Football Giveaway from Artist Tree

Here is the last giveaway from ARTIST TREE.  I love the details in this very cute football!  It would look great on your front door to welcome guest to your Game Day party or your own little quarterback's bedroom door!

To enter this giveaway, you must do one or all of the following:

1.  Leave a comment at the end of the post.
2.  Become a follower.  If you already follow my blog just let me know in your comment.
3.  Share this post of Facebook or Twitter with all your friends.
4.  Blog about this giveaway.

Thanks for entering and thanks to Dondee Hicks at ARTIST TREE!  She rocks!

Our Southern Nest

A Halloween Pillow Frenzy, An Unborn Child and A Football Game

You may be saying to yourself, "What do these three things have to do with one another?"

I will get to that in a minute!  First, let me tell you that our front porch takes a beating from the sun in the afternoons.  Our cushions for the wicker furniture needed to be replaced or recovered.  I was in the middle of decorating the front porch when I decided that I just had to recover the cushions that day.

I purchased the green floral fabric at Hobby Lobby and decided to use it for the seat cushions.  I know that it is not weather proof or stain resistant.  However, it was inexpensive, and by time that it needs to be replaced I will probably want something different. 

I was trying to decide what to do about throw pillows when it suddenly hit me!  I had some orange burlap left from last year's Halloween party.  I could use that to make a few pillows.  The only problem was that I did not have any black burlap.   

At this point in the story, I need to let you know that it is 7:45 p.m. on a Saturday night, and I knew Hobby Lobby did not have any more burlap in stock.  Luckily, I remembered that my SUPER, GREAT, and ALL-AROUND AWESOME friend, Kari, had black burlap at her house.  I called her to ask if I could "borrow" some fabric and she was sweet enough to agree.  I was so excited, and I knew Kari would understand!  She knows when my creative juices are flowing I am a woman on a mission...or just insane. :)

Me to Kari:  "Thank you so much!  I am on my way!"
Kari to me:  "Wait, Suzanne!  The fabric is in the attic and the Georgia game is on.  I will have to ask Rob to get it down during a commercial." 
Me to Kari:  "Oh." (Trying hard not to sound disappointed.)  "Don't do that, Kari.  Seriously, it can wait until tomorrow."

Now I was feeling so guilty that I let my insanity intrude on their Saturday night.  I could only imagine what Rob would say when Kari asked him to go get some fabric out of the attic for her friend during the middle of the Georgia game.  I love football as well, and I knew I did not want to come between a man and his Georgia football.

Of course Kari said it was not a bother.  She said, "I think it is just at the top of the ladder, and I think I can reach it."  Did I mention that Kari is about 5 1/2 months pregnant? 

I told her not to worry about it and that I did recognize I had a problem.  Isn't recognizing that you have a problem the first step in treating your addiction?

Kari proceeded to tell me again that she thought she could reach the fabric in the attic, but I begged her not to do it.  I promised I would go to a meeting next week to help find a cure for this addiction.   I told her my cute pillows were not worth her putting her unborn child in danger. 

I guess by now you know how this story ends.  The pregnant lady did climb the ladder, but luckily, the unborn child was unharmed and the husband was able to finish watching the Georgia game.  I was also able to finish my super cute pillows!  However, I did feel guilty.  I think I will need to make a few extra pillows to give to Kari to make amends.

Maybe I should start my own 12 step program for craft addictions.  I could make some really cute t-shirts, bracelets, frames, coffee mugs and stickers with our logo.  I could create a blog that would document our journey into a craft-free world.  I could hold interventions in local craft stores.  I could post videos featuring the success stories of those brave souls who can actually walk into Hobby Lobby and Michael's without purchasing an item.  I can write a tutorial about how it is possible to surf the web and not spend hours on Etsy. 

But where would we be without burlap ,rhinestones and hot glue?  I don't think I want to know.

