Several years ago when we lived in Florida, I found two chairs waiting in a trash pile for pick up one day. It was my very first 'dumpster dive'. I was so excited, I had to remind myself to breathe!!
I hopped out, loaded them up and raced home.
Eager to begin work on them, I pulled them out for closer inspection. They were GROSS. Bad paint job with bad paint. Lots of drips and globs. And sticky. And the seat cushions? Eeeek! Someone had taken a can of lime green spray paint to the old shiny damask fabric, rather than recover them.
Ok, I was starting to understand why they were in the trash :)
You guys...these bars are a homemade version of the delicious Larabar. They're packed full of goodness, are absolutely delicious and make a great anytime snack for the whole family!
I think it's official.
Orange is out. Black is in! Even better when it's soft black velvet pumpkins, topped with real stems!
I've seen these around blogland for several years now and have been just waiting for the right time to try my hand at some. I found a great tutorial over at The Lemonista Velvet Pumpkin Tutorial. She figured it all out and it was easy! If you can push a needle in and out of fabric, you can handle this too. Check out these cuties I made!
My only problem was that I didn't have any real pumpkin stems. It's only August here after all...pumpkins aren't even in stores yet! What's a girl to do?
I went out to our garden and looked at our zucchini plants. Hmmm. Some of the stems were starting to dry out, and they do bear a similarity to pumpkin stems. I cut them long because I really wanted that free form, curly look, laid them on my pizza stone in my oven at 170 degrees, and let them dry out for several hours. Some of the skinnier ones did not take as long. The fatter ones took about 4 hours. I am very pleased with the results. A simple dot of hot glue on the stem, pressed onto the top of the pumpkin and they are done. The mini pumpkins each got a driftwood stem, pieces that I picked up this summer when we were at Arlington Beach in Saskatchewan.
Are you wondering where I bought the black velvet come from? RUN, do not walk, to your nearest Goodwill, and find an article of clothing made from velvet or velour. Why? Because it's cheap, that's why! I made all these pumpkins from a floor-length girls dress and I've only made it through about half of the dress. The whopping total? $3.49. I know, amazing!
The rest of the budget craft rang up at three bags of black eyed peas ($3.25) and a bag of fiber fill ($3.50) at Walmart. So I'm just over $10 for the whole craft. I already had the tulle that I used around the base of some of the stems.
That's a whole lotta pumpkin goodness for very little.
I'm really liking them piled up on my cake stand. I'm thinking as a spooky table centerpiece or even using them as name markers for a Halloween dinner. A little black chalkboard tag with a name would fit quite nicely at the base of the stem.
What do you think? Are you inspired to make some? I'd love to see the results if you do :)
Happy crafting,
Linking up to
The Happy Housie - Work it Wednesday
DIY Sunday Showcase
Primp Your Pumpkin
Throwback Thursday
Orange is out. Black is in! Even better when it's soft black velvet pumpkins, topped with real stems!
I've seen these around blogland for several years now and have been just waiting for the right time to try my hand at some. I found a great tutorial over at The Lemonista Velvet Pumpkin Tutorial. She figured it all out and it was easy! If you can push a needle in and out of fabric, you can handle this too. Check out these cuties I made!
My only problem was that I didn't have any real pumpkin stems. It's only August here after all...pumpkins aren't even in stores yet! What's a girl to do?
I went out to our garden and looked at our zucchini plants. Hmmm. Some of the stems were starting to dry out, and they do bear a similarity to pumpkin stems. I cut them long because I really wanted that free form, curly look, laid them on my pizza stone in my oven at 170 degrees, and let them dry out for several hours. Some of the skinnier ones did not take as long. The fatter ones took about 4 hours. I am very pleased with the results. A simple dot of hot glue on the stem, pressed onto the top of the pumpkin and they are done. The mini pumpkins each got a driftwood stem, pieces that I picked up this summer when we were at Arlington Beach in Saskatchewan.
