Home and Garden

Ideas For DIY

Farewell Craft Gossip

by

Today is my last day as editor of the Home & Garden channel at Craft Gossip. My reasons for leaving are bittersweet. I have become so busy with freelance crafting work (which is a sweet thing!) that I have been unable to dedicate the time needed to this blog (unfortunately, a bitter thing). Therefore, I felt that I must hand the reins over to someone else that can give this blog the attention that it needs. Staying on would not have been fair to me, the owners of CG, or you.

I started the Home & Garden channel three years ago in July. Since then, I’ve been highlighting ideas for decorating your home, lighting up your garden and organizing your craft room. It has been so great finding all of those ideas and bringing them to the Craft Gossip family!

I just wanted to say thank you to Vikram and Shellie, the owners of CraftGossip.com, for the opportunity to bring this channel to life. They were willing to take a chance and try it out, and I’m thankful that they did. It has been such a pleasure getting to know the other Craft Gossip editors as well as you, the readers! Thank you for all of your submissions, your occasional comments, and for reading each day.

You can still find me at my personal craft blog Crafts by Amanda. Stop by and say hi sometime! Farewell, but not goodbye. 🙂

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Comments

  1. Amanda – So sorry to hear you are leaving CraftGossip. I’ve enjoyed reading your posts and appreciate your support in showcasing some of my projects. Good luck with your future endeavors. We will miss you!!

  4. Sorry to see you go.. but I’ll see you on your personal craft blog- Crafts by Amanda.

  9. No matter where you go, crafting will follow! We’ll miss you, but we all wish you many artistic adventures ahead. Happy crafting!

Have you read?

DIY Giant Eyeball Lanterns – Creepy Halloween Decoration

When it comes to Halloween, bigger is always better—and these giant eyeball lanterns prove it! With nothing more than plain white paper lanterns, a little paint, and some imagination, you can create huge, spooky eyes that look like they’ve popped right out of a monster movie.

They’re perfect for hanging from ceilings, displaying on porches, or grouping together in a corner for an eerie effect. Best of all, paper lanterns are super inexpensive (you can grab them on eBay, Amazon, or even your local dollar store), which makes this a great budget-friendly craft for big impact Halloween décor.

Supplies You’ll Need

  • Large round white paper lanterns (various sizes look best) 
  • Acrylic paints or craft paints in black, brown, green, red, orange, or blue (for irises) 
  • Wide paintbrush for background color 
  • Small paintbrush for details 
  • Black construction paper or cardstock (optional for spiky “lashes” or accents) 
  • Hot glue gun or strong craft glue 
  • String or fishing line (if you want to hang them) 

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Prep the Lanterns

  1. Assemble your white paper lanterns according to the package directions. 
  2. Make sure they’re fully open and the wire insert is in place so the surface is taut for painting. 

Step 2: Paint the Iris

  1. Using a wide brush, paint a large circle in the center of the lantern to create the iris. 
  2. Choose spooky colors—green, red, orange, or blue work wonderfully. 
  3. Don’t worry about making it perfectly smooth; streaks and uneven textures add to the eerie, organic look. 

Step 3: Add the Pupil

  1. Once the iris paint is dry, use black paint to fill in the pupil at the very center. 
  2. Make it large enough to stand out against the iris. 

Step 4: Detail the Eye

  • Use a smaller brush to add darker or lighter streaks in the iris for a more realistic effect. 
  • You can even add thin vein lines in red around the iris to give it that bloodshot look. 

Step 5: Optional Spiky Lashes

  1. Cut long triangles from black construction paper or cardstock. 
  2. Glue them around one side of the lantern so they stick out like sharp monster eyelashes. 
  3. This makes the eyeballs look even more monstrous and stylized. 

Step 6: Display Your Giant Eyeballs

  • Hanging: Use string or fishing line to suspend them from ceilings, trees, or porch rafters so they look like floating eyeballs. 
  • Stacked: Place them in corners, along stairs, or even grouped on your lawn for a spooky display. 
  • Tabletop: Use them as oversized Halloween party props. 

Tips & Variations

  • Glowing Eyes: Insert battery-powered LED lights into the lanterns so they glow from the inside. 
  • Rainbow Eyes: Mix up the colors and make a whole rainbow of creepy eyes. 
  • Monster Cluster: Group multiple eyeballs together in different sizes for a scarier effect. 

This DIY Giant Eyeball Lantern craft is quick, cheap, and gives you maximum Halloween spook factor with minimal effort. Whether you make one or a whole creepy collection, your haunted house setup will definitely be eye-catching!