Makin' horns...

The last week or so I have been making horns, getting ready for my Halloween rush.  Here are some progress shots!

All my horns start out as balls.

Then I shape them into horns.

Tray of horns, about to go into the oven.

Ditto.

Bowl of horns, cooling in ice water.

Want to learn how to make some horns yourself?  Check out my tutorial here!

Don't want to make your own?  These should all be available soon at my etsy shop.

Polymer Clay Horns Tutorial

No time to order horns from Bunny's Craft Hutch?  Why not make your own?  

Supplies needed:

1) At least 1 ounce of polymer clay (Sculpey III, Premo!, Fimo, etc.) Usually I use about half a 2-ounce package for one pair of horns.

2) Long thin tool to make the holes in the horns. I use the medium Sculpey Etch n’ Pearl tool, but you can use a large needle or something similar.

3) Cord, ribbon or elastic to attach the horns to your head. You will need enough to go around the top of your head, tying at the nape of your neck, plus 2-3 inches to allow for the knots. I usually use about 42” of cord per pair of horns.

4) Clean, level work surface.  (I usually cover my surface with wax paper, especially when working with red clay, which tends to stain.)

5) Cutting blade

6) OPTIONAL – Clay pasta machine, if you prefer to use one to condition the clay.

Tdro's Costume Theory

Anyone who knows me knows that I never, ever, ever just go to a store and buy a costume (unless I'm crunched for time or money, or I don't have a good idea for a costume, or I'm feeling lazy, that is).  Using my most recent costume, I will do my best to explain my Costume Theory.  Here I am, dressed as Mrs. Lovett from the musical Sweeney Todd.  Obviously I'm more inspired by the Helena Bonham-Carter version than the Angela Landsbury version, but I'm still not striving for a perfect copy of her movie outfits.  I think that even if you can't sew a full costume from scratch, you should be able to easily put together a good, comfortable costume that didn't come with a plastic mask.

Bleeding Jell-O Heart

My favorite Halloween dessert is found in the pages of Penn & Teller's "How to Play With Your Food", and you should probably just go buy a copy right now because it is THAT GOOD.  If you don't want to spend money on what is arguably one of the coolest books ever made, that's fine, you can find the recipe here instead.

I made this heart with raspberry-flavored Jell-O, and it was the best-tasting one I've made so far.  But when you make this dessert, be prepared for the inevitable portion of your guest who will NOT eat it, no matter how many times you sing the jingle or say, "There's ALWAYS room for Jell-O!" maniacally.  

Being All Martha Stewart Like

This Halloween wreath has been floating around Pinterest, taunting me. "Make me, Heather... maaaaake me..." While I'm disgusted that I'm so obsessed with something Martha Stewart's minions came up with, I'm still obsessed. Nevertheless, in a fit of spray paint and hot glue guns, (yes, multiple hot glue guns), I made it the other day. I got everything from the dollar tree, so I pretty much made the entire thing for $5. The spiders were a little more porous than I expected, so the spray paint never really dried. I ended up just using one spider that was already gray & daubing off some of the spray paint so it would dry. All in all, I had fun and didn't get spray paint all over myself. I'd call it a win.