DIY Thanksgiving Decoration – Pumpkin Votive Candle Holder

Here is a simple Thanksgiving decoration idea using mini pumpkins, floral U pins, and clear glass hurricane shades! Simply snap off the stem of each pumpkin being used. Then place a votive candle in each depression where the stem used to be. You could even try using a battery operated flameless votive candle for a safer and longer lasting candle Take your clear glass hurricane shade and cover the votive candle. To ensure that the clear glass hurricane shade stays in place, use the floral U pins around the base of the clear glass hurricane shade. Now you have your own organic votive holder to illuminate any autumn table setting!

Quick Halloween Centerpiece using Artificial Blackbird Crows

Here is a great centerpiece idea or a quick last minute outdoor decoration to greet your trick-or-treaters! This simple pumpkin idea uses one of our customers favorite birds… the artificial black crow! For this easy project you will need one fairly large pumpkin, a knife, one 1/4″ wood dowel rod, pencil sharpener (optional), raffia, a paintbrush, Apple Barrel white acrylic paint, Apple Barrel black acrylic paint, and three artificial black crow.

First, you will need to cut a circle in the lower half of the pumpkin as the picture shows. Next, cut a piece 5″ piece from one of the wood dowel rods and sharpen one end with the pencil sharpener. You can also just use your knife to sharpen the end but be careful when doing so. Paint the wood dowel rod with the Apple Barrel black acrylic paint and then let it dry. You can then use the Apple Barrel white acrylic paint, and paint white dots along the wood dowel rod by dipping the handle of the paintbrush into the paint. Let dry. With the sharp end of the wood dowel rod, place the wood dowel rod into the pumpkin just below the circle you cut out. Now you can attach your artificial black crow onto its wood dowel rod perch. Place the remaining two artificial black crow anywhere on top of the pumpkin. You can make your sign out of wire and construction paper. You can also make paint an unfinished wood sign and hang it with a piece of wire. Finally, just fill your cut out circle with raffia!

Quick DIY Shower and Party Centerpiece Using Cocktail Umbrellas

Are you in the need for an inexpensive and unique centerpiece? This DIY centerpiece is quick to produce and makes a lovely statement, all your guest will be talking about it! This DIY centerpiece would be perfect for wedding showers, baby showers, and even themed parties. All you need for this umbrella centerpiece is one green floral topiary foam ball form, cocktail umbrellas, ribbon of your choice, sequin pins, clay flower pot, and rice (optional- just to cover the base of the topiary form).

Instructions:
1. Take your cocktail umbrellas start inserting them into the top of the green floral topiary foam ball form. Keeping each cocktail umbrella fully open is difficult, so leaving them partially open makes it a lot easier. Placing the cocktail umbrella in a certain color pattern is only a matter of taste.2. To cover up the stem of the topiary foam ball form, take the ribbon of your choice and slowly start wrapping it along the stem. Be sure to pin each end of the ribbon with sequin pins into the topiary.
3. To hide the base of the topiary foam ball form you could try covering it with rice or anything you have laying around the house. You could also try sand, or even natural wood excelsior. And voila! You have completed your umbrella topiary centerpiece! Pretty simple and quick huh?

How to Etch Pumpkins with Wood Carving Tools

Pumpkins and gourds are essential for the fall season and make perfect decorations for any table or outdoor setting. Traditional carving and “degutting” of a pumpkin can sometimes be time consuming and messy. This step-by-step instructional video will show you how to create a new look with an old concept. For this etching pumpkin project you will need a nice sized pumpkin of your choice either orange or white, painter’s tape, black flat spray paint, regular white chalk and wood carving tools.
Instructions:
1. Take your pumpkin and cover the stem up with your painter’s tape.
2. Next, take your pumpkin outside and cover the entire pumpkin with a light layer of the black flat spray paint.
3. With your regular white chalk draw any design you wish on your now black painted pumpkin.
4. After you have drawn your design on your pumpkin, take your wood carving tools and start etching away! You can etch with your wood carving tools just on the surface to get the orange to show or you could etch deeper to get a paler yellow look. Instead of drawing a design on your pumpkin you could also etch using your wood carving tools just along the natural ridges of the pumpkin, creating a stripe design.
5. You can leave your now etched pumpkin as is or you can cut off the top of the pumpkin and hollow out the inside like you would for a traditional pumpkin. But this is no traditional pumpkin, instead, you place a vase that is the right size for that pumpkin and you now you have a pumpkin vase. You can also use this idea for silk florals if you don’t want to mess with real flowers. Instead of a vase you could use a green floral foam block and arrange your silk florals as you wish.

