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10.31.2024

happy halloGREEN!

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( you had to have known that was coming! )
it's Halloween day, and no one is reading blog posts...
but i thought i'd put this up, anyway, 
to give my green pumpkins one last bit of the spotlight.

it's been fun creating new versions of past projects
along with completely new original pumpkins this fall...

continue reading for a quick recap and links to all project tutorials

10.24.2024

NEW! Faux Pumpkin Cake

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yes, Deb loves sweets - edible or not!
and since Halloween is all about the treats,
i just make my own calorie-free versions -
like faux caramel apple pumpkins and this faux pumpkin cake.

in trying to finish up my yearly 'pumpkin palooza' projects,
i had an idea for a pumpkin slathered with frosting to look like a cake,
but wasn't sure if i could make it look the way i wanted it to...

after searching online for images of 'pumpkin shaped cakes'
(click here to see what came up). 
i was scrolling Instagram and saw THIS:

but WAIT - that's not a cake. it's EMBROIDERED fabric!
artist Heather Rios is INSANELY talented at making fake look real.
she shares her astounding works of art on Insta at @heather_rios_arte

Heather's idea of showing the inside of the 'cake' 
impacted and changed my original plan -
and made me reach for a particular material in my stash
to approximate the texture she gets in her artwork.

continue reading to see how it all came together!

10.17.2024

pumpkins made from garden clippings!?!

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you've heard 'Necessity is the mother of invention' before...
it couldn't be more true of this week's pumpkin creation!

we've had a HOT summer and early fall here...
once the temps dipped *just* below triple digits,
i finally braved the heat outside and took care of some garden tasks,
including trimming the vining branches of our jasmine plants
that were reaching menacingly toward our windows!

that led to a whole new way to embrace my 'trash to treasure' ethos:
i turned my garden clippings into pumpkins!

continue reading for the details...

10.10.2024

Faux 'Caramel Apple' Pumpkins, Take 2!

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this isn't actually a 're-do' of a past project - 
it's that i had so much fun coming up with this idea
to turn a green faux pumpkin into a green caramel apple
that i think this sweet faux food creation deserves
another fifteen minutes of time in the spotlight!

i've just changed the color accents and am sharing it again!

continue reading for my original tutorial...

10.03.2024

NEW! Sweet Sweater Apples!

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one thing always leads to another 'round here....

after i turned some old green sweet sweater succulents
into green sweet sweater pumpkins (see my last post)
i had some different sweater succulents left over.

i've not only turned them into something different,
but have come up with yet another sweater creation"
Sweet Sweater Apples!

continue reading for details and a quick tutorial...