Easy Reversible Trick or Treat Bags!!

Halloween is just around the corner! I love making these cute trick or treat bags for my kiddos and each year I make matching bags that coordinate with their costumes! They are SUPER simple and easy enough to make in about an hour.

Materials Needed:

4 quarter yard cuts (will make 3 bags total if you switch fabrics up)

7/8 inch grosgrain ribbon (or cotton webbing for thicker straps)-- (2) 20 inch pieces

thread

{optional} cute button, tulle, thick thread, pin

Step 1:

Decide which fabric you want for the main and which for the top strip

Cut 4 pieces of the main fabric 9X10 inches (2 pieces of each fabric- 2 candies, 2 skeletons)

Cut 4 pieces of the top strip 9X3 inches (2 pieces of each fabric- 2 diamonds, 2 purple cats)

Cut 2 pieces of the ribbon or webbing 20 inches long

Step 2: With right sides together, pin & sew top piece to main piece. I always use presser foot edge (about 1/4 inch) seam allowance unless otherwise noted. Repeat so you have 4 pieces of fabric.

Step 3: Place right sides together of each matching piece (candies on candies, skeletons on skeletons.) and sew up all 3 sides-- leaving the top side open. Make sure to backstitch at the beginning and end.

Step 4: With side seam facing you, put your hand inside and poke out the corner. Then flatten it with the seam going down the middle-

using your grid or ruler, measure 1 inch from the corner where the seams meet (not corner of fabric) draw a line straight across and sew along that edge (backstitch at beginning and end).

Then clip off the corners. Mitering the corners like this makes the bag have a base so it will stand up. Especially once you fill it with candies :)

Step 5: With one bag inside out and the other right side out, place the right side out bag inside the other:

Step 6: Measure 2 inches from each edge and tape (yes, I said tape) the ribbon pieces to the right side out bag-- the tape will hold it still below where you sew and you can just remove the tape later. I've found using tape-- masking, painters, clear tape... is easier to work with than using pins.

Step 7: Tuck the straps inside, line up the top edges and pin. Remove the plate from your machine and stitch around the top using a larger seam allowance (5/8th is good) and leaving a gap in between two straps.

Pull the inside bag out and turn it so both pieces are right side out:

Step 8: Push the inner bag inside the other and top stitch using 1/4 inch allowance (don't sew down straps)

And you are done!!

 

Fully reversible and ready to be stuffed to the brim with TREATS :)

Wanna add a little extra bling? Even boys will love this embellished pin that you can take off and switch over when you reverse the bag...

Joanns has some fun halloween buttons- jackolanterns, monsters, pumpkins, ghosts... Sew one onto a brooch-back pin with some ribbon or tulle for a girlie look.

Or sew the button onto a circle of felt for a pin that boys will love!

Have fun and click HERE for more Halloween ideas, activities and tutorials. Happy HauntingSewing!!

What rhymes with Mummy?

YUMMY!!

I made these Mummy Dogs for dinner tonight. I forgot how cute, fun, easy and yummy they are! I also made them for a Halloween party a couple years ago- the miniature size sausages for appetizers. Any way you do them, they are delicious! Go HERE for instructions.

Reversible Trick or Treat Bag Tutorial!

Hi there!!

I'm sharing my tutorial for these cuties over at Rhinestone Beagle's Howl-oWeen Craft-aThon!

Come by and say HI!!

More Halloween Tutorials!

Wanna learn how to make these great Halloween crafts?! All of these great tutorials are available on our Swap blog!

Trick or Treat Spray Paint Pillows from Jessica (or you can purchase them from her etsy shop)

Baby Food Jar Garland from Teri (a hybrid version of the glowing jars and fabric garland)

Spell Books from Malinda (there's even a link to free printables to make your own!)

Also, I've been interviewed over at Crafty Critique-- come say hi and see what I have to say about my favorite super hero (Super MOM!!)

And if you didn't win a pattern set from Sassy Site's Giveaway, you have another chance over at Crafty Critique-- no entries yet, so head over there and you just might win a Super Hero Cape pattern!

