Some of my favorites!

I started going through some of my fall decorations and thought I would share them with you. I just adore this ceramic pumpkin. This was a great find when my husband and I stopped at a Cracker Barrel restaurant on the way down to North Carolina. I've had it for about 5 years. We were traveling south to visit my son who at that time had been in the Marines (just returning from his first tour in Iraq. He had 2 tours total.) They had such wonderful choices of these pumpkins I couldn't refuse to buy a set of 3. One was a quaint teapot and also a smaller version of this large pumpkin. I love them because I can put them out in Sept. and leave them for all to enjoy until Dec. 1st without anyone getting tired of them.

I also enjoy this wonderful pinecone wreath that I have displayed in my bathroom. The walls are a warm gold and it compliments the border paper so well. There are touches of maroon and green in the border also. This wreath didn't come with the dried ivory glitter baby's breath. I had a package of that left over from my wedding favors so I just spent an afternoon hot gluing it to the center. I like how the light hits it from the side and it glitters just perfectly!

TFL!

Finished my Turkey Gourd

I just love this silly turkey! I had a great time painting him. He will make a great home decor item for the fall or Thanksgiving holiday. If you are interested in more pics just go to http://www.gourdsgaloreandmore.blogspot.com/ to see the details.

I'm off to do some scrapbooking and hopefully will get a few layouts done today :-)

TFL!

It's BOO-tiful because it's finished!

As promised...here are the final steps to completing this Halloween altered item. Thanks to The Paper Store for their original design.

The beginning steps for this project are listed in the previous blog posting :-)

Step 6: I made my own fence out of chipboard. You can also buy this fence at a local craft store if you so choose. The fence slats measure 3/8" wide by 2 1/4" tall. I just made a pattern and traced 12 slats for the front and cut them out individually. Wrap pieces of thin wire around each slat for desired effect. You can also make some slats a bit crooked for a spooky look if you prefer.

Step 7: Paint the front of each fence set (4 slats per set) and let dry. I only did one coat because I wanted to distress it and make it look old.
Step 8: I also added a bit of silver/blue metallic wax to certain areas of the fence for an aged look.
Step 9: Use your sandpaper and distress some areas so it looks weathered.
This is the final result.
Step 10: Glue your chipboard letters spelling BOO onto a patterned paper of your choice. Let dry, cut out and distress the edges with sandpaper and Vintage Photo Distress Ink by Ranger.

Step 11: Choose a scroll or flourish stamp and stamp areas of each letter with black ink.

Step 12: Cut raffia and ribbon to size (leave enough to tie a knot at each end when dry). Put glue across the BACK center line of the front 3 pieces of cardstock. Press down and then apply glue to the remaining pieces of cardstock and attach. You are basically sandwiching the raffia/ribbon between those cardstock pieces. Leave about 1/2" in between each square. Weight down with a cool iron or other heavy object and let dry.

The final arrangement should look like this. Just a reminder.....remember if you have the center pattern reversed as I did then make sure you have kept the same arrangement when you glue.

Step 13: Once your "sandwich" has totally dried, sand the edges a bit to give it a rustic look. I also tore a few top layers of the chipboard to really grunge it up. Glue your fence and any embellishments you have made onto each of the 3 sections of the FRONT of this project. I made a small pumpkin by embossing and chalking some color onto the origial stamped image. I glued him onto the center section.

The final project looks like this....

This is what I did with the back center section....

This is a closeup of the left panel.

I hope you enjoy making one of these for your home. I plan on changing the look for the Christmas holiday too. I think this can be a very versatile little project. Use it for baby, pets, birthdays or even add a few more panels to spell out a longer word.

Have a great day!

Pretty Fall view

Since fall is my favorite season and I just completed the Michigan Breast Cancer 3-day walk I wanted to share this pretty photo with you. We had so many nice views along the 3 days of our walk that it is hard to pick a favorite photo. Some scenes were funny and some were just down right all about fall. This one made me happy as I ventured to finish my 20.3 miles for this day. Enjoy!

Stained Glass Pumpkin

WooHoo.....I found this awesome pumpkin light to use as an accent to my scrapbook room. It matches my accent lamps perfectly. I just love the warm fall colors so this was a great find! Now I just need to finish the room so I can enjoy an organized space that I can create in that will also be warm and cozy during these upcoming chilly days and nights.

I haven't done too many scrapbook layouts or projects lately because I have been painting a scarecrow gourd. Here's a peek.....he's almost done. I've decided to name him patches and he will be listed for sale on my etsy shop soon. If you'd like to see the process of making this scarecrow you can check out my business blog at http://www.gourdsgaloreandmore.blogspot.com/. I have a few more pieces of raffia to glue into all the drilled holes and he's finished and ready to be listed for sale.