Painted Dollar Store Pumpkins

I found myself in quite a pickle this Fall decorating season: while I was totally cool with our old decorations in our new house (making them feel pretty new), I had the itch for something actually new. However, I wanted to challenge myself to do it on a budget. 

Ideally, I would have liked to get these pumpkins from Pier 1. Not only are they amazingly metallic, they are capiz too. Say what?! But at almost $9 each and my unwillingness to buy just one, I had to get creative.

I went to the dollar store for some fake pumpkin and gourd goodness. Actually, there was not much "good" to these pumpkins, until I dolled them up and paired them off with a slew a fabulously scented candles. I used craft paint I had on hand, so this project wound up costing me $5!

And now for your supplies:
-A craft pumpkin of your choice. Extra points for cheap dollar store ones, because then your work is cut out for you.
-Craft paints of your choice. I am in no way in cahoots with Martha Stewart, but I am loving her line of craft paints. Especially the metallics. They make me feel warm and fuzzy. You'll also need a flat black craft paint, too. (My metallic choices were gold, rust, and copper)
-Foam brush, or other paint application apparatus.
-Paper towels (some dry, some damp)

Next, you'll want to brush on your base color. In this case, I chose gold. It took a couple coats, and my impatience didn't really allow for proper drying times and resulted in a streaky finish. But that's cool, because we're about to get crazy up in here.

Next, take your black paint and add it to the crevices of your pumpkin. Don't worry, you aren't leaving it like that. Take a damp paper towel and blot and blend it into the crevice. This will give your pumpkin some depth.

Kind of like "Hi, I'm a metallic pumpkin and I'm all dirty because metallic pumpkins totally grow in pumpkin patches. Also, aren't I extra deep and moody today?"

Check out below to see the difference of the black paint just painted on there (eek!), and then blended in nicely.

Then I wanted to take my complementary metallic paints and blot them on with a dry paper towel. Take a damp paper towel to blend the paints into your pumpkin.

It won't look so pretty, but keep blotting. Trust me on this one.

Once I finished, I took my pumpkin and added it to my tray (check out the tray I made from a thrift store frame here) with some more pumpkins to which I added just a plain old coat of metallic paint.

These pretty pumpkins are now hanging out on my living room coffee table and are adding the perfect touch of new-ness to my Fall decor. Not to mention they are set up with some of the most delicious smelling candles I have, so it's totally a Fall fiesta in here.

I'm also pretty sure if you painted a bunch of these and grouped them together in a wooden tray or a low wooden box, it would make the a fantastic table centerpiece for the entire Fall season. You're welcome.

Do you get bored with your seasonal decor? Do you use the same decor from year to year, buy all new each year, or add a few new pieces each year? Share in the comments!

Wanna see where I party? Click here for an awesome list of link parties I participate in..

Also linking up to:
Get Your DIY On at The Happy Housie
Savvy Southern Style
Imparting Grace
Jennifer Rizzo

Five Friday Faves

High fives and group hugs for Fridays!

Again, I feel super slackerish for being totally MIA all week, but I promise I have a lot of fall craftiness lined up for the weekend to share with you next week. Yessir!

Hope everyone has had a fabulous week and has an even better weekend. Feel free to share what you're up to in the comments.

And, as usual, here are my five favorite pins for your Friday enjoyment. Please remember to pin from the original sources, which I've included under each image. Also, feel free to follow me on Pinterest here and keep up all week.

 source: Love Mae

 My Fabuless Life

 source: The Shabby Creek Cottage

 source: One Tough Mother

source: The Chronicles of Home

Happy weekend!

Some things.

Did you miss me yesterday, friends? I missed you!

I have gotten so used to my Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule that I had some serious guilt over not posting on Monday morning. But I was so tired that writing on post on Sunday night sounded like the very last thing I wanted to do, so I went to bed at 8:30 PM instead. Boom.

I'll also be completely honest with you and admit that I have nothing super special to share right now, but I just couldn't neglect my blog for an entire week. So, I'm posting tonight and then I'll have my regularly scheduled Five Friday Faves, and then I'll be back at it next week in full force!

I guess what I'm trying to say is: I'm sorry I suck this week. Do you forgive me?

