Upcoming Events.

First of all...Happy Halloween everyone!!

(If you are looking for any last minute Halloween decorations be sure to stop by our Closeout Store - and pick up some DISCOUNTED Halloween items.)

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Also today I wanted to tell you about three events that Crafts Direct is hosting/taking part in during the month of November. 

First, our Quilt Time Event that we are hosting this upcoming weekend (November 4th & 5th) at the Moose Lodge. This event will provide a great opportunity to work on any projects you wish, while we provide meals and snacks, prizes, a goodie bag, a store discount, and a mini class (optional). You can find more information about our Quilt Time Event here.

The mini class at the Quilt Time Event will be creating this Ornament Placemat:

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Next, we are also taking part in the Taste of Home event at the St. Cloud Civic Center this Thursday (November 3rd). We will have a booth at the event, where we will be offering a free make and take recipe holder, and we are also selling advance tickets to the event here at customer service for $12!

More information about the Taste of Home event can be found here.

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Last, just a reminder about the St. Cloud Zonta's Christmas House. Crafts Direct is once again one of the decorators of a room in the house, and our decorations will be available to bid on during the event which is the 18th & 19th of November. You can also purchase your advanced tickets to the event (for the discounted price of $7) here at customer service. More information about the Zonta Christmas House can be found here.

And a peek at some of the items we created for the house are shown here:

Doodlebug Layouts & Treat Bag.

And finally today, a few layout ideas for all those Halloween pictures you will have next week. Sarah Lynn created these projects using the very cute Doodlebug Monster Mania line. In addition to the scrapbooking layouts she also used the line to create the fun treat bag, which would be great for anyone that you wanted to share some Halloween treats with.

Thank you so much for joining me the past couple weeks as we counted down to Halloween. I hope we've inspired you to do some Halloween crafting of your own and hope you all have a wonderful Halloween!

Wiggly Eye Frame.

Today I wanted to share with you another one of my new favorite Halloween projects. It doesn't require many supplies and is very easy to create! All you need to do is paint the wood frame and the wood word and then glue on a bunch of googly eyes - which is actually quite fun- and embellish with some ribbon. This is one of the projects that will definitely catch everyone's eye too :) A project sheet for this frame can be found here.

Paper Mache Cones.

Today I want to share with you a few fun new ways to decorate paper mache cones for Halloween. With some paint, glue, and tulle or yarn an ordinary cone and turn into a very cute holiday decoration. A project sheet for the Candy Corn Cones can be found here and the Witch Hat here.

Halloween Tree.

The project I want to share with you today is this Halloween Wood Tree. The tree, leaves, and base all come together as a kit of unfinished wood so the options are really endless on how to decorate the tree. For this particular tree I only needed paint, two different pattern papers, and some embellishments. And it is a perfect way to show off some of those Halloween photos that you have.

A project sheet for the Halloween tree (and a Fall themed tree as well) can be found here.

Wood Plaques.

Today I wanted to share another cute decorating idea for Halloween. Using our plain 5x5" wood plaques you can easily add a little bit of Halloween to even a small space. There are a lot of ways you could decorate these; we've created one using vinyl, one by simply utilizing scrapbooking paper and embellishments, or you can also add your favorite Halloween photo to them. This would also be a great little Halloween gift to make for a family member, a teacher, or a friend. And would also be another fun craft idea for a group to work on.

Spider Web Memo Board.

Want a fun way to display all those spooky notes and Halloween invites? We created this really fun Spider Web Memo Board, by just adding some pattern paper to a frame and embellishing it up a bit with some ribbon and a metal tag. You can also create the cute magnets by using clear marbles, pattern paper or stickers, and magnets. 

Clear Tubes.

Our clear tubes are a perfect way to share some of those Halloween treats you will be handing out. They would be great to use at a Halloween party, or as party favors, or could even be given out to your favorite trick or treaters. This would also be a very fun project to do with a group of kids with a club or group before Halloween! There are a lot of options on how to dress them up - you can use paper, or stickers, or some of the fun general craft supplies we in aisle 19.

Ghost Footprint Plaque.

Next up, this adorable Ghost Footprint Plaque. Not only is it a really cute Halloween decoration for your home, but it is also a fun way to capture and document those little feet you might have running around your house. If you wanted to include more than one footprint, you could always start with a slightly larger plaque and then just do more footprints across the plaque. A project sheet for this project can be found here.

Halloween Glass Blocks.

Today I wanted to share some Halloween themed projects using our glass blocks. There are definitely a lot of different ways you could use these glass blocks to decorate for Halloween, but here are a couple of ideas that I think are especially fun. First up is the Trick or Treat glass block. Created with lights, tissue paper, a vinyl saying and some tulle - this would be a fun decoration for either out on the porch or in the house. A project sheet for the Trick or Treat glass block can be found here.

The second glass block I wanted to share is this Mummy Glass Block. Again, really simple we just added lights inside the glass block, googly eyes and wrapped fabric around the block. A project sheet for this project can be found here.

