As a Brit who didn’t grow up celebrating Halloween, I have to admit that sometimes I find it hard to get into the ghostly spirit beloved of my friends and neighbors. After an unfortunate incident in college involving a large pumpkin and a broken car windshield, I had sworn off that particular squash for life…that is, until I saw these gorgeous pumpkins from Kathleen at Twig and Thistle. I think these would work equally well for Thanksgiving dinner or a holiday party. Click here to see more of Kathleen’s fun ideas.
DIY Pumpkin Candle Holders for BHG
October 22nd, 2010
I shared my third project for the Better Homes & Gardens contest yesterday and today I have all the materials and instructions you’ll need to make your own. With just a few simple steps, you can make any foam gourd into a pretty and natural looking fall accessory. Have fun!
Supplies
Styrofoam Pumpkin
Candle
Drill
Hole Saw Attachment for drill (found at hardware stores)
Craft Glue
Glitter
Instructions
Determine the width of the candle and make sure the hole saw is just slightly larger. Remove the stem and locate the center on top of the pumpkin. With the pumpkin firmly secure, center the hole cutting attachment above the pumpkin and slowly drill out the center. It may help to have someone hold the pumpkin steady while you drill. Once center is cut, you’ll need to carve out the foam with a knife. Continue the process until you have desired depth.
Once the hole is cut, coat entire pumpkin in craft glue. Generously cover with colored glitter and let dry. Once glitter is dry and to prevent glitter from flaking off, spray with a bit of hairspray to set.
Use non-drip candles (typically the wide candles don’t) or if you’re using tea-lights, opt for ones that have a plastic or metal cup so that wax doesn’t get into pumpkin. Place candle inside and light!
*As with all flammables, be mindful and keep a watchful eye.
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- { Friday, October 22, 2010 }
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category: Home, press
I spent Sunday out on Bainbridge Island styling a photo shoot for NonPareil Magazine with Angela and Evan Photography. We got very lucky with the October weather and had a great time working with the “Farm to Table” theme concocted by Kathleen at Twig and Thistle. If you haven’t had a chance to check out NonPareil yet, do so immediately! It’s an extremely stylish online magazine filled to the brim with DIY projects for weddings and events. I was thrilled to be part of their invitation-only winter issue and can’t wait to share my behind-the-scenes pictures when the article is published in December.
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- { Monday, October 11, 2010 }
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category: Home
We're just home from a sweet destination wedding in Mazama, WA in the Methow Valley. After the whirlwind that is/was August, it was so wonderful to get in a car filled with herbs and lavender and drive four hours through snow capped mountai
ns, turquoise lakes, meadows with tumbledown barns, and pine forests with my husband/assistant-for-the-weekend by my side. It was a magical location (made better by my dream team of Seattle wedding vendors – Chantal Andrea Photography, La Happy AND Kerissa Bakes!) picked by a fun-loving DIY obsessed couple and 30 of their closest friends and family. After working with Serena and Mark to plan and design this wedding over the last year, it was a true pleasure and an honor to finally see them exchange vows and experience in person the wonder that is the Methow Valley (or as Serena described it – her “happy place.”)
Here's a teaser image from Chantal followed by a couple of mine. Can't wait to share more details (wildflowers! birch bark! s'mores bar!) with you soon!
online casino slot games
Palette: pear, cement and rust
Theme: fresh, vibrant, modern
Location: Edgewater Hotel, Seattle
Date: August, 2011
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- { Wednesday, August 18, 2010 }
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category: Home, press
Monday was one of the hottest days to-date in our bizarre Seattle summer so when I got a chance to style my friend Willi’s book cover shoot over on cooler Bainbridge Island, I jumped at the chance. Willi is a master gardener and expert cook who hosts the website DigginFood.com. She has a weekly gardening show on KUOW (Tuesdays, 10am) and is the West Coast editor for Organic Gardening magazine. The shoot would be the for the cover of her new book, coming out sometime in 2012.
We rode over on the ferry laden down with props and outfits galore – vintage baskets, buckets, wire racks, crates and piles and piles of gorgeous produce – the temperature dropping steadily as we got further and further from the city.
After a quick pit stop at the Winslow market to meet our photographer, Jim Henkens, we headed to the southwest tip of the island to our shoot location, Octavia Chambliss’ beautiful garden. Octavia is a garden designer based on Bainbridge and she had kindly offered up her garden for the shoot even though she herself would be away on vacation. It was a stunning location. Imagine an immaculate perennial garden with a large vegetable garden tucked inside, a weathered picket fence and cottage gate leading to a tiny, vintage soccer field and public beach. The Bremerton ferry made hourly passes through the landscape and the sun dropped gently down behind some trees. It couldn’t have been more idyllic, or more Pacific Northwest, if it tried (although a surfacing Orca would have made for an awesome shot!)
I got busy unpacking the props while Jim and Willi scouted out the best spots in the garden. Then it was time to get to work. Here are some “behind the scenes” shots from that afternoon…
Putting my prop styling (and photography) skills to the test. Conclusion: kind of like flowers, just tastier.
With Jim’s reflective light panels all set up, it was time to begin!
A close up of that fabulous blue table was enough to make anyone hungry.
We picked these herbs and peaches fresh from Octavia’s garden. 
A few head shots for publicity…
And my personal favorite shot – earwigs in the peaches!
