AUTUMN'S IN THE AIR...Are you Pumpkin Patch Ready?  October in Maryland...& it's Pumpkin Patch Time! I'm so excited to go explore a farm here in Maryland with my family & friends. This year we've chosen to visit the Gaver Farm in Mt. Airy, MD. Not only does this farm have pumpkins, but it has an apple orchard with about 4 or 5 varieties, a corn maze, & a tree farm for Christmas! They scattered about the grounds different activities & animals to feed!  2018 @ Gaver Farm Corn Maze Maryland is a bit cooler than Arkansas this time of year, but not by much. That means the weather is still a concern. We tend to spend a few hours taking pictures & strolling through the farm, animals, pumpkin patch, along with any other activities that happen to be there. If your family is like ours, don't forget to smear on the sunscreen this year (even if it's cooler & cloudy)! Most of the farms we visit have food & drink vendors, & others sell farm products to enjoy. For many trips, there's no need to bring snacks. Most have credit card readers as well, so no need to carry lots of cash either! ...DECORATING FOR FALL WITH AUTUMN INSPIRATION... The mums serve as a backdrop. Flowers are always a great way to add instant pops of color to your porch, & mums are a fall favorite for sure! I've got a few ideas to help get your porch ready for autumn quickly. Pick a flower pot size that achieves the impact you seek for the porch. You wouldn't want tiny flower pots on a large stairway; nor would you want a pot that takes over the porch. Scale matters in form & function. Think about the size that would fit the space, & then make a supply list of all materials needed before heading out to the Pumpkin Patch or local market. I love to sketch out the design/project to get my materials list. After purchasing the items needed, & gathering all materials, I execute the design. Here's two strategies to accomplish the same result: create & decorate, or decorate & create. Create & decorate refers to creating any piece that needs to be assembled before starting the decorating process; decorate & create is just the opposite, you wait to create anything until all other pieces are in place (like fill in the space). Neither way is best, so choose what works for you! ...FALL INTO BACK TO SCHOOL ORGANIZING THIS AUTUMN...Parent Teacher Conferences are just around the corner for some & just pasted for others... if paper organization is an issue for you or your kids, here's some help!  Versatile positioning on wall-mounted shelving can be a great solution for an office or craft room! Containing all of the paperwork that comes home from school is often overwhelming. It starts to pile up & deadlines don't get met. Sometimes the hardest commitment is making the time to accomplish our goals. Here's some tips to help you contain your clutter... *Make Time-Everybody used to tell me this...but when you just don't have the time, how can you make it? The simple truth is, you just have to commit a slice of time to getting organized (life will actually wait). Take one area @ a time to make it less overwhelming. *Ask for Help-Be big enough to ask for help! It's okay to ask for help...there's many ways for someone to help a little or a lot, depending on your needs & comfort level. You can ask for help sorting items into piles; donating or fixing items; organizing & shopping for items; or hire a professional to get your goals accomplished quickly in a more efficient & effective process! Investing in a session or two with a professional organizer may be the best investment you make all year! A project that could potentially take you weeks or months can be accomplished in days. Checking things off your "To Do" list feels amazing, & an organizer will help you problem-solve to maintain the space. *Organization-When you think about the types of paperwork that come home during the back to school rush, it usually consists of office/classroom paperwork to be returned, notices or reminders of upcoming events, & work that's completed or needs to be completed. As soon as these papers come home, take action & be done! Don't put them off for long! Reminders & notes go on the calendar. Paperwork is pitched, filed, & stored, ready for tomorrow...Bam, done! *Storage-A container for both in & out papers like a letter sorter is a great item that doesn't take up much space! Another option is a shoe box you can decorate. Sort through the papers that come home; pitch the worksheets; & put the keepers in a portfolio that can be easily accessible to get out & put away! For more information on school paperwork organization & storage, click the link below... October 2018 Newsletter ...CREATING COLORFUL ART FOR AUTUMN...Steampunkin' LOVIN' This year I decided to Steampunk my Pumpkin; so now I have a Steampunkin'! After sketching out a few ideas, the winner is my blingy aquatic creature. Some of the items I saved over the years have come in handy for this project: parts from paintbrush sticks, scrap vellum, old hinges, gears, & little jewels I find on the floor that fall off my daughter's crafts brought home from school. I applied a sealer to the pumpkin after washing it well. Then, I painted it with an acrylic based metallic rose gold (since it's close to the pumpkin color). The light, metallic color turned out perfect for my base. The stem is still natural to contrast the metal & organic elements of the pumpkin. Next, I created fins for the sides & attached them with brads.  I used grommets & brads to create the nose & mouth. To give it a more "steampunky" look, I added some gears!  For the eye, I carved a hole in the center; & left some guts hanging for the jack-o-lantern look! My steampunkin' is an all time favorite here @ Personalized Designs!
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Author Jenn Honeycutt Archives
February 2021
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