Small Autumn Arrangement Tutorial

These are very simple little autumn decorations to make.  They are also very cost effective.  I made 20 of them two years ago for less than $30.

Here's what you'll need (this should make 3 pots):

Floral Oasis (for dry arranging - don't use the oasis for live arrangements there is a big difference) - cylinder shaped for this project (I matched the size to the pot).  You will only need one as it will be cut into three pieces.
3 Miniature terra cotta flower pots
Spanish moss (1 small bag)
Assorted/Bunch Faux Fall Leaves
Pumpkins (the ones I used were in a packaged set for ornament/hanging use)
Tools:
Hot Glue Gun
Floral "U" shaped Pins (nice to have but not essential)
Knife
Wire Cutters

You can see some of the tools I use in the photo below.  For this project I didn't need the floral wire or floral tape but they aren't bad to have on hand for arrangement projects.  This project uses cylindrical foam (or oasis) rather than block foam (see next photo).

Set it in so you get a good measure and mark with knife where the top of container is (do not cut through on this mark).  The foam will not go completely to the bottom and that's OK for this small of a project.

Cut at least 1/4 - 1/2" above the top of the container mark -- this should yield 3 similar size pieces (which gives the ability to make 3 of these quickly).

Put a ring of hot glue around the foam and glue into the container (you don't have to do this step but it helps with stability).  Take a "clump" of moss - enough to cover top and sides of foam - put some drops of glue on foam and glue down.

Press the moss gently and fill in any gaps where the foam may show through.

To further secure (if you wish) gently mold the moss and push floral "U" pins into the oasis.

Now lay out the items you have that you would like to decorate with.  I like to do this to see what I have to work with.

If you have some pieces that aren't pre-picked (have a stem for pushing into the floral oasis) it is easy to make them into picks.  Use an awl or other sharp object and make a small hole.

Then push a spare piece of stem from an arrangement you've cut from - or, use a dowel, small stick, lollipop stick, bamboo skewer (you get the idea) into the hole (use a little glue if it doesn't seem secure).

Start placing your floral decorations.  With an artificial arrangement it's very easy to move items if you don't like the way it looks.

I usually start with the base items - like the leaves in this case.  Then add in the flowers.

And finally the pumpkin "centerpiece" of the arrangement.  You could also add a bow or some ribbon.

Here are my 3 finished mini-arrangements.  My favorite is actually the one on  the right - just leaves and pumpkin (very simple).

Here's a close-up:

This is the close-up of the one with flowers and berries:

Here they are on display - I was happily surprised when the pots fit perfectly in my tea cups!

Happy Fall Decorating!

Boys Love Machines!

Today the boys and I started cleaning out the garage.  Why?  Because I'll have a delivery of evergreen boughs this weekend.  Yep - dad heads to Minnesota tomorrow to pick up greens and they'll be here for me and my brother (and our families) this weekend!  Can't believe we'll start making wreaths (and centerpieces, and other pretty Christmas things) next week!!!  Meanwhile, can't wait for that wonderful smell to infuse my garage - mmm, nothing smells as good as evergreen branches (this time of year anyway).  

Sorry - for those that may not know my family owns a Christmas Tree Farm in northern Iowa - Clark's Christmas Conifers.  A little FFA SAE project started by my brother.

Back to my topic at hand - while I was working in the garage the boys found the JD Gator.  We didn't have it out much this year since the battery wasn't working (according to my husband).  But, the guys just wanted to pretend.  Clark asked if we could pretend in the yard.

I said sure - no problem, hooked the battery in and closed the front up and pushed it out for them.  Just out of curiosity I tried the gas pedal - and it TOOK OFF - whoops!  Luckily Grant was hanging on - it just made a short little jump.  Huh - I thought the battery was bad? This took play time to a whole new level.

Here they are transporting hay (I love that an old cardboard box can be a bale of hay).

Clark needed to refuel before more hauling.  Clark has a thing for fueling vehicles - real or pretend!

After dumping the bale and refueling Clark started loading up the back end again.  This time with lots of stuff around the yard that needed picked up - awesome!

You can just hear Grant thinking - when will my brother be DONE so we can GO!

Finally, off they go with a full load.

So much fun on a beautiful November day!  I also did a little multi-tasking and got a bunch of spray painting done for various projects!  More on these later.

Clark did get to practice Large/Tall, Medium & Small/Short with this project set.

Works in Progress

This week I have been waking up very early in the morning to get a couple hours sewing/craft work in before the boys wake up at 7:30 am.  I wanted to be farther along but sometimes thats just the way it goes.  So, I apologize for no posts early on in the week but I wanted to actually show some progress.

Let's start with my items for That Girl . . . That Quilt Along:

I know - the photo is pretty bad since I took it tonight (bad lighting).  I just have the rest of the neutral strips to cut.  I was working on that after supper tonight but both of my cutters have bad blades.  You would think after just reorganizing my sewing room I would be able to find my box of new blades (in the scissor/blade drawer would make complete sense) but alas - no.  I'll have to keep searching - it's not like they grew legs and walked away.

