Pumpkin Muslin Bag

I was playing with some Muslin Bags in the studio the other day and decided I'd create this Pumpkin Muslin Bag for Halloween. If you remember my Grungy Boo Bags, I had fun creating those and wanted to create something different this year that could be used for treats. So that's how I came up with these.

As always, I used a pre-made muslin bag for this. Then I knew I wanted the bag to look orange, but also sort of Grungy at the same time. So I looked through my various bottles of sprays and found a copper spray, made by Tattered Angels. I tested it on some scrap muslin first and it looked perfectly orange, so I went ahead and sprayed my whole bag. But I didn't spray it enough to make it solid orange--because I wanted it to look grungy too. Once that dried I drew on a jack-o-lantern face with pencil, and then just painted it with black craft paint. That's really all there was to it!

These would be great for treats, but also just for decor on a shelf or something. Very quick and easy to make.

Mini Faux Caramel Apple

Well, it's that time of year again. You know, Primitive Fall. :) Leaves are starting to fall, mornings are cool, and sweater weather will soon be upon us. And all I can say is yay! I love Fall. And it's already inspiring lots of things I'm seeing on Pinterest and on other blogs.

One thing I've been seeing for the last year or two is faux caramel apples. I've been wanting to make one, but I was hunting all over for my plastic apples I had and couldn't find them. Very frustrating! All I could find was my mini plastic apples--the small ones I just use for little craft projects. But hey, I'm nothing if not improvisational. So I gave it a shot, and this Mini Faux Caramel Apple was the result.

OK, it's not perfect. I couldn't even find my crushed corn cob so that I could make it look like it has faux nuts on top. Urgh! I swear there are some fairies playing in my studio and moving my stuff! But anyhoots, it was an experiment, and at some point I'll be able to try it on some bigger apples. All I did was mix white glue with some caramel-colored acrylic craft paint. I drizzled it over the apple while it was setting on some wax paper, and then I let it dry. If I'd had the crushed corn cob I would have sprinkled some on while it was still wet. That would have made it much better (dang fairies!). Then I just grabbed a stick from outside and stuck it in my apple and added a homespun tie.

It's not too bad, right? Full sized ones would be so cute sitting around as Fall decor, or even as gifts, don't you think? If you do a Google Image search for "faux caramel apples" you will get some cool results to check out for inspiration.

Grungy Ghost Pick

I was in a crafting mood over the weekend so I did several things in my studio yesterday. Some are for Tattered Sisters and some are for my art blog (Art Chick Studio). The first thing I made though was this Primitive Halloween Grungy Ghost pick.

I always have Muslin Bags on hand, because they are great for crafting, and for gifts and such. For this project, I had a muslin bag that was messed up (the result of a failed attempt at a previous project). It had some paint on part of it, but a good portion of the bag was still usable. So I cut off a corner section of the bag to make my ghost.

I got a little Styrofoam ball and wrapped the piece of the muslin bag over the ball, to form the head. I used the string tie from the bag to tie around the ghost's neck, securing it in place. Then I stuck a stick into the bottom of the Styrofoam ball so I could use the ghost as a pick. That would let me stick it anywhere I wanted to. I painted on the eyes and mouth with black acrylic paint, and then I distressed the fabric a bit with some brown (walnut stain color) Distress Ink. 

I happened to have a little rusty tin bucket close by, so I added some Spanish moss to it and stuck my grungy ghost in. Then I added a primitive crow just to keep him company. The ghost can be put anywhere--in some prim floral arrangement you already have or something else you might like. You don't even have to use a stick; leave it out and instead tie some thread through his head and hang your ghost somewhere.

This literally took me only minutes to make, and with materials I already had on hand. You could make a bunch of these and hang them or stick them all over for Halloween. Or you could even leave out the Styrofoam ball and use a sucker/lollipop instead to give as treats. You could easily do this with the kiddos too.

The Kitchen Witch

Once upon a time, many years ago when I was little (around third grade, to be more precise), my mother told me a story about a Kitchen Witch. Her friend had received one as a gift and I didn't know what exactly a "kitchen witch" was, so my mother told me. The Kitchen Witch is a doll, often handmade, that is meant to be a good witch that keeps watch in the kitchen. It is meant to help ensure good food and safety, and to bring good luck.

So fast forward several months later and I was shopping for a birthday gift for my mom, when I just happened to spy, with my little kid eye, a Kitchen Witch in a store. Naturally, I had to buy it. I'm sure I was with my grandparents at the time, because they often took my sister and me shopping when my mom's birthday was near. The kitchen witch was an ugly looking thing, but hey, if she brought good luck I didn't care. So I got it and gave it to my mom and she loved it. She was surprised I'd remembered the story she told me about them. 

Fast forward again, to a not-so-enjoyable memory of my mother's passing last year. It was, of course, a very difficult time. A time of grief (that hasn't left me) and loss, but also of memories of times gone by. And one of the first things I thought of when I knew I'd be going to Texas for the funeral...was that kitchen witch.

Mom's kitchen witch was still hanging above the sink in her kitchen--precisely where it had hung in every single kitchen in every home she'd lived in since I gave it to her all those years ago. You can see that she's a bit worse for wear, a bit stained, and a bit...primitive-looking now (even though I gave her the most thorough cleaning that I could), as she hangs in my kitchen window, above the sink, just as Mom had her. And here she will hang, even when we eventually move to "the farm" we're planning to move into in the next few years...every day, until the day that I pass too.

Does she bring good luck? I don't know. But she does bring me the memory of a little girl, buying her mom a birthday present that she cherished until the day she died. And I just thought I'd share her with you today.

Pip Berries Teardrop Spray

I was digging around in the lower part of my hutch the other day looking for something, and I happened upon a great find...something I'd forgotten was even there. It was a couple of these Pip Berries Teardrop Sprays.

It's funny how you get stuff sometimes, then stick it away to use later, and naturally forget that you ever bought it. What is it they say..."out of sight out of mind?" So true, even more so the older I get. LOL. But I was so glad to find these Pip Berries. I love them. They can hang on the wall just as they are, or I can add stuff to them to make them even more primitive. And I love the colors, don't you? Perfect for any time of year!

But please don't ask me where I got them, because honestly I don't recall. I'm sure they've been in my hutch for at least 4-5 years! So glad I found them though.

Mini Pumpkin Jack Dough Ornies

As soon as it's September, I start think about Fall, don't you? I look forward to the crisp, cool air, the changing colors of all the leaves, and the return of baking season! And what's more perfect for fall than Primitive Pumpkins? So here are some cute little Mini Pumpkin Jack Dough Ornies.

Throw these into a bowl of putka pods or scented rosehips, and you've got some cute decor for either Fall or Halloween. They are fairly small, only around 1" tall, so they are really cute and prim. As always, I use my Primitive Dough Recipe to make these. And I used in a silicone mold to make the pumpkins, in case you are wondering. I put the dough in, then pop them out and bake them on a cookie sheet. Easy peasy.

I bet you've got something fun cooking up for Fall too, don't you?!