Witches, Ghosts and a Halloween Stamp Freebie

Enter If you Dare !  There is 3 more days to Halloween! 

Welcome, sweet Witchie Poos. I say that affectionately for I am a witch too, but of course we are all good witches- weaving magic with needle , thread, fabric and floss. Oh ,what mischief we can conjure up this time of the year. 

My large black cat is perched near my Halloween tree which is filled to the brim with Halloween cuteness!

Oh, how I wish you could see it in person;🤗 it is a lot prettier than the photo can capture . May I say that this is my favorite Halloween tree to date.  

My Halloween tree is perched in an old bushel basket that my Nanny painted years ago. 

I promise you there is a tree in there somewhere underneath all of that Halloween! 😁😂

The top of the tree is the perfect place to hang my hat after a long night of riding on my broom.  

Please forgive Broomhilda's feet stitcking out of the tree' she is a little wobbly on her broom. 😄

 

Brewing cauldrons, happy jacks and magical stitches reside in this tree.  Spooky Time is a freebie from Lizzie Kate. 

With all that is brewing , my memory has failed me on who is the designer of Happy Halloween. Do you know? 

Double double , boil and trouble   -   Little Jack Trifle and  Eeek! A Spider! are two of my freebies that I brewed up moons ago  . 

Little embroidered pillows peek from the branches. 

 

What is that I hear coming from the kitchen?!  

Boo!   Did I scare you? I sure hope not. I have two new ghosts to add to my collection. 

I am so happy to introduce to you Boo and Jack. This my newest stamp that can be whipped up in a few shorts hours.  Is Boo not the cutest ghost ever ? Aaah look at Jack with only one tooth- Now tell me how can you resist him?! LOL. 

 

After making Boo and Jack, I quickly gathered a piece of muslin and drew out a little ghost to make into a wee doll. Hmmm what should I call him? Maybe Casper?

 Anywhoo, the instructions are below on how I made this little guy.  Wouldn't Boo and Jack and even sweet Casper look as cute as a button in a Halloween treat bag? 

CASPER INSTRUCTIONS

1. I traced the pattern onto a piece of muslin folded over onto itself. I added 1/4" seam allowance around the edges which is not on the pattern.  Pin the muslin together and cut the ghost pattern out. 

2. Sew around the edges of the ghost leaving an opening to stuff the ghost. Clip the inner curves being careful not to clip the thread. Turn inside out. 

3. Stuff your ghost tightly with Polyfil. Whipstitch  the hole used for stuffing closed. 

4. I wanted to prim my ghost up so I used a mixture of  white and a dab of black Apple Barrel acrylic paint  from Walmart.  I painted my whole ghost. Sometimes I dipped my paintbrush in water to thin the paint down. Paint the eyes and mouth with black paint. 

5. As the ghost was drying , I pulled out my cinnamon. When the ghost was about tacky dry, I sprinkled cinnamon and rubbed it in with my fingers being careful not to distort any features. Shake off any excess and then let ghost fully dry.

6. Once dry, add a ripped homespun bow.  

Wahlah! Casper is complete! Easy Peasey! 

 I was going to make several of them for bowl fillers, but then I had the grand idea of propping Casper into an old rusty spring for display until the other ghosts magically appear. 👻👻👻

Today I will be weaving my magic needle and working on Casper in a quilt block. How cute will that be? 

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If you are interested in stitching this piece,  just grab , the images. For printing tips, refer to the post Tips for Printing which has loads of tips from my sweet friends. 

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Well, sweet friends, I am so delighted that you stopped by for a visit. I truly appreciate you. 🤗❤😘 

There will be Trunk or Treats and a Halloween festival going on today. If I am lucky , perhaps a few little ghouls will come visit me before they head to the activities.  Have a spooktacular day and ...

All Through the Nights "Jolly Jack " and my Halloween Jar

As Always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, ya'll

Melisa 

During the day I do not believe in ghosts, but at night I am a little more open minded. 👻

Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my dear sister, Amy. I love and miss you so much.. Love you , Amo. 

Best Witches  a freebie from Waxing Moon Designs. 

 

The Hall of Jacks and Cats

"When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam , May luck be with you on Halloween!"  

 

Halloween is just 9 short days away. Where is this month going?  I have been trying to gather up a few bags of candy to make treat bags for the youngins. We will not have trick or treaters other than the grandbabies and nephews, and I actually go to them to give them their treats.  Candy has been awful hard to get a hold of here. There is loads of chocolate treats in the stores; I am not complaining about that because I am a chocolate lover too, but the grandbabies prefer other treats. 

Anywhoo, yesterday , I shared with you my Happy Jack Quilt which was in the Hall of Jacks and Cats. 

At the beginning of fall , this small "foyer" is decorated in all things Crow related, but come October, the crows fly away and the Jacks and Cats move in.

Fall Crow quilts. 

  

So I thought I would share The Hall of Jacks and Cats with you today. 

