Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Teal Pumpkin Project

Teal Pumpkin Project- looks like a pumpkin from Tiffany's. What's not to love?
Have you started to notice teal pumpkins creeping up onto doorsteps near you? They are likely part of the Teal Pumpkin Project.  This is a great way to give all kids- especially those with food allergies a fun Halloween.  A teal pumpkin at your house signifies that you have non-food treats.  Things like markers, stickers, pencils, spider rings, etc can replace the sugary treats that are commonly offered.  Please read more and download a poster with more information by clicking HERE.
If you missed yesterday's post, you can watch my segment about the Teal Pumpkin Project on WFSB's Better Connecticut HERE.
My sugar pumpkin needed three coats of paint


This is the craft paint I used. 
Please visit me at www.juliesharrison.com, and subscribe to my YouTube page JulieTheGardenGirl. Thanks for reading!

xoxo Julie

Monday, October 20, 2014

Jack-O-Lantern Tricks

You have been carving pumpkins for years and know all there is to know about this classic Halloween decorating essential, right? Well, there might be two important steps that you are skipping over that make a big difference in how long your jack-o-lantern will last. 

On WFSB's Better Connecticut I demonstrate a little trick that will help keep your jack-o-lantern aglow for longer than a couple of nights using these two unlikely items:
 Click HERE to watch my Better Gardens segment on Halloween Pumpkins.

1. Draw the jack-o-lantern face on a pumpkin.  I tried to draw Olaf from Disney's Frozen
 
2. Remove all of the seeds from the inside- I think using a metal spoon works best.

 
3. Mix one teaspoon of bleach per gallon of water to create a water bath for your carved pumpkin.  This kills all of the bacteria that causes the initial deterioration of a pumpkin.  Sorry that I don't have a pic of this- but you can watch me cleaning my pumpkin in a video HERE.
 
4. Use Petroleum jelly to seal in moisture everywhere you carved.  Moisture loss is what would lead my Olaf to looking like a pumpkin puddle instead of a pumpkin snowman after a couple of days. 
 
5. Here is my Olaf jack-o-lantern- clean, moisturized and ready for a candle tonight! Wow, is this a blog post about pumpkin carving or a romance novel for pumpkins?
 
Have fun carving this year and try this trick to help keep your jack-o-lanterns around longer!
 
If you would like to contact me, please visit www.juliesharrison.com and contact me there! I'm on twitter now so send me a tweet @JulieSHarrison
 
xoxo Julie
 
 
 

 

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Fancy Fall Flowers

My sweet friend who owns Green Dog Market is expecting a baby!!!  For her baby shower I designed flower arrangements which were perfect for her, but great for fall too.  Her favorite color is orange and she is expecting a boy, so this only seemed natural:
Mokara Orchids, Volkerfreiden Delphinium, Calla Lily, and Hypericum.

The Orchids and Lilys complemented each other so well.
There were several smaller arrangements like this too:
Same flowers as above but with blue Hydrangea.
#FLGators 
When I was all done, there were a few short stems on the counter.  Waste? NOT!
So, I made this:
The blue and green alone together just pop! #Whalers

This Delphinium... the textures in one bloom are incredible.

I hope you enjoyed looking at these flowers. If you would like to contact me, please don't reply to this email.  Visit www.juliesharrison.com and go to my contact page.  Thank you!

~Julie