Turquoise DIY No Carve Pumpkins with Black and White Rhinestone Sparkles

I have to admit that Halloween is not really my jam.  I don't love orange and black as a color combo, cheap Halloween costumes have a weird smell that makes me nauseous, and, as a child-free woman, an evening when children are invited to scream at my door and demand my candy is, quite frankly, more terrifying than A Nightmare on Elm Street...

This year, though, my mission is to really embrace Fall and when I spotted a bag of miniature pumpkins at the grocery store, I decided that maybe a little no carve pumpkin decorating might help me feel more festive.

It worked!

I am no longer the Scrooge of Halloween - look at my adorable DIY turquoise rhinestone pumpkins:

Of course I painted them turquoise first - that's literally how you can get me to do anything.

Supplies:

• Mini pumpkins (real or fake!)
• Acrylic or craft paints
• Small paint brushes
• Stick on rhinestones

A package of dollar store stick-on gems (here's a similar pack on Amazon) in spoooookkkkyy black and silver added a little bit of sparkle - although I think these pumpkins look adorable in every state:  plain, turquoise, be-sparkled.  They're mini pumpkins!  Yeah, I can get on board with this.     

I also made this little "evening sky" pumpkin with a deep blue paint and a smattering of silver stick-on rhinestones:

Because these rhinestones actually come in strips, I also whipped up this pale blue mini pumpkin with black and white stripes:

Once I started bedazzling my pumpkins, it was difficult to stop.  I actually really got into the spirit of things and almost bedazzled the gourds I bought for dinner (I sneak them into a chili recipe).

As I was making these, I kept thinking they would be such a great craft to make with kids because, although they're super easy and don't require any artistic talent, applying those teeny tiny rhinestones did challenge my fine motor skills!  I think you could keep a medium-sized child (too big to eat the rhinestones) busy with this for quite some time. 



See the transformation in me?  Look at me thinking about the children!  Maybe this year I won't eat the best Halloween candy and leave them with the dredges.     

For more modern and colorful Halloween and Fall decor ideas, check out my new Pinterest board dedicated to Fall holidays!

Shop Update and Spider News

The Etsy shop I run with my Mom and Grandma has been chugging along, and I'm so thrilled that we made some great sales in our first month of being open again:

Some of my favorites were out the door first!  Every time I packaged something up I thought, "maybe I should have kept this?"  Our spendy new furnace has made it much easier to part with treasures, though...

In addition to the shop, I've held two Instagram sales.  For the first sale, a vintage hodge podge with enteraining goodies, I listed about 25 things and sold 10.  For the second sale, I listed just over 30 items (mostly Pyrex, some Fire King and Hazel Atlas) and sold nearly everything.  The women at the post office fought over who had to help me with my truckload of packages (1-2-3 not it!).  I've been so surprised by the underground economy of vintage selling/trading on Instagram - it's like the Wild Wild West over there.  It's nice, though, because you get to know sellers personally.  I've even bought/traded some vintage Pyrex that way.  But I do love Etsy.  I like being able to list lots of photos and pen supremely lengthy descriptions.  You might have guessed that I'm a bit chatty!  Plus, I downloaded the Etsy app onto my phone and I hear a little "Cha-CHING" when I sell something.

I recently added some new listings to the shop and thought I'd give you a peek.  I like to make jobs more difficult than they need to be, so I've continued to try to list items in colour groupings.  It looks so good that way that I can't stop.  Behold my reds and greens:

Those green anchor hocking tumblers gleam like emerald!  I love those, but I think the mint condition red polka dot Fire King grease jar is my favorite.  The vintage medical jars are really neat and I'd love to see them in a vintage-inspired bathroom.  The red and white coffee set has the word "coffee" written in a bunch of different language, from Finnish to Spanish, French and German.  And no winter is complete without a fondue pot ;) - I saved the most incredible fondue recipe as a sweet surprise for the purchaser.

I also added some vintage jewellery, including some rhinestone stunners, a sweet pair of 14k gold half moon studs, and a really striking pair of enamel earrings in mint, gold, and black.  Perfect for holiday parties.

Finally, some exciting news (get ready to pat me on the head!): I've added three listings, each with bunches of my handmade Christmas spiders.  See them here, here, and here. 

