Supplies Needed for Your Dollar Tree Gothic-Romance Pumkin Craft

• Item Total
• 3 oval, metal, Dollar Tree trays, $1.25 ea. $3.75
• piece of wood or vine for stem (about 4 to five inches long) free
• Large silk leaves
• dusty pink flowers $1.25 ea. (Used two) $2.50
• small plastic skulls $1.25 $1.25
• hot glue
• E6000 glue
• White (or cream) spray paint $5.00 $5.00
• drop cloth
• ribbon & floral wire for bow (or pre-tied bow) $1.25
• wire, or piece of twine for hanger: I used wired rope from Dollar Tree $1.25
• drill, or nail & hammer to punch holes

Note: I didn’t include the cost of glue, glue gun, hammer, etc.

Step One

Remove stickers and glue from oval metal trays. Decide where your trays will overlap, then cover that area with a thin piece of masking tape. This will prevent spray paint from interfering with the bonding power of the E6000 & hot glue.

Step Two

Lay out your drop cloth. Spray the trays with several light coats of paint, letting the trays dry between coats. After completely dry, flip over and paint the other side of trays.

Step Three

Remove the masking tape. Line up your first two trays. Add E6000, according to package directions, to the middle of one taped area. Add enough hot glue above & below the E6000 to hold the trays as the liquid glue sets. Push the trays together until hot glue is set. After E6000 has set, add the third tray using the same method.

Step 4

Add a thin glaze of bronze-colored paint around the edges of the trays, and in the center of each of the trays. I used hot glue to add the stem to the back of the pumpkin, BUT I ended up moving it to the front (See finished project).

Step 5

Drill holes in the top of the pumpkin. Add wired-roped, or preferred hanger). I pushed wired-rope through the front then glued them in place with hot glue on the back.

Step 6

Cut the end off of a rectangle of a floral-foam block (not the soft type that you use with water). I got mine from Dollar Tree. Place hot glue in the center of the foam, and E6000 glue on each side of the hot glue. Press in place until the hot glue is set. Let E6000 glue set for at least 30 minutes before continuing.

When I am creating a floral display, I find my center/focal point (in this case a large flower with a skull in the center). From there, I build outwards towards the outside edge of the floral foam.

Make sure that the floral stems are not protruding from the back of the foam, or you will have trouble gluing the arrangement in place.

When you are gluing the arrangement in place, apply pressure to the center of the floral foam until the hot glue has set.

My Finished Project: Gothic Pumkin Wall Hanger

Of all the wall and door hangers that I have made, this Dollar Tree Gothic-Romance Pumpkin Craft is one of my favorites! It has such a polished, put-together look that it would easily pass for a high-end boutique buy. I kept catching myself singing Sarah’s song from Hocus Pocus the whole time I worked on this project. This project seems to fit her aesthetic, don’t you think?

You could personalize these hangers further with vinyl wordage, house numbers, or a family monogram. Ready to create your amazing Dollar Tree Gothic-Romance Pumkin Craft for Under $20 hanger? Let that creative urge flow…. pumpkins, skulls, and vines, oh my!! I’d love to see your final result. If you’d like to share, drop a comment & photo.

Want more unique projects? Then pop over and check out my other pumpkin projects.

Subscribe to follow, and feel free to share.

Happy Fall Y’all!

Vikki

The post How to Create a Gothic-Romance Pumpkin Craft for Under $20 appeared first on BeeVee Arts and Crafts.

• dryer vent hose
• wire snips
• utility knife or shop scissors
• floral wire
• E6000 glue (optional)
• hot glue gun & glue
• spray paint
• drop cloth (or box)
• stick, piece of grapevine, or something to use as pumpkin stem
• silk vines, leaves, or florals of choice

Choosing Your Vent Hose

I am going to show you two different DIY dryer hose pumpkin crafts. The style of hose that you use will determine the textures of your pumpkin. A ticker vent hose is likely to have tighter bands (see the photo of the white pumpkin). You can decide which look you prefer.

