When I was thinking about what to do for this year’s annual pumpkin adventure, I have to admit, I almost didn’t want to do anything. This year has been so weird and full of so many real life scary things, I just wasn’t really feeling motivated for anything.
In my professional life, I do a lot of trend research, and it’s interesting to see how things that bring on nostalgia often become popular in times of uncertainty. Nostalgia is obviously different for everyone, but I think the feelings of comfort and happier/simpler times is a shared one.
Which brings me to this year. One trend that has been having a moment this year is “cottage-core.” I remember a similar aesthetic that was popular when I was growing up. I totally remember watching “Little House on the Prairie” and how there was a big French Country decor thing of the late 80s early 90s (anyone remember those geese motifs?).
I recently had a project that required me to do a little more in depth research into cottage-core and homesteading. It brought on a wave of nostalgia and inspired me to do something with dried flowers. (I have a strong memory of a childhood friend’s bathroom. It had a basket of potpourri that never seemed to lose it’s scent, and more importantly an arrangement of dried flowers above the toilet.)
Anyway, Dried flowers have been seeing a resurgence, especially for weddings and decor. I really enjoyed working with flowers a few years ago for my Freaky Floral pumpkins, so I thought working with something floral again would be nice.
I found some pre-made dried flower bouquets at Walmart (they were about $10 each) that had a good variety of flowers and that really started things off. I picked up another bouquet from a local boutique, and I figured I had a good selection. I also picked up some small fake pumpkins. I really wanted a variety of shapes and also smaller sizes.
First I deconstructed the bouquets and separated the flowers by color. I included some fake flowers, but ultimately didn’t use most of them and just stuck with mostly the dried ones.
After I figured out how many color groups I could use, I picked matching spray paint colors and painted the pumpkins.
From there, I really just kind of winged it. I used a fast stick tacky glue for the smaller pieces, but really used the glue gun the most. Some of the pumpkins were solid foam, so when possible, I would just stick a branch directly into the foam.
On a few of the pumpkins, I felt like they could use some more texture. I always loved how my “tonal textural” pumpkins from 2013 turned out, and also these ornaments I made in 2015. I decided to add a little bit of those two ideas to these pumpkins.
I really liked how these turned out, and more importantly, it felt really good to sit down for an afternoon, tune out the scary anxiety inducing news on the interwebs and tv, and just do something crafty.
If you get an opportunity this season, I highly recommend making something. It’s a great mental break and can be a catalyst for a creative reset. Hope you all stay safe, healthy, (and sane) this season!