After long consideration and a couple overly busy weeks in a row the decision was made that if I cancelled some of my weekend plans I would accomplish a large pile of mounding tasks and make my home’s transition into my favorite season...fall. As for the mounding tasks, well, not so much more than an insignificant dent, but I did manage to create a warm and festive living space.
Most unfortunately, my pumpkin vines have held back producing anything resembling a pumpkin until the last couple days. The very first day there is the slightest nip in the air...and in Oklahoma that could be first day that tops out in the low 90’s...I am ready to scatter a wide variety of colors and shapes of pumpkins across the front flower beds, around the front porch and any indoor space I can find. As I am not one to criticize on the matter of “fashionably late” these little seeds sprouted into vines and grew through the spring and summer leading me to assume they would produce such an abundance of pumpkins that I would be a proud first-time pumpkin farmer by the time I could buy them in the markets. Maybe my daily battle with the squash bugs that were seemingly unaffected by anything in my arsenal or the record breaking heat and severe drought this summer are to blame for their untimeliness. Or maybe it just does not matter when the pumpkins are planted or begin to flower, but rather when they decide to grow on their own schedule. Like I said, this is my first experience growing pumpkins myself, so I have much to learn. Although, I sound disheartened not to have full-grown pumpkins yet, but I must say I was absolutely delighted to see this little guy today!
I wanted to revisit some older posts to help you transition into autumn with a few little twists on some projects you have, hopefully, already created.
- I’ll Drink to That Centerpiece 4/22/11
- Feather vases 5/9/11
- Decorative Balls 6/15/11
- Make a Topiary 6/17/11
- Wineglass Lanterns 9/5/11
If you remember the “I’ll Drink to That Centerpiece” it was more of a teaching exercise, but it is also a great staple to rotate pieces in and out with the seasons. I found these pumpkins with fun faces at Kirkland’s probably 3-4 years ago. They were very affordable...somewhere between $5-$10 for all 3. I like that they are a deeper shade of orange, it gives a richer, more full color.
The other great part about these “pumpkin-heads” and nestling them amongst the corks is that post Halloween you can turn them around and leave them on display until Thanksgiving.
Now let’s look back at the feather vases post. First you will want to find some miniature pumpkins and 8”-10” vine clippings. I placed the vines in filled water-picks to cut down on excess water and mess in the vases. If you do not have water-picks by all means just put water in the vases.
As long as you used a fairly natural colored feather on your vase you should be able to find a pumpkin that looks nice with it. I used an orange pumpkin with black feathers, but a white or variegated miniature pumpkin, aka gourd, would look nice with brown feathers too.
They can be displayed as a single pieces or along a narrow table, such as a buffet, in sets of three.
If you are looking for a quick cheap way to add an autumn flare to a room check out the decorative balls post. Choose a great fall-time ribbon with rich bronze and deep rusty red-orange tones. Pair it with a gold or bronze colored tack and it will last you for the next couple months. Or keep the silver tacks and choose a Halloween ribbon, something maybe in black with printed webs, for a crisp October theme.
Keep the topiary you made back in the summer, but change the ribbon to a more seasonal one. Mix it in among your fall-time garland and it will look perfectly at home.
When I very first made the wine glass lanterns I could not help but think how I wished I had waited a few weeks to post it. Even then it looked so much like an autumn piece. I could just envision a mini pumpkin on top in place of the floral frog arrangement or tiny rust-colored mums clustered atop the stem base. You could even tie pretty raffia bows or knots around the stems of the glasses.
I hope this has jogged your memory on some pieces you may have made and helped you successfully transition into this lovely season.
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