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Halloween Skull Decoration: Make a Mini Halloween Cloche!

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The spookiest time of year is almost here again!  Get ready to pull out those Halloween decorations and deck the halls for trick-or-treaters.  And of course, don’t forget to make time for some Halloween crafting!  This year, Halloween skull decorations are all the rage, and I’m going to show you how to make a mini Halloween cloche with Dollar Tree plastic skulls.  It’s a piece of Halloween decor that’s cute and creepy all at the same time!

Skull decorations are so hot for Halloween! Use Dollar Tree mini skulls to make these cute and creepy Halloween cloches!  

This Halloween skull decoration is pint sized, which makes it totally perfect for any little spot in your home or office that needs a tiny dash of Halloween.  Think shelves, entryway tables, window sills, and more!

I need small and discreet Halloween decorations this year so I can easily stash them away for house showings.  (We’re moving!  Read up on our unexpected life change here.)  This is just right!

Also, because this Halloween cloche is miniature (well, mini as compared to a regular-sized cloche, but not fairy garden mini!), you can make the whole thing in about 20 minutes.  Not bad!  Use Dollar Tree mini skulls to make adorable Halloween cloches for Halloween this year!

Supplies Needed to Make a Mini Skull Halloween Cloche

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How to Make a Mini Skull Cloche For Halloween Decor

Begin by getting your paints and paint brush ready!  Paint the unfinished wood candle holder, the mason jar rim (or baby food jar lid), and the unfinished wood furniture button with the black acrylic paint.  

Learn how to make a skull decoration with cheap craft supplies.

Chances are that the black paint won’t cover the rim of the mason jar very well (even with multiple coats), but that is OK!  Let some of that silver color underneath show through – it adds to the look!

Once the black paint dries on all of those pieces, lightly dab some silver metallic craft paint or acrylic paint onto the wooden pieces.  You can also add some silver paint to the mason jar lid if it needs it.  Mine did not.

Paint a wooden candle holder.

Let the silver paint dry and then use hot glue (only with a high temperature hot glue gun) or use a glue made for plastic and wood (like E6000), to attach the mason jar lid to the wood candle holder.  

Turn a candle holder and mason jar into a cute Halloween cloche with skulls!

Place a little Spanish moss inside the lid, and be careful not to put too much in.  You can hot glue the moss to the lid if you like, or leave it loose.  (You might like to see how I used this same Spanish moss to make my fake fiddle leaf fig tree look real!)  

Spanish moss adds a spooky touch to a Halloween cloche craft project.

Then pop a miniature skull on top of the moss.  You can also hot glue the skull onto the moss if you want a more stable skull.  🙂  (That sounds so funny.) 

Use Dollar Tree mini skulls to make adorable Halloween cloches for your decor this Halloween.

Now, screw the mason jar onto the lid and trim off any Spanish moss that sticks out the sides.  If you choose to add the little wooden button to the top, go ahead and glue that on now.  

So adorable! Use mini skulls to make tiny Halloween cloche decorations.

Once that glue is hardened or set, your adorable mini Halloween cloche is complete!  

Make a Halloween cloche with skulls to add some creepy and cute to your Halloween decor this year.

This is one Halloween skull decoration that you definitely want to add to your haunted house this year!  

This Halloween skull decoration is creepy and cute at the same time! Make a Halloween cloche with miniature skulls in under 20 minutes!

-Bre

How to Press Flowers in a Book

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My sister got married in July and she had the most beautiful bouquets and flower centerpieces.  I loved my matron-of-honor bouquet so much that I decided to create a wedding keepsake with some of the flowers in my bouquet.  It turned out wonderfully, so I decided to show you how to press flowers in a book in case you have any flowers you want to preserve in the future!  It's actually so easy to press flowers in a book! This post teaches you how to press and preserve flowers, including wedding flowers, for a lifetime of memories. Plus, it shows you how to make pressed flower art, too!

Before I show you how I pressed and preserved flowers from my bouquet, let me show you what it looked like on the wedding day!  Filled with peonies, roses, dahlia, eucalyptus, dusty miller, and other beautiful flowers I don’t know the names of (LOL!), my bouquet was really a stunner!

Flowers from this beautiful wedding bouquet were pressed in a book and preserved in glass.

To get a perfectly preserved look, here’s what I did.

How to Press Flowers in a Book

First, I kept the bouquet in a vase of water for five days after the wedding.  I wanted to enjoy the flowers as long as I could while they were still fresh-looking.  

