Hi everyone! I’m so excited to share how I make my chinoiserie painted pumpkins using white pumpkins and acrylic paint.
Chinoiserie is a style of art that reflects Chinese motifs and aesthetics, and it’s one of my favorite ways to add some elegance and charm to my fall decor.
My main design uses connecting “m” to create a blossom that resembles a hydrangea blossom and I use the core chinoiserie colors blue and white.
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own chinoiserie painted pumpkins:
– pumpkins (real or faux)
– Acrylic paint in blue, french blue, and green
– Paint brushes
– Pencil
– Clear sealer spray (optional)
The first step is to sketch out your design on the pumpkin with a pencil. You can use any chinoiserie pattern you like, but I’ll show you how I do mine. I start by drawing a diagonal line in the center of the pumpkin, then I draw “m” shapes around the top of the line, connecting them at the tips. This creates a flower shape that looks like a hydrangea blossom. Then I fill in the spaces between the “m” shapes with smaller “m” shapes, creating more petals. I repeat this process all over the pumpkin, leaving some space between the flowers.
Next, I use a lighter blue acrylic paint to fill in the flowers, leaving some white space for highlights. I also add some blue dots and swirls to fill in the background and create some contrast. You can use any shade of blue you like, but I prefer a deep cobalt blue that pops against the white pumpkin.
Finally, I use acrylic paint to add some details and highlights to the flowers. I use a thin brush to outline the petals, then I add some dots and strokes to create some texture and dimension. You can also add some white dots and swirls to the background if you want.
And that’s it! You have your own chinoiserie painted pumpkin that looks stunning on your porch, mantel, or table. You can also spray some clear sealer on it if you want to protect it from the elements. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and have fun making your own chinoiserie pumpkins. Happy fall!
Hello, my lovely readers! Today I’m going to share with you a super easy and fun DIY project that I did over the weekend. I made a beautiful DIY table lamp for my kitchen from a ginger jar, a lampshade, some dual lock fasteners, and a remote control puck light. And guess what? I didn’t use any tools at all!
Sounds amazing, right? Well, let me tell you how I did it. First, I found a ginger jar that I already had around the house. It was blue and white and it was the perfect size for the nook in my kitchen. I also bought a white lampshade that matched the size of the jar.
Next, I got some dual lock fasteners from the hardware store. These are like Velcro, but stronger and more durable. They have two sides that snap together and stick to any surface. I used them to attach the lampshade to the jar neck. I just cut four small pieces, locked 2 pieces together, and stuck them on the underside of the lampshade. Then I pressed the lampshade firmly onto the ginger jar.
Then, I got a set of remote control puck light from Amazon. This is a battery-operated LED light that you can turn on and off with a remote. It’s perfect for this project because it doesn’t need any wiring or drilling. I just peeled off the adhesive backing and stuck it on the neck of the lampshade, right in the center.
And that’s it! I placed the lamp on my kitchen table and turned it on with the remote. It looked so cozy and charming, giving off a soft glow that was perfect for dinner time. I love how it turned out, and I’m so proud of myself for making it without any tools!
I hope you enjoyed this DIY project as much as I did. If you try it yourself, please let me know how it goes in the comments below. And don’t forget to subscribe to my blog for more creative ideas. Thanks for reading!
Hey, friends! Today I will show you how to make a DIY Roman shade for your windows. This is an intermediate project; with a little work, add some style and privacy to your home. Let’s get started!
PREPARING YOUR FABRIC
Step 1: Measure your window and cut your fabric. You want to add about 3 inches to the width and 8 inches to the length of your window measurements for your decorative fabric and lining (-1″ of finished width and cut length same as decorative fabric cut length. This will allow for some extra fabric to fold over the edges and create the top and bottom hem.
Step 2: Lay decorative fabric right side up and place lining fabric right side down. Hem the first side of your fabric and lining (optional) pin them together and sew a 1/2″ hem in your fabric. Pull the lining to the opposite side of the decorative fabric and repeat the process.
