DIY Autumn Decor – 5 easy steps to Spiced Pumpkin Candles
November 4th, 2014 | Posted by in DIY | Inspiration from Nature | Spice Grove Designs | Uncategorized | Up cycled Beauty - (0 Comments)Happy 4th of July!
July 3rd, 2014 | Posted by in Inspiration from others | Spice Grove Designs | Uncategorized - (0 Comments)Wishing all of you a safe and peaceful 4th of July! Our deepest gratitude going out to all the men and women who have and continue to serve this Nation today.
A peek in the Studio today……..
A new design that celebrates Independence Day!! Add a touch of Americana to any room in your home with this rustic designmade with a recycled frame and whole spices. These can be custom ordered to any size that you might need. Simply contact us and we can work on your own one of a kind design!
Make sure and stay tuned for our “Christmas in July” SALE coming very soon!! You won’t want to miss it!
Again, we hope you have a wonderful Holiday weekend with family and friends and all the best to those who can’t be home today…
Blessings to you friends,


Well, it’s been almost 5 weeks since we planted our recycled garden and I’m so excited to show you our progress!!
We’ve tasted fresh basil and lemon thyme at dinner time and harvested 4 delicious strawberries! Just look at how full the vintage suitcase is now! (1st photo – day of planting, 2nd and 3rd photo’s taken today)
The broccoli has little heads on it already and the yellow and orange bell peppers are so happy in their new home! (I do think the sweet peas in the last picture may be getting a bit cramped but they seem very happy and are already about 6 inches tall!) We can’t wait to see some blossoms on them! (1st photo – day of planting, 2nd and 3rd photo’s taken today)
The cucumbers are starting to make beautiful vines that we’ll soon have to step over. Our vintage munition boxes are happily seeing sprouts of watermelon, carrots, chives, lettuce, and cauliflower! (as well as some broccoli plants too) The tomatoes have quite a few blossoms on them and I can’t wait to see the baby fruit appear! (photo’s taken today)
And the flowers……..oh the colors!!
Just look at the color that’s blossomed over the last few weeks! Our snapdragon plants (2 of them) are now sporting 5 amazing hues and the sweet lobelia in the red desk organizer has now grown over the edges and looks right at home. The pansies and viola are doing well except for a few violas the we lost in one of the file cabinet drawers…. (note for anyone in a very hot climate – high temps and metal containers may not be the best choice for delicate flowers!) The petunia’s in the tall trash can are now overflowing and look right at home there. We lost our lovely ranunculus about 1 week after I moved the garden into more direct sunlight. (note to self – these sweet flowers don’t appreciate the hot AZ sun!) But I’ll try again next year. Our girls’ dwarf sunflower seeds are growing beautifully as you can see in the 2nd photo. (1st photo – day of planting, 2nd and 3rd photo’s taken today)
A few things I’ve learned with this recycled/vintage garden……
- You CAN NOT miss a day of watering……(or the sweet marigolds in the recycled colander will die)
- Trying to give the plants their needed 8 hours of sunlight doesn’t account for the 95+ temps in the desert. A little shade won’t hurt! Especially for the flowers.
- Don’t plant fragile flowers in metal containers in the desert sun. They won’t last very long.
- Check on your garden daily. Hugs and kisses help too according to our girls!
Stay tuned to see what else we have in store for our little patch of farmland! (ps. it involves ladybugs and natural tomato worm repellant!) Thanks so much for coming by and taking the time to check on the garden with us! We’d love to hear what your gardens are looking like right now. Comment below to share with us!
Blessings to you friends and happy gardening,
Just wanted to take a moment and let you know that……..
“If I had a flower for every time I thought of you…I could walk through my garden forever.”
― Alfred Tennyson
“1 Universe, 9 Planets, 204 Countries, 809 Islands, 7 Seas and I had the privilege to meet you!” ~Unknown
Thank you for being a part of my world! Have a beautiful Valentine’s Day and know that
you are LOVED!
5 Easy Steps to Make a Scented Pumpkin Candle
November 5th, 2013 | Posted by in DIY | Inspiration from Nature | Uncategorized | Up cycled Beauty - (53 Comments)
What You Will Need
If you are like me you have great intentions of baking the fall pumpkins that graced your tables or maybe your entryway, but life gets in the way sometimes. (Especially now that I’ve learned pumpkins don’t last as long in the hot Arizona sun as they did in the cooler New York weather!) Since I won’t be baking the little guys I just had to try this idea that I saw online from DIY Home World I changed it up a bit since we here at Spice Grove Designs love to reuse things.
Here are the things you will need!
~Pumpkins – the sweet ones or mini ones work great!
~Wicks
~Wax (reused or flakes)
~Cinnamon sticks or other spices you enjoy
~Knife

Steps 1 and 2
Step 1:
Cut off the top 1/4 – 1/2 of the pumpkin and clean out seeds and pulp. I did use a beautiful acorn squash here too as I just couldn’t resist the gorgeous colors!
Step 2:
Melt wax in a double boiler. You can buy new wax bricks or flakes, but since I’m in a reusing frame of mind I pulled out candles that I’ve saved that are no longer usable as the wicks have disappeared. I melted the wax back down in an old pot that has been deemed my ‘craft pot’ by a very thankful Hubby! This was by far the most time-consuming part of the project.

Steps 3 and 4
Step 3:
While your wax is melting get out those wicks! I just happened to have some that I rescued from some old taper candles. I wrapped the end in tin foil about 1/4 of and inch up. This end will sit in the bottom of the candle. I then put more tin foil around it making it lie flat in the bottom of the candle. Then I tied the long end of the wick around a pencil so that it would stand up straight as I poured the wax in.
Step 4:
Pour the wax in the pumpkin adding whatever spices you desire! I did this in stages so that I could add the spices throughout the candle. In the photos I’ve shown the 3 that I came out with; pumpkin cinnamon, pumpkin cinnamon anise, and pumpkin cinnamon coffee bean! (Which smells FANTASTIC!!)
Step 5:
Trim your wick after the wax has cooled and enjoy!

The 3 types of candles we made
What a lovely way to bring these harvest scents into your home. And just think – if you are a packrat like me – the only thing you’ll have to buy are the pumpkins!! This was a very easy and budget friendly craft for the holidays. (Although I do recommend caution when pouring the wax into the pumpkins and maybe having some tin foil under your Hubby’s beautiful handmade cutting board so you don’t spill!) I can’t wait to see what the family says about these beauties. What a wonderful Holiday gift to bring to someone’s home for a Thanksgiving meal!
What other pumpkin crafts are you doing this time of year? Let us know and send a picture! We’d love to share your creativity!
Wishing you a wonderful week of yummy fall scents,
PS. Make sure and check back next week!! You won’t want to miss meeting 5 amazing friends of mine that have so kindly shared their work with us! I’ll have some amazing coupons, 3 giveaways and a ton of fun and inspiration so come on over!! Don’t forget to sign up for the newsletter so you don’t miss a word!

The scents are heavenly!
Welcome! Thank you for joining me as we meander through life in the forest! I hope you’ll find serenity and encouragement here. From DIY projects, gorgeous eco-friendly decor tips, inspirational stories, ways to give back to your community as well as hosting some awesome giveaways, you will always be encouraged! It is my hope that we can share, learn and grow from one another by ‘doing life together!’ (After all, isn’t it more fun that way?)
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled, and that has made all the difference.” ~Robert Frost
Since you all are at the foundation of Spice Grove Designs, help us out and let us know what we can talk about that interests you!
Blessings friends,
Charlotte