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Showing posts with label Romantic Homes Magazine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romantic Homes Magazine. Show all posts

9.05.2023

a NEW LOOK for my Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkins!

pumpkins,Sweet Sweater Pumpkins,Sweet Sweater Originals,original designs,tutorial,fall,home decor,Better Homes & Gardens Magazine,Romantic Homes Magazine,published,sweaters,up-cycling,re-purposing,pumpkin home decor,diy pumpkins,diy fall decor.
september is here, and you know what THAT means...
it's time for sweater weather AND sweater pumpkins!!!

i've been making + selling my Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkins TM since 2007,
and while i haven't sold any since i had my little hwf shop in 2017,
i occasionally still make new versions!
in 2021 i made a batch of new yellow 'sweeties' for myself, 
and this year after creating a huge new multicolor batch for my daughter Bethany,
i've made a revision to the way i finish them...

continue reading for a quick addition to my original tutorial...

8.29.2018

pumpkins on point - needlepoint!

the original heirloom needlepoint pumpkins,  women supporting women, boho style, decorating, fall, farmhouse style, original designs, pumpkins, re-purposing, resources, Romantic Homes Magazine, rustic style, Thanksgiving, up-cycling, vintage, needlepoint
yes, my friends, it's THAT time of year again - pumpkin season is here!
and i am so excited to share with you some of the most unique and beautiful handcrafted pumpkins
that i have ever had the pleasure to see...

the Original Heirloom Needlepoint Pumpkins (TM) 

by smWollman Designs
handmade from carefully curated vintage needlepoint panels,
these charming creations express the richness of fall in a stunning new way.
each pumpkin is a one-of-a-kind creation, rare and never to be replicated.

the needlepoints used are handcrafted by 1000s of unknown hands 
over a span of many years, from across the country. and every needlepoint has a story to tell...
continue reading for more about these perfectly imperfect 'on point' pumpkins...

9.25.2016

lost and.... FOUND!

Remember these lil' babies?!

After selling my neutral-hued and orange Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkins for five years, 
I released a limited edition of them in PINK in 2013 - and you LOVED them!
(thank you from the bottom of my pumpkin' shaped heart <3 )

Recently Janet at Shabbyfufu shared one of her own photos of my pink pumpkins,
the one you see on the lower right corner of my image above,
and her readers were clamoring to get some of their own...
I couldn't oblige, as making them in quantity makes my carpal tunnel flare up
(and Deb is not happy when she is in pain!)
That's a big reason why I stopped making them to sell after 2013, and offered my tutorial.
The other reason was that my Dad was undergoing cancer treatments,
and time spent with him was way more important than making pumpkins.

Well.... I have a bit of good news for anyone hankering to get their hands on
a couple of my pumpkins: I FOUND SOME!


;)
Yes, you have a chance to get one of the last sets of 
my Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkins in PINK, 
right here on the homewardFOUND blog!

 Tuesday Morning September 27 at 8 AM Pacific Time,
I'll have SIX SETS ONLY for sale here on the blog!

The PayPal purchase button will be on the right sidebar for your convenience.
Sold only in sets of 3 - varied sizes, pink tones, and knit textures in each set.

important stuff:
Shipping included, to continental USA addresses only.
Limited quantity available. No holds - Purchase required at time of order.
All purchases final. No refunds, no cancellations. No custom requests/orders.
Sale will cease immediately when available quantities are sold.

I'll see you here Tuesday!



10.12.2013

One LAST Sneak Peek!

 I was very surprised to learn that my Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkins 
have been published in the November issue of Romantic Homes Magazine!

[and no, that red oval announcing my pumpkins' inclusion is NOT on the actual cover!]
I'd like to offer my gratitude to writer Beth Livesay and photographer Susan Frick,
for including my lil' product in this issue.

Now, on to
 that super dooper sneak peek   of my BRAND NEW PRODUCT for the Holiday season
that I promised to share with you today!

 I am thrilled to share these new creations with you...
They were inspired by my pumpkins
and some Christmas decor that my daughter Bethany and I made together [SEVEN years ago]
and a few nudges from my mom... she kept suggesting this idea, and I repeatedly balked at it.
  
