Thursday, September 29, 2016

Funtastic Friday #93

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Welcome to Funtastic Friday 93! So glad you could stop by twochicksandamom!  We have some fun announcements: Join me and nine other bloggers on October 1 through October 31, 2016 for our first annual Halloween Blog Hop & $100 Giveaway. This is a great opportunity to revive your favorite Halloween posts. Link up Halloween recipes, crafts, DIY props and decor, party themes, game ideas, traditions, DIY costumes, and your favorite spooky stories! The giveaway winner will be announced on October 31 along with our favorites from the party. We're still looking for up to three more bloggers to help cohost Funtastic Friday. Get in touch with me or one of the other hosts if you're interested in joining us. Now on to the party! funtastic-friday-hosts-5
Please follow the party hosts on social media.
MOST VIEWED (TIE)
DIY Hot Cider Sign @ i should be mopping the floor
HOST FAVORITES
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If you’re linking up and joining the party, please grab a button or link back to Olives & Okra or one of the party hosts (right-click on image and save image to your computer):
Funtastic Friday Link Party Thumbnail 150x If you're a featured blogger, please grab a button to place on your blog (right-click on image and save image to your computer): Funtastic Friday Featured Thumbnail All features are pinned to Olives & Okra’s Funtastic Friday board. We will also share your post on social media if sharing buttons are readily available on your post. Help grow the Funtastic Friday link party. Tweet about the party, please!

Disclaimer: By submitting a link to this blog hop, you are giving me permission to share and/or feature your blog post and image on social media and on my blog, Olives-n-Okra. All links shared will either link back to the blog hop (link party) or to your blog.



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Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Wonderful Wednesday 9/28/16

Welcome to twochicksandamom!  We're happy to have you stop by today and join in link party!  Are you ready for Fall and cooler temperatures, longer nights, red, yellow, and gold leaves (and raking them up)?  Make sure you check out our delicious Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cake for a sweet treat on a cool evening--perfect for Thanksgiving, too!

“Welcome to Oh My Heartsie Girls “Wonderful” Wednesday’s »
Linky Party the 38th Week in 2016 and our purpose is to share with you some great blogs featured from last weeks party. Then for you to join us and share what you have going on your blogs.

And if your interested in participating in October's Wordless Wednesday you can Join Us Here

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We Hope While You Party With Us, You will follow our Hostesses!
karren
♥Kelsey Remmelts | When I Gave Up My Daughter/Amen Sista! | Tw | FB | life-at-rossmont
Divider 989321gyey13hzitFeature Picks From Last Weeks Entires

We Would Love It If You Would Pin Your Favorite - Opens In A New Window

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Disclaimer for OMHGWW But Now.....Open for a Week you are welcome to share all posts, YES, Linky Parties and Giveaways. Comments Are Appreciated after Linking Up!!
Let us know that you are following us so we can do the same! You Are Welcome To Link your DIY Projects, Tablescapes, Garden Ideas, Recipes, Reviews, Giveaways or Challenges, As many as you like. Tweet Our Party To Help Us Grow! And Thank you!
Oh My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday
But Now.....Let's Party!!…. An InLinkz Link-up



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Monday, September 26, 2016

Two Uses Tuesday 97

Two Uses Tuesday | A Sarah Celebrates link up party showcasing your crafts, diys, recipes and upcycles

Tip of the Week:  With Fall upon us, many of us get our sweaters and coats out of the closet, prepare the house for colder temps and just get ready to "slow down a bit" from the fast-pace of vacations and summer fun.

We here at Two Uses Tuesday would like to challenge you to take time this season to notice the beautiful changes in the leaves and landscape where you live, the smell of the Fall air (is that a fireplace we smell?  Apple cider?) and just enjoy the season as it was meant to be--with you friends and family. 

Meet Your Hosts

Your #2UsesTuesday Hosts

Now on to more important things... YOU!

This Week's Featured Posts!!

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Congrats to this week's featured bloggers!

Thank you for inspiring us to create! Don't forget to brag about it =) Grab a button, tweet it to the world and watch for it on the Two Uses Tuesday FEATURES! board on Pinterest. Follow Sarah Jaskowski @ Sarah Celebrates's board Two Uses Tuesday FEATURES! on Pinterest.
Sarah Celebrates

LINK UP RULES & GUIDELINES

  1. BE CREATIVE & LINK UP - Share up to three (3) up-cycling, re-purposing, DIYs, recipes and craft projects. Original work and posts you haven't submitted previously please.
  2. COMMENT & CONNECT - Visit two (2) links for every post you submit and show a little love.
  3. FOLLOW & SHARE - Follow your hosts on at least one social media platform and share the party! Don't forget to use our party hashtag, #2usestuesday
**Note on Last To Link Feature - Blogger can only hold this spot every other week. If the same blogger links last two weeks in a row, the 2nd to last blogger will get the feature for the week. We want everyone to have a chance to shine =)
Remember, share & pin the Two Uses Tuesday Features from the bloggers original content. Thank you.
Your #2UsesTuesday Hosts
 
After you link up, grab the party button for your blog's party page, linked posts or sidebar.
Sarah Celebrates
 

Thank you for linking up at Two Uses Tuesday | A Sarah Celebrates link up party showcasing your crafts, diys, recipes and upcycles

 An InLinkz Link-up
Disclosures: By submitting a link to the Two Uses Tuesday Link Up you are giving the party hosts permission to feature your link/post on our blogs, across social media and future round up posts. This includes images from the linked post as well as linking to your social media accounts. TWOCHICKSANDAMOM and all Two Uses Tuesday co-hosts respect you and your work; everything will be properly linked back to you and credit given where credit is due!



