Halloween or Halloscreen?

Can you believe it’s October already!  Time for pumpkin flavored everything, candy corns and Halloween!  I’m not as big on Halloween as I am for other holidays like Christmas and Easter, but I do enjoy the amount of creativity that people put into their costumes.  And even if you haven’t tapped into your creativity, or your budget is just tapped, there are easy, unique and affordable ways to dress up for Halloween simply by printing or decorating t-shirts.  Here are a few ideas pulled from the net.

Emojis

Do you speak emoji?  Let your costume speak for itself.    

M&M's

Maybe you're plain or a little nutty.  Either way your costume will be easy and sweet.  

Jack & Coke

Beyonce is not the only one Drunk in Love.  

Charlie Brown

It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown! turns 50 this year.  The original cartoon premiered on television October 27, 1966.  

7 Dwarfs

Which dwarf best represents your personality?  

What are your costume plans for Halloween?  Kharismatic Kreations, LLC can assist with printing your costume.  Email orders@kharismatick.com.  

Fall Into Creativity!

School’s back in session.  Most vacations have ended.  Your work commute and traffic is a nightmare once again.  Yup, Fall is rapidly approaching.  And with it comes cooler temps, shorter days, and longer nights.  But don’t fret just yet, you can still Fall Into Your Creativity with these simple tips from Entreprenuer.com. I’m going to give them a try for myself.

1. Wake up Early.  I am not and I repeat NOT A MORNING PERSON!  I’m not particularly a night owl either.  My juices start to really get going around 10 AM, and oftentimes throughout the night I may wake up with a creative idea that I’ll jot down or type into my phone before going right back to bed.  According to Entrepreneur.com, the trick is to get up early every day, avoid naps throughout the day, and stick to it. 
2. Exercise Frequently.  Once upon a time I had a gym membership.  But I found that I was hardly going do to an increase in shirt orders and responsibilities.  Not only for creativity purposes, but for health purposes, I will incorporate exercise into my routine.  Starting off small with walking and a few free yoga classes in the community. 
3. Stick to a Strict Schedule.  One would imagine that a creative mind is all over the place with no direction.  Although I juggle many thoughts in my head, I really am a planner.  The problem is sticking to the schedules and plans that I have established.  This Fall my goal will be to make it stick. 
4. Keep Your Day Job.  According to Entrepreneur.com, “Day jobs provide more than the much-needed financial security to create freely. They also add structure to your day that can make your creative time a wonderful release.”  Sometimes it feels as if my day job gets in the way of my business and creative inspiration, because of the time required for me to be there.  But it provides financial security – something less I would have to stress about, and in many cases an opportunity for me to learn more for my own business. 
5. Learn to work anywhere, anytime.  It was nice to learn that Steve Jobs started Apple in his Mom’s garage.  J.K. Rolling, author of Harry Potter began writing her first book on a napkin sitting on a train; and Kevin Plank, owner of Under Armour, started in a little row house in D.C.  Kharismatic Kreations started out in my parent’s basement.  Half of my production now resides in my 2 bedroom condo and the other half still in my parent’s basement with hopes of moving into a bigger space Summer 2017.  Do not let space and/or financial limitations limit your creativity.  Make it work. 
6. Learn that creative blocks are just procrastination.  “As long as your heart is still beating, you have the ability to come up with new ideas and execute them. They may not always be great ones, but the greatest enemy of creativity is inactivity.” Entreprenuer.com  Over the years Kharismatic Kreations has continued to evolve – from various t-shirt designs and custom printing options, to the Kharismatic Karavan Mobile Boutique, and now our new branded YouTube channel So Kharismatic!  Creativity is evolution.  When you fail to create, you fail to grow.  So Fall into Your Creativity!

Trick or Treat T-shirt Tote (Say that 3 times!)

