Sunday, September 19, 2010

craft day- velvet pumpkins

I started worrying that we might not have many pumpkins to sell this fall.
The weather has just been really hard this year - first all the rain and it was too wet to plant...

Then, when we did get things planted, there was no rain...

then, there were the bugs .... and then, the weeds...sigh....

So, I started thinking how will I still have the look of Fall without all my dear pumpkins.
I decided to make some!
We have been making sweet little velvet pumpkins.
My daughter and I hand dye the silk velvet, then we make the pumpkins together. 
These are wonderful to decorate your home with and last year after year.


But no worries, I think we have more of the real pumpkins than what I thought.  I walked the fields today and there were quite a few hiding under the leaves!
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9 comments:

  1. Vintage GirlOctober 3, 2010 at 9:28 AM

    Hi, love the velvet pumpkins. How do you make them?
    victoria@hopkins.net.au
    Cheers Victoria

    ReplyDelete
  2. French Hen FarmOctober 3, 2010 at 9:35 PM

    We love the velvet pumpkins too!
    We raise real pumpkins here on the farm (40 + varieties of heirloom pumpkins), so we have alot of pumpkins left over after the season!
    I preserve them and use the stems the following year.
    My daughter and I hand dye the velvet together using rit dye. We fill them with rice or beans. We stitch them up and glue the stems on. I might add a vintage velvet grape leaf on one or two for an added touch.
    They do take some time to make. They are best when kept small.
    enjoy!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. GinaOctober 8, 2010 at 11:57 AM

    How do I preserve the stems? And how do I make the shape right? Thank you!
    Gina

    ReplyDelete
  4. French Hen FarmOctober 8, 2010 at 9:00 PM

    Hi Gina! To preserve the stems you need to cut them off the pumpkins and air dry them for several months. Make sure all the moisture is out of them before you use them.
    The shape is dependent on what shape you want - for a round pumpkin, just a round circle!

    ReplyDelete
  5. GinaOctober 11, 2010 at 10:01 AM

    Hi French Hen Farm - Thank you, thank you, for answering my question! Although I am not very crafty, I have decided to try and make these because they really are adorable and I would love to make a bowl full of them for my table.
    By the way, I love the look of your blog - I see Sadie Olive made it - I am a fan of Sara's blog also, and now I am a fan of yours. Looking forward to your offerings on etsy! Have a great day and thanks for the instructions.

    ReplyDelete
  6. DaneeOctober 13, 2010 at 8:16 PM

    Thanks for the instructions as it were. Your pumpkins are gorgeous and I see lots of variations of the original velvet pumpkins but most are not made well. Yours are and I appreciate the information on how to dry the stems.

    ReplyDelete
  7. French Hen FarmOctober 13, 2010 at 8:36 PM

    Thanks!! It took me a while to perfect mine.
    Make sure after you dry the stems that you carve off all the excess pumpkin that may still be on them, that will give you the best stem to pumpkin gluing surface!

    ReplyDelete
  8. brendaSeptember 14, 2011 at 4:58 PM

    I know this post is almost a year old, but I just found it! Wondering if you would consider selling pumpkin stems. I can't seem to find any anywhere! The pumpkins are just gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  9. MariwestyJuly 27, 2012 at 2:48 PM

    HI,
    I will be selling my dried pumpkin stems here:
    www.etsy.com/shop/shorecrafty

    ReplyDelete

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