This video and any provided information are purely instructional. We are not liable from any events during the completion of the project, nor make any guarantees on the final state of the said project. This video is copyright of Meredith Corporation.

Try playing with different colors of spray paint for a whole new look!

Eco-Friendly Wedding – Going Green on Your Special Day

More and more couples are becoming aware of the environmental impact of weddings and so are going eco-friendly. However going green doesn’t mean that you have to settle for less on your wedding day. It just means that you are planning a more environmentally conscientious day. There are several ways of going about a green wedding.

The first thing when considering a green wedding is the number of guests. Only invite those who are closest and mean the most to you. The more guests you invite, the more that will travel, consume food and waste materials. Inviting only those who mean the most to you minimizes the guest list and the hole in your wallet. It can also add more to the day when it’s only the most meaningful people there. Taking into account the guest list, you may want to choose a venue that is closest to as many of your guest as possible to reduce the traveling and thus your wedding’s impact on the environment. If your guests have some traveling to do you may want to keep in mind the transportation they may use. You can share your appreciation and suggest to your guests that they use a more environmentally friendly way of arriving to your wedding. You can suggest they travel by train, bus, bike, or at least carpool and include any information in the invitations. Perhaps you can provide a shuttle bus for your guests, both minimizing traveling impact on the environment and providing a safer way of traveling for those who may drink at the reception.

Another good idea is to try sourcing locally. Try to find local brewery’s and food producers to save the traveling cost and wasted fuel resources. This is also a good idea to show your support for small local businesses. Keep in mind that everything on your wedding day has an impact on the environment. Perhaps look for food caterers that offer organic produce. You may even consider what your dress or suit is made out of. You can get what you need and want for your special day without owning it. Rentals offer a great way of getting the most use out of minimal resources. You can rent your suit instead of buying that hemp made suit that you will never wear again. Most wedding reception locations offer rentals on linens, and glasses. You can also look into thrift stores and consignment shops that sell second hand wedding dresses. Pre-owned dresses can give you a vintage classic look and can also save you some of that green in your pocket. Local thrift shops are also a good place to look for vases or items such as ball jars that can be made into vases. When considering decorations such as centerpieces, place card holders, and wedding confetti there are many options for a green wedding. There are several ways of creating the perfect green centerpiece that fits your budget and goes with your wedding theme. You can try arranging edible centerpieces using fresh organic fruit, vegetable, or even bread. You can use that great vintage bowl that has been laying around the house or buy small unique bowls from your local flea market. These will surely be a hit and a great conversation piece for your guests. There are many choices of environmentally friendly place card holders for weddings and even parties. There are many cute organic food options for place card holders. Try using fruits such as apples, pears, or even cherries and place the names on the stems or use toothpicks. You could also think about using natural bird’s nest. These natural bird’s nest are made from naturally dried grass and add a certain classy chic feel to a wedding. You can place small candies such as Jordan almonds and a ribbon with the guests’ name in the natural bird’s nest for an elegant place card holder. Natural bird’s nest can be used for ring bearer’s, just add some filler and an optional dove. Very chic! Another fun and unique idea is to use chalkboards. Chalkboards can replace those paper place cards, table number settings, and even menus. You can stain the chalkboards or leave them as they are. You could also use smaller chalkboards and wood dowel rods to create a stake to place in flower settings. The chalkboards can be re-used over and over again. The chalkboards would also provide entertainment for children at the wedding. For wedding rice you can try specially designed 100% eco-friendly heart shaped rice, or birdseed. The eco-friendly heart shaped rice is safe for birds and completely biodegradable. An alternative to eco-friendly heart shaped rice is throwing all natural dried lavender buds. The natural dried lavender buds are completely biodegradable, safe for birds and the environment. An advantage to throwing natural dried lavender buds as opposed to rice or birdseed is when the buds are crushed as guest are leaving, the delicate fragrance is released again and again.
Finally, you should communicate whatever changes you may be doing in your wedding to be environmentally friendly. You should inform your guest of your concerns and take this opportunity to educate them on the environment. Be sure that you are not too pushy or overwhelming with your beliefs. Being green and sharing your beliefs on your special day will leave an impact on your guest.