Lights out! Ghost out!

It’s almost Halloween, and with that decorations are starting to appear along side pumpkins. Today Jackson and I went to the Gulfarium Spooktacular for halloween festivities. Free admission for kids in costume is something that I can never say no to. C’mon who doesn’t like free or cheap when you can get it?  We were able to see all the same great shows with a halloween flair, plus extra spooky activities.  Between the sunken submarine you got to go on to the skeleton find it kept Jackson entertained for almost 3 hours.  Jackson decided to dress up as Jack Skellington (The Nightmare Before Christmas) and of course I painted his face at 9 am, but the time we get to the Gulfarium he is freaking out because some of it has smudged. How many times can I say do not touch your face!?!  Even though we left before the costume parade (pretty glad about that one) I still think he had a great time. He was still talking about the talking pumpkins (pumpkins with a projector on them) tonight at dinner.

While we were at the Gulfarium we learned how to make a few easy Halloween crafts. One was a spider from a paper plate. The other one that I will be giving a tutorial on was a ghost.  Spooky I know!  This is something you can use to give your yard a little more life and hopefully won’t cost anything extra since most items are found laying around the house.

 

Watching the pumpkins sing

 

Had fun on the maze

 

Had to meet his skeleton friend.

Got to see a bird take a bath

 

What you need:

Scissors

Clean and dried empty milk jug (does’t matter what size)

Black construction paper (or a black sharpie)

Glue stick

Plastic bag (Walmart, Target…)

Screw Driver

Fishing line

 

Step 1:

Make sure your milk jug is clean and all stickers are removed.  One the base of the milk jug you will make 2 holes. Make them as close to the middle as your can.  Add fishing line through the holes to be able to hang when finished.

Step 2:

Draw on your black construction paper a face for your ghost. We make a nice ghost but you can make it however you would like.  Cut out the pieces of the face individually.

Step 3:

With your glue stick, glue your face onto your milk jug. Make are your jug is upside down, otherwise you will have an upside down pumpkin.  If you plan on using a sharpie, just draw on the face now.

Step 4:

Take your milk jug lid and your plastic bag. You will place the lid inside of the plastic bag then place the lid on the jug like your normally would. If you really want to get creative, add a glow stick inside of the milk jug to make it glow. 

 

 

DIY Upholster Coffee Table/ Ottoman

Ok so this post and the next few I make are little bit different than what I usually post with. This is more of a DIY. A lot has changed over the course of almost 2 years in writing this blog. I became separated and moved Jackson and I from Miami to the panhandle of Florida where I am originally from.  With this move most of my stuff went into storage because I didn’t know what was gonna happen. Well once I finally figured it out and saved money, we moved into a new place. With out anything!  Well thankfully my mom had been keeping my old dining table that we had in Okinawa. This thing was extremely scratched and well honestly had seen better days. So what do I do know I need a ottoman/ coffee table and don’t have the extra money, I make it!  That’s what we do in this family. If you can’t afford something you make it, or if you just don’t want to get rid of something, repurpose it!

So here is how it went!

I went over to my Uncles workshop and had him help me cut down the legs.  Since it was a bar height table, we had to cut a good bit. Please make your own measurements depending on the height of the ottoman you want. I could still cut another 4 inches off mine, but I have began to like having my feet elevated.

BTW I LOVE POWER TOOLS!

 

This how the table looked after we cut it down and put it all together. It’s huge!

 

 

 

 

Next I laid an egg crate on top (twin worked for me, doing this as inexpensive as possible) You can add multiple layers, but I didn’t need it to cushy so it worked for me.

 

Next get your fabric and staple on one side.  Once you get your one side stapled stretch the fabric across tightly and staple. Do the same for the remaining sides.   I got my fabric from Joann’s and fell in love instantly. It’s a linen blend and feels amazing. 

 

TADAA!!!   I love this thing. Jackson even uses it as a play table which is ok by me too.  Extra seating, play space, prop your feet up and coffee table all in one!

 

 

Price for it all this:

Dining table – Free (already had)

Twin Egg crate – Target $5

Fabric – Joann’s 3 yards $32 ( used coupons and hit the right sale)

Staple gun w/ staples – $20

Total- $57 for a brand new ottoman!