Paper mache pumpkin

It's Metamorphosis Monday time at "Between Naps on the Porch". This is my first time sharing a transformation. It's just a little project - a 'mini-met' , so to speak.

This week I bought a paper mache pumpkin at Michael's.

I agonized for a bit about how to paint my pumpkin. I'd seen so many unique ways to transform the humble squash. I've seen pumpkins painted white, silver, even some adorned with gold leaf! In the end I decided to go for the more natural look (I can always get more creative next year).

I first gave it a couple of coats of pumpkin orange paint.

I decided to emphasize the indentations by using a rust coloured paint along the segments. Here is the final product :


The real master of pumpkin paper mache is Scott Stoll at Stolloween . His creations are amazing!

Wreath Makeover

Well, It's official. It's autumn! The days are getting shorter and the leaves are starting to become tinged with gorgeous colours. It's time that my front door reflect the change of season.


I had a spring wreath that I augmented with silk flowers in colours similar to some of the flowers in the bed in my front yard. I thought it looked very welcoming. I guess a pair of robins did too. Before I knew it, they had built a nest in the wreath!You can see it at the 1:00 position on the wreath. We moved it to the wall beside the door so we wouldn't be disturbing the birdie family with our comings and goings. Eggs were laid and before long three baby robins hatched! While we were very pleased with the blessed event, this left my front door rather plain.

I found another grapevine wreath at a garage sale. At the same sale I found another bunch of silk flowers. I put them all together and, voila! I had a new summer wreath!

But now it's time to pull out the pink blossoms. At yet another garage sale (notice a trend here), I found some lovely orange and yellow sunflowers. While there are no leaves in the wreath, per se, I think the colours definitely say 'fall' to me.





You can see many more lovely fall creations at Keelie's
Fall Wreath Party.

It happens every time...

...that I paint that old garage door. I have chocolate hallucinations. See what I mean? I wonder how many calories that would be?
Any other chocoholics out there? What's your favourite?

A Family Heirloom - Treadle Sewing Machine

Marie at Emma Calls Me Mama
is hosting an Heirloom Party! I'm a little late, but here is my 'show & tell'.

This Singer treadle sewing machine belonged to my husband's grandmother. We think it was purchased around the 1920-30's. We were able to restore it to working order by replacing the leather belt that connects the treadle and the machine. You are still able to buy replacement parts for this type of machine because treadle sewing machines are still used in parts of the world where electricity is unreliable.

She's showing her age (aren't we all?) but she has earned her retirement. She was used to sew everything from wedding dresses to baby clothes. Someday I'd like to sew a quilt on her.

Late Summer Tablescape

It's the last full week of summer, but the weather here is gorgeous! Only the cool mornings, evenings and shorter days convince me that summer is winding down. Far too soon! Since I'm not willing to release summer just yet, here is a final summer tablescape.

Last Sat. there was a huge garage sale in support of the United Way (charity). This annual event is the largest garage sale in Southern Ontario. It's been a family affair here for many years. This Sat. we all enjoyed hunting for treasures. This tablescape shows a couple of my finds. The cheery blue poppy tablecloth cost me $1! The sweet little birdhouse I have used as a centepiece was 50 cents! The teal blue wooden candlesticks (handmade in Canada) were free from an earlier garage sale. I thought it was fun to put my frugal finds together. I think they were meant to find each other, don't you?

Be sure to check out all the gorgeous tablescapes at 'Between Naps on the Porch'. Thanks once again to Susan for hosting!

Tempus Fugit

My hubby and I were given a beautiful wall clock by my family as a first anniversary present. It has been treasured for the last 25 years. It is a manual pendulum clock that requires monthly winding and has Westminster chimes. Sadly, a few months ago it stopped working. The springs were broken.

Yesterday, we happened to spy another wall clock in a thrift store and snapped it up. My husband was able to use parts from this clock to repair my treasured clock! So, as I type this I am once more listening to the steady pulse of the pendulum - tick tock. Very comforting somehow. Tempus fugit...

My First Tablescape!!!

I've been amazed by all the wonderful tablescapes showcased on 'Tablescape Thursday' hosted by Susan on her blog: Between Naps on the Porch. So I decided to join in all the fun.

This is my first offering.: A simple indoor picnic setting. My favourite piece is the large platter with the ants. Who invited them to the picnic?

Welcome to Crazy,Crafty, Creative. I created this blog in order to share creative ideas. Enjoy!