Archived Ideas for October, 2009

IDEA 14: KEEPING UP WITH THE SEASONS

 

 

Door_wreath_d

If you are like me, the season which starts with fall and ends with New Years goes by so fast the thought of redecorating for each holiday brings on more stress than comfort.  

So, I offer this thought: Rather than reinvent the decorations for each holiday, why not simply add a little more color and bling as the holidays progress? I’m utilizing the door wreath for this example, but the theory could be done anywhere in the house. The key is to add on as opposed to take down and replace. Here’s how:

Choose a plain wreath. I chose this grass braid swag. But a wreath made of all bay leaves, all eucalyptus, all pine cones, grapevine, twigs or all magnolia would work as well. The best options are made of one solid material.

Wreath_1

Just as fall begins to nip the air, hang the plain wreath.  Sometimes simplicity is just the thing. Have a jones to celebrate Halloween? Use two ribbons, one black, one white and use them back-to-back and tie the bow as if they are one. Trim the ends of the ribbons at an extra deep angle instead of the usual 45 degrees.

Wreath_2

The day after Halloween, (or the next weekend day), switch to a pretty fall look. This rust colored ribbon with a basket weave texture is just beautiful. I chose to wind the ribbon into the center of the wreath before tying a pretty double bow. If desired, you can attach a single piece of artificial fruit such as this pomegranate. Look for decorative fruits at the craft store. They are very lightweight and usually come with a wire that can easily be anchored into your wreath or twisted into the ribbon. If the fruit does not have a wire hanger, create your own by drilling a small hole in the back and pushing a short piece of floral wire into it.

Wreath_3,4

I love to collect “fruit pics”. These are small clusters of artificial fruit all gathered and held on a single wire with floral tape, available at craft stores and florist supplies. These pics are easily poked into your arrangement. Here are some of my favorites, but the options are endless.

Fruit_pics

Which brings us to the next and final phase of your seasonal wreath. Leave the fall ribbon on the wreath. Now take a rich red ribbon, and if you like, a handsome chartreuse one. Put them back-to-back and tie another big bow over the first. Then, using floral wire, poke and twist several pieces of fruit and fruit pics into the wreath. I love the look of pears among all the rich reds and purples of pomegranates, berries and even grapes. The result is a beautiful, lush tribute to the season that won’t look out of date the day after the holiday. Which is, of course, your greatest gift of all!

Wreath_5

IDEA 13: JACK LUMINARIES


Jack_lum_day

Here in Minnesota, and probably many other regions around the country, we have a lovely tradition associated with the holidays. When the snow falls, many people line their walk or driveway with luminaries, paper bags filled with sand or even a big chunk of ice formed in a milk carton, each containing a lit candle. The effect of luminaries lining the walk, especially in the snow, is absolutely magical.

Well, this idea sparked another: Luminaries for Halloween. If your family is like ours, we love to take the fall trip to the pumpkin patch and bring back lots of plump orange pumpkins. Of course it’s fun for each person to select just one that suits their personality, have a carving party, and set them on the porch as a pumpkin version of the family who lives inside. These Jack-o-lantern luminaries could be done instead of, or in addition to that.

Purchase as many pumpkins as you like. They don’t have to be any certain size (you can keep them small if you like). For each pumpkin, purchase one votive candle-sized light.

Flicker_lights

These are great, and available at the party goods store as well as big box and discount stores. Since you will be lining your walk, you will most likely have lots of kids walking along beside your luminaries so you do not want to use real candles as they could pose all kinds of risks. Whenever kids (and lots of dry fall leaves) are involved, play it safe!

Now you and your kids get to go to town carving pumpkins. The more you carve out, the more light will show. My kids just did whatever they felt like. Here are some of them:

Jack_1

Jack_2

Jack_3

Now set them out and turn on the lights! You have not only managed to keep the kids busy for a long time, but you’ve created a stunning Halloween decoration for your home that looks great during the day, and lights up the night!

Jack_lum_nite

IDEA 12: HALLOWEEN COSTUMES

Costume_skel_1

When my kids were smaller I loved making simple costumes for them for Halloween. One thing that just never made sense to me was to put a lot of work into a baby costume that would be outgrown, possibly even before Halloween!

So I concentrated on “head gear.” I found a pattern for a court Jester and didn’t bother to make anything but the beautiful satin hat and neck ruffle. My thinking was, put this with any plain baby or kid outfit and you have an instant costume. 

Jester_costume

Here is the baby it was made for:

Costume_PJ 

Here is his younger brother who, as a toddler wore it a few years later:

Costume_BJ

Here is my daughter in yet a different size wearing it a year or two later:

Costume_NJ

The hat and neck ruffle are still in our costume box and over the years have been pulled out many times, for all my kids, some friend’s kids and even our dog, Petunia. 

Another costume that utilizes versatile “head gear,” is the “Carmen Miranda” fruit hat. I purchased a piece of ribbed black cuff material from the fabric store about 8 inches by whatever the width it came in. I folded it in half to about 4 inches and sewed it in a loop just big enough to create a very wide “headband” that would hug my daughter’s head. You could also use a purchased headband if you can find a wide one. Then, with a needle and thread and pretty long stitches, I ran a line of stitches across the width of the band (not around) and pulled it tight to form a gather at the top of her head. I bought some miniature plastic fruit from the floral department of the craft store and hot-glued them on to the gathered area.

Mini_fruit 

This, along with a bright colored skirt and top made my daughter the cutest Carmen Miranda you ever saw!

Costume_NCM

Another clever classic costume was our skeleton, which was worn by all three kids. The base is a pair of black sweatpants and a black turtleneck shirt. At the fabric store I purchased iron-on adhesive. Does this stuff look familiar?

Pellon

Then, either buy a yard of white cotton, or recycle an old white sheet. Using the instructions on the adhesive, iron it onto the back side of your white fabric. Now you can draw the bones on the backing paper and cut them out. (Since you are drawing on the back, everything is in reverse, but with this design it makes no difference. Everything is symmetrical). If you are unsure of what you are doing you can first trace the sweatshirt and sweat pants onto the backing paper. I realized the design was so easy because it was simply a series of doggie bone looking things with dots inbetween. I just made them to fit the sweats with joints approximately at the midway points. The “ribcage” was sightly harder but I found the whole thing to be quite forgiving. Just sort of fill the spaces on the clothes. You then simply peel off the backing paper and, with the adhesive side toward the shirt, press it on with an iron! Use another piece of plain fabric between your work and the iron in case any adhesive melts out. You don’t want to get it on your iron.

Skeleton_cost

Depending on the age of the child, they can wear a purchased mask, or make-up, or I also liked the look of this cute top-hat from the previous year’s snowman!

Costume_skel_2

Have fun! And don’t forget to take pictures!