AUTUMN: 'The Life of a Showgirl' Confetti Pumpkin

"Hi! I'm Deb... are you ready to SPARKLE?!"
Let's create the last of my four 'Showgirl Pumpkins'!

'4' has been completely re-done - AGAIN!
She has been bright warm yellow,
white with painted gold kintsugi 'cracks', 
white with brown-tone painted florals, also plain white,
and originally she was a weird orange at the thrift store.

In ALL of her 'former costumes', 4 has been lovely...
but now, she's really ready for the spotlight!

Read More for my easy tutorial....

AUTUMN: 'The Life of a Showgirl' Sequin Pumpkin

"Hi! I'm Deb... are you ready to SPARKLE?!"
Let's create the third of my four 'Showgirl Pumpkins'!

This sparkling glittering specimen was inspired by one of Taylor's outfits,
and I've combined several elements to transform a styro pumpkin
into one worthy of the spotlight!

Read More for my easy tutorial...

AUTUMN: 'The Life of a Showgirl' Graffiti Pumpkin

"Hi! I'm Deb... are you ready to SPARKLE?!"
Let's create the second of my four 'Showgirl Pumpkins'!

Using my favorite decorating tool - paint - 
I glammed up an item I already had in my stash,
which made it a pretty cheap makeover!
The only thing I bought for this was a small bottle of gold glitter glue.

Read More for my easy tutorial...

Autumn: 'The Life of a Showgirl' Sweet SPARKLE Sweater Pumpkin

"Hi! I'm Deb... are you ready to SPARKLE?!"
Let's create the first of my four 'Showgirl Pumpkins'!

And honestly, what OTHER kind of pumpkin
would you expect ME to start with - than a Sweet Sweater Pumpkin?!
Since creating the Originals way back in 2007,
I've come up with many versions of them over the years. 

This one is what I'd term an 'embellished' pumpkin,
because we're gonna' add an obscene amount of glitter to it
(along with a final detail that is SO perfect!) to make it spotlight-worthy!

Read More for my easy tutorial....

AUTUMN: 'The Life of a Showgirl' Pumpkins!

"...so, I wanted to show you something..."
 THIS is my brand new theme for this Autumn's seasonal decor:

With Taylor's new album releasing in just over a month,
I was inspired by her FUN theme + her wardrobe on the Eras Tour
to create some sparkly orange 'costumes' for my pumpkin 'showgirls'...

I've got FOUR fabulous pumpkin tutorials to share with you -
two are painted ceramic pumpkins and two are fabric pumpkins.
(and yes, of course one of them is a Sweet Sweater Pumpkin!)

Here's a quick Sneak Peek:

They're all glittery and sparkly and shimmery 
(one of them even has friendship bracelets!)
and the perfect addition to your autumn decor.
I'll be sharing four posts with four detailed tutorials,
one each Wednesday in September.

What a fun way to lead up to Taylor's album release on October 3rd!
(AND to celebrate her recent engagement to Travis Kelce!)

...even if you're not a fan of Ms. Swift, OR orange,
you can use my creations as a starting point to make your own
uniquely sparkly pumpkins. Maybe in BLACK! Or Green ;) 
(I'm stepping out of my 'Green Era' this month... but not forever!)

Find ALL FOUR tutorials here:

Sweet Sparkle Sweater Pumpkin TM

Grafiti Pumpkin

Sequin Pumpkin 

Confetti Pumpkin 

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Tropi-FALL: Square Tiki Pumpkins

It's almost September - and that means it's PUMPKIN SEASON!

Back in August of 2020, I was BORED and came up with this fun idea for making unique tiki-style fall decor. I figured if you can paint on a pumpkin, you can paint something else to LOOK like a pumpkin.

After all, who needs plain ol' pumpkins when you can have TIKI pumpkins?!
(or - and hear me out - Disney character pumpkins or Harry Potter character pumpkins, whatever your vibe is!)

I recently realized that I've never shared them on the blog and since they fit right into my current Tropi-FALL vibe, now is a perfect time to remedy that.

Read More for an easy tutorial plus detail shots....

happy halloGREEN!

( 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

painted 'chocolate' pumpkins on a sweet sweater cake

a fitting conclusion to my recent faux food project posts,

this one really takes the cake....

this project came about because i had some tiny styro pumpkins,
which made me start thinking about making a very REAL cake

like my Mom used to make every fall when i was a kid.

it was always a round two-layer chocolate cake with chocolate icing

and adorned with tiny orange candy pumpkins all along the top edge.

i loved that cake.

we took them to school fall celebrations and church harvest festivals.

we took mini versions - cupcakes - to friend's houses.

we never brought any of it home, either!!! everyone loved it.

instead, i decided to make a fall 'cake' in my own style...

because deb does NOT need more calories!

continue reading for the before and after...

have a ball with these pumpkins!

do you have a family full of sports fans?

oh, my friends, you're gonna' have a BALL with this idea! 😉

i was killing time before an appointment by walking thru a 'FIVE below' discount store,

and spied a bin filled with small basketballs in bright happy colors...

there was no yellow, but the minty green one caught my eye!

continue reading for tips on this SUPER fast & easy pumpkin decor project!

faux 'jadeite' pumpkin paint tutorial

i don't collect jadeite - real OR faux - but i love it!
the pretty seafoam - mint - jade greens of jadeite dishes and cookware
remind me of the color of our Shasta trailer (see my last post!)
and because of that, i've found these greens combine well with ANY color.

in late August i picked up a ceramic pumpkin mug at Dollar Tree,
and decided to try my hand at re-creating the luminous look of jadeite -
with paint. and it worked! 

continue reading for my color-matching process and paint tutorial...

happy MAHALOween!

i read that term - happy MAHALOween - on a tiki bar's website.

when this fun phrase gave me a way to incorporate my love of

tropicana decor and tiki culture into October celebrations, i was IN!

