Fall Flower Arrangement in a Squash

 

DIY flower arrangement for autumn.

 

 

Cut the bottom of the squash so that it will sit flat.

Now cut the top off the squash.

 

Clean the insides out just like you would in a pumpkin. Make the hole on the inside large enough to fit a plastic liner in.

I've used a plastic cup and it works well.

Take 3 picks and insert them into the lid that you cut off the top of the squash. Floral picks work best for this but if you don't have any, you can use toothpicks, they just are not as sturdy.

 

Insert the picks into the side of the squash. If you have any picks poking through the top, break off so it doesn't stick up.

 

Fill the plastic liner with wet foam and water.

For this arrangement I'm using 3 sunflowers.

 

Cut them underwater on an angle and insert into the foam.

Add berries, these I got from my tree in the back yard.

Cut strips of ribbon. I've used wire ribbon and burlap ribbon.

 

 

Fold the ribbon in half and wrap a florist pick around it.

Wrap with florist tape.

Insert the ribbons.

Insert twigs and put moss around the bottom.

 

Only if you want... spray paint the bottom end that you cut off at the beginning of this project.

Set it alongside the squash. If you use white plates it would tie in nicely.

You are done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



What Flowers to Plant in Outdoor Pots

 

 

  A nice combination in a pot is the Wave Petunia and Sweet Potato Vine.

 Grasses in the middle look nice.

Use a good potting soil mixed with perlite and peat moss. If you don't want to use peat moss, mushroom compost can be a good substitute. Mixing perlite and peat moss in the soil keeps it moist for a longer period of time and provides aeration for the roots.

If you want a pot that is full and blooms all summer you just can’t beat wave petunias.This may seem strange but my experience is that color makes a difference. The ones that I have found that seem to do better are the purple, pink and white ones. The red ones are more delicate for some reason, I don’t know why, they still do well but never seem to get as full as the other colors.

 When you water the pots make sure that it gets soaked right to the bottom and never let it dry completely out. Always make sure there are drain holes in the bottom, if not, drill some out.

If you plant wave petunias, use stronger fertilizer than is recommended, even double the dosage. These petunias love fertilizer and will exceed your expectations if you do this.
There are many different varieties of waves and I have found that they all do well. 
The larger the pot the more room for the roots to spread out and the better results you will have.

How to Arrange a Dozen Roses

 

When you receive a dozen roses and it has no greens, or very few,  you want to make it look nice in a vase but how do you do that other than just putting them in a vase and letting them go wherever. First fill the vase with room temperature water, add the flower food. Cut them under water at an angle and at different heights, keep the stems. Cutting them under water allows them to drink. When you have the different heights that you want but they don’t stay where you want them, what do you do.

Start filling the back with the stems. This way they will start staying where you want them. (Just a side note this is not the way they do this at the flower shop, but they always have greenery to fill in the spaces) That's O.K. your allowed to do this at home, it doesn't look pretty  but nobody is going to see the back right? This only works when you have a one sided arrangement.

Sit back and enjoy your arrangement that you've made.

 

Screening in a Deck DIY

We have a patio that has a roof. We bought hollow pipe at the hardware store and screwed them onto the side, not tight into the wall (you need to leave enough room to be able to slip the tab onto the pipe). You can buy screens for gazebos at Walmart or any similar type of store. They come with Velcro tabs that you just slip into the rods. It makes it so much nicer to sit on the deck with no bugs.

 

Our deck with the screens on. What I also like about this is that the screens don't have to be on when you don't want them. It takes 5 minutes to remove them.

How to Make a Great Lampshade!

I have a lamp that I really like, but didn't like the shade. I went to the fabric store and bought some stretchy material that I liked. I measured the shades circumference both top and bottom along with the height. Three measurements in all. I cut the material 1 ½ inches more than the height. With the circumference I cut just what it measured because you don't want the material to be saggy on the lamp.  I sewed the piece together and put it on the shade. Very easy to do.

My new shade

 

 

My old shade

 

The top circumference measurement will be less that the bottom circumference.

 

 

 

Just one piece to sew.

DIY Fall Swag for Front Door

 

This project is very easy and takes no time at all to make.

 

 

What I used in this project: one fall garland, box of miniature pumpkins and gourds, sunflower, ribbon, glue gun and wire cutters.

Fold the garland in half and decide how long you want to make your loop for the top.

Cut all the leaves off the garland that will be your loop, save the leaves because you will put them on the rest of the swag.

 Tie the loop, I used ribbon but you could use burlap.

 

 Now glue on the sunflower.

 

 Glue the remaining leaves onto the swag,

 

 

Glue the pumpkins and gourds on.

 

 

 

How to Make a Flower Arrangement

 

If you use floral foam for your arrangement make sure you buy “wet” floral foam and not “dry” foam that is used in silk arrangements. To wet the foam fill water in a pan and set the foam on top and let it sink on it’s own, do not push the foam into the water. If you push the foam it will not absorb the water well and you will have pockets of dry areas inside. When using foam for a flower arrangement, cut the foam so it fits about 1” above the vase and also leave room on the sides so that you will be able to fill with water. Tape the foam onto the vase using an X formation. Insert the greenery (usually leather leaf) into the foam all around the vase and on top. Next you can use some fern to give it an airy look. You are now ready to add the flowers. Roses, alstromeria, daisies, filler flowers  and eucalyptus leaves are what was used in this arrangement.

A Welcoming Front Door

 

 

It is always nice when you walk up the front door  of someone's home that says “welcome”. That is my hope  when they come to my front door. What are some ways to do that?   I started with nothing at my door and then added little touches. You can see by just adding a few touches here and there, it brightens it up.

 

My plain front door.

A mat softens the look.

 

 I've planted a palm tree that I bought at Walmart and set it beside the door, (my niece had this at her door and I thought it was such a good idea that I did the same, such a talented girl!)

A cute ornament adds a bit of whimsy.

A wreath is always nice and you can change it with the seasons.

If my front door had equal sides I would  have two sets of palms (one on each side) to balance it out, but I have balanced it somewhat with plants on each side. 

I have set the palm far enough away that you can easily enter.

I put a solar light into the planter, at night it looks pretty.

 

This solar light used to be a butterfly solar but the butterfly broke so it works quite nicely inside the planter. Reuse and recycle!