5 Minute Candy Corn Halloween Decoration

This Fall got away from me. We've been in full-on Fall and Halloween mode at DML, but you wouldn't know it if you looked at my house. Fall brings a host of changes in our family. My husband is a High School Football Referee, so he's MIA until mid-November or beyond - depending on playoff season. So I'm a man down, and I'm still struggling to figure out schedules and get places on time now that Nolan is in 4K. Man, I did not realize how much school takes over your life - even when you're not the one in it! So needless to say, we're two weeks out from Halloween, and all I've managed to do is put some gel clings on the window that I found in the dollar section at Target. And the only ones still up there are the ones we put high enough so our cat couldn't snag and eat them...

It's not the end of the world, I know. Halloween and Fall will be enjoyed whether my decorations match the festivity in my heart. But it's in my bones to make things fun and to create a magical world for my little guy - that magic goes away quickly if you don't feed it, so I remembered a simple candy corn banner I had seen that takes - literally - less than five minutes to assemble and put up, and I got to work. 

In case you're suffering from "It's all coming too fast!" syndrome like I am, here's a quick how-to that might help you get your mojo back. 

Isn't it the cutest?!? I added a few sparkly spiders and voila! Instant Halloween. 

Candy Corn Halloween Banner

First, you'll need to cut your cardstock into 3 sized of circles. You can determine your sizes, but the yellow circle should be the largest, orange should be a medium sized circle, and white should be the smallest. My circles were 4" in diameter (yellow), 3" in diameter (orange), and 2" in diameter (white). Once they are cut, glue them - one circle inside the other as shown below: 

Once your circles have been glued, cut them in half. I used a simple scissors. You could cut them by hand with a scissors or use a paper cutter.

After they have been halved, cut each half in to thirds. I eyeballed the first cut - starting at what looked like the center of the white half and cutting outward to a point on the yellow circle that seemed 1/3 of the way in. I then made my second cut, starting in the center of of the point made by my first cut and cutting out through the orange and yellow sections to create a total of 3 similar pieces from each half circle. 

Cut each half circle into thirds until you have a pile of paper candy corn. 

Next, using a hole punch, put two holes in the yellow section of the triangles. You'll be threading your string through these.

Once all the holes are punched, thread your string through until all the candy corn is on your string. I used black and white striped bakers twine, but any string that will fit through the holes will work. 

I spread out my candy corn to have about a half inch of space between each of them and then hung them up! Easy peasy! Give it a try - and get creative! You could swap traditional colors for something even more unique to you! Happy Crafting!

Happy Halloween!!

Trick or Treat - Kit to Banner Project

As soon as I saw this kit, I knew it could so easily be transformed to the cutest Halloween banner.  And, seriously, this project is easy peasy!  Talk about a perfect seasonal craft for you and your kiddos!  The original kit, Trick or Treat, is available NOW on our website.

Original Kit

Trick or Treat pagekit

Banner Project

The best part about this transformation is that I pretty much only used what was in the kit and even had stuff leftover!  Woohoo!

The Trick or Treat kit includes:

• 2 Sheets of American Craft (AC) Apricot Cardstock 12x12
• 1 Sheet of AC Black Cardstock 12x12
• 1 Sheet of AC White Cardstock 12x12 (Not used in project)
• 4x12 Strip of Patterned Paper (Not used in project)
• Title and Shape Diecuts
• Red/White Gingham Ribbon

I needed one additional sheet of AC Apricot Cardstock and approximately 3 yards of Black & White Bakers Twine.  Note: You're in luck! We sell individual sheets and 25-count paper packs of the American Crafts cardstock.  Click here to view all the colors.  We don't currently sell twine by-the-yard, but the Scrapbook Superstore has some awesome and affordable options!  Check out this twine by American Crafts.

Project Details:

You can take all the die-cuts out of the kit and assemble them.  I like inking the edges of everything (as you probably already know!), so I did that (using black ink) before gluing everything together.  For paper die-cuts, we like to use a quick-drying liquid glue like Tombow - Mono Multi Liquid Glue or Scotch Quick Dry Tacky Glue.  The kit comes with ribbon for embellishing the candy pieces.  You can tie bows around the sucker and caramel apple sticks or just knot and attach using Mini Glue-Dots.  (Yes, I like quick & easy!)

Now it's time to create the banner pieces.  I used various pennants downloaded from the Silhouette store for my die-cuts.  Alternatively, you could use a paper trimmer or free-hand cut each piece.  All the pieces were cut from the AC Apricot cardstock.  As I mentioned above, I needed one extra sheet of this color in order to cut all the banner parts; the kit includes two, but you'll need three total.

Here are the approximate dimensions of the pieces:

• Banner (for trick word) - 3.5 inches H x 11.5 inches W
• Half-Ovals - 4 inches H x 4.5 inches W (you need two)
• Star - 4 inches x 4 inches
• Triangle - 8 inches H x 7.5 W (you need two)
• Banner (for treat letters) - 4 inches H x 2.75 inches W (you need five)

After cutting all your pieces, you can choose to ink the edges as I did.  If not, add the die-cuts as shown or mix things up and add your own creativity!

The next thing I did was create the paper fringe accent on the bottoms of the "treat" banners.  To do this, I simply cut a TWO 2.5 inch x 12 inch strip from the included black cardstock.  Then cut each of those strips into 2.5 inch x 2.5 inch blocks.  Using a standard office scissors (with a long reach), make upward cuts.  Be careful not to trim all the way through or to overlap previous cuts.  Here's what it should look like once you're done with a block.  Notice that it doesn't need to be perfect! You'll be hiding most of it behind each banner piece.