Next (and what I have been focused on the past few mornings):

My Thanksgiving Countdown Calendar.  This is a fabulous pattern from Everyday Celebrations - so easy to follow and so lovely!  There is a lot of cutting out of numbers though - especially when you do it twice - blah!  The first time I used a cotton that showed everything through the bottom when it was ironed on.  So, today Grant and I went and found some heavier material - let's hope the new fabric works better!

Best part of this project was everything came from my stash and scraps!  Gotta love that!  The pictures do make my squash colored felt look a bit off - trust me the color really does work in real life!  When it's finished I'll do a nice daytime shot.

I also need to finish all the cards.  Clark helped me cut them out while we were waiting for water to boil for supper.  Need to laminate them and then recut :)- cutting seems to be a theme!

And last, but certainly not least, I am trying to put together something for the Project Compassion craft I'm leading.  Project Compassion is a program at our church where we make a nice crafty item with the youth of the congregation (I think the 6th grade Confirmation Class this time around); pastor puts together a devotion; and a group of volunteers take these items along on a visit to the shut-ins of our congregation.  It really seems to mean a lot to our shut-ins - especially since the youth took the time to think of them and to have a nice visit.  Since I am horrible at visits (my introvertedness gets in the way even though I know it's a great thing) - but this allows me an outlet to help by providing service in a different capacity.

Anyway - I am thinking of little Thanksgiving fabric ornaments that the youth can personalize/decorate.  It was kind of fun playing with fabric markers and stamps today.  It was fabulous to find out that we can stamp onto the fabric!  After playing around with it I think I have come up with a cute little idea.  Sometimes it's just fun to play with fabric and paint.  Plus, good excuse to add these wonderful little stamps to my craft room!

Crafty Ideas?

The positive spin on the basement flooding is that it has forced my hand to clean, purge and redesign, refinish and refurnish our basement.  This is a good thing - really.

As I was sorting I came across these old cards.

When my husband was teaching we cleaned these out of his old classroom.  They have some interesting photos and are very simple since they were ID cards.

I refuse to toss them as I know I can find a creative way to repurpose them - I'm just not sure how.  I don't want them to just sit on shelf anymore either.  There are literally hundreds of these cards: tools, agronomy, breed ID and meat cuts (not sure about the "color" meat cuts).

I have a few ideas (not sure how great they are) but would love to hear ideas from others if you have any.  And if anyone wants a handful to play with themselves send me an e-mail (you can find the link in my profile from the left side of the page).

Pumpkin Painting

I promised the boys we could do some pumpkin painting.  They were both very excited!  We started by going through our large pumpkin pile and picking out the pumpkins each one wanted.  We loaded those into buckets and carried them downstairs to our new playroom (not completed yet - but at least usable).

I believe the next items on my sewing list need to include art smocks.  I have some ideas in mind.  Have been looking at some of the new laminated cottons and may have to try that - I really want an excuse to incorporate some chalkboard fabric too!

Anyway - back to pumpkins:

 I covered our new IKEA round children's table with large sheets of paper (the paper I save for such things from my King Arthur Flour shipments).

 I have vast quantities of egg cartons around (since we have chickens I have an egg carton collection).  They work amazingly well as paint holders!  Since Clark is just learning how to rinse between colors and Grant doesn't care (about rinsing brushes) this is a great way to have just a little paint out at a time and when they're done you can let the paint dry and pop it right out for the next use or add a little water and sometimes its usable again.

I decided Grant would be easier to clean with no shirt.

After paint the boys wanted to try a new medium so we switched to markers.

This may or may not have been the best idea!

Ah - but what an afternoon of colorful, inexpensive fun!

Finished Pumpkin

I finally finished a pumpkin cross stitch.  On the weekend I decided I should do something with the finished piece.  I remembered I had a box of miscellaneous frames in the barn - one of those auction things that sometimes ends up coming in handy (box of old frames for $2.00).  

I forgot to take a picture of the beginning frame.  But you can kind of see the old gold color on the frame insert below.

I love the new options in spray paint that are available now.  I used Rustoleum's finished bronze for the frame.  I actually bought the paint for another project (some cabinet door handles) but it worked great for this too!

After spray painting the frame I took some old orange paint I had sitting around and painted the white piece.

 Ta Da!  Very cute - Clark's words!  I should probably stretch the fabric but for the Halloween season it works for me.

Now for a random shot of Grant in his overall's.  He was a enjoying the lovely day outside too!

Close up of the finished piece.  I found it in my (very) old stash of cross stitch magazines.  Which I keep adding to if I find some at a sale.  This came from the Sept/Oct 1990 issue of Cross Stitch and Country Crafts.  Stitched on 14 Count Charles Craft Natural with suggested DMC colors.  Now to upload my pumpkin to the 2010 Great Pumpkin Challenge photo site.