On a recent visit to Sarah’s Hope Hannah Moore Shelter, Kharismatic Kreations used some old sample prints and misprinted shirts to create Halloween Trick of Treat Tshirt Tote Bags for youth activities.  During my Summer of Yes, I created a t-shirt tote bag that I used on vacation, but for this particular youth activity, we tricked the t-shirt tote bag so that the kids can fill them with treats for their Halloween Trunk or Treat event.

We started by using black misprinted shirts as our canvas to make the t-shirt tote bags.  Then using the colored test print shirts, we cut out shapes to glue designs onto the tote bags.  I had stickers, flowers and other decorations on hand, just in case some kids did not celebrate Halloween and just wanted to make a tote bag.  This activity was a hit and affordable!

Frugal Fall Wreaths

During our monthly Youth Activities volunteer time with the children of Sarah’s Hope Shelter, we celebrated the coming of Fall by making Frugal Fall Wreaths.  This craft is super simple and affordable, and with a little creative twist, I made it fun and exciting. 

To start, I printed off an Autumn Scavenger Hunt list.  This made the activity more interactive as the kids had to take a nature walk around the park, collecting items on the list that would serve as materials for their craft.  So the more items collected, the more options they would have.  It was like an Easter egg hunt, but fall inspired. 

Before meeting with kids, I grabbed a pack of fall themed paper plates from the Dollar Store and cut out a circle in the middle to form the base of the wreaths.  Additionally, I purchased some ribbon to hang the wreaths. 

Once the kids finished their scavenger hunt, they brought their materials back to the craft table and applied them to the paper plate wreath cut-outs using glue and tape.  Some kids went a little over board with the glue.  It was a free fall for all!  

 

It's no secret that I love glitter so I hand some on had to add an additional touch of sparkle.  A fun, frugal, fall craft that won't break the bank.

Pumpkin Princess

The changing of leaves, the smell of warm apple cider, crisp, cool air, and pumpkin everything – it’s fall y’all!  To kick off the fall season, Michael’s Craft Store had a kid-centric pumpkin decorating event that featured discounted craft pumpkins, and the use of free embellishments like paint , stickers, pipe cleaners, and jewels.  As my daughter Kenedi decorated her pumpkin, the creative juices in my head started flowing.  “A cute glitter chevron print would be nice, or polka dots, or a simplistic monogrammed pumpkin…”  But I let Kenedi continue to express her creativity by completely covering her pumpkin with different colored paint; oh, and eyeballs. 

I decided to grab me a pumpkin to go to decorate at home.  My original plan to create a glittered chevron pumpkin was derailed while walking the dog with Kenedi.  I was inspired by the fabulous fall foliage.  I made a moment with Kenedi by telling her we were going on a scavenger hunt for leaves.  I had her collect different fall colored leaves in different sizes.  I headed to my craft studio and grabbed some other items that I already had on hand.  Here’s what I used:

1. Craft Pumpkin (50% off at Michaels) - $5.00
2. Mod Podge from Michaels (love this stuff!) $8.99
3. Glitter (already had on hand)
4. Scissors
5. Decorative Ribbon (already had on hand)
6. Leaves Picked by Kenedi (my Mini)

I started off with applying the decorative ribbon to the pumpkin.  I used a brush to apply mod podge so the ribbons would stick, but a hot glue gun would have worked better and perhaps a little less messy.  

Pumpkin with Ribbons and Glitter Added

Next, because I still had glitter on my mind from my original idea of a glittered chevron design, I decided to put green glitter on the stem of my pumpkin.  Now, I would recommend waiting until the end of the project to use the glitter because it gets everywhere!

Once my ribbons were on and secure, I moved on to situating my leaves the way I wanted them.  You should definitely use a hot glue gun to apply the leaves, it was tricky to get them to stick.  Patience is key.

Carefully applied leaves.

After the leaves stayed in their place, I didn't feel quite finished.  I decided to add some more glitter to the leaves.  What can I say I like glitz and glam!  Check out the finishing touch.  Not including the cost of the Mod Podge that I wil use for other projects as well, this crafty kreation only cost me $5.00 to make.  My pumpkin is Pottery Barn worthy!   

Finished product!