Time

It really makes me cringe to think of posting something without pictures. And I wouldn't do it if it wasn't necessary. I just wanted to drop a line in and let everyone know I haven't forgotten about my blog. It has been a really tough 7 weeks! Wisdom teeth extraction followed by a car accident involving all of my family, school starting, and life adjusting with my baby in kindergarten!

The accident has put a HUGE setback to many-o-things but I am almost back on track. I have pictures, and crafts, and more recipes coming soon!

Post Pumpkins

If you have ever done a Google search for pumpkins made of wood, you find many o' types, and if you are like me, none that really appeal to your taste!

There are many made of the 2 x 4 type, I even have a set (I made them at a church activity for free, and I am working to dress them up currently).These range from the single 2 x 4 cut in varying heights to create a "set". I have even seen the ones with three 2 x 4's glued together to make a block of a pumpkin.

 If you type in "post pumpkins", these are the ones that are made from the round fence post that has the flat edges. Those always seem really out of proportion to me... What are they?...about 4 inches in diameter and about 3 feet tall. Mmmm, sorry, no thanks. 

I wanted something classy and timeless, so again, off to the drawing board to figure out how to make what I am seeing in my head.

Did you know there is such an animal as an 8 inch x 8 inch post? Because I don't have the equipment capable of cutting it, I had to settle for the 6 inch x 6 inch size. Even then, I have to run it through the table saw twice by flipping it over just to cut it once. 

My wonderful neighbors happened to have a bunch of these 6 x 6 posts to the side of their house that had been weathered already. Perfection!

I forgot to take a picture of the next step, but if you zoom in you can see on the middle pumpkin I used a jig saw to skim off the edges.

Obviously with worn wood you have to sand down your pumpkins.

Then, I drilled a hole in the top with a  1" butterfly bit. This is a stock photo of what one looks like.

I was by myself for this next step, so I didn't take a picture. I will do my best and explain. I got a roll of medium size hemp twine from WalMart, and some picture wire from Lowes (not the weaved mesh stuff, just regular silver wire). I clipped the wire to the lengths I wanted. I vut the hemp twine 3 times the length of the wire. The wire is thin enough to insert one end of the wire into the tip of the glue gun about a half inch. This just gives a tacky surface to the wires and then I started to wind the hemp around the wire. When you get to the end, use the same technique of inserting the wire into the glue gun and the keep wrapping the twine to stick it to the wire.I used a thin marker to wrap the vines and get the even twirly look. Keep one end kind of straight to insert into the burlap stem.

Once, I drilled them, I painted them. To keep with that rustic look, I wanted to find some sticks, but couldn't. So I settled for burlap. I cut strips about 1" in width. Using hot glue, I started off the rolling, and ended by including the "vines" in the last wrap around.

Then you just decorate!

I used a chiffon type green wire ribbon,  I cut it into about 4 inch lengths. I put a stripe of hot glue at the end, gathered the center parts, pinched it towards the center by bringing the wire ends together. This created an oval looking "leaf".

Before adding the bow, I sprayed them all with a clear gloss spray paint. It didn't make them shiny, it actually richens the color, and makes keeping the dust away much easier.