Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Halloween town

for the last week and a half we worked on paper mache' skulls and small Halloween platforms.
first we painted the skulls white. we were going to paint them but decided to paper mache' instead.

this is our finished crafts.they glow in the dark






we had some halloween ornaments so we painted those too. And we put on GOOGLE EYES!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN







Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Halloween is coming ... are you ready???? We have been working on Halloween projects. We have painted, glued, and re-glued. So far we have finished a few projects that we would like to share with you. First, we made black cats and ghosts.




These cats and ghosts will glow in the dark since we used glow in the dark paint. Couldn't get a good picture of that to show you though. Next we painted coffins ... to be on a platform that will also glow in the dark. Kenzie was in deep thought while painting her coffin. Below is the finished inside of the coffins.

Next was the project of painting the base of our platforms and gluing all different Halloween items to it. These platforms will be used as table centerpieces for the holiday. Note: on some of the items we had to use a hot glue gun. I am not sure it that is because it is so humid here that Elmer's glue did not dry over night or if we just needed a better glue ... but no worries, it all turned out great in the end.
Dreamer's from the front.

 A view from the top so that you can see everything. This one is Dreamer's.

Kenzie's HallowScream platform from the front.

Kenzie's HallowScream platform from the top.
Our next project will be our Sugar Skulls. We cannot wait! Below is how we started with them. More pictures in our next post.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Fairy Mobile

For this project you will need: Florist Wire for the body, Wire Cutters, Silk Flower Petals for the clothing, Glue, Small colored beads (we used glass), small wooden beads for the head, googlie eyes or you can draw them yourself. We also used different items for hair and wings (we had silk butterflies and this made the wings easy).We also used a small grape vine wreath for the top of the mobile and fishing line to hang the fairies on the mobile.

  • You need a  6 1/2" piece of wire and a 2 1/2" piece of wire. Fold the longer wire in half. Bend in the ends of the smaller wire to form hands. Lay the shorter wire over the bent wire. Fold the top of the bent wire down over the smaller wire and then pull it back through itself so that the bend is back to the top. Slide a bead over the "legs" and add a drop of glue to hold it in place.
Our supplies for the project.
This is what the wires will look like before you combine them.
After the wires have been combined.
This is five of our completed fairies. We made seven, one for each day of the week.
  • You will choose your flower petals and slide the legs through the hole in the center. We glued another bead under the petals to help it all stay together.
  • We added a bead over the top bent piece of wire to work as a shirt and to also make the fairy sturdier. 
  • You then add a wooden bead over the bent wire for the head, using some glue to hold it in place.
  • Bend the wires for the legs to form feet.
  • Draw or decorate a face for the fairy. We used googlie eyes and drew a mouth. We also glued hair on the head and added a small petal for a hat. Then we glued on wings, tied fishing line around the body and the other end to the wreath.
  • Note: when adding fairies to the wreath, stagger the length of the string for each fairy to prevent tangling.


Manny the Manatee

For this project you will need: Flour, water, balloons, newspapers, paint, tape, tissue paper or crepe paper, and decorations for whatever design you choose to make ... and definitely googlie eyes. WE LOVE GOOGLIE EYES! <3   This is Manny after three layers of paper mache' posing with our original design.



The picture we styled from and the beginning shape drawing.

Here is Manny finished except for his hanger. Still need to cut a hole, add the string, and fill it with candy.
another view.
 So, we have finished Manny the Manatee. It was lots of work. Four layers of paper mache made from 2 parts water and 1 part flour. Messy job! Make sure they cover their work area and wear old clothes. You will be a mess!

Once it is completely dried, we painted it .... and covered it with silver tissue paper (it is hard to find crepe paper in grey) ... added some googlie eyes and nostrils from repurposed jewelry. Taa Daa! Manny is finished.