Fall Porch Makeover for 2023

With summer coming to a close this week, it was time to get our front porch ready for fall, but I needed a change for 2023.  This was the set-up I'd done year after year and, besides the bits getting worn out, I was bored with the same old thing:

So we went from this (aka before):

To this (after):  Such an improvement!!

The best part is that is was so quick to pull it all together, I actually got my fall porch all decorated on time this year!

Back in the spring Our Tiny Nest linked up this gorgeous Easter door basket project: 

I fell in love with it and re-created my own (but never got around to doing a post about them).  The empty door baskets were a bit of a $ splurge for me, since I had to buy two, but I really loved how they looked.  I justified it by telling myself I'd re-use them for other seasons, so it was time to put my money where my mouth was for fall.

I made them over, autumn-style, for less price & effort than doing up entirely new wreaths:

I got this fall floral stem, mini pumpkin & buffalo check ribbon at Hobby Lobby - all on major sale to keep costs down:

I left the florist foam & faux greenery from my spring version in place, pulled out the bunnies & carrots and added my new items in.  I cut 49in lengths of ribbon and wrapped them around each basket.  I didn't want them to sag over time, so I attached a wire twist tie on the back for extra support.

I tied the ribbons in a double bow, fanned out the loops and curled the tails:

It's a really different look, but with minimal changes and is easy to dismantle and change up for the next season's version:

I got a big buffalo check cotton rug off Amazon and layered it with a new themed coir doormat:

I stacked my outdoor crate with a bale of straw, my trusty old foam pumpkins, potted some fresh mums, added a watering can with flowers and a new garden flag with a hint of the check print to tie it together:

It feels so good looking at our front doors and seeing things look festive and colorful.  Now I can start enjoying it and look forward to working on other fall projects!

Burlap Wire Pumpkin Wreath With Layered Ribbon Accents

To decorate our front doors this year I made fun burlap pumpkin "wreaths" using some wire pumpkin forms.

They feature lots of festive Halloween designs and a layered ribbon design to add lots of texture and holiday colors:

I looked at a lot of tutorials and techniques done with wire pumpkin forms before I made this.  I wanted the final look to be more tailored than just draping fabric over the form.  I followed a lot of what this video by Crafting Cousins did, but used burlap yardage I cut myself rather than fabric + burlap ribbon, ditched the messy, fume-y E6000 glue and added my own layered ribbon technique for a unique bow accent that could also handle being outdoors.

Materials:

- 1 yd burlap (36"x40")

- 2 wire pumpkin forms

- Various 2.5" wide wired ribbons

- Various 1" wide ribbons

- Satin cut-out trims (mine are from Sugar Pink Boutique)

- Hot glue gun

I want to start out by saying not all burlap or ribbon is equal!

When I gathered the rest of my supplies I first grabbed some rolls of 5.5" wide burlap at the craft store.  Big mistake!  That stuff is really loose weave so you can see right through it.  Unless you're scrunching it up or have something directly behind it, it's too net-like for most projects, so I needed something better.

I found this fantastic burlap sold by the yard on Amazon here.  It has a much tighter weave and a warmer color.  Much more versatile for sure.  It was really reasonably priced and even delivered on a roll so no creases!

I used some basic craft store solids for my "background" ribbons, but added these specialty satin cutout trims to add really nice detail: 

 I bought from Sugar Pink Boutique.  They cut apart without fraying and are puffy so their dimensional element really kicks the finished look up a notch compared to regular ribbons:

  I also got my buffalo check orange & black wire ribbon there.  It has a soft flannel fabric feel too: 

Now, let's make some pretty pumpkins!

To start I cut the following pieces for each of my wreaths:

(4) 17"h x 4.5"w burlap strips for mid-sections

(2) 12"h x 5"w for ends

(1) 17"h x 6"w for central section

  

I started with the center section of the wire form and dabbed some hot glue on the middle of each of the center spokes:

I placed the widest strip over it, making sure there was enough on either side to wrap it around the wires to the back:

With it affixed I worked my way to the ends, running a few inches of glue down the wire...

...pressing it down as I worked.   Doing it this way on either side keeps the burlap taut to have a nice full shape.  I used a silicone finger protector to smooth it, but a pencil or chopstick would work ok too.  

Once I got to the ends, I clipped into the overhanging ends right where the spokes attached to the outer frame:

Then I hot glued the sides around to the back:

Folded the flaps at the top & bottom over and around to the back side and glued them.  

I did the same with the spokes on either side, leaving gaps between like this:

To fill in the remaining mid-sections, I glued along the edges of the wrong sides of the burlap sections I just did, starting at the middle as before:

And placed the remaining 12"h x 5"w pieces onto them, working the same way outward, but from the backside this time:

For the outer end sections, I glued the inner sides the same way, clipped them right at the ends and then pulled the outside edge under the wire....

