Sunday, October 26, 2008

Punkin Fun in Nashville


South of Nashville, there is the most adorable pumpkin farm you ever did see. Scott and I had to explore, take some photos and hang with the locals. They had itty bitty punkins, that are just perfect for building topiaries.

I made these with dowel rods and wooden discs. Drill a hole into the wooden disc, the same width as the dowel rod. Glue one end of the rod into the disc, then paint it black. When it's dry, you can pierce your little punkins as you stack them on top of each other. Scoop out a place on the top to shove a votive candle into the punkin for a topiary candlestick. Now you can tie raffia around the bottom or place in an urn for a fabulous fall centerpiece!

You can get more details from the Project Page at Pattiewack.com on how to make the topiaries.

Don't throw away your topiary holders after the pumpkins dry out, because you can use them for apples, gourd, and clove-covered oranges for a terrific Thanksgiving centerpiece that looks great, and smells heavenly.


The Nashville Farmer's Market is huge! We had a blast looking for fresh veggies to take home for a homemade soup for the week.

I'll be coming back here to pick apples next time. Wow!


Then we headed to historic Franklin, Tennessee for the annual Pumpkinfest. Good grief, it was crowded, but it was FUN!

I couldn't help it, I had to have a funnel cake, baybeeee. OMG, there was SO much powdered suger, you could barely see the funnel cake underneath. Yummmmmmmieeeee.

I love autumn. It's the best season of all.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Interview with New York Daily News!




You can be on the look out for an interview I did this week with The New York Daily News for Jean Chatzky, the popular news columnist with a daily column called Your Money. She also the author of "Make Money, Not Excuses" and hosts a daily show on "Oprah & Friends" on XM Radio, and is the financial editor of NBC's "Today"show.

So, I know you're thinking, why would Jean Chatzky be interested in ME? I know! Well, she wanted to get some crafty expert advice on what parents could do with their kids for Halloween on a budget.

And man, I loved it! Her assistant Arielle and I chatted on and on about all the ideas I had. First, I told her my ideas for some funny costumes, and then about how to get umbrellas at the dollar store and make Monster Umbrellas. Not only are they great for mom and dad to hold on a rainy Halloween night, but they would make fabulous and fun party decorations if you hang them from the ceiling for a sensational and cheap way to make a huge impact in a room!




You can find the instructions and patterns for these fun Monster Umbrellas on Pattiewack.com. I would love to hear from you, about your ideas, too. I'll let you know when the interview is posted on The New York Daily News, and you'll find out some cute things you can for Halloween on the cheap.