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Soda Can Sunflower, Rolled T-Shirt Flowers and More on Cool2Craft TV

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Cool2Craft TV Fun & Fabulous Fall

This week, the Cool2Craft design team is sharing fun and fabulous fall inspired crafts! Watch your favorite crafters create super cool projects and join in the on-line live chat. Join EcoHeidi Borchers, Tiffany Windsor, Candace Jedrowicz, and Savannah Starr for this week’s online episode.

EcoHeidi is crafting a Soda Can Sunflower, Tiffany is creating a Rolled T-Shirt Flower Wreath, Savannah Starr is making Silver Leaf Earrings and Candace is crafting Fun Fall Pumpkins.

It’s easy to watch the Cool2Craft TV Channel right from your computer. Watch craft demos and join in the live chat at showtime at Cool2Craft.com. Monday October 8, 2012 – 9 am Pacific/11 am Central/noon Eastern.

 

Pick the Perfect Pumpkin Project This Fall

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Pumpkins are so popular during the fall season. It seems like there’s always people carving them up or using them to cook. It’s no wonder the pumpkin seems to be a symbol for all things fall. Here at FaveCrafts, we couldn’t be  more excited, because this means we get to provide all of you readers with a special treat. Not only will we be featuring our favorite pumpkin projects from our sites, but also some scrumptious pumpkin recipes from our friends at RecipeLion. Not only will you be busy crafting this season, but now you’ll have delicious recipes to keep you even busier.

Craft Projects:

Oogie Boogie Pumpkin Pattern Template – This project from AllFreeHolidayCrafts brings to life a classic Halloween baddie from The Nightmare Before Christmas. If you’re looking for a more challenging pumpkin carving design, then you have try this.

Cute as a Pumpkin Costume – FaveCrafts is bringing you the most adorable costume ever, and even better, it’s no sew! Get ready to be thrifty with some easy craft materials and old clothes

Crochet Pumpkin – It can be difficult to find time to go pumpkin picking once fall comes around, but don’t worry, because AllFreeCrochet has the solution. You can make your own pumpkin that will last much longer than one year, and with your crafting skills, it’s sure to be the perfect shape and size for your home.

Cinderella’s Pumpkin Coach – Pumpkin crafts are for the kids too, and AllFreeKidsCrafts found the most magical idea yet. Help them to bring a childhood classic to life by turning a plain pumpkin into Cinderella’s carriage. This project is great for encouraging creativity and imagination.

 

Recipes:

Wacky Pumpkin Mac and Cheese – Any delicious meal needs a starchy side, and this one from RecipeLion will have your family begging for seconds. Take a classic American meal and add some fall flavor that will really spice it up.

One Pot Pumpkin Chili – AllFreeCasseroleRecipes has found the perfect blend of heat and sweet with this main course. This is perfect for a chilly autumn evening with the whole family around the table.

Caramel Maple Pumpkin Pie In a Glass – Be bold and contemporary with a classic dessert with this recipe from FaveHealthyRecipes. If you’ve got a family that’s always active during the holidays, this is great for on the go.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe – Finish off your meal with a refreshing pumpkin drink courtesy of AllFreeCopyCatRecipes. It’s just what you need to hit the spot on a cold night.

With these pumpkin projects in your arsenal, you’ll be busy practically every day during the fall. These projects are just the beginning, so be sure to check out the rest of our pumpkin delights on our websites.

What’s your favorite way to use a pumpkin?

How to Carve a Funkin + Pumpkinpalooza Contest!

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To celebrate our Pumpkinpalooza contest, we’re bringing you the best flameless candle and pumpkin projects from all of our crafty friends! Scroll down to the bottom of this post to find out how you can win $1000 in cash and prizes just by decorating a pumpkin!

 

This post comes from Angie of The Country Chic Cottage.
Learn more about Angie and check out all of her projects on AllFreeHolidayCrafts.

 

Carving a Funkin is a great activity with any child this Halloween.  Funkin?  Yes that is right!  Funkins are artificial pumpkins that are carvable.  Carve them just like a regular pumpkin but they will last forever.  Plus they are so much fun and you can get a little silly with them….

 

The Funkin looks like any other pumpkin…except there is a hole in the bottom and no seeds.  Not even any of that slime to clean on the inside.  You can just jump right into the fun part.

 

To carve your Funkin you will need:

  • Funkin
  • Knife or pumpkin carving kit
  • Pencil with eraser
  • Battery operated candle
  • Imagination (or a 7 year old that has one)

1.  We started by sketching on a face (designed by a 7 year old) with a pencil.  My 7 year old wants to put our Jack-o-lantern in his room every year.  Now with the Funkin that is possible!

