When Pumpkins Fly

Nothing beats the romance and adventure of soaring through the sky aloft in hot air balloon. Although such a flight is still on my "must do someday" list, for now I'm happy to settle for airborne delights on a much smaller scale.

Last winter I set mini polar bears in flight in tiny baskets suspended from Christmas ornament "balloons". Now with Halloween, one of my very favorite holidays, fast approaching I thought I'd give pumpkins their due.

Tending to embrace the more whimsical than ghoulish side of the holiday, I created this easy and not-at-all scary DIY using basic and inexpensive craft supplies and odds and ends.

The fun part is making each balloon a unique creation. I settled on a traditional mostly orange black and white color scheme but any style or palette can be fun. Simply pop in some quirky pilots and send them up, up, and away.

image from my Polar bear Club Post

Digging through my "treasures" I pulled from seasonal crafts, ribbon, and unused jewelry findings.

I Used:

Faux pumpkins

Ribbon

Small baskets

Passengers

Fish net stockings

Accessories and accents

Printables

images (left to right) ebay,  vintage fan girl, the New Yorker

There are many fanciful balloon designs online and in books for inspiration, some historically accurate and some pure whimsy. Apparently, flying pumpkins have been around for some time.

A Royal Raven takes flight outdoors (actually he's hanging from a garden shepherd's hook) My balloons aren't designed for permanent outdoor display but are fun to set out temporarily for a party or event.

The balloon starts with a white painted foam pumpkin spruced up with quick and not too fussy painted patterns

The basket handles pop off easily.
You can leave them as is but I gave them a quick spritz of white and sage green topped with glow in the dark spray paint for night flights.

I used black craft wire to attach baskets as a sturdier and tangle-free alternative to string or fishing line and is easily thread through weave of basket.

A raven gets a quick paper crown

Scrap ribbon, faux jewels and a printable banner make fun adornments and are held in place with hot glue. 

A smaller pumpkin dons fishnet stockings in a quick makeover.

 Simply pull foot of stocking tightly over pumpkin, tie a knot, and snip. 

A cute craft store halloween cat serves as pilot.
An unused multistrand choker glued in place makes a sturdy hanger. 

I kept one pumpkin fairly simple just adding some ribbon and an owl passenger on a twig perch, fashioned from a toilet paper roll and faux wood contact paper. 

The oh so simple supplies

Wired ribbon and a vintage printables from images from the Graphics Fairy make fun topper flags.

Though not traveling by balloon, I will be away from my blog for a short time. I love getting questions and comments about my projects so I will be sure to respond promptly when I return!

Cheers

Happy Fall!

A Big Thank You, or Danke Shoen!

I was so thrilled and surprised to open an email the other day with the nicest message from Susan Clayton of the delightful blog The Eclectic Shorebird choosing me as a recipient for the Leibster Award. (cue happy dance!)

This is an award given to newer or smaller bloggers (with fewer than 200 followers or so) by their fellow bloggers as a token of recognition and coming from a blogger I truly admire makes it all the more special! Part of the award involves answering a series of original get to know you questions and then in turn nominating a blogger (or several) of your choice! What a fun way to share a little "Liebe"

I'll be announcing my Liebster blogger picks in the upcoming weeks!

I can't wait to share some of my favorite blogs which have been inspirational to me!

But for Now

Make sure to pop over to visit The Eclectic Shorebird featuring Susan's beautiful photography and thoughtful and humurous commentary. I especially enjoy her

Tea in the Library Series:

 lovely tea sets and words of wit and wisdom

  

And now for the Q&A part of the Award

              Susan came up with some really fun questions: