Weekend Challenge and Halloween Fun Stuff!

I thought you might like to see some fun projects I have been working on.

With the craziness of the Cricut Message Board this weekend, I am actually getting to post my weekend challenge here first and will have to post on the MB once it gets straightened out!

Allison has asked that we use non-traditional materials for our projects so I chose Shrink Film and ... socks!


My daughter's school is just down the road from a new Chik-Fil-A (my fast-food weakness) so we are planning a 1st Grade Girls Play Date at their playplace. Of course those climbing, twisty-tube play areas always require socks for Kentucky health code compliance, so my invitations to the little girls include socks just for fun.

This past spring, I found a great craft idea on GreenBean's Crafterole blog for the instructions for rolling socks into the shape of a cupcake and placing it in a cupcake holder. They really look like a frosted cupcake! I love that idea. You can see it here! Carrie is one of my favorite crafters with her seemingly endless string of GREAT ideas!

Cupcake Details:
2-1/2" Cupcake wrapper is cut from Easter cartridge (on 8-1/2x11 paper, Autofill cuts 3).
The socks are from WallyWorld.
Clear bags are from Hobby Lobby and the cheapy ribbon is from the stash.

I placed each "cupcake" in a clear bag with a tag.

Tag Details:
2-1/2" Princess is cut from Mini Monsters (on 8-1/2x11 paper, Autofill cuts 10 shadows).
4" Charm tags are cut from George (charm, shift, H) (on 8-1/2x11 paper, Autofill cuts 6).
I put glitter on the dresses using my Xyron. I learned about using the Xyron 2-1/2" Sticker Machine to apply glitter from the fabulous girls on the Cricut Circle, AllisonF and Caroline (Doxieluv01). Wow is that addictive! Placing the cut shape upside-down in the machine, peeling them off the sticker paper, and applying glitter (I lightly press it in using a piece of the sticker paper) creates a perfect surface and once the glitter is applied, no flaking! So easy and effective!
I printed directly on the tags with my computer after they were cut out on the Cricut. The princesses were applied onto the printed tags with pop dots.

I also made little bracelet favors with a Shrinky Dink charm that matches the Mini Monsters character on the invitation.


Bracelet Details:
2" Princess is cut from Mini Monsters on Shrink Film.
Misc beads, .5mm Stretch Magic jewelry cord, and sterling split jump rings are used to string together the bracelets.

Just a bit of quick info on working with Shrink Film...

I received so much great info from a thread on the Cricut Circle on using this stuff! First, it will curl up. I had not been baking long enough and, on previous failed attempts, did not leave them in long enough to uncurl, which they will eventually do! Once that was pointed out, it changed the game. Second, the Cricut will cut it, but it takes using the Multicut function.

These are my settings: Multicut 3, Blade 6, Pressure 5, Speed 3 and baked 6 minutes at 325. I was able to outline and write on the film best using a Zig 01 fine pen. You have to punch out a hole before it bakes or the force of trying to punch it later will break your charm in two! I used a regular office hole punch. It looked huge but was perfect! My daughter's Crayola Markers colored the shrink film with no problems. Since the colors will darken as they shrink, I found that not coloring in the skin and just adding rosy cheeks worked best for me. You can glue onto the film after it is baked. I use E6000 adhesive. I love that stuff. It is made for non-porous materials.

I cut my character at 2" and it baked down to 3/4".

I found the princess on Mini Monsters while doing a different project earlier this week. I made treat bags for my daughter's ballet class. Her ballet school allows the children to wear dance-appropriate costumes and to bring treats for one another the week leading to Halloween. Those different sized googly eyes were first used on that project.

The tags were made with Mini Monsters, page 41. I started with the orange shadow and found that on 12x12 paper, autofill will cut 12 at 3". Two different sizes of googly eyes finished up the characters super quick. That was an idea I found on the Circle Blog. I used a Zig microfine pen to write on her smile.

The black tag behind the witch is a charm on page 99 of George & Basic Shapes cut at 3-3/4". Autofill will cut 9 on 12x12 paper. The candy corn patterned tag behind that is also from George, cut at 4-1/2". Autofill will cut 14 of those on 12x12 paper.

Speaking of Halloween, that is the perfect holiday for the craziness of the challenging challenges at Olive Juice Studio. I adore the funky mind of Kim Du Chene! Her challenge for October is to create a scrappy scarecrow, of course she has a list of requirements (such as including a rubber band, a feather, and items starting with the letter "P") to spice it up and make you think! That is the part I love, naturally!

This is Supa Scare. Apologies for that, but part of the challenge was to create an appropriate name for the scarecrow created.

He is made completely from found items at our house (it kinda shows). His glittery head and bird are from leftover items from the church bazaar stuff I donated. His base is a CD holder, wrapped in metal tape (leftover from attaching the dryer hose) and duct tape (that my husband borrowed from a neighbor last night for me). The black and glitter papers on him are from my drawer of little scrap papers, the giant pipe cleaners are ones I raided from my DD's craft stuff (she is 6 so it required trading and begging). The rubber bands are from the asparagus that I cooked last night. (How can a house not have any rubber bands except what shows up from the produce department??!!) The raffia has to be from 1992, leftover a project I did then for school. That is the only time I remember using it and I had quite a time remembering where I put it. The felt is left over stock from when I thought that I needed every color made to create my little 2" acorn fairies. (Note: 2" fairies do not require a case of felt to get completed). The dowel rod inside him is leftover from DD's birthday party in 2007 when the girls made magic wands. The face is from Pumpkin Carving (cut at 3-3/4") and the "S" on his chest is from Superman (cut at 2").

Silliness is par for the course in October! I just heard a great editorial on the radio who praised Halloween as a celebration of creativity. That was not the point of his message, but it was one that made me take note.

My daughter's Christian school (and her previous preschool for that matter) does not allow any mention of Halloween or use of Halloween symbols. Until this year, I really underplayed it for this reason. I have never attended a church that disallows the holiday, in fact, my current church had a Halloween party and a haunted house for the kiddos instead of RE this week. For this reason, I have gone back to my love of Halloween. How could I not love a celebration of creativity?! We continue to respect the rules of the school and wishes of some of the other families, but that is part of being a member of a community. I think it is a better lesson to teach my daughter to be respectful but still true to our family's values and preferences.


Now... I am off to get ready for tonight's family hooha for Halloween! Best wishes for a safe, happy, and creative Halloween! Eat extra treats for me!