Pepper Design Blog - Page 179 of 358 - A Little of This & That... Renovating, Decorating, DIY Projects & Family

Decorating for Fall: Yarn Pumpkins

October 12, 2011

Here’s an easy fall craft to tackle in about an hour (perfect for a car trip or while you’re catching up on the latest episode of The Office).

I found two styrofoam pumpkins in the 50% off bin at Michaels and knew that they could be so much more. With a bit of orange yarn (also 50% off) and a few fabric leaves these guys were ready for display:

They’re living in the fruit and veggie bowl at the moment (next to some hand grown tomatoes, yum) but they’ll probably find a new home soon.

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Yarn Pumpkins

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Materials: styrofoam pumpkins (or balls that you shape into pumpkins), orange yarn, green or fabric felt, pins or glue for leaves

It’s as easy as…

{1.} Wrap the yarn around your pumpkin and tie a knot on the underside.

{2.} Continue to wrap the yarn around the pumpkin in large sections (this gives the wrapping a little uniformity – you could skip that part and just wrap like crazy though).

{3.} Cut felt or fabric pumpkin leaves and attach with a pin or glue

…and display!

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Super simple and crafty fall pumpkins ready to go.

Going Green: City Composting & the Worm Bin

October 11, 2011

We try and keep things as sustainable as possible around here, so a while back we began to look at composting options.

Bonus of composting? Great garden soil and the perfect way to ‘recycle’ our kitchen scraps (to keep them out of plastic bags in landfills). Cons of composting? The smell. Phew. The bacteria and other microorganisms that team up with oxygen to create that ‘black gold’ soil can be nauseating, and since our yard is small we don’t really have the space for a big compost pile in the back.

The solution? A worm bin! Worms break down a majority of kitchen waste (things like coffee grounds, old bread and pastas, grains, fruit – not citrus, egg shells & veggie scraps) and create a soil that is just delicious to plants. Creating our worm bin out of a big plastic tub was easy, read all about how to do it here. We even bought our worms locally from a Craigslist worm farm (yep, those exist too).

Kind of a gross image, I know. We regularly load this guy up with anything that we can’t toss to our city chickens (who LOVE kitchen scraps and even gift us with eggs once a day for it). We keep the bin (which really isn’t too big) in an outdoor shed along the side of our house. The ideal temp is between 50-75 degrees F, so those that live where it’s cold or super hot might try the garage.

This is the indoor compost bin we keep right under our kitchen sink. It’s the perfect size (about a gallon) and the filter built into the lid ensures that zero smells escape. Twice a week or so it’s emptied into the worm bin.

And then after about two months of worm composting, you get ‘worm tea’. This black liquid can be drained out and poured around the base of garden plants (or mixed into the soil of potted plants) and will nourish, nourish, nourish. Very soon our garden started offering up gifts of its own.

It’s neat to see our food run full circle! Before you know it, we’ll be tossing the left over garden basil and tomato scraps from our next meal back into the worm bin. And there you have it, an easy solution to city composting.

More Going Green ideas can be found right here.

Wardrobe Style Boards: Fall is Here! Part 1

October 10, 2011

It’s been far too long since that little button marked ‘Wardrobe Style Boards’ over there in the left sidebar has received any attention.

I’m here today with a fall update! I’ve loved the lace inspiration that has inspired both summer and fall clothing lines this year and I’d love to find a casual way to incorporate it into an everyday wardrobe.

Enter the lace tunic. An ideal top that could be tucked in, belted, worn with a skirt, over a dress or as a layering blouse over trouser jeans for a Casual Friday at the office. So versatile and absolutely a piece that can be both dressed up and dressed down for any type of occasion.

Pair with a pop of color in the form of adorable pumps or handbag, a super soft fall cardigan and simple gold jewelry and you have my fall staple. Minus the heels… perhaps a pair of classic black or cheetah print flats for everyday wear and tear.

For more style boards, head on over here or click that ‘Wardrobe’ button in the sidebar to the left! Prices and sourcing after the jump.