Halloween crafting starts early in the house of swell!

August 10, 2009 by Alexa 5 Comments

Tonight I spent 3 hours or so doing Halloween crafting…wanna see what I made?

I made 2 tulle/felt/button headbands and several ring stacks ready for their blanks!

So what does this really mean? Well, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve I want to share:

– I plan on once again doing Terrorific Tuesday. I’ll be sharing details in the next couple of weeks how you can get in on the action and share in the love of Halloween Crafting! I want to give you a bit of a headstart. I know holidays can be hectic!

– I plan on opening an Etsy site exclusively selling my Halloween goods. I have a couple of weeks to get it up and going…I plan on selling the goods above on there, so stay tuned. I’ll let you know when it’s prepared to launch.

– And finally, I’m taking on a big endeavor…early to mid October, I will be posting 24 Halloween craft ideas in 24 hours! More than likely it will be on a Wednesday or Thursday, but I will keep you informed. And don’t worry, I can set my blog up so that I can save posts ahead of time and for them to be launched at a certain time. I used to think that you had to physically go in and post a blog every hour. Man, that wouldn’t be any fun!

Hope you are excited about these future Halloween crafts I plan on sharing. Are you busy working on any of your own, or am I the only nut out here doing stuff ahead of time?

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Super easy polka dot treat cups

October 27, 2008 by Alexa 6 Comments

Halloween décor and party favors shouldn’t break the bank! I’m always scoping out ways to create quick easy crafts on the cheap and I did just that with this project. These would be perfect for party favors or handing out candy to kids at school or trick or treaters. Also, this is an idea you can take into other seasons as well! Choose red silo cups for Christmas or yellow ones for little Easter favor baskets! Fun and simple!

Super Easy polka dot treat cups

Supplies:
– Silo cups
– Americana Acrylic paint in color of choice
– hole punch
– pipe cleaners in colors of your choice
– tulle in color of choice
– pouncer brush
– paint palette or paper plate

Instructions:
1. Load pouncer brush with paint and dab off excess onto plate or paper towel. Pounce dots all over cups randomly. Let dry.
2. Pounce two holes on opposite sides with hole punch. Insert pipe cleaner through holes and twist to for a secure handle.
3. Wrap small strip of tulle in a bow or knot at top of pipe cleaner.
4. Fill with candy or treats and delight your ghouls and goblins!

Check back tomorrow for the final Terrorific Tuesday roundup! I hope you’ve enjoyed all these little roundups. It’s been a lot of work, but very fun and everyone who has participated seems to have really enjoyed doing it!

Have a happy Monday!

Alexa

Terrorific Tuesday: Week 3

October 20, 2008 by Alexa 5 Comments

Another week has gone in October and you know what that means! It’s Terrorific Tuesday! This week, we are featuring 20! fabulous projects and inspirations! One thing I really wanted to do with this little roundup was get people of all artistic backgrounds and interests inspired, and by the looks of it, that certainly has been achieved!

This roundup features jewelry, scrapbooking, party ideas, knitting, sewing projects, mixed media art, photography, and so much more! And if you’re like me, you probably like to mix it up! I definitely think there’s something to be said about reaching out of your comfort zone and learning or atleast appreciating something new!

So without further ado, I present to you this week’s Terrorific Tuesday Roundup…

Furry Monster Bucket Kiki of Kiki’s Craft World shows how to make a clever project that you’ll have to keep an eye on!

Hooty the Hoot Owl Retro Jewelry Set Margot Potter, The Impatient Crafter tried her patience making a paper crafted jewelry set for this week’s Terrorific Tuesday.

Mini Pumpkin Quilt Phyllis Dobbs shares a spectacularly whimsical quilt!

Sugary Sweet Skull Coasters Stoopidgerl makes some awesome resin coasters packed with candy, rainbows, and skulls!

Halloween Party Pics/Picks Swelldesigner a.k.a. Alexa Westerfield gets nostalgic with cupcake pics inspired by Halloween’s of yesteryear.

Witch’s Hat Pin Tammy Powley of About.com has a super simple witch’s hat pin project for you that is so quick you’ll want to make up lots of these to give to other Halloween witch’s.

