Hey hey, it’s MJ,

            I got a new computer today so I am relearning how to type on it, I am used to the keys on my old computer so I am having a bit of trouble readjusting my fingers to actually hit the right keys at the moment. By the end of this post I will be back to typing all the right keys in the right order, but at the moment I feel a little clumsy. It’s been that kind of day and by the time this comes out on the blog it will be almost a month ago for me. Here’s hoping that October is treating me well. 

            I love Halloween, would I be a basic white girl if I didn’t love Halloween and fall? I am reminded of that video of the little girl saying, ‘I freaking love bats.’ It’s funny. I am super hoping that by the time that this post goes out it is not in the high 80’s. MJ is ready for sweater weather, I miss sweaters. I am ready to stop sweating and start sweatering. Yes, that just came out of my brain and I cannot take it back. We are rolling with it. 

            So I already went over one scene that I made for this season and hopefully if I remember next week (as of me writing this) I will be able to get over to the craft store and pick up some supplies for my last DIY of the year, I already have the homemade part down. (Plot twist: I’m saving it for next year instead) I just need to go to the store and get the rest of the stuff. I should not be allowed to go into a craft store unsupervised. That’s how DIY’s happen and while they are cute they can get expensive. 

            That’s not what this post is about though! I did another scene, it started out a lot different than it ended. 

What do you need to do the thing? Materials and such: 

            Hot glue gun (it’s my favorite tool, not really but for DIY it’s essential.)

            Miniatures, got them at Michael’s, I love Michael’s and the closest one that I have is an hour away so I don’t get to go as much as I did when I was still in Indiana when it was literally fifteen minutes away from my house and like five minutes away from where I went to college. Two ultimate date ideas for me, a craft store or a book store. Don’t buy me a drink, buy me a book. Seriously. 

            The terrarium, I got this one when I got the one for the graveyard because it was half off so I bought two for the normal price of one. 

            Paper, I used wood grain from a paper pack that I bought years and years ago and am finally using all of the paper I bought and then forgot that I bought because I am a hoarder for paper. 

            Cardboard, I cannibalized part of the box for my Book of the Month book because that was what made sense to me at the time. 

            Cob webs, I bought some last year and I have no idea where in my apartment they disappeared to so I had to buy more, thank the lord that I live in Walmart country.

            Spiders, also from Walmart because it was early last Sunday morning and I thought, “Spiders.” So I bought the spiders, now I have six that I have no clue what I am going to do with so that’s fun. 

Method to the madness, or just the chaos, it kind of depends on the day: 

            I am not going to number this because every time I do the blog has a panic attack and it doesn’t format right so here I am just making a nice list. 

            – Unwrap all of your miniatures. Marvel at all of the plastic and packaging because it’s so much for how small the miniatures are. Also get your hot glue gun warm.

            – Make sure that your terrarium or display case is at least kind of clean. 

            – Cut your cardboard to fit and then wrap your cardboard with your flooring paper choice. I really did love the wood look and if I had thought about it I would have tea stained parts of it before I glued the miniatures on to give it a more weathered and worn look. I would do that if I did flooring for a tableau again.

            – I glued all of my miniatures onto the floor before I put it in and like my other terrarium scene I did draw it all out at least as an idea first. I did so much gluing for this part because everything had to sit just right. Then shove it into the terrarium and shut the door.

            -Alright so here’s the deal, originally this is where everything stopped. I didn’t like it when I finished this part a few weeks ago. I wanted more, it just didn’t feel or look finished and I was not cool with that. 

            -Go and get another idea for it, I promise, it’ll be worth it. If you don’t feel like it’s finished, it’s not. I decided to put spiders in it, make it a miniature spider scene that a witch made for her pet spiders. Imagine me shrugging at this very moment, it worked out. 

            -Spread your spiderweb out after cutting off a chunk and realizing that your scissors need to be sharpened yet again which you just sharpened them like a week and a half ago and you are getting sick of it. 

            -Place the spiders and the spiderweb into the terrarium and realize that the spiders are too heavy to stay up, get your hot glue gun, and straight up glue them to the glass at the back of the terrarium. 

            – Now you can close it again and display it. I feel like I need creepier pictures of these scenes than just where they are in my apartment. Maybe I’ll do some sort of photo series on my Instagram or something after I have made them a little creepier. Who knows. I am bad at social media. 

            -Enjoy the spooky season however you celebrate it. Have fun or have a spooky time. Enjoy making things, enjoy creating, and enjoy this fun little thing that is still amusing me every time I look at the bookcase behind my desk. 

            Well there it is, hopefully the second of three DIY’s that I present this spooky season. I will be back later in the week with another post, so I hope until then everyone stays safe, happy, and healthy out there.

            -MJ