Studded Pumpkin Towers

I like to make nailhead pumpkins because when they’re finished and I walk by,  I can greet them: “Hello, stud.”

This year, I had a request for more studded squash from a reader and came up with these towers — a fun and fast project.

You need pumpkins and nailheads. I like to use faux pumpkins for this because nailheads are expensive, and this way, your time and investment can live a long, happy life. In Arizona, you can find piles of nailheads at Fabric Depot on Cave Creek and Bell Road in Phoenix, one of my secret sources for all things fabric, upholstery and decor. This site also has a good selection. Also try Mesa Sales or Tempe Sales.

They even make rhinestoned nailheads these days.

Next, cut the stems off your faux pumpkins, and stack them up, using hot glue to secure. (In my family, we call this Hot Fear, because that what baby Rome used to call it, and when the stuff gets on you, there is cause for fear indeed. Ow.)

Start adding nailheads. I like to mix and match sizes and finishes. They go in really easily. This whole project took me 20 minutes.

Mine have a permanent home outside my front door — where they can greet guests and I don’t have to worry about them wilting in the heat.

P.S. Remember my other nailhead pumpkin, the original? See it and a pile of other nailhead pumpkin ideas here. (Monograms! Addresses!)

 

 

By |2012-10-25T05:21:58-07:00October 25th, 2012|DIY + Projects|4 Comments

The Petaluma Pumpkin Patch

At the start of October, Ty and I brought in the season with “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” a 1966 classic that fills my soul with joy. Linus: “Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He’s gotta pick this one. He’s got to. I don’t see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one. You can look around and there’s not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see.”

I feel that way about pumpkins. In California, we were driving down the highway and I spotted an orange-dotted field and yelped. Tyson pulled right over.

The Petaluma Pumpkin Patch is sincere enough for me, each squash grown locally by a farmer named Jim, whom we saw pulling up to the farm with a truckload of orange. I squealed like the deprived Phoenician that I am.

Look at those stems. You don’t see stems like that on the pumpkins at the grocery store, or those glorious pumpkin hues — although Trader Joe’s does get some.

 

I loved wandering the rows, marveling that a pumpkin begins as a blossom.

This patch was even rimmed with nodding sunflowers, dripping pollen all over their leaves.

“If we lived here, you’d be here every day,” Tyson said.

I know, I said.

“If we had kids,” he said, “we would bring them here, to this patch, and they could choose.”

“Yes,” I said, exactly.

I’ve tried to explain why I feel this way about pumpkins. My birthday is at the end of October — the 29th — and as a little girl, when I saw pumpkins in stores, I knew good things were about to happen: my mom’s pretty presents, a party, a visit from Granna, and then Halloween, Thanksgiving pies with my Aunt Marianne, and on into Christmas.

Pumpkins bring all of that to me.

Petaluma is in Sonoma County, California, just north of San Francisco. Arizona friends: there are seven places around our state where you can find a pumpkin patch with sincerity and actual pumpkins growing in fields. That list is here.

To my other readers, please tell me where you’ve found your own Great Pumpkins. I like to know these places exist somewhere out there, and I can visit come fall. (P.S. Seriously searching for a great patch near NYC, so I can go visit next weekend.)

I’ve heard you can grow pumpkins in Phoenix. Do you know such a soul? Can I come over?

By |2012-10-18T05:14:08-07:00October 18th, 2012|Travel|1 Comment

Halloween Inspiration

I love that when a friend or a reader finds a piece of Halloween/pumpkin brilliance floating out there in the Internet ether, they think of me. “Jaimee Rose will love this,” they say to themselves. And yes, yes, I DO!

Casey Hagarty spotted these loves outside Design*Lab in Mesa. Those are masks from Target, I believe. Simple and brilliant — vintage Caroline DeCesare (owner of Design*Lab and interior designer of doom.) Casey blogs at Avant Girl — you will note she looks like Daisy Buchanan, of The Great Gatsby.

Fireplace pumpkins from Country Living. The mouse on the mantle kills me.

The reigning pin on Pinterest: genius apple cider cups spotted by my friend Shauna, who owns JAM in Scottsdale. Did you know that the best way to keep apples from browning is not lemon juice, not at all? Soak them in Sprite. There’s something about the carbonated water and the citric acid that keeps them white and pristine.

Mini pumpkin bundt cakes I spotted on the cover of the new issue of Family Circle. I love the assemblage of stems: pretzels, tootsie rolls,even a kit-kat, I believe. Video instructions here.

 

Ty’s mom and my friend Andrea both knew I’d love the black duct tape roses in the Lowe’s idea magazine. (Who knew?) Very spooky chic.

Cupcake liner turned witch hat, dreamed up by The Cake Blog.

And I loved this new take on lacy pumpkins from Country Living — they trimmed out the lace pattern and Mod-Podged it onto the squash.

Do you have any more for me? I adore all squash submissions.

P.S. Phoenicians: Bob McClendon returns to the Town and Country farmer’s market today. Hooray for rainbow carrots. He’ll be back at the Old Town Scottsdale farmer’s market Nov. 3. Photo by Jesse Rieser for The Arizona Republic. Read my profile of Bob here.

By |2012-10-03T07:29:13-07:00October 3rd, 2012|Parties|2 Comments

Color-blocking pumpkins, Kelly Wearstler style

I’ve been saving my favorites for October — there are enchantments and sweaters and leaves all wrapped up in just that very word. Today is October, and I’m just glad. (Glad like Anne of Green Gables – remember her gladness musings?)

And October is for pumpkins, of course. Today projects are inspired by Kelly Wearstler, a favorite designer of mine. Black and gold and grommets all over. Read on, and I’ll show you how I made them.

