.

Here's a few more views of my pretty orange cupcakes!







Hope you enjoy this recipe! Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Sharing is Caring

So wanted to share with you my plans for the next few days and weeks as it pertains to Halloween...

Here's a few features to look forward to...

– My orange velvet cupcakes as seen above. So yummy.
– Fun pumpkin crafts I've got up my sleeve.
– More cupcake fun (it's a surprise).
– The return of Terrorific Tuesday

And much more!

I have an early morning tomorrow, I just wanted to let you know I was kickin' it Halloween in the house of swell. Been a busy bee (and my house reflects that - so messy).

Anyway, until next time Swellions!

Alexa

My new nameplate at work and other fun stuff

Hey guys! Just checking in. Wanted to share with you my funny new chalkboard nameplate that is above my desk at work! Haha. People walking down the hallway see me yelling my name all day! I figure I'm the one that talks the most so it is only appropriate that I have the talk bubble above my head! I did my name in florescent orange Tulip 3D Fashion Paint.

Also, I'm now a member of "Team Create". It's for bloggers who blog for iLoveToCreate and use iLoveToCreate products. Admittedly, I also created the little header above for all the team members to use. I think it turned out pretty cute.

In other random news, I made shrinky dinks at Silvia's house the other night. Kathy went with me. We had a lot of fun! We also watched Glee and were entertained by Joshua.

Here's two of my creations pre-shrunk...




The earrings totally turned out 2 different sizes. I must have cut them differently. That's the bummer thing. I spent like an hour just making this one pair!

Here's Kathy frantically finishing one of her shrinky dink earring sets with commentary by Joshua.



Hope you've had a great week!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Breast Cancer Awareness Pumpkins Revisited

Here's a repeat performance of a project I created for my 24 crafts in 24 hours project roundup last year on my blog. Enjoy!

This is the ultimate combo craft for Halloween and Breast Cancer Awareness month. These little pumpkins would be great to give to a friend or family member who is a breast cancer survivor or someone who still isn't giving up hope! Because its made from the heart and is the perfect seasonal accent - the pumpkin - they'll love it! Here's what I did!

Breast Cancer Awareness Pumpkins

What you need:
– orange and white pumpkins
– Pink and fuschia acrylic paints
– Scribbles Paint in Iridescent Watermelon
– Multi-Purpose Sealer
– 1" paint brush or foam brush
– fine liner paintbrush
– cleaning wipes

What you do:
1. Use cleaning wipe to wipe off dirt and debris from pumpkin. Brush pumpkin with multi-purpose sealer to prepare your painting surface.
2. For pink pumpkin with pink ribbon, paint entire pumpkin pink using foam brush. Paint stem Fuchsia with liner brush. Let dry and apply another coat if needed. Once dry, freehand a ribbon on the front of the pumpkin with Fuchsia Paint. Let dry.
3. For striped pumpkin, paint alternating sections of the white pumpkin with Pink. Also paint stem pink. Let dry. Now using Fuchsia paint and liner brush, outline each pink section. Once dry, make evenly spaced dots down each white section using Scribbles paint. Let dry.

Alternative ideas:
– Paint your pumpkin all one color of pink and then create a poured/drip look by pouring another shade of pink around stem as shown here.
– Write words like Peace. Hope. Cure. around pumpkin. These would make perfect accents for October Relay for Life events
– Create "In Memory of" or "Survivor" pumpkins for your friends or loved ones.
– Put a special message promoting awareness like "Save the Tatas", "Think Pink", or you could do a punny take on the word "Boo!" I think you get where I'm going with this.

If you have additional ideas, please share you thoughts below in the comments section!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Spooky houses and festive porches

I have always wanted to have an abundance of these houses in my home. They are a bit pricey, so I may have to wait a few years, but I just love all the detail and spookiness!


I also want a porch like this! This is from a 2007 issue of Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion. I miss that mag. I loved the folkart and spotlight on artists in that mag!


Here's another view. Man oh man, I love pennants and pumpkins. So simple and so impactful.

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Let's hear it for lasagna and weekends!

You'll get the title if you read on. In the meantime, check out the cute decorations I scored for 10¢ each this past weekend at an estate sale!


On another Halloween note, check out the pumpkins grew for me. I picked out the seeds several months back. Yeah, he has a green thumb!


I made new Fresno buttons. I guess they don't make sense to people who live here, but locals appreciate them. The Bubba, Oz, and Zara ones are local celebrity buttons and the Madera one is for Fresno's nearby city/subarb.


I enjoyed polishing my nails and sitting by the koi pond at William's house.


Back to the estate sale. The lady was super crafty and had tons of needlepoint supplies, ribbon,books, and patterns. I also found her paint stash. Inside was wom vintage Tulip® packaging from my work (iLoveToCreate). Love the kitsch of old packaging!


Here's a tray I bought too!


Here's something I didn't buy but rings oh so true to me! I figured it would just add to the clutter of my desk!


Here's a pennant I bought for my friend Silvia. I hope she likes it! I think she will :)


I also spent time with my little poodle friend, Frankie. Here's a video of him, just to show you what a beast he truly is!
If you can't see it, try viewing it here.

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Googly Eye Crafts revisited

This is repost from a couple of years ago that I wanted to reshare! I just love googly eyes and the instant personality they give! Enjoy!

