So Fred

Tomorrow is Halloween and I am excited to show you some of the bits I have been making, especially my paper mache pumpkins.

I like to do things on the cheap, and I guesstimated that a pumpkin was going to cost me around $12.00 – too much for me. So I looked at how to make one and thanks to Scott at: scott@stolloween.com I found the easiest, cheapest and most awesome way to make a pumpkin.

All you need is:
• plastic bag
• news paper
• flour and water glue *
• string
• green & orange paint

* To make glue, I use 2 cups of plain flour and 5 cups of water. Stir over low heat until glue consistency. Let cool and then use. This recipe makes heaps, but it will keep in the fridge for a week.

Here goes …

Here are some other easy and cheap Halloween ideas …

Last minute hats …

I finally had the confidence to use my ‘Zing’ cutting machine and wow did I have fun.

My first project was the above posy of flowers.

To create this project was simple (if you have a cutting machine) if you want you can hand cut flowers out.

What you will need:

• Flower design
• Chocolate hearts
• Coloured card x2 colours (I used three A4 blue sheets and three A4 orange sheets)
• Wooden skewers
• Pot/Vase
• Craft foam (the stuff they put in the bottom of your box of flowers to keep them upright).

Construction:

Once I had my two different coloured flowers, I simply used a needle to place a small hole in the middle of both flowers and inserted my wooden skewer through each piece of cardboard. Then I gently placed my chocolate on top and twisted the skewer until my chocolate was secure (had this not worked, I would have tried heating the skewer up a fraction and then twisting it on to the skewer).

Once I had a handful of these I started to place them in my pot that I had placed craft foam in the bottom (this was the hardest part for me). I am no florist.

A friend who is a florist suggested next time I should start from the top and work my way around – thank you Stacey 🙂

So what seemed like hours, I finally ended up with this beautiful gift …

Here are a few other projects I have completed over the past few months …

What you need:

• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup baking soda
• 3/4 cup water

How to make:

1. Combine the cornstarch, baking soda, and water in a saucepan until well combined.
2. Stir ingredients over a medium heat (stir constantly).
3. Within a few minutes the mixture should begin to thicken. When it looks like smooth mashed potatoes it is ready. Remove from heat.
4. Take your ball of clay and place it in a bowl. Cover with a damp cloth until it is cool enough to touch and work with.
5. Roll out clay on to a baking paper and cut with cookie cutters (5mm thickness). I used a straw to make my hole.
6. Air dry for three to four days or place in an oven at 100ºC for one hour.

Results:

All my air dried clay cracked 🙁

The clay I put in the oven on the middle shelf went slightly yellow (I turned clay over after half an hour)

The clay I put in the oven on the floor of the oven dried perfectly (I turned clay over after half an hour)