Cut the Hose

Strech out your vent hose. Use shop scissors, or a utility knife to cut your hose to your preferred length. I cut mine to a length of 24 inches.

Warning: the foil that these vents are made of will cut you. Be very careful.

Two Methods of Turning the Hose

Into a Pumpkin Shape

1.) E6000 glue method: You will wire the back first (the part that will end up being the hole for your stem). You may need to use a large needle to punch a hole to feed the wire through. Once you have at least four areas (placed at even intervals around the vent) of wire pushed through the hose, go back and add the E6000 glue to the cut edge of the hose, twist the wire closed, then move to the next section and repeat until all areas are glued and all four of the wires have been twisted closed. Let the glue dry for at least two hours before painting.

Note: Avoid my mistake. Do not use thick wire to pull the sides of the hose together. I made a mess! The large wire punched huge holes in the hose which I ended up having to patch with heavy-duty aluminum foil. After reading the two methods below, if you decide to use wire, I would suggest that you use floral wire to connect the two sides of the hose.

2.) Hot glue method: Pull the ends of the dryer vent hose together and hot glue the edges. Do a small section at a time. I found that starting at the back worked best. Hold until the glue sets (about 40 seconds) before moving to the next section (I use clothes pins as clamps to assist in this step). I still use floral wire to secure the bond, especially if it is going to be on a porch or sitting in the window in direct sunlight. You may opt to only use hot glue; the choice is totally yours.

Painting Your Pumpkin

Do you want a farmhouse style pumpkin? Or, do you want your pumpkin to look more traditional? Neutral paint colors blend well with farmhouse decor. Orange tones give a more traditional look. I did one of each style so that you can see what they look like side by side.

I used two different brands of spray paint for my pumpkins. The first one that I used was Krylon Color Max in White (for a farmhouse look). The second brand that I used was ColorShot in orange. Choose a color that fits your decor style.

Place a box or drop cloth under your pumpkin before painting. Follow the directions on the label of your paint. Let the paint dry between coats.

Decorate Your Dryer Vent Hose Pumpkin

Find a stick or piece of grapevine to use as a stem. I used a faux vine that I cut into one-foot sections. Use hot glue to secure the stem in the middle of the pumpkin. After the hot glue sets, flip it upside down and add a bit of E6000 to the bottom of the stem.

You are now ready to add florals, faux vines, or silk leaves to your pumpkins.

You Can Do It

Dryer vent pumpkins give you the look of high-end decor that you can take pride in displaying. This trendy decor is perfect for a Fall wedding DIY, a luxury gift for giving, for Halloween and Thanksgiving decor and centerpieces. The total cost of your project will depend on the embellishments that you choose. I know that you can do it. I’d love to know how your pumpkins turned out, and what you did to make them unique.

If you love fall decor as much as I do, then you should check out one of my favorite blogs, Momenvy, and her amazing free Fall printables. You may also like my post from last week on how to paint pumpkins on canvas. Stop back by for updates and new posts. I plan to add more DIY pumpkin crafts over the next month.

Thanks for stopping in and crafting with me, drop in again soon.

Vikki

The post How to Make DIY Dryer-Vent Hose Pumpkin Crafts  appeared first on BeeVee Arts and Crafts.

• canvas
• acrylic paint in preferred colors
• brushes: small round brush, medium round brush for filling large spaces, liner brush, small shader-brush
• table cover (old newspaper or wax paper will work)
• piece of wood (to elevate the canvas off the paper) or an easel
• paint palette (I up-cycle disposable bowl lids)
• container for water (upcycle a disposable jar or bowl)
• old cloth
• pencil
• carbon paper?
• pumpkin graphic (see my free traceable downloads below)

Things to Consider Before Starting

• Decide on your design.
• You are welcome to download and print my free pumpkin and pumpkin leaf graphics for personal use. The graphic download is designed for an 8 x 10 sized canvas. If you are using a larger canvas, you will need to enlarge the graphic to fit, you can use carbon paper to transfer the design to your canvas.
• Decide on the color scheme that will best fit your exciting home decor. I chose gray, pastel orange, burnt-sienna, forest green, light yellowish-orange, and white as my color palette for this painting.

