Recycled Aluminum Can Halloween Wind Socks

My oldest daughter told me the other day, "wouldn't it be neat if we could make some Halloween things like those things we made at Church?" She was talking about the paper wind socks we made during our lesson about Jesus calming the wind and rain.

So that got me to thinking about how we could put together a fun Saturday afternoon project to make some Halloween decorations.

This Halloween project using stuff we found around the house turned into cute wind socks for our front porch. I gathered some aluminum cans, ribbon, beads, and paint for our project.

I started with some soup cans, the kind with the pull tabs so we wouldn't have to worry about the sharp edges from the can opener. I drilled holes around the top edges of the cans, near the open end, and another hole in the center of the bottom of the can.

Then we painted.

My oldest made Frankenstein.

My youngest a four-eyed monster.

While we waited for the paint to dry, we chose thin ribbons and strung some pony beads on them, just for a little decoration.

The ribbons were threaded through the holes in the can and knotted on the inside to keep them secure.

We threaded another ribbon at the top (or bottom of the can) as a holder.

And now they adorn our front porch. My oldest said, "finally some Halloween decorations for our house!" I guess our 3 carved Jack-o-lanterns wasn't enough for her taste.



Jesus Calms the Storm - Mark 4:35-41
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Bottle Cap Wind Chime

If you've been on Pinterest, you've probably seen many variations of Bottle Cap Wind Chimes. That's where I first saw one and I fell in love with the idea.

Then I saw one at Hobby Lobby. But why buy one at Hobby Lobby when it's so much more fun to make one?

I had quite the stash of bottle caps, and I combined them with bits of chain and beads from a necklace to make my very own one-of-a-kind wind chime.

I used a drill to make two holes on opposite
sides of each cap.

However, I discovered later that it would have been easier to just use a hammer and nail to achieve a smaller and cleaner hole without sharp pieces of metal sticking out.

I took apart a necklace like this one to add beads and bits
of chain among the caps.

I used 24 gauge wire to connect the caps to each other
and to the pieces of necklace chain.

I hung the strips of caps and beads from an old trivet.

It looks like it could be time consuming, but it really wasn't. The girls didn't want to help me with this project, but they stopped their play every now and then to check on my progress and tell me how nice it was looking.





For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name! Amos 4:13 

Craft Review: Doll Making Kit by 4M

The girls and I were at JoAnn's the other day. The store is moving to a new location, so they've been clearancing their stock. Is "clearancing" a word? Doesn't matter. I'm going to use it anyway.

We found two Doll Making Kits made by 4M. A Mermaid and a Princess.

The girls were very excited for this find and wanted to make them as soon as we got home. So we set to it.

Each kit contained a stuffed fabric doll, yarn for hair, pieces of fabric for clothes, beads and string. And double-sided tape to hold everything together. **insert snicker** Because double-sided tape is perfect to hold on a doll's clothes.

We followed the instructions. My 9 year-old working on her doll with me working on my 6 year-old's doll while she played with the materials.

Side note: the box indicates this project is for ages over 8. And I totally agree. Actually, I might even up the age. Because even I found the project frustrating.

We made the hair first. That part was pretty easy. But when it came time to add the clothes, it was evident from the get-go that this was NOT going to work. Using double-sided tape to hold pieces of fabric together in small places? NOT! I had to resort to fabric glue, and after gluing a section, using straight pins to hold everything together until the glue was dry, because no one wanted to hold it with their fingers.

After we ditched the double-sided tape and started using glue, the job became less stressful. And more messy. I was peeling dried glue off my fingers for a few hours after. But we were able to get the job done and there's no chance these dolls will lose their clothing.

I give this craft project a C+ because we did end with some very cute dolls, and the girls were happy with the finished project. My 9 year-old did about 75% of the work on her doll, and I helped with 25%, mostly the gluing and pinning part. It was also a lesson for her on following instructions, because she made a few critical errors -- she had to cut fabric to make her mermaid tail and she didn't pay attention to laying out the pattern before cutting -- but we were able to work with it in spite of her mistakes and you wouldn't know if I didn't tell you. My 6 year-old did about 10% of the work, and I did the rest.

And despite the frustrations felt by all, they were ready to head back to the store and get the fairy and the ballerina. So I guess that says something. Should we ever find ourselves in possession of the fairy and the ballerina, the double-sided tape will go to the trash first thing, no questions asked. Actually, I'd probably save it for the next paper project.

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Matthew 6:25-34