Amber B Design Studio

Interior Design & Decoration for the South Florida region

Spooktacular Halloween Ideas!

by Filed Under: holiday, pumpkin topiaries


Wow, I guess I haven’t written a post at all this week! Sorry for my absence on the blog, but I have a great Halloween decor idea for you… even if it might be a little late for this year! My blog friend Emily came up with amazing and creative ideas for her front porch. Although she called them ‘last minute’ ideas for her blog post, I happen to think they are so fabulous and a perfect way to decorate for the holiday! Here’s a little sneak peek…

Genius, right?? My favorite parts are the gold spray painted branch with the bats and the duct tape planters. Yes, that’s duct tape to make the stripes! You can read all about her process and see more pictures, on her blog HERE.

Our front porch is the same as last year. Our painted pumpkin topiaries are still going strong!

I wrote a full tutorial for the pumpkins, on my blog HERE.

Happy Halloween!!

Our DIY Painted Pumpkins

by Filed Under: DIY, fall fix ups, pumpkin topiaries


Every year in the fall, I love to put out my painted pumpkins! I have been doing these topiary pumpkins for a few years now, and they are still going strong! They are artificial pumpkins that I decorate with paint and sponge brushes. Through the weather changes, they need some touch ups every now and then. Here is what the front porch looks like this year:

What I love about these pumpkins, is that I can keep them up throughout the fall season, including Thanksgiving! When I change out the wreath and take off the spider/webs, it becomes a great festive porch for the entire season! I love decorating for this time of year, and I smile when I pull into the driveway. To see what the pumpkins looked like last year and for the full DIY tutorial, go HERE.

DIY Fall Pumpkin Topiaries

by Filed Under: fall fix ups, pumpkin topiaries


I was inspired by some painted pumpkins I saw a couple years back in an issue of Country Living, and I had to try it out! That same fall when my mom and I visited a local decor boutique, I fell in love with the way the shop owner stacked her pumpkins from small to large, creating a topiary effect. So… I combined the two ideas and voila… pumpkin topiaries were made! Here they sit on our front porch, along with some other fall decor:

And here is how to recreate these pumpkin topiaries:

– I purchased (2) small, (2) medium and (2) large orange artificial pumpkins from my local craft store.

– I used a small utility knife to cut a hole on the top and bottom of all pumpkins, except the tops of the 2 small pumpkins. Those decorative stems had to stay in tact for appearance purposes.

– I bought some spray paint and craft paint to decorate my pumpkins. I used black spray paint for the two bottom pumkins and silver and gold craft paint for the others. I wanted to give them different looks, so some had stripes applied with a brush, while others I applied polka dots with a flat, circle craft sponge. To apply the stripes and dots, I used craft paint. In order for the design to last and not wash off with the rain and harsh weather, I applied a shiny clear coat of spray paint to all pumpkins.

– To keep the pumkpins connected and not fall off, I purchased a dowel (craft stick) from the craft store and cut it to size. I wanted to make sure that the dowel would go to (at least) the middle of the smallest pumpkin, for stability and also leave room on the bottom, for the dowel to stand in the planter. I placed the dowel in a planter half filled with dirt, to stay in place. I then stacked my pumpkins in their topiary shape!

What fall ideas do you have up your sleeve??

I am linking this post up to the wonderful blog, Savvy Southern Style:

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