Happy Halloween

I decided I would be brave and paint my second orange pumpkin, too.  I choose to paint this one gray, pink and cream.

I painted the first coat gray, let that dry.

Then painted the centers of the raised areas with the pink paint, making sure to leave the valleys gray.

Next I highlighted the ridges with the cream paint.

And finally I added a few splatters of dusty green with watered down acrylic paint.

On this pumpkin I painted the leaf green  and brown and the also painted the stem brown.

And here it is all finished.

Happy Halloween!

No More Orange Pumpkin

I bought this faux pumpkin several years ago.  I really love the unusual shape but I was very tired of the bright orange color.  I have been debating for awhile what to do to change the look of this gourd.

I finally chose these three chalk paint colors plus brown and orange acrylic paint.

The first thing that I did was to give the pumpkin a light coat of Serene Blue leaving some of the orange peeking through the blue.

 

Next,  I used the brightest green, Refreshing, on the ridges of the pumpkin,  leaving the valleys with the blue showing.  The contrast is a bit hard to see on camera.  But it does show well in person.

The last coat of paint I used,  just on the center of the ridges, was the gray green, Retro.  I love the mix of colors and shading.

When the body of the pumpkin was dry I lightly painted the stem brown and added thinned down orange paint flicked on with a paint brush.

 

Now this looks like a very artistic pumpkin.  The chalk paint leaves a soft velvety finish.

The last thing I did was to hot glue a couple of brown leaves to the top.  Somewhere along the way, going in and out of storage every year, this pumpkin lost the original leaf.

I actually have 2 of these pumpkins.  Now I need to decide if I want to change the color on that one, too.

This pumpkin can stay out for the entire season until it is time for Christmas decor. It no longer looks so much like Halloween.

Happy Crafting!

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More Pirates

This year I decided to use one of my large apothecary jars for a Halloween display.

I bought a bag of tiny skulls and a small pirate from Walmart.

Then I assembled a few other items.

                               

I started this display by placing some natural colored shred in the bottom of the jar then added this orange balls left from some leftover potpourri.

Next I added a few skulls.

Another orange ball and more skulls.

Then I added a label I printed off Pinterest.

Added the lid and topped the jar with the small pirate.

This pirate greets us at the front door and sings a song when we turn on the front hall light.

Can be a bit startling, but then isn't that what Halloween is all about?

Happy Decorating!

Vintage Market Finds October

 Everyone is very concerned about all the wild fires burning in California.

One morning the wind was blowing this way.  The smoke was so bad we stayed indoors with the house shut tight.  The whole day looked like the sun was setting. The smoke was so thick it blocked out the sunshine.

Happily our weather is beginning to cool off.  Now, if only we would get a little rain.  I know the firefighters would be so grateful for a little help from Mother Nature.  But none is in the forecast, unfortunately.

It has been so hot I am late getting my Halloween decorations up in the yard.  But we finally managed to get the job done.

As for the vintage market, I didn't find much at this month.  Only three items.

The black wooden tray I plan to make into a shadow box.  Stay tuned for that makeover. And the spoon holder is something I have been looking to find.  I was one short.  These are great when serving a buffet.  They hold your silverware stack for the guests to pick up as needed. Your silverware stays stacked neatly, now I have one for spoons and one for forks.

And lastly one of the vendors was selling these cute pirate Halloween necklaces.  I seem to have a pirate theme going this year.

I also have these two life-size pirates, I dressed for the occasion, sitting on our sofa.  I named them Mr. and Mrs. De Pirata with their dog Wolfie.

They are very nice and quiet guests.  HA! HA!

Happy Shopping!

Moke Hill Trip

Along California Highway 49 is the little town of Mokelumne Hill or Moke Hill for short.  It has a population of about 650 people.  No fast food joints, no modern stores. But quite a few tourists.  The name is said to originate from the local Miwok Indian tribe.

The Hotel Leger is one of the oldest operating hotels in California.  In operation since 1851.  In the early days this was a town with quite the reputation for trouble among the gold miners.

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And yes, people still ride their horses into town.

Snapped this through the car window.

Lots of old buildings.

We drove around the corner and came across this great old pumpkin patch.

 And as we drove around town we came across a lot filled with vegetables and the owner was selling freshly picked vegetables.  I loaded up with tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and corn.  Yum!  Freshly picked right out of the garden.

We passed this little one room schoolhouse on the trip home.  Looks like it has a new life as a flea market.  Will have to go back and check that out one day.  But glad someone has maintained the building.

This was another interesting sight of the day.  Not everyday you see a helicopter on top of a building.

And of course I had to snap a picture of every old barn we drove by.  I just love those old barns.  So many of them we passed have finally bit the dust and collapsed from old age.  But these were still standing.

Here, only the chimney of an old settlers house was left standing.

Gorgeous old Oak tree standing atop a lonely hill.

 The air wasn't bad, not too much of the smoke from the fires this day.

And then the trip was over and we were back in civilization.  Here we spotted a brand new Lamborghini.

Such a contrast from the historic area we drove through earlier in the day.

Happy Travels!

Halloween is Coming

We had such a treat last week.  A whole week of Fall weather but then this week we are back to Summer and the high 90's.

Our evenings have been very beautiful around sunset.  Probably from the smoke still lingering in the atmosphere.  At least it isn't visible any longer, our skies are blue again.

I made a quick trip to the Dollar Store and came home with a bag of Halloween goodies.  Including these cute little fences that will be in the front yard for Halloween decorations.

I thought they needed a little something extra so I used hot glue to add red eyes to each skull.

Ah yes, so much scarier, now.

I am so looking forward to the cooler weather of Fall.  That little taste of last week's cool temps.  have me in the mood to finish my Fall and Halloween decoration.

First of October the front yard will get decorated.  Pictures to follow.

Happy Crafting!

Kenny G Concert + George Benson

We just celebrated our Anniversary this year with a trip to Ironestone Vineyards in Murphy's,  CA.  It is such a beautiful spot for a little wine and music.

This winery is tucked away in the old Gold Rush region of California.

The concert began with Kenny G arriving from the back of the crowd as he played his Sax.  By the way it is the same sax he played in high school.

After playing through the audience he struck a note and continued to play the note as he walked to the stage.  He held that note for at least 5 minutes.

He does hold the world record for the longest note played at 48 minutes and 45 seconds.  But it was still amazing to hear that long, long note played for this concert.

The night was perfect as the heat of the day melted away and a gentle breeze brought in cooler refreshing air as we listened to his beautiful notes drift across the audience and over the surrounding hills.

Got a really good picture at intermission while Kenny G was signing autographs.

It was pretty dark by the time George Benson came on stage.  Couldn't get a very good picture.

It was a fun night, perfect weather and a perfect setting.

Happy Travels!