Beware Tulle Wreath.

Today I wanted to share with you this really great Tulle Wreath. Another very simple project that you can easily create and have hanging on your door in no time. The only supplies needed for the project are a metal ring and tulle, and then whatever you would like to use to embellish the completed wreath. We added the "Beware" banner to the center of the wreath but you could embellish the plain wreath in any way and with other colors if you wish. A project sheet for the wreath can be found here.

Boo Candlestick Jars.

The next project I would like to share with you are these "BOO" candy jars. For this project we painted three wooden candlesticks and three dowel caps with black paint, and then simply glued them onto the top and the bottom of standard mason jars. Then we added the vinyl letters to the jars, embellished with a few pieces of ribbon and filled them up with some candy corn. This has definitely become one of my favorite projects - it was so easy to make and the results are adorable! A project sheet for the jars can be found here. 

Pumpkin Stepping Stone.

Welcome to the first day of our Countdown to Halloween blog series!! Each day I will be sharing with you some of the fun Halloween themed projects we have created here at Crafts Direct.

I will also be adding them to our Facebook page over the next few weeks and I invite you to also share with us (either by linking up in the comments below or by sharing with us on Facebook) the Halloween projects you have created!

Today I wanted to share this very cute Pumpkin Stepping Stone. We created this just using the standard stepping stone mix and mold that we carry and dressing it up a bit with some paint, tiles and a few wood pieces. The best part, with a couple of quick coats of glow in the dark paint, his eyes and teeth even glow in the dark. This would be a really fun addition to your outdoor Halloween decor!! A project sheet for this project can be found here.

Quilt Time Event.

Registration is now open for our first ever Quilt Time Event!! If you are interested in attending please call or stop in to register. You can find our FAQ page about the event HERE, and a link to a map and directions to the event location HERE. We would love to see you there!

Card Chaos.

We have just added a fourth session of our Card Chaos class for the month of October. The new session will be offered on Monday, October 24th from 6-9pm. If you are interested in attending please call or stop in to register. More information about the class can be found here.

Homemade for the Holidays- Santa's Sweet Shop.

The next room on the list for our Homemade for the Holidays tour is definitely the "sweetest" - it is Santa's Sweet Shop created by our Seasonal Department.

This room features a bright and fun theme and uses decorations to highlight the sweeter side of the holiday season. In addition to the display tree this room also features many arrangements and decorations that will be displayed (and auctioned) at Zonta House. More information about Zonta House can be found here.

A few of the ornaments that were created for this room:

Chocolate Bar Ornament

Felt Cookie Ornament

Mini Cupcake Ornaments

Smarties Ornaments

For a listing of all of our Homemade for the Holidays projects and links to all the project sheets please check out our projects listings on our website.

Homemade for the Holidays- Jack Frost.

Today's Homemade for the Holidays room is Jack Frost, which was created by our Beads & Basics Department.

This room showcases a more wintertime theme by utilizing a color scheme of blues and whites. It also features a lot of different types of products from our Beads & Basics department including wood pieces, glass ornaments, foam and glitter just to name a few.

A few of the ornaments that were created for this room:

3-D Foamie Snowflake

Snowflake Half Ornaments

For a listing of all of our Homemade for the Holidays projects and links to all the project sheets please check out our projects listings on our website.

Homemade for the Holidays- Trimming Traditions.

Next up on our tour of the Homemade for the Holidays rooms - Trimming Traditions created by our Paper Crafts Department.

This rooms features a more traditional color scheme for holiday decorating and focuses on all those little details that pull a room together. The ornaments that are featured in this room were created using paper from the Fancy Pants Saint Nick line.

A closer look at a few of the ornaments:

This one is definitely my favorite. Created by simply punching shapes out of vellum, dying them with alcohol inks and tacking them into a Styrofoam ball. Really love the look of the finish product.

Vellum Scallop Ornament

Paper Pinecone Ornament

Paper Snowflake Ornament

For a listing of all of our Homemade for the Holidays projects and links to all the project sheets please check out our projects listings on our website.

Homemade for the Holidays- Welcome to Whoville.

We are definitely gearing up for the holidays here at Crafts Direct! Over the past few weeks each of our departments have taken on our Homemade for the Holidays project and created a themed room all their own.

I'm so excited to share them all with you here on the blog over the next few days and also show you all the creative ornament and decorating ideas that each room holds.

First up, Welcome To Whoville created by our Fabrics department. Obviously a play on the Grinch who stole Christmas, this room is full of whimsy, fun, and bright colors. This room also uses a few of the new flat trees that we have available this year. They are perfect for any small areas and ideal for putting next to a window as they take up a lot less space in your living areas.

Here are a few of the ornaments and projects that were created for the room:

Felt Christmas Tree

Felt Wreath

Grinch Pills

Pom Pom Garland

For a listing of all of our Homemade for the Holidays projects and links to all the project sheets please check out our projects listings on our website.