Pepper Design Blog

DIY Halloween Felt Treat Bags & Buckets

I made a little treat bucket for Liv’s trick-or-treating this Wednesday after seeing this cute project from Tarjay’s Todd Oldham. The entire tote is made out of felt! Adorable. (Step-by-step directions found here.)

His is much more detailed, mine is the 15 minute version.

I love Todd’s project because it’s a clever way to bring the family in on creating their own felt totes/buckets for trick-or-treating, and this is an easy one to put your own creative spin on (how about a felt black cat? Or a witch’s hat? sequins? puff paint? whatever’s around the house).

Liv’s bucket was super simple. A bit of felt (from my stash in the office), embroidery thread and a pint-sized green bucket that we usually store her chalk in. I simply traced my idea onto the felt, cut it out and did a rough embroidery stitch around the opposite side (so that my pen marks weren’t visible). Then a bit of Elmer’s glue to hold it all together.

Liv has been verrrry into purses and bags lately, she carries two or three around the house (in the crook of her elbow which is just adorable) all of the time, so I know she’ll really love this whole ‘treating’ part of the holiday. I’m suddenly much more aware of why some parents hand out boxes of raisins and bags of carrot sticks. Oh please let Liv collect more raisins than she does candy on Wednesday! Not going to happen, I know. Happy Monday!

Pumpkin Place Card Ideas {Going a Little Gold Pen Crazy}

After a recent second trip to the pumpkin patch with my mom and Liv (I’m thinking that you cannot have too much pumpkin patch + homemade pie this time of the year), I found myself with a stash of beautiful mini white pumpkins. For some reason I am especially attracted to white and gold this fall, so finding a gold sharpie to feed my addiction, I put together a few ideas for Halloween dinner party place cards. Or Thanksgiving? These might work perfectly for Thanksgiving as well.

Having a gold sharpie around can be dangerous! Imagine all of the possibilities…

First up, a gold flowered top. I used the natural creases of the pumpkin to form my little petals and then scribbled away. It offers a neat affect from above.

The pumpkin itself makes for a great place card, just write those names nice and slowly, using a pencil first if necessary.

Liv saw all of the fun I was having and plopped herself down on my lap, picked up the sharpie and began to create her own. I like the result! And then I was fishing a waving sharpie out of a toddlers hand (ah!).

This chevron guy was fun. You really can’t go wrong with a variety of patterns and a little time (best while watching a movie. Or maybe the World Series, go Giants.)

My goldifying days may or may not be over, I’m leaning towards the latter. I’m so glad gold is back. (What else can I sharpie while I’m at it??)

Back to that second trip to the patch. We visited nana and papa this weekend and made a trip to Gizdich Ranch to decorate their house for Halloween. A few slices of fresh apple and olallieberry pie later and we wandered the farm to play. Here are a few fun moments caught on film:

 Liv was not so keen on the obligatory shot with momma, but she rocked out on that spring horse with nana. And that last shot? A favorite. Strike a pose. Happy Thursday! Cant believe it’s less than a week until Halloween.

Liv’s Nursery Featured on IHeart Organizing

A big thank you to Jen for featuring Liv’s handmade nursery over at IHeart Organizing today! Please come check it out, and stay a while – her blog is awesomely creative and fun.

PS you can read Jen’s PDB Friday Series Interview here to learn more about this very sweet and crafty gal!