Running, Pumpkins, & Witches...Oh, My!

Last week was a very busy week.  In addition to a busy work schedule, I also found time for a run, pumpkin carving, crafting, and t-shirt painting.


Pumpkin Carving
Husband and I are Adventure Time fans, so we decided to do a Finn pumpkin this year.  Cartoon Network has free pumpkin stencil pdf's of Finn, Jake, and LSP.  The stencil was fairly easy to use, and I think the pumpkin looks pretty good.  We taped the pattern to the pumpkin, punched holes into it, and then connected the dots.  The arms were difficult, but the other parts were easier to carve. 

Run and T-shirt Painting
My husband and I finally participated in a 5K.  I've been wanting to do one for years, but have just been too nervous to ever actually sign up.  We trained some for it, and we ready on race day.  Both of us ran the entire 5K, and we were pretty have with the results.  Our scores put us in about the top quarter, and I was very happy with how I placed in my division.  The proceeds for the run also mostly go to charity, so we were helping out the community while running.  :)

This run was a little different from most other runs in that it was at night by the beach.  Because it was at night, participants were encouraged to wear glow sticks and other glow materials.  We had a blast, and we're actually already planning our next run.

In preparation for the run, I bought a cheap workout shirt from Wal-Mart and some glow in the dark paint.  The paint I found was called Glow-Away, and it actually comes off with soap and water.  It glowed in our house with the lights off, but it didn't hold the glow very well.  By the time I got to the run, it was not glowing anymore.  Well...at least I got a new workout shirt out of the deal.  I think this paint would work a lot better on walls and other materials.

Witch Amigurumi

I finished this witch tonight.  The free pattern for this cute witch can be found on Ravelry, and it's by Renske de Busschere.  For a more in-depth look at the pattern, check out my Halloween Amigurumi Roundup from last week. 

Amigurumi Jake

I finally finished this amigurumi Jake for my husband.   We are big fans of Adventure Time and Jake is his favorite character.  I was afraid it would not sew together as well as I would like, but I think he turned out great. 

I used this free pattern from a poster called Vash.  It was fairly easy to follow.  If I could go back and do it again, then I would do both loops, rather than back loops only.

The following pics are from the photo shoot with Jake and my husband:

Adventure Time Perler Bead Coasters

What time is it?  It's Adventure Time!!!  Do you like a human named Finn and a dog named Jake?  Me too.   (If you are not yet acquainted with the awesomeness that is Adventure Time, then you should check it out.)

If you have read my previous posts, then you've probably already noticed that I like to play with perler beads sometimes.  Well, the mood hit me again, and I wanted to make something new, so I decided to make AT characters.  I decided to make coasters this time because I have more than enough magnets now.

I found several examples of perler AT coasters on Etsy, but most of them used larger squares, so I had to do some significant modifications to fit my peg boards. 

Feel free to copy my patterns.  You should be able to click on the pics and zoom in to them. (Command + on a Mac)

Supplies:
--perler beads in colors matching desired characters
--peg boards
--wax paper
--iron and ironing board

Directions:
Step 1:  Pick a pattern.

Step 2: Copy the pattern (or modify one) and place each bead on the correct spot of your peg board until you have completed your desired pattern.

Step 3: Turn on your iron to low or medium low.  Let iron heat up.  Place wax paper over beads.  Iron the beads.  (It's best to hold the iron on the beads without moving it for about 30-60 sec, or until the beads are sufficiently melted that they don't separate and fall off of your peg board.)  Melt beads until they are well stuck together.

Step 4: Let the beads cool a little bit.  Remove the design from the board.  Continue to let design cool.  You may want to place something that is somewhat heavy on your design while it is cooling (after it is removed from the peg board), so that is will not curl.

Step 5: (Optional) Iron the other side for additional strength. 

These unfinished patterns should be pretty easy for you to duplicate.

BMO

Peppermint Butler

Finn

Jake

 Lumpy Space Princess (aka LSP)

LSP is the only coaster I made that is a direct copy.  Click here for that Etsy store and the seller's other AT character coasters.


These coasters were super fun and easy to make.  Here are some more pics of the finished coasters:

For more Perler bead fun, check out my other posts:
--8-bit Mario Magnets
--8-bit Wario Magnet
--Angry Bird Magnets