Then folded them over to the wrong side over the wire and glued in place.  This will cover up all the wire so the burlap pumpkin is good to go.

Time to embellish!

I dabbed a bit of hot glue to the back of each of my satin cutout trims 

and affixed them to some 1 inch wide grosgrain ribbon to  make them really pop and add a firmer body to them:

A lot of tutorials I saw for bow-making use insane amounts of ribbon.  You don't want to waste anything when you use specialty trims, so I have this layering trick for getting the most out of every inch!  I cut each of these "treat" pieces to be about 9 inches:

Then a cut 24 inch long pieces of my wider, basic ribbons:

I centered the smaller strip over the longer ribbon piece and dabbed a dot of hot glue on the back ends of the short piece and stuck it to the longer one.

Then I folded each of the new multi-layered ribbon strips in half:

I stacked them in the order I liked and tied them tight around the middle:

I fanned them out and fluffed up the loops to get them how I wanted:

I tied the bows onto each wreath and added some hot glue onto the stem for extra security:

I added a loop of burlap ribbon tied in a lark's knot to hang them off my door hooks:

And then my pretty pumpkins were door-ready.  I like that they add some seasonal fun, but aren't too busy or over-the-top.  Just the kind of holiday I need right now!  

Happy Halloween!

Quick & Easy Little Pumpkin Baby and Toddler Shirt

We're in the holiday home run season folks.  3 months in 3 holidays.  Yikes!  It can be a challenge to find time to craft and not feel like the relevant time frame is over the second you've made it.  I especially feel like that about holiday themed wearables.

 

I love cute kid's Halloween outfits, but with 5 kiddies, it seems like a waste to buy stuff with a 1 month or less wear time.  Especially with my two smalls who are less than 2 years apart.  I can't justify making/buying stuff for my 2 yr old boy, then chucking it and for something similar but "girly" for my 8 month old daughter the next year.  Longevity in kid's wear is key people!

A few years back I made these spooky cat raglan shirts for my 3 big kids and they've gotten tons of wear as they've been handed down from one to the other to the other:

 

 

Yet, I realized I didn't have anything Halloween-y for my toddler (which happens when there's an 8 yr gap between two of the kids).  Baby girl is sporting his too small pumpkin face onesie this year.  Already being nearly mid-October, I wanted to use stuff I had at home rather than spend $.  I also needed to make sure it would work for my little lady to wear next year.  Mission accomplished:

 

This project was a little nod to the heat transfer DIY Pumpkin Maternity Shirt I made (and sported the past few Halloweens):

 

 

 

I used the same pumpkin file, fonts and leftover orange glitter heat transfer vinyl.  The design is cute for boys or girls so it'll be just as cute on my sweet girl next year as it is on my little guy now.   

 

I couldn't find a cheap basic black shirt in his size ('rona restrictions make shopping is such a hassle these days), so I scrounged his closet and found an olive green onesie that still fits well.  

 

Materials:
- Onesie or t-shirt
- Heat transfer material (mine is the glitter variety)
- Cutting machine or exact-o and patience.  
- Cricut EasyPress (or iron)

 

I used a pumpkin silhouette image found online and opened it in Cricut Design Space then turned it into a cut file there.  
I added the Mommy's Little Pumpkin text in free fonts (Bubblegun and Milkshake) that are nice and thick, so ideal for cut files. You can right click to save my file to cut your own.  

 

I sized it at 5 inches by 5 inches in Cricut Design Space to be the perfect size for a 24 month sized top/onesie.  It also needs to be mirrored before cutting since the material is cut face down on the mat.  

 

Since the details are pretty small, I used a weeding tool to get all the tiny bits out.  The letters need to be removed for the shirt to peek through inside the pumpkin, but you need to keep the tiny bits inside the "o", "e" and "l" in place.   

 

It ends up looking like this on the carrier sheet:

 

I've gotten a lot of use out of my Cricut Easy Press the past couple years (you can get my full, unbiased review of it here) & this was no exception.  I used the recommended settings from Cricut for my EasyPress model & the glitter material: 340 degrees for 30 seconds followed by 15 seconds on the backside and waiting until cool to peel.  I always use a thick towel underneath for best results.

 

By using green rather than traditional black as the background color, it's still Halloween-y, but also more generally fall, so wearing it in September and November won't look weird.  

 

 

Thanks to that happy accident, I figured out how to make it wearable for about 3 months rather than 3 weeks!! And it'll be perfect for the entire season on baby girl next year.

 

 

Not bad for $0.  Even my small fry guy agrees!!