Art Project #4 - String Pumpkins and Gourds

One of my earliest school memories is doing a project in which we wrapped string dipped in glue around a balloon in various patterns. When the glue dried, we popped the balloon and had a hollow string sculpture to display. While exploring Pinterest the other day, I was reminded of this simple project and thought it would be the perfect platform to make some pumpkin and gourd decorations for our home.

Project Title: Pumpkin and Gourd String Art

Materials Needed: orange and yellow cotton yarn or string, school glue, a shallow pan such as a cake pan or pie pan, several balloons, and glitter (optional). For finishing, you may want some green ribbon and decorative silk leaves.

Purpose: To work with the basic premises of sculpture and 3D art; to understand importance of structure to a 3D work of art.

First, gather your supplies. Blow up your balloons until they are a nice round or slightly oval shape, being careful not to make them too big. (If you want ornament-sized pumpkins and gourds, use water balloons.) Blow up a few extra balloons to entertain the 3-year-old.

Next, cut your string. Measure around your balloon with the string, leaving a little extra for overlap and cut. Use that string to cut many more pieces of the same size in both yellow and orange. Then make your glue mixture. The recipe I used called for one part glue to two parts water. I think it certainly could have used more glue - I would do one part glue to one part water next time. If you are a glitter lover like myself, whisk in some sparkly glitter into the mixture. This is a good opportunity for everyone to get a chance to "help."

After covering your work surface abundantly with newspaper or an old tablecloth, begin covering your balloon with string. Dip one string into the glue mixture until the entire string is completely soaked. Wrap the wet string around your balloon, making sure that the ends overlap a little. Continue wrapping soaked strings around the balloon, making sure to cover large spaces so there will be no big holes in the sculpture. I found that my young ones, including my kindergartener, struggled with this. They all wanted to bunch up the yarn or toss it haphazardly across the balloon. This is a good time to explain why it needs to be tightly wrapped and spaced out in order for the structure to survive. It is also a good time to help so that frustration doesn't last. Art is supposed to be fun!

Keep wrapping your balloon until you are satisfied with the coverage. If you are not sure, "overdo" it!

Here is a good example of what your balloon should look like, although I would have covered some of those holes even more. Leave the balloons on the newspaper to dry. When the strings on the top of the balloon feel dry, turn the balloon over so that the underside strings have a chance to dry also. We did ours on a Friday afternoon, and they were completely dry by Saturday morning. Next, carefully pop the balloons and remove the broken balloon from inside your string sculpture. Three of our sculptures didn't make it - they collapsed into a stiff pile of string due to inadequate coverage or too much bunching. Also, I think the glue mixture was a little weak, as I mentioned before.

Tie another piece of string to the top of your gourd or pumpkin sculpture for hanging. We then used a short piece of green ribbon and a decorative silk leaf tied to the top to make them truly look like pumpkins and gourds. I think they would be just as cute with just the green ribbon or perhaps some green felt leaves glued on.

And then be sure to hang up your creations! We are definitely going to revisit this project again at Easter time and make pastel eggs to decorate our home. By the way, if you insert a small wrapped candy or prize inside the balloon before you blow it up, your sculpture will have a fun surprise center!

A Kaleidoscope of Fall Color

We had the perfect day to visit the pumpkin patch on Saturday - beautiful, sunny, with just a touch of chill to the weather. The most adorable children featured below enjoyed choosing a pumpkin, petting various animals (the Drama Queen fell in love with the sweet chicks), eating cider donuts and kettle corn, and posing endlessly for Momma's relentless camera. So most of the pictures feature the one and only Spud? Sorry, I can't help the little guy is so cute and more than willing to pose for photos. . .

. . . and what better way to end our annual fall excursion taking a walk with Daddy by the pond? That, and maybe just one more cider donut. . .

A View into the Gallery

It's been difficult to find time to blog lately. Sick kiddies certainly don't help in that arena. And custom orders for The Framed Frog have been taking up a huge chunk of my time. Not that I'm complaining! I started The Framed Frog with the premise that customers would be able to order exactly what they were envisioning in their minds. I wanted them to be able to find the items at The Framed Frog that they would not be able to get anywhere else. There is a certain joy and satisfaction in making something that completely matches the customer's wishes.

So, would you like a peek into my gallery of "What I've Been Up to Lately"?

This is Apple Blossom Cluster in Sepia, custom-made to match a customer's entryway. She actually got two of these paintings as a set. The Apple Blossom Cluster painting is now available in my shop - and can be custom painted in any color palette.

Another customer has this beautiful bench on her front porch decorated with sunflower pillows. She wanted a sign to match her decor that gently reminded guests to remove their shoes before entering the house. I am currently working on another version of this sign that reads "Welcome" for another customer.

This is my favorite fall project so far. Earlier in August, a customer requested their family initial done in an autumn theme to hang in their living room for the fall season. Since then, I've done two more of these letters for other customers and am planning on making one for our home as well. The brightly-colored pumpkins, gourds, and leaves are a lot of fun to paint!

And here is the 2009 Christmas ornament collection from The Framed Frog. These keepsakes are made of paper mache and hand-painted to exactly match your custom needs.

The I'm Dreaming of a Pink Christmas ornament features whimsical green and pink Christmas trees and the year. The flip side is decorated with retro stars and whatever personalization you want.

This is Baby's First Christmas ornament. Custom match the baby's skin color and hair color to your little one's, and personalize the flip side with the baby's name and sweet polka dots.

The Paisley Fields ornament comes in your color choices and personalization.

TJ and Robbie made their Framed Frog debut on this whimsical blue frame, perfect for a little boy's room.

And the orders for my custom keepsake name trains keep chugging in! The airplanes and stars theme seems to be a popular one. Currently I am working on a set of trains for two sisters in a pink ribbon and roses theme.

And here is my latest wall letter order. The yellow damask pattern was custom-painted on the letters to match the nursing chair in Marlowe's nursery. I absolutely love the aqua and yellow in this nursery - totally unexpected for a girl and totally beautiful.

So I'm just a little busy. Meanwhile, have you entered the Fantastic Froggy Fall Craft Contest over at The Scrappy Frog? You could win some of the things you just saw in that contest!

Or you could do a little Christmas shopping at The Framed Frog...