Are you wondering where I bought the black velvet come from? RUN, do not walk, to your nearest Goodwill, and find an article of clothing made from velvet or velour. Why? Because it's cheap, that's why! I made all these pumpkins from a floor-length girls dress and I've only made it through about half of the dress. The whopping total? $3.49. I know, amazing!
The rest of the budget craft rang up at three bags of black eyed peas ($3.25) and a bag of fiber fill ($3.50) at Walmart. So I'm just over $10 for the whole craft. I already had the tulle that I used around the base of some of the stems.
That's a whole lotta pumpkin goodness for very little.
I'm really liking them piled up on my cake stand. I'm thinking as a spooky table centerpiece or even using them as name markers for a Halloween dinner. A little black chalkboard tag with a name would fit quite nicely at the base of the stem.
What do you think? Are you inspired to make some? I'd love to see the results if you do :)
Happy crafting,
Linking up to
The Happy Housie - Work it Wednesday
DIY Sunday Showcase
Primp Your Pumpkin
Throwback Thursday
I don't know about you, but in my neck of the woods it is still H.O.T!! Maybe the hottest weather we've had all summer. Crazy. I don't care, I am ready to decorate my house for fall!
Fall is my favorite time of the year! Seriously. Having just moved here to TN last December from FL, I completely missed fall and jumped right into winter :(
I grew up in Canada, so fall to me means crisp cool mornings, thick sweaters, apple picking, the smell of school bus exhaust (ha), Labor Day, Indian summer. I Love It. Period. Cooler days are ahead, I just know it. And soon those beautiful fall colors will make their appearance. For now, I decorate!
So I changed up my mantle this morning from summer to fall. It was kinda sad to put away the dreamy blues and seashells of summer BUT I was super excited about the new pumpkins I made and eager to get them displayed. I'm not really crazy about orange and have wholly embraced the white pumpkin craze. Without further adieu, here are my mantles:
Do you have a favorite??
Sharing with:
I grew up in Canada, so fall to me means crisp cool mornings, thick sweaters, apple picking, the smell of school bus exhaust (ha), Labor Day, Indian summer. I Love It. Period. Cooler days are ahead, I just know it. And soon those beautiful fall colors will make their appearance. For now, I decorate!
So I changed up my mantle this morning from summer to fall. It was kinda sad to put away the dreamy blues and seashells of summer BUT I was super excited about the new pumpkins I made and eager to get them displayed. I'm not really crazy about orange and have wholly embraced the white pumpkin craze. Without further adieu, here are my mantles:
Do you have a favorite??
Sharing with:
Okay, so I know there are literally millions of blogs out there and obviously it can't be that hard if so many people have already done it!
Why have I been dragging my feet?? Uh, could be because I'd rather be making cute stuff than just writing about it. Or because I put my foot in my mouth so often and I'm scared to have that out in cyberspace for millions (I should be so lucky) to read about.
But...what I really think it comes down to is just plain 'ole fear. Fear of failure. There. I said it. The fear that no one will care what I made or created out of a cardboard box (wink) or stayed up until 2 am to finish.
So. I am taking a risk.
A risk that no one will care. But the thing is that I Care. I have this crazy pull inside me to create...to make things beautiful. To make things better.
And I think it's wrong to keep that all to myself. I want to share.
Even if just my mother-in-law reads about it :)
So here's to the beginning of this blogging adventure. May it be all I dreamed of and more!
Why have I been dragging my feet?? Uh, could be because I'd rather be making cute stuff than just writing about it. Or because I put my foot in my mouth so often and I'm scared to have that out in cyberspace for millions (I should be so lucky) to read about.
But...what I really think it comes down to is just plain 'ole fear. Fear of failure. There. I said it. The fear that no one will care what I made or created out of a cardboard box (wink) or stayed up until 2 am to finish.
So. I am taking a risk.
A risk that no one will care. But the thing is that I Care. I have this crazy pull inside me to create...to make things beautiful. To make things better.
And I think it's wrong to keep that all to myself. I want to share.
Even if just my mother-in-law reads about it :)
So here's to the beginning of this blogging adventure. May it be all I dreamed of and more!
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