Reported by Heather Fuentes
Confession: I have never been much of a holiday crafter. I KNOW! It's awful, right? I mean, don't get me wrong... I enjoy fun holiday crafts, but I usually find myself too busy the last few months of the year to really get into making much more than dinner. Is it just me? (I bet it's not just me...) However, if you are going to pick up a fun Halloween craft book, you have to check out
"Witch Craft: Wicked Accessories, Creepy-Cute Toys, Magical Treats, and More!" (Quirk Books, $14.95, September 2010)
It's a fabulous little book that was put together by Margaret McGuire and
Alicia Kachmar, and is filled to the brim with what the intro touts as "simple homemade tricks and treats." I'm a totally visual person, so the cover alone (above) got me really excited to see what was in store.
The book contains over 25 projects that range in difficulty from "my kid is totally going to steal this book from me and make that" to "gosh, I sure wish I knew how to crochet!" It starts with a basic supply list, most of which an average crafter will have on hand. There are a few pattern downloads and video tutorials online here on the
Quirk Books website. A short list of sewing terms, crochet and knitting abbreviations, and metric conversions kick off the few pages before projects begin.
On a special note, this won't help you craft better, but it should most certainly be said that the book has THE most adorable illustrations ever. I sort of want to smooch the tiny Frankenstein at the end of the table of contents. I'm just saying.
Throughout the book, some of those sweet little illustrations are accompanied by tips and tricks that will make each project easier. From spooky spider jewelry, to creepy cute food, I really loved the way the book covered more than just one type of craft. There is even a great project that teaches you how to repurpose old glass jars into magical snow globes.
There are super simple projects like Halloween cupcake toppers and freaky finger food to more complex crochet and knitting projects that are perfect for this time of year. It took me a little while to narrow down which projects to try because all the projects are so tempting, but I finally settled on three of the easier ones. Like I said, I'm busy making dinner!
First up, I knew I wanted to make the Plushie Poison Apples. This project is by Jacki Gallagher of
Plush Off, and I am a major fan of her super cute work. I was really amped to try this little guy out! The only other plush anything I've ever made was an ugly doll and trust me when I say, it was pretty ugly. Heh. I had some deep purple felt on hand and decided to just use that for my poison apple. Purple is a poisony color, right?
Okay, so maybe he's more of a poison plum. I stuffed him through the top because I totally seamed up the bottom first on accident (whoops!). This resulted in a little bit of a wonky top but all in all, I think he's pretty cute. I tend to roll with crafty mistakes because I figure it all goes towards the handmade charm, right? Right. I plan to make another without quite as much "charm" for my kiddo to give to her teacher for Halloween. I am in love with his evil little eyebrows.
Next, I decided to try the little Sleepy Ghost Brooches by Lindsay Gibson of
Em & Sprout. It seemed simple enough and I had all of the supplies handy for this project.
It's not the perfect little ghost, but it's still pretty darn cute. I traced the pattern straight from the book and then onto my felt. The embroidery was super easy but I think he needs a little nose or mouth, don't you?
Last, I thought I'd try something I could give to my daughter. The Magical Catnapping Mask by
Naomi Matsuda was just the thing! The pattern and directions call for a mask that is satin on both sides with fleece in the middle for softness, but I chose to do a fleece backed satin mask by altering the pattern slightly. I don't know about you, but I've never sewn fleece OR satin. While it was a little tricky to work with, I definitely plan to try to make a few more of these.
I certainly have some perfecting to do but it was really simple and will make a super cute gift once I add a little bow and maybe some pink ears. Cute! I finished mine off with a top-stitch but that's mostly because my seams were otherwise kind of wonky. You can see my bottom seam still is! Oh well. Next time...
There are lots of great photographs and patterns throughout the book that help you get spellbindingly crafty. It seems like a some of the instruction could have been a little more in-depth, but I think they just work on the assumption that you are already slightly skilled in the craft area. There's a handy "Dark Arts & Crafts Shopping Guide" at the back of the book that linked me to some cute shops I hadn't seen before. Each contributor also has a small bio at the back of the book, which was a really interesting insight into some very crafty people!
All in all, I found
Witch Craft to be a great jumping off place for my new-found love of holiday crafting. I can't wait to try out the rest of the projects in the book and as soon as I find a nifty pair of Mary Janes, you can bet I will be turning them into adorable kitty cats!
What do you think? See anything you want to create before Halloween? Leave us a comment and let us know!
Disclosure
is also available at Amazon.com
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License.
