Making it Lovely

Tag: bhg.com

  • Spooky Halloween Front Porch for 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…

  • Modern Pumpkin Lanterns for BHG

    Modern Pumpkin Lanterns for BHG

    I crafted three modern pumpkin lanterns for my third Better Homes & Gardens project. I painted them in various metallics, and all three are hot pink on the inside. The pumpkins are cute during the daytime, but because I painted the insides they have an amazing pink glow when they’re lit at night!

    Please take a moment to vote for your favorite pumpkin project at bhg.com. And here’s how you can create your own modern pumpkin lanterns:

    Supplies

    • faux crafter’s pumpkins
    • craft paint (I used hot pink, bronze, gold, and silver)
    • 1″ foam brush
    • small flameless candles
    • x-acto knife or heated cutting tool

    Instructions

    • Cut a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin large enough to fit your hand inside.
    • Carve circles (or desired shapes) into the pumpkin.
    • Paint the inside. I used two coats of hot pink paint, which gives the pumpkin a pretty pink glow when lit.
    • Paint the outside. Each pumpkin took three coats of metallic paint.
    • Place the pumpkin over a flameless candle to illuminate it.

    Vote for Your Favorite Pumpkin Project

    You can vote every day until Sunday for your favorite pumpkin project at bhg.com. Next week I’ll share the fourth and final BHG project: my front porch, decorated for Halloween!

  • Autumn Leaves Napkin Rings for BHG

    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!

  • My Mask in Better Homes & Gardens

    My Mask in Better Homes & Gardens

    Hooray! I knew in an abstract sense that my mask would be in the October issue of Better Homes & Gardens, but it was thrilling to actually see it in the magazine.

    You can vote everyday for your favorite mask at BHG.com. I also created three more projects for BHG that I’ll be sharing with you in October, and I’ll post instructions for making your own version of my mask next week.

  • Halloween Mask for Better Homes & Gardens

    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 }

  • This Project Made Possible by You!

    This Project Made Possible by You!

    I’ve created a little banner to identify projects funded by our winnings in the 48-Hour Challenge. We’ve held onto the money until we could decide how best to use it. Half has been set aside for an important business expense (securing Trademarks), and the other half is being divvied up among several new projects around the house. Thank you again for your support, and for making all of this possible!