Ready, Set, Paint

Step One:

Transfer, or free-hand, your design onto your canvas.

Step Two:

Once your design is laid out on your canvas, using a medium round brush, fill in as much of the background as you can without hitting your pumpkin. Use a liner to finish areas close to your pumpkin. Let your first layer dry for at least an hour, then go over it a second time.

Note: Any details that you have sketched into the background can be easily removed. I originally had wordage on the canvas and decided to paint over it.

Step Three:

Choose the background color for your pumpkin. I used a light flesh-toned color, but you can choose any color your heart desires. For this step, I used a medium round brush.

Notice that as I painted in the background color on the pumpkin, I pulled the brush along in a sweeping curve. This will add dimension to the finished painting.

Step Four:

Start shading in the sections of your pumpkin. I used a small shading brush for this step.

Try not to outline the pumpkin, but instead blend the shade color lightly with my background color. Notice that the first layer of shading is a bit wider, later a second thinner layer will be added in a darker color.

Step Five:

Add highlights to your pumpkin. In order to do this, decide where the light source would be in your painting. If it is from behind, then the shadow at the base of the pumpkin will be in front of it. Notice that for my pumpkin the light source would be from the back. Highlight the top of the pumpkin, along with a bit of the front, and place the shadow to fall directly in front of the pumpkin and a bit to each side.

Adding the Stem & Leaf

I next painted the stem. By painting the stem before adding the leaf, it allows for a more natural-looking placement than if you go back and try to add details to the stem later. I added a small amount of forest green to contour the stem. I layered a lighter color blended from the brunt-sienna and the flesh tone of the pumpkin. Here I used burnt sienna as the background color for the stem. To create the curly-swirls, I used brunt-sienna base, topped with green, and lighter brown high lights.

For the leaf, I free-handed the design onto the pumpkin. Using the same forest green, I outlined the leaf (using a small liner brush).

Note: This photo is of a different painting, but you can see the leaf design being added in the same manner mentioned above.

Next, I filled in the center of the leaf using a small round brush. For this, I used the custom blended color created from mixing the brunt-sienna and the flesh toned paint. I followed this up with details in greens and brunt-sienna.

Tips & Tricks

• Try not to over-blend the colors as you apply them.
• Test your colors on paper before adding them to your canvas.
• Create your pumpkin in layers: background- allow to dry then add a second coat of paint; background of pumpkin- allow to dry, add a second coat of paint; Shading and highlights allow to dry; Stem, allow to dry; leaf, allow to dry.
• Once you become more experienced in layering color, you may be able to skip the layer/dry method, and instead opt for blending and applying color as you work to complete your painting.
• Almost finished! But, before we have you sign your masterpiece, give your amazing art a once over. Are there any messy edges that need to be tidied up, and does the background need to be touched up?

Gallery of Pumpkins and Paintings

I am adding photos of other paintings that I have done so that you can get a feel for what color pallet may work best for your space. Notice that my pumpkins are always different.

When you are painting pumpkins remember that no two pumpkins will have the same color or shape. It is okay if your pumpkins are not perfect, that just makes them as unique as any pumpkin should be! Pixabay offers free and paid graphics for use, the photos below are from their immense graphic library.

I used this photo as a guide when choosing my background color for the body of my pumpkin.

Notice that the coloring varies among the pumpkins.

Happy Pumpkin Spice Season Y’all

I knew that you could do it. I am sure that your painting will be the perfect addition to your decor this season. Now that you know how to paint a pumpkin, you are ready to paint a whole patch.

If you enjoyed this DIY post, please stop by again soon to check out upcoming DIY decor ideas for Fall. I’d love to hear from you, so please drop a comment with any questions.

Happy Painting,

Come back soon,

Vikki

The post How to Paint a Pumpkin appeared first on BeeVee Arts and Crafts.

