LW Designs

A couple of weeks ago I posted about different ways to decorate pumpkins for Halloween and fall. Below is a photo tutorial for how to carve your own custom faux foam pumpkins. Start with the image of your choosing. This design needed some spacing added so that the pumpkin didn't fall apart! Gather your supplies - any size foam craft pumpkins; printed design (to fit); pencil; masking tape; thumb tacks; traditional pumpkin carving kit poker or paper piercer; heated knife. Here's a closer look at the heated knife kit (sold at most craft stores). Layout your design on your pumpkin, securing in position. I like to use both masking tape and thumb tacks. Poke around the design making sure to leave gaps in any connected spaces. After I have the design poked onto the pumpkin I like to remove the paper and draw the design by connecting the dots to make sure that there isn't any space that is going to get cut out inadvertently. Carefully carve out your...

This isn't really a post about fall, it's a post for any day. Several years ago my husband asked me to make a painting for him since I always paint murals and artwork for other people. I asked what he wanted and he asked for something "abstract." He actually wanted something geometric. I got as far as getting the design sketched on a large square canvas. It's still sitting in our guest room. A few weeks ago I painted a huge canvas for our new Children's Ministry classroom. It was completely different than anything I've ever done before. And before it had words on it, the hubs asked if we could keep it. Not possible since it specifically matched the classroom and the available space and was purchased by our church. I promised to to make a smaller painting for our house. We picked out some paint colors, and got a canvas on sale. Here's how east it is to make your own art for your home, office, or for a gift. Pick whatever colors you like and a ca...