Spooky October Pinterest Adventure

I'll admit that I haven't done much in the way of Halloween decorating in the past 10 years or so. This is especially true of the outside, where it's more of a fall theme, with a couple of potted mums and a pumpkin on the porch. But it seems that each year we get more and more trick-or-treaters at our house, so I decided to do something about the outside decor.

I saw this idea on Pinterest one day and thought it was so cute.

Some of you may recognize this little guy as Cousin It! And for those of you who don't know, he was a recurring character on a 60's TV show called The Addams Family. I know they made at least one movie about The Addams Family, but I don't know if Cousin It made an appearance.

Here's a picture of the little guy from the TV show.

I found the idea to make this on the Halloween Forum and you can get the really, really easy directions HERE. It's more of a list of stuff you'll need, but easy enough to figure out what to do. I improvised a bit and used three tomato cages, a Hawaiian party table skirt, sunglasses and a hat. The instructions say to use a wig head, but I didn't see a need for it. The hat perches perfectly well right on top of the tomato cages.

One other thing that I did was to attach both the hat and sunglasses to the tomato cages with yarn. We've had some pretty windy days and I could just see chasing that hat down the street! And for extra security, we anchored him to the ground with some things that looked like giant two-pronged metal things that look like elongated staples. I have to apologize for not knowing what they are, but right when I mentioned that he's probably get knocked down on a windy day, Mark said "We can use these!".

So not too spooky, but rather fun and cute, right? The kids who see him may not know who he is, but it's still something that might make them laugh. Oh, and I also mummified my front door with some bandages. Just a little more Halloween silliness.

I Can Ikea!

Ikea is well known for its creative, unusual furniture, and also for its determination to make us all expert furniture assemblers. I didn't get any furniture, but instead placed an order for a Raskog Utility Cart. I had seen this particular cart in a lot of blog posts, especially ones which featured crafters' work rooms. This little cart looked like a practical and useful addition to my craft room, and at $29.99 (plus shipping) was a pretty good bargain.

So let the assembly begin! The box it came in was packed securely which kept all of the pieces in good condition during shipping. I quickly found the instructions, which, in true Ikea form, contained no words. There are only pictures with helpful arrows and close ups.

I started by making sure all of the parts were there and laying them out as I needed them. I also got out my trusty tool kit that I keep in the craft room.

Determined as I was to put this cart together by myself, I soon realized that for some of the steps, an extra pair of hands was necessary. So I enlisted Mark, who was happy to help. I do have to say, though, that I did most of the assembly myself. Yay. And it ended up being a very easy project, thanks to the good quality of the pieces and to the well-drawn instructions.

And there it is! The completed cart is sturdy and functional. The wheels roll easily on bare floors. I believe they'd also roll well on carpet, but I haven't tried that yet. The cart is great for storage, or for holding materials for a current project. That way you can keep your work table clear.

I am very happy with this cart and would recommend it if you need extra storage or just a handy organizer. The Raskog cart also comes in beige and reddish brown. I liked putting it together, but I don't know if I'm ready for a major piece of Ikea furniture!