Little Fall Pumpkin

I wanted to share this little pumpkin makeover.  It started out as plain, styrofoam, dollar store pumpkin.  Bright orange, but plain.  I bought it with the plans of making a Halloween themed pumpkin out of it.  That didn’t happen.  So I decided to make a Fall themed pumpkin.

Plain dollar store pumpkin

I used a piece of fall themed scrapbook paper.  I’m not the only one that has books and books of scrapbook paper but doesn’t actually scrapbook right?  Anyway—I tore the paper into small-ish sizes and used Mod Podge to glue it down.  I tore the paper because I wanted the rough edges and the little peeks of white.  When gluing the paper down, it did wrinkle up in places because it’s a rounded surface…I like the look. It gives it a vintage-y feel.  

 

Then I glued down a small crochet doily on the top.  I have tons of these things that I pick up at thrift stores and I’m not always sure what to do with them.  This is a great way to use a small one.  

 

I’m still not sure if it needs a little something more, but for now it sits with my little fall display, nestled with the scarecrows and pumpkins.  

 Have you transformed any dollar store pumpkins?  Please share in the comments!

 

 Happy Fall!

 

It's Fall Y'all

What is it about Autumn that we love so much?  The air is turning crisp, the leaves are changing colors, the squirrels are busy gathering food, and pumpkins are everywhere.  It's quite perfect. Since I had some extra time on my hands the past couple weeks, I decided to make myself a fall wreath because for some reason, I didn't have one!  That had to be remedied. I've seen all these wonderful wreaths made with felt flowers all over Pinterest so I decided that's the kind of wreath I wanted to make, perfect for fall I think--something about the coziness and warmth of felt perhaps. So here's what I ended up with!

Can I just say (and not to toot my own horn)....I love it!  I think it's absolutely adorable and  the colors and different styles of flowers came together so wonderfully.

I used tutorials from here and here and they were pretty easy to make.  The flat, layered ones I just eyeballed and stitched them with a little design in the center with embroidery floss. When I was making the rolled ones, I was never able to use all the felt from the circle, so I trimmed off the ends and made the small buds with those leftovers.  The loopy ones are super simple and turn out really pretty.  For bigger flowers, just keep adding more strips.  The tutorial starts rolling from the outside and works in, I did the opposite and just rolled them up and added more strips as I went if I wanted a bigger flower.  I used the good 'ol craft felt that you get at the craft store.  You can't beat the price and I definitely had a budget for this project.

I started  by wrapping my wreath with this cute calico fabric that I already had in my stash.  I thought it was very fall-y. I had just enough to wrap the whole thing--phew!

 Then gathered up my flowers. I did lay them out on the wreath just to see how it would look, how many flowers I actually had (would they cover the entire wreath or just some of it) and what sort of layout I wanted.  I ended up making enough to cover the entire wreath so that's what I did!  The colors I chose were mustard yellow, dark turquoise, coral, off-white, yellow and brown. Then I hot-glued them all in place.  Hopefully it will hold up.  I may have to reattach through the years with a stronger glue, but for now it works just fine.

These are the little buds and I'm so glad I made them because they were perfect for filling in spaces after I had glued down the larger flowers.

 

This wreath makes me happy and isn't that what crafting is all about? I could make tons more of these and would love to make a Christmas/Winter one!  Can I just get paid for making these?  I mean that would be perfect!

I'm back at work now since the government reopened, so I'll have a bit less time to create, but I hope to make more time for myself to make things. So for now. I'm back to working on my Halloween Spooky sampler and  I just ordered two of The Frosted Pumpkins Stichery's Christmas patterns!  Eek I can't wait to see what the patterns are! See ya next time.

'til Then!

Fancy Roosters

Hello friends!  I hope fall has been treating you all wonderfully.  I'm certainly enjoying the cooler weather and the leaves here in NC are just beginning to change. I love this time of year.  I wanted to drop in and share this tea towel that I stitched up a few weeks ago for a bridal shower gift.  My brother got married to a wonderful girl and I just adore her.  People that I adore get handmade gifts.  It's just a fact.  She is doing roosters in their kitchen so I thought I'd stitch up something with roosters on it...and why not this most adorable pair!  I like to think they are heading out for a date...maybe dinner and movie?  Perhaps they are watching Chicken Little or Rock-a Doodle...heck maybe it's a double feature! Either way, they look sharp.

This pattern is from Aunt Martha's Barnyard Happenings set.  I've stitched several from this set because they really are fun designs. I stitched this all in red but used several types of stitches which gives it a little depth.  I'm very pleased with it. 

I have actually been crafting and stitching quite a bit since I've been furloughed for the government shutdown so stay on the lookout for more posts!

'Til then!

Halloween wreath....full of glitter

I updated my Halloween wreath again.  I've been scouring pinterest for ideas because I knew my little wreath needed something more than what it had.  I have a little extra time to work on things since I'm furloughed for the government shutdown so it was the perfect time to change it up.  I saw this entryway and BAM..that was the inspiration I needed!  I loved the purple and orange ball ornaments and knew that I could do something like that with my purple Christmas ornaments.  So that's exactly what I did.

 I added the purple glitter pumpkin that at picked up at Target for $1 and then clustered the balls together in groups of three around the wreath.  I kept the little jack-o-lanterns and the crow from the previous design and added the glittery leaf picks, also left over from my Christmas stash.

I love it.  It's a little over the top but it is for Halloween after all.  Do you change out wreaths for the holidays? Do you search pinterest for ideas?  I know I do.  I've got tons more wreaths on my Halloween board that I would love to make!

What's In My Hoop?

I thought I'd share what I'm stitching now.  This totally awesome Halloween Spooky Sampler from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery.  I am in love with these patterns so far!  They released a row every week for three weeks and of course I'm terribly behind and may not finish in time for Halloween this year, but oh well. It's been fun to work on and my first time trying linen!  I don't know why I waited so long to try it because it's wonderful to work with!  Here's my progress.

"H" is for haunted house

 

"A" is for apparition

What's in your hoop?

Got Candy?

I finished this piece that I wrote about here.  I adore this super cute candy corn witch!  Just look at her killer boots and her awesome candy corn dress and hat...I mean really, what's not to love?

Right now she's in a hoop.  Eventually I would like to make this a pillow using the candy corn fabric as a border.  I think that would be cute but it involves dragging out the sewing machine which hasn't seen the light of day since the baby was born so we'll see.  For now, the hoop is just fine...maybe painted black?  Hmmm....anyway, here are some detail photos.

I stitched this on aida that I've had forever, most likely thrifted.  It's a mint green, 14 count fabric.  The pattern is from this years Halloween edition of Just Cross Stitch.  The only thing I did differently was I didn't use metallic for the purple.  I just used a regular bright, purple because I just didn't want to fight the metallic thread.  I think it's looks just fine. 

I am so ready for Halloween this year.  I can't wait to go trick-or-treating with my bebe and decorate the apartment.  

Now I'm moving on to a small piece for a gift and another Halloween piece that I'm really excited about! 

'Til then!

What's on my hoop?

Gosh guys.  This gal is having a hard time keeping up with my blog these days!  I have a long list of things I want to post but struggling to find time.  So here's a quick post of some things I'm currently working on.  I've got a holiday coming up so maybe I can get some posts done then.  We'll see. 

I started taking this one to work so I could get a little stitching done on my lunch break.  I only get 30 minutes but it's better than nothing.  I love this candy corn witch from the 2013 Just Cross Stitch Halloween edition!

I've also worked a little more on this piece that I started last year!  I posted here about it last February!  It's such a cute pattern that I just have to keep working on it to finish it. 

That's about it.

What's on your hoop?

Blog Lovin'

Well I finally signed up for this to try to make some sense of all the blogs I read.  So far, I'm really liking it!

Follow me!

Desserts of the Month--finished!

Okay okay I know I'm WAY behind on these patterns but I've been finding it really hard to find time to stitch anything.  I had a few days off lately so I found some pockets of time for myself.  I finished the desserts of the month patterns!  I'm so thrilled with it and frankly a teeny bit glad to be done with it. I definitely stretched this out a little long.  So here it is...all finished and super cute!  I can't wait to frame it and hang it in my kitchen!

November: Pumpkin Pie!

December: Figgy Pudding!

 

 

All together!

 

So just a reminder, you can find these patterns from The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery here.  They also have a new set of patterns for this year (which I'm obviously behind on) here--Woodland Sampler.  They really do have the cutest patterns. 

 On to the next thing!

Dessert of the Month: October

If you can’t tell I am WAY behind on these Desserts of the Month patterns that I started last year.  Months ago I finally got around to finishing October.  So yeah---almost there but still seems like so much more to stitch.  Not to mention that I’m now 5 months behind on this year’s patterns of the month!  Eek.  Oh well so it goes.  So here she is—October’s sweet little jack-o-lantern filled with treats.  Again, you can find the patterns at Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery!

 

  

Only two months to go!!!

Fellowship of The Stitch

Um, hello?  Is anybody out there? Gosh oh gosh it’s been a while.  This poor neglected blog!  I just haven’t had a lot of time for my stitching or painting since the baby but you know what---it’s OK.  I kinda like having the little dude occupy my time.   But I have been stealing moments here and there for some stitching, primarily staying up late on Saturday nights. I finally finished this piece for the hubby.   

 

I had originally planned to have this finished for Christmas…boy that was wishful thinking.  So he got it for his birthday a little over a week ago.  It’s this fun pattern from Wee Little Stitches of the characters from The Lord of the Rings, one of hubby’s favorite books and movies.  It was fun to stitch and the simple design actually makes for quick stitching when you have more than ten minutes at a time to sit and work on it.   

 




As usual, I made a few mistakes, mostly with colors this time for some reason (probably because I was stitching late at night trying not to fall asleep and misreading the chart) but it’s not terribly noticeable so I just let it go.  Anyway—it’s finished so now I can move on to the next thing that will take me months to finish!  hehe

 

Later!