{Back in Busy-ness}

 It's been a while since I've been able to do anything crafty.  But my upcoming wedding has the wheels turning a bit.  

Here, I turned some ho-hum Ball jars that I bought at a yard sale early this summer into a rustic, vintage style vase to hold flowers for my wedding.  I already had lots of lace scraps, so all I needed was a hot glue gun, a roll of burlap from the craft store, and some vintage (or store-bought) keys.  

I've also been collecting nature-themed books, especially anything about birds, and any that are aqua blue or orange, my colors of choice!

I also decorated my front porch with pumpkins, mums, and a hay bail.  I gave my two urn planters a makeover because they were looking a little too shabby.  So, I took a can of Rustoleum oil rubbed bronze spray paint, and went to town.

Here's a side by side.  What a difference two coats of spray paint can do!  While I spray painted, I tied up the flowers with a bungee cord because I'm not ready to part with these lovely pink and purple blooms just yet.  HOWEVER, their days are numbered...I plan on putting these white pumpkin topiaries in them.

 Here is how I made them:  

I bought foam pumpkins at the craft store when they were 50% off.  Two of each size in large, medium, and small sizes.  

Then I used a hacksaw to saw the stems off of all but the smallest pumpkins.....they go on top, so they need to keep their stem.  

Then I used a utility knife to cut holes in the top and bottom of the medium and large pumpkins, but only the bottom of the baby pumpkin.

I then fed a 3/4" wood dowel into all of them, feeding them onto the pole like giant marshmallows!!  Yummy!  I had to trim the dowel to fit inside my urn planters.  Last step is to put them in the urns and add some foliage and lights.