Bingeing On Pumpkins ~ Creating My Own Pumpkin Patch

Hi Ya'll!

Hope you all had a great Halloween!

Was just thinking today we are closing close up on

the first day of winter....Dec. 21st is just around the

corner.....brrrr! Believe it or not, we are having

some very chilly temps this weekend here in Florida

already! It was 49 degrees last night! Now that

is cold! Well for us down south folks it is!

Really wondering what our winter will bring

us this year.

Halloween was very chilly and windy this year!

Don't remember a cold Halloween in a long time.

Normal for us is "sweating it!

I always hate seeing Summer end, but I do love the Fall.

It's not as fun here as we don't have all the beautiful

Fall colors as I remember from home in Michigan. I

really miss that so much. I miss being able to go out

to find those huge pine cones, and big acorns to craft

with also. So much I miss about home at different

times of the year! Christmas time will be the next time.

Speaking of acorns....I did gather up a bucket full to

use in some of my Fall decorating, but they are so tiny

compared to what I am use to. I also had a little fun

making some pretty colorful acorns. I found some glass

beads that I was planning for something a long while

back, and never used for what ever that was, as I can't

remember. I saw somewhere some acorn jewelry with

some beads, so I thought, I'm going to make some

beaded acorns. I loved the colors and they had a Fall

color to them. So, I got my glue gun, several acorn tops

and I glued the beads into the tops. I liked them.

I went on a pumpkin binge this year also. I had wanted

to make some pumpkins for the last couple of years

out of different fabrics and vintage chenille's I had

set aside to do that with, and other than a couple I

had made from a mans white tank tee, I ran out of

time and never got to them. This year I was determined

to do it! And boy did I, but I still have a few left on my

list I didn't get to. Some velvet pumpkins was one on

the not done list. Oh well, another time. I got so crazy

into it I ended up with "Thirty Eight Pumpkins" total!

I got my own pumpkin patch! I think I was addicted!

Now I am pumpkined out, maybe lol! My hubby is glad

my steam is running out for sure...he was beginning to

think the next thing I would use was the curtains!

 I was seeing everything I looked at as a pumpkin!

These are ALL the ones I did for this year...except for

one....it's made, but not finished. It will be a fancy one

but her full vision hasn't hit me yet so she sits.

I made pumpkins out of chenille's, sweaters, painters

drop cloth, twine, checks, and plaid fabrics, and even

garlic bulbs....some are fancy, some just plain, some

simple.

I already posted a few in earlier posts so you may have

seen a few of these. But here is the whole nine yards

of them! It's a lotta pumpkins but I loved making them!

Update!......I finally got the last little pumpkin done!

After I got it finished it looked Gothic to me, not at

all what I had envisioned when I started it. I named

her "Chalice"...that is supposed to be a girls Gothic

name. I used black lace with rhinestones and black

and white feathers. Used black yard to wrap the stem

and on the base of the pumpkin. Used the sleeve of an

off white sweater for the pumpkin itself. Now on to the

fun of Christmas crafting!

This is the last one I did. This is a sweater pumpkin

made using the turtle neck part of the sweater

I made from the same sweater pumpkin named

"Purity" shown down below. This was a cowel neck

turtle neck... so was pretty wide and full. I used some

wired twine on this one that I had ordered in the mail

and had finally arrived....a bit late from all my pumpkin

making. So much easier to use than making

my own curly vines. Making my own is messy too! 

This is so soft, pretty plain, but I decided I liked it just

like this.

These are the white chenille ones made using four different

vintage chenille bedspreads in different designs. There is a

tall one, a short squatty one, a little round ball shaped one,

and a couple of large wide around ones. I love white

pumpkins! I used sticks for stems and twirled some twine

around a wooden spoon using Mod Podge smeared all

over it to get it to stay twirled. That was a messy job!

I liked these a lot!

Then I tried some twine pumpkins. I saw a tutorial for

this type but didn't want to spend the same time they

did making them. So I just cut several lengths of twine

the same size, glued the ends together, and lathered

them with Mod Podge to get some stiffness. I used a

stick on one, and a cinnamon stick on the other

wrapping them around each with another long length

of twine using my glue gun to adhere the start of the

twine and end of the twine in place. I stuck a bay leaf

in and done. These look rustic to me and I found

smaller seemed better. They hold the stiff shape better.