On the fifth day, I took them out of the vase and disassembled the bouquet.  (Note: if you try this, five days may be too long to wait.  It depends entirely on how fresh the flowers are that you’re working with.  You don’t want to wait so long that they start to brown.  Make sure to begin the flower pressing process before that happens.)  First, flowers were removed from the bouquet.

I selected several flowers that I liked best and that were freshest, and decided to use those for my flower pressing experiment.

Next, I cut up sheets of tissue paper – just regular tissue paper used to wrap gifts – and got them ready to go.  I laid the flowers and pieces of greenery on each piece of tissue paper to make sure that none of the flowers or leaves were overlapping.  I then laid the piece of tissue paper with the flowers or leaves in a book.

Tissue paper is important when pressing flowers in a book.

I covered the leaves or flowers with another piece of tissue paper of the same size.  I did this to make sure not to let acids from the leaves or flowers destroy the book, or to let any print from the book transfer onto the flowers or leaves.

Make sure to add another layer of tissue paper to the flowers that are being pressed in the book.

Now, here’s the part I completely forgot to photograph! (Unbelievable.)  Once I had the flowers and leaves in their tissue paper layers, I closed the books and did two things to make sure they actually pressed.

First, I placed one of the books underneath two heavy vases so that the pressure from the vases really kept the book closed and the flowers pressing.

Second, I took four ponytail holders (or rubber bands) and stretched them around the other book to hold it closed tightly.

I waited about four weeks and when I opened the books to check on my flowers and leaves, I was excited to find that both methods of flower pressing worked perfectly!  Both the “stacking heavy objects on top of the book” method and “closing the book with ponytail holders” method were successful!

Allow the flowers enough time to dry and press, and remove them when ready.

The flowers were dry, maintained their colors, and were totally pressed.  

How to Make Pressed Flower Art

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Since the flower pressing process went so great, I had to figure out what to do with my pressed and dried flowers.  I ultimately decided to put them into small shadowboxes so that they could be displayed on a shelf or in another small spot.  I could have done a larger artistic arrangement, but I didn’t really want that commitment of putting them on a large wall.

In order to get the flowers in the shadowboxes, I used rubber cement (yes, regular old rubber cement!), and a cotton swab to dab a tiny bit of rubber cement on the back of each flower or leaf.  Remember what they taught your kids about glue in preschool: “dot, dot, not a lot”?  Make that your mantra here!

Use rubber cement to glue pressed flowers to acid free backing.

Rubber cement is really cheap, so that’s awesome.  If you don’t have rubber cement or don’t like the smell, you could try a different acid free glue.  I’m sure there are lots of options at any craft store.  

After the glue dried, the back of my first shadowbox looked like this: Arrange pressed flowers on backing board and glue them with rubber cement.

I used the rest of the pressed flowers to fill up the other shadow box, and I’m happy to say that my pressed flower art looks lovely in my office.  Create beautiful pressed flower art with help from this post.

The glare on the glass was pretty severe in this spot, so I snapped some photos of the dried flower art in a less sunny location as well.  It's so easy to create beautiful pressed flower art. This post shows you how to press flowers in a book, and then how to create art with them.

I love how special and meaningful these dried and pressed flowers are – making them even more beautiful to me!

How to Make 3D Dried Flower Art

Now, I know that this post is all about how to press flowers, but I also want to tell you that there is a way to dry and preserve flowers in 3D form – including entire bouquets!  

The company I used to work for, ACTÍVA Products, makes a product called Flower Drying Art, which is a silica gel that dries and preserves flowers over time or even in the microwave.  It’s completely reusable because you can re-charge the silica gel crystals, so you can dry as many flowers as you want, all with one package.  Plus, it helps the flowers retain their color instead of turning brown and crusty like they can when simply air dried.

I don’t have any photos of projects I made for this blog using the product, but I used it many times during the course of my work with ACTÍVA, and I promise that it’s easy to use and gives great results.  Professional wedding bouquet preservationists (yes, there are such a thing!) even use Flower Drying Art to preserve bouquets for clients.

So, if a 3D flower art project or bouquet preservation is something you’re interested in, you might want to try Flower Drying Art.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for you on pressing flowers in a book.  I hope it was helpful to you!  Let me know if you’re going to try pressing and preserving some flowers.  I hope they turn out beautifully!  Learn how to press flowers in a book and then create beautiful pressed flower art with them. It is actually REALLY easy - anyone can do it!

