Arachnophobia

Halloween has been my favorite holiday since I was about 6 or 7. I have twice as many Halloween decorations as I do Christmas. In fact, my husband had to build shelving in my garage just to hold my decorations! (Love you babe!)
This idea originated from Martha Stewart 7 years ago. I vowed that one day I would have a big porch just so I could decorate it like this - so 5 years ago I made it. It has evolved some over the years, and I LOVE the results!!! I never tire of all the screams from neighborhood kids who come over just to scare themselves!
This is a picture from the original article that I got the idea from.
(Martha Stewart 2003)

Originally my spider webs were made from a big roll of screen that I painted the web on, but it is super windy where I live and no matter what I did, I couldn't get them to stay up more than a day or two. Plus unlike the MS picture, you couldn't see the white lines at night. This year I found these great webs at LOWES. They were $8 a piece, and at first I thought, "I can make those out of rope or something." But then I realized by the time I bought everything and made them, I'd have spent that much, so I just bought them! (WHAT??? yes I confess, I bought them! But where else would I find cute thick tinsel yarn like this?)
I also saw the same ones (but black) at Micheals, for the same price (plus there are coupons) but I wanted white. LOVE them!!!


Stay tuned for a tutorial in the next few days of how to make these disgusting hatching egg sacks. Ewwwwww!!!



I found the best place to buy spiders is at the dollar store. And buy them I did!!!
I just use regular clear gift wrapping tape to tape the sacks and spiders to my vinyl siding ceiling. The tape holds up great all month, and comes off without any problems.

Tie fishing line (or any clear beading thread) to larger spiders and tape to ceiling.



Spiders everywhere!!!





Kinda gives me the creeps to sit in my rocking chair!

Did I mention that my biggest fear is spiders? Really is! But now the real ones blend in with all the fake ones, and what I don't know doesn't hurt right? :D
Happy Spooking!


I just love Michelle at Someday Crafts! Thank you!

TrIck oR tReAt

Can't say this is my favorite project, but hey, it was free!!! My friend's husband does bank homes, and he let her and I go into the home to get what ever we wanted before he started chucking stuff. We found some pretty good treasures! I over looked these canisters several times, and just as we were leaving, inspiration hit - "I can spray paint those!" (I know - shocking it took me that long!)

So here are the beauties before:

I debated back and forth whether to paint them orange and make them Jack-O-Lanterns, or Black with "B-O-O" or black with "trick-or-treat" I finally decided on the trick-or-treat.

First they needed a good bath in the dishwasher, then I pulled out my trusted can of spray paint (high gloss black) After about 2 coats, they were ready. Kinda forgot to get a pic of them all black - oh well, you get the idea

Did you know that spray paint mist kills flies? Yup this one dropped dead right as I was spraying!

I then spent way to long trying to pick the perfect font (again - not sure how happy I am with the results, but I like it enough) I find all my fonts at DAFONT.COM They are all free and super easy to download. This font is Andrea Karime. (to download the font, click the name, or go HERE)
I have the program Sure Cuts Alot (thanks to my sister Annie) and so I just typed the words into that program, plugged my cricut into my computer with my printer cable, and pressed cut - that easy!

Oh - I decided to spray paint the letters instead of using vinyl. So I cut the words out on Contact paper and used it as a stencil.


I very carefully pealed away the paper, and adhered the contact paper to my canisters, pressing firmly and pushing out all the bubbles.


AHHHHHH!!! I took off the lid and this little nasty guy was running in circles around the canister! EWWWWW! I guess it wouldn't be a Halloween project with out a spider! :)

I didn't want my beautiful paint job to get ruined - so I wrapped a grocery sack around the canister and taped down the edges. (looks like they are going into surgery)


Now the fun part - Spray Paint! (this time I used my leftover appliance enamel from painting my KitchenAid)

After a long wait, I finally pealed back the contact paper.
Final results:

Not the best (it blead a lot more than I had hoped- but at least it was consistent- kinda adds to the Halloween look)



I like! Like I said, not my favorite ever, but definately keepers! Now I just need to fill them with yummy candy! (or maybe a nasty trick!)
Go find something to spray paint! It's fun!!!

Answered Prayers and a Tribute

ADDENDUM: I just have to share this comment that a reader left me, I am so grateful for it, she said it best: Jeanette said...Just wanted to add, after going back and looking at the photos you posted again, I love how the temple is a beacon of light, shining even brighter than the fire, letting us know where the real power lies. Not in devastation, but in hope and faith.

Wow!!! What a night! I live about 2 miles from the massive Herriman (machine gun fire) All night I watched out my window the devastation, it was quite frightening seeing the fire come so close to homes. My family and I said many many prayers last night that the homes would be spared, that the families would be comforted, and that the firefighters would be protected. Our prayers were not the only ones. Herriman is an extremely religious area, and I can only imagine the hundreds of thousands of prayers that were said last night. Our prayers were truly answered! Last night as I watched the fire raging, I thought that there were going to be at least 100 homes lost, if not more. This morning, they announced that only 4 homes (they are now saying 3 - one was on out building) were lost! I couldn't believe it! I watched a video taken this morning from a news chopper, and there were homes that were completely surrounded by burnt land, and the house was still standing. Many homes had flames that burnt up to 5 feet away and the home never burnt! They were saying that it was a miracle that more weren't lost, but I know it was a loving Heavenly Father who protected those homes and helped those firefighters do what they did to protect property. It is humbling to see how quickly a fire can roar down a mountain side. Some people were literally running away from the fire as it came towards their homes. I just had to say how grateful I am that our prayers were answered, and that everything looks like it will be okay. My heart and prayers go out to those who did loose so much, one family lost their home of 35 years, and left with only the shirts on their backs, they couldn't save anything because it came so fast. Thank you to the firefighters, police men, CERT volunteers, and National Guards men who are fighting this fire! And thanks to the families of these people who are serving us, I can't even imagine the fear they have felt over the past 18 hours.
Here are just a few photos of the fire. Just a little too close to home for comfort!
















To see more photos, go to KSL.com, or FOX13now.com