I saw a foam pumpkin at Joann’s that was covered in felt and was so cute. I decided to give it a try….

I bought my pumpkins last year at Joanns after pumpkin season for 80% off. The pumpkin in this video is a normal size foam pumpkin. To cover it, first I used the scalpel under the stem and removed it and laid it where I wouldn’t lose it. I bought 1/2 yard dark orange felt from Joanns, and cut it to about 2 1/2″ wide by 12″ long strips–I counted the ribs and that’s how many strips I needed. I trimmed the sides of both ends so they were more narrow than the middle of the strip.   Next, I cut slits in the edges of each pumpkin rib with the scalpel…I didn’t cut all the way through, just needed to make a place to press the felt into…I used Fabri Fix Glue from Beacon that I also bought at Joanns, (couldn’t find a link for Joann’s though) link http://tinyurl.com/y7q45es7  and it worked well for holding the felt on the foam. After cutting slits with a disposable scalpel that I was sent from a viewer, link http://tinyurl.com/yag4eb7t, I took the long strip of felt and using a pokey tool, here’s a link to some at Amazon, http://tinyurl.com/ycgzemct   I shoved the side of the felt into the slits I’d created with the scalpel the length of the pumpkin (on both sides of each rib)…When I got to the top and bottom of the pumpkin, I cut off excess felt and made sure it would glue flat on both ends.. Then I continued to the next strip by doing the same process, and cutting off any excess felt that would not fit into the slots I had cut. On both ends, if cutting off the edges of the felt didn’t work, then I cut a “V” into the center of the end of the felt piece so it lays flat. I continued until the pumpkin was completely covered. I used a large circle die to cut the felt for the bottom of the pumpkin so it would make it flat and give a more professional appearance.

. I kept calling the glue Fabric Tack which is not the name of the glue I used. You’ll use almost a full bottle of glue for this project, so you should be prepared to use a lot.
After the pumpkin was covered with felt, I had to figure out how to get any glue off the felt that I had accidentally left..I took some rubbing alcohol on a rag and gently dabbed at the dried glue and it came off..I noticed that if I pressed too hard, I would basically melt the foam underneath, so needed to be extra careful.
To cover the stem, I used another piece of tan felt, and cut it so there was a thinner section on the top…I ended up cutting it so it looked like a bold “I”. I placed the center of the felt on the top of the stem, then folded the ends around the stem until they covered it. I trimmed the felt so there wasn’t any excess, and made sure there was enough felt to cover some of the bottom of the stem. I used hot glue to glue the felt on the bottom and not the foam, as I was pretty sure it would melt the glue. I put a toothpick in the top center of the pumpkin and inserted the stem with hot glue under it and held it in place until I was sure it was tightly adhered. I had some berries on a floral spike that I used alcohol inks to color the berries, then used Collage Pauge matte (sorry Rich spelled this wrong in the video) to seal the berries, and inserted them into the top of the pumpkin.  Before pushing in the floral spike, I used the scalpel to cut a slit in the pumpkin to make it simpler inserting the spike.   I used Adirondack Inks in Sunset Orange and Butterscotch with an alcohol ink paint brush link: http://tinyurl.com/y9s862rb to color the berries. I got alcohol ink on one of the leaves, so cut that leaf off with Tim Holtz scissors, and glued another leaf in its place. The dark berry is all sunset orange ink and the lighter berry is butterscotch.

I’ve been cleaning and organizing my craft room for the last couple of days and I finally feel like I’m getting somewhere.  I love to organize, but no matter how much I have tried in the past, I just haven’t felt like I organized to the point that I could find things easily, and that’s not really organizing….it’s more like moving things around.  So I bought ten photo storage boxes at Michaels on sale, and I started putting wooden stamps in them and writing the types of stamps in each box on the side with a label maker.  (If you didn’t know this already, my handwriting is atrocious.)  Once I had them labelled, I put them on a lower shelf so I can easily reach them.  I thought I liked the idea of being able to see all of my wood stamps, but now when I’m in the craft room, my nose runs, and I think it’s from the dust that’s accumulated around and behind them.  It was definitely time for a change.  I need to do something similar with my pens..I have all kinds of markers in different boxes and all do basically the same thing.  I think if I can find the ones I really like, then I should be able to donate or gift the rest.  I’m also creating a box of things to get rid of, and you know I have a lot of that.

So honestly, this is the first time that I’ve felt good about my organization, and feel like I can make this work in the long run.  Every other system I’ve had, hasn’t felt like that…more like a temporary fix to a really big problem.  Wish me luck, as I’m hoping tomorrow I can finish the job unless I run out of boxes…then I’ll be making another trip and delaying my organization until another day….darn it…

I’ve been contemplating cleaning my craft room, but every time I get there, I am distracted by something that I want to try.  I’m sure it’s happened to all of you.  You think you’re going to get organized, and you find a stamp set you’ve been meaning to make a card with, and two hours later, the card is done and the mess is bigger.

So I’m going to go back in there after dinner and do something to make my mess look smaller.  I did put some stamp sets away that I’d bought, but then more came in the mail.  It’s a never ending cycle..I’m not kidding…..

