DIY Designer Pumpkins for a Holiday Table

We have all seen this lovely velvet pumpkins! 

 I really didn't want to pay $40 for one, 

and since I wanted a bunch of them, I decided to make my own.

I have seen them at HomeGoods for less than $10, but not in the colors I wanted.

So....here is how I made my velvet pumpkins.

There are lots of tutorials on the web about making these cute pumpkins, 

my tutorial is not entirely original, it's just what I found worked best.  

I knew I wanted purple velvet....and after looking at the fabric store and coming

up empty handed, I went straight to the local Salvation Army Thrift shop.

Tons of clothing on racks in every conceivable color, I found designer velvet

clothing from the likes of Talbots and Ann Taylor! 

So I guess I will call these my Designer Pumpkins.

This setting is a dry run for a Harvest dinner party, or even Thanksgiving.

I thought that these charming pumpkins would look pretty at each place

setting.  The purple color would look great with my purple transferware.

The list of essential pumpkin making ingredients are shown above.  

Velvet Fabric ( I got mine from a large clothing thrift shop, but look online or in fabric shops).

Pumpkin Stems (Found mine at a farmstand. Ask if you can harvest stems from their rotten pile!)
Another idea is to use wine corks for stems or driftwood or sticks from the yard.

Rice, Fiberfill Stuffing, Button Thread (heavier and stronger than normal thread) and glue gun.

Cut circles for the pumpkin body. 

The finished size will be half the size of your circle.

 I used a bowl to cut my fabric out of the sweatshirt I found at the thrift shop. 

 Leave your perfection tendencies to the side, your circle just has to be cut, but not perfect!

 Then double a length of thread about 20" long and knot the end. 

Next do the running stitch around the edge of the circle.  

A running stitch is just the basic up and down kind of close together.

 Pull it tightly as you go, gathering the circle. 

 Nearing the end, leave an opening for the filling. 

Do not cut the needle and thread off yet.  You will need to stitch it shut after filling.

 For a ten inch circle, I got a 5" pumpkin.

 I poured roughly 1/2 to 3/4 cup of rice into the pumpkin.

Then I topped the rice with fiberfill and pulled the opening close and stitched it shut. 

 Grab the glue gun and zap a blob of glue onto the bottom of the stem and position

 it over the opening and press down for about two minutes, giving it time to dry and attach. 

Tiny or large, the tutorial is the same. 

 Bear in mind that the stem should

be in proportion to the body of the pumpkin.  

I am even making some tiny acorns in the same purple velvet!  

And remember my toile chair?

I made some out of the chair fabric and one out of green gingham for our living room.

It is going to be the holidays before we know it!  My mailbox is filling up with

holiday mags, and there is one special edition magazine in the supermarkets right 

now that I just picked up by Better Homes and Gardens.  I will freely admit I 

bought it because my pal Matthew Mead has a huge how to create WREATHS feature

inside.....but when I got it home and read it from cover to cover I thought to myself,

this is one of the BEST holiday mags I have read in awhile!!! So jsut passing that 

tidbit along incase you want some great holiday decorating inspiration.

There are crafts and how-tos, but also lots of GORGEOUS homes all decked out!

In the meantime I will be happily working on my table decor as well as the entire room to pull together a festive Thanksgiving table....and then it will be onto Christmas!

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French Labels: an easy DIY transfer method

Creating a custom look for your candles and glass containers is what this post is about today.

I had a lovely lantern and some flameless candles that I wanted to customize.  After discovering an easy tutorial, I just had to share with my readers how very simple this idea actually is.  I love easy methods with great results! The method is known as "transfer" because you transfer an image onto something else.

 1. Print Your Graphics

What is really cool about this method, is that you don't need anything special to do it.
Visit the Graphics Fairy (link at end) to find a label or graphic you want to use and then print it out on a laser printer (not ink jet). You need basic packing tape, in clear cellophane.  I used ordinary weight tape, not heavy duty as the tutorial I found suggested, and my results were great.

2. Put packing tape over your graphic

After you print your graphic label, put a piece of packing tape over it, placing it onto the paper as smoothly as you can.

 

3. Burnish your label/graphic

A strip of the tape was applied right over this label. (I printed out labels that would fit on the 3" wide packing tape.  But you can print out bigger sizes and just apply several strips of tape.)  Then, using a wooden spoon, rub over the graphics with good pressure, so that the tape is smooth and that the graphic will "transfer" easily.

4. Cut out your labels

5. Soak your label/graphic

In a bowl of hot water, soak the labels for 2-3 minutes.

6. Rub paper off the label

The white paper will easily rub off with your fingers.  You can put back in the water to remove more paper until you get it all off.  Any white paper left behind will transfer onto the surface.  For example, a white candle might not show it, but clear glass will, so try to remove all the white paper.

 7.  Dry the labels

Lay them sticky tape side up to air dry on a flat surface. Make sure they do not overlap or they will stick to each other and you will have to start over (Like I did. Grrrr.)

8. Apply the labels

When the label/tape is dry, the stickiness of the tape magically returns!  Apply the label decal to anything you want.  I loved the effect of putting it on the glass lantern.

 The candles with the labels look so good!
 Imagine the possibilities~you can personalize weddings or birthdays or other events in addition to just creating pretty home decor.  You can make labels and decorative graphics for so many things!
I hope you enjoyed this easy tutorial.
Visit Graphics Fairy for labels here.
View the Packing Tape Transfer tutorial  I found here. You will see other great options for transferring with this easy method.

Here is the French style lantern decorated for Christmas,

it looks so pretty, and the labels really enhanced it's beauty.

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Easy Reupholstery Part 2: The back of the French Chair

This is the second part to my Easy Upholstery post for the French Chair.

As I had never upholstered before, I went about it in a different fashion,

and as usual, I try to figure out the easiest and fastest way to get a great result.

The chair looks like it came from a furniture store, when in reality it came from

an antique shop, and it was just an ugly fabric.

To Read Part One, Click Here.

When I left off, I had not finished this back panel of the chair, nor had I applied the "gimp" trim,

which is a flat braid that is used to cover up raw edges and staples.  I have had quite a few emails

inquiring was I ever going to finish the chair and post about it?  Well I did finish it, but never got

around to posting....so here is how I did it, in the easiest way possible, of course!

Measure roughly how much area you need to cover with the gimp and then go to 

a fabric shop or craft shop and select the color and style of flat braid (gimp) you think

looks best.  I picked out an off white color, but I likely would have gone for a bit darker,

but this was all they had.  This is simply applied by using a hot glue gun.  Fold over one edge

of the gimp and glue it to itself to create a finished edge on the gimp. Then simply glue

along the edge of the staples and press the gimp into position. Finish the same way,

by turning under the last part of the gimp and glueing down to hide the raw edge.   

For reference, this is the fabric as it is stapled onto the edge of the frame, 

and then trimmed back very closely.  These areas need to be covered with gimp.

I also applied the gimp around the small upholstered arm rests, 

and anywhere you could see where you had stapled the fabric to the chair frame.

For the back, there was NO place to apply staples, 

as the back panel is usually done first by the upholsterer.  But we are covering

existing upholstery...so its going to be a different approach.

( The back panel area is just a covering of fabric stretched across for a decorative purpose.

  No one sits on it, so there is no support under the backs.)

I came up with a clever way to go about it, and easy too.

A green burlap fabric was chosen for the back (you can use the same fabric as the rest of the chair, but I wanted to have something more interesting). I used some pins to place the burlap over the back and hold it in position.  Then I cut the burlap to be about 1" - 2" bigger than the back area I needed to cover.  I don't have photos to show this, because I can't find them...but its super easy.  Cut out your back fabric to be a little bit bigger than the area you will cover.  

Now you have your fabric ready to be attached....but how?

Using spray adhesive (any brand from a craft store will do), 

I sprayed the back of the chair right over the existing old fabric. 

 Then I smoothed on the burlap over the old fabric using my hands,

leaving an inch or two excess around the edges. 

Next, you have to push the excess fabric under the wood frame. 

 You may have to trim the excess fabric to less than an inch, depending 

upon how much you can push it under the frame.  

To push it under the frame I used a metal spatula.

Simply shove the fabric under the frame using the spatula to guide it under the wood frame.

Remember, you will trim around the edges with decorative trim or more gimp.

It was quick and easy and painless!  

I used a fancy trim for the back to add extra interest,

but you could certainly just use more gimp. 

 In fact you wouldn't need to add anything, because

the raw edges are hidden under the frame, but it looked unfinished to me.

Use your hot glue gun to apply the trim around the back.

 Start in a random side spot so when your starting and 

ending edges meet, its not in a super obvious place.

These chairs look good from the back as well as the front,

so that is why its fun to use a complementary fabric for the backing.

And that is how I upholstered this 1970s French Chair into something I love.

Read Part One Here

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Kitchen and Bath Updates and a Black and White Fixation

This summer we did some upgrading of our countertops in 

both the kitchen and the master bath.

I realize I never blogged about them.   Why?

 I guess I never thought the kitchen or the bathroom

looked neat enough to take a bunch of photos.  

But since Fifi was coming out for the photo shoot 

I did take a photo of the kitchen right before she arrived.  

The lights were on, as it was a dark and dreary day and so the pic looks yellowish. 

Ugh.

When a few images sneaked onto the blog a few weeks ago,

a sharp eyed reader and pal demanded to know all about them!! So Nita, here you go!

With the new counters we got a new sink!  

Out went the old washboard porcelain vintage sink.  Which I did love.  

Green canisters from an Etsy source and an old tole chandelier 

and then some green toile curtains I made are the other new additions to the kitchen.

One version of my old kitchen (for about a year), 

was this one with the bright green paint on the  beadboard back splash.  

I did get tired of it, and then repainted it white...but it does look pretty here.

Anyway, I love my new counters with the undermount sink

 as it gives me more countertop space to the left and the right of the sink, 

which I really needed.

 Overall the "new" kitchen is still very cottage and cute.

Another new (minor) change was I decided to paint the 

laundry room/ bathroom cabinetry black.  

After I painted my new French Doors black, I thought they looked incredible...

and so I got the idea to do these cabinets. 

I love the look, and even though we didn't change anything else, 

the room feels very different. In a good way! 

 Black is becoming a slight obsession with me, 

and I realized this after doing several projects using black, or black and white. 

 Always a classic, black just has a classy look about it.

This was where the black fixation thing started...

with the exterior paint on the french doors.

WOW! They looked so fantastic!

So then I painted the little french door for the shed black...

And that looked really cool...so then I made a new umbrella cover 

in black and white copying the pattern from the old covering. 

 Its all so chic, in black and white.  

And then the black and white buffalo check curtains (Country Curtains)
in the TV room with the black and white rug (from Overstock)
But I digress...

The other countertop upgrade was in our master bathroom.  

This was a major improvement!

Going from formica to stone is just a huge change!!

We both love the difference it made in how light and airy and rich the bathroom feels.

The countertop is quartz and its in white with grey and bits of aqua and celery green. 

 Really very pretty stone, and so the cabinetry was painted in a pale aqua blue 

to enhance the coloring in the stone.

So that led to me adding a few french crystals in aqua to the gold chandeliers,

 as well as painting the closets in the same shade as the vanity.  

The walls are Simply White and its all very bright and happy in this space.  

This was the former space. Theatrical French Lady Style.

All done in pink and cocoa with gilded accents.  

Pretty, but I think we were all ready for a change.  

(Note the old formica countertops that were a dark grey color.)

When Fifi styled it for the magazine, she put back the pink hooked rugs. 

 It looked really pretty that way too, because my towels have pink in them.

Fifi wanted to know why I didn't paint the door aqua too?

Hmmm, I just thought this time, it should be white. 

But maybe she is right.

I think she probably is right. 

(Speaking of the Fifi Photo Shoot, she sent me a few images I can share...
so here is this one from the bathroom of course!)

Anyway, those are the new changes that missed being called out in the blog, 

so here they are!  Its been a fun and busy summer and maybe the courtyard

and our new fence overshadowed some of these other home improvements. 

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