pumpkins — pleasure in simple things

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pumpkin tower urn diy

October

Today I am sharing a simple DIY. Remember my ‘ferns in urns’ project? I bought some inexpensive urns at HomeGoods and planted them with ferns for a wedding? You may remember one of those urns was transformed into a fall planter.

You may wonder what happened to the second urn. Well, it got transformed into a pumpkin tower for my mom’s house! I just love stacking pumpkins, don’t you? Pumpkins can get pretty pricy at garden stores when they are classified as ‘specialty’ pumpkins. Not true when you purchase them from Trader Joes!

I found a big selection of what would be called ‘specialty’ pumpkins at Trader Joes for just $6.99 each!

To convert the urn I used for the ferns, I purchased 3 carefully selected pumpkins from Trader Joes and a can of flat black spray paint from Home Depot.

After the sprayed urn dried, I added an old grapevine wreath and some faux greens to the rim before stacking my 3 purchased pumpkins…perfect! An easy DIY to convert one of your planters for some fall décor! Just spend a little time picking out the stackable pumpkins so they work together. Before you go to the store, measure the diameter of your container so you know what size will work for the bottom pumpkin. Either bring a ruler or measure out a strip of paper to the size you need and tuck it into your purse. For the best-looking tower, make sure your smallest pumpkin choice (top spot) has a pretty stem!

Other things you may want to add to your tower are hay, straw, Spanish moss, or green moss. Add your own personal style with the container and accessories you add! To give you some pumpkin tower inspiration, I have included in this post some photos of pumpkin towers created by Terrain in Westport, Connecticut.

If you don’t have a yard for a tower outside, it is easy to create a ‘mini’ pumpkin tower for your inside décor. Buy a pretty container, flower pot, or pedestal at HomeGoods or local garden store and create a smaller version of a pumpkin tower!

I hope I have inspired you to create a pumpkin tower of your own!

Thanks for stopping by!

Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

1 comment » | diy, garden, inspiration, style

5 easy tips for fall decor

October

For today’s Friday field trip, I am sharing 5 easy tips to help inspire you to create great fall displays. And, even more exciting, I have included photo examples from Terrain – my favorite home and garden store! Here goes:

Highlight one unique piece. Find one really unique pumpkin or gourd and use it as a focal point. It may be a gourd with magnificent coloring, a pumpkin with many bumps, a gourd with a unique shape, or a pumpkin with a really cool twisty long stem! Put a focus on that unique piece by displaying it on its own in a basket, on a table, or under a cloche.

Stack ‘em up. A really easy way to create some drama is to stack up some pumpkins for a fall ‘topiary.’ Since this can be done on any scale, it is a great decorating idea on any budget!

Display en masse. Using any one item in multiples makes a design statement. Put multiples of a piece or plant in a basket or on a chair or bench for an easy but impactful display. The ‘odd man out’ is also a fun way to display pumpkins. Add an ‘odd man’ to a display of multiples. For example, have tons of mini white pumpkins and add one orange pumpkin – or vice versa.

Open it up. If you are displaying a bunch of items, particularly colorful ones, use an open container to give a full view of the items on display. If you look around, you probably already have something you can use – like an old tomato cage or some chicken wire!

Add a pumpkin. A very simple tip, yet an effective one, is just to add a pumpkin or two to any of your existing vignettes or plantings – indoors or out. Without much expense, a few pumpkins can go really far to transform your current arrangements for the season! Maybe add a little hay and some Spanish moss as well…easy!

I hope I have inspired you with today’s fall design tips and a visit to Terrain! Thanks for stopping by!

Have a wonderful weekend and remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Comments Off on 5 easy tips for fall decor | garden, inspiration, style, swag

getting in the mood

September

I am doing my best to get into the fall mood. This year, it seems particularly difficult for me to welcome the new season.

I decided to use a couple hours of free time to visit some local farms; hoping to shake off some of my resistance to the change of season.

Okay – it was nice to get out and get a little fresh air, but I am still not feeling fall! How to you get into the spirit of autumn?

I have one last idea to help change my seasonal outlook – a trip on Saturday that is sure to push me over the edge into fall mode…I will share that with you next week! ;)

Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie

Comments Off on getting in the mood | inspiration

mini white pumpkins 3 ways

September

I am not a big Halloween person. Granted, I do like planting in pumpkins, making pumpkins, carving pumpkins, and eating pumpkins. And… I certainly like candy! But I’m really not into the whole black and orange decorating thing and I don’t find being scared out of my wits an enjoyable past time.

It was not until the white pumpkin hit the scene that I took a dedicated interest in Halloween decorating.

I thought today I would show you some ways to use mini white pumpkins this season and maybe you too would get hooked on using them in your Autumn decor!

Here are three easy ways to change up white pumpkins for autumn decorating.

A really easy way to dress up a white pumpkin is with some metallic paint. Just a little acrylic paint sponged onto a white pumpkin dresses it up for the fanciest of occasions.

Plasti Dip is another great material to use on white pumpkins. It easily and instantly adheres to the pumpkin and can be tinted in any color. I used some pink I had tinted from a previous project for these pumpkins. Even the stems are fair game! Love it!

For a Halloween party, black Plasti Dip dripped down a white pumpkin would look nice and creepy!

A really great thing about white pumpkins is that it is so easy to coordinate them with any color. When I wanted some gray toned pumpkins to use with zinc items, I just tinted some white pumpkins gray! I rubbed the surface with a little black paste food coloring to get the perfect color to use with my table setting! I sprayed the finished project with a matte finish clear coat.

What can you do with some mini pumpkins for your next get together? Have fun with it! Use hash tag #pleasuregram to share your mini white pumpkin creation on Instagram.

Thank you so much for stopping by! Remember to find pleasure in simple things, Jackie

1 comment » | diy, food & festivities, holiday

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Tag: pumpkins

pumpkin tower urn diy

5 easy tips for fall decor

getting in the mood

mini white pumpkins 3 ways