Step 3: Center the lining fabric on the back of the decorative fabric Take a ruler and try to measure equal amounts on each side. If you are using a pattern be mindful of that. Before pinning down make sure you have the correct final width. Once you have it pinned sew 1/2” hem across the bottom.
Step 4: Turn the shade right side out and press the seams flat. Fold the bottom edge up about 3″ (make sure you have enough fabric for your final length; more is okay. You need at least 1′ at the top for your top hem. If not adjust your bottom hem size accordingly. Once it’s correct hem across the top and about 1 inch down each side this will hold your weighted bottom bar.
Step 5: Make your line fold marks using the formula below.
Step 6: For this project, I am using rib tape and plastic ribs. Once you have determined the placement; secure your rib tape well by ironing it in place. You can make your own holders by using fabric and fabric tape to create a pocket for your rib or dowels.
Step 7: We are now ready to close our top hem. Check your length if you have more cut-off excess from the top. Fold over at least an inch and pin the Velcro loop on top. Place a hem on top and bottom.
ADDING RINGS
Step 8: To add the rings to the Roman shade, place them on every other rib tape line or fold. It’s important to ensure that the rings are spaced no more than 15 inches apart. This will help to achieve a neat and uniform look. TIP: When attaching the rings to the Roman shade, make sure to pierce through the front of the fabric and pull it all the way through to the back. This ensures that the rings are securely in place and the shade will function properly.
PREPARING THE HEADER AND HARDWARE
Step 9: Let’s move on to preparing the header for the shade. Cut the 1x3x2 pine board to a length that is about 1/4 inch shorter than the width of your window sill, if you’re planning to mount the shade inside the window. Then, use a staple gun to cover the board with decorative fabric. Once that’s done, add the hook part of the Velcro and secure it with the staple gun at the top and bottom of the board.
Step 10: Now, it’s time to attach the header to the Roman shade and mark the cord lock and eye screw position. To do this, I’ll pull the top of the Roman shade down to the rings and place a mark on the header that lines up with each line of rings. You can place the cord lock on the side of the shade where you want to use it. Use a punch tool to make a drill hole for your eye screws and cord lock and attach the hardware.
INSTALLING LIFT CORD/STRING
Step 11: To secure the lifting cord, tie the cord around the ring located on the opposite side of the cord lock. Make a knot about three times, but don’t cut the cord yet. To determine the required length, thread the cord across the header of the shade and halfway down the cord lock’s side. Now, cut your cord and thread it through the rings on the shade. Then, pass the cord through the eye screws and feed it through the larger side of the cord lock. Repeat this process for all cords on the opposite side of the cord lock.
Step 12: To secure the cord on the side of the cord lock, tie it to the lower ring. Before trimming the cord, thread it through the shade, across to the cord lock, and halfway down the shade. Once in position, cut the cord and thread it through the rings and eye screw. The single cord should be inserted through the small window of the cord lock. TIP: You can use a cord condenser and cord pull if you like or you can just knot the cords off.
INSTALLING THE ROMAN SHADE
Step 13: For installing an inside mount shade, I first predrill two #14 x 2 1/2″ wood screws in the covered header until they come out of the opposite side of the board. Then, I take the shade to the window and use a drill to attach it to the top of the window frame. I make sure to set it back about 1/4 inch in the window sill for proper placement.
Step 14: To ensure that the cord lock functions correctly, it is necessary to place the weight bottom bar inside the bottom hem opening that was created earlier.
And that’s it! You’ve just made a flat Roman shade for your window. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and found it helpful. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Thanks for reading!
Love a beautiful floral arrangement, but not the price tag that comes with it. I've seen some arrangements that cost almost $500.
Prep Time5 minutes
Active Time20 minutes
Total Time25 minutes
Materials
Shell Planter (or planter of choice)
1-2 orchids real/fake
1 staghorn fern or bird's nest fern real/fake
Coco Basket Liner, round
Potting Soil
Tools
Scissors
Hand shovel
Instructions
Cut coco basket liner to the shape of the planter.