Witchy Woman Angela of Angela’s Art Diary gets in the spirit when she puts herself in her own bewitched portrait!

Fairy Witch Frame Lorilyn Hurley of the Dream Life piles on the glitter and vintage charm in this inspired frame.

Spooky and Kooky photos Chris Garris a.k.a. Universal Stopping Point puts his photography skills to the test and creates a set of haunting images to get you inspired.

Halloween Charm Bracelet Jean Yates charms us with this gothic and glam skull bracelet.

Easy Dia de Los Muertos Story Box Kathy Cano-Murillo a.k.a. Craft Chica uses toys, a mini box, and lots of glitter to tell a beautiful tale.

Double Skully Bracelet Melissa J. Lee creates this red and black dazzler strung with double the skull goodness!

Bootiful Belt Buckles Rebecca Hull at HHH Enterprises makes an awesome Halloween accessory out of ordinary belt buckles!

Knitted Ghost Sarah E. White whips up this little ghost, perfect for haunting your house!

Spooky Photoshop Tutorial Amy Locurto of Living Locurto shows you how to create your own Photoshop still life to use on a custom invite!

Pumpkin Scrapbook Pages Michelle McGee scraps up some adorable memories of her little pumpkin!

Wicked Witch Brenda Pinnick’s witch is a bit scary, a bit fun andoh so colorful. She is made using heavy weight watercolor paper and acrylic paint. The paper sculpture techniques bring this gal to life!

Rubber Stamp a Luminary Kate Pullen
shows you how to use your rubber stamps to create a paper bag luminary
for Halloween on her About.com Rubber
Stamping Blog.

Fall Owl Pillow Kim of Sew Sugary Sweet gives a hoot with this cute owl pillow perfect for fall!

Silhouetted Paper Lanterns Robin of Urban Debris gets super spooky with vintage paper lantern patterns.

And I want to note my little sidekick in swell, Pixie (the ultimate Swellion in my book), and mascot for Terrorific Tuesday was by my side as I arranged and compiled these crafty offerings. Have to give her a shout out! Say hi!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Halloween Cupcake Pics/Picks

October 20, 2008 by Alexa 10 Comments

Well, this is my Monday evening post of for my Terrorific Tuesday. Yikes! I always cut it close.

This week, I wanted to create a craft that also helps you remember Halloween’s of the past. Do you have a favorite photo of you, your child, or your friends that you want to remember? Well, it’s super easy to visit memory lane and have a little fun waxing nostalgia with these cupcake picks! They’re super easy to make and something you can whip up in an hour…so let’s get started…

Halloween Cupcake Pics/Picks

Supplies
– Computer with Adobe Photoshop (or comparable photo imaging software)
– Various digital or scanned in photos
– Printer
– Scrapbook papers in various colors
– Glue stick
– tape
– toothpicks
– scissors or circle cutter

Instructions

1. Make a new 8.5″ x 11″ document, now open up your photos. Using circle selection tool, select desired area, and copy and paste into your 8.5″ x 11″ document.

2. Size your circular photos to be approximately 1.5″ in diameter. Once you have them laid up on your page, print out.

3. Using circle cutter or scissors, cut out around photos and set aside.

4. Make larger circles from your scrapbook paper. Now use glue stick to glue photos onto place.

5. Embellish or doodle on if desired.

6. Using tape, tape toothpick to back of image.

If you notice, I used pics of my friends, but I had to use one of me too…it’s not every day that I wear something like this. Ha ha.

Until next time Swellions!

Swell Designer’s Halloween project roundup!!

October 19, 2008 by Alexa 2 Comments

I wanted to share with you a compilation of my projects I’ve done for my own personal “Terrorific Tuesday” over the past couple of months. I’ve been actually doing “Terrorific Tuesday” on my blog since mid August. I wanted to get a head start on my crafting and help inspire others in their search for Halloween craft goodness…

Here are the links + full instructions to the projects in order of the way they appear in the pic above.

