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Friday, September 30, 2011

Halloween Craft With Tutorial

I've been to a couple of craft shows recently, and I keep seeing Halloween noisemakers. I would have taken some pictures of the ones that I saw, but they frown upon that at craft shows! I really love them though, but I don't love the prices, so I decided to try and make my own.
And this is how they turned out.

They're pretty cute, and if you'd like to make some too, I'll show you how.

I started with paper mache boxes........

and paper mache balls, and some dowels, all from Michaels. I forgot to take pictures of some of the steps, so this won't be the best tutorial you've ever read, but I think you'll be able to figure it all out just fine.

The box that I bought is too tall, so I cut it down so that the back (or bottom of the box) would be flush with the lid, making the whole thing about 1/2" wide. DO NOT put the box inside the lid yet, because it will GET STUCK! Now go ahead and embellish the lid or ball the way you want, by painting, decoupaging, etc.

You don't have to paint your dowel, but I painted all of mine black.

Now put something inside your box or ball that will rattle when you shake it. I used split peas! Then close your box. Ok, here's where I should have taken more pictures! You need to make a hole that your dowel will fit through. I used a drill, going very slowly so that I didn't bend the box. Start with a small bit, and work your way up to the one that's the same size as your dowel. When I was ready to push my dowel in, I put a drop of hot glue on the tip of the dowel, so that when the dowel was all the way in, the dowel would adhere to the top of the box and not flop around inside. Does that make any sense at all? I had lots of fun making these, and I'm working on a couple more. If you have any questions, because you couldn't make heads or tails of this tutorial, feel free to email me. Now get shakin', and give these a try!

16 comments:

Lynn said...

I love it! They really turned out cute:@)

Denise said...

Fantastic!I didn't realize from the first photos that they were so big untell I saw what they were made out of. Great for my Grandkids,but I have 9 of them-eeks that might be too much for me.

Pam said...

How cute! I think you did a fine job with the tutorial. I would like to make these for my great-nephews.:-)

Anonymous said...

How cute these turned out...love them!

Anonymous said...

oh my gosh, these are absolutely wonderful! thank you for sharing, i love the vintage look! sharon

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Very cute!!

BucksCountyFolkArt said...

The polka dot with black cat's my favorite! Love these and yes, they ARE fun to make!!

Jill

GARAGE SALE GAL said...

Look at you! Making such sweet shakers! I'm impressed. Have fun "making and shaking"!
Warmly,
deb

Barbara said...

Love these! The drop of glue on top of the dowel made perfect sense to me (and seemed like a pretty good idea!) I'm partial to the kitty.

Tammy@T's Daily Treasures said...

Sometimes it's just crazy what folks charge. How great that you were able to get home and make them on your own. They turned out so cute. Best wishes, Tammy

Musings from Kim K. said...

Love love love it! I might have try my hand at this amazing craft! Wonderful tutorial.

Mecky said...

Cute idea, Carol!!!

blondie blu said...

What a sweet idea! My daughter would love to make these with me. Thanks for the inspiration. :-) Helena

Sweet Bee Cottage said...

Can I come trick or treating at your house? I promise not to sneak out any of your adorable Halloween crafts you've been making. No really, I promise. No really. You can trust me.

Laura said...

Those noise makers of yours are adorable Carol, you are so clever! Thank you for sharing the tutorial.
Have a great week
Laura and Michele

Sunny Simple Life said...

These are awesome. I would so totally buy these. You are a professional noise maker now. Too cute! Love your Halloween Header.