(truth is, i'm not really into Halloween anymore - fall, yes. pumpkins, YES!

the 'scary horror bloody zombie creepy clowns and witches' kinda' decor? nah.)

since i have NO intention of dressing up in costume, 

 i simply decided to give a pumpkin a costume. with a tiki mask!

continue reading for the details and an easy paint tutorial...

Tropi-FALL: faux painted bamboo pumpkins

my penchant for tropical decor and tiki culture inspired this new pumpkin project...

our So Cal home is filled with tikis and bamboo and leafy palm fabrics,
because during the pandemic lockdown we had to cancel our trip to Hawaii
and decided to just make HOME feel as much like Hawaii as we could.
and we love it!
so, i like to create seasonal decor for us that coordinates with that theme.
pumpkins that look like they are made from bamboo are a perfect fit!

continue reading for my paint tutorial...

give 'em pumpkin to talk about!

for my final 'Halloween' post, i'm sharing some costumes!
they're a bit different that what that word might cause you to expect...
because they are all for pumpkins!

i dressed up my white pumpkins in hats, glasses, bow ties, lacy ruffs, masks, crowns,
and one spectacular wig.
they're ready for the costume parade - and they serve as great inspiration
if you're still looking for last-minute decor ideas!

continue reading to see how i raided the costume box and dressed up my punkies!

harvest moon shadow box

miniatures are all the rage right now...

from dollhouses and tiny 'rooms' that sit on bookshelves

to tiny spaces behind walls and accessed by little 'fairy doors', 

it's a trend that engages our childlike imagination.

i was inspired by that to create a sort of miniature setting,

and chose to use a shadowbox frame as the structure for it.

a simple project that took very little time to assemble,

it makes use of items i have used in past projects...

and i hope it will inspire you to try something similar!

continue reading to see how it all came together...

decorate pumpkins with stickers!

Halloween is comin' up quick... 

and if you're still looking for easy ways to decorate, i've got 'em!

this pumpkin decorating method ticks all the boxes:

fast✔     cheap✔     easy✔    no-carve✔     no clean-up✔   kids can do it ✔

and the results are loads of fun, too!

continue reading for a really sneaky way to get fabulous 'last minute' pumpkins!

repurposed planter pumpkins

i can't even say this is a 'craft' project...
it's more like an 'arrangement' project.
it's just stacking things together to make pumpkins!
SO easy - and flexible.

it will work in any color, any size, any style:
i'm into a black and white (with accents of yellow!) palette this fall,
but these would be elegant in gold & white, mod in chrome silver and white,
boho chic in terra cotta, and traditional in varied orange tones.

continue reading for the details - and more ideas!

paint + paper picture frame pumpkins

creating seasonal decor accents with paint and paper is my jam.

i love taking something i already have, combining it with scraps of this and that,

adding some paint, and turning it into something new

without spending a cent.

it's 'green'/eco-friendly, no-cost, easy to do,

keeps stuff from being 'stuffed' into storage boxes until it's that season again,

and it's a great way to ensure that my decor is unique and one of a kind.

i'm able to embrace current trending looks - with my own twist.

like..... yellow. yup. still doin' my yellow thing. alllll year long!

while these photos do indeed have yellow in them,

the project is graphic black and white - which is not just perfect for Halloween,

but easily incorporated into nearly any color scheme.

or, you know, altered to fit any color scheme...

you want orange? great! swap out the black for orange!

maybe you embrace all neutrals? okay! use soft sand instead of black with white.

and if 'cute' isn't your vibe, picture these made from elegant gold frames
filled with vintage book pages or wallpaper, with gold-painted wire 'stems'.
i want to inspire you to make it yours!

continue reading for details...

'dipped' faux concrete pumpkins

one of my most popular fall tutorials since i published it seven years ago

has been my faux concrete painting tutorial.

i've used this treatment on just about every kind of pumpkin,

as well as on styrofoam wig heads, lamps, urns, and even a swan planter
to achieve an elegant 'statuary' effect.

this year, i'm combining that faux concrete look

with a current trend: the 'paint dipped' accent color.

it's been applied on the legs of furniture, the bottoms of picture frames, and more

in many popular shelter mags, websites, and products...

but i haven't seen it done on pumpkins yet!

both paint applications are quite easy - with endless variations possible.

continue reading for more details, a link to my faux concrete tutorial,

and a secret hiding in the photo above!

NEW: Sweet Sweater Spookies!

 .

this is quite possibly the EASIEST project i've ever undertaken...

and it was an idea that popped into my head as i was washing dishes!

i re-use plastic storage bags, washing them after use (unless they are greasy)

then placing them upside-down over a glass to dry.

as i did that one morning, i absentmindedly thought 'hah ha! he looks like a ghost!'

and then i stopped, looked again, and this crazy idea hatched in my brain.

so bear with me, and come along for the craziness!

continue reading for the details...

gradient pumpkins

want a really easy way to decorate for fall?

one that makes use of things you already have?

choose one color, and gather up everything you have in that hue.

then arrange items from light to dark - or mix 'em all up.

and if what you have is a mish-mash of colors,

you can always paint things a new color! that's what i did.

continue reading for some simple transformation ideas...