Missoni Pumpkin D-I-Y

And now, the results of my annual pumpkintorture session:

Missoni! Yes, Missoni-inspired pumpkins. I decided I needed pumpkins to match my plates. (For the “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown Party” that I still need to plan.)

Aren’t they fun? They’re also simple and quick. I did them in about an hour, not including dry time. It’s just paper and glue. (You could also paint, which might look better, but that sounds hard.) Republic designer Audrey Tate even made zigzag templates for you to download. Pumpkin One, Pumpkin Two, and COLOR! (Not pictured.)

Here’s how:

Get a pumpkin, real or fake. If you’re going to all this trouble, it’s nice to keep your pumpkin around for a few years. I’ll show you how to make the faux look real. (My missonis above? Fake. Yep! And some of the pumpkins next to them are real. Tough to tell, isn’t it?)

PUMPKIN ONE: This pumpkin was $10 at Target. I like that the ribs and surface are uneven, like a real pumpkin.

Next, take the pumpkin outside, and paint it. The perfect white pumpkin paint is Krylon Fusion in Dover White. This takes minutes, since Fall in Arizona means HOT weather and quick-drying paint.

This is optional, but I think this paint looks more real than the finishes that come on the faux pumpkins.If your faux pumpkin is orange, I’d paint that, too — in a satin finish, whatever color you want.

If you have a real pumpkin stem on hand — which is the trick to making these look authentic — then pry off the plastic stem before painting. If you don’t have one, tape off the plastic stem.

Next, download, print and cut your zig zags. Use regular-weight paper. You’ll probably need three or four print-outs to go around the pumpkin.

I cut the zigzags above into two portions for my Target pumpkin: one zig zag larger than the other. Next, coat the back of the cutout with Mod Podge in Matte. Stick it on your pumpkin, and top with another coat of Mod Podge. Let dry. Continue around the pumpkin until it’s finished.

TIPS: Some inks will get smeared by the Mod Podge, and you’ll have grey glue smudges on your white pumpkin. Just wipe them off while still wet with a damp paper towel.

TO MAKE IT LOOK REAL: (Remember, you have pried off the fake stem.) I learned this trick from Lynne Bonnell, the velvet pumpkin queen. Buy pumpkins with good stems, and save the stems after Halloween. Pry or cut them off your pumpkins, and let them sit out in a ventilated area, like your garage, and dry until next year. When dry, scrape dried squash off the bottom of the stem, and attach to a faux pumpkin with Quick Grip adhesive.

If you want a stem right now, glue won’t hold it, but there is a way:  buy a pie pumpkin, hack off the stem, cut all the squash off the bottom, and use an awl to poke a hole in the bottom of the stem about two inches deep.

To attach, stick one end of a toothpick into the top of your faux pumpkin, and attach the stem to the other end. Handle with care. Next year, glue it on.

PUMPKIN TWO: It was difficult to get the spacing even between my zigzag rows, so for the second pumpkin, I used Audrey Tate’s template and printed it on cream-colored paper so that the in-between spacing was already in place. If your pumpkin is orange, print the template on orange paper.

And remember that you can make your zigzags go any direction you want.

 

Templates: Pumpkin One, Pumpkin Two, and color (not pictured — and in my defense, I tried, but my printer was out of color ink — something a black and white acolyte tends not to notice).

 

By |2011-10-01T03:03:20-07:00October 1st, 2011|DIY + Projects|1 Comment

Missoni Pumpkin D-I-Y: Fall Craft Week Begins

It’s Fall Craft Week in this portion of the internet universe, which is going to have us all in Michaels every night this week. (If you could see the gems landing in my inbox! Send yours to jaimee.rose@arizonarepublic.com.)

And now, the results of my annual pumpkin torture session:

Missoni! Yes, Missoni-inspired pumpkins. I decided I needed pumpkins to match my plates. (For the “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown Party” that I still need to plan.)

Aren’t they fun? They’re also simple and quick. I did them in about an hour, not including dry time. It’s just paper and glue. (You could also paint, which might look better, but that sounds hard.) Republic designer Audrey Tate even made zigzag templates for you to download. Pumpkin OnePumpkin Two, and COLOR! (Not pictured.)

Here’s how:

Get a pumpkin, real or fake. If you’re going to all this trouble, it’s nice to keep your pumpkin around for a few years. I’ll show you how to make the faux look real. (My missonis above? Fake. Yep! And some of the pumpkins next to them are real. Tough to tell, isn’t it?)

PUMPKIN ONE: This pumpkin was $10 at Target. I like that the ribs and surface are uneven, like a real pumpkin.

Next, take the pumpkin outside, and paint it. The perfect white pumpkin paint is Krylon Fusion in Dover White. This takes minutes, since Fall in Arizona means HOT weather and quick-drying paint.

This is optional, but I think this paint looks more real than the finishes that come on the faux pumpkins.If your faux pumpkin is orange, I’d paint that, too — in a satin finish, whatever color you want.

