How to make a dripping bauble Halloween decoration

How to make a dripping bauble Halloween decoration

Hello everyone,
Here's another tutorial on how to use your old and worn out Christmas baubles to make spooky Halloween decorations. This tutorial is even suitable for kids to help make, with some adult supervision of course.

What you will need:
Old baubles
Acrylic paint (I recommend red for blood, green for slime and black for swamp goo but this can be any colour you wish)
PVA glue (optional)
Paint sealant spray (optional)

A place to hang the baubles to be worked upon and to dry
Some paper/card to cover the table/floor to stop paint getting on it. This is very important you may need a few layers of paper or try some card from a cereal packet since the dripping paint will be thick and may soak through.

Step 1
Decide on your paint colours and put a small amount in a container for easy use. If you find the paint is too thick a small amount of PVA glue can help make it runnier. However if you use more glue than paint the colour will end up patchy so unless you want that as a finished effect only use a small amount of glue.

Heres my red blood and green slime ready to go!

Step 2:

Hang your baubles somewhere where they can be worked upon and left to dry. Don't forget to place some paper or card under the area. 

In this picture I have rested a clothes hanger against my table and placed the card on the table. 

Step 3:

Now heres the fun bit. Use your piece of card or a plastic spoon works really well to scoop up a small amount of paint and drip it over the top of your baubles. Allow the paint to run down the bauble to create the dripping effect and keep adding paint in drips until you get the effect you like. 

Once you are happy with the amount of coverage your baubles have leave them to dry. I left mine overnight. 

Step 4: (optional)

Spray with paint sealant according to the packet instructions. This will help your baubles past for many Halloweens to come. 

Then they will be all ready to add to your Halloween decorations, these look great hanging from the mantelpiece or shelves. These can even be used in a Halloween wreath or hung from an old branch.
If you have decided to add these to your decorations please feel free to send a link to them. I'd love to see everyone's creativity when coming up with spooky decorations.

For more ideas on how to re-use your old Christmas baubles can be found here:

Christmas Bauble Upcycling

Upcycling worn out Christmas Baubles
Spiderman Halloween decoration
How to make a Bloody handprint Halloween decoration from an old Christmas bauble
Pokemon Gastly Halloween decoration
How to make a Wrapped sweet Christmas decoration.
How to make a Squirtle Squad decoration
How to make a Jake the dog decoration
How to make a Chain Chomp Christmas bauble

For Halloween cross stitch designs here are some links:
Simple sweet themed Trick or Treat Bag
I Love my Mummy simple Halloween motif
Pumpkin Alphabet
Jack O' Lantern Coaster designs for Halloween
Cute ghost coming out of a pumpkin
Cute cat in a pumpkin
Cute ghost giving a gift
Happy Ghost at a gravestone
Halloween Haunted house silhouette cross stitch design
Pentagram for Altar cloth
Butterfly inspired sugar skull cross stitch design
Witches bookshelf - small bookmark cross stitch design
Sad ghost at a gravestone

For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

Ghost giving a gift - Halloween cross stitch design

Ghost giving a gift - Halloween cross stitch design

Colour	DMC Number	Anchor Number
Black	310	403
White	5200	1
Red	900	333
Pink	963	23

This design was originally charted in Anchor threads and I used a conversion chart to find the DMC numbers so for a picture most accurate to the chart use Anchor Threads.

Hello everyone, heres another cross stitch design for Halloween which focuses on the cute aspects rather than ? the scary ones. I find this particularly helps decorating when my Nieces are about so they don't get too scared. 

This little ghost is giving a present to his cute ghost friend and by the look on her face she seems really happy to be getting a present no matter what it is. 

I imagined when drawing it that hes giving her some candy, perhaps stolen from trick or treaters he'd scared away. However she doesn't need to know that, its that thought that counts right?

