Pumpkin Bling TIPS and Porch Party

I have been making loads of pumpkins with bling. (You can see my first set here.)  I've been learning a few things as I go. I'll be happy to share.

If you decide to make pumpkins to sell, you must be crazy!   I'm selling my small pumpkins with bling for $8.  I'm not making hardly a thing on it.  I am, however, having a little fun.  Next year, maybe I should make my own pumpkins.  Buying pumpkins is expensive.  And, this next year, I'll watch for big sales on my materials.  Even so, the profit will be very small.  But if I priced the pumpkins to cover my materials and minimum wage, no one would buy them!  

I'm telling you, 

if you live near Newnan, Georgia, 

you might as well stop by Rockin' B and buy mine - 

they are a real bargain!

There's a big difference in wire.  Soldering wire is wonderful (especially when it's from your husband's stash), but too expensive.  I found some craft wire in gold - 16 gauge - and it, too is wonderful and less expensive.  I found some black bead wire - 24 gauge - and it was a royal pain to work with. The 24 gauge looks about the same in the package as the 16 gauge.  You can't go by looks.  The 24 was too flimsy for pumpkin bling.

Now, why didn't I turn the big one to the good side of the pumpkin?

Sequins are inexpensive, look pretty, but are time intensive!  Any pumpkins I made with sequins are a major deal, but I'm earning maybe 25 cents an hour!  But, for some crazy reason, I enjoy doing it.  It's not easy, though, with a big ole band-aide on my thumb.

Gold spray paint looks fabulous, but you have to be very careful transporting the pumpkin.  The spray paint can chip off.  A little touch up with gold brush on craft paint should help.  Even with the added "danger", it's worth it - it's so pretty!  A coat of primer might be something to think about - especially if you are decorating a fake pumpkin to keep year after year.

You also need to be careful transporting pumpkins with the glitter paint.

Ribbon is fast and easy and looks great, but there goes your profit.  Watch for sales.  Get lots of colors.  I think I'm developing a ribbon fetish.  There's no way I can sell enough pumpkins to pay for my ribbon - most of which I got on sale, by the way!  There are other similar things you can use - hem lace and rope can be cute.  The ribbon with sewn in beads is annoying - beads pop off (and fall to the floor) with every cut.  On the upside - they are less worrisome than dropping a straight pin.  Those suckers can be hard to find!

You don't have to use sequin pins with the sequins.  Regular straight pins will do and they are much less expensive in bulk.  Other pins are fun, too. Pins with round heads look good, but cost a little more.  I used corsage pins from the floral department - they looked great and went on way faster than sequins.  Another tip - once you stick a pin in, don't pull it back out - pumpkin juice starts seeping out!

The things that look like pearls are corsage pins.

If you are the thrifty type - and I hope you are - when pumpkin time is over, remove some of the decorations to reuse next year! The ribbon and wire should come out easily.  The sequins and pins should come out fine and I really hate to think of those in a landfill where a little critter may come across them.  Next year you'll be able to impress your friends by creating your own pumpkin with bling (without having to spend a small fortune on materials!

And for a final tip - display them in groups!  If you have just one, it doesn't have quite the impact of a group of at least three.  I've played around with.  The more the merrier.  I promise - I'm not just saying that to sell more!!!

Time for another Porch and Garden Party! 

The main topic is, of course, porches and gardens, but I'm pretty loose.  If you make something that would look good on a porch, that'll do.  Sunrooms count as porches.  Anything outdoorsy is good.  Door decor - perfect!  Fall decor - yeah!  If you think your post works OK with this theme, then it's fine!  Anyway,what kind of a host would I be if I turned someone away from a party?    Inspire us!

 

I've joined in with the following parties:
    * 100 Ideas Under $100 at Beyond the Picket Fence
    * Strut your Stuff at Fireflies and Jellybeans
    * Hooking Up With HOH at House of Hepworths
    * Get Your Craft On Thursday at Life as Lori
    * It’s Party Time  at Pony Tails and Fish Scales
    * Transformation Thursdays at The Shabby Chic Cottage
    * Strut Your Stuff Thursday at Somewhat Simple
    * Thrifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggeritaville
    * Making it With Allie at What Allie's Making Now

Pumpkins with Bling

I love a rainy day, and this one is about as perfect as they come.  The rain has been slow and steady.  The temperature has cooled down.  I have windows open so I can feel the breeze and hear the rain.  To add to the perfection, I spent a few hours up in my loft being artsy. 

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about the iron stand I found at a yard sale.  I immediately decided it would make a perfect display stand for pumpkin.  It's been years since I've decorated pumpkins and this year I intended to make up for it.  I found plenty of inspiration and posted about it here.  

I didn't decorate my pumpkins alone.  I had help.

My pumpkins are real.  They will only be around a couple of months.  That's a lot of trouble for something so short lived.  I don't regret a single moment of the time it took. 

I had so many choices, it was hard to narrow it down to 4 looks.  For the smallest pumpkin, I did a ribbon wrap technique.  The ribbon is secured with sequin push pins. This technique was quick and easy.

 

I decorated the next one with two styles of sequins.  This technique took the longest and pushing the pins in can be hard on your fingers.  I don't know why but I enjoyed doing this one most of all.  It was almost like meditating.  If you choose to try this, you might want to do it on a small pumpkin.

For the next one, I bent soldering wire into swirls and S's and squiggles.  It was loads of fun.  I spray painted the pumpkin first with a gold glitter spray paint. The I pushed the wire end into the pumpkin.  They stay in place just fine.

I used glitter paint in several colors to decorate the largest pumpkin. It was quick and easy.

Since none of the pumpkins are particularly Halloween-ish, I plan to keep them out through Thanksgiving. 

I've joined in with the following parties:
Saturday Soiree at A Little Lovely
Check Me Out Saturdays at I Am Only One Woman
Favorite Things Saturday at Bargain Hunting with Laurie
Saturday Nite Special at Funky Junk Interiors
Saturday Share Your Faves at It's a Blog Party
It's So Very Thrifty at It's So Very Cheri
Weekend Wrap Up Party at Tatertots and Jello
Sunday Scoop at I Heart Naptime
Sunday Showcase at Under the Table and Dreaming
Summer Sundays at The Tablescaper
Making Monday Marvelous at C.R.A.F.T. 
DIY Project Parade at The DIY Showoff
Motivate Me Monday at Keeping it Simple
Making the World Cuter Monday at Making the World Cuter
Something I Whipped Up Monday at The Girl Creative 
Making it With Allie at What Allie's Making Now ~ open Thurs thru Sunday