2.  We then just used a knife (no special tools) to cut out our face.  It really was just as easy as carving a real pumpkin.

Now you can see that the inside of the Funkin is similar to styrofoam.

I even let my son carve some (supervised of course).

We had one mishap but a little glue fixed this area right up.  I would say if you can make these thin areas of your design a little thicker they will work better with the Funkin.

3.  After you have made your cuts, you can actually erase all of the extra pencil marks.  They just came right off!

This is the only mess we were left with.  A few bits to throw away and a little dust.  So simple, easy and fun!

4.  You just add a light to the inside and you are ready for some Halloween fun.  I just added a battery operated tea light and it was perfect.

My son loves the new addition to his room.  And now the Jack-o-lantern can stay outside where he belongs.

 

Enter our Pumpkinpalooza Contest!

How creative can you get this Halloween? Enter our Pumpkinpalooza contest and show off your creative skills! You don’t have to get out a knife for this contest – show us what you can do with Mod Podge, paint, paper and more! Entries will be judged by Mark Montano, Margot Potter and the Crafty Chica, Kathy Cano-Murillo. If that wasn’t cool enough, the winner will received $1000 in cash and prizes!

 

 

How To Enter

  • Submit you photo of your decorated pumpkin at FaveCrafts.com.
  • Contest submissions will be accepted September 24th through October 21st. Only one submission per person please, so use your best pumpkin decorating ideas.
  • You must use a pumpkin. You can decorate the pumpkin any way you like, but there must be a pumpkin, real or artificial. We recommend using a Funkin, so your creation can be displayed year after year!
  • Craft-lebrity voting will be from October 22nd to October 24th.
  • The judges picks will then be opened to reader voting from October 25th to October 30th.
  • Winner will be announced on the Halloween, October31st!

Official Rules

  • Contest open to US and Canada residents 18+
  • One entry per person, duplicates will be deleted.
  • Contest entries close October 21, 2012 at 11:59p CST.
  • Entries must be submitted at FaveCrafts.com.
  • Entries must be an original design by you.
  • Winners will be posted on this blog Wednesday, October 31st and notified by email.

Pumpkin Designs for All

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My favorite part about Halloween is decorating pumpkins! I usually can never come up with a fun design when I need to, and I end up just carving out the classic chunky smile and triangle eyes. How boring. This year I vow to try something more creative for sure. Join me?

We can start by looking at this great guide, 17 Pumpkin Patterns: Free Projects for Halloween on FaveCrafts. I’ll talk about a few of these projects, but there are many more to check out.

Remember, you don’t have to actually “carve” a pumpkin to create fantastic Halloween decor. Plus, I really don’t like pulling out all that pumpkin goop and slimy seeds. Blech. But, I think I would sacrifice clean hands for Cinderella’s Pumpkin Coach from AllFreeKidsCrafts.com. I once made a version of this idea for a pumpkin decorating contest with my college equestrian team. And we won! We even painted gourds to look like the horses that pull the pumpkin coach. I wish we had thought to use a crown on top of our pumpkin – it is the perfect touch.

One of these things is not like the other…one of these things doesn’t belong…can you spot it? I just couldn’t resist showing you the Clementine Jack O Lanterns. They make perfect lunch treats that are way healthier for you than candy. I know a lot of elementary schools have Halloween classroom parties, and these would make an adorable snack platter. You could even carve a watermelons and apples!

 Cinderella's Pumpkin Coach on AllFreeKidsCrafts.com Frankenstein Pumpkin on FaveCrafts.com
 Junk Drawer Pumpkin on AllFreeKidsCrafts.com
 Clementine Jack O Lanterns on AllFreeKidsCrafts.com

 

Sometimes I like to be super artistic with projects like these. But the unfortunate problem is that pumpkins go bad, and I don’t like to see my hard work go to waste so quickly. I can’t express how glad I am that artificial pumpkins exist – my creations can last forever! Okay, not forever, but much, much longer than a real pumpkin. There are some amazing designs out there, but I especially like these Pumpkins in Silhouette. There is something so elegant about silhouettes. Plus, I love owls and they are perfect for fall decor. Let your imagination run wild with these pumpkin patterns!

 

Which do you prefer: carving pumpkins or painting them?

