Tag: bhg

Spooky Halloween Front Porch for BHG
My fourth and final project for Better Homes & Gardens can finally be revealed! I decorated our front porch for Halloween with 2D and 3D spooky crows on twisted branches. My porch is up against the other three bloggers’ projects, so please vote for your favorite at bhg.com.

In addition to the crows, several rats can also be found cavorting about. Even Bernard the monkey (I picked him up on clearance over the summer at Z Gallerie) has found a small furry friend.

The project was pretty straightforward, but here’s how I did it…

Supplies
- black construction paper or poster board
- scissors
- pencil
- transparent tape
- large branches (the gnarlier, the better)
- black spray paint (optional)
- fake crows
- wire (if your crows do not have it already)
- planters and bricks/rocks for bases
Instructions
- Sketch a barren tree and a couple of crows onto your black paper.
- Cut out your shapes and affix them to your door or window with transparent tape.
- If you need to darken your branches, spray them with a bit of black paint and let them dry.
- Fill your planters with rocks or bricks and insert your branches.
- Perch your birds in the branches and secure them with wire (my birds’ feet had wire built-in for this purpose).
I also took off our screen door (it was blocking the view of the silhouetted birds), and I made new curtains for the front door and window.

Remember, you can vote every day until Halloween for your favorite project at bhg.com. Now I can’t wait to answer the door for the neighborhood trick-or-treaters on Sunday…
October 26, 2010
Autumn Leaves Napkin Rings for BHG
This is the second craft project I’ve made for Better Homes & Gardens this fall (the first was the Halloween mask). I, along with the other three bloggers, was tasked with creating something out of real or fake autumn leaves. And just as last time, you can vote for your favorite at bhg.com.

Wouldn’t these be great for setting the table on Thanksgiving? Here’s how you can make your own.

Supplies
- faux fall leaves
- faux berries on wire stems
- felt
- ribbon
- pinking shears
- hot glue gun and glue
Instructions
- For each napkin ring, cut a 3″ circle out of felt with pinking shears. I find it’s easier if you make an outline of the circle with chalk before cutting.
- Glue a single leaf to the felt circle, leaving 1/2″ of the stem hanging down.
- Glue a few sprigs of berries to the leaf, wrapping the end of the wires around the leaf stem to strengthen it.
- Cut a 24″ length of ribbon, and tie it at its center to the stem of the leaf.
- use the ribbon to wrap around a napkin and tie the ends in a bow.
And remember, you can see the other three projects made with autumn leaves and vote for your favorite at bhg.com!
October 12, 2010
How to Make My Halloween Mask for BHG
I mentioned last week that I would provide you with the instructions to make the same Halloween Mask that I made for Better Homes & Gardens. Halloween will be here in just a few weeks, but there is still plenty of time for you to create your own version of this mask!

Supplies
- plain mask
- wooden dowel rod
- green acrylic craft paint
- leaves and finely textured faux flowers for the main part of the mask
- taller faux flowers for the floral pick
- wire (preferably green florist’s wire)
- hot glue gun and glue
- small hole punch
- green embroidery floss
- small fake bird
Instructions
- Start by punching holes along one side of the mask. This is where you will eventually attach the dowel rod to support your mask.
- Paint a base coat of green on the mask and wooden dowel rod.
- Glue faux leaves around the eyes and nose of the mask, leaving room along the outer edges.
- If you wish, create eyelashes out of spindly petals (faux allium work well) and glue them around the eyes of the mask.
- Use hot glue to attach the fake bird near the top of your mask.
- Cut your finely textured faux flora into pieces and glue these to the mask, covering as much surface area as possible and tucking under the edges of the leaves and around your bird.
- Next, create the floral pick that will attach to the support stick for the mask. I chose three branchy faux flowers of differing textures and used hot glue to attach them to each other.
- Once the dowel rod is dry, attach the floral pick along the top with hot glue, then wrap with wire to secure.
- For a more finished look, wrap green embroidery floss around the dowel rod where you attached the floral pick.
- Attach the dowel rod to the mask with wire, and you’re done.
* If you like my mask you can vote for it every day at BHG.com until October 10.
October 5, 2010
Halloween Mask for Better Homes & Gardens

Remember when I mentioned that I would be crafting four Halloween projects for Better Homes & Gardens? Well I’m thrilled to finally be able to share the first project with you: a Halloween mask.

Above is the mask as it appears on BHG.com and as it will be in the magazine. It looks great, but I actually had to cut it in half at the last minute. See, it originally looked like this:

The other three bloggers each used masquerade masks (which I did not know until after I had completed mine), so as the odd duck out I was asked if I could cut my mask down to size. You have no idea how nervous I was as I took scissors to it! Looking at the others I suppose I should have cut into the nose more, but I didn’t have a reference to work off of so I winged it. Luckily I managed to pull off the last-minute alteration without destroying the mask in the process. Phew!

You can view all four masks at BHG.com, and you can vote each day for your favorite until October 10. After that, there will be three more Halloween craft projects, with a winner for each. One overall winner will then be chosen to commission an exclusive design for the October 2011 issue of Better Homes & Gardens! That would be amazing, but I’m honored just to have taken part and thankful to Better Homes & Gardens for this fun opportunity. And I can’t wait to share my other projects with you.

{ click here to view my mask and vote for your favorite at BHG.com }

September 10, 2010
Have You Voted Yet Today?

Just a quick reminder… you can vote once each day from now until June 12, and we’d really appreciate your support in the BHG 48-Hour Challenge!

June 7, 2009