Halloween Tree Reveal!

The ornaments are made. Raffia 'icicles' are draped. How will it look when it all comes together? Drumroll, please....












Ta-da!

We have {fake} pine trees year around in our lodge-inspired home, so I need a simple way to dress them up for the various holidays. 

What do you think about how it turned out? 

You know what I'm going to appreciate the most? Those burlap scary movie ornaments are reversible!  Simply flip them over in November to reveal images celebrating Thanksgiving. 

Of course these beautiful, sparkly little gourds and the raffia will carry through both Fall holidays as well. Makes it easy on the decorator during a holiday-packed season. 

Bloggy Love

Boy am I feeling the love! Thanks for the encouragement, blogsters and friends! In the few weeks that I've put myself out there more publicly, I've had projects featured four times, two gracious people conferred an award upon me, many of you have signed up or subscribed as followers, left comments, or shared your stuff at my monthly link party... all of which makes me feel like a superstar! I'm so appreciative!

{Added to this love-fest, I anticipate making a guest appearance on a blog to be mentioned in the near future. **Excitement**}

If you don't already have these great sites on your list, I encourage you to go knock on the doors of Mandy at The Project Queen {who featured me twice! i feel so special};  Mary at A Very Merry Vintage Style; and over at the Nest of Posies. Thank you for the features!

As for the Versatile Blogger Award, stop by and visit Rhonda at The Messy Roost and Bethany at A Fish Who Likes Flowers, both of whom are fabulous and bestowed this kind encouragement upon me. 

Here are the rules of the Versatile Blogger Award as they were conveyed to me. 

1. Thank & link back to the person who gave the award to you.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Send it along to 15 other bloggers and let them know you have awarded them!

My 7 Things:

1. My husband is the best guy on the planet.

2. I love tea and must have a cup or two each morning! (first things first in the morning)

3. I love chocolate. Any kind will do. Any time.

4. I get to make a positive difference in my full time job (60 hours this week - whew!).

5. I got my artsy-craftsy gene from my momma. 

6. As a child I would draw room layouts & closet layouts for fun. 

7. This probably explains the bit about me designing our home {and I will say... yes you CAN put algebra & geometry to use later in life}!

I'm paying it forward to these bloggers, some of whom are relatively new like me:

Que Linda

Crafty Vegas Mom

Emily's Upcycled Furniture

Choux Choux

Craftopotamus

Oasis Accents

52 Mantels

Crafted Niche

Alderberry Hill

Very Merry Vintage Style

Pretty in Paint

HomeMade

The Goat Granny

For new bloggers it takes time and practice to find your voice and style--let alone get the hang of all these technology tools. If you see a glimmer of something you like, hang with us for awhile as we blossom!

What moves YOU to create?

     I just gotta say: I'm loving the 31-Day series over at Funky Junk Interiors. I'm fascinated by what moves people to create. You'll see a lot about that in Donna's posts. Along with gorgeous photos and amazing work.

     Donna is sharing her personal journey of flipping one's blog passion into a business. And she lays on some truth about, for example, the beauty of blog photos versus {ehem} the photo shoot mess lying just beyond the camera's view.  Who says the creative process isn't messy sometimes? {Okay... most times!}

     You never know which original idea--large or small--is going to POP and TAKE OFF!  It could be the one you least expect. But that's why I love Donna's nudge to push your ideas just a little further and above all, strive to make your project amazing in your OWN mind. The beauty of this is: no matter what happens, you can't lose. You win the satisfaction of your own joy in creating AND you build your originality muscle at the same time. The bonus: when something does launch, you're ready for the ride because you've been flexing that muscle and all you gotta do is just keep being YOU!

     Donna is teaching by example. I think that ultimately gives wings to what you're doing, taking you places you wouldn't have imagined. So I say, enjoy the journey and keep creating!  

Thanks for inspiring me, Donna!

photos from my wanderings and ramblings with hubby.  