Diva Witch Canvas

Pumpkin Box Man

Halloween Cup Labels

Vintage-inspired Halloween Ornaments

Spooky Googly-Eyed Crafts

A Costume Masterpiece

Cute CD cupcake stand

Frightfully Funky Feather Wreath

Vintage Black Cat pendant

Also, here’s a super cute craft idea not shown above in the mosaic…

Spooktastic Halloween Pennants

Only a couple more weeks of Terrorific Tuesday and this season with come to an end 🙁 But you might be so inspired that you will want to just craft Halloween stuff all year long!

Until tomorrow Swellions!

Alexa

Terrorific Tuesday: October Week 1

October 6, 2008 by Alexa Leave a Comment

Yep, it’s that time. It’s the first official post of Terrorific Tuesday!!! Eleven artists posted projects over the past week on their blogs in celebration of their love for all things Halloween. The pics above are in order with the links below, so check out these spooky and inspiring projects by some of the most inspired crafters on the “web”.

Eye of Newt Necklace Melissa J. Lee treats us to this stunning necklace filled to the brim with lots of texture and gothic appeal!

Halloween Knitting Patterns Sarah E. White whips up some insanely fun knitting patterns on her About.com Knitting Blog. Learn how to knit a ghost, pumpkin hat, Halloween bag and more!

Spooky Googly Eyed Crafts Alexa Westerfield a.k.a. Swelldesigner creates 6 projects which includes a frame, pumpkin, and fashion accessories with her crafty stash of googly eyes.

Trick-or-Treat Candy Pot Phyllis Dobbs paints up an adorable pot that will make all the little ghosts and goblins smile.

Owl & Witch Halloween Cards Brenda Pinnick uses her Sizzix dies to craft these totally spooky cards. So swell!

Franky Halloween Card Marice Rodriguez crafts up this adorable glittery and colorful Halloween concoction on her Flickr page.

Resin Halloween Cabochons Tammy Powley’s experiment with resin turns out to be a success! Check out her adorable cabochons and ideas for using them on her About.com Jewelry Making Blog.

Pumpkins & Swirls Halloween Candle Kate Pullen shows you how to make this beautifully-inspired candle using simple rubber stamping techniques on her About.com Rubber Stamping Blog.

Crystal Web Necklace Margot Potter a.k.a. The Impatient Crafter wins the webby award with this dramatic necklace using CRYSTALLIZED™-Swarovski elements and Beadalon silver plated wire.

Happy Haunting Collage Lorilyn Hurley of the Dream Life creates this collage filled with vintage goodness and an oh-so-risque flying witch!

Halloween Ephemera Collage Christina Tuey a.k.a. the Collage Contessa shares her artful wall hanging filled with all kinds of whimsical Halloween goodness.

If you’d like to participate, please read more about it here. It’s open to all bloggers out there who want to join in!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Spooky Googly Eyed Crafts

October 6, 2008 by Alexa 19 Comments

I had so many ideas that I wanted to do today. Just in my ride home, I came up with ten terrorific possibilities, but in the mind of swell, you have to reel it in and stay focused. Knowing that I wanted to do a lot of ideas, I stuck to a theme and stayed within the lines of all things googly eyes. You may remember the googly eye choker that I did a few months back that was really well received. Well, I wanted to expand this idea and come up with some really fun and easy crafts that anyone can do…I’m going to share the basic idea of how to achieve these looks, but if you want more info, please e-mail me at swelldesigner@yahoo.com and I’ll give you more details…OK, on with the show!

Googly eye frame + googly eye photo

To get this look, paint a $1 frame (I got mine at Michaels) with DecoArt Americana Acrylic paint. Then use a craft glue like Krazy Glue or E-6000 to glue various sizes of googly eyes onto the frame. Print out a picture to fit the frame and insert it into the opening of the frame (If you notice, I used the Terrorific Tuesday mascot, my black cat Pixie). Glue googly eyes to the picture and hang. I got the idea to put googly eyes onto the picture from one of Jennifer Perkin’s (the Naughty Secretary) photos. Click here to see that creation.