I’ve been working on a card that’s a lighted box…I decided it was done twice before, and am going back to add more to it tonight.  I can’t stop myself.  I think it’s done, but it’s missing something, and at the moment I don’t know what that is…so I’ll try to finish it so we can get the video up before winter’s done…I realize it’s the beginning of fall, but I’m giving myself some time to get it the way I envision it…And no, I don’t really have that vision yet….darn it….I may never finish it…And I want to give it to a friend whose been helping me with an upcoming video.  I decided to buy some of the monthly card kits from a variety of companies to see which ones are worth the money and which ones aren’t…I thought she would really appreciate this card, as I’ve never seen anything like it.

I’ve been working on several pumpkin/card projects and finished one today.  I’m so proud of how my pumpkin turned out.  I didn’t have any videos to go by, just decided how to make it and did….Here’s what it looks like…The video is one of at least eight that Rich has to put up…He’s doing a great job of staying on top of things, and I’m happy that he is.  This pumpkin is a normal sized pumpkin, not the little ones like from the Dollar Tree.  I know you can’t tell the size from the photo, so I wanted to make sure you knew how big it is.  

While at the Stamp and Scrapbook Expo in Akron, Ohio, I stopped at the Sparkle N’ Sprinkle booth and watched several demonstrations.    Here’s a link to their site.  https://sparklensprinkle.net   If you are a new customer, they will give you five free glitters.  Here’s the link to take you there.  https://sparklensprinkle.net/collections/5-free-glitters-new-customers

This demonstration is done with Nuvo Mousses in four colors, then going back over the entire image with the last color .Lavender Lilac (catalog number 801N, Aquamarine Catalog number 807N, Cornflower Blue catalog number 806N, and Citrus Green catalog number 823N

Beverly Cole, who did the demonstration, used a Tim Holtz Media Mat (catalog #1914e) as well as the Nuvo Dual Tipped Blender Brushes (Catalog #979n)…both available through Sparkle N’ Sprinkle. https://sparklensprinkle.net

I believe the embossing folder that was used in the demonstration was from Darice and is called Dainty Wildflowers. I couldn’t find this embossing folder in the Sparkle n’ Sprinkle site, but did find it online at Walmart.com.

 

Rich and I went to the Stamp and Scrapbook Expo in Akron, Ohio, and the Stamplistic booth had a terrific make and take….I had to give it a try. You can do this same technique with a Mandala, as an fyi.
Starting with four identical stamped images on different colors of cardstock, you’ll need to cut the design out. The first image you’ll cut out the full image, then the next, you’ll cut out portions of the image, then next you cut even more of the design, and finally, the center is all you’ll leave behind. If you’ve cut too much off the edges of the image, take a black Sharpie (or any black marker) and go around the outside of the image to make sure the black lines are all visible. Put foam squares under the layers and attach them to each other..they used black foam squares and showed how they appear as a shadow vs white ones, that you can definitely see between the layers…Once all four pieces are attached, you’ll use a glue pen, (I used a Quickie glue pen..link http://tinyurl.com/yaovexyb) You’ll use the glue pen for any section of the design that you’d like to have glitter on..The Quickie glue pen goes on blue and dries clear, so you’ll wait for it to dry before adding glitter. They sell a glitter brush called a Sparkle Sweeper, here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/y9yyvqbc (I found it to be too big for me.)
They also sell a tool to pick up small embellishments called a Crystal Katana and here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/ydhejh56   I’m going to be doing a comparison of a bunch of embellishment pickers in the near future, so you might want to wait for that before buying a tool for this.
I used Glossy Accents to adhere the crystals…They use Swarovski crystals and here’s the link to theirs. http://tinyurl.com/ybdqjeqe
The stamp I used for the make n’ take is called the Echo Mini and here’s the link to it: http://tinyurl.com/y7vr8ghh
After I got home, I decided to turn my make n’ take into a card and used a blue mirrored card stock from Crafter’s Companion that I bought on HSN.com.  I used an embossing folder called Batik Floral from Cuttlebug and Anna Griffin and ran it through the Vagabond. I cut some black fun foam to go between my layers and used wet glue to adhere the black foam to the back of the embossed blue layer. I wanted to use ribbon on my card, but didn’t have the right color green to match, so I took a green ribbon, and the right color green Spectrum Noir alcohol marker, and colored the ribbon to match the bottom layer of the make ‘n take…It’s a great way to make your ribbon stash go a lot further…
One of my crystals had fallen off the make n’ take, so I had to improvise…I took a crystal from a set I’d bought from Aliexpress that was clear, and colored that with an alcohol marker. Here’s a link to the crystals.. http://tinyurl.com/y92slanu
I added the green ribbon near the bottom of the embossed image, and glued it to the back of the foam, and added a knot to the front…I used a sentiment from Inky Antics called Simple Sentiments for the inside of the card. I used Gina K’s black amalgam ink for the sentiment. Here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/ycjf6eaf
My initial take on the amalgam ink is that it’s very juicy and you need to be very gentle while inking, otherwise you over-ink…Otherwise, I liked the ink.
The new tape runner I am using is from Amazon and it’s from Plus corporation, here’s the link: http://tinyurl.com/yby36suc The initial runner is almost $8, but I bought 10 refills for $17.99 and here’s the link to them: http://tinyurl.com/yavksfwj I decided that buying eleven total tape runners for $26 wasn’t a bad deal.
I got some ink on the bottom of the card, so used my Tombow sand eraser to take it off…You can find these in most craft stores, and here’s a link to them. http://tinyurl.com/ybbtw8t3.  I used the stamp I had made at Stampanda for the back of the card.

