{Eek}

I've been featured!




Go check me out! And also check out the awesome chalkboard painted pumpkin below me. And the turquoise pumpkin in the post below that. Someday Crafts has so many awesome ideas! I get a lot of my ideas from that site and the linky parties there :) I'm so excited! {as if you couldn't tell}

Garden {Update}

Ok, so I know I promised a garden update a little while ago, and I'm sure you all are just dying to know how the garden fared after the record-high temperatures. Well, I'd have to day, "Not too shabby!" I think all my little plants survived the heat, and I'm hoping it starts to cool down a bit. *shrug* Might be asking too much, but we shall see. Well, here's a pictorial update for you. :)

First off, here's our resident lizard. I've heard lizards are good at killing and eating black widow spiders, so this little guy is MORE than welcome in my garden! He usually runs away immediately, but today he stayed still for a quick picture before he was off again to his favorite hiding place. :)

We'll go from back to front, left to right:

Parsnips-Still waiting to sprout.
Marigold-sprouted and thriving
Turnips-doing great
Broccoli-surviving. Definitely prone to disease and pests!
Early Beets-sprouted like champs! Growing quickly
Swiss Chard-only 1 plant sprouted. Might plant another, so it doesn't get lonely.
Onions-growing like crazy
Spinach-this square is doing ok. I have a few sprouts. But, not doing as well as I had hoped.

Back two: Marigolds-sprouted and growing.
Peas- Two peas sprouted and growing!
Cabbage-slowly growing
Radishes-Growing like crazy!
Carrots-slowly growing. had to thin today :(
Lettuce-doing ok. I've been thinning it out a bunch, which seems to be helping
Carrots-slowly growing. had to thin today ;(

Back two: Marigolds-sprouted and growing.
Onions-growing well. getting much taller
Peas-One pea, sprouted and growing. Two peas trying to come up. I can see them poking up!
Beets-these are not the early variety, and are slightly behind the other squares, but doing well.
Carrots-Like the other squares, had to thin today. Growing well. 
Spinach-this square isn't doing so well. Have a couple of sorry sprouts, trying to give them some love :)
Carrots-this square is doing well, thinned today.

Back two: Marigolds. Sprouted and growing.
Cabbage: Sprouted. Growing strong.
Broccoli: Sprouted. Pestered by pests, but still growing. I have high hopes for this one!
Radishes: So far the quickest to grow, and seem to be doing well. Have thinned out :)
Swiss Chard: Doing ok. Not growing as quickly as I hoped.
Lettuce: only half the square sprouted. Planted more in the other half of the square a couple days ago. We'll see.
Spinach: My spinach is not doing too well, in any of the squares. Not many sprouts, but the ones that sprouted are growing, at least.

 And the final row: Back: Parsnips-not sprouted yet.
Turnips: Doing fantastic. Growing bigger every day.
Early Beets: Doing almost as well as the ones on the other side, but not quite.
Onions: Growing tall pretty quickly. Had to thin these as well :)

 Strawberries are doing ok. I don't think they liked the heat very much. And the little pot is Basis. Hasn't really sprouted yet. Still waiting :)

 Along the back wall are: Mint, Oregano, and Chives. None have sprouted. I'm expecting sprouts within the week, though.

 And what about Matt's garden? Well, from back to front, left to right:

back two: Marigolds-sprouted
Tomato-growing taller.
Three squares of garlic: growing super quickly! I think we might have some mutant garlic or something! One plant grew about 4 inches on those hot days! I guess it liked the heat :)

 And, don't forget the poppies! Matt's been thinning them, and they are doing well. They're getting more leaves, which is a good sign.

Well, that's about it for the garden. Thanks for stopping by! I'll make sure to keep you updated on the garden, maybe a post once a week or once every two weeks. We should actually be ready to harvest some radishes pretty soon! :) Yum! Fresh radishes from the garden! :)

More Paper Pumpkins :} Tutorial

You know I can't resist. I was sure, just a couple days ago, that I was done. Not making any more pumpkins. But, then I saw this cute idea over at Craftberry Bush, and it got me thinking. Well, I don't have a paperback book I can destroy {I'm not sure I could ever do that... :} but I do have scrapbooking paper. So...I tried my own take on these pumpkins. AND....I have a tutorial for you. This is my first try at doing a full tutorial, so bear with me. Well, here goes....
So, you wanna learn how to make these adorable pumpkins? 

 Here's what you'll need:

Paper (my pumpkins are 6 inches in diameter, but you need to decide how big you want your pumpkins)
You will need enough for at least 6 "layers"
Paper cutter
Glue Gun
Craft knife
Scissors (optional)
Paper scorer (the end of my craft knife)
You will also need a template (the red paper semi-circle in this picture) and paper for a stem

First, cut your paper into rectangles. Mine are 3"x6". I would suggest making the rectangles half as wide as they are long.

Next, score your paper in half. This is not essential, but it makes a nice clean line for folding, and allows the paper to be folded together. You could fold it by hand, too.

