Anything Goes Halloween Pumpkin

At 5:40 last night (Halloween) KeepHerKitty's pumpkin remained unadorned and sad. More importantly the KeepHer was not amused. So in panic crafter mode I fired-up the glue gun and opened the bin of spare parts from autumnal crafts of days past. By 6:00 we had this "anything goes" gourd and a pleased kitty who promptly ignored any further haunting night hoopla.

Happy Halloween

A few images of KeepHerKitty's decor.

Throwback Thursday: KeepHer's First Pumpkin

KHK: October 2007

At just over a year old in October 2007 KeepHerKitty was still infinitely curious about everything. Sadly, that interest has waned in favor of longer naps and the pursuit of feline human manipulation. (Yes, I'm her servant girl! And she is an Oscar winning manipulator. Cat people will understand this.)

Here she inspects her very first Halloween Pumpkin, to her it must have seemed to be just a big round catbird seat. Seven years later her calico markings are as sharp as ever and her white fur sparkles.

 

 

 

Tomorrow we shall decorate her 2014 Halloween pumpkin! 

This is the gourd in waiting.

 

 

  Last year we glittered her mini-pumpkin.

She was disappointed it was too small to be used for a roost.

 I'm going to suggest to her  we decorate with clever Silhouette cuts adhered with school glue for this year's original object d'art.

I'm concerned she may not let me get away with something simple.

Watch for the update tomorrow!

See more of our Halloween 2013 Here.

Happy Halloween-Eve Everyone!

Paper Crafting: Halloween Luminary

This is a sweet little Halloween  Luminary I made using the Silhouette Cameo electronic cutting machine. The cut file is Design  ID #49781 by talented designer Samantha Walker. 

For the frame I used Color Core Cardstock from the Signature Series. The lantern is lined with Silhouette brand vellum. I embellished each pumpkin on the four side panels with glitter. Using beaded ribbon from my stash I added trim to frame the panels.

ColorCore Cardstock on Amazon

The  clever cut file includes a bottom on which a flameless tea light may be set to illuminate this magical lantern from within. Do not use a flame candle in this decoration and risk sending you spooky celebration up in smoke. 

The Luminary measures approximately 5.5-inches tall and 2.75-inches square. The top closes with a drawstring, I used chenille thread in dark purple for contrast. It took just over an hour to create and cost about $1.95 in materials.

For more fun-not-scary  Halloween ideas follow out my Pinterest Board: Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Craft: Dodecahedrons

I am so into the paper crafted dodecahedron. What's that you say? According to Wiki:

"In geometry, a dodecahedron is any polyhedron with twelve flat faces, but usually a regular dodecahedron is meant, which is one of the five Platonic solids. It is composed of 12 regular pentagonal faces, with three meeting at each vertex, and is represented by the Schläfli symbol."  Wikipedia: Dodecahedron

 Got that?

Do-deca-hedron

I had to cut-n-paste that definition and couldn't repeat it to save my life. Saying the word, dodecahedron, makes me giggle! It's just one crazy absurd word. Dodecahedron.

Math and geometry are, as they say, All Greek to Me!  I have a good friend, Lori D., who would be all over the math and geometry of the dodecahedron! She recently wrote, "I love finding new ways to talk about math." You guessed right, she is a math professor and pregnant times two (twins, don't ya know!) I'll leave the science of the shape to Lori and express my delight that Silhouette Online Store Design ID #21647 is the cut file to simply craft a dodecahedron from a single piece of paper. Genius! Thank you Samantha Walker for your design.

I used this design to make Halloween toys for the KeepHerKitty. One is orange, the other is purple. I used the polygon shape to cut pentagons from two-sided Halloween themed paper. Once the dodecahedron's were assembled with double sided tape I then affixed the polygon shapes in random order, one print to each of the twelve sides.

One dodecahedron holds a muslin sack of fresh catnip, the other holds one dozen loose jingle bells. I was certain this would amuse and captivate the KeepHerKitty. Well, not so much. The only time thus far that she has paid attention to her objects d'art was Sunday morning when I attempted to stage the photo shoot while the sunlight was just right.

For now I've placed the Halloween dodecahedrons on the open shelves of the dining room hutch. A wicked crow has taken to roosting upon one of these bewitching geometric shapes.

So this is a sneak peak at my Halloween decor of 2014. Stay tuned for the great Halloween reveal later this week! KeepHer is anxious to show you all about her tricked-out abode!  In the meantime, get out your Silhouette or other cutting tool and whip up a good ol'fashioned Halloween Dodecahedron! Dazzle all your geometric-phobic friends with your mathematical genius! I won't tell your secret if you don't tell mine!

Throwback Thursday: Halloween 2013

 KeepHerKitty is a big fan of Halloween as long as it doesn't get too darn scary. If you have a cat you know that cats see things -- things us two-leggers cannot see -- scary things. Things so frightening a cat will scamper from a room with fear in their eyes and a kink in their tail, all at once, with nary a warning to those who cannot see.

So at our house we keep the witches, and the skeletons, and the zombies away in favor of a softer, friendlier Halloween. Here KeepHer poses with some of last year's table decor: glittered pumpkins, sparkling leafs, polished apples. Her little trick-or-treat bucket is at the ready to receive treats. Oh she does love her treats! I featured the stitching on the little bucket a few weeks ago on Throwback Thursday.

 Below is a collage of the 2013 Halloween Decor, as you can see soft and friendly. Even the little ghosts are smiling.

This little gobblin is one of the cutest things ever! I found the idea on Make it Fun with Floracraft website: Ghostly Centerpiece. I dolled this little spook up with a purple mesh hat adorned with ribbon, tiny roses, and a black feather just for fun.  KeepHer took great joy in batting about the little ball of fluff, I think she thought it her very own gobblin friend!

Some of these decorations will come out again this year: I plan to decorate for Halloween this weekend with some things new and some things old and no things scary. Until then, Happy Throwback Thursday everyone!