-Bre

Make a Dollar Store Toolbox Planter

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The kids are back in school and the temps are cooling off: my mind is definitely shifting gears toward fall!  Because of that, last week I shared a cute DIY Dollar Tree Pumpkin Sign project that will cozy up your home decor, and this week I’m sharing another fun fall project!  This dollar store toolbox planter is perfect for your your porch or an entryway table!  So cute!! Transform a Dollar Tree toolbox into a pretty planter filled with flowers for fall! Learn how to replicate this look for any season - it's so easy!

Isn’t it pretty?!?  And friends, it is SO darn cheap to put together.  EVERYTHING except the spray paint is from Dollar Tree!

Okay well enough oooooh’ing and aaaaah’ing over this dollar store fall decor – let’s get down to business!

Supplies Needed to Make a Dollar Tree Toolbox Planter

Like I said, pretty much everything for this project is from Dollar Tree!  If it’s not from the D.T., I will let you know next to the supply name.  Also, some of the links may be affiliate links.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.

  • Toolbox
  • Floral foam brick
  • Faux flowers of your choice (I used a bunch of sunflowers leftover from my Dollar Tree Sunflower Wreath, mums, and a beige flower of some sort)
  • Faux pumpkin clips (they come in a three pack)
  • Plaid wired ribbon
  • Harvest metal word (they come in a three pack of Harvest, Thankful, and Welcome)
  • Spray paint (I used this brand and color of spray paint) (not Dollar Tree)
  • Black acrylic paint to add some faux age to the toolbox (not Dollar Tree)
  • Gold acrylic paint for the metal word (not Dollar Tree)
  • E6000 glue (not Dollar Tree)

How to Make a Dollar Tree Toolbox Planter

Start by spray painting the toolbox in whatever color you like.  I really liked this matte burgundy/purple color because it was bold and moody – perfect for fall!  Spray paint a Dollar Tree toolbox a fun color and use it as a planter!

Once the spray paint dried, I lightly added a bit of black paint all over the toolbox to make it look older and less “flat” – if that makes any sense. 

Next, I popped a block of floral foam inside the toolbox.  The rectangular floral foam from Dollar Tree is the perfect fit for the toolbox.  Dollar Tree floral form is the perfect base for this toolbox planter.

Next, I got to work cutting faux florals and placing them into the floral foam.  

Fall faux flowers will be beautiful in the toolbox planter.

I had a stem of faux leaves set aside to use, but decided that the colors didn’t look right with the flowers I was using, so I ultimately ditched them.  Press faux flowers into floral foam.

Once I had the flowers in place, I worked in some of the Dollar Tree wired ribbon, and then added several of the faux pumpkin clips.  Those clips are great because they just attached right to the flowers, exactly where I wanted them!  Faux flowers and pumpkins from Dollar Tree make a beautiful fall arrangement.

Finally, and not pictured here because I forgot to photograph this step, I dabbed a little gold acrylic paint on the metal word “Harvest” and let it dry.  Then I glued it to the inside of the toolbox for a little extra flair.

It all came together super cute and much prettier than the toolbox in its original form.  🙂  This is so pretty! Learn how to upcycle a toolbox into a planter! This fall arrangement is gorgeous and made entirely with Dollar Tree florals.

I can’t stop making Dollar Tree crafts – I hope you’re not sick of them!  Love this pretty fall flower arrangement! See how she transformed a Dollar Tree toolbox and made it a beautiful fall planter!

This entire toolbox planter cost $7 in Dollar Tree Supplies and $4 in paint.  I had the rest of the supplies already, so there was no cost there.  That is not bad at all!  Faux pumpkins, plaid ribbon, and faux florals make a beautiful fall floral arrangement.

So what do you think – will you be transforming a toolbox into a pretty planter for your home?  Let me know!

-Bre

 

The Perfect Pumpkin Sign (A Fall Dollar Tree DIY!)

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Dollar Tree has always been my favorite, but this season they have seriously stepped up their crafting and DIY game!  If you haven’t stocked up on fall and Halloween crafting supplies yet, you need to get over there pronto.  (And if you haven’t read my post on The Best Craft Supplies to Buy at Dollar Tree – do it!)  I picked up a few of their new fall items and make the perfect pumpkin sign for my fall decor – and it only took about 20 minutes!  Make the perfect pumpkin sign with this fun Dollar Tree DIY project! This dollar store fall craft is so cute!             

This cute pumpkin sign will stay out all fall – even through Halloween – because of the color scheme I used.  The great thing is that it can be customized however you want, so make this in any color to suit your taste or decor!

Supplies Used for This Dollar Tree Pumpkin Decor

Here’s what I used to make this fall sign:

Dollar Tree's fall craft items are adorable! Use them to create a cute fall sign that you'll have out all season.

