CRAYON MELT ART PUMPKIN

Having seen crayon melt art all over Pinterest on everything from Mason Jars to Canvases, I wanted to try this technique on a Foam Craft Pumpkin.

Here's how I made it:

•  Purchase a Foam Craft Pumpkin of your choice at your local craft store - I selected a small white pumpkin from Michael's.
• Gather crayons - I used reds and oranges - unwrap the crayons and break into approximately 1" long pieces.
• Place your pumpkin on a base of newspaper or an old catalog.  NOTE:  I use mail order catalogs for these types of messy projects and they make great paint palettes as well - just start in the center and peel off the pages as you use them!
• Glue the pieces around the stem of the pumpkin with Aleene's Original Tacky Glue from iLoveToCreate - I love this glue and use it for everything!
• Most online tutorials used a hair dryer, but I used my Inkssentials Heat It Craft Tool from Ranger.  Once the crayons began to melt I used a pair of craft tweezers to rotate and move the melting pieces of crayon around the top of the pumpkin to get complete coverage.
• I let the first coat of red crayon dry and then repeated the process with orange crayon. 
• Make sure that you don't hold the Heat It Craft Tool too close to the pumpkin or all of the colored crayon wax will melt away and form a puddle at the base of your pumpkin.  When this happened to my project, I peeled the extra crayon off the bottom of the pumpkin and re-melted it around the top.

A quick and easy craft - peeling the paper off the crayons took the longest!  Entire project took 10 minutes.

I love how this turned out, so I'm going to try it out with the kiddos tomorrow!

Thanks for stopping by!  -Beth

EDIBLE MONSTER EYES

I made these at Christmas with chocolate Kisses and peanut butter M & M's and thought they looked like eye balls.

For Halloween I bought the white candy melts from Wilton and upside down chocolate chips for the pupils, then sprinkled red jimmies for the blood-shot Monster look.

I think they turned out great!  And they taste great too!

Then I tried some different color combinations and green eyes with orange jimmies were the most Monster-rific!

These are quick and easy to whip up with just a few ingredients and make great party favors and Teacher gifts.

Just pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees, layout parchment or waxed paper on a cookie sheet, line up your pretzels and top each one with a colored Wilton Candy Melt.  Place in oven for 5 minutes, remove and sprinkle colored jimmies on each cany melt, then press a chocolate chip in the center of each cany melt.  Let set for 30 minutes then store in an air tight container for up to 7 days.

Thanks for stopping by! - Beth

PLAID'S 3RD ANNUAL TRICK YOUR PUMPKIN CONTEST

While on Facebook recently I noticed the announcement of Plaid's 3rd Annual Trick your Pumkin contest and decided to enter.

I started out with a $2.50 pumpkin from the discount section of Target and since it had specifically marked sections I wanted to create a pattern.  I drew a swirl pattern on every other section of the pumpkin with Martha Stewart Craft Fine Tip Top and Paint in Wedding Cake, then let it dry completely.

I decided that I wanted a metallic finish, so I grabbed my bottle of Martha Stewart Craft Paint in Pure Platinum.  I was not sure how well the paint would cover the plastic pumpkin, but it was completed covered in 2 coats and dried quickly!

To finish my pumpkin I rubbed on a coat of Martha Stewart Craft Paint in Beetle Black with a damp paper towel, then rubbed off the excess and was left with a faux metal finish!  You can add additional layers of black paint for a more distressed finish.  I applied 2 layers on my pumpkin below.

I want to try this finish on more pumpkins with different patterns and metallic finishes!

Thanks for stopping by! - Beth

DESIGNER CRAFTS CONNECTION - MAKIN'S CLAY BLOG HOP

13 of my fabulous Designer friends are participating in a Blog Hop featuring projects created with Makin's Clay. 

 

Just Hop through each of the 13 participating Designers Blogs by clicking on the HOP FORWARD or HOP BACK links on the DESIGNER CRAFTS CONNECTION navigation button on my right tool bar - Then, if you would like a chance to play with Makin’s Clay, make sure you visit the Makin’s Clay® Blog and let them know which project was YOUR favorite!

 

Now, for the fun part!

Makin’s Clay is offering a price package (pictured above) valued at just over $111.00 with products including clay, tools and a Memory Frame Kit. 

Remember, to enter leave a comment on the Makin’s Clay® Blog telling them which project you liked best on the blog hop. 

The winner will be randomly drawn from all entries on or about October 24th. 

They will announce the winner on the Makin’s Clay® Blog, so please check back on Thursday, October 25th to see if you have won!

Thanks for stopping by!  -Beth

LIGHT BULB JACK-O-LANTERNS FEATURED OVER AT TOTALLY GREEN CRAFTS

I wanted to share a link to Suzy's blog www.totallygreencrafts.com because she is featuring my "totally green" Light Bulb Jack-O-Lanterns that I originally posted here   Check out her blog because she has tons of great recycled crafts and tutorials!

Thanks for stopping by! - Beth