For more Halloween themed Cross stitch designs here are some links:

Simple sweet themed Trick or Treat Bag
I Love my Mummy simple Halloween motif
Pumpkin Alphabet
Jack O' Lantern Coaster designs for Halloween
Cute ghost coming out of a pumpkin
Cute cat in a pumpkin
Happy Ghost at a gravestone
Halloween Haunted house silhouette cross stitch design
Pentagram for Altar cloth
Butterfly inspired sugar skull cross stitch design
Witches bookshelf - small bookmark cross stitch design
Sad ghost at a gravestone

For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

Border collie puppy cross stitch design

Border collie puppy cross stitch design

Colour	DMC Number	Anchor Number
Black	310	403
Dark grey	3799	236
Grey	414	235
Brown	838	380
White	White	2

This design was originally charted in Anchor threads and I used a conversion chart to find the DMC numbers so for a picture most accurate to the chart use Anchor Threads.

Hello everyone.
This is an adorable picture of one of my Dads new border collie puppies. I could not resist doing a little sketch of this cute little chap. This was done in one of the rare times that the puppies were sitting still.
Last week the puppies got up to all kinds of mischief, it seems that as soon as you take your eyes off them for one moment they seem to find something to chew or chase. Luckily the cat in the house has learnt to stay in high places but does sometimes taunt the puppies by staying just out of their reach. She is going to get a bit of a surprise once they have grown a little and can reach her favourite perch.

So the puppies got hold of a fluffy beanbag and they started to play with it. One puppy on one side and one on the other they started having a little tussle. (though we didn't see this else we would have stopped them) Suddenly all we hear as a big tear as the beanbag just comes apart and spills beans everywhere, all over the kitchen while the puppies look on a little confused.
We find one of them covered head to toe in beans I think he must have gotten a little static on his fur while the other one just sits in the middle of the mess trying to look as innocent as possible.
So we cleaned up the beans and tried to clean up the puppies but they ran off taking beans with them all over the house.
We are still finding little white beans all over the place!

For more animal themed cross stitch designs here are some links

More realistic designs
Peanut the cat in a box
 Simple Easter bunny - Large and small versions
Pink Bunny Silhouette - Large snd card sized versions
Simple beagle puppy

Cartoon designs
Cute cat in a pumpkin
Supercuties - Little horse

Counting themed designs
Kids animal counting: 1 Hippo
Kids animal counting: 2 Giraffes
Kids animal counting: 3 Monkeys

Kids Animal Counting: 8 Elephants

Kids animal counting: 11 Slimy Snails
Kids animal counting: 12 Pawprints


For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

How to make a bloody hand print Halloween decoration from an old Christmas bauble

How to make a bloody hand print Halloween decoration from an old Christmas bauble

Hello everyone
Heres another tutorial on how to use your old and knackered Christmas baubles. In this case it is adding a bloody handprint to your bauble. The best thing about this is that your bauble can be as old, scuffed or worn as you have since this will only add to the finished look of the piece. I used a bauble which the gold colour has worn almost completely off on one side and it looks amazing.

What you will need:
A large old Christmas bauble (your handprint will show up better on a bauble which is not red)
Red paint
PVA glue (optional)
Some old paper to cover your table (this may get messy)
A cup to rest your bauble in to dry or a place to hang the bauble
Paint sealant spray (optional)

Also some really good soap to wash the paint off your hands when you are done.

Note: You don't have to use red paint if you don't want your handprint to look like blood. How about green/blue for icky monster slime? What about black/ brown for a scary creature which just crawled out of a murky swamp!
This is up to your imagination and the colours of your Halloween decoration and available old baubles about what you want the handprint to be from.

Step 1:
Place your bauble on a cup to keep it steady or hang it somewhere safe ready to dry. Since baubles have a convenient hanging loop I used a piece of parcel string to hang it from a clothes rack so it didn't roll away and get paint everywhere!
Don't forget to pop some paper under the drying area just in case any paint drips from your bauble.