How to Make a Fall Pumpkin Sign

First I painted the edges of the Dollar Tree canvas artwork black.  I used two coats of paint for this step.  Remember, you can use any color paint you like!  Transform a Dollar Tree canvas artwork into a cute pumpkin sign for fall.

Once the paint dried, I traced the shape of the canvas onto the back of a piece of scrapbook paper.  I cut that out and then sprayed the canvas and the back of the paper with spray adhesive.  I quickly pressed the scrapbook paper into place on the front of the canvas and trimmed any parts that stuck up over the edges of the canvas.  Use spray adhesive to fasten scrapbook paper to a canvas to create a pumpkin sign for fall.

Then I got to work painting the pumpkins!  I mixed up a few shades of orange by simply mixing basic orange and white acrylic paint.  I painted one of the Dollar Tree pumpkin ornaments and two of the DIY craft stickers.  Paint plain Dollar Tree pumpkin ornaments to create a cute pumpkin sign for fall.

After those pumpkins dried, I used one of the pieces of twine from the ornaments package and tied it around each of the pumpkins’ stems.  Then I used the hot glue gun to fasten them to the canvas.  I even hot glued the stickers because the adhesive wasn’t super strong and I didn’t want those pumpkins going anywhere!  Create a cute pumpkin sign for fall.

Next, I stamped the word “pumpkin” onto two of the Dollar Tree Jenga game blocks.  They’re the perfect little wood blocks for all kinds of projects!  If you don’t have letter stamps and/or a stamp pad, you could use the tiny letter stickers at Dollar Tree for this step!

Use stamps on Dollar Tree Jenga pieces to create a cute pumpkin sign for fall.

Finally, I hot glued the “pumpkins” piece into place and added a little black paint around the edges of both the word piece and the entire sign.  This gave a distressed look that I like!  Create a unique pumpkin sign for fall.

And that’s all it took to transform a canvas into an adorable piece of fall decor!  Make the perfect pumpkin sign with this fun Dollar Tree DIY project! This dollar store fall craft is so cute!

I’d love for you to share this pumpkin sign project with your friends, or pin it to Pinterest to help others find it!  

And, if you love fall crafting, check out some of my other great fall craft ideas in my holidays gallery!

-Bre

DIY Dollar Tree Sunflower Wreath

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Confession: I used to hate sunflowers.  Now recently I’ve started liking them.  I don’t know what’s happened to me!  I think I’ve begun to appreciate sunflowers because of the way they add color to yards and gardens at the end of summer.  And now, I have some faux sunflowers adding the same color to my back door because of this cute DIY Dollar Tree Sunflower Wreath I made! 

Create gorgeous end-of-summer decor with this DIY Dollar Tree Sunflower Wreath project! Make this pretty sunflower wreath for about $5.

Supplies Needed to Make a Dollar Tree Sunflower Wreath

Because this wreath was made almost exclusively with Dollar Tree supplies, it came together for $5! Can you believe it?  Here are the items I used:

  • Small grapevine wreaths
  • One bunch of faux sunflowers
  • Black and white polka dot ribbon
  • Faux feathers (purchased at Michaels)
  • Scissors
  • Hot glue and glue gun

How to Make a Dollar Tree Sunflower Wreath

I think the unique look of this wreath or door hanger is due to the fact that it uses three small grapevine wreaths to form a larger door hanging.  I just love having something unique on my door!

DIY Sunflower Wreath Step One: Cut Ribbon

Begin by cutting two pieces of ribbon to be about 6″ long. 

I love this sunflower wreath project that uses small grapevine wreaths for a unique look!

Sunflower Wreath Step Two: Form Loops with the Ribbon

Next, hot glue the ribbon around the top of one grapevine wreath and around the bottom of another grapevine wreath to form a loop.  Attach small grapevine wreaths together with ribbon.

Repeat this process so that you end up with three grapevine wreaths attached together with two pieces of ribbon. 

These grapevine wreaths form the base of a beautiful sunflower wreath.

Step Three: Attach the Sunflower Blossoms to the Wreath

Cut the sunflower blossoms off of a bouquet of Dollar Tree sunflowers.  There are approximately six sunflowers per $1 bouquet, and I used five blossoms on this wreath. 

Once the sunflower blossoms are cut off, glue them onto the grapevine wreaths in any manner you like. 

Use Dollar Tree sunflowers to make a beautiful end-of-summer wreath.

Step Four: Add Feathers to the Sunflower Wreath

Finally, add some feather accents around the sunflower blossoms, if you like!  I purchased these cute spotted feathers at Michaels last year and used them on this Thanksgiving Embroidery Hoop Wreath, too!  There are so many in the package that you can use them for lots of projects! 

