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Hands Occupied

Contemporary yarn crafts by Heidi Gustad. Knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame.

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How-to: Spooky Eyeball Garland

September 26, 2013 5 Comments

How-to: Spooky Eyeball Garland - Hands Occupied

How much fun is this garland, you guys?! I had originally planned to make an eyeball garland with painted ping pong balls for Halloween this year. Then I was perusing the seasonal section at the party store last week, and they totally had plastic eyeball favors for sale! What luck! The premade eyeballs are super cute on this garland, and the colorful beads, which I happened to have on hand, smack just a little bit of Dia de los Muertos. I just love projects that come together so adorably and serendipitously like this!

Supplies

plastic eyeballs (or painted ping pong balls)
shiny beads
heavy duty thread
small nail
mallet/hammer
pliers
scissors
needles in several sizes, including one longer than the widest part of your eyeballs

How-to: Spooky Eyeball Garland - Hands Occupied

Directions

The vast majority of the time that goes into this project is converting your eyeballs basically into giant beads. Working from the thickest to the thinnest nail/needle, pound two holes into each eyeball straight across from each other. I eyeballed the second hole’s location on each, and all but a couple miraculously became successful beads on the first try.

How-to: Spooky Eyeball Garland - Hands Occupied

If your needle or nails get stuck in the eye, use a pair of pliers to pull them out. In the course of pounding two holes into 80 eyeballs, only two of them split in half, and not a single one cracked. You can be pretty aggressive when pounding holes into these.

How-to: Spooky Eyeball Garland - Hands Occupied

After you hammer the two holes, use the needle that’s longer than your eyeball to ensure the holes are aligned. Keep hammering until all of the eyeballs you’ll need are beadified.

How-to: Spooky Eyeball Garland - Hands Occupied

Using the long needle, alternate threading an eyeball and several beads onto a long piece of heavy duty thread to form the garland. Secure both ends with good knots, hang and enjoy!

How-to: Spooky Eyeball Garland - Hands Occupied

On a tangential note…

For fun I decided to take some photobooth style pics with my crazy garland and the two eyeballs I managed to pop in half when I was turning the rest of them into beads. I hadn’t intended to do more than text the shots to my husband when he was in meetings, but they’re super glorious (if a bit out of focus). Full disclosure, the only people home when I took these were me and my dogs.

How-to: Spooky Eyeball Garland - Hands Occupied

This post was not actually brought to you by any party store. 

—

PS:

You know what I just realized? (I promise I’m not making this up for the sake of internet!) I’m pretty sure these eyeballs exist to mostly be used for spoOOo-ooh-ky beer pong. This is JUST LIKE the time I thought the dudes at the midnight showing of Pink Floyd’s The Wall were drinking pop. “Why would they bring Jones Soda to the movies? The glass bottles are so loud!” True story.

Filed Under: Halloween, How-to, Parties Tagged With: beads, beer pong, decor, eyeball garland, festive, garland, halloween craft, halloween crafts, parties, ping pong balls

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad is an artist, author and crafts designer specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame. In addition to running the Hands Occupied Blog and Pattern Shop, you can find her making videos & co-hosting the Very Serious Crafts podcast.

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Comments

  1. thezenofmaking

    September 26, 2013 at 11:03 am

    So, next time we’re in the same place, you’re bringing these for a game of crafty beer pong, right? (Also a true story: Despite having attended a Big 10 school, I’ve still never played beer pong.)

    Reply
    • Heidi

      September 26, 2013 at 3:48 pm

      Totally! What would be the craft equivalent of a red Solo cup for shooting into?

      PS: I played beer pong like once at MSU. It was fine, but I was bad at it. Like awful bad.

      Reply
  2. Charlene

    October 5, 2013 at 9:06 pm

    Hey! I type in “eyeball garland” into a google image search and here I am. Love the colorful beads. Thanks for the link to the pre-made eyeballs and your great idea. I think I will try a small drill for the holes.

    Reply
  3. doro von Hand zu Hand

    October 18, 2013 at 3:51 am

    a really cool garland!

    I linked to your tutorial on my blog – thanks for sharing!

    ♥, doro von Hand zu Hand

    Reply
    • Heidi

      October 18, 2013 at 2:47 pm

      Thanks for sharing it on your blog!

      Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi, an author, yarn craft designer and content creator specializing in knitting, crochet, latch hook & macrame. My work unapologetically features primary colors and vintage-meets-modern style. My first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is now available!

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knitting, crochet, latch hook & macramé

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There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s ab There’s an update on the blog today, & it’s about how I’m going to take the next 2 weeks off to rest & recharge. ☺️🧶 No new content for y’all means I can also take a moment to zoom out & plan what’s next. Link is in bio. 
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A note on Very Serious Crafts: In the post I discuss stepping away from the @seriouscrafts podcast to give myself more time to devote to some minor medical issues. Don’t you worry - my health will be fine, & @molliejohanson @redhandledscissors and I are still pals, and after a short break of their own, the podcast will be back! Just sans moi. 💁🏼‍♀️😆 
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Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it shoul Been a little quiet this holiday week, as it should be. ☺️🎄The past few days have been filled with a lot of catching up on festive zoom calls & raising toasts to the camera. 🥂 Connecting with people has been a welcome change of pace! Now I’m feeling ready to meet my inevitable end-of-year deadlines. 😆
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Warmest wishes for the season, my friends! ❤️💛💙
Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker beh Hi, I’m Heidi, the craft book author & maker behind Hands Occupied! 👋🏻 I’ve been enjoying making Reels a lot lately, but I wanted to bop in to share a regular photo & say hello. 🤓 
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rather than giving you my bio right now, I have a question. I just got this new sweater & I can’t stop imaging how funny it would be to wear this to a knitting class ... is that bad? 🤣🤣🤣
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Pictured: a blond woman with glasses wearing a sweater that reads “all your sweaters are ugly” standing in front of a Christmas tree.
Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is o Wet blocking, also called immersive blocking, is one of the most common methods for finishing a knitting project and helping ensure its final size and shape. Learn basic blocking for absolute beginners in an easy-to-follow (non-Reel!) video tutorial! Catch the tutorial on YouTube or the Hands Occupied Blog, link is in bio. 🧶 #handsoccupied #stopswatchandblockit #KPAmbassadorsDec20 #sponsored
Had to share this perfect capture of one of my fav Had to share this perfect capture of one of my favorite weird homemade Christmas ornaments: a simple macramé Santa face with beads for the eyes and nose! My Great-Grandma made it too. 🎄
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Might have to try making a quickie Reel tutorial for this guy - I think it’s the perfect project for it, don’t you? 🎅🏼 #handsoccupied #macrame
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