Friday, October 21, 2016

Grandma's Got Skills

In the way of Halloween garland! I decided it would be best to try new crafty projects while the grand-love is too little to participate. That way, I'll know what I do and don't want to deal with when the little one gets old enough to help. I'm not as young as I was when the lovelies were little and we tried every craft and baking idea under the sun. I'll be too exhausted to clean up afterwards now. So...

Ah, a box of HUGE pine cones.

I saw some pine cones painted as candy corn all over Pinterest so, I decided to give it a shot.

The white paint shows up nicely. 

NOT as easy as I thought. First of all, those pine cones are dirty and have spiders in them. Ew.

And then there was one. More like, FINALLY there was one. 

Second, painting pine cones is not easy. Or fun. I saw that someone spray painted theirs but, if you've seen me with a paint brush, you would NEVER let me near a spray can. Plus, if you want the kiddos to help, just say, NO, to the spray can.

The project that never ends. 

You should probably also bear in mind that pine cones will stick you so I'm not sure it's the best idea for Baby M when she's older. We'll just have to see about that. OH! Make sure you cover your work area. When you paint pine cones the paint splatters, apparently.

See the splatters? They do not come off easily. You can see them better in the next picture. 

CanNOT believe I didn't figure this out BEFORE the mess. 

Once you finally get those dang things painted, you have to figure out how to string them up. They're really heavy with all that paint on them. Birdie and I decided to tie each one on the rope, individually. That was fun.

And then I decided, RIBBON!
And the ribbon multiplied! I used ribbon I had left over from Birdie's bridal luncheon because I like to reuse and repurpose and to NOT shop for ribbon.



You know, I'm always reinventing the wheel because I think I can do it better (when will I ever learn?) but having a tutorial about this little project would not have been sneered upon.


And that's it. That's what I made. AND, I added some orange lights for nighttime.



Bottom line: This project took quite some time so I'm not sure it's one I'd attempt with Baby M because I don't like tedious. I could let her do a couple and then finish myself but, nah. The search for fun Halloween projects to do with Baby M when she becomes Kiddo M shall continue.

Meanwhile, we'll enjoy the garland and the spooky chicken wire ghosts I made last year. Another project NOT suitable for little kids. It was barely suitable for me. Chicken wire stabs worse than pine cones.

I did see this cute idea at What Happens at Grandma's. And there's always Pinterest, though that's what got me in trouble with the ghosts and pine cone garland to begin with. Anyway...

What fun things do y'all remember doing with your kiddos or grand-loves at Halloween?

16 comments:

  1. I LOVE the pine cone garland. When you first said "painted like candy corn" . . .I was like "what?" I LOVE the finished product especially with the orange ribbons flowing in the breeze! Great job!

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    1. Hahaha! I was like that too. During the whole process. :) Thank you! I've just got to find an easier way to paint those things.

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  2. spiders - painted spiders sounds like an idea.
    I will be decorating with my mouth moving, eye glowing, skull. It's a project that I keep adding too.

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    1. Would you paint them like candy corn? :) I have my ghosts from last year but anything scarier than that and they have to go to someone else's house. I read Stephen King. I know things. Muahahahaha

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  3. A great idea and they really came out cute, Pam!...:)JP

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  4. Wow! Good on you - it looks very impressive. Think I'll pass on it though!! 😳 Unfortunately, we don't really decorate very much for Halloween over here - boring lot that we are. This post made me smile!!

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    1. We are one of the very few who decorate on our street so we get hardly any kiddos. I keep doing it though! I'm glad you got a smile! :)

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  5. Your garland looks great. I never worked on any Halloween crafting projects with anyone.

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    1. Thank you! I did a lot when the girls were growing up but most of it was baking. :) Have a great weekend!

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  6. You may have skill, I do not, just saying..............

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    1. Trust me, it didn't require REAL skill. LOL Have a great weekend!

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  7. So nice to meet you! I'm hopping over from SITS girls. I have a new empty nest - my youngest just left for college. Love your blog and I'll be back! Have a great weekend!

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    1. Great to meet you, too! I'll hop over to your place! Thanks so much for coming over!

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  8. I am in love with them. I love pine cones and always love things that look like candy corn. You did a great job and I'm going to have to try that next year!

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    1. Be careful. Those things will stick you good. LOL Thank you! I know you love pine cones and I though about you while I made this garland. :)

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! It makes me feel connected to everyone even though we may live far apart! Have a wonderful day!

 
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