The small tree stays out year round. I added silver Christmas bells, a leaf garland and a black cat garland. The large vintage looking cat tree topper is a yardstake from the Dollar Tree.  Below the tree is a pumpkin made from an old dress and an old black cat. 

     

My Halloween quilts are draped over 3 shutters that I found at the Goodwill. I love changing them out each month.  

Last year I created the Witches Hat wall hanging. I attached some Dollar Tree witch leg door hangers to the quilt by using a few pins. I thought they looked cute hanging from the quilt. 

Yikes! Her feet are turned backwards. What's up Witchy Poo? 

The top of the thrifted shelf has cats and jacks that I have collected . Some are 20 years old or older. 

There are a number of framed appliqued pieces. 

There is even  an old peanuts container that I painted and decoupaged  years ago.

 The little Jack  October wool applique mug rug was once a  freebie from Shabby Fabrics . Now it is being offered as a kit. 

I still love drawing on chalkboards. I have 2 in this area right now. 

This chalkboard stays out year round. 

 

 

This little quilt hangs on a utility room door.

                        

 My daughter drew these characters over 20 years ago and I embroidered them. They still make me smile and they bring back fond memories. 

It has been awhile since you have seen the country clutter in the foyer. Wheww! That was  a lot to take in - wasn't it? But you know me I am no minimalist.   I  have to say that I am very grateful that you stopped by for a visit. 

Have a wonderful weekend and as always...

Happy  Stitching and Quilting, ya'll

Melisa 

There is a child in everyone of us who is still a trick or treater  looking for a brightly lit porch. -Robert Brault

Kitty Kat Kisses and Halloween Wishes!!
Hugs and Stitches!!!!🤗🧵❤

Dedicated to my baby sister, Amy who loved decorating for Halloween. Her theme - Spiders.  . I love and miss you Amo.  .

Is there a tree in there? My Halloween Tree!

Hello, dear friends . Thank you for coming to visit me  on this rainy day. Come sit for a spell and let's look over my overfilled Halloween tree; yep if  you look closely you might see a tree in there. Lol. 

My idea for decorating this raggedy little tree was to throw it all on there with a mismatch of all kinds of Halloween. The more the better in my little world. 

This tree sits in front of the built in china cabinet. I sort of use it as  protection for the cabinet glass since I have grandkids.  For several years, I have had this little cedar doll high chair beside the tree. This little high chair was bought at a craft fair many years ago for one of my daughters. It now holds seasonal dolls. For Halloween prim ole' black cat sits in the chair holding a wool applique pillow I made years ago.  On the wicker settee there is a quilted fall pillow, a pumpkin head pillow made from a skirt and a rail fence quilt top in fall colors. 

It looks as though a witch has crashed into the tree. I placed witch legs purchased from the Dollar Tree at the top of the tree. 

I topped the tree with a paper mache hat I purchased at the Goodwill. It is embellished with pip berries. 

 I have a number of cross stitch pillows snuggled among the Halloween jack o lanterns. This was a freebie I stitched years ago and is a favorite to bring out. 

There are ornaments that my grandsons painted, golden balls, buffalo check ribbons and skulls  scattered through out.  The grandbabies like looking for the spiders. 

Most of the ornaments have come from the Dollar Tree over the years.  Gotta love Dollar Tree. 

This is the view of the tree as I come into the room from the upstair's kitchen." Poisoned Apples" is painted on a scrap piece of wood. I like those no cost crafts.  I had this sign on the hutch last year which was in the theme of a witch's kitchen.  The enamel pot is filled with pumpkins and jack o lanterns, and the same old scarecrow that was out for my fall tree is standing on the stool. 

 My newest cross stitch addition to the tree is this Lizzie Kate freebie called "Spooky Time." I found it on the Lizzie Kate website.  Click here to go to the website to get this and other Lizzie Kate freebies. . 

The little tractor always is at the bottom of the tree. For Halloween, a little bear all decked out in it's pumpkin costume is driving the tractor. 

This little cross stitch ornament was a pumpkin from one of With Thy Needle and Thread's Halloween pieces. I simply stitched the jack and then finished it on a wooden Dollar Tree ornament. 

One of my favorite Halloween ornaments is "Brooms for Sale " by Homespun Elegance. I love anything by Sandra Sullivan.  I finished it into a little pillow hanging from a homemade broom made from a stick and raffia. 

The little black cat ornament was stitched last year and is in pillow finish as well. I was thinking ahead and put a jute hanger on it. The 2nd cross stitch ornament is called Big Jack and Little Jax's and was a freebie on my blog. You can find it here. 

Thank you so much for taking a Halloween tree tour with me today. After Halloween, I am going to take this tree out of the bushel basket and see if I can refresh it a bit and then onto Christmas decor. Woo Hoo! I always love Christmas.  Have a lovely upcoming week and enjoy all the fall goodness.  If you missed the Fall Tree tour click here. 

Happy Fall, 

Melisa