My first flower arrangements were made of wildflowers that I would find along our gravel road. I noticed that many of those same flowers would dry on the stems. Using these, I started making wreaths to give as gifts. When people started asking for my designs, I started creating flower arrangements and wreaths to sell at local festivals. I am not sure if my designs were that attractive, or if people were amazed that a child had their own booth!

Each year I would sell my designs, saving part of my earnings for floral supplies, using the rest to buy school clothes. My oldest sister saw my interest in flowers and gifted me with a book on creating floral arrangements. That one book cemented my fascination with floral design. I hope to do the same thing, and inspire others to create, especially younger people that visit my site.

Supplies That You Will Need:

• Floral wire
• Needle Nose Pliers (with wire snip)
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Wired Ribbon for bow, or purchased bow
• Grapevine wreath

Safety

• Have a trashcan near your workspace to discard flower stems that have been snipped off and floral wire scraps. Both can be embedded into a foot very easily if stepped on, and could also pose a danger to children or pets.
• Keep hot glue guns out of reach of children when in use.
• Finger guards are recommended when using a glue gun.

Preparing Your Supplies

If you have made your own grapevine wreath you will want to decide which side of your wreath you want to face outwards. Flip your wreath over and carefully snip away any vine tendrils that are pointing backward. This will ensure that your finished product will lay firmly against the wall or door.

If you are tying your bow, you may want to do that before starting on your wreath so that you can lay it in place on the wreath to decide where your bow will be placed on your wreath and how much of an opening to leave open.

Separate the flower picks into individual stems before adding them to the wreath. This allows for greater ease while wiring the stems in place, as well as giving your creation a more balanced look.

Cut at least 15 individual pieces of floral wire (about three inches long) and place them in a small bowl near the workspace. You may need to cut more wire as you go.

Getting Started

Decide what you want your wreath to look like. Start work placing your greenery along both sides of where your bow will go. Wire in each stem as you go, moving from one side of your wreath to the other (to keep your floral additions symmetrical). After the stem is wired in place, I also add hot glue to secure it in place. Using your pliers, curl the wire to where no sharp edges are exposed, and tuck them down into the wreath. For my greenery base, I used lambs’ ear, hops, ferns, and eucalyptus (I did keep a few small sprigs of the eucalyptus to add to the wreath after the florals were finished). Feel free to choose greenery of your liking.

You are now ready to start adding your

largest flowers.

Spacing out the larger flowers, add your stems, moving from side to side to achieve symmetry (refer to the photo of the finished wreath). Generally, I use groupings of three, or five, on each side. This seems to be more pleasing to the eye. Remember to wire the stems in place as you go, then secure with hot glue. Generally, I leave part of the grapevine wreath bare. You can decide how much, or how little, of your wreath, that you leave exposed.

Wire your bow in place. Next, add the smaller flowers to your wreath to fill in any areas that you feel need a bit more filler, wire in if possible, securing with hot glue. Decide if you need a bit more tweaking, or if it is finished to your liking.

Resources

Wreath making can be a fun hobby or side income. If you plan to sell wreaths at craft shows you may want to consider buying inventory at the end of each season to get better prices. I have ordered florals online, but I like to buy them in person. The quality of your florals and ribbon will determine the overall aesthetic of your finished product. I do buy some florals from Dollar Tree, but I carefully inspect them to make sure the heads are compact without any plastic showing in the center, and that the edges are not frayed. Mainly I buy flowers there that I use for filler. Below I am listing retailers that I use when purchasing florals, and ribbons.

None of the sites are affiliates, they are simply some of my favorites.

Dollar Tree: Some florals for filler, seasonal wired ribbon, floral wire

Michaels: florals, wired ribbon

Joann’s: grapevine wreaths, wired ribbon, florals, floral wire, floral tools

Hobby Lobby: Florals, wired ribbon

If you decide to make your own floral wreath, send me a photo. I’d love to see your work.

Thanks for stopping by,

Vikki

The post Spring Floral Grapevine Wreath appeared first on BeeVee Arts and Crafts.