The larger one is a bit floppy still. Not as thrilled with these

though, but they are ok...like the little one the best.

I loved these little guys....black and cream checks and

plaids. I made a couple of each along with a couple

navy blue and cream checked ones. The others I placed

in this oblong wooden crated, or whatever it is with some

of the small drop cloth and orange chenille pumpkins I

made. They all looked nice together playing off each

other in colors and textures.

    

I had bought this orange hob nob chenille as some

call it, off of eBay about eight or nine years ago to

make pumpkins with. There was a lady on eBay that

I had purchased several things from that made pumpkins

using orange chenille. I thought them so cute. She had

dyed the chenille to get her orange color. One day I came

across an orange chenille on eBay and snagged it up. I

wanted to make some for myself and this would save me

from having to do the dying process. The shade of orange

was such a pretty color and the bedspread had a couple

of holes in it, so this would be perfect to use for pumpkins.

I can't believe it has taken me this durn long to actually

make the pumpkins! I really love these little sweeties,

and the color is a beautiful orange!

Shortly after I did this post, a lady contacted me on

Face Book saying she loved the chenille pumpkins and

wanted to know if I had any blue chenille. She had a blue

kitchen and wanted to display some there. I took photo's

of the different blues I had and she picked this one, which

was my favorite too. I used the brown wired twine I had,

and I just love the contrast! Didn't know how blue

pumpkins would look but I have to say I love these!

And here I thought I was done making pumpkins!

 

These little guys were made using painters drop cloth.

I just cut three round circles, did a running stitch

using embroidery floss (doubled) around the edge,

stuffed it with pillow stuffing, stuck a stick in it and

then gathered it up by pulling the ends of the floss to

close it up. I wrapped some twine around the bottom

of the stick and cut some leaf shapes out the the fabrics

I used for the plaid and checked pumpkins, and glued

them in place. They are all together in the wooden

oblong crate.

All the smaller ones together in the wooden oblong crate

sitting on my coffee table. 

 Then I decided to go a little fancy! These are the sweater

pumpkins I did that are shown in an earlier post. I had

so much fun with these! I had an idea of what I was

going for, but once I got started they just took their own

course and I was so surprised how they turned out!

This is my Victorian Pumpkin.... here. This little gal was

made using a taupe colored sweater I couldn't wear any-

more, some vintage lace, a couple of different types of

rhinestones, and a necklace I made from parts I had

left from another necklace I had used on the "Princess

pumpkins. I used the cuff of the sweater to wrap around

the twine stem and rolled it down just a tad. Then I

added a string of some rhinestones just below the rolled

down part of the cuff. I took some more of the string of

rhinestones and wrapped it around and around to cover

up the edges of the sweaters stem on the very top. I also

added one larger single rhinestone to the middle right at

the top. Her name is "Victoria."

This is another sweater I grew out of here. I used a portion

of the sleeve to make this one and the one above so they are

little but so sweet. This has some more vintage lace that

I cut off of a lace doilie. I wrapped a strand of pearls

around the stem on this one all the way to the top and

then continued it around the very top to hide the sweater

edges, then added one larger pearl in the center. I placed

a few more pearls on the lace in certain places, added

some feathers and one larger jeweled piece for some

sparkle. She turned out gorgeous! Some of my friends

said it reminded them of Zsa Zsa Gabor...I think so too

now lol! I had named this one "Purity", but now she

is called "Zsa Zsa." That gave an idea for another

pumpkin that I'll get to later. She has to have her man!

(wink!)

These pretty pink chenille sweeties posted here:

were made with my sweet little granddaughter Emma.

She wanted to make princess pumpkins. I let her pick

out all the things she wanted on them, and the chenille's.

Then I showed her how to make them...no sewing involved.

The only pumpkins that had any sewing to them at all,

was the drop cloth ones. These are all easy and fun, and

quick to do! My Emma had a great idea and showed

great taste in what she wanted to create. We loved how

they turned out. Emma is quite the visionary! A little

girl after her grandma's heart!

