Sunday, November 3, 2013

It's Fall, Ya'll!

Repurposed from my daughter's wedding
this chalkboard gets lots of use
Morning TV tells me that parts of the country will have a hard freeze tonight. The seasons are changing in Texas, too. But here it’s a little different. In our part of central Texas we have two seasons: "really hot" and "wow it’s cold!" Monday’s 86 degrees is Saturday’s overnight low of 43. Suddenly I am scrambling for warmer blankets and a sweater. Even still, the sky is a crisp blue, the sun is shining bright and my rain-happy roses are blooming like mad. I have to remind myself it’s Fall!
Plaid flannel pumpkin and chili peppers
say Fall in Texas!
It’s November and somehow Halloween décor just looks a little garish once the trick-or-treating is over and the candy is gone.  Visiting blogs and websites, I have been inspired by all the pumpkin creativity.  Pumpkins are painted, stenciled, covered with lace and created from Mason jar rings (cannot wait to try that one!!).  My own faux light up jack o’ lanterns have seen better years.  Taking inspiration from others, I decided to cover mine with fabric to take them through Thanksgiving.  My idea was flannel, a true fall staple.  At the Goodwill (our substitute garage sale location if it's raining) I spotted a wonderful child’s orange and brown plaid flannel shirt and a yummy brown fisherman knit sweater.  They were perfect for “slip covering” my old pumpkins.  Since the pumpkins were shot, I carefully pried the plastic base holding the light bulb off the bottom.  This allowed me to slide the buttoned shirt over the pumpkin (sleeves pulled inside-out) and tuck the shirt tails and extra length up inside the pumpkin.  A little light tack spray I use for stenciling held the fabric securely to the pumpkin.  I wrapped the collar with twine to create a “stem” and voila!  Now I have Fall pumpkins, without even damaging the shirts.  For additional color I grabbed some potted chili peppers (this is Texas!) and gerbera daisies and filled a favorite twig basket.  A hand-woven throw over the rocker and a few gourds finish it off.  Happy Fall, Ya’ll!



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