Garden Gnome Halloween Decor

Here's a really easy & inexpensive way to add some Halloween decor to your yard. If you already have some Garden Gnomes or other Garden friends. Mine are the regular concrete forms you can buy at a roadside shop. I've customized them by painting them green to match each other.

One of them is a Jackalope but it didn't start that way. It was a regular rabbit when I found it at the store so I asked them to add dear antlers to it. The extra cost was just the amount for the antlers and you could add them to any other animals.

The Halloween masks I added were each less than $1 and stand up to rain.

Remembering Gran: Dia de Los Muertos Alter

This Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead alter is for my Grandmother, Doris (Hays) Thompson. October 18th marks the 10 year anniversary of her death. Sometimes it seems like we just lost her since her spirit is so strong in my dreams and in my life. I miss her very much and thought this would be a great way to honor her memory on this anniversary. She was a crafter herself, always sewing or cooking or decorating. I used elements of all these in her shrine including sewing patterns and recipes. I had her nursing photo printed on canvas and include the traditional sugar skulls and marigolds.

Flower Patch Jeans

Here's a fun way to turn a mexican embroidered dress into a top & embellished jeans. I bought mine at Canton which is a huge flea market east of Dallas. You could also try Goodwill thrift stores or your local Mexican imports store. The dresses are surprisingly affordable even brand new.

First I cut the bottom off to make a top. I just turned up the bottom and did a straight stitch all along the bottom. Although you can buy this style shirt they usually just have the flowers and pattern on the top part. This way you get flowers all over.

Next I cut out individual flowers or groups of flowers that I want to use as the patches. Once you have everything cut out, fold the edges under and iron so that the prett side is facing out. Pin them to your jeans and sew in place by hand. You can also re-stitch them with a sewing machine to make sure they hold up to wear and washes. I chose to keep everything on one side of the jeans but you can have fun placing them wherever. You can also use the same technique to add them to t-shirts, sweatshirts, bags etc.

I also added the butterfly patch to mine which adds another fun element. You can buy patches like this at your local craft store.

Have fun!

Easy to make Butterfly headband

Here is a super quick way to add fun to your hair without much money. Either find an old headband in your collection or buy one at the pharmacy, supermarket etc. You can find the butterflies at your local craft supply shop.

The butterflies have metal wire already attached to them. Wind each butterfly around the headband individually to arrange them as you like.

The butterflies come in different colors. You can also apply the same technique to birds, silk flowers etc. If the flowers or bits you chose don't already have wires attached to them you can buy some thin wire, wind it around the stem etc and attach them in the same way.

Have fun!