pretend pumpkins for a faux Fall

It’s been a looooong summer, especially here in SoCal.  Yesterday it was 99 degrees in my area!  But with decorations, we can at least pretend that it’s Fall now, even if the hot weather doesn’t relent.  On my mantle I have six 3M Command hooks left from our Christmas stockings last year.  Well, I may as well use them throughout the rest of the year too.  It turns out that 6 is a great number for many reasons.  There are 6 people in our family.  And there are 6 letters in the words: AUTUMN, WINTER, SPRING and SUMMER.  How perfect!  I love it when a plan comes together!  After a few clicks on Adobe Illustrator and a few snips on my Silhouette (using left over scrapbook paper), here is the finished product for Autumn:

 

Here is my computer sketch for stringing the seasons on my mantle this year.  I will have to post the others later as the seasons change:

 

 

To get the letter cards to hang straight and even, I punched a ¼” hole on the top, cut a 6” piece of twine, folded the twine in half, knotted the ends and then slipped the folded side through the front of the card.

When the seasons change, I can just slip the twine out and use it for the next card.  To quote my 2nd grader, “Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!”

 

And I mustn’t forget my pretend pumpkins. This was a cute and simple craft we made at my last MOPs meeting.  It’s simply a toilet paper roll covered in fabric with a rolled up brown lunch bag stuffed in the middle.  What a great craft for kids too!  I was so inspired by this 2-minute craft that I also cut a roll of paper towels in half to make a bigger pumpkin.
 

 

The best part - everything is reusable and I didn’t buy anything new for these projects.  Yay!  It’s the “little things,” right?  Now I’m ready to light my cranberry candle, sip some hot apple cider and cuddle up in a blanket…as soon as the weather gets cooler.  Either way, I am reminded to be thankful to God for His blessings, with or without decorations or cool weather.  God is good, even if my circumstances aren’t.  This verse spoke to my heart this week:

Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food…
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.
 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    he enables me to tread on the heights.
Habbakkuk 3:17-19.

 

May you be refreshed by God’s strength today!