DIY Glittered Spiders

It was a beautiful day today so Justin and I decided to start decorating outside for Halloween. We have a lot of trick-or-treaters and like to do extra special decorating outside.

You know these spiders...they are kinda rubbery and usually come as a pair...I have had used these for several years outside, but I wanted to do something a little different....

So I left Justin outside alone (sorry honey) long enough to get this quick little project started.

First, paint a couple of the little fellas up black

Next, slather them with the tacky glue of your choice

Then, shake a whole mess of glitter on them. Don't forget to do this on a clean sheet of paper so you can easily put the excess glitter back in the bottle.

Gently tap off the excess glitter and let them dry.

After they are dry, one or two hours, you are ready to add some glittery spiders to your decor! I definitely think the glitter takes out the scare factor!

Thanks for stopping in! I hope your inspired!

Blogged for DIY Day @ A Soft Place to Land

Thank You for hosting Kimba!

Decorating With Burlap Garland

I decided to gussy up my 3 year old fall wreath since jumping on the burlap bandwagon. I really love the natural texture it provides. I found this burlap garland at Michael's and have loved it! Can't you just imagine it tied on a pine wreath or running through a Christmas tree.....and we could add some pine cones...OK I need to focus.
OK, now you are probably asking yourself: Did she really need to take this many pictures of the same wreath? Probably not but...that is just how fun this stuff is....I didn't even take off my aging plaid bow...I just put the fresh burlap love-bow on!

I actually like seeing some of the plaid peeking around....I hope aging plaid bow isn't offended...don't worry plaid...you are still right up there with with checks and stripes with me....this whole burlap thing is gonna blow over....

Here's another....to the left

to the right,

OK, last one, well, except for the mosaic at the end.....

Now, on to the second project.....This lantern is ginormus, it is 42'' high....it's glass is broken and some of the sides are bent (it came in damaged at work), I brought it home thinking I could do something with it.

First, I put a 12'' terra cotta pot in the bottom

(Sorry, blurry picture)

I knew I wanted to use a pumpkin, and I needed something to put in the pot to hold it up, I thought a plate would work and it did....It's working so well that now it's stuck in there (crooked, may I add) and short of breaking it, it's what I'm using...

I must have got caught up in the moment because I forgot to pause and take pictures of the during, because we jump straight to the final result. I used sunflowers, berry garland, and birch and maple leaves...and of course the burlap.

It ties up just as well as ribbon, although not wired, it's not bad...

For Halloween, I decided to use an electric jack-o-lantern, after Halloween I'll put the pumpkin in for Thanksgiving

Thanks for coming by! Hope you are inspired!

Twiggy Tablescape

Welcome to another Tablescape Thursday! Visit Susan and all the talented participants at BNOTP!

Can you be inspired by your husband cleaning out the gutters?

The answer is YES!

We have a large elm tree in our backyard that has really been beat up by this Missouri weather. Justin cleaned out the gutters over the weekend and trimmed up a few limbs and I couldn't have been happier.

Luckily, I was at work, so I didn't have to actually help.......but I did get my cutters out and harvest some loverly weepy branches. It inspired my centerpiece and I even added some to my chandelier . Let's get started!

I have had these fall dishes for about 5 years now. I bought them at Wal-mart and I have never seen them again. I didn't buy all the accessories and wish I had! I did get these loverly serving bowls which I adore.

Coffee mugs and dinner plates complete my collection...I just love the embossed leaf and acorn...and of course they're green!

My centerpiece

I used shipping tags as place cards, I'll be showing you how to do these in a later post, be sure to stop back over if your interested....I tied them to the handles of the mugs, put the silverware and napkin in....love it! We always have coffee after dinner anyway....




Now you might be wandering what on earth is my candle holder......well....it's one of those folding steamer thing-a-ma-bobs...They open up to reveal a beautiful perforated surface in which to transform into a centerpiece....oh yeah, that whole steaming thing is good too....but I mean come on! It's much happier holding a lovely candle than steaming!

You may have noticed my new chargers, yes they are lovely, thank you.....

They are from the Mary Carol Home Collection (Love her!) There are square ones too!

Here's the whole dining room...I mean eat-in kitchen...Loving the twiggy chandelier and they are going to be spooky for Halloween too!

I found some burlap garland at Michael's.....very fun stuff....I have another project waiting in the wings for that stuff too.......come back soon if you're interested....

Thank you for joining me! I hope you're inspired!

Thanks for hosting Susan!

Sprucing up the Kitchen

Sprucing up the kitchen and Helpful hints for displaying dishes.

I am a collector and creatively displaying dishes can sometimes be daunting.

I have a china hutch (with closed storage) and an open storage piece that I use. Of course I use the kitchen storage as well.

Now in my dream kitchen, I would have a combination of open and closed built In's...not to mention more square footage...but in reality, I'm gonna use what I've got.

Tip #1: Baskets for storage.

I found these square lidded baskets, approx. 12X12 that I store napkins in. I bought this particular style to fit on my shelving, but they are making baskets in all shapes and sizes to meet your needs. Baskets add great texture and color as well as function.

Tip #2 Limiting color pallet.

I have found what works for me is keeping a simple color pallet. I usually use white and one other color. For me, that's green. Of course the baskets provide a color of their own. All of my specialty plates that do not fit within the color pallet stay behind closed doors until the next Tablescape Thursday (wink;)!

Tip # 3 Visual Balance and repetition

Not everyone will have shelving like this, but I think you can take away some idea of what I mean by visual balance and repetition. since I am displaying dishes, stacking is almost a given. I actually really like seeing stacks of dishes. I think it looks really pretty.

Distributing color will also help with balance...I don't have all green and then all white...I broke it up from shelf to shelf. Notice also the texture (baskets) is distributed from shelf to shelf too.

On such a square unit, I used a lot of circles to break up all the lines...this shelf is perfect for dishes!

While still on the sprucing up mode I decided to do a different quick and simple centerpiece. I had an oval silver platter (thrifty love) that I combined candles, leaves & berries, and fruit, to make a colorful seasonal centerpiece

I used a tablecloth folded in half across the table for some additional seasonal flair.

I also did a couple of projects that I've been wanting to do and today was the day...

Remember this picture I took at Circle R Ranch? If you don't, you can read about it here. I decided that I wanted to frame it up and use it in the kitchen. It's just graphic enough that it's not too country for me....

I printed it out here at home, on good photo paper

Using some matting and a frame that I had around the house, I think it turned out beautifully and I displayed it on top of my dish display shelf.

I was thinking that later (when I get some extra coin) I could order a print of it even larger and and do the canvas look...that would be really great!

But for the now...I'm happy with the at home version! It's right at home amongst the milk glass and wicker...

I finally got around to hanging the chalkboard tray I did weeks ago. I have a small wall in between the back door and window perfect for hanging four trays, all thrifty love, and spelled out

H-O-M-E. Love it!

Blogged for Kimba's DIY Day.

Thank you for stopping by today!

I hope this has helped you and inspired you!