* pumpkin palooza! *

Wow, is FALL really here already?

ok, well, it's not the 'official' beginning of fall, but

it's time to break out the fall decor...

Here at homewardFOUNDdecor, 

that means scrounging up materials from all over the house

and turning them into something fun to decorate with!

I've got loads of fall decor ideas for you here in my blog archives,

including tutorials for my signature & original pumpkins:

My Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkins (designed 2007)

My Original Glass Globe Pumpkins (designed 2011)

Copper Kitchen Scrubby Pumpkins (designed 2014)

Faux Concrete Styro Pumpkins (tutorial shared 2014)

Painted Pumpkin Pails (designed 1994)
... and my versions of

Miniature Clay Pumpkins . Painted Ceramic Pumpkins . String & Twine Pumpkins 

Yeah, I know - that's more than the '6 projects' touted in the graphic above!
Once you get me started..... ;)

My OWN pumpkin decor includes the very FIRST Sweet Sweater Pumpkins I ever made! 
Yep, I've been storing and using them since waaaaaay back in 2007.
I'll be putting those - and newer versions - out soon.... 

Tin Can 'Painted Pails'

Last fall, I shared a project that was a 'flashback' to something I had made long ago:
[ like, ah, WAY back in the NINETIES! LOL ]

Painted tin cans - I call them little 'Painted Pails'. 

I just found more photos of that product that I created for different seasons ;)
and since 'tin can crafts' seem to be THE hot trend right now,  

I figure why not share more inspiration?!

The photo above shows the Valentine version,

where the wire handles were bent into a heart shape.

The labels evolved from the very first Painted Pails I made in the Spring of 1995,

which looked like garden seed packets and fruit pie filling labels:

I also made versions of Painted Pails for Holiday | Winter:

The Happy Snowman versions had wire handles bent into 'top hat' shapes,

and also stackable snowmen made from several sizes of cans.

I made Painted Pails in Spring, for Easter:

... and the wire handles were bent into 'floppy ear' shapes.

and of course, there were the Pumpkin Painted Pails

 that I shared last fall in my Tin Can Painted Pail Post
 click for my TUTORIAL!...

I also made Painted Pails that looked like crayons. And Leprechauns. And Firecrackers.
But I really don't think more photos are needed for you to get the general idea.
If I were to guess as to how many tin cans I painted back then,
over a five year period that I was selling them at street fairs and in my tiny store,

I'd have to say it was about 50 cans a week. Yes, really!

I tell ya', I was pretty sick of painted tin cans by the time I was done!!!

The various holiday versions of these came about because every holiday,

I would go overboard to create a fun breakfast table setting for my four young children...

Balloons, streamers, napkins, and centerpiece would decorate the dining room.
The food would even match the holiday: 

pink milk and pancakes for Valentine's Day, green for St. Patrick's Day, orange for Halloween.
 I didn't spend a lot (I bought most of the stuff at thrift shops)

but it was so much fun to decorate the table after they had gone to bed,

and then watch them get all excited the next morning!

And at each place setting, they'd find a Painted Pail -

filled to the brim with art supplies and candy and a little stuffed animal.

It was just a simple thing I could do to make them happy.
For me, that is always the best part of crafting & decorating...

shared online:

One Project Closer | Creativity Unleashed 

Cupcakes & Crinoline | Project Inspire{d}