Gingerbread and Pumpkin Trifle

Hello, Gorgeous Crafts & Sutch Readers!  :)  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  The monkey and I went shopping on Saturday at a thrift shop to find some clothes for his Halloween costume.  He is going to be Frankenstein because he already has got the walk down!  :)  We scored on some pants and a little blazer that I'm going to refashion and Frank up for next Sunday.

On to the deliciousness that is this final EEK WEEKS project!  A bowl full of fall goodness...gingerbread and pumpkin trifle!

Now I'm no Betty Crocker by any means, but I do enjoy a good dessert and I especially love making them when they are super, duper easy!  I've dumbed down this recipe from Paula Deen and it is pure heaven.

I followed Paula's recipe but substituted six vanilla pudding cups for the cook and serve vanilla pudding.  I also added a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the whipped topping a la Sandra Lee.  I've made this trifle several times and I always come home with rave reviews and an empty dish.

If you want to dumb it down even more (which I've done) or you are in a time crunch, buy gingerbread or pumpkin bread from your local bakery or grocery store.  It's just as delicious, looks just as fabulous, and saves you time.

Coming up this week:  Sutch an Inspiration, Kason's Frankenstein costume, and some fall decor.  :)  I can't believe this is the last week of October.  It has flown by and I have to admit I'm going to miss seeing all of the black and orange around blogland.  Have a super week!

I'll be linking up to some of my favorite parties!

Mossy Fall Plaques

Hello, All!  Happy Monday!  I hope you had a great weekend!  We were able to spend time with family and that is always a good thing. :)

For this week's EEK WEEKS project, I thought I would tone it down and make something natural that could be displayed in your home for the entire season.

I'm sorry I do not have a full photo tutorial, but this was super easy to make so I'll just talk you through it. :)

You will need three wood plaques, spray paint (I used brown), scrapbook paper, Mod Podge, craft foam brush, scissors, moss sheet, ribbon, and a hot glue gun.  Optional supplies:  distressing ink and jute.

To begin, spray the plaques with spray paint.  While the paint is drying, cut out fall shapes from the moss sheet.  Have you seen this stuff?  I found it at the Dollar Tree, and I only used one sheet for this project!

I found images of a pumpkin, an acorn, and a leaf on Google images, printed them out, cut around the images, and used the cut outs as stencils to cut the moss sheet.

Measure the top of the wooden plaque and cut the scrapbook paper to fit, distress the edges of the paper with ink, and then Mod Podge the paper to the plaque.

Hot glue the moss to the plaque and embellish with jute (a curly vine for the pumpkin, a rim for the cap of the acorn, and veins for the leaf).

 Hot glue ribbon to the back of the plaque and hang on a nail.  I really wanted to hang the plaques from decorative knobs, but wanted to keep my budget in mind so I hot glued a button to the end of each nail.  Personally, I think it is my favorite part of the project! :)

I'll be sharing this project at these super wonderful PARTIES!

I have to admit that I'm a little sad there is only one more EEK WEEK project left!  I do promise that is will be positively pumpkiny deliciousness!  :)

Coming up this week:  Sutch an Inspiration on Tuesday, a giveaway on Wednesday, and a look at some of the fall decorations around my home on Friday.  Have a wonderful week!

If the Broom Fits {Printables}

Hello there, sweet blogland friends!  How are y'all?  :)  Thank you for your sweet comments about the witch's broom vignette!  :)  I'm excited that so many of you are feeling a little witchy and want the "If the broom fits" printable.  Without further ado, here you go!  I recreated it in several color choices, so please take your pick...print one or print them all!  :)  If you do download the printable, it would be great if you would become a follower of Crafts & Sutch.

Click on the image you would like to print.  Then right click on the image and select Save Image As.  Now you can print this baby out, frame it, and show your witchy side!  :)

Have a wonderful rest of your week! :)  I'll be linking up to these super, fantastic parties!

If the Broom Fits

Welcome back to another installment of EEK WEEKS!  I cannot believe this is number six, and we only have two more fall/Halloween projects to go.

This week's project was inspired from a pillow I bought a few years ago that says, "If the broom fits, ride it."  I was feeling a little witchy, and needed some fun color to go with my stylish Halloween boxes so I decided a witch's broom would be the perfect addition to my Halloween decor.

I started with a broom I found at Michael's and added glittered lime green and purple branches, leaves, and rhinestones to the straw end of the broom.  I wrapped stripy ribbon around the handle and hot glued a bow with some dangley witchy accouterments (eyes, skeleton hand, and tombstones) to the middle of the broom.

I hung the broom parallel to the staircase and accessorized with all things witchy...Halloween boxes, a black cat, a hand-drawn spider web, and a creepy little, old witch.

I was inspired by Jessica over at Craftily Ever After to create my own Halloween version of "Keep Calm and Carry On," so I made "If the broom fits, ride it."  It's the perfect finishing touch to this vignette. 

