Pretty Pumpkins // Decorating Pumpkins without Carving

The end of the year is almost upon us! Who else is surprised that tomorrow is October? Here in Houston, we are anxiously awaiting that first cool front, and our temperatures are expected to drop 10 degrees this weekend! 



As a kid, I remember going to the pumpkin patch this time of year with my family and picking out the perfect pumpkin and coming home and carving it with my Dad.  He would carefully cut the top off in a perfect circle and my brothers and I would dig out the guts and seeds.  Gooey goodness.  My Dad is an artist and so good at carving very creative faces into pumpkins.  I'm not so good.  I still think carving is a fun thing for the kiddos, but these days, I'm really intrigued by the painted and embellished pumpkins.  



I love the different colors, patterns, and designs I'm seeing along with the typography pumpkins.  With paint, your pumpkin becomes a blank canvas that you can use to display your personality and particular design aesthetic. I've seen pumpkins colored with craft paint, spray paint, milk paint- you name it- and all colors of the rainbow. Glitter, nailhead trim, beads, sequins, and thumbtacks all become proper accessories for pumpkins. 

1 // Alisa Burke

2 // Monograms & Manicures

3 // Urbanic Paper

4 // Rachel Ray Magazine

5 // Country Living

6 // Lacquer and Linen

7 // Sweet Paul Magazine

8 // My Sweet Savannah 

9 // Crafts Unleashed

10 // Small Shop Studio

11 // Country Living

12 // Jaimee Rose

13 //  Domestically Speaking

14 // Crossing the Bugger-Dixon Line

15 // Seeing Ink Spots

16 // A Thoughtful Place

17 // Such Pretty Things

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Are y'all carving or painting pumpkins this year?

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On Honey We're Healthy today:  Slow Cooker Lentil Soup 

Leopard Fabric Pumpkin

We're starting to see pumpkins piling up outside the grocery store- guess Fall is upon us!  I always get a kick out of how many varieties there are and especially love the miniature ones. 

I had plans for this big guy though- I wanted to turn him into a leopard fabric pumpkin, kinda like those plushy velvet ones I've seen in years' past.  I had leopard fabric left over from my wooden stool project.

I had my doubts as to how this was going to turn out.  After I finished wrapping the pumpkin in fabric, the stem was too short to be seen,  and it didn't look very pumpkin-y, more like a bowling ball.  So, I created a stem, improvising with a cardboard toilet paper roll and some tree bark.

I used spray adhesive to adhere the bark to the cardboard roll, then added one real green leaf and a fake gold leaf.

I think adding those natural elements helped make it look more like a pumpkin.

I've got the leopard pumpkin sitting in our entryway for now, next to one of the velvety kind that I found at Hobby Lobby. 

I want to try some other fabrics, but this is a start!

Have a great week friends!

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Fall Decor // Console Styling

Year after year, as we decorate our homes for the changing seasons, we learn more about our style and perhaps ourselves.  What do we want our homes to say, what feeling do we want to convey?  If you're a funky and colorful type of person, I bet your home reflects that.  Are you more modern or traditional?  I'm sure those elements creep into your home design too.  I keep coming back to inviting and simple decor.  I lean toward uncomplicated spaces with a coziness to them.  I tried to accomplish that with the addition of some Fall decor in our dining room- not that we're seeing anything near Fall temperatures here in Houston.  I started my Fall decorating with the console table that I recently got from World Market.

I knew I wanted natural elements in the decor, so I bought some leafy branches from the grocery store.   Unfortunately, clippings from our yard aren't that pretty.  The faux feathers in a candle holder round out the trio of vases in Fall-like colors.  I like all the different heights and shapes.  I'm always fond of creamy or white pumpkins, and this ceramic one works perfectly with the cream colored lamps. 

On the bottom shelf, I used the same basket that was there before, just switching out the pillows and adding a green ombre throw blanket.  

I like the calming color scheme here and had to remind myself I don't have to do Fall with the typical orangey-reds, although I do like that combo.

A wooden bowl full of corks from wine enjoyed over the years is a personal touch I like.  

Are you pulling out the Fall decor in your house? 

Here is the SOURCE LIST:

CONSOLE TABLE // World Market 

GOLD VASE, GREEN VASE, WOVEN BASKET // HomeGoods

LAMPS, WHITE PUMPKINS // Hobby Lobby

GOLD PILLOW, GOLD VOTIVE HOLDER // Target

GREEN THROW // West Elm

RUG // Pottery Barn (similar)

CHAIRS // Restoration Hardware

GEOMETRIC PILLOWS IN CHAIR // Etsy Festive Home Decor

GEOMETRIC FABRIC FOR PILLOW IN BASKET // High Fashion Home, Dwell Studio Fabric 

WOODEN BOWL // HomeGoods???

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*Linking this post to Centsational Girl and Whipperberry.

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On Honey We're Healthy:  Essential Daily Vitamins for Women

Ready for Fall?

With kids heading back to school, it's hard not to think about fall on the horizon.  In Houston, we stay hot and humid for so long that we really welcome those first cool, crisp days, but they are still a long way off for us.  Please tell me if you are already busting out your lightweight sweaters . . .

via Etsy

or the fall decor.

via StoneGable Blog

It's not officially autumn until September 22.

via House and Home

But maybe it's autumn for you when you start getting cozy (do I spy the Renegade Cluster bracelet?)

via LoveThisPic

or start thinking about Halloween.  I'm totally making these lollipop ghosts this year- too cute (and simple)!

via Flickr



Hope your week is off to a great start!

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There is still time to win a YEAR supply of water or a trip for 4 to Universal Studios Hollywood.  Click HERE to visit the Nestlé® Pure Life® Purified Water Facebook page and pledge to drink more water.

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We're talking tasty fruit and veggie protein smoothies on Honey We're Healthy today:)

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