Attach these about 2 inches up from the bottom of each letter banner (treat).  About 1.5 inches will show on the bottom of the banner.  To create the texture, use your fingers to scrunch single lines of the "fringe".  I did a few forward then a few backward, then a few forward, and so on.

Next, use a medium-size hole punch to add holes at the top corners of each piece. The only exception is the star - put those holes on on the middle points.  Note: Either 1/8 inch or 3/16 inch work best, but you can use a standard office punch if that's all you have. Just realize the holes will be more visible from afar.

Finally, string your pieces using that B&W Baker's Twine I mentioned earlier.  First, get the star piece attached by stringing the twine through the star on the back (you'll need 12 inches or less of the twine) and then use tape to attach to the "trick" piece.  I used a piece about one yard long for the ghosts & trick banners and a piece around 2 yards long for the rest.  I liked the added interest in having two separate hanging pieces, but feel free to switch things up for your space! Tip: For most of project, I weaved the twine through the front of each piece so it would show at the top.  The only exception was the "Trick" piece because there wasn't enough room on the top and I didn't want it to distract.  If you use the smaller hole punch as I list above, you won't have too much trouble with things sliding around and the various pieces coming off.  And now you're done! Pretty simple, right?!  What a fun decor item to hang on your fireplace mantel, on your front door or porch, or even in your child's room as decoration!

Did you enjoy this project?  

Be sure to comment below if you did! 

Would you like to see projects like this pre-packaged for sale?  Let us know! 

Thanks for visiting and happy crafting!

Flamingo Friday!

Flamingo Friday...what the heck does that mean? Well, it means today I'm sharing some pretty neat-o party decorations and other Flamingo finds that I simply can't live without. :-) I'm not really sure when I decided that flamingos made me happy. Seriously, though, these cute pink birdies are just the thing to put me in a brighter mood!

This first item comes to us from the Dear Lizzy blog by Elizabeth Kartchner.  Click here to view the post in its entirety. You might recognize her name because if you've been a long-time scrapbooker she was a monthly contributer to the "Creating Keepsakes" magazine.  In fact, she even won Scrapbooker of the Year back in 2007.  Her post featured lots of fun pics from her daughter's flamingo-themed party.  How cute?!

 

Now I want to have my own Flamingo party, don't you?!  Be sure to check out her entire post for all the supplies details!  This next item is currently available on both Blitsy and Scrapbook.com.  This line, called Forever Young by BoBunny, features a variety of fun and funky shapes including donuts, peace signs, and (of course) flamingos!

 

Cute, right? We featured a couple pages using this line on our Facebook page yesterday so be sure to check that out for inspiration!  Next in line, I want to share a FREEBIE from Oh So Lovely.  In case you are inspired by my flamingo fascination and want to bring a little bit of pink into your life, click this link to get your very own 8x10 printables!   (FOR FREE!)

Finally, here's a little collage of some of my other Flamingo finds! Find the links to get these items below.

1. How-to: Easy Kids Handprint Flamingo art - instructions from Glued to My Crafts blog
2. FREE! Flamingo & Polka Dot party garland offered by Chicfetti
3. This amazing and completely out of my price range Kate Spade bag 
4. This quote from the Lucky Day blog (P.S. if you visit her blog, you can download this image for use as your phone wallpaper! Sweet!)
   
5. An absolutely adorable Flamingo Baby Mobile sold by A Continual Lullaby on Etsy
6. This beautiful & inspiring 'Rise Above' Gold-Dipped Flamingo Necklace sold by DogEared
7. Flamingo Designer Dies for papercrafting by Echo Park, available on Scrapbook.com
8. Lina & Lily Lightweight Scarf sold on Amazon 

I hope you enjoyed our Flamingo Friday! Thanks for visiting and happy crafting!

Your Next Weekend DIY Project!

Do you follow other Blogs? If so, which ones? I'm a HUGE fan of Elizabeth Kartchner's 'Dear Lizzy' blog.  She's always posting beautiful scrapbook and DIY projects that are totally do-able.  Plus, her family is completely adorable so I love to see pictures of them!  I also tend to visit various craft vendor blogs like Simple Stories, Basic Grey, Silhouette America, and Echo Park. These are just a few of my personal favorite companies. I love checking in because often that's where the info on the newest product lines is posted. You can also find lots of freebies, project how-to's and inspiration. Seriously, these are the next best thing to Pinterest! But lately I've also been checking in on the blogs of our affiliates, Scrapbook.com and Blitsy.  And today, Blitsy is featuring a super cute AND super easy DIY project!  This would be a fabulous way to glam up a teenage girl's room or bling out your scrap area.

All you need to complete this project are some blank canvases, acrylic paint & brushes, fabric Mod Podge and these cool GINORMOUS stickers! Check out the complete instructions on Blitsy's blog or watch this video for quick step-by-step instructions!

 

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I personally have several sets of these stickers and can vouch that they are amazing! What's not to like about huge stickers with fun quotes, bright colors, and glitter or foil accents?!   Do not miss your chance to get them at over $1.00 off per sheet from Blitsy this weekend! (Offer expires 07/19/15.)  

Need some more inspiration? Check out this MAMBI Blog post.  The author, Shelby, came up with creative ways to use the entire Jumbo Sticker sheet!  Here are pics of her creations, but see the details on each of the projects (18!) on their blog.

 I hope I've given you some fun ideas for easy do-it-yourself projects.  Not ready to get down to business? Use our Pin-It Hover button to pin them to one of your Pinterest boards for safe-keeping!

Thanks for visiting and Happy Crafting!!!