I think this turned out so cute!  I was kind of stuck in a Halloween decorating rut and having this blog and doing EEK WEEKS has really forced me to think outside the box.  I heart blogland! :)

Are you feeling a little witchy?  Would you like the "If the broom fits" printable?  Let me know, I'm happy to share! :)

This past week Crafts & Sutch reached over 400 followers!  I'm over the moon, so be on the lookout for a giveaway soon as my thank you to you! :) 

I'll be linking up to these fantastically awesome parties! 

Spider Web Wall

Hello!  I hope you had a fantastic weekend!  Fall is in the air and it is glorious! :)  Another Monday, another EEK Weeks project!  :)  So excited for this one!

I love today's spider web wall!  It's so simple, it's scary and it makes such a huge impact without a hefty investment!  My kind of craft! 

Let's get started!  You will need:  black yarn, thumbtacks, a nail, a hammer, and scissors (a stepladder comes in handy too).

Start by hammering the nail into the wall.  This will be the main point of the web.

Now push thumbtacks around the perimeter of the wall.  I put one in each corner, and three on each side.  UPDATE:  If you are worried about putting holes in your walls (I understand), then maybe you could use the 3M Command hooks.  They wouldn't leave a mark and achieve the same effect!

Tie the yarn to the nail.  Let's start by making the "spokes" of the web.  Begin to wrap the yarn around the nail, then around each thumbtack, and then back around the nail, and so on.

When you are finished with the "spokes," it will look like this. Already a touch spooky!

Now let's work on the web, start by tying a knot with the yarn around the nail.  Then hold the yarn over one "spoke," wrap it under the "spoke," and then back over (you are just wrapping the yarn all the way around the "spoke").

The circles around the main point of the web should be tight and close together.  As you move further away from the main point of the web, the circles should get bigger and farther apart.

Here is what it will look like when you are finished! :)  I discovered it's best to work with a little bit of yarn at a time so if you run out, just tie off the yarn on a "spoke" and start a new piece of yarn by tying a knot in the same place.  If you run out of wall (see top right corner), just tie the yarn off on a spoke and trim it.

Add a spooky spider (or lots of spooky spiders) and you are set!

Sorry about my hall light getting in the way, but I like this angle better. :)

I love, LOVE the outcome!  It's festive, spooky, and makes a HUGE statement!  ...and let me just say that if you do this for your little boy's Spiderman birthday party, you might be the COOLEST mom on the block! :)

I'll be linking up to






and these fantastic parties HERE!  Happy October, Everyone!

Pumpkin Pillow and Garland

Hello there!  Another Monday is here and guess what!  I have not one, but TWO super, duper EEK Weeks fall crafts to share with you today!  Prepare to fall in love with these fall crafts because they are too cute!

Let's start with a no sew pumpkin pillow.  You will need:  a brown pillow (mine is store bought because I don't have a sewing machine :)), doilies, green felt, craft paint (combination of orange, yellow, red, and brown), textile medium, spray adhesive, wax paper, a hot glue gun, and jute.

Start my mixing your paint colors until you get the perfect orange for your pumpkins, add the textile medium, and water to the paint.  Dip each of the doilies into the dye, wring them out, and lay them on a sheet of wax paper to dry.  When they are completely dry, toss them into the dryer to heat set the paint.

While the doilies are drying, make the stems for the pumpkins using jute.  Make a zig zag with the jute and put a line of hot glue across the bottom to keep it together.  I used a straight pin to help hold it together while I was gluing.

Cut out heart-shaped felt leaves and arrange the pieces on the pillow.

Spray the back of each piece with spray adhesive and put onto the pillowcase.  Take a sheet of wax paper and lay it over the pieces.  Press down around all of the edges to ensure a strong bond.  You could use hot glue for the stems and the leaves if you want to.

Hot glue a piece of jute onto one of the pumpkins.

Make a loop with the jute and glue down.  Repeat this a few times to create the curly, twirly vines.

Toss on your sofa and enjoy!

Now for the equally adorable garland.  You will need dyed doilies, jute, hot glue gun, material for stems (either bark, felt, or jute), and materials for leaves (either silk leaves or felt).

Dye the doilies using the same technique as above and allow them to dry.  When dry, thread the jute through each doily.  Hot glue a stem to the top of each one. I had these great little birch wood chips from a wood chip Christmas tree that fell apart, but you could use brown felt or make jute stems like we did for the pillow.

Now add leaves and curly, twirly vines to the pumpkins.  You can make them all the same or do each one a little differently.

I think adding a few leaves onto the vine is a fun, 3-D touch.

 

Hang the garland and LOVE it!

Didn't these doily pumpkins turn out so insanely cute?!  I can picture these on a canvas too.  They would make fantastic fall art!  The doilies for the garland were bought at the Dollar Tree in packs of two, so it was a very affordable project!  I am adoring my new fall decor!

I hope I've inspired you to create some doily pumpkins! :)  If you do, let me know!  I'd love to feature you!

I'm linking up to these fantastic parties! 





See you tomorrow for another installment of TO DO Tuesday! :)