These were the first sweater pumpkin's I made. One more

sweater too small to wear anymore. This is a bit of a

bulkier knit but so soft. These are in a sculptured look just

like "Victoria" and "Zsa Zsa" above. These are in a cream

color and I used twine, drop cloth leaves, and some

rhinestone jewels to give them a rustic chic look. These

were posted here also. I got six pumpkins out of this

sweater with still the top of the front and back I can

use for a couple more!

These pumpkins were made using strips of drop cloth

wrapped around some toilet paper rolls! Yep toilet

paper! These were really fun to create. I cut the leaves

out of some green burlap, used the loose strands of some

natural burlap for a rustic look, and added sticks for

stems and a sprig of tree moss. Those were posted here.

This was made by stacking two rolls of toilet paper

on top of each other....my silly hubby wanted me to

see how that would look and he picked the fabric.

I had dubbed these, "pumpkins on a budget."

And last was this crazy idea that actually went viral lol!

I took garlic bulbs and painted faces on them like ghosts,

tied little bows with twine for the tops and came up with

"garlic ghost pumpkins!" They are so cute! Those are posted

here. My hubby had thought I had completely gone over

the edge on this little idea! I said earlier I was on a

pumpkin binge and I was seeing everything I looked at

as possibly being a pumpkin! The cool thing is, is

they are still looking great and no rotting or shriveling

up yet. Curious to how long they will last!

Well for now I'm done with pumpkins, well kinda sorta!

I got still more ideas and things to make them with before

I'm totally done, and then probably not! I had fun,

went way beyond what I had planned for them, but hey,

isn't that what being creative is all about. There is never

an end or non-stop vision to that! Plus, I still have this

little white and black one to finish.

I even had some friends ask me to buy some from me!

So I'm whipping those up to get them mailed out this

week...that was a nice plus and surprise! I guess going

pumpkin crazy can have some unexpected benefits!

TaTa Till Later! (or the next pumpkin idea!)

Thinking Christmas now....but wait, are pumpkins

in the scheme of Christmas too!? I dunno know!

I'll get back with you on that!

Have a great day!

For The Love Of Twine

Are you a crafter, gardener, or a jack-of-all-trades kind of lady? If you are any of these then I am positive you know and have used twine before! If not, then I am going to share some surprising ways one can use twine! Twine has a plethora of ways to use and incorporate into I swear almost anything! I have used it in so many ways and projects my list is too long to list! One of the things I love about twine especially when used in my many craft projects, is the feel of a nautical beachy, or rustic look it gives. I like that a lot!

 

Recently I found this website through a friend of mine called Hometalk. Have you heard of it!? Well if you haven't you need to visit! It's an amazing site! I have been spending alot of time there when I'm not crafting.

 

At Hometalk, you set up an account, and then you can scroll through hours of projects for home and garden, and diy tutorials, and clip them to boards you create for future reference. Plus you can make comments on the things you like, pin them to Pinterest, Facebook, Tweet It, Google+ it, or email it to a friend. And....the best part....you can post your projects just like if you were blogging too!

 

In fact, I was so honored that my very first post, My Ballard Design Demijohn Knock Off Bottles Only Better With Bling! was featured right off! And they went viral! Every where, Pinterest, Facebook, and on other blogs and web pages! I was shocked!  And then, one of the gals at Hometalk visited my blog and fell in love with my twine wrapped bottles I made for my mom along with another twine wrapped bottle I did. I was asked to post those on Hometalk because they wanted to do a feature on those also! Now how lucky can one girl get in one day!

 

Plus when you post a share, you can add several pictures, of your project, and link it to your blog or website for more info if you want. Or just blog it all right there if you don't have a blog or website! How cool is that! And one more thing, if you have questions about anything, just ask! There is a group of professionals there to help and guide you along with everyone else on Hometalk that is a member if they have information to share on your question! It's great!

 

Hometalk has an audience of over 700,000 followers!

