Thursday, October 21, 2010

Witch Craft book giveaway

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love the chance to get wild and crazy and create totally fabulous costumes from scratch. And the crafting opportunities surrounding this wicked holiday are awesome!

Tell us about your favorite DIY Halloween costume in the comments to this post and you'll be entered to win a copy of this fabulous new crafty book:

Witch Craft: wicked accessories, creepy-cute toys, magical treats, and more! Compiled by Margaret McGuire and Alicia Kachmar.

This book is spookily adorable and contains many different DIY crafts that will put you in the Halloween "spirit". There are several plush projects including
a totally groovy plushie poison apple project by The Needle's own Jacki Gallagher of Plush Off. Jacki gave us a little inside scoop about her plush in the book:


How long have you been making plush?

I started about 10 years ago, but just started selling in 2007. I always made cute things for myself, family and friends and everyone kept saying I should try and sell them so I opened a shop on Etsy.


What inspires your plush making?

Now, my son. Ethan is 4 and has Autism and I stay home with him; so our day is very creative and fun together. If he wakes up and asks for a plush apple tree, well that's what we do. Now I get a lot of inspiration through him and at the grocery store and restaurants!


How did you get involved with the Witch Craft book?

I was emailed by Margaret McGuire and she asked me if I wanted to take part in a super fun book about spooky crafts and I was elated!


How did you come up with the idea of a poison apple plush?

I tried my best to think of something spooky and halloweenie and something that would also be easy to make instructions for, and easy for people to make on their own.


What is your best plush making tip?

Good thread. Always invest in good thread rather than the super cheap thin thread. That stuff snaps super easy and can make for some very sad plush times.


Can you share any plush making tips about the project that aren't in the book?

I use a really thick wool felt for the apple stems so it stands on it's own and can withstand someone twirling it around by the stem.


Where can we check out more of your totally groovy plush?

I have a store on Etsy, my own website, and a facebook page where I post all my new plush and custom pieces as well.


Any finally thoughts or plush inspiration you'd like to share?

Go with what makes you happy! Don't try and find what will appeal to the masses. It is far more satisfying to make and sell something you love, especially when someone else loves it too.



Thanks Jacki for sharing your insights!

Plush makers will enjoy making Jacki's cute poison apple as well as an adorable ghost brooch and fabulous fuzzy bats. Crocheters will enjoy the creepy bones and Amigurumi good little witch and knitters will find a creepy cute spider to knit. And there are so many other creative projects that this book definitely has something for everyone. Click here to get a preview of all the groovy projects and contributors.

Leave a comment about
your favorite DIY Halloween costume and you'll be entered to win this copy of Witch Craft.

Winner will be announced Tuesday, October 26th.

Please share this post on Twitter, Facebook, and your blog. Thanks!

What plush have you been working on recently? Show us here on The Needle!

Want to joint The Needle? Have exciting plush news? Email me at: TheNeedle.org@gmail.com

15 comments:

iampoet_23 said...

I am making my costume and my friend's. We are going as female versions of The Tick and his smart, but not as brave partner, Arthur!

Jen Musatto said...

My favorite costume was a puritan vampire that I made. No one knew what I was. They thought I was a pilgrim with blood on my face.

pigwidget said...

I love diy costumes - always so inventive! My personal favourites I have made and worn were a cat woman costume made from black bin bags and a poison ivy costume using a combination of home decor ivy vines and real ivy painted gold for a mask.

Beka
-----
http://gingerurchin.blogspot.com

TylerPoncho said...

I made a "where the wild things are" full body suit for my husband. He wasn't exactly from the book, but my husband's version of himself as a monster. We toured madison's state street Halloween party, and won a huge LED TV at his company's Halloween party!
We built a wire frame in the head so he was much taller, and could see out of his toothy grin! We made long claws and a false belly so he was a bit more round. We still have him! His name is Mike Pants. There may be photos in my flickr or facebook.

Anna said...

My mother used to make the best costumes for me when I was little, but my favorite one was a fox costume. It was a pretty orange and white dress, and she found a fur tail at a garage sale somewhere and dyed it with iodine to get that reddish brownish color. A head band with ears and a pair of gloves completed the outfit and I strutted my stuff for weeks, not wanting to take it off.

Unknown said...

I made a cat costume totally last minute and used only things I had around the house, which at that time was not much in the way of costume making material!! Let's just say, the plush flower with wire in the stem was wrapped in a black scarf and THAT was my tail!! LOL

PS. I came by from Jacki Gallagher's Facebook...

Ellen Ault said...

I love Halloween crafts! My favorite costume my mom and I made one year was a picnic table. We took the classic red and white check table cloth and made it into a 'cape.' Then we took plastic plates and plastic food and glued them on like place settings, plush forks. And what's a picnic without ants? We made this cute plate hat with a giant ant on it. It was great because I could just wear regular clothes underneath and was super comfortable compared to my friends!

sassypackrat said...

I made my daughter a Cleopatra costume with no pattern and hand sewed the whole thing a few years back. She loved it and I have to say it really came out so well.

Jacki Gallagher said...

Thanks for an awesome interview, and a super fun giveaway! My fave costume to make was what I made last year for my son. He wanted to be Swiper The Fox from Dora so bad and I couldn't find a costume for him anywhere so I made it and it turned out unbelievably cute! I get emails all the time from people who google Swiper costume and find me. I love it!

Unknown said...

This year I'm being a flower garden... I'm just putting on all the florals in my closet! bottabing! costume!
xx
http://cadyfontana.blogspot.com

stacieknits said...

My favorite DIY costume... I made R2D2 knit beanies for both of my boys! They love them and with a grey shirt, we're good to go!

Sarah said...

I had a really fun DIY costume a few years ago. My kid was six months old so I was always stuck carrying her around on my hip. So for Halloween, I made myself a Chrysler building costume, complete with huge intricate hat, and then dressed her up as a gorilla and gave her a blonde barbie in an evening gown to carry. So it was King Kong climbing the Chrylser building. It looked AWESOME! Unfortunately, since I had spent days sewing with no sleep, I could have looked better ;)

Katie Poyzer said...

This year I made my daughter a witch costume. I made a pointy hat with tagboard (poster board), covered it in felt and put felt stars and moons on it. Then made a simple black vest with velcro on the shoulders and a black cape (connects to the vest with velcro so it interchanges with other capes). Then added the same orange, green, and purple stars that were used on the hat. Finally, my favorite part was an orange, green, black, and purple tutu made by simply tying enough 6 inch wide pieces of tulle around a piece of ribbon to make a skirt (it took about 45 bunches of tied tulle and I tied a few colors at a time to make a fuller skirt). The final touch was the magic wand which a simply had her find a stick outside and she helped me paint it black (she wanted one that looked like Harry Potter's wand). Once all those pieces were done, she just wore black leggings, black maryjanes, and a black shirt under the tutu and vest.

Raggy Rat said...

its so cold i always want a warm costume ... my best was a scruffy dog using old pants and jumpers (sweaters) and a woolly brown hat which i added perky ears too (pipe cleaners - love em !)
then i put my thermal underwear on underneath - hot dog!

Anonymous said...

I was a flapper last year; my mom helped me make a sparkly green sequined dress w/black fringe along the chest & hem. I wore elbow-length black gloves & fishnets, & made a headband out of the same green fabric, glued a long black feather on the side & rhinestones along the bone of the feather. I even wore a bobbed black wig (since my hair is long brown & curly). I had an elegant cigarette holder at the beginning of the night, even though I don't smoke, but lost it somewhere in the revelry :(

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