How to make a "Make Do," Scarecrow

You hear "Make Do," thrown around a lot in the Prim Decor world. What does it mean? Many people who make prim dolls will say it is scraps around the house people used to construct a doll and basically make do with little they owned.

Not so fast...I guess it sounds romantic thinking about a little wood house deep in the woods of the Appalachian mountains, curling smoke from its chimney. Thinking a petite, poor Granny is rocking in her creaky, wood chair sewing bits of scraps from worn out work clothes next to a warm pot belly stove.

Believe it or not our Grandparents and beyond recycled in general because they did not believe in just throwing useful things away. They also repaired things and these things many times end up in antique shops. They are sometimes beautifully gnarly and the prices outrageous. 

So here is my, "Make Do" scarecrow. Just think you can teach your kids to use their imagination, recycle and give a history lesson.

Supplies

1. Overalls and a shirt.

2.Plastic grocery bags, anything that does not soak up water.

3.Rafia or straw. Just 4 hand fulls.

4.Orange mesh or light weight cloth for the head.

5. Left over craft supplies for eyes, nose and mouth. Or use stuff from nature.

6. Twine, scissors and a hot glue gun.

Start stuffing! Lay out the shirt and stuff to desired puffiness with grocery bags etc. Next you are going to trick everyone with the rafia. Stuff long uneven ends of rafia into ends of sleeves and tie off with twine. Tie off bottom of shirt with twine. Now put shirt into overalls. Fill legs and tie off with rafia.

Construct the head. I did this very simple as I tore my scarecrow down at the end because it was in the weather. I simply made a light weight ball of plastic and draped mesh over it and tied the bottom off like a balloon. I also added a few hot glue spots around the ball before draping. I had a nice bit of material at the end of my head so it looked like a scarf and made it look good setting on the body.

Next hot glue the facial features. Hot glue a doll hat if you want too! Now you are ready to prop your scarecrow and add the head. Once in place set the head on the body and cover attachment with extra material tied at end of head. I added hot glue to my shirt opening and then placed head.

Add anything else you want. Have fun!

DIY House Number

Do you have little bits that represent things you love or enjoy?
I had a chicken wire frame I snagged at a flea sale for $2.00. I wanted to do something fun with it and needed a house number for the seasonal delivery guys.

Why be conventional? Just be creative and have some fun. I decided the chicken wire was going to be my canvas for a house number collage.

Halloween Address. Scrap book paper for flameless candles. 

I have Christmas Ornaments I hate to put away. Notice their beautiful edition to my theme! Do your kids play sports or love the local team...add a pennant or a small football.
The dirt sign came from a jewelry aisle. The red backing is scrap book cork or weather withstanding material.
📍If you use wooden tags give them a quick clear coat.
📍I took floral wire, twine and added stuff so I could easily change up.

Going to the Show

 Gorgeous wood slat folding chair. Beautiful butter churn with sweet hand painted strawberries.

Complete set of Gothamware!!

Fairy Chimes!

Rural Valley Pumpkin Festival

I have been working on some crafts for the show. I will also bring some antiques. 
I will post more pictures soon. 
I'm also working on gingerbread ornaments and Fall, Halloween bowl fillers. Stay tuned!

 Pumpkin House. Handmade in PA. $20

 So many trinkets! What to choose?

Beautiful vintage broom $24. Giant Acorn $25

Let Nature Be Your DIY Decor

I wanted something natural and whimsical for the entrance to my camper driveway. It just made sense to me because I am surrounded by trees and I love camping because of Mother Nature's gifts.
I have a heavy, Victorian green plant stand I purchased at a garage sale this year. This piece probably set on the porch of a grand home in the 1940's. It was practically being thrown away for $5.00. You can't buy this type of quality at an average store. Anyways I used it as my base to get started on my project.
I took a basket, scissors and went for a walk. The first thing I saw was deep red berries on thin woody branches. I clipped a handful in different lengths so I had dimension within my display. Next I grabbed an aged piece of bark with beautiful shades of brown. If you are not using water you may want to stick to hardier pieces. Twigs, pine and nuts are other useful pieces.
Now it was back to the camper to lay everything out on the table and add some new and upcycled craft pieces. I purchased small gourds from the local farmer and I had mesh ribbon and a felt witch hat from a previous craft.
📌When you are working a display envision a pyramid. The middle of your display should be the tallest and fan outwards. Think about a color and/or a theme when you are gathering for any project. It keeps you focused and creates a display with rhythm, depth and complementary colors. The web has so much information. Buy a color wheel at the craft store or find online. Color wheels are one of the first things you learn as an art student. The wheel shows you colors that work together. These are called complimentary colors. For instance burgundy's compliment would be dark green. It helps you create crafts pleasing to the eye. You will in fact notice the colors on the wheel make sense in nature when you really look around!

So I took my biggest piece which was the bark and placed it in the middle and worked around it and moved it as needed. I feathered in the mesh ribbon to add color and depth amongst the berries and gourds. I had to step back and keep reworking. I added the witch's hat to really get the theme across and the Happy Halloween flag. I was able to place mostly everything in the basket without glue. I did add hot glue here and there to stabilize. Notice my display is not tight and perfect. It does not look like a topiary. I was trying to make it a bit whimsy.