 

I was asked to curate at board for them on twine! Now that was really exciting and scarey all at the same time! I have never done that before....didn't even know what it was! But once it was explained to me, I was on it! It was suppose to be 10 to 15 projects using twine. Well I found over fifty I liked lol! I weeded and weeded, found some more, weeded again and got it down to 27.

 

I was aiming to try to show just how useful twine is, and how many ways twine can be used along with how may types of twine there is! From just a little touch of it, or a whole project, twine can change the look of anything for that just right finish! With the ones I choose, which was tough to decide with so many I wanted to share, you will also I'm sure be inspired by all the projects themselves that the twine was used in. I was for sure! Twine is a commodity no one should be without!

  

 

Click this link to see all 27 projects and get inspired yourself!

For The Love Of Twine

 

Some of my favorites were:

 

Let's start with some of my favorite Christmas twine

uses seeing as the holidays are just around the corner!

 

 

Don't you just love this display from House On The Way! This whole display is simply stunning! Those little cone twine wrapped Christmas trees just top it off giving this prettiness a touch of the rustic outdoor look of nature. See those gorgeous white balls!? You can also wrap balls in twine and add a sprig of holly and red berries too!

 

 

And look at this adorable cookie cutter wreath from Serendipity Refined! Here just that little touch of waxed twine to tie the cookie cutters on with just gives it a sweet finish too. Love this idea! Oh and those sweet mason jar candle holders ..... twine was used there wrapped around the top a few times holding a sprig of pine and holly berries in place. Very pretty!

 

 

This idea from Chirping With Charm is a great use of twine and a darling repurpose! Mason jar lids wrapped in twine for the sweetest ornaments! Just add some pretty holiday trimmings perfect for your tree!

 

 

One thing I love to use twine for is gift wrapping gifts. You can wrap paper wrapped gift boxes with it, or do like Andrea at Personally Andrea did here with this sweet way to wrap this candle gift! Here she used the twine for attaching the tag slipping it through a button and tying it in a bow. Special touches like this are such a thoughtful way to present your gifts. Twine is good!

 

 

Do you love to make banners!? Well the perfect item to hang your pretty banners on is twine! And if your banners are made with burlap...even better! Twine and burlap are like pea's in a pod together! Twine is pretty strong and can hold a good amount of weight too! Although banners weight very little....but isn't this great! Plus, the twine doesn't over ride your pretty creativeness. See how Ann at On Sutton Place did this. Just lovely isn't it....oh and wait till you see what she did on the backside of the banner! Ideas, Ideas, Ideas! Get your twine ready!

 

Now lets wander away from the holidays! Take a look at this genious use of twine and a fab repurpose/recycle for your garden!

 

 

A bicycle wheel trellis! How cool is that!

 

See more that Stephanie shares from her Garden Therapy on this unique idea and use of twine! It's great for the garden. Oh and I saw somewhere that if you take twine and do a knotted netting fence...you know...like a fishermans net, it helps to keep out small critters who love your garden more than you do!

 

 

And this framed artwork is adorable from Maryanne at Domestically Speaking!

Just that touch of bakers twine along the edge gave this sweet burlap heart more meaning! I see "Love and Kisses!" The bakers twine gives the artwork some pop and frames the heart as well. Love this idea! I'm thinking Mother's Day, a birthday, and of course Valentine's Day! Maybe even a rustic wedding prop with initials and an arrow added!

 

And this is just one last of my favorites! I had so many but just click the link under the "For The Love Of Twine" banner above and find more uses for twine!

 

 

Isn't this a cool use for twine! And what an idea! This really appealed to me because I am trying to grow my own herbs. So if I'm successful, now I can take this idea for drying my herbs! And of course I have a ton of twine!!!

 

Want to see more unique uses for twine!? Check out my "For The Love Of Twine Board"  and get inspired....to use twine!

 

Thanks Hometalk for the opportunity to create this fun board! I love twine!

 

Hope you all enjoyed the board and find some things that you just have to try using twine! If you have more ideas, share them at Hometalk! Everybody is looking for new ideas! If you haven't been to Hometalk....get there today!

 

Have a lovely day!

 

TaTa For Now!

 

 

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