Folk art wood pumpkin

I saw a fabric pumpkin felt project a few years ago that inspire me to design a similar wood pumpkin.

I started with a scrap 1" x 12" board.  Once I had a drawing I liked, I traced it out of a file folder so it would be stiff enough for me to trace onto wood.

I originally made this a couple of years ago, but it needed repainted.  I decided my pumpkin needed a new look.  So I started by painting the main body orange.  The stem was brown previously so I left as is for now.

You can see in this pic that it originally had a scrap wood nose, and I had originally painted on white eyes and mouth.  This time I wanted to add more dimension with some type of eyes.  I decided on round wood drawer pulls but I didn't like them as is.  I ended up cutting the back off so they sat closer to the pumpkin.  I glued them on and I like the dimension they give my project.

I used five colors on my pumpkin.  Orange, brown, green, white and yellow.  Now, I am by NO means a painter, so I looked on pinterest and the internet for paintings of pumpkins to get some ideas on how to paint it.  This is how I did mine.

At this point I wasn't sure I had made the right choice, the brown, white and green seemed so bright and now what I was thinking.  But as I blended more, added yellow and softened everything up it started looking better.  I blended the nose in and added the eyes.

Here is my finished pumpkin.  I personally adore it.  I blended colors into the stem also, to create depth,  I like his heady little eyes, his nose, everything.  There isn't anything perfect about it, but I admire imperfection, so it's perfect for me.

I hope you'll leave a note if my pumpkin inspires you to create something fun.  

Have fun and be creative!

Myra

Painted pine cone flower wreath

Fall Pinecone Wreath

I made a pinecone flower wreath a couple of weeks ago.  I used various size and type of pinecones, acorns, moss, flower seed pods, and some old poppy seed cones I had left over from another project.  I cut the large pine cones to resemble flowers and painted them with fall colors.

I painted some solid colors, some with different color centers, and some I trimmed with paint to make them pop.  I added in a few small blue accents just to add some pop.

I love the colors and I love the end result.

Here it is hanging on our kitchen door.  I think it's simple but perfect for our old house and door.

If this inspires you to make one please let me know.

Myra

Plate flowers

My daughters, and granddaughter made plate flowers a couple of weeks ago.  They are so easy to make, you won't be able to resist making more than one!

I have been collecting supplies from thrift stores and finally had enough for all of us.  If you look closely at the picture you will be able to tell I have tried to make them using a variety of different things.  I especially enjoyed mixing in metal pieces. I used an old light fixture on one, and one reminds me of an exotic jungle flower.


I added bead stamens to this one.

I really like this one.  I like the mix of silver and copper, and wavy edges, textures and color.

This one doesn't have any metal but I love the shapes and colors.

I hope if you decide to create a plate flower, you have as much fun as we did!

Myra