Pumpkin Topiary

Here is a cute pumpkin topiary. It can be used all season long! Use it for Fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving.

Materials Needed
-3 small artificial pumpkins (Ones that can be carved)
-1 small strand white holiday lights (50 bulbs or less)
-1 pot or pedestal
-Moss
-Small screw in hook
-Glue Gun
-Exacto Knife

First decide what designs you would like to carve in your pumpkins. If you want a more classic look, choose simple shapes. You can carve leafs for a Fall look or something spooky such as a cat or skull for a Halloween look. Begin by cutting the top and bottom off of TWO of the pumpkins and the bottom out of the third one. Use an exacto knife. Keep the holes SMALL. Remember you are stacking these and you do not want the holes to be seen once they are stacked. A good rule of thumb is to keep the holes about the size of a small yogurt lid.

You should now have-
-1 pumpkin with the bottom cut out (This is your top pumpkin)
-2 pumpkins with the top and bottom cut out (This is the middle and bottom pumpkins)


Next, with a pencil, draw your design on each pumpkin and then carve it out with the exacto knife.

After you are finished carving, screw a small hook into the top inside part of the pumpkin that has only the bottom cut out. (This is the top pumpkin.) It is easiest to do this with needle nose pliers. Next hook the end of the lights on the hook. Feed the rest of the strand down thru each pumpkin. You will want to bunch a section of lights in each pumpkin. Bring the plug end of the strand out the bottom of the last pumpkin making sure to leave the last light inside of the pumpkin.

It is now time to glue everything together. Using a hot glue gun, apply the bottom pumpkin to your base, (pot, pedestal etc.) Continue stacking and gluing the pumpkins on top of each other until they are all glued together. Be sure the lights don't poke out in between each pumpkin layer.

Lastly glue your moss in between each layer including the base and bottom pumpkin.

Voila! You now have a beautiful pumpkin topiary! Make another one and have a pair!

The topiaries look great on a mantle or grouped with other fall accessories on a cabinet or counter.

Spooky Skull Vignette

This one is fun and SO easy! I must admit that I have become a fan of the Dollar Tree. It is hit and miss with them but sometimes they have really cute items! On my last visit I found these darling glittered skulls. They had black, silver and white. I bought several...(just in case.) I also purchased some dyed gauze from the Dollar Tree. I happen to have this large glass vase at home and I arranged the 3 skulls inside of the vase. As I layered the skulls, I added the gauze little by little in between each skull to add a bit more interest to the design. I draped the remaining gauze over the vase and let it puddle at the base.

A fun trend for Halloween this year is to use monochromatic or very muted tones.
When designing a vignette like this, be sure you stick with no more than 3 colors. It helps the overall design be more appealing to the eye. Layering your height is also a great idea!

If you do not have a Dollar Tree in your area, go to the local craft store. Most craft stores are carrying simple craft skulls right now. All you need to do is purchase some very fine glitter, (Martha Sterwart has great colors), and glue and glitter the skulls yourself!

Have fun with this one and send me your comments and pictures!

HALLOWEEN!!!! YIPEE!

OK, so for those of you who know me, I LOVE Halloween! Not because I am morbid or anything like that! HEHE! It is just so much fun to decorate and create things for this holiday. Each year my family and I transform out home into a cute Haunted house and love every minute of it! For the next several weeks I will be posting projects and ideas for the upcoming Halloween season. I am doing it now so that you can have these ideas ready when Halloween comes around!

First up-

Cute vinyl Halloween words in frames! These are so easy and inexpensive to make. You can run out to your nearest dollar store and pick up some small frames. I chose 4 x 6 and 3 x 5" frames. Choose one frame for each letter. Next go to your nearest craft store, (or scrapbook cupboard!) and find several different Halloween papers that will go together. It is a good idea to think of the kind of motif you will be displaying your word with. One of the papers that I chose has vintage Halloween cards printed on it. I cut each "card" out and placed it in the frame for my background. I then chose a font that worked with the vintage theme of the paper. The other frames, (SPOOKY,) has bright, glittered paper as the background. I then picked a font that was a bit more whimsical.

After cutting and placing the paper in the frames I placed the vinyl letters on the outside of the frames...on the glass. Be sure to always clean the glass with alcohol prior to placing the letters on it.

When displaying your words, mix it up! You can arrange some of the letters on their side and stand the others upright. You can also stagger the frames to create more visual interest. Another fun idea is to use different fonts or font sizes on each frame!

If you are interested in purchasing the vinyl lettering feel free to email me at dezynes@gmail.com!
Cost-
SPOOKY- Approximately 3.5" letters- ONLY $7.00
BOO- Approximately 3" letters- ONLY $5.00

"Cute as a bug!"

Here is a cute photo collage. Materials needed: Canvas of your choice, 3 wallet size photo frames, vinyl phrase and graphic of your choice.
Simply take a piece of canvas and paint it a color of your choice. Be sure to use a low sheen paint so that the vinyl will adhere better. After the paint is dry, decide what your layout will be. Layer your graphic and your phrase on the canvas. Place the graphic or decorative element on the canvas first and then the phrase. Next, hot glue your picture frames on the canvas. Be sure that when you are placing your pictures you keep in mind how you will display the canvas. You want to be sure you balance out the weight! Be creative. You can paint stripes, polka dots and more. It can be as simple or as fancy as you would like. This is a great project for kids as well!