Step 2:
Get your paint and cover your hand in it, either use a paintbrush to apply it (the tidier option) or put your paint on a plate and dip your hand in (the option my nieces far preferred)

Optionally I added a little bit of PVA glue to make the paint dry a little blobbier to make the handprint look more like partially dried blood on the finished piece. I found that with acylic paint having more than half of your mixture being glue make the colour in my paint not mix properly and became patchy. However this may be an effect you might want on your decoration so why not experiment with your mix if you are making a few of these?

Excuse the blurriness of the picture I had to use one hand to take the photo.
Also I scratched my nose at this point so ended up with paint on my face.... oops!

Step 3:

Grab your bauble tightly to allow the paint to transfer to it. I found this easier to do while it was hanging up but you can hang it up/ place it in a cup to dry afterwards but you will need a friend or parent with clean hands to avoid getting extra paint where you don't want it to be.

Step 4: (optional)
At this point you can spray your bauble with some paint sealant using the instructions on the packet. This will help your decoration last longer and be useful for many Halloweens to come.

Thats it! Its a really simple way to re-use your old and tattered Christmas baubles. After allowing your Bauble to dry preferably overnight it can be added to Halloween wreaths, placed with your spooky bone decorations or hung up around your house. I found a small collection looks great on a plate near your spooky themed food as a table decoration.
Don't forget to scrub your hands really well after you are done! :)

For more ways to re-use your old Christmas baubles here are some links:
Upcycling worn out Christmas Baubles
Spiderman Halloween decoration
How to make a dripping bauble Halloween decoration.
Pokemon Gastly Halloween decoration
How to make a Wrapped sweet Christmas decoration.
How to make a Squirtle Squad decoration
How to make a Jake the dog decoration
How to make a Chain Chomp Christmas bauble

For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

Cat in a pumpkin - Halloween cross stitch design

Cat in a pumpkin - Halloween cross stitch design

Colour	Used in these areas:	DMC Number	Anchor Number
Black	Outlines, backstitch	310	403
Orange	Pumpkin	714	314
Brown	Cat and pumpkin stalk	3776	1048

This design was drawn originally with Anchor colours in my program. Use anchor threads to get the closest match. I used a conversion chart to get the DMC numbers.

Please let me know if any colours are off and I will amend them in the chart.  

Hello everyone,
This week I have drawn a really simple Halloween kitten playing in a pumpkin. After all of the super scary Halloween decorations I have spotted in the shops this week I thought something a little friendlier would be welcome.

Theres only three thread colours in this design to make it super simple for a beginner to pick up and sew. Theres also some very simple backstitch here for a little practice. It doesn't matter too much if the backstitch is not perfect either, the cats whiskers can be a little wavy and it will not be an issue,

For more spooky Halloween themed Cross stitch designs here are some links:

Simple sweet themed Trick or Treat Bag
I Love my Mummy simple Halloween motif
Pumpkin Alphabet
Jack O' Lantern Coaster designs for Halloween
Cute ghost coming out of a pumpkin
Cute ghost giving a gift
Happy Ghost at a gravestone
Halloween Haunted house silhouette cross stitch design
Pentagram for Altar cloth
Butterfly inspired sugar skull cross stitch design
Witches bookshelf - small bookmark cross stitch design
Sad ghost at a gravestone


 For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

Ghost coming out of a pumpkin - Halloween cross stitch design

Ghost coming out of a pumpkin -  Halloween cross stitch design

Colour	Used in these areas:	DMC Number	Anchor Number
Black	Outlines	310	403
White	Ghost	5200	1
Orange	Pumpkin	741	314
Green	Pumpkin stalk	912	209

This design was drawn originally with Anchor colours in my program. Use anchor threads to get the closest match. I used a conversion chart to get the DMC numbers.

Hello everyone

Continuing with the Halloween themed posts heres a cross stitch design of a cute little ghost coming out of a Jack o' lantern. This one is suitable for a large card or even some Halloween table deciorations. There are few colours in this one and only whole stitches so shouldn't take too long to sew.