It was easy to find wild grapevines in Eastern Kentucky. Some of my best memories are of my siblings, cousins, and I stopping along the gravel road to pick and eat fall grapes. We’d get home with hands and clothes stained with grape juice, knowing full well that Mom was going to be upset.

Wild grapevines have long been a source of both food and crafting material in the Appalachian Mountains. Wild grapes make flavorful jelly, and the vines are used for creating wreaths and baskets.

I am going to show you how I craft my grapevines wreaths. If you love working with your hands and getting outdoors to find nature-farmed craft supplies, then I think you will love wreath making.

You Will Need:

• eye protection
• grapevines
• shape knife for cutting vines
• space to lay out vines and work
• long pants

Safety Matters

Creating Grapevine wreaths is not hard to do, but you may end up with a few splinters and scratches on your hands and arms as you work. Protective eye gear is recommended. Take care using the knife in tangled areas while harvesting vines. Also, it’s very wise to make sure that you know what a grapevine looks like. I have heard of people cutting poison ivy thinking that it was a grapevine. Avoid both poison ivy and poison oak, as both plants tend to grow in wooded areas along with grapevines.

When to Harvest Vines

You can use domesticated grapevines to create wreaths. Here, I am harvesting wild vines from our property. Make sure that if you are harvesting from someone else’s land, that you have the landowner’s permission. Spring is a good time to harvest and work on your wreaths as the sap starts to return to the vines from the roots making them more pliable. Vines can be harvested in summer and fall as well. Although, you will have to deal with sap that will drip from the cut ends during the summer and until the sap has receded in the fall). You do not want to harvest in the dead of winter because the vines will be more brittle and harder to work. Working in early spring will also help you avoid finding ticks and snakes in your vine thicket.

Choosing Your Vines

When you begin gathering your vines, you are going to want to harvest 5 to 6 grape vines that are about the size of your thumb on one end, tapering down to about the size of your little finger. Size of the vines doesn’t matter so long as you can work them and does not have to be exact. The vines each need to be about 20 feet long. For a larger wreath, adjust the size and length of your vines. Make sure that you lay your vines separately as you stretch them out on the ground (this will keep them from becoming tangled).

Once you have your vines cut and laid out, choose one to be the base for your wreath. Carefully shape one end of the vine into a hoop the diameter that you want your finished wreath to be. Hold the area near the end of your vine, and carefully pull the loose end through the hoop you’ve established.

In the photo below, I am tucking in loose pieces as I work. You can also see the angle that I position the vine in, to prepare pulling it through the hoop. Holding the hoop with my left hand, I move my right hand to the bottom of the wreath. I push the vine through the opening in the middle of the hoop (near the bottom of the wreath).

Make sure that when you began to pull your vine through that you do not try to make it bend too sharply or it will break.

As you pull it through, wrap the vine in and out as you move around the hoop. When you get close to the end of your first vine, look for an area where you can tuck the loose end inside your hoop.

Choose your next vine, take the end of this vine, move back about two inches from where you tucked the end of the last one, and insert the large end (the end where you cut it loose from the near the ground).

Work your new vine into a space within your hoop. You then will continue working this vine exactly as you did the first. Add the rest of your vines, one at a time, until your wreath has reached the thickness that you want.

Wreathmaking is something that takes a bit of practice to get the wreath to hold together tightly. Try not to be discouraged if your first attempt at making a wreath is not perfect. It took practice on my part as well. After your wreath has cured for at least a week in a dry environment, you can begin decorating your wreath by adding a beautiful bow and anything else your heart desires.

If you have enjoyed learning about this Appalachian craft, you may want to check out the Foxfire book series. The series is a collection of works that teach many of the skills used by mountain folk for centuries. You can find them at amazon.com and most public libraries.

Join me in an upcoming post as I work to add embellishments to my grapevine wreath. Have fun creating your first grapevine wreath. If you do create a wreath, I’d love to see photos.

Thanks for stopping in,

Vikki

The post Making A Grapevine Wreath You’ll Want To Decorate appeared first on BeeVee Arts and Crafts.