Pumpkin Card

During Ladies Night Out (an event for the women while the men go to Priesthood Session for General Conference) at our local far away Roberts Crafts, my mom and I took my kids to do some make and takes and play games to win some prizes.  We didn't win anything {boo}, but we had fun making some cute and fun things.  One of them was a card.

It is a lot simpler than it looks.  It is a rectangle that has been scored into some diamond shapes and then folded to create the main diamond shape in the middle. Then a pumpkin was cut out {I assume from a Cricut} and we layered the image onto the card.  The sample at the store showed putting the orange vines on the bottom two corners. I didn't like that so much, so I left mine as is.

If you are still a bit lost, I will put up directions in a later post.


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4x4 wood pumpkins

I also love working with 4x4's. I just love that they are so rustic and bulky.  Here is my take on a 4x4 jack-o-lantern.  Again, I used Pumpkin Carving cartridge from Cricut.

I love that angry one in the front. He's my fav.

My first 4x4 project was a pumpkin.  But, I couldn't stop at just one.  I had to make a set of three.  I painted them orange. Then I added a twig, fabric, spanish moss and a leaf.

My hubby prefers them stained. I like both ways depending on what look you're going for.

I'm linking here:

Blue Cricket Design

   

2x4 wood pumpkins

My favorite medium to use is wood.  My brother works for a window and door company and he has access to free 2x4's which he cuts down and gives to me to finish.  Here are a few pumpkins I have made using 2x4's.  Enjoy!
For this first project, you will need the following:

2x4's {mine are 6" tall}, mod podge {I love this stuff}, wood stain, and your favorite paper {I love using Basic Grey} Not shown: twig, fabric scrap, hot glue and buttons. Cut the paper and mod podge it to your wood. Then stain the whole thing {I use Minwax in dark walnut}.  Once the stain is dry, glue your twig, fabric and buttons.  Then sit back and admire your work.

This next one uses 4" 2x4's, 1" wood squares, and raffia.  This one is pretty simple. Just paint and sand your wood, then glue the 'stem' and raffia.

And, because Halloween is right around the corner, I had to make some Jack-o-Lanterns.  This is still using 4" boards. I also used Pumpkin Carving Cricut cartridge. Again, just paint the wood, glue the stem and attach vinyl.

{prices are shown on them because I recently had these at a local boutique}

I am linking up here:

Jar pumpkins-my version

I am sure that you have seen these in blog land and on Pinterest.

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Well, here is my version.

My daughter just ended another season of Softball and I usually give her teammates something.  When I found these, I knew that they would be perfect for what I wanted to do.  I have a bunch of the Homemade Chili Sauce jars cuz I think they have such a cute shape.  I thought that they would look awesome as pumpkins. 

Well, as it turned out, I only had five of these {I have used several in my craft room} and I needed eight gifts. Enter the ghosts.

I found these jars, and made them into ghosts.  I painted them the night before her last practice {she couldn't go to the game because of another fun event-SIBS Day*}.  So, they didn't dry all the way. That is why the candy is underneath them in the packaging.  She had a lot of fun helping me out with this project.  She is getting more and more creative everyday. I can't wait to start showing you what she has been creating.

*SIBS {Super Important Brothers and Sisters} Day Workshop is sponsored by Primary Childrens Medical Center and is a support group specifically designed to meet the needs of siblings of children with chronic illness or other disorders {her brother has High Functioning Autism}.
Linking here:

iheartnaptime.net  www.skiptomylou.org

PUMPKIN WEEK

I love the fall! I love everything about it: the leaves, the colors, the smells. And, I LOVE pumpkins! They are the perfect little addition to any fall decor. To kick off this week, I want to give a shout-out to some pumpkins I found on, yep you guessed it, Pinterest.

There's argyle:

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candy corn:

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cats and caterpillars:

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some bling:

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a little cuteness to the spooky:

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pumpkins with something to say:

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and something for the kids;

tiered princess for the girls

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 and Perry for the boys.

{no source available}

And, this is just the beginning.  I am so inspired by all the images.  Just type in 'painted pumpkins in the search box and just see the amazing talent there is.

Stay tuned the rest of the week. I will be featuring different kinds of pumpkins.  And, I will also be showing you my own  fall home decor vignettes.

Right now...

Right now, I have two favorite pictures on my computer that I cannot stop looking at.  They happen to be taken on the very same day.  The first:

Salt Lake LDS Temple

{it's actually my 2nd fav}

This picture was taken after the Women's Conference.  My mom & I got tickets to the Conference Center for the event.  After, we walked across the street on the way to Deseret Book and got this pic.  I actually took four pics and this one turned out the best.  I almost didn't take it because I already had two from the other side.  I am so glad I took this one (the one before this made the walls look really green). 

And, now for my very favorite picture:

I took this while we were at the cemetery celebrating my dad's 66th birthday by writing notes to balloons and letting them go. {we have been doing this for several years for my big bro}  I was laying on the ground trying to get this pic:

using the remaining balloons as a shield from the sun.  When I took all the pictures I wanted, I turned the camera and took the above shot.  I am so impressed with it. I will be the first to tell you that I am not a photographer. And though I occasionally get a shot that I love, I don't know all that much about taking pictures.

Enjoy!!

{I know that I have been!}

It's done!!!!!!!! {finally}

In the last post, I gave you a hint as to what I have been working on.  Well, I am happy to say that it is finally done-well one project anyway.  It could have been done over a week ago, but I am really good at putting things off.  Are you ready? Here is the before:

just your standard cheap big box store bookcase. hubby bought if for me for mom's day about 7 years ago

And, now for the after:

How did I do this you ask?  Well, I took the above bookcase and flipped it on it's side. Sorry, I forgot to take pics during the makeover-I was so excited for this redo I couldn't wait to get it done.

I cut off the "foot' part of the bookcase. I took the two shelves and cut them down to sit in the case horizontally and a third shelf (from an unsuccessful redo) and cut to fit into the case vertically.  I added 'L' brackets to hold the shelves. I used a nail gun to secure the vertical shelf.  Then with the help of these:

I primered the heck out of the bookcase. I used Bulls Eye cuz the case is that cheap laminate crap.  I did  two coats of primer and two coats of paint. I got the semi-gloss because I wanted something that is durable yet easy to clean.  The color I used is Blue Robin's Egg.  It is a very bright  in-your-face kind of turquoise. I loved the color, but it's a bit too bright to go with my home. So, I used some antiquing glaze to darken and age it a bit.

I then added some trim. I originally was going to picture frame the bookcase with the trim, but then hubby reminded me that because the trim was a tad wider than the sides, it will crack and possibly break off as books are put onto and taken off the shelves.

As a final touch, I added some very girly legs. I could have gone a bit taller, but I love the height of this as is.  Here is the after shot again.

I am so in love with this. I am so excited to fill it up and adorn the top with some decor.  Thanks for sharing my much awaited reveal.


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