Marie LeBaron is the founder and managing editor of Make and Takes. Always having a love of crafts, she enjoys getting messy with glue and glitter. There’s always some sort of project going on, her kitchen counter is often cluttered with crafts. When she’s not crafting and creating with her kids, she loves to run, read, and blog! Read other posts by Marie
Recently I found some inexpensive fake pumpkins for my fall centerpiece, but some of them looked as cheap as the price. I decided to try dressing one up with guilding liquid–this is cool stuff! It’s easy to use, too. Here’s how to do it. . .
Supplies for Guilding Pumpkins:
1. Working in a well-ventilated area (this is stinky stuff!), lightly brush a layer of guilding liquid over object. Try brushing in one direction for best effect. Allow to dry 1 hour between coats (I only did one coat on my pumpkin!).
2. Once object is dry, spray with a light coat of gloss enamel spray to protect the finish and prevent tarnishing.Follow up with another coat for best results. Allow to dry thoroughly.
3. Clean up brush and skin with nail polish remover or paint thinner. CAUTION: guilding liquid is flammable, so do not use near an open flame! That means no guilding candles!
I placed my pumpkin on top of a candlestick. I love how rich and shiny it looks as a part of my fall table setting!
Little Birdie Secrets are a regular contributor to M&T and was born from the crafting obsession of friends living in the Pacific Northwest. From quilting to card making to baking, they love sharing tips, tricks, and tutorials to make crafting fun and easy. Visit them at http://www.littlebirdiesecrets.com/. Read other posts by Little Birdies
Every year I try to make the most of the fall months by making as many pumpkin recipes as I can. I am pumpkin obsessed. I can never get enough pumpkin. I recently created a delicious pumpkin breakfast-Pumpkin Quinoa. If you haven’t tried quinoa, you must. Quinoa is a seed that is high in protein and gluten free. It has a slightly nutty flavor and a nice crunchy texture. It is typically used in savory dishes/salads, but I used it to create a hearty and filling breakfast.
I love adding pumpkin to my oatmeal in the fall, so why not add it to quinoa? I cooked the quinoa on the stove and stirred in pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground ginger, and cloves. I added brown sugar for a little bit of sweetness and topped my bowl off with chopped pecans and dried cranberries. I had a healthy, comforting breakfast in no time. If you are looking for a new way to enjoy pumpkin this season, try this Pumpkin Quinoa recipe. It is a great way to start the day.
If you are addicted to pumpkin, like me, you might also like these pumpkin recipes:
Enjoy pumpkin season!
Pumpkin Quinoa Breakfast
1 cup milk1 cup water1 cup rinsed quinoa1/3 cup pumpkin1/2 teaspoon cinnamon1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg1/8 teaspoon ground gingerPinch of ground cloves1/4 cup brown sugar1/3 cup chopped pecans1/4 cup dried cranberriesDirections:
Combine milk, water and quinoa in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until most of the liquid is absorbed. Turn off heat; let stand covered 5 minutes. Stir in pumpkin, spices, and brown sugar. Transfer to four bowls and top with pecans and dried cranberries. Serve warm.
Serves 4
Tagged as: breakfast, Healthy, pumpkin, quinoa, Recipe, Vegetarian
Maria is a regular contributor to Make and Takes Food. Maria and her husband, Josh, are Two Peas and Their Pod. They are known as the “cooking couple” and are a great team in the kitchen. They love trying new recipes, flavors, and techniques and sharing their creations with the world. They try to keep things healthy, but they always save room for dessert. Read other posts by Two Peas
I wouldn’t classify myself as a “hoarder” per se, but I do have a weak spot for a few things. Tissue paper is one of them. After a birthday party or other celebration, you will find me lovingly rescuing tissue paper from gift bags (which also get reused), smoothing out the wrinkles, and folding it to go into a special drawer. Yes, I have an entire drawer devoted to recycled tissue paper. When I come across craft ideas like this Halloween jack-o-lantern, it makes me so happy to know that I can simply use what I have on hand.
Orange tissue paperWhite glue (watered down)PaintbrushBlack or yellow construction paperGreen ribbon (not pictured)
This is a pretty easy Halloween craft for kids, too.
Start by ripping your tissue paper into small, irregular pieces, no bigger than about 2" x 2". As you can see, even the baby is "helping" with this one!
Affix the tissue paper pieces to the balloon by brushing on a layer of watered-down glue, pressing the paper on, and then covering with another layer of glue. Overlap the paper to cover all of the balloon.Since our balloon was a pretty dark color, we did about three layers of tissue paper to make our jack-o-lantern nice and orange.
Cut the jack-o-lantern face out of construction paper and glue to your pumpkin.
Hang the craft up using green ribbon, and curl some to fall around the top like pumpkin vines.
Construction paper and pipe cleaners are about all you need for this paper pumpkin craft.We’ve really gotten into decorating for both Halloween and autumn around here. The dining room as a definite silly/spooky Halloween vibe, while the living room has more of a sophisticated “harvest” theme. Just because it’s more grown up doesn’t mean there aren’t any kid crafts in there, with these simple pumpkins being a great example.
What you need to make paper strip pumpkins:
Orange construction paperScrap of green construction paperGreen pipe cleanerScissorsTapeStapler
Most of these craft supplies are right on hand!
Cut your paper lengthwise into strips. The width is up to you. We did 11 strips for our each pumpkin.
Fan the strips out and staple them at the gathering point. Then tape the two fans together.
Cut out a leaf and hole punch it at the bottom.
Hole punch each strip on the non-attached end. Bring them all together at the top and feed a green pipe cleaner through them and the leaf before twisting it to hold everything in place. Curl the pipe cleaner around your finger or a pen to look like pumpkin vines.
Use your paper pumpkins to add color and fun to your Halloween or harvest decorations.You may notice a couple of our other autumn crafts in this picture, like the autumn leaf garland and paper bag pumpkin!