Cinema Saturdays: How to Create a Pumpkin With Paper Strips

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The pumpkin is an iconic image associated with the fall season, and AllFreeHolidayCrafts.com has found many crafters who have been inspired to create their own interpretations of this festive gourd. You too can learn to bring a modernized look to the pumpkins used in your fall decor with this tutorial. Using only brightly colored paper pieces and your own creative design ideas, you’ll construct a cute little craft that will cost you next to nothing. This tutorial shows you that you don’t need to buy expensive materials or products that you can only use once to create something that’s sure to catch everyone’s attention no matter where you put it.

How to Create a Pumpkin With Paper Strips:

What’s your favorite pumpkin craft? We’d love to hear your ideas, so be sure to comment below.

This Week on Cool2Craft TV – Pumpkin Crafts

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Join host Linda Peterson for a new episode of Livin’ the Creative Life TV on the Cool2Craft Channel. This week’s show theme is pumpkins. Linda shares three quick and easy projects for your fall crafting including Pumpkin Napkin Rings, Pumpkin Photo Holder and Pumpkin Cupcake Topper.

It’s easy to watch the Cool2Craft TV Channel right from your computer. Monday September 19, 2011 at 9 am Pacific/ 10 am Mountain/ 11 am Central/ noon Eastern. Watch craft demos and join in the live chat at showtime at Cool2Craft.com. See you Monday!

Cool2Craft - Livin' the Creative Life TV - 9-19-11

 

cool2craft on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

Pumpkin Carving Patterns: Free?!

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It’s almost Halloween, which means it’s time to start thinking about what you want your pumpkins to look like this year! I used to enter my pumpkins in pumpkin carving contests when I was a kid, so I was always on the lookout for unique pumpkin carving patterns. Free ones were hard to come by back then though! I scoured the web for you (thanks, Google!) and found a ton–and I mean a ton–of pumpkin carving patterns, free to download, print out, and start using!

You gotta mention Martha first because she’s the best. Check out her Halloween Pumpkin Carving Patterns and Pumpkin Templates slideshow to find instructions and printable templates for 45 different pumpkin designs, like this night owl:

If you click over to DLTK’s Crafts for Kids, you’ll see even more printable templates, including instructions for how to use them. They’ve got a good mixture of scary and silly. I didn’t include the scary clown pattern in the photo in case you guys are scared of clowns! But check it out at DLTK.

I had to include this dragon pumpkin in this round-up, from Not Just a Housewife. There’s not a full tutorial, but if you found the right pumpkin I bet you could recreate this easily.

All of you Star Wars nerds out there will appreciate this pumpkin carved into the Death Star! The designer even includes a tutorial for how to make your own. Check out the rest of his site for even more pumpkin carving patterns, free for the taking.

And in case these aren’t enough for you, you can get even more pumpkin carving patterns free from HGTV, Family Fun, and The Pumpkin Lady.

Are you a pumpkin connoisseur? What’s the most ingenious pumpkin carving idea you’ve ever tried?

 

 

Pumpkin Decor: Guest Post

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Autumn is one of my favorite seasons of the year. The leaves change beautiful colors and the chilly nights make you wrap yourself in cozy blankets. With Autumn comes Halloween and with Halloween comes the decorations. I love looking at all the scarecrows and pumpkins people have laying around their homes.

We received a really cute craft from Maddy Cranley of maddycraft.com Pumpkins can be harvested, carved, used as decorations and felted. This round felt pumpkin is easy to make and it can be used year round if you want it to. Depending on what color yarn you use, you can have Christmas pumpkins if you wish. They would look great overlooking a window sill for everyone to see.

If you like these felted pumpkins you might also like our boo pumpkin or our crochet holiday wreaths.

Guest Blog: Baby Pumpkin Crochet Beanie by Danyel Pink

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I’m pleased to submit my pattern for the Baby Pumpkin Crochet Beanie!  It’s cute, unique, quick to make, and would make a great gift!

I created the Pumpkin Beanie one night when I was inspired to start making new hats geared toward seasons, holidays, and events.  I was looking at a photo of my baby daughter wearing a pumpkin hat from the previous year, and thought, “Hey, I could crochet one of those!”  So I did!

I learned to crochet just 2 years ago, and quickly started creating my own patterns.  Aside from my family and friends, baby hats are my true love!  I am a stay-at-home mom of 2 toddlers, an army wife, and a former middle school math teacher.  We travel a lot, and are always on the go, so crocheting is something that I can take with me almost anywhere I go!

I want to thank FaveCrafts.com for contacting me!

If you would like to see more of my crocheted items and patterns, please visit my shops…

CrazySocks Crochet on Etsy

Happy Crafting,

Danyel Pink 🙂

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