I'm all set up for Briar Patch Marketplace at Hamilton High in Chandler! The address is 3700 S. Arizona Ave. (just north of Ocotillo). The show will be open Saturday, September 28th from 9 to 5 and Sunday, September 29th from 9 to 4. I'm right in the middle of the main hallway. I would love to see you!
I've got lots of handcrafted pumpkins!
Also witch hats, Halloween pillows, runners and ornaments!
And lots of Christmas stockings, mini stockings and stocking ornaments!
This is a really easy Halloween place card you can make in a few minutes! Whether your Halloween dinner guest list is large or small, you can add a decorative touch to your table without going to a lot of trouble.
I used the flying skeleton image from Sin City Stamps’ Halloween Bingo stamp set. I love having the set because it gives so many options! And you can get 30% off any Sin City Stamps purchase now through October 1st with the coupon code pbfall.
I cut some lavender card stock to 4.25 by 6 inches. Then I stamped the image with ColorBox Chalk Ink in Wisteria and the name with ColorBox Chalk Ink in Blackbird. I scored the cardstock and folded it in half. Then I added some Distress Inks to the edges (Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord and Vintage Photo). And that was it! I really like the simplicity of the card, but you could add as much embellishment as you like!
I think the juxtaposition of the pastel colors with the skeleton image makes this place setting sort of spooky and charming at the same time. But you can make this with any colors you choose. I think black ink on grey cardstock would look great.
The Sin City Stamps Design Team will be making some great new Halloween projects and sharing them in a Halloween blog hop on October 12th. Be sure to join us! There will be prizes! Start at the Sin City Stamps blog and follow the hop to win and to see all the new projects.
I stamped the Flying Witch image onto a piece of tea dyed muslin with India Black Ink from Stewart Superior. Stewart Superior provided us some inks to work with, and this one makes a nice, crisp image on fabric. It helps to put your fabric on top of some craft foam when you stamp. For more tips on stamping on fabric, see this post.
I added the text with ColorBox Chalk Ink in Pumpkin Spice.
Using a rotary cutter, I trimmed the muslin piece so that there were one inch margins all around the image. This is easier for me than cutting the muslin piece first and then hoping that I stamp the image exactly where I want it.
Then I cut a piece of orange burlap and two pieces of tea dyed muslin 3 inches longer and 3 inches wider than my stamped piece. That gave me a one inch margin all around plus a half inch on each side for my seams.
I attached the stamped piece to the burlap with a zigzag stitch.
One piece of muslin is for backing or lining the burlap and one is the back of the pillow. I always use a backing piece when I want to stuff burlap, so my fiberfill doesn’t sneak out through the loose weave, and it also helps hold the fibers in place so the burlap doesn’t fray so much. For more tips on sewing with burlap, see this post.
I pinned my layers with right sides together. If you put the lining layer in place behind the burlap layer and treat that like one piece, it’s easier to figure out the order of your layers.
You need to leave an opening for turning and stuffing. I like to put a pin in a different direction from all the others through the center of my opening. This reminds me not to sew the whole piece closed (which I have done, before I came up with this trick).
I stitched the pieces together, trimmed the corners, and added a zigzag stitch to the edge of the burlap at the opening. Burlap wants to fray, so it helps to zigzag any edge that is going to have pressure applied to it.
I turned the piece right side out, pushed the corners out with the end of a wooden dowel, and ironed the piece.
I stuffed the pillow with polyester fiberfill.
I stitched the opening closed. Then I added a little embellishment. It’s sort of a squashed rosette made from hand dyed cheesecloth with a bat button sewed on.
Finally, I added a hanger. You can sew in a hanger when you sew the pieces together, but I like to add one this way when the piece is complete because I can adjust the length. I usually use embroidery floss, perle cotton or crochet cotton. I cut a length (this was about 17 inches of 6-strand embroidery floss), thread it onto a needle and tie a double or triple knot at one end. Then I sew through one side of the back of the pillow, coming up. Then I sew through the other side, going down, and make another double or triple knot. If it turns out that this hanger is too long for the place I want to hang the pillow, I just cut off one knot and make another one further up, shortening the hanger.
This is my prototype burlap Jack O'Lantern pillow with a couple of my velvet pumpkins. I'll be making more of these for Briar Patch Marketplace at Hamilton High in September and Sequoya School in October, and I'll have some in my space at Merchant Square in Chandler.
Here's the pillow by itself:
If I keep making fall projects, maybe it will start feeling like fall around here!
Starshine Wishes,
Karen
P.S. I'm linking up to Debbie Doo's Primp Your Pumpkin party. Go see all the amazing pumpkins!
These are being delivered to the Market at Urban Restoration today, along with more velvet pumpkins in different colors, for this weekend's Market. I'm also restocking my recycled silk sari ribbon and hand dyed seam binding, along with vintage hardware and some 100-year old documents! This is a monthly sale with great vintage finds. Stop by Friday, Saturday or Sunday!
Here are some of today's velvet pumpkins. They have floral wire vines attached to their vintage thread spool stems. Some of them will be headed to The Market at Urban Restoration in Phoenix and some will be at Merchant Square in Chandler. Come pick yours!
Starshine Wishes,
Karen
P.S. I am linking up to DebbieDoo's Primp Your Pumpkin party. Stop by and see all the marvelous pumpkins!
I just took a fresh batch of velvet pumpkins to Merchant Square in Chandler. You can see them in Space 74.
I'll be taking some to the Market at Urban Restoration in Phoenix next week. Their September sale is set for the 13th through the 15th. I'll also have some at Briar Patch Marketplace at Hamilton High in Chandler on September 28th and 29th.
I'm working on lots of different colors. Here's a special order I just completed:
I just got more velvet, so it's back to the cutting table for me!
Starshine Wishes,
Karen
P.S. I'm linking up to DebbieDoo's Primp Your Pumpkin party. Go see all the great pumpkins!
All text and photos copyright Karen Lackey, 2011-2016, unless otherwise noted. You may link to text but please do not copy it. If you use my photos, please give credit and link back to the original post. Thanks!
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