Fall Decor: Dollar Tree Stackable Pumpkin Centerpiece

 

This week's BFF Open House continues here through tomorrow. 

I found the Dollar Tree stacking pumpkins WAY before Halloween, but I've learned, grab it or lose it when it comes to DT finds. I knew I wanted to save them for AFTER Halloween for Fall decorating. There are so many ways to use these stacks. Run NOW, if you want any of the Christmas ones. Confession: I bought both the snowmen and tree stacks. Mr. Chocolate doesn't even blink anymore. 

Supplies:

• Dollar Tree Stackable Pumpkins
• Rustoleum Spray Paint, Copper
• Multi-surface Acrylic Paint, Black
• Baking Soda
• Misc. Ribbons

They were cute as is, but we're Makers so that rarely happens, right? 

Somewhere in my online travels, I saw these done with three different colors, an idea I really liked. I also wanted to try the popular baking soda paint technique and this project was perfect for that. 

I decided to make the middle pumpkin copper and the top one black. I used the Rustoleum Copper for this. 

I did the baking soda paint for the top layer by mixing some into the paint, then shaking more atop and brushing it off with a dry brush. I painted the stem with some Craft Smart Multi-Surface acrylic paint in Copper. 

What I learned: Less is more. I didn't think I had enough baking soda at first, so I added more. It got a little clumpy but that brushed off and I went back over with plain paint and then pouring the baking soda over it took care of things. 

If you haven't played with these, they just click into place. I've seen projects done where people glue the stacks together but I knew I wanted to disassemble for storage so I didn't do that. I don't need to hear about storage from you know who. 

Here is the whole thing, assembled. Now for the fun. I neglected to take pics, but I grabbed some ribbon from my stash and made a couple of whatever this style of bow is called. Then I wrapped ribbon around the top/middle and middle/bottom pumpkins, and added my bows. 

I am really happy with how it turned out and it ties together different color schemes in my Fall decor. I found the vinyl table runner at Dollar Tree, and made over the "Gather" sign, another previous DT find from another year. It had been deep burgundy and gold. The black and copper pumpkins are tissue-paper-covered DT Foam Pumpkins with stems I made from aluminum foil. 

Sharing At: 

Vintage Charm Party 516

DIY All Natural Room Deodorizers

This week's party continues here through tonight! 

My first project in our new home! Well it's new to us but it's not a new house. It's the first time in a long while we haven't lived in new construction. 

Like people, houses have their own personalities which includes smells. This is not to say that our house smells bad, but had its own smell! Coming from the PNW, we're just used to being able to open windows a lot throughout the year and you don't get to do that in the Summer in the desert. I think "stuffy" is a better descriptor. The house smelled stuffy, and I wanted something to address that. 

Being a lifelong asthmatic, I also needed to avoid things that would trigger my asthma. So may sprays, perfumes, cleaners etc. do that. I was thrilled to find an easy solution on Pinterest that used all natural ingredients. Here we go: 

Supplies: 

• Jars: I used 8oz Ball Jars from the grocery store
• Baking Soda 
• Essential Oils: I got mine on Amazon
• Scrapbook paper

This is such an easy thing to make. 

The hardest part of this is deciding on the scrapbook paper you'll use for your lids. I'm a neutral girl so I chose a neutral paper. 

Remove the center of the jar covers. Set aside for future Christmas ornament idea. 

Using the jar rim, trace onto the reverse side of your scrapbook paper, cut. 

Once you've cut your paper lids, place inside rims, set aside. 

Next step is to fill your jars with baking soda. I just poured until they were evenly filled. Then add your essential oils according to how strong a scent  you want. 

As I've tried to explain to Mr. Chocolate, I wanted these to absorb as much as emit a scent. I used a combination of orange, lavender, and peppermint essential oils but I didn't want them to scream "I'm orange lavender and peppermint". In case you haven't read between the lines, he thinks I should have used more oils. 

Once you've added your oils, stir to evenly distribut, then put the lids on. Almost done! 

The final step is punching holes so your deodorizer can both diffusely emit the scent and the baking soda can do it's job of absorbing. I used the pointy side of a basic school compass to poke the holes because I didn't want them too big. And done!

I noticed a difference after having them out the first day. A fresher air smell which is what I wanted.