Fall Splendor

Morning Y'all,

I have been working for more than a week on pumpkins for our church dining area tables. I apologize for not posting anything and being MIA. I have would like to make another owl pumpkin like my last post for the welcome table but that will take a while as I have lots of leaves to cut. Our weather has been stormy and humid and that doesn't make for great cutting on paper. We are supposed to dry out in the next few days and I hope to get a lot of the cutting done before our weather changes again.

I had asked our seasonal decorator at church if she would mind if I made some more pumpkins for church and she asked if I could make them for the tables in our dining area. That is how all this pumpkin making got started and hey, I don't need an excuse to make anything fall! Ya'll know how much I love fall!!!! YAY for fall and all the pretty decorations!!! Lets get started on how I made all these.

I started with the pumpkin from Bedtime Stories SVG Kit. I cut it at the size it imports, then embossed the accents with my Darcy wood grain folder. To bring out the wood grain I inked the edges and the embossing with Really Rust Stampin up ink. The stem I inked with Always Artichoke ink. The leaves were from Autumn Elements SVG Collection and the colors along with the ink colors I used are as follows. All the paper I used is American Craft Card stock. Red was Crimson, purple was grape and Gold was Dandelion


all inked with Rich Razzleberry. The yellow was Sunflower and the green was Olive all inked with Real Red. The Olive was for the vines, stem and leaves and yes I used Real red here and there to ink them. The curly vines and leaves are from Gourdes Galore SVG Collection. I highly recommend this file, I love all the curly vines and leaves in it. There are some awesome gourdes I need to incorporate into something sometime.

The sunflowers are from 3d Mums and Fall Flowers SVG Kit and are sized way down to fit into the shape of the pumpkins. To size the flowers and vines the right size bring them onto the mat next to the pumpkin. This makes it pretty tough to cut the centers but with a clean mat, new blade and low humidity you shouldn't have to much trouble. Make sure you double cut the center though as it will be a bugger at this size to get them to come out without tearing. I make myself a bit crazy doing this but I just love the way it looks when it is all done. The sunflowers are cut out of Sunflower American Craft Card Stock and then some are inked with the Real Red and  Rich Razzleberry. Because the colors of fall are so vivid, I try to get the same affect by using a sponge dauber to apply the color to the paper. The centers of the sunflowers are made using the small circles from the cut outs for the centers. Glue two together then emboss with Cuttlebug Tiny Bubbles emboss folder and ink with copper ink.  All of this is done in prep to actually putting the leaves and vines and such on.

To put all this together glue all the parts of the pumpkin and the sunflowers together. I used Deb's idea from Deb's Crafty Side and glued 5 pretty rocks to the inside of the pumpkin to weight it down with Glossy Accents. A bag can be purchased at the dollar tree but you don't have to use the pretty rocks, that was just what I had so I used it.   I glued the lids onto the pumpkins so no one will see the rocks anyway.  I have said before I have a glue gun that is for detail work. I purchased it on Amazon so if you go there and type in glue gun for detail you should be able to find quite a few. I use my glue gun a lot for projects like this so it was well worth the money I paid for it. I think it might have been a whole 15.00. lol

All of the leaves are shaped with my paper shaping tools from McGill before I start gluing. Then just start gluing here and there. Lay the vines this way and that to see what your eye likes first, then glue them down. Try to notice where you might need to change or add color and do so. I added the leaves around the bottom of the pumpkins to fill them out a bit. I also tired to keep in mind that a person sitting across the table from another might want to be able to see them so don't make the decorations to tall on your pumpkin. Remember they are only there to add to the pleasure of the other persons company not take away.

I have lots more ideas brewing in my crazy brain so stay tuned. For three nights in a row, I have been dreaming about this one design. I know crazy, you can just call me the crazy paper lady OK? lol Thanks so very much for stopping by and visiting my blog, if you wish, leave me some love at the bottom of this post. As always I will list the kits and collections and supplies I used. Have a great day and Happy Craftin' Y'all!  Blessings Sharalyn

Kits and Collections Used
Bedtime Stories SVG Kit

3d Mums and Fall Flowers SVG Kit
Pick a Pumpkin SVG Kit
Autumn Elements SVG Collection
Gourdes Galore SVG Collection

Supplies Used
American Craft Card Stock: Apricot, Olive, Sunflower, Crimson, Grape, Coffee, Dandelion
Stampin Up Inks: Rich Razzleberry, Real Red, Really Rust, Always Artichoke
Stampin Up: Linen Thread
Brilliance: Copper Ink Pad
Close To My Heart: Brown Buttons, Waxed Thread
Cuttlebug Emboss Folder: Tiny Bubbles
Ranger: Glossy Accents
Darcy Emboss Folder: Wood Grain
Glue Gun
Hot Glue
Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive
Rocks From Dollar Tree to weight pumpkins down.