Workbench Wednesday: Canning Lid Ring Pumpkins

Inspired by a canning ring pumpkin I saw  in Mary Jane's Farm magazine, I decided to try my own.

Pen N Paper Flowers made a fabulous white version with book page strips added.

I bought a couple dozen mason jar rings at the flea market and set off to make myself a pumpkin.

I followed her directions and tied together about 2 dozen rings.

Then I spray painted them....

That did not work out. 

 I had to keep moving and respraying them, many, many times.

So I cut my string that was holding them together and repainted each one separately.

This was actually much faster, easier, and used less paint.

I did some with white paint and a few with ivory paint I had leftover from another project.

Ready for the next step...

Gluing on the book strips.

This took forever. 

Each lid needed more than one strip.

For my wide mouth lids, each ring needed 2 1/2 book strips.

Each pumpkin has 24-25 rings.

Once the strips were all glued on, I used cotton twine to tie them all together into a ring.

Then I cut a piece of a log about 3-4 inches long.

I glued it to the top of my pumpkin and covered the glue with spanish moss.

I also turned it over and added extra glue underneath to reinforce it and then used Spanish moss to cover the glue there as well.

I do love the way it turned out.  I am sure the other rings are on their way to becoming fall decor as well.

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Sweetheart Tiny Vial Necklaces

Valentine's Day is just around the corner.

Here is a sweet gift idea for your special someone.

Head to the craft store and buy a pack (or 2) of those little  mini glass vials.

Pick up a couple squares of Sculpey polymer clay too.

I like Sculpey the best because it is easy to work with.

Make tiny contents for your vials.

Here I made some tiny mushrooms with red and white Sculpey.

Bake them in the oven according to the package directions.

I have a toaster oven just for clay baking.

I keep it on our covered back porch to keep any fumes out of the house.

I added a bit of Spanish moss to the vial as well.

Use a piece of wire to push it down in there.

You can add a chain, silk strip, seam binding or satin cord for your necklace.

I use a bit of glue when I put the cork in.

A tiny piece of lace added gives it a sweet touch.

Hearts are easy to make.

Pinch off a little piece of clay.

Roll a small ball and then roll it into a point at one end.

Use a knife or a straight edge to put a small slit in the wider top.

Then gently roll each side to get the rounded tops.

I also made some tiny eggs.

I love nests and eggs.

To me, they symbolize life and family.

Add a little Spanish moss to these too.

These hearts look a little toasty.

Sometimes there are cooking/baking issues.

I like them though....

For that person who has been burned by love...

These are  easy and fun to make.

I love playing with polymer clay.

Takes me back to my childhood and playing with Play-Doh.

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