And now, some photos:

My sweet baby girl! My brother and sister in law threw a big ol' BBQ over the weekend, complete with some games for all ages. There was "wrap your team member up like a mummy with toilet paper" (harder than it sounds), and a scavenger hunt. I have no photos of either of these activities because I was an active participant, but haven't spread my blogger wings far enough to ask family to take photos for me (you know, for posterity...).

This particular game involved eating a donut off the string without using your hands. It was a sight to see, adults and children alike attacking their donuts with some serious gusto. I was impressed, fam. Totally impressed.

PS: You can totally tell my two year old got it. Just kidding.

Here she is, after everyone has consumed their donuts, delicately eating the powdered sugar off of hers. Such a lady.

Can't have a party without a pinata, amirite?!

Thanks, Greg & Kia, for a fantastic party! Can't wait till next year!

Tonight for dinner I made pork with fried apples and macaroni and cheese. Hubster had two helpings and said it was a "top 3" meal. Which made me insanely happy because I married the world's pickiest eater.

Also making me happy tonight:

It has been 80+ degrees for the last week, which is not getting me into the "Now it's Fall and the holidays are coming, yay" spirit. Today was the first seasonally cool day, and I got to marvel over this sunset once I got home from work. Pretty sure my neighbors think I'm nuts because I kept running outside to snap a photo as the sun continued to set.

You're alright, Fall. You're alright.

Five Friday Faves

Another Friday, another set of faves!

This week allowed a nice couple days off...but only because we had to replace our air conditioning system (ouch!). Thanks to buying a builder's grade home, we also got builder's grade major appliances and (surprise, surprise) they are junky. Surprise, surprise, indeed.

So, we bit the bullet, ripped off the bandaid, whatever other metaphor you can think of, and we replaced the whole thing. We figured this will pay off in the long run and now this is something we won't have to worry about for years. I am so grateful that the AC kicked the bucket after the heat of the summer was beyond us.

Now our goal is to pick a big appliance every year and replace it until everything is replaced with higher quality items. Next on our list is a high-efficiency furnace.

Anyway, once we got over the initial shock of spending an arm and a leg on the air conditioning, the rest of the week seemed easy peasy, and now it's Friday!

Here are five of my favorite pins from Pinterest this week. To see more, you can follow me here.

As always, please remember to pin from the original sources, which are provided under the pin images.

 source: Makely School for Girls

 source: A Subtle Revelry

 source: Amy's Cooking Adventures

 source: The Shabby Nest

source: Live Simply

As for our plans for the weekend, we have a big outdoor party at my brother- and sister-in-law's house on Saturday, and then we're hitting up Oktoberfest in Smithville on Sunday. I don't know about you, but I love Fall festivals!

What are your plans for the weekend? 

A Look Back at September

Happy October, everyone!

This is the part where I insert an exclamation about how last month FLEW by and OMG it's October already.

But seriously, guys, September flew by...and it's October already. This means we are creeping ever closer to Halloween, consuming turkey like there's no tomorrow, and December, which is like a month of awesome every day.

I won't lie...I definitely let this month sneak by me. You might remember in my Fall Bucket List that I resolved to make this a season of gratitude and would take a few moments each day to consciously be present. But wow, the month is over already and I feel like it never happened. This is the part where I resolve to try harder next month, especially since there is one more day in October than in September ;)

And now I'd like to share with you the top three posts from last month. You know, to kind of remind myself about what I did since it went so quickly.

#3 is my post on the Colorful No-Sew Fall Bunting I currently have hanging around my house by the yard. I love this stuff, and it is so versatile for the holidays, nurseries, big girl/boy rooms, your room,  parties, or just because. LOVE.

#2 is the Ruffled Burlap Wreath Tutorial I shared with you. This wreath is currently gracing my front door right now in all her sparkly, ruffly, burlappy glory, and I'm glad everyone enjoyed the tutorial as much as I enjoyed creating this wreath. To see the other wreath I made and shared this month, check this out.

And #1 is a post I could have sworn was from last month, but had to go back through my archives and realized that yes, this post is indeed from September. It's my Powder Room Makeover & Reveal, in which I proudly showed off the first and only room in our new home that is finished. I am thrilled with it and I still get the smiles when I walk by and see my handmade faked reclaimed wooden sign peeking out at me from the hallway.

And there's the best of September, all! Bring on October!