Striped headband with Googly Eyed flower

I wanted to create a fun accessory that would be something a little different for Halloween. I painted this headband form and sealed it, but you can also wrap it with ribbon and glue gun it if you’d rather have that look. On my version, I actually wrapped Rainbow Tape around it, but you can also wrap ribbon if you want. On a large button, I placed a medium sized googly eye in the center using Krazy Glue. I then glued several smaller googly eyes around it to complete the look. I glued it off to one side of the headband and voila, I have a super cute googly eyed flower headband!

Googly Eyed Pumpkin

I purchased really small faux pumpkins at Wal-mart for a dollar. I glued on googly eyes in two different sizes with Krazy Glue (yes, it was intentional-ha ha) Using a liner brush, I brushed on the features with Americana Acrylic paint in black (you could also use a permanent marker if you didn’t have paint) I added in additional hair and eyebrows and put on a bow for a completed look. This is really quick craft especially for little hands.

Googly Eyed Charm Necklace

I actually created this last year, but I thought someone would perhaps enjoy it for Halloween accessorizing. I painted a 1.5″ wooden disk with Americana Acrylics, then used E-6000 to adhere the mini googly eyes on it. I left a small hole at top for drilling. I then mixed up some Envirotex Lite to coat the charm following packaging directions (lay your charm on wax paper for this process – trust me on this one). Let dry for several days, then use small drill to drill into resin and disk. Thread jewelry cord through disk and it’s ready to wear! All eyes will be on you!

Googly Eyed Choker

Another fun idea to try is this choker. I cut a piece of felt about 1.5″ inch wide and the length to be shorter than my neck diameter. I then added ribbon clinch clasps at both ends. Using jump rings and chain, I made a final closure at the end. I then used super duper fabric glue to adhere the googly eyes to the felt. I think this has a whimsical gothic feel to it. This could also be made into a wrist cuff or headband if you are so inspired.

And finally, probably the easiest of all the googly eyed crafts…

Googly Eyed Earrings
You simply adhere large googly eyes to earring post blanks and let dry. You can also add the googly eye to a ring blank or brooch pin for a wearable conversation starter!

On a final note, if you go to Flickr and type in googly you can see all kinds of cool and creative pictures and inspiration. It is really worth a look. And if you notice at the top of the matching results, you can change it to be most relevant, most recent or most interesting. Most interesting is the way to go in this search!

Hope you had fun with the googly eye crafts. I know I did. Check back tomorrow! I’ll post the other projects created for Terrorific Tuesday then!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

All content/photos copyright, © Alexa L. Westerfield, 2008.

Ornament Thursday: Something’s brewing up!

September 25, 2008 by Alexa 4 Comments

This month, we didn’t have as many Thursdays in September, so I totally flaked on Ornament THursday! I got caught up with other things. So my project is a day late, and a dollar short, huh?

The theme for Ornament Thursday this month is “Brew”. so I decided to share this project that I did last year that I posted on myspace. I wanted to create a retro witch wall hanging that was cute and fun and divalicious. I haven’t gotten her out yet for this year, but hopefully will in the next week!

RETRO WITCH WALL HANGING

SUPPLIES

Americana Acrylic Paints:

Jack O’ Lantern Orange

Royal Fuchsia

Bahama Blue

Flesh Tone

Cherry Red

Americana Acrylic Writer:

Black

Dazzling Metallics Paints:

Purple Pearl

Ice Blue

Craft Twinkles Paints:

Purple (DCT15)

Orange (DCT13)

Crystal (DCT1)

Christmas Red

Brushes:

Flat brush, liner brush

Surface:

8×10 white art canvas

Additional Supplies:

Fuchsia sequins

12 small crystal rhinestones

1 large purple rhinestone

1 medium crystal rhinestone

1 starbust sparkle

Sakura Gelly Writer Silver Pen

craft glue

Water basin

paper towels

paper plate

tracing paper

pencil

Sharpie marker (optional – see optional ideas section)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Draw or trace onto canvas

2. Paint in face area using Flesh Tone.

3. Squeeze out Black writer onto plate and paint hair, inside glasses area and hat stripes (refer to photo)

4. Paint around glasses Royal Fuschia.

5. Paint lips Cherry Red.

6. Paint hat brim and stripes Purple Pearl.

7. Paint wider stripe just above brim Jack O’ Lantern orange.

8. Paint background Ice Blue.

9. When background is done, paint stars Bahama Blue and swirls Royal Fuchsia.

10. Paint stripes on side of canvas alternating between orange and black.

11. Use black writer to outline hair, neck, chin, nose, and hat. Let dry.

12. Use silver pen to add details around stars, swirls, and for reflection on glasses.

13. Use matching twinkle color to paint over selected areas…For Purple Pearl, Purple Twinkles; Cherry, Red; Jack O’ Lantern, Orange Twinkles; and Black, I mixed it up and gave it a purple twinkle tint as well. For stars, Ice Crystal twinkles was used.

