Weather Proof Pumpkins

Each year as the fall season rolls by, I think about the coming of a new school year, and watch the beauty of the leaf colors as they continue to change, brighten, and then cascade through the wind. Darren and I love to hike, both on nature trails and in our local neighborhood. On our trails, the scenery is constantly changing, adding new colors, new smells, and new temperatures throughout the year. Our neighborhood does this as well, but with another twist, new season = new outdoor decorations.

With fall, as in most neighborhoods, pumpkins begin to appear on porches, decks, sidewalks and randomly on lawns. Each year, I try to decide if I should purchase real pumpkins and mums, or forgo and save a few dollars. This year was no different. But, the real pumpkins won. First of all, I just couldn’t pass up on pumpkins when I shopped with the grandchildren at the fall festival. But, when I went to display the pumpkins and mums, I decided to go a new route. Since most of my outdoor viewing happens while I am in my kitchen, I realized I see the backyard and patio way more that I see the front porch. So, that’s where my pumpkins and mums ended up.

This is where a dilemma ensued. How was I going to add color to the front porch? I’m such a frugal person, so I needed to come up with something that was inexpensive, relatively easy to make, and with things I already had at my disposal. That’s where this project came to be. I had a few ideas and then just decided to give something a try. We had free pallets, free paint, and free help. What else could one possibly need?

So, with Jake taking apart the pallet and bringing me the boards, I was set to go. Ali drew the pumpkin shape, then redrew a little of it at my request and Jake was handed the boards to cut with our ancient band saw. Our son sanded the boards and then the painting began.

I had some darker gray almost black paint from a board and batten project and decided to first paint the outsides of each piece to give depth to the pumpkin. Then using a burnt orange paint and more foam paint brushes the panels were painted.

Although the painting isn’t perfect, and the the nails holes show through, I was pretty satified with the look. Well, mostly.

When I looked at my smaller pumpkin, I just couldn’t get the picture of a tooth out of my mind when I saw this little guy. No matter how hard I tried, I didn’t see a pumpkin, at best, it looked like an orange apple. No amount of consoling was going to help, but a little moving of the pieces and removal of another one, seemed to make a world of difference. Finally, a small pumpkin.

Ok, we know, the W on this Welcome sign is backwards, sometimes DIY projects don’t always go smoothly, or even correctly. I got one of the first ones, the rest that were given away were done in a more traditional way…with the letter turned around. I want to think that this sign reminds me, all are welcome and have value, even those of us that are not so perfect.

~ Sue

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Living Room Built-ins