OUR HALLOWEEN MANTLE .....

I've had a lot of fun over the past week, decorating our mantle for Halloween.
My friend Val has a Zombie Patch that she puts out at Halloween, and I love it .... so .... I decided to create a patch for us this year too.
I have my zombie dolls ... each one, a precious work of art, created by some of the talented ladies in our swap group. I had a few pumpkins, but not nearly enough, and I didn't have a sign ..... Oh yes, I needed a sign !!!
It's been a busy week .... "growing" pumpkins !!!! Thanks to THIS AWESOME PUMPKIN TUTORIAL, it was easy and fun. I wanted fabrics that would let my pumpkins stay out past Halloween and into Thanksgiving, so the fabrics I used were autumnal, rather than Halloween. I plan on swapping out the Zombie Dolls for scarecrows and pilgrims, once Halloween is over.

So let me share my mantle with you .....

I covered the mantle with some scary fabric (the technical term Walmart use for it :-)

For my sign, I painted the wood white. I then stuck on stickers that spelled out "Zombie Patch", before painting over the white, with black. Once the black paint was dry, I peeled off the stickers. Some red paint, cheesecloth, modge podge, and a zombie head, and the sign was complete :-)
The Queen of Hearts, and poor Alice :-)

The White Rabbit, and his companions ....

Jack Skellington, and The Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe ...... minus all of her children !!!!

I love that each pumpkin is so different, despite being made from the same pattern (I just changed the sizes of the pattern pieces). Some have felt leaves, while others have silk leaves. The stems are all made from rolled up felt, except for the stem on the daisy pumpkin - that one is made of Sculpey.

So how have you decorated your mantle .....

CAL UPDATE ...... WEEK 1

I survived the first week !!!!
Once I got the hang of the pattern, I was"A" for away :-) Ok, I'd be lying if I made it sound like I got it right away ..... I had to restart my first square .... uuhhmm ... FIVE times - Yes, you read that right !!!
However, once I found the "hidden" stitch, I was on my way .....

There you have them ..... All 6 !!!
I used yarn colors Lilac, Seafoam and Aqua for these 6 squares. To be 100% honest with you, I'm not so sure anymore, that I like the colors .... But, that being said, I have the yarn, so I'm going to soldier on, and use the colors I chose to make the blanket ..... Hopefully as the weeks progress, and I add more colors, I'll like them more.
I love the design of this first square though .... I think it's really pretty :-)
Week 2's pattern was released today ...... Ummm ...... I'm thinking It may take more than five attempts to get this one right !!! I'm determined to get it right though ...... that was one of the main reasons I decided to take part in this CAL, to stretch myself and learn new stitches and techniques ...... Popcorn Stitch anyone ?

MY FIRST EVER CAL ....

I've never done one of these before ..... A Crochet Along !!! I've read about them, I've seen the gorgeous results of them, I've considered doing them .... but I've never actually taken the plunge.
Until now that is ..... While on Facebook a couple of weeks back I found THIS CAL LINK, so I decided to take a closer look. Wink from A Creative Being is hosting it. I loved the idea of a new pattern every week, with the promise of a new blanket completed just in time for Christmas ..... Cold, hopefully snowy days (who an I kidding - this is Texas after all), spent snuggling under a new handmade blanket - what's not to like :-) How exciting that we'll have no idea what this beauty will look like until the end ..... oh the anticipation !!!
So, I signed up !!!!

The first pattern will be released tomorrow, ON HER BLOG. She partnered with a Dutch wool company called Scheepejswool, who put together two different kits for the CAL. The response has been overwhelming, and the company ran out of kits. The wool looks beautiful, but honestly it doesn't fit into my budget, so I decided to pick out a reasonably priced acrylic yarn, in colors I love, and I'm crocheting along using them.

Aren't those colors so pretty ... Brittany told me they remind her of Easter (that wasn't my intention). I like them more for the shabby chicish look, I may (or may not) get.
I'm using Yarn Bee's Soft Secret yarn. It's soft and cuddly, with just the right amount of shine.
The colors I've chosen are (from top left, to bottom right) :
Seafoam, Olive, Butter
Lilac, Rosey, White, Fog
Soft Pink, Aqua, Smoke
Pink, Hot Turquoise

I'm looking forward to it, although strangely, I'm a little nervous (What if I don't know how to do some part of it???)
My plan is too post about each weeks pattern, a day or so before the next weeks pattern is to be released ..... I'm hoping this keeps me accountable, so that I wont fall behind.

Perhaps you want to CAL too ... it's not too late .... tomorrow is D Day (or C Day ... that probably sounds better :-)