I found some more white Spark A Doodle, plus Freddy Fazbear mask and ribbon organizer

FYI I found some more of that white Spark A Doodle yarn.  I’m going to list it for sale in my eCrater store on Sunday night as soon as I get the kids to bed.  Bed time is 9 pm Eastern time, so probably about 9:15 or so.  I had to spend a little more to get this yarn, so I am only selling it on eCrater to keep the price as low as I can.  (The fees are much higher on eBay and Etsy.)

I will list it right here on Sunday night 10/25/2015 just after 9 pm Eastern time.  I know it’s hard to get and I have a few people asking for it.  I want to be fair and give everyone a fair shot at the yarn, so that’s why I’m selling it this way.

I have four balls of yarn with the label and seven balls without the label.  The yarn with the labels will go for $11 and without for $10 each.

And here’s some random stuff we’ve been making at our house:

Ready for Halloween!

I helped my son make a Freddy Fazbear mask for Halloween.

In case you don’t have the privilege of FNAF-obsessed people living at your home, Freddy Fazbear is a video game character from Five Nights At Freddy’s.  The game is a horror game suitable for children.  It’s pretty scary, and the scares are jump scares, not blood and gore or violence.  It seems to be based on the old terrifying Chuck E Cheese theme restaurant.  (When I was a kid, Chuck E Cheese had a giant robot band of Chuck E Cheese (a mouse) and his creepy friends on a stage that would “perform”  while diners attempted to choke down the most awful pizza I have ever tasted.  Chuck E Cheese is still around, and the pizza is still disgusting, but they’ve ditched the rat robot band in favor of video games.)  I wonder if they have a FNAF game at Chuck E Cheese?  That would be cool!

We watched this video to get ideas for the mask, and then used stuff we had at home to make it.  We didn’t have a giant piece of brown felt, so we used some other fabric we had.  I think the felt would have been even better, but my son is very happy with his mask just the way it is.  I’m proud of him!

ribbon holder

And here’s a ribbon holder I cobbled together out of a really annoying over-the-door towel holder and some stuff I had lying around.  I think there’s room for a couple more rows of ribbon in there, but I guess I’ll have to move my poster.  That constitutes a major redecorating move for me, ha ha!

Thanks for checking in!

How I fix my plastic skeletons

I love the plastic skeletons, but I hate them too.  I got them a few years ago at a rummage sale.  The woman who sold them to me said she couldn’t take it any more because they broke so easily.  Here’s the problem:

the ert thing

The problem is the ert thing.  The skeleton goes together by popping the ert thing into the hole on the next bone.  My eldest does not like ert things.  They bother him.  So he breaks them off.  Even if he didn’t have a thing about ert things, these ert things are very flimsy.

the hole

Trying to connect the hole to another hole doesn’t work, but we can’t just make another ert thing.

Junk to the rescue!

junk

I use bits of flexible plastic from a broken cup, some string, and a hole punch to make a repair doohickey.

I twist or fold the plastic and jam it in the hole on each bone.  Here I’ve got it twisted.

Here it’s folded.

The repair is done!  Well, for one joint anyway.

Spooky!

DIY Cheap Recycled Outdoor Hanging Ghost Decorations

I made this little ghost from a thrifted sheer curtain panel, an empty milk jug, and some scraps of vinyl fabric.

I cut out face shapes from the vinyl and glued it to the curtain.  I tossed the curtain over an empty milk jug and tied it to the tree.

Bonus: the curtain already had a little hole, and that saved me some time.

I tried to make my ghost scary, but he just looks worried.  Poor little guy!

For advanced crafters: I keep a huge stash of these light-up glow sticks on hand.  I buy them at the Dollar Tree.  They are nice for when the power goes out so the kids don’t get scared, and they come in handy for decorating too.  Just crack a stick and drop it in the milk jug.  It glows for a few hours, so one stick per night is all you need.

Don’t worry, that’s not a real rat.

Ooo, spooky!

I made this ghost last year.  I sewed the face bits (made from rags) instead of gluing them.  Sewing may have been easier than gluing if you can believe that.  When I used the glue, I had problems with the glue leaking through the sheer curtain and sticking to other things.  Maybe next time, I’ll use glue dots.

If you’re wondering what I was trying to do with that mouth, I’ll tell you:  I have no idea.  I think I was trying to make it look scary, but I don’t remember.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.  Clearly, I need help!

At the thrift store, sometimes I can get sheer panels for only a dollar or two.  Sometimes they have holes in them or they’ve been clawed by pets, but that doesn’t really matter for making raggedy ghosts, does it?

I tried to do the same thing with white garbage bags, but they weren’t as cute.  The plastic wasn’t as floaty and it looked like a bag of garbage hung from a tree.

I think you had better try this and send me some pictures.  Or at least tell me what I’m doing wrong with these faces!

Thanks for checking in!  Maria