Gratitude Pumpkins

My friend Amanda had a fun idea to get a group of our friends together and make Gratitude Pumpkins.  One of her friends blog, Ordinary Threads, was the inspiration.

For this project you'll need:

pumpkin(s)
white spray paint
markers - these Sharpie brush markers that I bought from Amazon recently were perfect for this


stickers (optional) we used stickers from Hobby Lobby


Step 1:  Spray paint your pumpkin, with a light coat of white spray paint.  We weren't sure how long it would take to dry, but it was very quick - I'd estimate 5 minutes.

Step 2:  At the top write "I'm thankful for..." or alternatively you can use stickers, like we did.

Step 3:  Write things you're thankful for, spiraling around the pumpkin!  It's a great exercise to really think about what you're truly thankful for.

Reflecting on it, I find it interesting that my list was filled with intangibles.  Even though day to day life - especially in American culture - is filled with tangibles - (clothes, shoes, makeup, hair products, home decor, etc.) those aren't the things that come to mind first.  I thought of laughter, freedom, hope, peace, heaven, happy memories, traditions, joy, encouragement and love.  It really is a fun way to re-focus on what's really important.

Alternative Options:

-make a Gratitude Pumpkin as a family and take turns writing what you're thankful for

-let each person in your family make their own pumpkin - even little ones could draw pictures of things they're thankful for

-get the pumpkin started and then leave it on your porch or living area and let any visitors, guests or family members add things throughout the month of November

-Use a Gratitude Pumpkin as your Thanksgiving centerpiece - complete steps 1 and 2 above and then have markers on the table for people to write on

We really had fun with this and it was fun to see how each pumpkin turned out very differently!

If you make a Gratitude Pumpkin - I'd LOVE to see it - post a picture here on my blog or tag me on Instagram @LyndisProjects and use the hashtag #gratitudepumpkins

Spooky Old Tree Art

I saw this pin on Pinterest and decided to make a spooky tree.

It was actually really fun to make!

I started by painting a sunset scene on a page with watercolors.

Then I used this ink and a q-tip to paint a spooky tree trunk.

Then I splattered drops onto the page.

Then I used a straw to blow the dots into spooky looking branches!

I love how it turned out and now I have the perfect spooooooky old tree (one of my niece's favorite books) to hang up for Halloween!

Have a Happy Halloween!!

Fabric Letters

I've wanted to make fabric letters for a long time. Then I found this version on Pinterest and I fell in love with it - I wanted my letters to look EXACTLY like these - I wanted the same frayed edges and adorable fabric (which I discovered is Toy Chest by Penny Rose Fabrics - to me it has the look of vintage children's books and that is so perfect for these letters).




 BUT the fabric is no longer available to buy. Luckily, I found exactly what I needed for sale on Etsy (shoutout MixFabrics) for a reasonable price and it came in adorable packaging!  win/win/win

Step one was to create the alphabet patterns and cut them out.  If you want to use the font I used here is the free template.

My fabric came already cut in 5 inch squares.  So the next step was to cut fabric backing and batting into just a little bigger than five inch squares.  Use your rotary mat and cutter and this goes pretty fast.

Then I laid out my fabric squares to make sure I liked the color order.

Then you make a fabric sandwich and put your letter template on top and trace around it with a fabric marker.

 Then you sew about a 1/4 inch inside your drawn lines, because the lines will be your cut line.

I had a lot of fun playing with the letters - hopefully my littles will too!

Then I took a leap of faith and washed and dried the letters in the washing machine/dryer.

They came out like this - which was scary!

But after a lot of thread clipping and ironing - I think they turned out very:

Rope Bowl - "Make it Work Moment"

I saw this DIY rope bowl on Pinterest and I really wanted to make one - I thought it would be perfect to use when trick-or-treaters came by my office. I planned to use orange, yellow and white thread to make it look candy corn inspired.

At first it went fine, but then after you make a flat coil, you're supposed to hold the coil up and then sew more layers around - making the edges of the bowl.

I made two different attempts and ended up very frustrated and it just did not work. This doily-looking thing is what I ended up with.

 

So I tried a different approach.  I had a "make it work moment" (for anyone who doesn't watch Project Runway, that's become Tim Gunn's catchphrase).  I had read that you could do a no-sew version, by hot gluing the rope, so I tried that.  I used a glass bowl as a form and covered it with saran wrap to protect the bowl.  I think parchment paper would have been a better idea, because the glue got on the saran wrap and it became an integral part of the interior of the bowl.

 

 

I left a space on both sides and did two more rounds of rope and that created handles.

 

 

 

 

So - I got my bowl even if it wasn't exactly what I had envisioned.  On to the next project!

 

 

Ideas

I have some ideas in "pre-production" and I have some ideas at the back of my mind and I'm still in the brainstorming phase with some ideas.  But I don't have any finished, well-photographed projects to share today!  So I thought I would share my ideas.

1. Fabric letters - I have fabric ordered - this one is definitely happening!




2. Felt trees - I have the materials but I don't have the drill I need - this one is on hold for now.

3. This is a pin I keep thinking about - I'll try it sometime in the future.


4. Mmm- fried mac and cheese is my favorite food! I keep thinking I'll make this sometime, but it hasn't happened yet.


5. I'm also trying to figure out a creative way to display some of the Christmas printables that I designed (and are for sale on my Etsy shop). This one I'm still brainstorming.






Come back next week to see what I have accomplished!

DIY Felt Paper Clip Bookmarks

 

I've been using my prayer journal that I created here recently but it's been driving me crazy to have to flip through the pages to find the next day, so I knew I wanted to create a bookmark - and not the traditional kind, since it's a small 3 ring notebook, because it wouldn't stay put. So I settled on a paperclip bookmark. Since my journal has gold dots on it's cover - I wanted a jumbo gold paperclip and I also needed felt (luckily I had a bunch left from when I did Hadley's Quiet Book. 

I made several and decided the method I like best is to cut a front and back for the main piece and sew the design to the front piece (sequins or other felt pieces) and then sew the plain back piece to the paperclip.

 

 I made this one because my most recent nickname from my family is Kitten Paws and any time we're talking on Facebook, when my nickname comes up, I use this Pusheen paw as my signature!

 

Cute coffee cup, evocative of Starbucks!