Halloween Party Theme: Cowboys and Aliens

Cowboys and Aliens Halloween Party

Executing a Cowboys and Aliens Party

Our friend Lori knows how to execute on a party theme! Every year she hosts a mega party with a different theme. This was our first time attending, and I was impressed with her creativity. She makes most of the props herself which this year included a huge flying saucer and a western saloon.

Having a theme can certainly help direct stuck creativity. This Halloween party is a great example of that.

Bringing to Life a Western Saloon

Western Saloon Piano by Lori

Above is the coolest cardboard piano that I've ever seen. Lori starts on the props MONTHS before the party and it shows.

Cowboys and Aliens: Creating Costume Props

My husband Rob, also started on his costume props well in advance. That wrist blaster on Rob's arm is a pretty spot-on replica of the one from the movie "Cowboys and Aliens." It even lights up. He created it out of the Slurpee cups that 7-Eleven sold to promote the movie.

I have to admit that I did mine the week before so they are a little less pulled together. I decided at the last minute that I needed to add some "alien" aspect to my costume so I built upon my witch finger concept to create an alien finger choker and a creepy eyeball.

Our take on Cowboys and Aliens

Happy Day 4 of Art Every Day Month! Hope you got a little inspiration here today.
Explore more Halloween Ideas at Creative Sprinkle:
http://www.creativesprinkle.blogspot.com/search/label/Halloween

Alien Parts and Pieces

It's November 2: Day 2 of AEDM, but I'm still back on Halloween. We are going to a "Cowboys and Aliens" themed party this weekend and these parts and pieces hopefully will come together for my costume.

Dreaming of a White Halloween

 Here's a sneak peak inside of the Halloween treat bags that I made for my niece and nephew. As you can see, I decided to go for a "White Halloween" theme centered around mummies.

Polymer clay mummy pens and ornaments.

Crepe-paper wrapped Hershey bars

Stamped white paper bags

Tooth-cracking Evil Candy Apple

Evil Candy Apple Polymer Clay sculpt by Marie Young Creative

My sister makes a tasty candy apple that begs to be bitten, but my version could break your tooth right off. This little meany is made from polymer clay. I created a few of these, along with some really cool mummies that I'll show you later,  as Halloween "treats" for my family.

Really when you think about it, he is actually a teeth-saver--NO SUGAR--and imagine the calories you save over the real thing.

Addicted to Black Cats

"Black Cats" Pinterest Board by Caroll Nuzzo Gray

I have a big, beautiful, extremely affectionate black cat named Benjamin. He's the third black cat to call my house his home. I gravitate toward black cats because of their playful personalities. So you can understand why when I stumbled upon Caroll Nuzzo Gray's "Black Cats" Pinterest board, I had to check out all 271 of them.

If you are looking for a little black cat Halloween inspiration, this board is a great place to start:
http://pinterest.com/carollgray/black-cats/

Vintage Style Black Cat

Vintage-Style Black Cat  Halloween Figurine Marie Young Creative @2012

This adorable "Scaredy Cat" got spooked when he went trick-or-treating by the light of a full moon. Vintage Halloween decorations from the 1930s served as my inspiration for this little guy (along with my "not so little" guy, Benjamin, the 17-pound cat below).

"Scaredy Cat" is hand-sculpted and the color comes mainly from the polymer itself. I use very little paint on my projects. I did use alcohol inks and mica powders to add depth and a little shimmer. This cool cat (the polymer one) wants to strut his way into a good home:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/108536926/black-cat-vintage-style-halloween-decor

Itching for Halloween

Polymer Clay Witch Fingers by Marie Young Creative @2012

It is starting to look a lot like Halloween at the Young house. I whipped up a big batch of these witch fingers from one of my favorite translucent polymer clay recipes. I love working with translucents coupled with alcohol inks because of the depth of color that you can get in the finished piece. In this case the combo makes for an eerie skin tone.

The finished products become earrings, necklaces, and even polymer covered ink pens!

Some of these are headed to customers who placed custom orders and a few have crept into my store. If you want to get your fingers on one, check out the Halloween Shoppe at my online store:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/YoungCreative?section_id=10419107

Ghoulish Finds

Ghoulish Handcrafted Earrings

No, there is no nip in the air, but my house feels like fall! I've started my Halloween line, and Lucy is always eager to pitch in wherever she can. In this case, she decided she could add some festiveness to the product shoot.

Check out the whole all creepy witch finger line at http://www.etsy.com/shop/YoungCreative.

Witchy Halloween Treat Bag

Creepy Witch's Grocery List

I have an annual tradition of making treat bags for my niece and nephew. Paper bags make a great base. This year I went with a witch theme since I was having so much fun making polymer clay witch fingers. The finger at the top is polymer clay piece that I glued to a mini clothes pin.

The grocery list is created on a free scroll template that I found here. I inserted the blank scroll image into a Word document and then inserted text boxes to add the witch's "grocery" list onto the scroll. I printed it out and used colored pencils to "age" the scroll. I decorated the plain paper bag with Halloween-themed ink stamps. Stop back to read about what is inside!

