Thursday, October 23, 2014

DIY Black & White Checkered Pumpkins

A Stroll Thru Life
Yippee!!! Thank you Marty for featuring the pumpkins this week!
Make sure to visit Marty at her blog: A Stroll Thru Life
Click here to view a tour of her lovely home!

Thank you to Kathy over at Life on Lakeshore Drive for giving the pumpkins a feature too!
I am soooooo flattered!
Click here to visit Kathy, she throws a fun party!

I'm Pick of the Bunch Feature Button


Happy Fall Y'all!
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs Pumpkins
Well here we are in the middle of autumn...Mother Nature is proudly displaying her colorful artwork.
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs Pumpkins
 And so am I! Proudly displaying my artwork that is.
I love the way my checkered pumpkins stand out against the fall colors.
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs Pumpkins
 These pumpkins are obviously inspired by Mackenzie - Childs. 
I mean if you are going to be inspired you might as well be inspired by the best!
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs Pumpkins
As much as I love how these faux pumpkins look outdoors, I knew they needed a nice home indoors.
So I went to Costco to get a free box...to paint like a boot tray I saw in the MC catalog.
Seriously you had to know that was coming!
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs Pumpkins
 The box I made was inspired by the Mackenzie - Childs boot tray, which sells for $495.
While I am sure it is worth every penny, I just felt $495 was maybe a bit much for a pumpkin display.
My husband thought the same thing, no arguments he totally agreed with me on this!
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs Pumpkins
 There might have been some talk about who puts boots on a $495 tray?
I am sure some of you are thinking who paints a Costco box to look like a $495 boot tray.
Yeah we talked about that too..
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs Pumpkins
 I still went ahead and painted the box and he ended up liking it.
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs Pumpkins
He even cut the cute decorative wood trim for me.
He figured he was saving himself $495....
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs - Boot tray
 Just to make my box unique I added the word pumpkin, spelled in French no less, with some gold paper letters I cut with the Silhouette Cameo. 
I am betting it's the only box of its kind here in Nevada.
Pun intended.
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs Pumpkins
Geeze I photographed these guys from every possible angle!
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs Pumpkins
 Close ups too!
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs Pumpkins
Here is a quick tutorial on how I painted these beauties.
I cut a paper square (1 1/4 inch) and traced around it on the fake pumpkin.
Then I marked the squares that I wanted to paint black with an X.
Then I painted them black.
I let them dry for a few hours.
 Then I watered down (thinned) some gold metallic acrylic paint and brushed it all over the pumpkin.
Done.
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs Pumpkins
 Same idea for the "boot tray" except I had to paint the box white first.
Which took about four coats.
It works best if you let the paint dry between coats.
 At this point I was thinking maybe $495 isn't really that much...
At first I just painted a gold stripe on the bottom edge of the box.
Ugh that wasn't going to work.
Off to the home center for some edging I went.
I think the wood trim really finishes the box off. It almost hides the fact that it's really a Costco box.
I said almost not totally!
So everyone is happy, the pumpkins, my husbands wallet and myself.
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs Pumpkins
 Thank you to my dear friend Paula for giving me the faux white pumpkins...not orange ones, phew!
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs Pumpkins
 And thank you to Costco for the free box.
Inspired by Mackenzie - Childs Pumpkins
Total cost of this project $13.95 plus tax.
The wood trim was the only thing I purchased.
So the MC boot tray is $495, the pumpkins are $50 for an 8" pumpkin (I have 2) 
 and $100 for the 9" pumpkin.
 So I'd say this was a cost effective project!

Thank you for visiting MarvinDaughters I appreciate your time and sense of humor!
Follow me with email or on Facebook or Pinterest.
 Have a wonderful day,

18 comments:

  1. Be still my heart. I am in love with MacKenzie Childs Courtly Check and these are fabulous! I will be doing some too!

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  2. Oh, I love these!!! Great idea! Pinned!

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  3. Wow! Your pumpkins are stunning and the box you painted is amazing too! Visiting from the Say G'Day Saturday party and so glad I did! Pinning!

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  4. Hi Lori! I am a huge fan of MacKenzie Childs too, and LOVE your pumpkins! Visiting from G'Day Saturday and pinning. Have a happy weekend!

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  5. LOVE the pumpkins! Now I have to go figure out who MacKenzie Childs is.

    -andi

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  6. Lori, I'm a fan of MacKenzie Childs, especially the Courtly Check, so I'm truly impressed with this awesome project. You totally nailed it! Your pumpkins and boot box are fabulous! A+++

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  7. Oh my goodness, these are fabulous. I love them and your tutorial is fantastic. Thanks tons for linking to Inspire Me.

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  8. Oh my I am highly impressed! I was admiring the MC pumpkins but knew it would be too tedious for me to do. You did a spectacular job on all of this. I would never have guessed the boot tray was cardboard! Love how you put it all together! Five stars!!!

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  9. You are very creative, thrifty woman, Lori...the pumpkins and boot tray are awesome! I may even try doing one of those boot trays on a little smaller scale. It could be used for every season.
    Have a wonderful week.

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  10. I just found you through Life On Lakeshore Drive. You are ALMOST as crazy as I am so I know I have to follow your every move (blog). LOL- I am your newest follower and will put you on my sidebar! Do you know bj @ SweetNothings? No? Tell her I sent ya- WAIT till you see the piece her hubby built for her -a MC shelf! So glad I found you, Lori. xo Diana

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  11. I am so happy to have found you on Marty's blog. Your work is terrific and your MC items look beautiful.
    I am your newest follower.
    Have a wonderful week.
    Mary

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  12. Wood trim -- $13.95, boot box -- free, inspiration -- priceless! You are a rockstar, Girl!

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