14. Once all is done, adhere sequins and embellishments with craft glue.

OPTIONAL IDEAS:

1. Glue gun a matching tulle or grosgrain ribbon to the top of your canvas for hanging.

2. Use a Craft Twinkles paint pot instead of buying every single color of Twinkles or get a similar effect by just applying Ice Crystal Twinkles over selected areas.

3. For finer details (instead of using Black Americana Writer), use Sharpie Marker.

Also, I can put the pattern if anyone wants it on my flickr. I will have to draw it up though. So, if you’d like to have it, please e-mail me at swelldesigner@yahoo.com.

Here’s what the other ladies of Ornament Thursday have brewed up!

Art Bead Scene
Jennifer’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Bracelet

BeadStyle & Milwaukee’s heritage
Linda shares her Amber Bock Bracelet

Brewin’ Up A Few Witches
Witches born of glass

Cindy Gimbrone aka Lampwork Diva
New Beads are Brewing…

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble…
Joolz by Lisa has a “Hairy” Twist on OT Brew

It’s not easy being green
Michelle yearns to be the Wicked Witch of the West – we think she’s hit pay dirt here.

Strands of Beads
Something wicked is brewing at Melissa’s place

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Join me for Terrorific Tuesdays!

September 24, 2008 by Alexa 13 Comments

If you haven’t already guessed I just love Halloween! I would call myself the queen, but I’ll settle for princess (I do have the tiara after all). And I have my own black cat too! That’s my cat Pixie in the banner above, the official mascot of Terrorific Tuesdays. She’s actually more of a scaredy cat than a scary cat!

If you have been reading my blog for a couple of months, you may have noticed that I’ve been posting a project each Tuesday and titling it my Terrorific Tuesday project. Well, I wanted to expand upon this idea and open it up to all my blog friends out on the “web”! I wanted to create a blog circle for October focusing on Halloween crafts and ideas. Tons of people are looking for clever ideas during this season in every shape and form and I wanted to create a positive, happy network of crafters for that!

You can choose as little or as much as you want to participate. I don’t want this to be something you stress over! Halloween is supposed to be FUN after all!

All I ask is that you please contact me and atleast let me know that you are interested so that I won’t be surprised last minute by someone I don’t know.

Guidelines:

1. Project can be a new or old idea. There will be no set theme from week to week. You can choose to include or not include instructions in your post, but I do ask that you post a photo and a brief description or explanation as to why you were inspired to make that particular project.

Consider one of the following ideas for your post:
– home décor
– jewelry/accessories
– spooky food and drink recipes
– party and table decor
– clever costumes
– cards and paper crafts
– invitations
– outdoor décor
– pumpkin carving/painting

2. I want to keep this simple for everyone. I don’t want there to have to be a set day of the week that you post your project. For example, if you want to post your project on the Friday prior to October 6th, that’s fine, just send me the URL to that post via direct message on twitter (swelldesigner) or e-mail (swelldesigner@yahoo.com). If you want to be included in the Terrorific Tuesday Halloween Crafts and Ideas Roundup for that week, the absolute deadline is 6pm (Eastern time) on each Monday of October 6th, 13th, 20th, and 27th. I will send a reminder on Monday morning on Twitter. Please get it to me each Monday by 6pm, or expect to have your project left off the roundup until the following week.

On that Monday evening, I will compile all the links and create a cute photo mosaic of all the featured projects and write up copy for everyone to use on their blogs. I will e-mail you back late Monday evening this info for you to be able to post in your blogs on Tuesday.