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Saturday, September 24, 2016

Hanging Halloween Bat


It is not too long before the Trick or Treaters will be out in force, taking a big bite out of your candy stash.  If you are anything like we are at our house, we LOVE HALLOWEEN!  Decorations go up on October 1st, both inside and outside at our home. 





Some years back, we made these wooden bats at our homemaking meeting at our church.  I made several and gave a few as gifts.  Last year, I got the "itch" to make more and made one for my daughter-in-law. I look forward to putting our bat out on the front steps each year (off to this side so as not to bang anyone in the head lol). and she does the same with hers.
The fabric accent makes our bat look so colorful and fun!  Plus, these bats are inexpensive to make and make a perfect hostess gift when you attend those Halloween parties.

 Hanging Wooden Halloween Bat:

Wood:  Pine
Halloween fabric--cotton
Black acrylic paint
Orange acrylic paint
Sandpaper
Acrylic sealer 
1/4" drill bit, power drill
Jigsaw to cut out bat
Craft glue or hot glue gun, sticks


If you have some scrap wood lying around, that might work fine as long as you can cut it with a jigsaw and can smooth it with sandpaper or a power sander.

I cut the pattern out on some light cardboard--similar to what clothing or nylons are wrapped around.
The measurements are at the widest points in both directions--13.5 inches from widest point of wings and 7 inches from tip of ear to his bottom.

Next, trace your pattern onto your wood.  From there, cut your wooden bat out.  My husband used a jigsaw--yes, I enlisted him to do this.  I know many of you do your own woodwork and that is awesome--maybe someday I will give it a go!


 



  You also need to drill a holes on the underside of the bat--this is where you will add the fabric swirls.  We used a 1/4" drill bit and each hole is about 1/2" apart--I have a total of 17 holes on mine.  You might want to just blow into each hole or used canned air to get any dust particles out of there, too.  You will also need to drill a larger hole on the top of the bat's head to place a rope or jute to hang him with--use a 1/2" or so drill bit.


After you have your bat cut out, take some fine sandpaper and sand off all surfaces--don't forget the edges!  This will give your bat a more "finished" look.  Take a clean rag or towel and make sure any leftover dust is removed from the bat.

 Next, to seal the wood and provide a base coat, I used Judy Martin's Country Colors Water Base and Varnish product.  However, my product is several years old and I did not retrieve any online results for it.  Look for something at the craft department or paint department in your local stores or online.  What I liked about the above product is it can be used to seal the wood before painting AND to add a protective coat as a last step.  You can also use a gloss spray-on product such as Krylon Sealing Spray as a last step also

 Ok, your next step will be to add black acrylic paint.  Now, you are free to make your bat purple, green or pink--totally up to you!  I make mine black but I do have a granddaughter who loves purple so someday.


I added two coats of acrylic black paint, allowing a bit of time in between each coat to dry.  Next, you are going to need an old toothbrush (or one you aren't going to use to brush your teeth with again lol), a small container to mix orange paint and some water and an area protected with newspaper or a drop cloth so you can splatter away!

I add a bit of the acrylic paint, maybe a equivalent to a tablespoon or two, water to thin the paint down and then dip my toothbrush in the mixture.  I then take a butter knife and run it across the bristles--this causes the "splatter" effect on the bat.  Continue to do this until you have the desired effect.  **WEAR OLD CLOTHES YOU DON'T MIND GETTING PAINT ON**



After you get the painting completed, add one more coat of sealant or clear acrylic over the bat and allow your bat to dry thoroughly.

Next up are the fabric swirls.  I used a plastic lid that is 6 inches in diameter to cut a circle of fabric (17 of them so I have one fabric swirl for each hole in the bat).  After cutting each circle of fabric, you will then take scissors and starting at an edge, carefully cut the fabric in a swirl. 




 I start the spiral by cutting into the fabric about an inch width.  I turn the fabric as I cut and try to keep the width about an inch but it may be closer to 1/2"--3/4" width as you near the center.  You will then have a spiral.


You can trim off the ink from marking the circle or leave as part of an effect.  The fabric, painting, etc. does not have to be perfect--that is part of the charm!

Using craft glue or even Elmer's glue, place a dab of glue in each hole that was drilled into the underside of the bat--do one hole at a time.  Then using a a paperclip, place a fabric spiral into the hole and push into place.

 
Your bat will look something like this.  You also need a small length of rope or jute to hang the bat by.  That goes into the hole that you drilled in the top of the bat's head earlier.  Make a loop, push into place and glue securely and tie off so you can hang your bat on your porch or patio.

We made two bats so have different fabrics on them.  We love to hang our bats out at the beginning of October each year.  So festive!


Enjoy!


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