I surrender! Summer is over : ( and I just have to face it. So to get me in the mood for fall I decorated my “mantel”. which really isn’t a mantel. It’s the top of the bookshelf.
Last year at this time (before I started this blog) I fell in love with those velvet pumpkins that you see all over blogland. I entered every contest I could find to win one, but no luck.
So, like any crafter, I tried making my ow stuffed velvet pumpkins. The problem: I was having a difficult time gathering the circle of velvet. My thread kept breaking…ugh! So this year, I tried again and success!
Now I want to share my secret on how I make stuffed velvet pumpkins with you.
Waxed dental floss! Yep, dental floss!
I used a large needle and dental floss to handstitch the edge of the circle of velvet and it worked like a charm. Since the dental floss is so strong, I could pull the gathers really tight and not worry about it breaking. I followed this tutorial to get started. The only thing I did different was to use waxed dental floss instead of thread.
And here are my finished pumpkins:
Do they look as good as the “real” ones? Pretty close I think!
I added the velvet pumpkins to what was already there and also picked up some of those cute miniature white pummpkins and put them in a little metal container.
One other thing is different.
We changed the wording on the chalkboard. It’s almost go time! The countdown has begun to our epic bicycle ride from Washington, DC to Pittsburgh, Pa. I call it our “Pedal to Pittsburgh”. 335 miles! Am I nuts???? Maybe a little, but we love riding our bikes. It’s the longest, continuous bicycle trail in the U.S. which means no riding on roads! I can’t wait, but I must admit that while I am excited, I am nervous, too. When you picture bicycle riders, you probably picture young, tall, thin, sinewy, perfectly-in-shape athletes, right? Yeah, that’s not us. We’re just a couple of middle-aged, kinda chubby, get-to-the-gym-when-we-have-time folks. We just happen to enjoy long bike rides. I hope you’ll follow along with us on this adventure. I’ll be updating here every day (I hope!) and will also post updates on Instagram and Facebook.
Update 9/2016: Because of the government shutdown, we were not able to ride the entire 335 miles in October of 2013. One of the trails is a national park and was closed. We did however ride our bikes 335 miles from Pittsburgh, Pa to Washington, DC in July of this year. Read all about it here!
How about you? Do you ride bikes? I’d love to hear from anyone who has done a long trip like this!
I think it’s great you are doing this long ride! My husband has been riding for years but I’ve really only been riding for the last year it so (been taking spin classes for a couple of years but not the same!) So in two weeks we are riding the MS 150 in Tennessee to support the MS foundation! I am so excited as this is my first long ride and I feel very blessed to be able to help support the charity too. So good luck with your ride and be safe!
Thanks Jennifer! Good luck on your ride too!
I just love your velvet pumpkins ~ for the last few years I’ve been dying to make some so maybe this year I will actually do it. I’m looking forward to following you on your bike ride. It sounds like so much fun!!!
Thanks Lori! The pumpkins are so easy to make! I want to see yours when they’re done!
Delightful! My Momma found velvet pumpkins at Hobby Lobby but did not like the rubber stem at the top. She has been wanting to make her own so thanks. 🙂
I LOVE those velvet pumpkins. They are so pretty. And look pretty easy to make….thanks for the tip on the dental floss! 🙂
Nancy
Thank you Nancy! I was determined to make them and wasn’t giving up!
How fabulous are these. I would never have thought of making velvet pumpkins for decorations. Stunning.
Thanks May! These were surprisingly easy to make. I’m glad you like them!
Very pretty!
How did you make your stems?
Also, was this a rectangle, ends sewn together, and then gathered at the top?
Thanks Debbie! I used real stems that I got from a local market – they saved them for me! The fabric was cut into a circle, stitched around the edge, then gathered. Hope that helps!
your pumpkins turned out great! thank you so much for the link back to my tutorial. I appreciate it! so glad the dental floss worked for you.
funny…on my “to do” list today is to get my velvet pumpkins out from storage. 😉
Thank you for the great tutorial…and sorry it took me so long to respond. I’m in the middle of a powder room makeover that’s consuming all my time! Thank you for stopping by!
Your pumpkins are so lovely and I did not know about the dental floss. Great tip and I am going to make some for sure. I would love it if you would share this lovely post at a link party I am co-hosting. I hope to see you there. Have a great week.
I’ve always loved looking at these, and it’s nice to know that they are easy to produce as well! I hope you’ll share this craft at The Crafty Corner link party this week with us. Have a great day!
Lovely little pumpkins. I have made some before but they were a little different. I really like these ones. I will have to make some to add to my collection.
Hello from another Baby-Boomer Blogger. I am so inspired by your pumpkin post I am going to try one out today. The stem on the top is a real stem from a pumpkin?
I love your pumpkins! Ive been having trouble finding the beautiful velvet you use? Can you tell me where you bought it?
Thanks,
Melody
I also love your pumpkins!! Can you please let me know where you bought the beautiful velvet that you used? Thank you!!
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