Witchy Halloween Treat Bag and its contents

Read about last year's Sepia photo treat bags:

Kids Photo DIY Halloween Treat Bags

Wicked Inspiration: Polymer Clay Witch Fingers

Witch Finger Pens

I had been in a slump lately. I had lots of ideas, but none of them "called" to me. Fortunately I stumbled upon a project, Witch Finger Stew, on Marlene Brady's blog that offered me some wicked inspiration: decorative polymer clay witch fingers based on a cookie project she had seen. Very clever!


That project got me thinking about how cute polymer-clay-covered witch finger pens would be. I had so much fun making the pens pictured above that I moved on to jewelry.

All of these finished projects are available for sale at www.YoungCreative.etsy.com along with a tutorial if you would like to learn to make your own witch fingers. And remember, my blog readers save 5% on everything in the store through Sept. 30. Enter the code YOUNGCREATIVESEPT at check out to get your discount.

Witch Finger Jewelry Line

Ghosts of Halloween Past

Yesterday was my office Halloween party, my favorite day at work. It is a day that brings back good memories of Halloweens past. Past costumes and past coworkers who have moved on to new horizons. I've stayed in touch with many of them on Facebook so I look forward to seeing their costume ingenuity even if it has to be from a distance.

The ghosts of Halloween past are also fun to explore through family memories. My soon-to-be sister-in-law, Ericia, created this cute picture of  my niece, Jessie, trying on the dress I wore this year. It won't be too long before she fits it. And it wasn't too long ago that she was discovering Halloween.

Hope your ghosts of Halloween past bring you happy memories! If you want to read other stories about the Ghosts of Halloween past visit the SITS blog. It is today's theme.

Devilishly Simple Halloween Card

Emily, Lord of the Underworld

Happy Halloween Devil Cat Card
Directions for this project have been moved to my new site: http://marieyoungcreative.com/devil-cat/

Make a Polymer Clay Puking Pumpkin

This polymer clay puking pumpkin is one of those projects that can be super simple, or you can add as much detail as you want to make a really intricate pumpkin.

Supply List

• polymer clay (I like Fimo)
• Perfect Pearls powders
• stamp with a grape leaf on it
• small craft knife
• needle-pointed sculpting tool

Creating the Pumpkin's Features

Creating the Pumpkin's Features
Start by creating a round or oblong pumpkin shape from a ball of orange clay. Use a needle-pointed tool to add features to your pumpkin starting with the eyes nose and mouth. Then "draw" on lines.  Or, instead of cutting out features, you could opt to add pieces of clay in contrasting colors, or paint on features after the piece is baked.

If you want your pumpkin to have a little sparkle, brush orange-toned pearl powder on top of the clay. If you are adding features made of clay, add the orange pearl to the featureless pumpkin so you don't stain the eyes, nose, or mouth.

Creating the Stem

Creating the Stem
Take a small amount of clay and roll it into a tube. Then begin to shape the tube into a stem. Use the needle-pointed tool to draw lines onto the stem. Twist the finished stem to add some dimension. Brush lightly with pearl powder before pressing the stem into the pumpkin.

Creating the Leaf

Creating the Leaf
For the leaf, roll out a piece of green clay and press a grape leaf stamp into the clay. Cut the leaf-shape out with a craft knife. Pinch the leaf tips gently with your fingers to shape. Then use the needle-pointed tool to add more dimension. Brush with pearl powder.

Creating the Innards

Creating the Innards
Take some of your orange clay and add white to it to create a lighter shade. Roll the clay into thin strings and stream them from the mouth. The thin strands are prone to breakage, so if your piece is going to get touched a lot, make sure the strings are supported by each other. Use the needle-pointed tool to push the strings into the mouth.

Finishing Options
You can keep your pumpkin 3-dimensional, or you can cut of the back as shown above to make it into a pin or a magnet. Bake the piece according to the package directions on the clay.

Here are some examples of projects that I've done using this technique.

Barfing Pumpkin Wine Stopper for sale at Young Creative

AC Moore FB Logo Contest Entry

DIY Paper Bag Halloween Treat Bags

Kids Photo DIY Treat Bags

Kids are all about what is inside their treat bags, but for me the joy is in the wrapper.

Each Halloween I try to come up with a new way to package the booty for the kids in my family. This year, my “wicked” niece and “devilish” nephew transformed humble paper bags into cute candy containers.

The inspiration for these sepia tone treats came from an article in the magazine,” Somerset” that featured the art work of Ingrid Pomeroy (www.anoriginalbyingrid.etsy.com). Ingrid creates beautiful greeting cards featuring old photos of precious young girls wearing digitally created witch hats.

Here's how to created these simple versions without Photoshop:

1. Pick a photo. I chose Christmas pictures because I liked the velvet dress my niece, Jessie, had on. In the original she was unwrapping a present which I cut away, leaving her hands in the perfect position to brew up some trouble. Ryan’s photo was just asking for devil horns. 
2.  Add the "sepia" effect using Picassa.
3.  Print out the photos and cut out the parts you want to use.
4. Accessorize with scraps of florescent paper.

Hopefully the kids will at least pause for a minute before discarding the bags for the treats inside. If nothing else, Mom will enjoy them.