I do feel I have to let you know how I made the flowers for the pillows.  I followed the directions from House of Smith's tutorial on fabric flowers.  I love her blog! She has great ideas and this was just one of many.  Please click on the blog name above to visit her site.  While you are there, check out her post about her kitchen pantry.  She makes organization look so awesome! 

And The Winner Is.....

The winner of this week's giveaway is...LISA MCCARTNEY!  Congratulations Lisa!  Please email me to claim your prize.

Again I would like to thank Dondee Hicks.  I think you all know by now that I am a huge fan of hers, and by the comments and entries I have received, I know you are as well.  I will have one more ARTIST TREE giveaway for you sports fans out there.

Please be sure to visit my blog next week.  I plan to have a big reveal of our front porch.  I have been decorating for Halloween these past few days and it is almost complete.  The post will be complete with the "how to's" in case you get inspired and want to try it out yourself!

Thanks for stopping by!
Our Southern Nest

Last Day To Enter The Giveaway

Today is the last day to enter the giveaway.  Do not miss out on the chance to win this super cute door hanger from Dondee Hicks of Artist Tree!  Click HERE to find out how to enter.  The winner will be announced Friday, October 1st, 2010.

My pumpkin topiary tutorial is being featured on U Create today.  Please click HERE to check it out! 

Thanks for stopping by!
Our Southern Nest

Pumpkin Topiary Turtorial

Five or six years ago, I was inspired by an article I read in Southern Living.  The article was about making a topiary using copper tubing and pumpkins.  I just loved it and couldn't get it out of my head.  I just knew I had to try it but I did not want to use real pumpkins because of the mess and they would not last very long. 


Then one day I stumbled upon some fake pumpkins at Michael's and decided to use them instead.  I bought three pumpkins in different sizes and the plastic carving tools that were being sold beside the pumpkins.  I drew out the designs on the pumpkins and started carving away.  Within five minutes the plastic carving tools broke and I did not know what to do.  I decide to try our serrated kitchen knife, but I had to use a lot of muscle power and the knife was too big to carve the tiny details.  My last option was a wood burning tool I had used in another project, and luckily it did the job. 

It took me two days to complete two topiaries.  I tried to hot glue the pumpkins together but it did not hold them .  I punched holes where the pumpkins met (one on each side) and wired them together.  They have lasted me for 5 years and survived moves to three different states.  Sadly, last year my little rooster knocked it over and I lost a pumpkin.


But my loss is your gain!  I have made new topiaries for my porch, and I have documented my project.  For this projects you will need three pumpkins and the heated knife shown in the picture.  I bought the pumpkins from Michael's because they were cheaper than Hobby Lobby.  They only had two sizes to choose from so I decided to use two large pumpkins and one small pumpkin at the top. 

Next, I drew my patterns on my pumpkins.  Here is were you can get creative.  I free handed the stars and curly Q's but used a template for the circles so they would be the same size.  The possibilities are endless for what you could create with these pumpkins.  However, simpler designs are easier to cut out.

The next step is to cut out your design.  Just follow the directions given for the heated knife, and please be careful.  It is HOT and SHARP!  I waited until my little one was asleep before I started cutting out the designs.  My youngest is two and I think you understand why I waited until he was asleep.


My advice in cutting out the shapes is to take your time.  It is not hard to do but I wanted nice clean cuts so I took my time.

After all my shapes were out it was time to stack the pumpkins.  I first decided which sides I wanted to face the front and which pumpkin would be on the bottom.  After all of that is decided, I cut out the stem of the bottom pumpkin. (I did not cut a hole in the bottom because I inserted the lights though one of the polka dots.  You may cut a hole in the bottom pumpkin to insert the lights, but be aware that the cord may make the topiary wobbly.)  Do not make the hole too big!  I made the hole about 3-4 inches in diameter.  I then cut the same size hole in the bottom and top of the middle pumpkin.  Finally, I cut a hole in the bottom of the top pumpkin, but left the stem. 