Add a layer of potting soil for the base
Remove plants from the container and plant them in a container. Cover with soil. Note: if you are using fake plants break them carefully from the original container unless they will fit flush in your new planter.
Lastly, cover with Spanish moss, and voila.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Here’s a quick tutorial on how to jazz up fake plants. Whether indoor or outdoor your neighbors and friends will definitely envy your green thumb.
What She’s Wearing
If you ever visit my home, you will know who primarily has the green thumb. Yes, you guessed it right, my husband. I for one was not prepared for the amount of wildlife activity that occurs when you are surrounded by water and the woods. I have seen my fair share of snakes; therefore during the spring and summer months, I leave the gardening to my husband. This year I still wanted plants on my porches; I have the great idea of trying out fake plants. So here’s my take on styling fake plants.
Plant(s). The first step is picking your plant(s). I have wanted lemon trees for a while. We have a few real ones in the yard, but I think the yellow looks perfect against my chinoiserie planters so I opted for lemon trees. This tutorial will work for any fake plant.
Planter(s). I am partial to any chinoiserie planter or anything blue and white. So have your pick. The perfect planter really makes the project pop. The best places to get planters at a great price are Tuesday Morning, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, and Marshalls.
Potting Soil. You can choose any soil you like here. Remember, if you are potting a fake plant, it doesn’t need to be filled with fertilizer. I used some of my husband’s bulk gardening soil.
Moss. This moss definitely makes the plant look even more realistic. The lemon trees used in this tutorial came with moss. I also added some additional moss I picked up from Hobby Lobby.
Now depending on the number of plants you are potting, this project takes less than 5 minutes per plant. The first thing I do is make a flat base in the planter for the plant to sit on. These particular planters had grooves in the bottom for draining, so I added a layer of soil on the bottom to make my plants sit flush. I then secured the plant in its position by adding soil around it. From there, I fill the planter will soil as I would planting a real plant.
Last but definitely not less, I added moss. Normally when planting a real plant, I use moss to hold the moisture in so I don’t have to water as much. Now if you decide to try this, please let me know. Your secret will be safe with me! Omniley.
Greetings. We are deep into the 1st month of 2022 and it’s been a hectic one for me. I have been wanting to try my hand at floral arrangements for a while and I’m so happy I did. I have had the compote for about a month now and was a bit decisive on whether I wanted to try live or faux flowers. I guess you can tell I used faux, but I love the way it turned out.
It was a little difficult to start off with because I thought I had chicken wire but realized after a quick google it was not…I’m not sure what kind of wire I found in our shed. So I ended up making a grid with gorilla glue tape. Next take I will use either actual chicken wire or florist foam block and I will be sure to do a step-by-step tutorial. Meanwhile for now I will link the compote and other items I used. I ended up spending right under $90 for this arrangement including the compote and flowers. I hope this post inspires you to try whatever you have on your list to try. It feels amazing when you finish it. Be Well-Omniley
Greetings! Am I the only one looking forward to cooler weather. With all the changes going on in the world that is affected our daily living; I recently made the decision to relocate my home office space to the other side of our home. My son is 100% virtual academy and I needed a closed-off space to conduct my work and after-hours blogger job.
I have started using design boards lately to help me recreate spaces since I’m currently working on so many projects it easier to visualize my designs especially when I’m out shopping and for accessories. I ended up having to do a DIY design on my desk because I received the desk in the design board and they shipped me the wrong color by the time I went to try and order the right color it was on backorder. I didn’t get my feathers in a ruffle, because it was actually made out of particleboard. So I took off to Lowes and a few pieces of wood, sawhorses, and paint later, And voila.
Supplies needed for this project:
(2) 21-in W x 29-in H Wood Saw Horse
(2) 3/4-in x 16-in x 6-ft Edge-Glued Panel Spruce Pine Fir Board
(3) Krylon COLORmaxx Gloss White Spray Paint and Primer In One
(3) Krylon Lacquer Specialty Gloss White Spray Paint
(1) Pkg 0.07-in Steel Flat Brace (I used 2 from the package)
(1) container of PrimeGuard Plus 8 x 2-in Polymer Deck Screws
(1) 6 x 9 Drop Cloth
Electric Drill with bits
Step 1: Prime and paint your wood to the color of your choice. I opted for gold legs and a white top.
