Thursday, June 12, 2014

Witches Stitches – Dried Carrot Pumpkin and Snowman Noses

I know it may seem early in the season to be working on Fall and Halloween items, but in the world of crafting for sale you always have to be one season ahead. I have used many things for my pumpkin and snowman noses. The thing I find works best is an antique square head nail or a dried baby carrot. It may be hard to find old nails, I am sure you can find them on etsy or ebay. Dried carrots are easy to make and look great. You can just stitch them on and they stay perfect.

Here is how to make them – Preheat your oven to 170 degrees

Step one – Buy a package of baby carrots. Put a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and place the carrots on it. Make sure they are all spread out, don’t let them touch.

Step 2 – Put them in your preheated oven and let them sit in there for 12 to 14 hours. I know this seems like a long time, and they might even take longer. But you want to get all the moisture out of them. If they still have moisture in them they can mold. Every couple of hours or so you might want to flip them over.

Step 3 – Once you are sure they are done, (they will be stiff and all shriveled and dried up), A good test is to take one or two of them out of the oven wait till they cool and press them onto a paper towel. If you see moisture, pop them back in for a bit, sprinkle some cinnamon on them, (not to mch), and then flip them and do the other side. Let them sit on the cookie sheet until they are good and cool. Know you have noses to use on you fall and winter items.