Update:  Two things that TOOK OFF for me this year were:

my funky Silverware Turkey

and

My Tinfoil Rickrack series!

Just goes to show...you never know!

Tricky Bag Lady

Ooooh they'll be green with envy when you tote your stuff in this little upcycled Halloween bag.  Playing with the concept of the Bewitching Pillows post, this mesmerizing beauty wants to go shopping rather than lie around! And she will, with one lucky winner...

But we'll let the suspense build and turn to the tutorial first. To get lift off with this project, here's all you need to do...

Skull Throw Pillow by iGottaCreate

Start with a plain jane cloth shopping bag.

Choose some lace and ribbon and sew it on down the sides of the bag. This will be a little awkward since it is a pre-finished bag. Just be careful not to get your handles or other sides of the bags caught up in your stitching. :)

Print one of those fabulous vintage images onto computer printer fabric, following their directions. I also cut an additional piece of cloth and fused it to the back of the image so that the color of the bag would not bleed through. Center your image on the bag and stitch away.

Create the witch hat as per the same instructions in the Bewitched! post. Leave the bottom of the hat open {i cut that edge with pinking sheers to make it look a little 'fringy'}, turn the hat, and then pin it at a jaunty angle on ms. witchypoo and sew it on. Try not to call yourself a dork when you accidentally sew the handle to the back and have to rip it out and do it again. :)

Admire your handiwork and then....
   get ready to give it away.... 
           to.... 
               drumroll, please....
                      {okay, okay.... I'll get on with it!}

Brittany Wilkinson!

Yay! Congratulations!  Just send me an email Brittany and we'll make arrangements <3

Skull Trick or Treat Bag by iGottaCreate

Thank you to Brittany and to each and every one of you who are following I Gotta Create!  I hope it brings a little lift to your day.

Spooky Llama

Bizarre title, right?  Putting a peculiar twist on this fabulous stamp from River City Rubber Works made me cackle with delight.  Let's deconstruct this Halloween card to see how it was put together.

A page from an old paperback book about the paranormal was cut into strips, pasted around the border, and edges were inked in brown. Next came two coordinating vibrant papers, the outside edges inked with black, to complete the background layer of the card.  

The second layer is black cardstock. I then stamped the fence, clouds, bat, spider and words onto the orange layer. Looks kinda plain...

...until you add the image layer. On white cardstock I stamped the image and altered it by stamping witches hats on top of the kids' heads. I used wonderfully creamy colored pencils made by Lyra to color it. To that point, I hadn't known colored pencils could be such a pleasure to work with! Next, cut out the image, cut out a yellow-orange circle for the moon and scuff it up with some black ink, and layer it all together!

Send your cards in style!

 ~ Get Candy Corn Icons here ~

Q: What halloween projects have you been creating?  

{The rubber stamp image is actually a goat, but 'spooky llama' made me laugh!}

Monthly Craft Craze #1

Current Linky Party Info *HERE*

Before we get started with The Craze, here's 
the Candy Corn Ornament Tutorial.  

It's really complex.  Ready?

#1 Open a bag of candy corn.  #2 Stuff pieces of candy into your mouth a clear glass Christmas ball.  #3 Tie a ribbon around the neck.  #4 Eat Hang it on your Halloween Tree.


Halloween inspires that urge that says, "I gotta create!"  Because it's one of my favorite holidays, I am VERY excited to host a link party dedicated to all things spooky.  
     I can't wait to see what everyone is doing! So...strut your crafts, decor, jewelry, trash-to-treasure... anything Halloween-inspired, whether traditional or with a modern twist.

Here are the rules:
1. Link to your post, and not just to your blog.
2. Link back to I Gotta Create! in your post or on your blog and help promote the party. 
3. Visit the post in front of you and behind you and show them some love by leaving a comment.  Let's really support each other!
4. Please join my blog as a follower.


Ok!  Let's Go: