Thrifty Decorating: fall decorating

Showing posts with label fall decorating. Show all posts

September 19, 2011

Scrap Wood Pumpkins....

Kathy truly has one of my favorite blogs....when she took some "time-off" this summer (she was actually working full-time!), I went through withdrawal from the lack of her fun craft ideas!

So I'll be honest....I kind've begged her to guest post for me knowing that she would have an AWESOME tutorial....and she does!

Here's Kathy from Dandelions and Dust Bunnies.....

------------------------------------------------------

Hi, I'm Kathy from Dandelions and Dust Bunnies. My yard is speckled with those pesky dandelions and my house has a few dust bunnies lurking about here and there. So that's how I came up with my blog - in hopes of weeding out the bad and replacing it was fun crafts, recipes, thrift store find remakes and home decor projects that are a little more pleasing to the eye.

Thanks Nikki for letting me guest post. Poor girl - she's busy putting her house back together and here I am making crafts. Wishing you and your family the best.

I wanted to make a fall craft with things I had on hand, so I rounded up some supplies.

I painted the wood blocks Burnt Orange.

Then gave the edges a sanding for a more weathered look.

I had these knobs in my stash and figured that would make great stems, so I gave them a coat of Mississippi Mud.

Then I attached the knobs with some liquid nails, but you could hot glue them too.

Add a little raffia and ribbon and your done. Simple project - the longest part was waiting for the paint to dry and even that didn't take very long.

Display them on a cupboard, mantel or even your kitchen table. I put mine on a Better Homes and Garden charger I picked up a Walmart the other day for $3.00.

Super simple and super quick. Love those kind of projects.

Thanks again Nikki for letting me stop by today. Feel free to come visit me over at Dandelions and Dust Bunnies.

-------------------------------

Thanks so much, Kathy!! I can't wait until I have some time to craft again!

Also.....don't miss out on the awesome

fall vinyl giveaway from Utah Vinyl!! I'll be

choosing a winner this Friday!

September 17, 2011

Fun Fall Pumpkin Ideas....

Today I am hoping to crawl over our furniture, treadmill, television, bookshelf and everything else that got shoved into our storage section of the basement while we are finishing the new drywall in our flood-damaged section......and I am going to try and get to my fall decorations!!

Just in case I can't get my bin down, here are some pumpkin crafts that I'd love to make for this fall!

Pumpkin Candles.....

{A Pumpkin And A Princess}

Pumpkin Seed Art....

{Tattered and Inked}

Wooden Oval Pumpkins.....

{Smilemonsters}

Velvet Pumpkins....

{DIY Craft Projects}

Book Page Pumpkin.....

{Creations by Kara}

Glitter Pumpkins...

{The Queen of Iwasgonna}

Lentil-covered Pumpkins....

{HGTV}

What fall crafts are you working on?

September 16, 2011

Gilding a pumpkin....

Bon Jour! I am Karen from the blog Redoux and I am happy to be guest
posting here at Thrifty Decorating today!

I don't know about you, but I am really ready for the Fall. This is my favorite time of year, the leaves change color, and the air gets crisp. I have done a little "prepping" for Halloween decor already.

Here Goes my 1st project:

Materials needed:

White or Orange faux pumpkin purchased from Craft Store
Metallic Silver and Copper Spray Paint
Metallic Silver and Gold Craft Paint (I am really loving the Martha Steward brand, much better than the cheaper stuff)
Small paintbrush, (I used a 1 inch brush)
Very fine Gauge Wire, about 3 inches per pumpkin
Nail, or other sharp object (for puncturing the stem)

This is your pumpkin before:

Start by Spray Painting your Pumpkin in Silver or Bronze (only one color per pumpkin!)

After paint dries, use metallic craft paint and "dry brush" from the stem down, all around the pumpkin. (This mimics the natural color variation you would see on a real pumpkin, but not gold and silver....)

When craft paint is dry, paint stem in metallic craft paint.

While Stem is drying, use about a 3-4 inch piece of the wire and wrap around a pencil to make a "ringlet"

When Stem is dry, use a sharp object (I used a large nail), to "make a hole" for the wire. Stick one end of the wire into the stem, until it feels secure. (You can also stick the wire in, then do the ringlet)

Now you have a beautiful Fall/Halloween Gilded "Jacque - o - lantern"!

Ahh, so much better! From Orange to Ooo la la!

-------------------------------

Karen has a wonderful blog called Redoux and she

also has a weekly link party...

You can head over and see what other fall ideas

are linking up!

September 14, 2011

Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe....

Thank you all for responding to my plea for guests! If you are still interested, I am definitely still accepting! Don't forget that if you are interested in guesting for me, I will need the html code from your posting!!

Our first guest today is from Crafting and Creativity.....a very cute blog! Just hopped over there and love the Minnie-Mouse hair clip idea!!

-----------------------------------------

Hi, I'm Sarah. I am a 20-something mother 2. And I blog over at Crafting and Creativity.

http://craftingandcreativity.blogspot.com/

Here's an easy little tutorial to make a tic-tac-toe game before Halloween!

You'll need:

something to use as your board. (I had this wood piece with sides that one of my son's toys came in and I saved it for something crafty.) You could use a lid from something, or just a flat piece of wood or cardboard.
patterned paper
white acrylic paint
Mod Podge
glue stick
foam brush(es)
scissors/paper cutter/ utility knife
paint pen OR permanent maker
ruler
distressing ink
sanding block

I painted the inside and the sides of my wood piece with my white paint. And cut my paper to the size of my wood piece (approximately 5 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches).

Using a coat of Mod Podge, I attached my paper to the wood piece.

Then I used my knife to trim off any excess. Then I inked around the edges with my distressing ink. (The colour I used is called "Charcoal Grey")

Then using some scraps in coordinating colours, I cut out 9 squares that were 1 1/2 inches. (4 in one pattern and 5 in the other.)

Using my ruler, I found the centre of the spot where I wanted my game board, then glued the squares down........

Then I added a strip of another coordinating paper to the top:

Wrote "tic-tac-toe" using a marker, then sanded the edges so that the white showed..........

Then I glued that down as well..........

Now for the game pieces! I had these pumpkins that I bought last year at a dollar store. All I had to do was remove the adhesive piece from the back.

For the witch pieces, I used buttons and punched the witch image with a craft punch I had in one of my sets onto the black polka dot paper.............

Then used a round punch for the green cardstock. Next I used Mod Podge to glue 'em all together. And added an extra coat on the top........

If your wood piece had sides like mine, you can just turn your board upside-down and store your pieces like this.....

Otherwise, a small container with a lid works perfectly.

So now you're all ready to play!!

What a great game board for you next family game night!! My 3 year-old son loves playing this game.

Come visit me at Crafting and Creativity & make sure to say "hi"!

---------------------

Thanks so much, Sarah! Your idea is awesome!

September 5, 2011

Fall Wreath Ideas....

Are you ready to decorate for fall?? I sure am! My outside plants were fried by the summer heat and are crispy little stalks of brown now.....over the weekend I replaced them with some of the $0.50 quarts of mums from Lowe's! They are still on sale through today!

My home is also bare because after the 4th of July, I did not feel inspired to do any type of household decorating.....it was just TOO hot!

Here are some ideas to kick-off your fall door decor.....they are in no particular order.

#1. Corn Husk Wreath from Poppies at Play