"I don't want to be a one-hit wonder and just make things from SWEATERS!"
was my constant argument.
I finally (wisely) got to the point where I realized
"Oh, for Heaven's Sake, Deb... when life hands you sweaters, USE THEM! "

... and I did:
Made with vintage and vintage-inspired components,
 these Original Sweet Sweater Snowmen will warm up any room...
I'll have all of the snowmen, women, and babies shown PLUS a few MORE
[ some are tiny, some are HUGE, and they are all one of a kind! ] 

4.16.2013

Decor, All Bottled Up!

 when i say 'found' materials, people look at me funny.

 what i mean by that is stuff that you find in a field, or on a curb, 
or at a yard sale or thrift store, or in your own garage or barn.
stuff that most people don't even SEE.

i crawled under a table at a yard sale to reach for the tattered corner of a dirty cardboard box.
no one else had even given the box a glance.
i opened it to discover these cool old medicine bottles!

i didn't need to do much to them to use them as decor...
after a careful washing to preserve the original labels,
they were corralled on a round silver tray to show them off.
the two bottles that didn't have lids are serving a flower vases, holding happy daisies.

this is a collection of miscellaneous old bottles that i found in thrift shops.
some were very detailed, and some were rather plain.

i embellished them 
using my stash of vintage trims, jewelry, and papers.
the jewelry hung on them, but some of it could also be removed to wear.





 [some of these photos were featured in 
Romantic Homes Magazine, February, 2013
in the mention of homewardFOUND on page 12
]

i took the embellished bottles to a show, and some of them sold. some didn't.
which is fine, it just gave me the chance to do something ELSE with them:

so i painted them.
with white gloss enamel appliance spray paint.
and then i popped a few daisies & chamomile into them
and sat them on a silver tray.

i paid one dollar for that dirty box of brown medicine bottles.
and between one and three dollars for each of the clear bottles.
the silver trays cost me five bucks each.

i sold the first set for $35, and the second set for $45 
at the BarnHouse antique show. in the first hour.

here's the moral of this story:

these items were basically discards, with no inherent value to anyone.
all it took was an eye for using them in a new way
for them to have value and worth. 
THAT is what 'found' decor is all about. smile.
it doesn't take OLD stuff, either...
what about a six-pack of empty glass Coca Cola bottles for a patio table?
or maybe old glass baby bottles for a shower?
little glass yogurt containers for a brunch?
paint 'em. put 'em on a tray. fill 'em with posies.

you'll have some fresh spring decor all bottled up!

1.18.2013

Thank You, Romantic Homes!


Romantic Homes Magazine's February issue [shown above]
JUST hit the stands today, and HOMEWARDfound is IN it!

I'd like to offer my appreciation and thanks to contributing editor Beth Livesay,
who gave HOMEWARDfound a half-page mention in her story
'Blogs That Make You SWOON'


  i am very honored to be included,
along with Pamela of From My Front Porch to Yours
Julie of Idyll Hours
Donna of My Shabby Chateau
and Anita of Cedar Hill Ranch

[and my sweet Texas friend Anne Lorys is featured as one of 'the Romantics'!
i am so very happy that her talent, originality, and all-around NICENESS are being recognized!
i truly enjoyed getting to know her when i wrote about her for FOLK magazine last summer]

since several of my embellished vintage bottles are shown on page 12,
i thought i'd share more about them in today's post
[ i'll be sharing the other items shown in images there VERY SOON!]

the photo in the magazine is this one,
showing a few small and medium sized bottles...
i embellished them by gluing on torn scraps of 
vintage sheet music, piano player music, and vintage book pages,
adding a simple wrap of string over the papers.

because i made these for a Valentine's Day event, i found songs and book chapters
with words like LOVE and HEART and WEDDED in them
[and here's a tip: 
if you can't find what you want in old books, find it in NEW books - then scan the pages, print in draft mode onto tea-dyed or tan-color paper, and tear the edges to make it look old.]

you can see some jewelry on my bottles up there...
those were inexpensive but pretty vintage pieces that i added as part of the embellishment.

here's an idea to try:

embellish a bottle with beautiful papers and ribbons, 
and then hang a beautiful necklace that is a GIFT on it 
or put a pin that is a GIFT on top of a lid using a magnet or ribbon,
and the bottle becomes the 'gift box' for the jewelry gift!

another example of this is shown below
where a double-strand pearl necklace circles a large bottle in a figure 8 shape
[the little rosette that you see on the bottle neck is actually the clasp of the necklace]


the bottle in the foreground shows another vintage necklace draped around the neck.
secure necklaces with a pretty ribbon tie,
and pop a beautiful flower (or maybe some sparkly glitter!) into the bottle to make it really special.

a manilla tag or a tag made from French language cards is the perfect finishing touch...

this photo shows a few more embellished bottles,
and these have FUN toppers!
i glued some resin chess pieces right to the cork and screw-tops of some bottles,
and glued two pawn pieces end-to-end to slip into the neck of another!
the soft ivory color looks like bone, and coordinates with creamy papers and silk ribbons.
[i found a BOX filled with these 'cheap' chess pieces at the thrift shop for $1.00!]

by the way, you don't need 'vintage' bottles for a craft like this...
just hit the thrift stores and look for interesting shapes of glass perfume or spice bottles,
save your empty glass condiment and liquor bottles (especially the tiny sizes!),
and you'll have fun making them a beautifully embellished gift for someone you love
or for your own Romantic Home!