Make Big Acorns For Fall

You will never guess what these BIG acorns were before.

Ready? Oversize plastic Easter eggs from the Dollar Store!

When I saw this Pin way back in 2012, I knew I had to make them.

Following the Pin to its source I saw that the blogger used plastic Easter eggs! This is my kind of creative recycling: making something clever out of something else.

I decided to use these oversize Dollar Store eggs from my stash.

 First, I painted them brown with craft paint.

 I hot glued the eggs closed then wrapped them in burlap scraps. I pleated the burlap around the egg and used hot glue all the way around to secure it. Then I deconstructed a pine cone and used it for the top and added a twig stem. Cute!

But that first one  didn't look quite right to me, so I tried this....

I used the two rounded ends and glued them together. 

Already this looks more like a natural acorn shape.

Instead of the pine cone petals, I used hemp garden twine and hot glue.

Hemp twine hot glued round and round the top until I had the plump acorn look I wanted. 

A little twig adds to the finished acorn.

By George, I think I've got it!

You could also use the regular size plastic eggs but I wanted BIIIIG acorns, so I used the big ones.

Now I'm remembering those HUGE eggs for panty hose and wondering where I can get some. Now THAT would be a statement acorn. LOL!

Make Spooky Floaty Bats for Halloween Decor

I wanted to make black bats that would float and drift around in the October breezes but I couldn't figure out how to hang them. Then I got the idea to put them on curly wires instead!

I LOVE how they came out!

I found that I had these black foam meat trays in my stash. 

After running them through the dishwasher, I knew I 

could use them for something and they were perfect

 for these flighty bats.

I drew a simple pattern and cut them out with a razor knife.

We cut long lengths of sturdy wire and curled them around a broom handle

 then wrapped one end around a foam bat shape.

We stuck them into our deck planters to see how they looked in the wind. 

We were so pleased when even the slightest breeze made them turn and twist and shiver!

So we made more and attached them to our Halloween archway.

They look great!

Not only were they fun and easy to make, but they are 100% weatherproof 

and easy to store for next year. 

That's a win win in my book!

Halloween Decor From Video Tape and Trash Bags

Here is my Halloween porch, chock full of fun and CHEAP decor ideas.

 I have a few pieces I keep from year to year, like the pumpkin lights 

and the painted signs, but most of my 

Halloween look is made out of old VCR tapes and trash bags.

Dollar Store, here I come!

The big fat orange pumpkins are Halloween trash bags filled with crumpled newspaper. So easy to do  and so easy to store. But they aren't the real surprise here.

These spooky flyaway torn "curtains" are the most fun part of this decor,

 and I made them from black trash bags cut to open all the seams

 then cut in strips for creepy flyaway curtains.

The Welding Man set up a simple archway with scrap lumber 

and I stapled lots of black plastic strips all over. 

My grandkids made the sign out of twigs and an old board.

I LOVE how they look when the wind blows!

Then we took a couple of old VCR tapes and stripped them loose from their cases so we could do THIS!

You'll need at least one more person to make this giant web 

and the results are so worth it!

We did the horizontal stringers first then wrapped 

the vertical stringers last. 

We wrapped each joint with black electrical tape and

 stood back for the finishing touch.

Every giant spider web needs a giant spider.

We filled two black trash bags with more crumpled newspaper then wired them

 in place on our garden arch. We attached long pieces of strong wire

 and bent them into leg shapes then wrapped them with strips

 of black plastic and electrical tape.

The eyes and fangs are red felt.

So cool!

On the left side of the photo you can see the start of another huge spider web.

We had fun doing this and it was so easy and 

CHEAP!

On another post I'll show how I made the easy and cheap but 

still creepy and floaty black bats. 

I'll link it up right here.....