Halloween Tree

Happy Halloween! I discovered Halloween Trees this year and love them! I think they're such a cool idea so I decided to make one.

Materials:
~ Branches
~ An old sparkling cider bottle (or wine bottle)
~ Halloween decorations
~ Dryer sheets
~ Hot glue
~ Spray paint

I went to Dollar Tree and bought some Halloween erasers and some plastic Halloween rings. These became my "ornaments"

I took some branches and tied them together with twisty-ties. When I got the shape I wanted I spray-painted it black and then did a light coat of glitter spray paint.

Don't worry about the twisty-ties showing up. They'll mostly be covered by the spray paint and whatever you can still see you can cover up with ornaments and "cobwebs"

I used my sparkling cider bottle for the stand and started hanging up my ornaments. For the erasers I took a needle and thread and created a little loop at the top.


To get the plastic rings to stay on the tree I cut off the round part that goes around your finger and just hot-glued them into place.

To add the final touch I took a used dryer sheet and tore it up to create cobwebs.

I also painted the sparkling cider bottle so that it wasn't too distracting from the tree.

Total Cost:
~ Branches: $0.00
~ An old sparkling cider bottle (or wine bottle): $0.00 (I used one from a picnic a few months ago)
~ Halloween decorations: $2.00
~ Dryer sheets: $0.00
~ Hot glue: $0.00
~ Spray paint: $0.00

Halloween Tree: Total Cost ~ $2.00

Bathroom Craft

Remember in my shower curtain post (seen here) I mentioned that I knew my bathroom desperately needed something above my toilet and that I had something in the works? Here it is! But I do need some advice, I'm not quite sure what to do about one part of it so I need to know what you think looks best.

Materials:
~Wire Knick-Knack (for lack of a better name)
~Glasses
~Beads
~Spray Paint

I found this wire knick-knack thing (I don't know what to call it sorry) at DI and it came with this weird-looking handle that I took off right away!

Isn't that thing weird? The whole spring-thing is beyond me. My knick-knack looks much better now :) And I'm sure it's glad to be rid of this handle! I know I would be!

Then I spray-painted the whole knick-knack black. Sorry I didn't get before and after pictures of that, you'll just have to believe me that the gold wasn't working! And the black totally does :)

I got three blue-tinted glasses (that I will be using as vases) I got two small ones (one is shown above) and a large one. I was planning on putting these inside the three sections of my knick-knack thing. Now I just needed to find something to put inside the glasses. I thought about potpourri but I didn't know if I'd be able to find the right color, I already have some in my living room, and I just wanted to find something a little more unique. I found two HUGE strands of beads! The beads were a few different shades of red and I thought they'd look so perfect with my shower curtain and rug!

At first I was a little worried that they might look like cranberries and the whole thing would look like a Christmas decoration. But then I thought maybe I could spray-paint half of the beads black and then I'd have both black and red beads. I spray-painted a few just to see how it would turn out and here's where I need your advice!
The beads didn't spray-paint very well just because they're round and the paint drips around kind of funny. They're too small for me to paint one side, flip and paint the other. They actually do look kind of cool but I'm wondering if they look too "summer camp crafty" or if it really does look cool. Do you know what I mean? So here are my options and what I like and don't like about them. Will you please help me decide?! :) Thanks!!!
1. All red beads
~~ Like: It's easier than spray-painting half the beads
~~ Don't Like: Maybe too Christmasy?
2. Half black beads
~~ Like: It won't look too Christmasy
~~ Don't Like: Hard to get the paint even
~~ Don't Like: It might look funny to have the oddly-painted beads

So what do you think? I'm leaning towards one but I want to hear what you all think. Leave a comment and let me know :) Thanks everyone!

Bathroom Craft:
~Wire Knick-Knack (for lack of a better name): $1.25
~Glasses: $1.75 total (50 cents each for the small ones, 75 for the bigger one)
~Beads: $2.00
~Spray Paint (my husband had some leftover from some projects): $0.00

Bathroom Craft: Total Cost ~ $5.00