There were tons of wood options at Lowes, but unfortunately, the cutting machine was down, so to minimize the time on the project I opted to get something that was already cut to a size I could work with. If you have the option to have your wood cut the wood prices are cheaper.
Board is already primer and now I am painting.
Step 2: Once boards and legs are completed dry place the tabletop boards together upside down and use the braces to hold them in place. I had already decided because the desk was so long that I was going to have multiple sitting areas, (on each end and in the middle) so plan for the placement of your legs when placing braces. I recommend at least 4″ from the end on each side.
Step 3: At this point, I recommend moving the desk where you plan on placing it. If you put it all together it could be difficult getting it through small doorframes. Once you are ready simply attach the sawhorse legs with at least 6 screws are on each leg. Do this by placing the sawhorse legs space apart where you want them and then place the tabletop on top of the sawhorse legs. I had 13 1/2″ overhang on each side of my sawhorse legs, but this number can be adjusted based on your wants and the size tabletop you choose. Minus the drying time and the time in Lowes this takes less than 30 minutes to complete.
The space still looks bare hopefully I can wrap it up before the end of the year. Yes, that’s indecisive Omniley for you. As always thanks for tagging along on this journey. Be Blessed. Omniley.
Hey Y’all. I got so many questions and compliments on my porch swing, so I decided to share a step by step tutorial (video below). This side porch is dedicated to my late NaNa; she loved sitting out on her porch. Although she passed away before we moved into this home I feel her spirit is with me every day.
Now before we get into all the nuts and bolts (haha) let me just say I initially wanted one of the cute egg chairs that are inundating everyone’s home and patios right now, but due to COVID-19, I couldn’t find one online that would ship without crazy fees. So, of course, we decided to build something ourselves. This took a bit of convincing and arm twisting. My better half is always about working smarter not harder and I agree to a certain extent. I think it’s the unique side of me that always wins though. After looking for inspiration I decided on a porch bed swing.
This was a super easy project and can be completed in a weekend. I ended up taking about four weekends because I made custom cushions and added a bed skirt around the frame.
You can locate pallets at nurseries and shipping areas. Try to locate healthy and good looking pallets.
The hardest part of this project was the installation of the backrest to the swing seat. We used 2 X 4 x3’ boards (already pre-cut) to make a base for the back and attached them with screws at a 45-degree angle to the pallet. (see video below)
We used a saw and cut the 1 x 6 x 8 lumber pieces into lengths of 48″. We used five pieces and spaced them evenly and screwed them onto the angled 2 x 4’s to make the backrest.
Once the frame was finished we used 4 lag eye screws and secured them on each corner of the swing base where we would be tying the rope. At this point the swing is complete now it is time to hang it up. If you wanted to paint the swing this would be a perfect time. I opted not to paint ours.
We used 4 cylinder blocks upright to hold the swing in place (about the height of a 5-gallon bucket). The 4 remaining lag screws were placed in the ceiling of the porch. IT’S VERY IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE PLACING THE SCREWS IN A 2 X4 OR 4 X 4 AND NOT HOLLOW FRAME. The load weight of the rope and eye screws is obsolete if you don’t and someone might get injured if the swing gives away. My husband and one of his friends attached the swing to the ceiling using the cutest bowline rope knots.
For the finishing touches…I looked for a few days for cushions and of course, I couldn’t find any I liked so I made my own.
I also used drop cloths to make a bed skirt and voila.
All Chinoiserie Accessories (pillows, tray, and throw) gifted from InkFlow Art (use “OMNILEY” at checkout for 15%off they have the cutest accessories)
I am so happy with the results. Please let me know what you think and if you decide to try this tutorial please send me pictures so I can feature you. Omniley?
I am so happy with the results. Please let me know what you think and if you decide to try this tutorial please send me pictures so I can feature you. Omniley?