The inspiration:

The translation:

To make, tape off an angled design with green frog tape. Push the tape down between the ridges.

Cover the area that you’d like to remain black with plastic — dry-cleaning bags, shopping bags, even trash or grocery bags will work.

Then, spray paint. Rustoleum makes the very best brass and chrome finishes — that’s important.

Remove the tape after about 30-45 minutes. You will then have this:

I tried the same technique with glitter. Tape off the pumpkin, brush on some glue (I use Elmer’s), add glitter (Martha Stewart), feel pleased.

Black glitter on black pumpkins looks crazy cool in real life. Just the kind of glamorous mystery I love.

Next, I tried the same technique with silver leaf — just use one of those silver or gold leaf kits from Michaels. It was easy and fun.

To make the grommet pumpkin below, use a carve-ready faux pumpkin or (ahem), a real one that you’ve hollowed out. I drilled holes and stuck the grommets in. That’s all. My grommets are from Ace Hardware.

How are you celebrating October? Last night Tyson and I watched movies and went for a little walk to look up at the full harvest moon. Tonight, I’m thinking soup and joy.

By |2012-10-01T08:10:01-07:00October 1st, 2012|DIY + Projects|5 Comments

My Mom’s Valentino Pumpkin

This high-fashion pumpkin has a Valentino stole:

My mom dreamed of a pumpkin inspired by the Valentino’s cascading rosettes and ruffles we’ve been lusting after for a few years, so she twisted some fabric into rosettes (mix a few fabric textures), and added feathers and bits of lace. Try this rosette tutorial if you’d like to make your own.

Afterward, she used hot glue to attach the Valentino stole to the pumpkin.

I think it’s an excellent translation

Above: Charm Magazine, 1954.

And here’s a sneak peek at the next pumpkin coming in my series: metallic color-blocking. I can’t wait to show you the rest.

 

By |2012-09-24T08:30:11-07:00September 24th, 2012|DIY + Projects|4 Comments

My mother’s pumpkin ode to Jonathan Adler

My mother and I have a penchant for white marble sculpture  — anything that looks like it came off of the David, Venus di Milo, or escaped from the Louvre. Either we have romantic, Renaissance leanings or we think that filling our homes with the ideal human form could help us lay off the chocolate. You decide.

During the Rose girls’ pumpkin fest, I floated the idea  of Jonathan Adler-inspired pumpkins and my mom’s eyes lit up. We went back to the craft store for tall, thin pumpkins and modeling clay, and then she did this:

Inspired by this: Adler’s Misia and Salvador vases, $98 each, at Neiman Marcus.

And also this, the pitcher — lips on one side, mustache on the other:

It is something to be continually impressed by one’s mother.

To make them, procure pumpkins. (If you want to upgrade the stem on faux pumpkins, my tutorial is here.) You also need white modeling clay (from Michaels) and spray paint: Krylon Fusion in Dover White, satin finish.

First, paint the pumpkins. Next, form the clay into a mustache and lips with your fingers. It isn’t as difficult as it looks. Summon your Play-Doh skills.

Press your clay creations against the pumpkin to get the curve right on the back.

Next, dry them out in the oven according to package instructions. (Really simple.) Then, spray paint them the same color as the pumpkin. Using hot glue, attach lips and mustache to the pumpkins.

 

 

Clearly, I am a very mature person.

By |2012-09-11T07:43:40-07:00September 11th, 2012|DIY + Projects|3 Comments

Jaimee’s Pumpkin Fashion Series: Pom-Pom Pumpkins

On Labor Day, my mother and sisters came over to help me enact all of my pumpkin dress-up fantasies. Many hours, a bag of candy corn, and a six trips to the craft store later, we had 42 tricked-out pumpkins to welcome the arrival of September. (And hello, gorgeous.)

Today, inspired by the contents of my closet, my Pumpkin Fashion Series begins. First down the runway: Pom-pom pumpkins.

These were inspired by the J. Crew sweater I spied on Emily of Cupcakes and Cashmere:

Directions:

Procure a pumpkin — real or faux. If you use faux, I have a few tricks to make it look better.

First, pull the plastic stem off your pumpkin.

Next, take it outside for a date with some spray paint. I think Krylon Fusion Dover White in Satin looks almost exactly like the finish on the real white pumpkins I find in October.

Then, attach a dried pumpkin stem — a real one. I pluck these off my jack-o-lanterns every fall and let them dry in the garage. Sometimes you can also find them for sale on Etsy and eBay.

Just a little hot glue is all you need.

Then, attach a few rows of pom-poms using hot glue.

In just a few minutes, you’ll have this sweet thing:

Are you excited? The 42 pumpkins before:

And after — Pumpkin Fashion No. 1:

By |2012-09-04T08:48:17-07:00September 4th, 2012|DIY + Projects|2 Comments

White “thanks” pumpkin centerpiece

I dreamed this one up for a photo shoot years ago, and it’s still my favorite Thanksgiving centerpiece: print out letters from your computer, cut them out,  and use Elmer’s glue to paste them onto your pumpkins.

Photo by Wes Johnson

By |2011-11-18T03:36:32-07:00November 18th, 2011|Parties|0 Comments

Daily pumpkin: Polka Dots

Seriously charming carving idea: polka-dots with organic flair meet pumpkin varieties galore.

Use an apple corer to make the holes, and then fill in as needed. Via the stylelist.

P.S. I think Trader Joe’s has the best pumpkin selection — white Cinderella pumpkins, even  — and Bashas’ pumpkins have the coolest, longest stems.)

Or, paint your dots (and stripes), Southern Living style:

By |2011-10-24T16:25:07-07:00October 24th, 2011|Style|0 Comments

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