I had so many ideas that I wanted to do today. Just in my ride home, I came up with ten terrorific possibilities, but in the mind of swell, you have to reel it in and stay focused. Knowing that I wanted to do a lot of ideas, I stuck to a theme and stayed within the lines of all things googly eyes. You may remember the googly eye choker that I did a few months back that was really well received. Well, I wanted to expand this idea and come up with some really fun and easy crafts that anyone can do...I'm going to share the basic idea of how to achieve these looks, but if you want more info, please e-mail me at swelldesigner@yahoo.com and I'll give you more details...OK, on with the show!

To get the googly eye frame above, paint a $1 frame (I got mine at Michaels) with acrylic paint. Then use a craft glue like Liquid Fusion® to glue various sizes of googly eyes onto the frame. Print out a picture to fit the frame and insert it into the opening of the frame (If you notice, I used the Terrorific Tuesday mascot, my black cat Pixie). Glue googly eyes to the picture and hang. I got the idea to put googly eyes onto the picture from one of Jennifer Perkin's (the Naughty Secretary) photos. Click here to see that creation.

Striped headband with Googly Eyed flower

I wanted to create a fun accessory that would be something a little different for Halloween. I painted this headband form and sealed it, but you can also wrap it with ribbon and glue gun it if you'd rather have that look. On my version, I actually wrapped Rainbow Tape around it, but you can also wrap ribbon if you want. On a large button, I placed a medium sized googly eye in the center using Liquid Fusion. I then glued several smaller googly eyes around it to complete the look. I glued it off to one side of the headband and voila, I have a super cute googly eyed flower headband!

Googly Eyed Pumpkin

I purchased really small faux pumpkins at Wal-mart for a dollar. I glued on googly eyes in two different sizes with Liquid Fusion (yes, it was intentional-ha ha) Using a liner brush, I brushed on the features with acrylic paint in black (you could also use a permanent marker if you didn't have paint) I added in additional hair and eyebrows and put on a bow for a completed look. This is really quick craft especially for little hands.

Googly Eyed Charm Necklace

I actually created this last year, but I thought someone would perhaps enjoy it for Halloween accessorizing. I painted a 1.5" wooden disk with acrylics, then used E-6000 to adhere the mini googly eyes on it. I left a small hole at top for drilling. I then mixed up some Envirotex Lite to coat the charm following packaging directions (lay your charm on wax paper for this process - trust me on this one). Let dry for several days, then use small drill to drill into resin and disk. Thread jewelry cord through disk and it's ready to wear! All eyes will be on you!

Googly Eyed Choker

Another fun idea to try is this choker. I cut a piece of felt about 1.5" inch wide and the length to be shorter than my neck diameter. I then added ribbon clinch clasps at both ends. Using jump rings and chain, I made a final closure at the end. I then used Fabric Fusion Glue to adhere the googly eyes to the felt. I think this has a whimsical gothic feel to it. This could also be made into a wrist cuff or headband if you are so inspired.

And finally, probably the easiest of all the googly eyed crafts...

Googly Eyed Earrings
You simply adhere large googly eyes to earring post blanks and let dry. You can also add the googly eye to a ring blank or brooch pin for a wearable conversation starter!

On a final note, if you go to Flickr and type in googly you can see all kinds of cool and creative pictures and inspiration. It is really worth a look. And if you notice at the top of the matching results, you can change it to be most relevant, most recent or most interesting. Most interesting is the way to go in this search!

Hope you had fun with the googly eye crafts. I know I did.

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Wednesday is Lensday: A study in ORANGE

It's always fun to do little photographic experiments. Tonight I gathered all things orange and put them on a big orange poster I had. When you look at it, you just see a bunch of similar color items that visually looks nice together, but when you look a bit deeper, you see so much more. It's a little study into texture, light, form, and abstraction.

Below are a few photos without comment. It was just a little fun photographic investigation to get my Halloween mojo on!

















The last two photos were of the glitter ball in focus vs. out of focus. I like how both turned out!

What if we looked at everyday objects in this same way instead of glancing over them? I think we would find a lot to discover about our world!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Read 'Em & Reap: BH&G Halloween Trick or Treats 2001

As you saw by my post yesterday, I love a good Halloween mag. I bought yet another one, Country Living, at the grocery store. I have amassed quite a collection and I wanted to open up a few of them for you and share the projects I love inside!

The magazine I'm spotlighting today is Better Homes & Garden's 2001 edition of Halloween Tricks and Treats.

While Halloween crafts have gotten more sophisticated even since 2001, I've noticed there are a lot of ideas in these older mags that are really timeless. I think that Halloween, in general, is a timeless holiday and that the décor is more timeless than a lot of others. Yeah, maybe things are a bit more flashy/foggy with the help of technology and a plug in these days, but Halloween crafts, esp. cute and creepy ones, never go out of style!



For example, these little character lollipops are soooo cute! They have so much personality! Could easily be achieved with some fun foam and Tulip® Dimensional Fabric Paint and/or a permanent marker!



These zombie tumblers are super fun too! I love how they take that drink to the next level (esp. the one with the cherry :)



These bone candleholders are bad to the bone. Sorry, I couldn't resist.



I love the playfulness of stuffing your napkins inside and positioning this glove into the tablesetting. The little warts and painted red fingernails make for a nice touch too!



With my affinity for googly eyes, how could I not resist this simple costume. I have to show it to my friend Tacky Glue. He'd so be all over this!



And this gift bag would be a perfect 5 minute/gotta grab a gift/rushing out the door way to jazz up a Halloween gift or party prize!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa