'Shine Bright, Like a Pumpkin'

 Glitter Pumpkin Tutorial and easy DIY project

Sometimes my little man surprises me.   
Actually, he surprises me all the time, but in this case, I’m referring to his suggestion for a ‘crafty’ thing.
The other day I threw out a suggestion to him that we should decorate a pumpkin. 
His response?  ‘Yes Mommy! Lets decorate a pumpkin with glitter!’  
The Lego-lovin, Superhero-wanna-be, makes-everything-into-a-gun, kid came up with this idea.    
I wasn’t sure how to respond. But I liked the idea!

We ventured to the dollar store and found some little pumpkins I thought we could ‘glitter-up.’ 

Then we made a stop at the craft store for some glitter.   And, after having a long debate about which color glitter to buy  {he was adamant about green or blue, and I was thinking something more neutral}, we compromised with a multi color glitter. 

It turned out to be quite a fun {and messy!} little project.   
I put the glue on, and he would throw {literally!} the glitter on. 

At one point I commented on how shiny the glittery pumpkin looked and, without hesitation, he started singing ‘Shine bright like a pumpkin’ {to the tune of ‘Shine Bright Like a Diamond’ by Rihanna}. 
 
The kid cracks me up.   Never a dull moment, I tell ya!

Now that little tune has become something we say and laugh about together.  And, when I see the sparkly pumpkin all I can think is ‘Shine bright like a pumpkin.’

If nothing else, the glittery pumpkin makes me smile. Especially when I think about our new ‘shine bright like a pumpkin’ tune!

It’s the little things in life, right?

Now, Let the sparkly fun begin! 

Supplies needed:
* Pumpkin {I bought mine at the dollar store}
* Glue
* Glitter
* Bowl for glitter
* Wax paper or something to put on the table while decorating

First, make sure to lay down some wax paper or newspaper to cover the surface where you will be working.  Glitter gets everywhere! Everywhere!

Pour glitter into a small bowl.

‘Paint’ glue onto the pumpkin.   I used a small paintbrush, but you could use a foam craft brush too.  

Scoop glitter up with a spoon and pour onto pumpkin where painted with glue.  Little man used his fingers to scoop the glue, which worked, but it resulted in more glitter on his fingers than the pumpkin!

Let dry.  Repeat on other sections of the pumpkin until completely covered with glitter {or you achieve desired look}.

And done! 
Now you have a new pumpkin to add a little sparkle to your fall décor.

Shine bright!  In this case, like a pumpkin!

Chalkboard Pumpkin

I kind of love chalkboard paint.  In fact, if I wasn’t living in a rental house, I have all sorts of idea of what I could do with it! 

I can’t paint any walls or cabinets, but I wanted to paint something with chalkboard paint.

When little man and I went to the dollar store to buy pumpkins for another project, we bought a four pumpkins.   Since we only used one, I thought
I’d try to paint a pumpkin with chalkboard paint.   Why not!? 

I do like how it turned out.  And, little man loves coloring all over the ‘chalkboard’ pumpkin!  

Super easy.  Inexpensive.

And, a different and fun new surface for little man to decorate!

Make one today!! 

Blue- eyed boy and his pumpkin chalkboard creation!

‘BOO’ Bunting Banner Tutorial - Quick and Easy

Burlap ‘BOO’ Bunting Banner  

{Tutorial}

I wanted to create a bunting banner to hang over a mirror in my entryway.  I also didn't want to spend too much time creating it.  

So, using supplies I already had on hand, and 30 minutes, I came up with this bunting banner! 

From start to finish it took less than 30 minutes.  You could probably even finish it in 15 minutes! 

Fast. Easy. Fun.  
And, a good way to use up scraps you have on hand!

What more could you want?!

Let’s begin!

Supplies Needed:

·      Sewing machine

·      Burlap {or any plain fabric}

·      Stencil for lettering

·      Acrylic paint {or anything you have on hand}

·      Ribbon or Rick Rack or Pom Pom String

·      Foam brush

·      Bowl to put paint in

·      Thread

1) Cut burlap into triangles {I cut six (6) triangles}

I created a pattern from a piece of paper by folding the paper in half, marking on the fold the desired height {mine was roughly 5 inches} and cutting from the bottom to the point I’d marked. Unfold the paper and you have your pattern!

2) Squeeze the paint {or pour, depending on your paint} into the bowl.

3) Take your stencil and place on top of one triangle burlap piece. 

** Make sure to put something under the burlap before painting.  Otherwise the paint will seep through onto the surface underneath.  I learned the hard way.   I painted my table top in the process {thank goodness the acrylic paint I used washes right off!}

4) Dip your paintbrush into the paint and paint the letter onto the burlap.

5) Let the paint dry then you are ready to sew the bunting banner together.

6) Using your ribbon/ rick rack/ whatever you choose to use, {I was going to use a fat rick rack ribbon, I chose a piece of left over pom-pom string I had} pin the painted burlap triangles onto the ribbon.

7) Sew the triangle on.  I double stitched to make sure the burlap would stay on.

8) And, Done!!  How easy was that?!  

Now you can hang your burlap bunting banner wherever you choose!

What do you think?

I think I might make a few more!