As you probably already know, I like promotion, so I’ll try to stir up some interest on the “web” after our first post! Hopefully it will generate excitement, while also generating us some positive traffic.

Here’s a little button I made for you to be able to promote this fun roundup on your web site. Click on it and it will take you to the HTML code and the Hot link information that you can then copy and paste into your own web site.

I can’t wait to see what you guys “brew” up!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

Terrorific Tuesday: Cute CD Cupcake Stand

September 23, 2008 by Alexa 9 Comments

Hello Swellions! Today I am presenting to you an idea that I kinda changed last minute. I knew along that I wanted to make a cake stand, but yesterday after looking at an ejected cd in my car, I got the idea that I wanted to use a used CD as a base for adorable project. And it’s the perfect size for a cupcake (in my case, mine is faux and I’ll show you how to make them as well). So onto the show!

Cute CD Cupcake Stand

Supplies for Stand
– 1 used CD
– 1 piece of 12″ x 12″ orange scrapbook paper
– 1 piece of 12″ x 12″ silver polka dotted scrapbook paper
– Xyron runner or self-adhesive spray
– 1 package self-adhesive rhinestones (I got mine at Michael’s in Halloween section)
– 1 small styrofoam cone

Supplies for Cupcake
– Jack o’ Lantern Orange Americana Acrylics paint
– Black Craft Twinkles Writer paint
– jar of Snow-Tex (4 oz.)
– Glamour Dust Glitter by DecoArt
– White jumbo cupcake holders (mine were from Wilton)
– medium sized smooth foam ball
– Orange seed beads (mine were an assorted mix)
– medium sized wooden orange bead

General supplies for both
– Glue gun and glue sticks
– scissors
– palette knife
– paper cutter or ruler and exacto knife with cutting board
– small liner brush
– pencil
– kitchen knife
– skotch tape

For CD cupcake stand

1. Take spray adhesive or Xyron runner and coat back of 12″ x 12″ paper. Wrap paper around cone until tight and secure. Cut off top and bottom of paper around cone.

2. Lay cd on top of adhesive on remaining 12″ x 12″ paper and trace with pencil. Cut out with scissors.

3. From the 12″ x 12″ black paper, cut out two strips 12″ long by 2″ wide. Lay side by side to form one long strip. Place tape in middle to join the two strips.

4. Accordian fold the strips back and forth in approximately 1.5″ segments. When finished, cut diagonally on both sides 1/8″ down from top of folded strip. Unfold to reveal pennant banner design.

5. Carefully glue gun pennant banner around side of CD, and cut off and glue any excess that overlaps.

6. Use glue gun to glue top of styrofoam cone to bottom of CD.

7. Embellish bottom of stand with black and silver self-adhesive rhinestones, and dot in between pennant sections using orange rhinestones.

For cupcake

1. Using liner brush, paint alternating sections fo the cupcake holder Jack O’ Lantern Orange. Let dry.

2. Use Black Craft Twinkles to dot in between these alternating stripes as shown. Set aside and let dry.

3. Cut off the bottom of the foam ball to create a flat surface using kitchen knife or styrofoam cutter.

4. Add a few drops of water to your bottle of Snow-Tex paint. This will give it a creamier consistency for your “frosting”. Frost your cupcake everywhere except for the bottom. While wet sprinkle on beads and gently press into place. Also place wooden ball into place into this wet paint. Sprinkle on Glamour Dust as well over top. Let dry.

5. Once dry, use glue gun to glue cupcake to bottom of paper cupcake holder. Place on top of your finished cupcake stand and admire 🙂

Here’s a detail!

Until next time Swellions!

Alexa

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The Swell Designer

Random musings of a crazy, crafty, pop culture-obsessed girl!

Halloween crafting starts early in the house of swell!

Super easy polka dot treat cups

Terrorific Tuesday: Week 3

Halloween Cupcake Pics/Picks

Swell Designer’s Halloween project roundup!!

Terrorific Tuesday: October Week 1

Spooky Googly Eyed Crafts

Ornament Thursday: Something’s brewing up!

Join me for Terrorific Tuesdays!

Terrorific Tuesday: Cute CD Cupcake Stand