13 Days of Halloween Flashback!

Last year I hosted a 13 Days of Halloween where I invited some of my favorite bloggers to create Halloween-themed projects. Here they are in order from right to left :)

Mr. Mummy Man from Chrisy Lee *{Boo}ttun Frame from CraftOManiac *Haute Headbands from Lolly Jane *Footprint Ghosts from A-F Creations *Witch & Frankenstein Goody Toppers from Chrisy Lee *Halloween Tree from Crafting Chicks *Spooky Welcome Mat from Lolly Jane *Frankenstein 2X4s from A-F Creations *Halloween Luminary Tree & Jars from Tatertots & Jello *Marshmellow Monsters from Dipped Delights *Mummy Family from Lyndsey's Craft Spot

HAVE FUN browsing!! I also have these {and tons more ideas!} on our Pinterest Halloween board!!

Recycled Jars= Glowing Jackolanterns

These cute jackolanterns were so easy and fun to make!!! They cost me $2.00 for supplies and I could make an endless amount of them in less than 5 steps!

I saw them featured on the cover of Woman's Day this month and just had to get the magazine and make some for myself (and my fall swap package!)

Materials:

clean jars, orange tissue paper, mod-podge, paint brush, scissors, black construction paper (or cardstock + glue dots)

Step 1: Begin by mixing up 3 parts mod podge to 1 part water. Measure height of each jar and cut strips that are 1 1/2 inches wide. You only need about 10 per jar.

Step 2: Paint on the modpodge/water mixture one strip at a time and apply the tissue paper on it. Smooth out the tissue paper as much as you can without tearing it. Apply the next strip so that it overlaps about 1/4 inch. Let it dry for a couple hours or overnight.

Step 3: Draw on the black paper some fun eyes, noses and smiles (or an oops mouth :)) and cut it out. I used cardstock because that's what I had on hand, but the magazine instructions called for construction paper and you paint the glue mixture on top to fix it to the jar. I used glue dots instead to adhere the paper because I didn't think the glue would be strong enough with such a thick paper. I think you could even paint black acrylic or tempera to make the face.

Step 4: Stick in a some battery operated votives or a yummy smelling candle- pumpkin scented, of course!

Turn off the lights, then ooooh and aaaaaw!

post note: A few days later and I found the author of this post from the magazine feature! Look at these darling monster jars from Emily @ Not So Idle Hands- She strung lights through the jars for an even spookier look!

And speaking of Halloween, our Complete Super Hero PDF pattern set includes full sewing instructions and packed with templates so you can create your own superhero costume in any size, and customize it with any initial and color scheme- available in my etsy store for $10 for a limited time (instead of $19.50!!)

{Linking up here:}

Pumpkin Preschool Day

I already openly admitted to my love-of-halloween problem, right? So if I wasn't clear before:

Hi I'm Kirsti and I have a Halloween addiction.

"hi, kirsti"

Thanks. I feel better now.

With that being said, It was my turn to teach mommy & me preschool last week, so of course I did a pumpkin theme. We made pumpkin crayons with this awesome mold from JoAnn's ($8 on sale). Grab the bag of broken crayons you've contemplated throwing away 4 different times but kept them for some reason (this reason) and let your kiddos peel them (or chew off the paper as my little one did) and put them in the molds... I have to admit the mommies made most of these pumpkins. We couldn't let the molds bake empty even if the kids were ready for free-play time :)

Bake at 200 degrees for about 20-25 mins. Cool off and color with!

Then we made jack-o-lanterns with construction paper shapes (great opportunity to review shapes) on an orange paper plate, and a pipe cleaner for a curly-que... every cute pumpkin's gotta have one of those!

simple.easy.fun.halloweeny. doesn't get better than that!!

have a great weekend!

Linking Here:

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oh, and also...

I'm participating in Rhinestone Beagle's Howl-Oween Craftathon!

Check back Oct. 1st for great tutorials and ideas all month long.