You now have to build you topiary.  Early in the post I said I attached my topiaries with wire.  This time I tried this glue pictured below.  I had it from another project and it said it was for Styrofoam.  It goes on white, but it dries clear.  The bottle says it needs 8 hours to cure.  I will have to say that so far so good.  If it does not hold I will go back to using wire.

Once the topiaries were dry, I set them in this plant stand I bought from Walmart, I think.  It was white but I spray painted it black and wrapped it with grapevine garland.  In the past, I have used two large iron urns for the topiaries.  However, I now use the urns for something else and I needed to add height to the topiaries.  I already had these in the garage so I improvised.

The final step is to add lights.  I used old Christmas light, but you can use battery operated candles.  You could also use the orange lights that you find at Michael's.  The lights I have now are on a green cord, but I will change them to white lights on a white cord as soon as I find them!

And that is it!  The big spiders I added serve two purposes.  First, I thought they were cute and added a little something special to the pumpkins.  Second, they hide little gaps that you can see because the pumpkins will not be totally flush.  You could use leaves, boas, or other garlands for the same effect.

Sorry for the long post!  It is a fun project and you can use it again year after year.  I would LOVE to use the white pumpkins to make a pumpkin "snowman" and top it off with a witch's hat!  If you have made a pumpkin topiary, I would love to see it!  Email a picture and I will post it on my blog.

Also, I am having a giveaway this week and the winner will be announced Friday, October 1st, 2010. I will be giving away this door hanger from Dondee Hicks of Artist Tree.

If you would like a chance to win this Candy Filled Jack-O-Lantern, please click HERE and follow the instructions on how to enter.

Thanks for dropping by!
Our Southern Nest

Another Artist Tree Giveaway!

Here we go again!  I have another door hanger to give away this week from Dondee Hicks of Artist Tree.  Sorry I am late getting this posted.  We had a very busy weekend filled with football games and birthday parties!
This week I am giving away the CANDY FILLED JACK-O-LANTERN.  You can click HERE to see it on Dondee Hicks' website.  While you are there look around and you will see all of her wonderful creations.  If you don't win this week's giveaway, you can always order one from Dondee.  I try again to post the pictures for this week.

To enter you will need to do the following:
1.  Leave a comment at the end of the post.
2.  Become a follower or let me know you already follow OSN in another comment.
3.  Share this post on Facebook.  Be sure to let me know when you do.
4.  Blog about the giveaway and you can earn 5 extra entries.

You will receive one entry for each item that you do above.  Complete two items and receive two entries, etc.

If you would like to see who won the CANDY CORN giveaway last week click HERE!

Thanks for stopping by and good luck!  The winner will be announced on October 1st, 2010.

Halloween Inspiration

Our town has a Market Day the first Saturday during the months of April through December.  Last year my friends, Kari and Jamie, and I made a few items to sell.  I was looking for some Halloween inspiration for this year and decided to look through my photos on Facebook.  I came across these photos and decided to share them with you.  We had a great response to our items and enjoyed chatting with our friends and meeting new ones too.

This pirate pumpkins was one of my favorites.  You can't see it, but he had a wire handle with colored beads.  You could hang him on your door or somewhere inside.

Small ornaments for spooky branches

The door buckets were a hit and could be personalized.  I had one on my door filled with branches that I spray painted black.

The trick-or-treat pails could be personalized with your little goblin's name.  I first starting painting these for my children years ago and they have reused them every year.  I have also used them to hold mums and to hold my candy for trick-or-treaters.

We offered pails in two different sizes.  The larger ones were great to use as a planter for mums.

This is what the door bucket looked liked before I put some one's initials on it.

The pails were also personalized.

Well, there you have it!  I hope this gets you in the Halloween mood and maybe even inspire you to make something spooky...or not so spooky.

Thanks for stopping by!

Our Southern Nest