I designed this one as an option for my nieces who will be going trick or treating (around pre-warned neighbours mind you) for the very first time this year so will need a nice bag to hold all of their goodies in. So I shall be doing a whole bunch more kid friendly Halloween designs leading up to the big day to give myself and my friends enough time to sew all those trick or treat bags. :D

Have a spooky Halloween

For more Halloween cross stitch designs here are some links:

Simple sweet themed Trick or Treat Bag
I Love my Mummy simple Halloween motif
Pumpkin Alphabet
Jack O' Lantern Coaster designs for Halloween
Cute cat in a pumpkin
Cute ghost giving a gift
Happy Ghost at a gravestone
Halloween Haunted house silhouette cross stitch design
Pentagram for Altar cloth
Butterfly inspired sugar skull cross stitch design
Witches bookshelf - small bookmark cross stitch design
Sad ghost at a gravestone

 For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

How to make a Spiderman Halloween decoration

How to make a Spiderman Halloween decoration

Hello everyone, 

Its September so time to start on Halloween makes to ensure they are all done before any spooky parties at the end of October. 

Heres a cute way to re-use some old Christmas baubles for Halloween to make a decoration which will fit right in with your spooky spiderwebs without being too bloody or gory for a childrens party. 

What you will need:

A red Christmas bauble 

White and black Acrylic paint

Small paintbrushes

A cup to rest your bauble in as it dries

Paint sealant spray (optional) 

Note: If you don't have a red Christmas bauble you can cover a differently coloured bauble in red glitter or use Red acrylic paint to cover it.This is a good way to use up baubles which are too scuffed to use on your Christmas tree as they are. 

Step 1:

Ensure your Bauble is clean and free of dust then rest your bauble on your cup, this will stop it rolling away as you paint it and keep it secure as it dries. 

Take your white paint and paint on Spidermans eyes as shown in the picture below. If you are using a shiny bauble you may need more than one layer to stop the red of the bauble showing through. Let the paint dry and add another coat of white if you need to. 

 Step 2:
Using a thin paintbrush make a black outline around the eyes.

 Step 3:
Inbetween the eyes paint a thin pentagon (check a picture of Spiderman for reference) and radiating from this shape paint straight lines as shown in the picture below.
You can stop the lines half way around the bauble or wait for the front part to dry and carry on the lines around the back of the bauble. Be careful not to turn the bauble over before the lines have dried because you will risk smudging the ones you have already painted.

Step 4:
Finally once your radiating lines have dried paint the slightly curved lines inbetween each one. Remember they all curve towards the pentagon in the center of Spiderman's face. If you continued the radiating lines to the back of the bauble remember to add these curved lines to the back once the front has dried.

Step 5: (optional)
Once all of the paint on your bauble has dried spray it with your paint sealant following the packet instructions. This step is optional but the paint sealant will help make your bauble last longer and keep them looking good for years to come.

I hope you all enjoy this simple tutorial, please feel free to comment with your Halloween decorations. I'd love to see them all.
There are more decoration tutorials to come, so please pop back for more.

For more ideas to use old Christmas baubles here are some links:
Upcycling worn out Christmas Baubles
How to make a Bloody handprint Halloween decoration from an old Christmas bauble
How to make a dripping bauble Halloween decoration.
Pokemon Gastly Halloween decoration
How to make a Wrapped sweet Christmas decoration.
How to make a Squirtle Squad decoration
How to make a Jake the dog decoration
How to make a Chain Chomp Christmas bauble

For some more Halloween designs here are some links:

Simple sweet themed Trick or Treat Bag
I Love my Mummy simple Halloween motif
Pumpkin Alphabet
Jack O' Lantern Coaster designs for Halloween
Cute ghost coming out of a pumpkin
Cute cat in a pumpkin
Cute ghost giving a gift
Happy Ghost at a gravestone
Halloween Haunted house silhouette cross stitch design
Pentagram for Altar cloth
Butterfly inspired sugar skull cross stitch design
Witches bookshelf - small bookmark cross stitch design
Sad ghost at a gravestone

 For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.