If you have a real pumpkin stem on hand — which is the trick to making these look authentic — then pry off the plastic stem before painting. If you don’t have one, tape off the plastic stem.

Next, download, print and cut your zig zags. Use regular-weight paper. You’ll probably need three or four print-outs to go around the pumpkin.

I cut the zigzags above into two portions for my Target pumpkin: one zig zag larger than the other. Next, coat the back of the cutout with Mod Podge in Matte. Stick it on your pumpkin, and top with another coat of Mod Podge. Let dry. Continue around the pumpkin until it’s finished.

TIPS: Some inks will get smeared by the Mod Podge, and you’ll have grey glue smudges on your white pumpkin. Just wipe them off while still wet with a damp paper towel.

TO MAKE IT LOOK REAL: (Remember, you have pried off the fake stem.) I learned this trick from Lynne Bonnell, the velvet pumpkin queen. Buy pumpkins with good stems, and save the stems after Halloween. Pry or cut them off your pumpkins, and let them sit out in a ventilated area, like your garage, and dry until next year. When dry, scrape dried squash off the bottom of the stem, and attach to a faux pumpkin with Quick Grip adhesive.

If you want a stem right now, glue won’t hold it, but there is a way:  buy a pie pumpkin, hack off the stem, cut all the squash off the bottom, and use an awl to poke a hole in the bottom of the stem about two inches deep.

To attach, stick one end of a toothpick into the top of your faux pumpkin, and attach the stem to the other end. Handle with care. Next year, glue it on.

PUMPKIN TWO: It was difficult to get the spacing even between my zigzag rows, so for the second pumpkin, I used Audrey Tate’s template and printed it on cream-colored paper so that the in-between spacing was already in place. If your pumpkin is orange, print the template on orange paper.

And remember that you can make your zigzags go any direction you want.

 

Templates: Pumpkin OnePumpkin Two, and color (not pictured — and in my defense, I tried, but my printer was out of color ink — something a black and white acolyte tends not to notice).

Do you have a fall craft to share? Send me pictures: jaimee.rose@arizonarepublic.com

By |2011-09-26T17:18:47-07:00September 26th, 2011|DIY + Projects|2 Comments

Five for Friday: pretties and pumpkins chez moi, plus two wknd events not to miss

ONE. My Missoni dishes came. They were waiting for me last night, and ohhhh, my. Absolutely fabulous, darlings! I’m dreaming of a pumpkin-filled dinner party with an “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” theme.  Because I love that movie and I love these dishes and they’ve got a lot in common.

 

TWO. This ceramic box from Missoni also arrived — killer, and quite big. It could be a cookie jar. Pumpkin cookies, of course.

THREE. For my pumpkin dinner party, I will employ my sister’s enormous silver pumpkin punch bowl, because who would own a pumpkin punch bowl except a woman in my autumn-obsessed family? (Wait until I show you the matching silver pumpkin cups.) Maybe at this party, we need to have pumpkin soup.

FOUR. I got out my great pumpkin last Sunday. It’s even bigger than the punch bowl. This weekend, I think, the rest of the pumpkins are escaping their box in the garage. It’s too early for this, I know. Also: I don’t care.

FIVE. I have an autumnal orchid adding pinky oranges to my black and white stripes. It was a housewarming gift from Mark and Angela — who laughed and said they were sorry it wasn’t white. And you know what? That non-white orchid totally makes the room.

What are you up to this weekend? Don’t forget the Halloween sale at FOUND, which is now open to the public just one weekend a month and by appointment. They’re opening up their basement and clearing out summer goods — and those sales are LEGENDARY among those of us who know to go.

Also this weekend: the Halloween event at Sweet Salvage, another monthly market shop that opened this summer along the 7th Avenue Design District in Phoenix. All of this talk of October and pumpkins is bringing me unfettered joy. Happy weekend, everyone.

P.S. Thanks to you all for coming to the Storytellers event last night — it was great fun, and I can’t wait to be in the audience Oct. 21 at Narcisse Lounge in Scottsdale for the next round. Ghost stories!

By |2011-09-16T18:09:00-07:00September 16th, 2011|Style|0 Comments

Missoni at Target sells out, crashes Target.com, is fashion madness.

***UPDATE As of Wednesday morning, Target.com is back, and there are a few Missoni items left. Get clicking.

Target’s Missoni designer collection touched down this morning, was sold out at many Valley stores within an hour, and even crashed Target.com. As of 3:20 Arizona time, Target’s website was still down.

The Twitter faction is furious. The Missoni make-up brushes were nowhere to be found.  One Valley woman went to four stores before noon.

I joined my fellow Missoni lunatics in line at 7:45 a.m. outside the Phoenix Spectrum Target, where women were talking about “Christmas morning” and how much they loved the Missoni luggage they spotted on TV.

When the doors opened at 8 a.m., the crowd ran inside. The women’s clothing racks were emptied within 10 minutes. I was number 15 in line and got the last of the Missoni bowls.

