I had coffee with a two blog friends yesterday who live in my town (Cathe and Elise) and we got to talking about some holiday creations we’re planning with fonts (stay tuned for some magic!) but then that got me thinking about how much fun it really is to play around with different fonts on the computer.

My graphic design skills are limited, but I do love to play around with all sorts of different fonts and create simple cards, printables, or labels.  Halloween is one of those holidays when it’s especially fun to combine images and fonts together, and last year I made beverage labels using the free software from Picasa, here’s a look back. 

I created several kid friendly beverage labels including juice box labels …

soda and large juice bottle labels…

… and three different water bottle labels too (only one shown).

Download and print the above labels here. 

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Hello all, today I’m happy to welcome back a monthly contributor, Michelle from Ten June.  After all that fall decorating and crafting, I’m in the mood to take a break and read about great design, so Michelle’s article couldn’t have come at a better time.  Today she’s bringing you her perspective on how television influences her design style, take it away Michelle!

“They say that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder, but what about inspiration? Where does it lie for you? While I spend my fair share of time perusing shelter magazines, design blogs and creative websites like Pinterest, I also like to find design inspiration in unusual places. One of my favorite places to seek out unique home décor ideas is right in my living room – on the television!

Nora’s kitchen from Brothers & Sisters, via Hooked On Houses

One benefit of using television to inspire home design is that, as a viewer, you are automatically granted access into a million different scenes- homes of the rich, the poor, the old, the new, the traditional and the glamorous. But did you know that when you pull home design ideas from television, you can add a lot more to your design knowledge than just a few pretty, inspiring images? In fact, you can learn a lot about the way design works, just by turning on the TV.

The creators of television shows use set design to help to define and shape what you watch, such as the time period of the event, the tone of the show and even the personality of each of the characters.

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I love it when people decorate their homes for Halloween, especially when it’s not too gory and oh so clever. I’m not one to go all out for this particular holiday, we just don’t get a lot of trick-or-treating kids at my door. But just around the corner, the kids all flock to to Mic’s place, he’s a legend. I just had to share the coolest Halloween house in my neighborhood.

Meet Captain Mic, a true buccaneer at heart.

Mic’s wife stamps hundreds of those bags every year and fills them with treasure for all the kids (chocolate doubloons and candy gems inside).

On an ordinary day the house looks like this:

For Halloween, Mic transforms it into a pirate ship!  This was last year’s version, he built the bow, raised the mast, hoisted the sails, and took over as Captain of the Mourning Star. 

iPhone pictures do not do her justice, the “ship” is simply incredible! All the kids in town love this stop along the trick-or-treat trail.

Skeleton pirates fire the homemade cannon (check out the chain and rope details) and they walk the plank that Mic also constructed, aarrgghh. 

To get to the door, you must pass through this skull arbor, beware! 

On the lawn is this coffin raft he built, I love all of the details, the pulley, the ropes, the bamboo oar, and the rat!

Captain Mic pulls out an old rowboat and fills it with another skeleton pirate.

Get near the front door to ask for candy and this scurvy dog awaits.

Mic definitely gets in the spirit of Halloween with his incredible pirate ship house! It’s fantastic by day, but veeery spooky at night, all lit up with his pirate music playing.

Mic couldn’t be nicer and the kids love the big show. He definitely gets my vote for the Coolest Neighbor Award.  Got any spooktacular Halloween houses in your neighborhood? 

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The kids were watching the classic Snow White the other day and there’s a scene where SW is running in the forest and the beady eyes are everywhere and she freaks out but it turns out it’s just bunny rabbits.  

I share that tidbit with you only because it was the inspiration for my latest Halloween project, a framed chalkboard drawing of a forest with those glowing beady eyes that spook kids big and small.  Here it is, my latest (cheap) art idea just in time for Halloween.

This quick art project cost me nothing (well, I didn’t shop for anything new) and took less than an hour.  I found this old frame at a thrift store many months ago, it came with a nature painting that I may or may not keep, I’m undecided. Anyway, I paid $5 bucks at Goodwill and it was sitting in my garage. The rest of the supplies, (the foam board, chalkboard paint, and twinkle lights) I already had on hand. 

To make this I followed these four steps.  1. Cut a foam board to the size of your frame, then cover one side with two coats of black chalkboard spray paint.  2. Sketch then fill your chalk trees, 3. Use a small nail to determine location of glowing eyes, and 4. Insert tips of twinkle lights behind back of canvas.  Boom, you’re done.

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That time of year is here again – we’ve got guests visiting from all over just about every weekend until the end of the year. With all the festivities planned over the next few months, I wanted to make some wine glass charms to help keep everyone’s glass identified during all the celebrating.

I first found out about an embossing powder called Amazing Glaze that hardens to a resin from my friend Cathe, she had used it to to make a memory pet tag and decal penny pendant in the past and I really wanted to try it out!  I ordered the powder, some pendant bases and earwires, then came up with several versions of DIY wine glass charms. The first are these blingy sparklers which will work for just about any occasion.

With the right supplies, these are so easy to make!  Find some earwires, pendant bases, and some Amazing Glaze, and you’re in business (my sources below).

The sparkling gem versions were made with simple colorful glitter from my stash that was layered along the bottom of the pendant base, then topped with a small amount of the powder glaze (seen below). 

Using aluminum foil beneath, I simply baked the first layer of powder inside the pendants in a 350 degree oven for two minutes and allowed it to cool for 5 minutes. Then I applied two more thin layers following the same technique, 2 minutes in a 350 degree oven until the powder melts and turns clear.

It hardens into a resin to make these little gems for your wineglass!

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