Tag: recycle

Recycled Tennis Ball Halloween Creatures!

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Hi everybody!

I hope you are having a fantastic October so far!

Can you believe Halloween is next weekend already! Where does the time go…other than away!

So, I work in a tennis shop, and where there is tennis there are a lot of tennis balls. Rather than throwing out some of the old tennis balls around the shop, I decided to convert them into fun creatures for Halloween, and I must say the kids are loving them so much, that I decided to share them here.

These fun little guys are so easy to make. You only need a few things, most of you probably have around the house already.

Supplies:

  • Tennis Balls
  • Sharpies
  • Glue Gun
  • Index Cards
  • Tape
  • Pipe Cleaners
  • Yarn, Fabric or string for mummy
  • Optional: Googly eyes instead of drawn in eyes for spider.

Pumpkin Ball:

  1. Super easy Just draw with your black sharpie triangle eyes a nose and a mouth.
  2. Then use an orange sharpie to color everywhere but in the eyes, nose and mouth.
  3. Let dry for a minute or two.

Ta-Da! Pumpkin Ball!

Pumpkin Tennis Ball!

Batty Ball:

  1. Also super-duper easy. Draw two large circles for eyes with your black sharpie.
  2. Then add the pupils.
  3. Add a circle for the nose and some fangs.
  4. Use a brown sharpie to color the rest of the ball, you can use black but the details of the face will be hard to see.
  5. For wings, I used an index card and drew out a wing, then cut it out, and used this wing as a template for the second wing. Just make sure you flip it so it is in the correct direction.
  6. Once both wings are cut out, use a large marker to color in the wings. I then used a fine tip sharpie to add the details.
  7. Make a small bend in the wing where it will attach to the body.
  8. You can either use a glue gun or tape. If you use tape, put a rolled piece of tape under the bend and then use a few more across the top. If you use glue gun, add a tad of hot glue to the folded part of the wing and stick it to the body.

Batty Tennis Ball

Mr. Spider Ball

  1. I used 4 small pipe cleaners and cut them in half.
  2. Use a hot glue gun to attach to the ball. Let dry completely between adding the legs so they don’t fall off.
  3. Then use a sharpie to draw on eyes. You can also glue on googly eyes if you have them.
  4. I added a few stripes to the legs. You could also color them in, or use a sharpie to color the whole ball.

Spider Ball

Mummy Ball!

  1. First, use an index card to draw out some eyes.
  2. Cut them out.
  3. Use hot glue gun to glue them onto the ball. Let dry.
  4. Grab your yarn, string or fabric and your glue gun.
  5. Add a small dab of glue around the top of the ball and slowly start to wrap your yarn around adding tiny dabs of glue all along the way.
  6. Continue to wrap around until you go all the way around.
  7. Secure with glue.

Mummy Ball

The possibilities are endless. I would love to see what you come up with.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Have a wonderful week!

Would you like some more Halloween inspiration here is a past post on easy Halloween Jar decoration fun: https://sugarbeetcrafts.wordpress.com/2014/10/23/quick-and-easy-jar-decoration/

Mummy, Spider, Pumpkin & Batty

Mummy, Spider, Pumpkin & Batty

Upcycled Jar Pumpkin Candle Holder

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Hello!!

I hope this Halloween week has been fantastically spooky! I keep watching scary movies and giving myself nightmares!

I have one more Jar Project for Halloween. The recycled Jar Pumpkin Candle Holder! This project is super simple!

What you need:

  • A Jar
  • Some Paint – Acrylic works really well
  • Mod Podge- optional
  • green string or ribbon
  • battery candle

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Add just a few drops of the paint and Mod Podge to the jar. I used a bit of ink spray but it just to brighten the color.

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Then put the cap on, and shake and swirl. You may have to do this a few times while it dries to get the right amount of paint around it.  I wanted it a little clear and streaky so i just let it dry as is. but you can keep coating until its nice and consistent.

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Once done with the paint, flip the jar upside down on a plate or stack of old newspapers so the excess paint has somewhere to go. Let dry.

I drew the face on with sharpie while the cap was on and I was swirling the paint around, but you can certainly wait until its dry. I did intend to Mod Podge the eyes nose and mouth with a fine brush then add black glitter, I was just too busy.

After everything is dry, add a bit of glue or Mod Podge to the very top of the jar and add either string or ribbon for a more finished look.

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Once that is dry, add your battery candle and enjoy!!

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Rescued Toilet Paper Rolls!

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Rescued Toilet Paper Rolls!

As you know, I Love Love LOVE to reuse trash! I know that sounds so weird. I just hate to waste resources. Especially something I can use to craft with. Everything is so expensive these days. I never pass up on a freebie, and I try to make anything myself I can.

So this is how the project came about….I am obsessed with pens, markers, highlighters, and pencils.

It is a serious ailment I’ll tell you ( my boyfriend would tell you too 😀 ) so anyway, I love pen displays in stationery stores. You know the ones I am talking about, You turn the corner and there brightly lit and perfectly organized rows of bright colors. Markers, Pens, Pencils, felt tip, ballpoint, extra fine point, on and on and on. Too many possibilities! It was the part of the craft and stationery stores that gave me goosebumps. Luckily I have a cool mom (that also has this pen illness) and I often came home with a new color pen. Hmmm, Perhaps she was a pen-enabler… a  Penabler!

Back to the project! So as someone who is very visual I hated my pen drawer, it sort of looks like my makeup drawer. It was so sad, just a jumble of lonely pens, all points, types and styles mixed together. Not very conducive for a creative atmosphere…well for my head anyway. So I went from a big ole mess of pens everywhere…

To This!

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Now I just want to play with all of them!

I just started to gather paper towel rolls (they can be cut to size)  and tp rolls.

Just pack them all together. If they are not staying where you want them too just use either a hot glue gun or you can use regular glue or Mod Podge, secure the rolls together with paper clips to keep them close while the glue dries.

If you want to get really fancy, decorate them with paint or washi tape or scrapbook paper.

I also have an obsession with anything vintage. My grandma just gave me her old make up case, and I could

not stand the thought of it sitting in a closet. I liked it so much I did the same thing with my mess of paint brushes.

I found this vintage case cheap in a Goodwill.

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So many options, so little time!

I hope you have a wonderful Day! How do you organize your supplies? I would love to know!