UPDATE: This listings above sold, but I've got three new listings, with five choices in each:
Click here for blues, greens, and purples
Click here for pinks and reds
Click here for gold and jewel hues

I've been meaning to list them on Etsy for years (I want to say 2011...), but I always sell out locally.  This year I started making them very early and set aside some for the shop.  I can't custom make them for Etsy buyers at this time, but for YOU folks I will happily make one in a certain colour(s), or snag one from my local inventory.  If you want one and don't see one that's perfect, just let me know (in the comments here, through Etsy convos, or feel free to email dans.le.townhouse@gmail.com) and I can send photos of more options. I can also use your zip or postal code to see if the shipping to you would be less expensive than the estimate - I offer this to anyone, for any listing.

Even if I don't sell a single one on Etsy (weep), I'm feeling really good because I've finally fulfilled a four year old goal.  I've been working on getting stuff done (as you might have gleaned).  No excuses, no more delays, and no distractions. 

Truthfully, it was a pleasure making extra spiders this year.  It was so relaxing to hunker down on cold days and just create - and not feel guilty about doing it (like I should be cleaning or doing laundry).  I also love a good excuse to binge watch Gilmore Girls (for the millionth time, but it's on Netflix now and who can resist?).  The process is kind of adorable.  I make the bodies first, so I have a big batch of these weird looking guys:



Then I bead the legs and they still look like little octopi until the legs gets formed and shaped into spider legs.

Hubby actually shapes most of them for me - he is eerily skilled at forming the legs.  Mine always look a little frightened and/or squashed, but his look so elegant.

I can't help myself, the photo below is just perfect for this: "get 'em before they're gone..."  

That's my shop update!! Take a peek at our Minden Shop here if you're curious.  Thanks so much for your encouragement and support.  I know some of you have even bought things, recently and over the years, and that's just so kind of you.  Thank you!  I never expect a purchase from readers, but it's really touching when I'm able to send a vintage treasure to someone I know here. 

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Treasure Hunting Report: Vintage Jewellery

I think I was a bit of a gloomy-Gus yesterday.  Prepping for my research trip keeps reminding me how behind I am.  Especially as I keep unearthing (and returning) unread library book after unread library book.  But I'm in high spirits today because I am almost 100% done preparing for the trip - and that includes packing!  So far, I'm (just barely) meeting my goal of one suitcase + carry-on.  I plan to share all the details about what I packed and how it works out.  But for now, I'm trying to pick a few, small, accessories to add.  Given that I have jewellery on the brain today, I thought it would be a good time to share some recent pirate-worthy treasures from my treasure hunting exploits - jewellery! 

This adorable acorn-themed sterling silver brooch was claimed by you-know-who (*cough*Mom*cough) before I could even try it on.  She pinned it on a chic t-shirt, so the curve of the brooch followed the curve of the crew neck and it looked amazing.  She deserves it for her ingenuity.

I have a modest collection of vintage rhinestone jewellery, even some Sherman stunners, but they are sooo dressy I find it hard to wear them regularly.  When I spotted this cheery yellow brooch with the tiniest sprinkle of green/grey rhinestones, I knew it would be much more wearable.  Picture it on a grey cardigan for fall . . . 

I bought this one for the same reason: a little sparkle, but not too much.

I've been on a brooch kick, I guess, because I also found two pairs of these Lucite bird pins, signed Buch and Deichmann, for $5.00 per pin.  It was perfect because Mom loves the warm brown pair and I heart the cranberry hued ones.  I already have a large, red parrot brooch (like this one) by the same Danish company, so I sense a collection forming.   

If I'm being honest, I actually didn't realize they were birds until Mom pointed it out.  I thought they were abstract-y swirly things and had planned on wearing them like this:

What a maroon.  But I'm now wearing them the right way:

Last but not least, a couple of shop-bound items for when we re-open.  We only sold one piece of jewellery (!) in our few weeks - none of the amber ended up selling.  But I think the timing needs to be different - maybe around the holidays might be a good time for jewellery sales.  I know once we're open permanently, we'll be able to sell more jewellery so I haven't been deterred from buying jewellery for the shop.  These two gorgeous, rhinestone necklaces would be perfect for weddings.  The second one is something old and something blue. 

Does anyone else find looking at sparkly/shiny things very relaxing? I think the calming effect explains my lifelong fascination with rocks and jewellery.  Looking at things that sparkle is my yoga.

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