The beach cruisers went immediately (and two to my girlfriends, who were the envy of the store). The luggage caused a stampede when Target clerks restocked it after 20 minutes. My co-worker Amy nabbed the last black and white suitcase — and the matching travel bag — and walked around with a dazed grin.

And then, about 30 minutes in, the crazed shoppers became friends: we traded and bartered for sought-after items outside dressing rooms and in check-out lines.

“Do you want this?” “Is this your size?” “Did you see this shirt?” “Oh, you have to get that dress, it looks amazing.”

There was even a rush on the little girls’ department when one woman emerged in a striped cardigan to oohs and ahhs and shared her secret: “GIRLS! Size XL! It fits!”

(Dear woman: thank you, from us all.)

It was true fashion goodwill, in contrast to the true annoyance of others who slept in 15 minutes and missed out. If you’re on that list, try eBay, where resellers are already hawking Missoni goodies at double and triple the cost.

One suspected eBay buyer piling women’s flats into his cart in my Target this morning got the business from his fellow shoppers for being piggy.

“You’re a man,” I overheard a shopper say. “Come ON.”

I had a good Missoni day, but I stalked those stripes with dedication: set my alarm for 3:30 a.m. to shop online, woke up every hour just to make sure, and lucked out to get my order in before the crash. (This is sounding quite dire, like a stock market report.) And I hit two Valley stores before 9:30 a.m.

My friend Angela and I were shameless in our lust, even asking fellow shoppers for their cast-offs.We made friends with the fitting room clerks, who told us that this is the nuttiest shopper stampede they’ve ever seen, and then gave us the stuff other women didn’t want. We lurked around the go-back piles. We divided, and conquered, and made loop after loop of the store, trolling for cast-aways, employing every strategem we learned shopping Last Chance.

And then we thanked the shopping karma Gods by sharing cast-offs of our own.

So, I’m a bit tired and a lot nuts. But I have black and white dishes and little girls’ sweater that fits like a dream, so I’ll wear my lunacy with pride.

HOW TO GET SOME OF YOUR OWN: Besides eBay, try the stores tonight, when shoppers who bought with abandon may have returned a few items. Also, follow @TargetStyle on Twitter — the official Target fashionista feed said today that some stores will restock Missoni in the next few days and weeks. Calling the stores first is a good idea — that’s how Angela and I found bike number two. (And thank you, dear bike whisperer at Paradise Valley Tarjay.)

Lastly: call your friends in Iowa/Indiana/Kansas/Missouri. Twitterites in those locales are reporting still-full shelves.

(A friend’s Missoni bike, parked temporarily chez moi, which is a kind of gorgeous torture.)

Top photo: Apartment Therapy

By |2011-09-13T18:15:55-07:00September 13th, 2011|Style|0 Comments

Missoni Day! And Zara! And Sprinkles Mini Cupcakes! Topshop Chicago!

I don’t know how we ladies can navigate a sea of such tempting ways to spend money and calories, but here’s to full-force female indulgence. It’s a good week to be a girl.

1) It’s Missoni-at-Target Day. Yes, as in right now you should be stalking Target.com to see if the zigzaggery is online yet . That, or if its past 8 am, driving to your nearest shop. And then come back, ’cause I’ve got more to tell you here and besides — I want to know what you got! I want everything black and white, namely.

2) Remember when I told you that Zara was FINALLY offering online shopping? Yep, it’s time for that, too. The site has been live for a few days. I’m crushing on these two-tone patent leather riding boots. Can’t believe they could actually land on my doorstep. $89.

3. Sprinkles now makes mini cupcakes — an announcement far more friendly to wearing Missoni zigzag sweater knit than the original Sprinkles cupcakes could ever be. They’re available for pre-order in any of Sprinkles’ daily flavors. I can’t wait to try. To me, small cupcakes taste better. (Less cake, more frosting.) $24 per dozen.

4. Topshop is now open on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. The famous London high-fashion (and low-price) shop opened its first American outpost  in New York two years ago. The Chicago flagship is number two, and begins the western migration. (Las Vegas is next, according to The Telegraph.) Olivia Palermo gets half her wardrobe there it seems. I have one truly killer Kate Moss-designed dress with feather sleeves and a double-digit price tag. I like double digits in price tags and forecasts. (Phoenicians — how happy are we!?)

Now, seriously, did you do Missoni damage? Dish.

By |2011-09-12T18:18:43-07:00September 12th, 2011|Style|1 Comment

Missoni for Target

Freaking out just the slightest bit this morning over the peek at the new Missoni for Target collection I saw online. It arrives in shops Sept. 13, and I will be stalking some major black and white chevron dishes. And perhaps a dress. And certainly the scarf. As for the bike, well, howl. That, too.

(Also, his black cardigan below. But it’s not for the Mr. I want it for me.)

 

Also: the black and white rug! And makeup brushes, too — oh, dear, this is going to be trouble.

By |2011-08-10T16:19:10-07:00August 10th, 2011|Style|0 Comments

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