Learn how to make a beautiful sunflower wreath in this post!

I love the natural touch they add to projects!

Step Five: Make a Bow to Hang the Wreath

Finally, cut a piece of ribbon about 12″ long and tie it into a bow.  Then, hot glue it to the top of the sunflower wreath for a finishing touch.  

And with that, your Dollar Tree Sunflower Wreath is finished! 

Create gorgeous end-of-summer decor with this DIY Dollar Tree Sunflower Wreath project! Make this pretty sunflower wreath for about $5.

The contrast of the bright yellow sunflowers with the natural grapevine wreath is so beautiful!  This is truly the perfect wreath to bridge the gap from summer to fall. 

Create gorgeous end-of-summer decor with this DIY Dollar Tree Sunflower Wreath project! Make this pretty sunflower wreath for about $5.

If you agree, I’d love for you to let me know in the comments and share this project on Pinterest or Facebook!  It means so much to me when you share my work.  

Happy crafting!

-Bre

How to Make a Paper Butterfly for Crafts and Decor

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When you’re looking for an inexpensive craft that packs a lot of punch, paper crafts are the way to go!  Let me show you how to make a paper butterfly for crafts, decor, and more.  I think you’ll want to make these paper butterflies to adorn lots of things!

Super cute! It's so easy to learn how to make paper butterflies! This post shows you how with step-by-step photos and a video tutorial! Use paper butterflies in crafts, decor, and more!

With so many gorgeous scrapbook paper patterns available, it’s easy to create eye-catching paper butterflies without spending much money at all. 

Cute! Learn how to make paper butterflies with scrapbook paper and use them for crafts, decor, gift wrapping toppers, and more!

I made a bunch* of paper butterflies for a cute piece of Fourth of July decor, but you could make paper butterflies in any color or pattern to suit your needs!  (*Did you know that a “bunch” of butterflies is actually called a kaleidoscope or a swarm? I wish I would’ve known that when I painted this butterfly bench for my daughter!) 

Learn how to make a paper butterfly in this post! She shows you exactly how to make butterflies from scrapbook paper, and also how to make this cute paper butterfly sign.

Some ideas for how to use a paper butterfly is to hang it on the wall, add it to a greeting card, or put it in a cloche jar. 

How will you use any paper butterflies that you make?  Share your ideas in the comments below!   

How to Make a Paper Butterfly

How to Make a Paper Butterfly

Yield: 1
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Active Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Estimated Cost: $2

Learn how to make a paper butterfly for crafts, party decorations, home decor, gift wrapping, and more! Paper butterflies are also fun for kids to make! Customize paper butterflies with pretty scrapbook paper.

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Materials

  • Scrapbook paper in colors and patterns of your choice
  • Recommended: paper cutter (If you don't have a paper cutter, a ruler and scissors will work)
  • Recommended: paper scoring board (If you don't have a paper scoring board, you can measure and fold or fold accordion style)
  • Craft wire or floral wire
  • Scissors

Instructions

  1. Cut patterned scrapbook paper into a square. We used a paper cutter to get perfect 6" x 6" squares quickly, but you can use scissors if you don't have a paper cutter. blank
  2. Use a paper scoring tool to score the paper at 1/2" increments. Scoring the paper puts a shallow line into the paper and makes it so much easier to fold and get perfectly even folds! If you don't have a paper scoring tool, you can fold accordion style. blank
  3. Cut along the edges of the paper to create the look of butterfly wings. These don't have to be perfectly even! blank
  4. Fold the paper along the pre-scored lines, or accordion style, and then fold the paper in half in the opposite direction. blank
  5. Cut a piece of floral wire and wrap it around the middle fold in the paper. blank
  6. Bring the ends of the wire together and twist them to secure them together. Wrap each of the ends outward and curl them to create your butterfly's antennae! Gently unfold the wings to create a fuller look. blank
  7. Use any paper butterflies you create for home decor crafts, gift wrap accents, and more! I hot glued some red, white, and blue paper butterflies to a piece of wood to create a Fourth of July sign! blank

Notes

To make larger or smaller butterflies than I created, simply cut your paper into larger or smaller squares! We cut our squares at 4" x 4", 6" x 6" and 9" x 9".

Recommended Products

This post contains affiliate links. To read my full disclosure policy, please view the disclosure policy at https://averageinspired.com/about-me-contact/disclosures.

© Bre Eggert
Project Type: Paper Crafts / Category: Crafts
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