What Halloween looks like at my house (without me)

Happy Halloween from New York City and your stranded friend Jaimee. I’m so glad I decided to start packing light just in time for this trip. (Ugh.) But I am safe, and grateful to be. I’m spending the days  wandering around upper Manhattan with dazed New Yorkers, who are suddenly not in a hurry, and therefore a bit lost. It’s a strange, suspended New York.

Meanwhile, here’s what Halloween looks like at my house in warm, dry Phoenix. I set it all up before my trip, so I could come home to the fun. Sigh.

T inherited these monster gloves from my grandparents’ attic, which he will use at the Halloween party to traumatize my niece for years to come.

Pumpkins on the dining table, all in a row.

I found this bony wrist at Michaels. A perfect spot of spook for the bookshelves.

Glitter-blocking.

I hope you all love Pop Rocks as much as I do. I found the pumpkin variety at Churn, a sweets and ice cream shop near my house.

Spots and studs.

 

This pumpkin stack will last through Thanksgiving. They’re from Trader Joe’s, my favorite place to find unusual pumpkins in Phoenix.

I put pumpkins anywhere I can: bathroom, kitchen shelves.

Even Bergdorf gets a costume. (That’s his name, chosen by my sister Kapri.)

Wishing you all fun tonight with kids in costumes and roasted pumpkin seeds. And if you need a jack-o-lantern carving idea, may I suggest this:

 

By |2012-10-31T07:33:20-07:00October 31st, 2012|Style|2 Comments

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|1 Comment

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|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

My Mom’s Annual Spookfest, 2011

The annual Rose family spookfest was held this weekend, and we did it up in grand ghoulish style. There were candy apples and coiled intestines (ew), pink-cheeked little girls and a Grandpa with a grin, even severed hands hiding in corners, and on cupcakes.  A look inside our bash:

(The coffin that my sister’s husband built, now in its second year.)

Marshmallows, peanut butter, apple slices, and a total pain in the you-know-what.

Mini lady apples make these perfectly party-sized.

Layered burlap and cheesecloth for spook-tacular tablecloths.

I  made pumpkin-shaped Rice Krispie Treats, with fondant and tootsie roll leaves and stems:

Graveyard cupcakes:

Soup buffet:

Spooky seven-layer dip:

My sister’s awesome giant pumpkin popcorn ball (note the stem):

Happy little boys bobbing for apples:

Spooky decor:

Pumpkin cupcakes with maple cream cheese icing:

Our new favorite trick: a mechanical severed hand that walks across the floor on its own, triggered by motion nearby. My aunt SCREAMED. It was awesome. We dressed up this version from Grandin Road, which happily landed in my mailbox at work this summer and has been entertaining all visitors to my cubicle for months.

This year, we ventured into some extreme gory territory to please children who are now teenagers, and unimpressed with apple bobbing and dry ice in witches’ brew. Lesson of this experiment: people will eat anything.

Totally dorky, but it made us all laugh: Mount Mushmore (hummus with a peanut butter candy head garnish).

Revolting (cheeseball covered in prosciutto, courtesy Heidi).

And, I’m sorry, but it had to be done. Kitty Litter Cake:

(Will got to serve it, much to his delight.)

As ever, SCABS. (Beef jerky).

And the famous ribs:

Costumes: pretty kitties.

Pink cheeks.

Sleepy skeletons. Note the binky:

Homemade paper dolls and dice:

And a sweet little boy who I found hanging out on Grandpa’s lap:

Happy Halloween.

 

By |2011-11-01T03:01:27-07:00November 1st, 2011|Parties|3 Comments

Nine layers of Haunted Home Halloween genius

When my mother sees these photos, she is going to lose her mind (and then go to the store for more spider web and cheesecloth.) Behold, the haunted home of San Diego decorator Simone Lagies, as seen on BHG:

Mom will also sigh over these images, from Curious Sofa, which I spotted on local blog Little Lovables. (Mom, you MUST do this to the chandelier, and don’t you think your eiffel tower needs some crows?)

By |2011-10-20T16:29:28-07:00October 20th, 2011|Style|1 Comment

Lacy, racy boudoir pumpkins

This craft project began as lacy pumpkins and ended as racy pumpkins. I feel kind of bad for the pumpkins. But I didn’t mean any harm.

I actually think they’re kind of awesome, provided you don’t object to a little Kiki de Montparnasse.

But this is still fishnet stockings on squash,  and there’s nothing I can do to change that.

And maybe I got into some feathers, too.

A little lace:

In my defense, I got the idea from the wholesome wonder that is Better Homes & Gardens, so it can’t be ALL bad.

By |2011-10-03T03:10:24-07:00October 3rd, 2011|DIY + Projects|0 Comments

Tell me about it, Stud.

Sunday night + studs + spray paint + preserved stem = a pumpkin named Axl Rose.

Pretty studly, don’t you think? My mom spotted the idea somewhere and whispered it into my ear. My friend Lynne, the velvet pumpkingoddess, lent me this awesome preserved stem, straight from the patch.

I think this might be my highest achievement in pumpkin-torture yet.

How to make your own:

Purchase a faux pumpkin. You’re not going to all this trouble to throw it away.

Spray paint your pumpkin. I used the matte black paint that adheres to plastic.

When it’s dry, stud your squash. Start at the top and continue to the bottom of each section. I used a bag of 100 nailheads from Fabric Depot in Phoenix, $15. It took about 15 minutes.

Now if you want a really awesome stem like mine, you’ll need to do this next year, but plan now. First,  find a patch and pick a pumpkin, leaving the stem extra long. After your pumpkin has had its day as a jack o lantern, remove the stem and let it dry.

To attach it to the faux studded pumpkin, poke a hole in the bottom of the stem with an awl. Cut off the fake stem. A kitchenknife will be fine. The stems are made of foam. Insert a wooden skewer into the preserved stem. (Yes, like you use on the grill.) Stick the skewer into your studded pumpkin.

Can you tell my pumpkin isn’t real? Didn’t think so.

P.S. It’s Pumpkin Week over at Sweet Paul. Today: something for all you logo-vores.

By |2011-10-02T03:08:16-07:00October 2nd, 2011|DIY + Projects|2 Comments

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