{Not shown: My paper was pretty flimsy, and only one sided. I actually laid two pieces back to back and glued them together. That way, there is no white showing. And the layers are more sturdy. You could eliminate this by using thicker cardstock or double sided scrapbooking paper.}

Then, stack your paper together and fold in half. Lay the template on top and trace it out.

Cut out with a craft knife. This is the hardest part, getting all the layers. My hand got tired by the end!

Now, decide on a layout. Begin to glue together.

Start with the bottom layers (in this picture) first and work your way up. I just put a line of hot glue on the spine of the first layer and attach the next layer to it. I held it in place the way I wanted it to dry. This makes your job easier later.

Halfway, you'll want to attach your stem. I cut a strip of 1/2"x4" brown paper. Hot glue into place. {I realized this was too long, and cut the stem later}

You'll end up with something like this. Not very pumpkin-like. But, never fear, just fluff the layers.

And, here it is. The finished pumpkin. :)

And it joins the pile. The pile of pumpkins. The pumpkin patch?

Well, there you have it. My paper pumpkins. I think they are super cute!

~Pam

Linking up!

a {productive} friday

Ok, so today, I decided to try my luck down at the local thrift store, Sunland Thrift. Just to see what gems they had for me. I was looking for a clock, and this is what I found:

Here's what I ended up getting from the thrift store. Don't mind the fuzziness. It IS in focus. But, apparently, I left a honey fingerprint on my shutter....

Anyways, I got: a clock, a children's story book, and three broom/fans, that I think look like witches' brooms. :)

Then, I headed over to the dollar store, where I picked up this stuff:  A wreath, crow, and flowers and garlands. What, oh what, could I do with all this? :P

Maybe a wreath?

Let's see...hmm....

Yep! A wreath! I like how it turned out. And it only cost me $5!!

Now, what did I do with the clock? Well, I saw this awesome tutorial over on eighteen25 and decided that {I} could do that! And here it is!

I absolutely love it! Probably my favorite Halloween/Fall decoration that I've made so far :) I also have to give Flamingo Toes credit for her tutorial on crazy easy transfers she did here. I used her technique to do the webs. It was redonculously easy!

Oh, and don't forget those brooms. Well, I have some big plans, but in case I don't get around to it, I decided to do this:

That's a shadowbox we've had for forever. It has been sequestered for the season, I guess! I just stuck them in there, by the way. I'm hoping we don't get an earthquake and lose it, tho.. ;(

Well, here's my mantle for the moment. What do you think? Don't mind the broom handle in the left corner. THAT'S where that went! I've been looking for that, hehe!

Like everything in my house, it is a work in progress. But, I feel like I had a productive day today....3 projects! And I like them all! :) Only spent $21 total, but I bought other stuff in there, too :) Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. I'll be posting a garden update probably tomorrow. We've got some exciting things going on!

~Pam

Linking up here:

2 x 4 Pumpkins

Ok, so ONE more project. I know, I know. I'm sure you're all sick of seeing the fall/Halloween craft projects I've been doing lately. It's almost like I can't stop. I see a cute idea, and think, hey, I have most of the materials for that. I can DO that! So, I do it. And it is generally pretty easy.

So, here's my latest: the 2x4 pumpkins. I got the idea from this post.

I like how they turned out. You can't tell in the picture very well, but they have grooves down the fronts that give them a more pumpkin-y texture. So, now my front entry looks like this:

I would have to say that it is taking shape! :) Today was pretty cool, around 70F for the high. So, the temps are coming down. Oh, wait. Not really. Tomorrow the high will be in the mid to upper 90s. *shrug* That's ok. I really do love it here. It has been a perfect year so far :)

Well, guess that's it. Matt is home, and when he gets back from his run he'll fix the broken sprinklers in the backyard before dinner. I guess I should get started on that...

~Pam

I've been featured!

I love it! I keep seeing these amazing projects on people's blogs and decide to try them. Twice, now, I've shown the blog authors my take on their project, and they've featured my creation on their blog. Remember the Dryer Vent Pumpkin?

Well, House of Hepworths showed mine off here.
And, the Wristlet/Purse thing I made (my first sewing project)?

Well, Bev at Flamingo Toes featured mine here

It's so much fun doing these projects, and getting recognition that others like what you're doing. Not that I need that validation, but it is nice. You know?

Anyways, right now I'm working on some 2x4 pumpkins. We'll see how they turn out. The paint is taking FOREVER to dry. :(

Later!
~Pam

Pumpkin Garland

Well, yesterday I decided to make this pumpkin garland I saw here. This is what I came up with. They're made with toilet paper and paper towel rolls. All I needed was the rolls, paint, hot glue, and I used raffia for the string, since I don't have any twine. Once again, I use what I have, you know? I'm pretty happy how it turned out. Sorry the pictures aren't the best, though.

It kind of looks like I'm almost ready for fall, doesn't it? What will I come up with today?? :P

~Pam