Decorated Pumpkins

When I used to work as a floral designer for a company in Dallas several years ago, every year they would make gorgeous dried floral pumpkin arrangements to sell to their high-end clientele. The price of one these pumpkins could cost you a pretty penny too...and in my opinion, they were waaaay overpriced. My solution? Make my own!! All you need are a few materials and some know-how and you're golden. :) 


Here's my debut pumpkin I made about 5 years ago:

Not too shabby for my first try. ;) And here's how you can make your own!!....


Materials you'll need:


*Pumpkin
*Green dried moss (can get it at Hobby Lobby or other craft stores)
*Dried grasses or wheat, seed pods, flowers, twigs, acorns, lavender, etc. Whatever suits your fancy (from dried floral section of craft store or from your own yard! :))
*Hot glue gun
*Hot glue sticks (probably about 5-10, depending on how much of a glue monster you are)


First you'll want to start with a good, fat pumpkin. This time around instead of using a traditional orange pumpkin I used a "Cinderella" pumpkin because I like it's shorter, squat-ier, fat shape. 

I started by hot gluing the green moss on top to create a "cap" of sorts. This will help all your dried floral to adhere nicely. :)


Next, starting with a section at a time, add your dried floral and other nature finds. Every pumpkin will end up looking different depending on what materials you use, just be creative and let your imagination guide you!  Here's what mine ended up looking like:

In this arrangement I used: dried wheat, dried eucalyptus,
3 brown seed pods, dried green hydrangea, dried lavender,
fall leaves, faux yellow floral, twigs from my yard, some
greenery from my yard, and dried roses. 

I gave this one to my Momma for her birthday (Happy Birthday again, Mom!!). I'm thinking...since I loved making it so much.....I might just make one for myself too!!

If you end up making one let me know how it turns out!!

Happy Fall Decorating,

Gail

Outdoor Country Party

Ever since we moved into our little rental I've wanted to host an outdoor party. The patio between our back porch and garage serves as the perfect little place for stringing up some lights and having a party. So finally......after living here a year and a half.....we did just that. :)

Meet my "Little Big Sis", Grace:

She just turned the BIG 3-0,...but you'd never know it. She knows how to rock a 3-inch wedge and could be the cover girl for paper drinking straws. :)

I call her my "Little Big Sis" cause she's shorter (though older) than me....and she calls me her "Big Little Sis" cause I'm taller (though younger) than her. If you ask me, her nickname sounds waaay cooler. I've always been the "tall" one in my family cause all my sisters are just so short!! And I'm not even tall....I'm just an "average" 5'6"!!! :)

{Goofballs :) }

Gracie turning 30 provided the perfect opportunity to use our little patio for the party. It was so fun to put the party together for her (with the help of her family and friends) and to {hopefully} show her just how much she means to all of us.

{Flowers in a canning jar on the food table}

{Little guest at the party-my sweet little nephew, Levi}

{Drinks were served in jam jars}

{The beverage table:

peach tea, lemonade & water}

{Vintage fabric flag banner above the

food table}

{My sister Glenna}

{Sisters Gwen & Glenna with

Cole}

{The seating area. Old quilts were used as tablecloths

to create a more country feel}

{Grace & her husband, Aaron}

{8 years later and still going strong! :) }

{Gracie with her little man, Johnathan}

{My incredibly beautiful sisters,

Glenna & Greta}

{My Dad being, well....Dad :) }

{Gotta hydrate!

Paper straws source here}

{Dad & Cole....with his "deer in headlights"

look}

{Gracie's favorite: Angel Food Cake}

{We made the birthday girl cut her own cake.....

JK.... she wanted to!!}

It was a very casual evening but couldn't have been more fun. After the guests finished eating & drinking, we headed on inside to open gifts and look at old photos of Grace strung all over our living room using jute string & clothes pins. Ooohhh....the memories!

I've known my sister my whole life....so I barely have a memory of my childhood that she isn't also in. We shared a room together, told each other secrets, went through "awkward" phases of our growing up years together, saw each other with braces on, squirted pimples together, had silly sister fights, fought over boys, shared clothes (she wore my hand-me-downs cause I was taller :), and saw each other grow up. When she went to college I bawled my eyes out cause I had lost my best friend. Then she got married to the love of her life and I was her Maid of Honor. Then I went to college and she called me up and told me she was pregnant. We've shared a lot in our years together....marriage stories, unhealthy pregnancies, losses of children, healthy pregnancies & babies, moves, homemaking....and the list goes on. I could write a novel about all the little things I love about my sister....Gracie, are you listening?

I love my sister so much. You know they say, "you don't get to choose the family you are born into". Well....that may be true, but if I DID get to pick out the perfect older sister to "look up" to...

I would have still chosen her. :)

Happy 30th Birthday, Gracie! {again!}

Hugs,

Gail

Vintage Bridal Shower

I had the pleasure of hosting a vintage lingerie bridal shower with 3 other maids' of the Bride at our home a few weekends ago. The bride is a very dear friend of mine...and now she's all off and married! Missy & Michael---I couldn't be more happy for the two of you!

Here's some pictures and collages I created to give you an idea of our evening. We chose the colors red, black & turquoise for the shower and tried to use them throughout our decor. (I apologize in advance that some of the photos are of poor quality.)

The Invitation:

Inside it invited guests to an

"Old Lace & New Love"

vintage lingerie bridal shower

My delightful friend, Missy,

playing the part in the "Photo Room"

I created a room where guests could have

fun and be silly by creating their own phrases

on chalkboard painted cardboard quote cut-outs

and an assortment of vintage hats, gloves & purses.

Hostesses & Bride:

One of my favorite details were the drink tags

we made using leftover scrapbook paper from the

invitations. I already have a lot of turquoise in my home

and getting to bring these little goblets out was fun

cause I don't use them that often and they just

happened to work perfectly with our color scheme!

Above: turquoise goblets with scrapbook paper name tag,

coffee filter pom poms, the food table, red velvet cupcakes

with cream cheese frosting & strawberries, red roses.

What my make-shift mantel looked

like before all the presents arrived! I

used the vintage dancer print in the decor

cause the Bride is a dancer (it used to hang in my

room when I was growing up).

More decorations:

Above: tree decorated with coffee filter flowers, vintage

ballet dancer print, coffee table glamour, refurbished

goodwill lamp

My chalkboard adorned with a natural

coffee filter flower & red ribbon chain

If you're interested in making these flowers,

they really are a breeze. All you have to do is crinkle

each filter til they are crumpled and soft, spread them out,

then pinch in the middle of each filter and arrange with your

fingers until you get the look you want. If you want them really

fluffy and layered you can stack several filters. Secure with

a pipe cleaner or ribbon and you're done!

Vintage details:

Above: vintage 1950's Ladies Home Journal Magazine

lingerie ad, vintage paper dolls (I played endlessly with

these when I was younger), vintage silk

robe with tulle that belonged to my great Aunt.

It's hard to see in this photo, but the scrabble letters

read: "MISSY AND MICHAEL SITTING IN A TREE....

FIRST LOVE.....THEN MARRIAGE...

And married they are indeed!!!

~~~~~~~

I hope you enjoyed the party!

Gail

Three Cheers for the Red, White & Blue!

Yesterday was a very relaxing day for our little family. We had an extremely busy week last week and barely spent time together, so we decided to set aside time....just us....to celebrate the 4th together. It was just what the doctor ordered!

Our morning started off with festive "Fourth of July Waffles". They were delicious! I may end up making that a tradition each year....we'll see. ;)

I made this wreath from natural coffee filters that I had used to make pom poms with for a bridal shower I hosted (more on that later). It was an easy & fun project that I created while watching Cole play with his toys on the floor. All I did was crinkle each filter so it looked more wrinkled and soft, pinched the center and twisted it a little, then push-pinned it to a styrofoam wreath form. The flag ribbon was some I already had on hand.

Old recital sheet music makes for a good 4th decoration!

Mini flags in white vases gathered from years past sit atop my dining room buffet.

My 3-tiered plate stand displays my small collection of vintage jello molds. They're not just for show though....I do actually use them too!

More vintage patriotic sheet music!

An arrangement I made using some leftover flowers from a wedding I designed for over the weekend. It just so happens that they were patriotic colors! Perfect. I tied some patriotic ribbon on it for a more festive look. The pom poms are made from white coffee filters (also from the bridal shower).

My handsome hubby and Cole letting their patriotism show. ;)

Aren't those sunglasses a riot?! I love 'em! Thank you Gram'ma & Gram'pa!

Me & my precious boy :)

I was so glad to finally purchase a flag this year! I had been looking for one with embroidered stars and individually-pieced stripes for a good price and finally was able to find just what I was looking for! Now we'll be able to proudly display it at the appropriate times and holidays.

It's official! We're Americans!

The rest of our day was spent going out to dinner at "Red Hot & Blue" (yummy ribs & bbq brisket!) and watching some good ol' fireworks while listening to WRR Classical 101's patriotic music. If you ask me, I'd say it was a day well spent!

I hope your day was as equally enjoyable!

Hugs,

Gail