candy corn and scarecrows [a craft how-to]

grandma r. came to town this weekend with our nieces and brought two fall crafts for the kids:  candy corn pots and can scarecrows (edited: source here)!  and they are so easy to make, too!  the kids loved it!

the candy corn pots don't really need a tutorial.  paint, fill with candy, adorn with a handmade pick (if you want).  


but here are a few tips:

1. wrap a rubber band around the pot between the bottom (white) and the middle (orange) sections.
2. use the lip of the pot for the line between the middle and the top (yellow) section.
3. paint the top (yellow) and the bottom (white) sections first.  let them dry. 
4. carefully fold down the rubber band over the top edge of the bottom (white) section to create the guide for your orange paint.

i made the picks from free basic clip art loaded into my silhouette sd.  and just hot glued them onto toothpicks.

for the scarecrows, start with an empty, clean LARGE (family size) can.  these were bush's baked beans cans. 

• cover sides of can with light brown felt. secure with tacky glue.
• glue on buttons for eyes, felt nose, and string mouth.

• glue on raffia for hair (with hot glue). we used another unopened can to hold the hair in place while the glue dried.  you could use hot glue and skip the dry time. 

• decorate straw hat (found in the doll section of hobby lobby) with flowers or a strip of fabric for the boys (with hot glue). 

• glue hat on (with hot glue).

these two crafts put me in the mood for fall...i can't wait for the crisp air and apple-picking!

i'm taking the challenge...the photo challenge, that is

while blog-hopping the other night, i came across a blog called A Step in the Journey written by laura beth.  she was inspired to start a photography challenge on her own on her blog.  and i'm in. (AND she has a Nikon - gotta love that!) 

each week, there is a photo assignment.  once you complete your homework and pick your best shot, you link it up to laura beth's blog.  simple, huh?  they just finished week 4: "dinner" and they are on to week 5's assignment "from a high angle"...jump in at any time.

sheesh.  i make it sound so easy.  i hope i'm not sounding to used car salesman-y.  no offense to all the car sales people out there.  i just can't let an effective reference die.   

anyway, back to the challenge.  i'm doing it.  for real.  no, seriously, i will do it.  every week.  why are you laughing?    (have i shared my favorite pin i found on pinterest?) 

don't tell the NFL...

there aren't many things that will excite an 8 year old boy.  star wars. pokemon. sports. food. video games. dirt.  okay, so there are a few things.   

here's another to add to the list:  a personalized water bottle!    

he asked for his name and a football.  so in typical overachiever form, this is what i produced.  (wink)

due to 8 years of brainwashing by his father, he is a devout minnesota vikings fan, so this was perfect.  it only would have been better if i added a green bay packer logo with a huge line through it.  (my apologies to the readers who are packer fans -- i love brett favre, if it's any consolation).

the font is supposed to look like star wars.  i got it on one of the free font websites.  i think the font is called "star jedi".  there is also one called "jedi" that is similar.  both would be perfect for any star wars themed anything...and perfect for the budget as well! 

so, $3.99 for the water bottle from target (purple, of course), a scrap piece of vinyl, and my trusted silhouette sd, i successfully impressed an 8 year old!