DIY Easy Acorn Napkin Ring Tutorial
Now that Halloween is over, it’s time to start thinking of how you want to decorate for the rest of Autumn and for Thanksgiving!
This super simple napkin ring from BHG is made from real acorns and takes only a couple of minutes to make. Doesn’t it look really difficult? It will impress guests for sure, plus they can be used year after year!
To make this natural napkin ring, drill tiny holes through the sides of nine or 10 acorns. Using wire, thread the acorns together, alternating the acorns top-to-bottom so they nestle together tightly. When you get to the end, just tie the wire in a little twist and hide behind an acorn. All set and ENJOY!
Fun & Fruity Turkey Tutorial
Get kids excited about Thanksgiving and make them a super healthy and delicious snack at the same time! These fruity turkeys are easy and fun.
What You’ll Need:
- Wooden skewers
- Bento toothpick and regular toothpicks
- Googly eyes
- Grapes and/or other fruits to add to the skewers.
Directions:
- Cut the side off from an apple to make it sit flat.
- Affix the googly eyes with peanut butter or use something else to make eyes. Use half of a grape as the beak and stick a Bento toothpick into it over the stem part of the apple.
- Put fruits on the skewers and stick them in the hind part of the apple to make the tail.
- Use toothpicks to stabilize the hind part of the apple since the skewers make it back-heavy.
- Give to kids and enjoy!
Thank you to Super Healthy Kids for the fun snack idea!
DIY Glitter Ballet Flats
Don’t spend $50 on a pair of glitter flats, especially when you can buy cheap, plain ones and Mod Podge the sparkles onto them yourself for a couple of bucks! Follow this super simple tutorial from She Knows for your own pair.
What You’ll Need:
- Shoes (plain or some ones that might be a little scratched up and you can cover it!)
- Mod Podge
- Glitter
- Clear Con-Tact paper
- 2 paintbrushes
- Utility knife
- Bowl
- Acrylic spray sealer (optional)
Directions:
- Find a design or shape that you like and print it out. Lay the contact paper over it and tape it down to keep it secure.
- Using a utility knife, cut the shape out of the center. You will be using this interior part as the shape onto the shoe.
- take the back off the contact paper and lay it over where you want it to be on your shoe. Make sure they are straight and even with the one on the other shoe.
- Mix the Mod Podge with the glitter you want to use in about a 1 to 1 ratio. Paint a thin and even coat over the template.
- Allow to dry completely, then repeat as necessary to make sure it is fully opaque.
- Use an acrylic spray to seal the glitter on or use another thin coat of just mod podge.
- Remove the contact paper and allow to dry again. All done! A few minutes and you’ve got truly unique and adorable shoes!
Easy Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Lantern Tutorial
As many know, Dia de los Muertos (or the Day of the Dead) is celebrated on November 1st every year in Mexico. It’s been celebrated for over 4,000 years – long before Mexico existed! It is a celebration of life and it is a loved tradition with beautiful decorations and altars, parades and music.
If you want to teach your children about Dia de los Muertos (or learn about it yourself) this website is full of information on the history, traditions, and current celebrations. Then create these Day of the Dead lanterns to celebrate the lives of loved ones in your life that have passed on with this tutorial from Growing Up Bilingual.
What You’ll Need:
- glass mason jars
- black sharpie or other permanent black marker
- glow in the dark sticks
Directions:
- To make these lanterns, just paint a fun sugar skull or calavera design on the front of the mason jar. You can Google ideas for inspiration.
- Cut a glow in the dark stick and pour the glow in the dark liquid inside the mason jar. Close the jar tightly and shake it making sure that the liquid covers all the inside of the mason jars. Put them out in the dark and enjoy the glowing calaveras!
Note: Make sure that you use gloves when you cut the glow in the dark sticks and do not let children handle them or cut them as the chemicals inside the glow stick can irritate skin and eyes. Some glow sticks also have glass inside so be careful when handling as there might be glass shards inside the glow stick. Proper safety materials like safety glasses and gloves should be used when recommended to protect eyes and skin.
DIY Halloween “Preppy Pumpkin”
If you don’t want to carve your pumpkin or you have a fake pumpkin to decorate, here’s a great, simple, and very pretty idea that you can imitate and create your own version with different colors and words. Thanks to Pomp & Circumstance Events for the cute idea. All instructions below are for the pumpkin in the picture with all black decorations.
What You’ll Need:
- Pumpkin (real or fake in size of your choice)
- Ribbon (black or designed)
- Black paint (optional)
- Sharpie (black)
- Buttons (preferably black)
- Hot glue gun & extra sticks
- Scissors
Directions:
- Write a word/phrase across your pumpkin of your choice. Write in size and design you want the letters to look.
- Use hot glue gun to glue buttons on top of the word/phrase you wrote in marker. Try to get buttons as close together as possible.
- (Optional) – Paint the stem black, then wait for paint to dry fully.
- Cut ribbon the length of the pumpkin
- Tie ribbon in a bow around the stem and secure with hot glue.