I got really excited about a felt covered pumpkin that I saw on a recent visit to our Joann’s.  Here’s a link to the one I saw.  http://tinyurl.com/y9r4fhul

Last year after Halloween, I bought a couple of pumpkins..One is foam and the other is made out of a paper mache type material.  So today I decided to put my plans into action for the pumpkins and make them into something that will match my kitchen decor…The paper mache pumpkin was too hard to poke anything through.  I hadn’t anticipated this problem, as I thought I could push thumb tacks into it.  Since I couldn’t do that, I resorted to plan B, using Dollar Tree pearls that come already attached to each other in a long row.  I used two packs of the pearls to completely surround my pumpkin with two rows of pearls per pumpkin segment.  I had no idea what to call the parts of a pumpkin and would love to know how other people describe these segments…I feel pretty foolish when I’m describing it, and need to do some research into proper pumpkin terminology, so here it is.  The anatomy of a pumpkin….I had no idea….but now we know the segments I refer to, is called a rib.   http://www.pumpkinnook.com/facts/anatomy.htm

I’ve learned so much from having a YouTube channel, and now you know everything you’d ever need to know about a pumpkin…

I can’t wait to finish my pumpkins, so you’ll see the creative ways I’ve found to make my pumpkins look inspired..

Rich and I went to the Stamp and Scrapbook Expo in Akron, Ohio, and we got to watch Georgia from Art Impressions create a watercolor scene with Marvy LaPlume Watercolor Markers. You can use any kind of water based marker for this technique.
I apologize for the shaky image, as we were holding the camera for the entire demonstration (and it wasn’t easy to do…)
She talks you through the process…Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get the entire process on video, as the last portion is way too blurry.

We went out to lunch and to a movie with friends today…We saw “A Star is Born,” and I thought the music was great, but the movie depressing.  Sometimes when you know a movie from the Barbara Streisand/Kris Kristofferson (I probably spelled his name wrong), genre, you’re hoping they change the ending so it’s not the same, but sadly, it was.

After the movie, Rich turned me loose in A.C. Moore, a craft store for those of you who might not know it, and he went to Barnes and Nobles.  He loves magazines on photography, and you know I love all things crafty.  I bought a few things that I needed for some upcoming projects, and found most of them there.  I had just heard about a Mod Podge that is dishwasher safe, and boy is that hard to find.  I wonder if it’s being discontinued, because I checked all of the craft stores in Erie, and there wasn’t a bottle to be found.  So I came home and found it at Target.com for under $4, so I’m still thinking it’s not going to be around for a long time to come.  I saw a video where a woman used regular Mod Podge and created a cute Christmas plate for cookies, and I thought it would be a nice gift (with cookies on it of course.) but didn’t think it was smart to use regular Mod Podge, as you’d wash it once, and whatever you’d glued to it, would wash off….So I did a little research and found the dishwasher safe Mod Podge, and the project is back on…

Did I mention the card I almost finished last night?  It is shaped like a house (with no roof) and folds flat, but I made it so I could put lights inside so you can look in the window…I thought I was finished, but it has a window box, and I think it needs a little pop of color, so I’m going to add flowers to it tomorrow, in 3-d of course, and I need to look through my stamps for the word “Welcome,” as I thought it would be the perfect touch for the front…I’m not sure what the card can be used for (other than someone whose got a new home,) but I like the idea of putting something on the front.  I also should probably put a spot on the back where I can write, like I would for any other card.  It looks great right now, but it definitely is missing some greeting card essentials…a sentiment and a space to write…other than that, I think people will want to make one for themselves….it wasn’t hard to do, and is so darn cute when it’s lit.

Rich and I went to the Stamp and Scrapbook Expo in Akron, Ohio, last weekend. I wanted to share the fun things I bought there.

Rubbernecker Stamps They’re having a sale right now online, so you can find these stamps at reduced prices..
First Dance: Link http://tinyurl.com/yc8c4mna
Merry Christmas Frame: Link: http://tinyurl.com/y8knbvuw

Gina K Amalgam Black Ink: Link: http://tinyurl.com/y9b8zj6k

Stamplistic Booth
Frankie: Link: http://tinyurl.com/y9zqtr95
Stampendous Jumbo Cling Lilac Link: http://tinyurl.com/y9hmaotc

Sparkle & Sprinkle
Ember Glitter G1034 Link: http://tinyurl.com/y6v6z2tv
Midnight Madness Embossing Powder EP252 Link: http://tinyurl.com/y8ptev5b
Stampendous Bare Trees Stencil #DWLJ849 Link: http://tinyurl.com/yc72y8aj