Blooming Mums and Daisy

I am not the greatest gardener at all, I'll be the first to tell you this......but I have a tiny tiny flower bed that I pay special attention to (it's about all I can handle) and it is bursting with mums.
I took this picture on Wednesday ( Oct. 5th)

...and took this picture on wednesday (the 12th) and there is still some that haven't bloomed! I know these are a little overgrown ( I didn't get to cut them back this past spring) but I think they have turned out ok!!

The kale is growing nicely and I planted pansies too.

I love the purple with the fall tones.



Such beautiful color!



Mums are high impact and super showy



Here is our girl Daisy. She waits for me while I'm outside working, this is a good pose of her...usually she's rolling around in the grass or sleeping on the sidewalk.



On a side note, I have drs. appointments on Monday and Tuesday so I won't be around. I should really sit down and write a post pertaining to my sickness/surgery/recovery. But it's just no fun. :) I'm sorry if you have been curious, I know it just seems like I haven't talked about it at all. Maybe one day soon.




Have a great weekend!

Need a design boost? For advice and guidance on style, contact me!

Vintage Camp Blankets

I have always loved vintage blankets. I lovingly call them camp blankets although it's been years since I've gone camping, but they make me feel like I want to go camping! I think this picture epitomizes the feeling very well.

Via
I have run across some great blankets in the past and am always on the hunt for new {old} ones. I haven't had a lot of success locally, so I hit Etsy up to see if I could find some.

I love letting blankets inspire tablescapes.....

You might remember the tablescape I did with this blanket last year.....

Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Lo and behold, I spied one just like it!

Vintage Yellow and Brown Blanket

This was another popular tablescape that I used a blanket with. Although I didn't find the exact one, I did manage to find some great red ones.

A Natural Christmas Tablescape

I thought this one was great

Vintage Red Plaid Blanket


and this one is still in the package! Hmmm, I wonder what the story is on that?

Vintage Red and Black Blanket (Still in package!!!)

So have you come across any great camp blankets lately?

Need a design boost? For advice and guidance on style, contact me!

Fall Lantern (Tutorial)

The popularity of lanterns has been growing by leaps and bounds over the last few years. They are an instant centerpiece and easy focal point. I found one earlier this year at Home Goods, so I thought I'd show you how you can dress up a simple lantern and add some personality, especially for fall and the coming season.

Hunt and gather:

Fall leaves

Berries

pinecones

ribbon

assorted fall trimmings

Tools:

Wire cutters

scissors

glue pan or gun

wire

I love my wooden one but, but I've seen them in all kinds of finishes and colors. Don't have a lantern? Try this on the side of a decorative birdcage, or even a birdhouse. By the way, this is on a lazy susan....it makes arrangements easy to work on and spin around, this is not required. Unless you design for a living, then I recommend it. :)

I used burlap ribbon (I used something other than plaid!), but you can use any type that you have. I tied a bow, and using the wire, tied (wired) it on the top of the lantern.
This is the side view. I start with the bow first, because everything will be based around it. Also, I wanted this removable and the wire allows easy on and off.


Next, fall folliage acts as a base too, use the wire from the bow to wire on the leaves. On this particular lantern, there is a lot of space around the bow to add things.


Start filling in around the ribbon with berries and small leaves and grasses. Don't forget to fill in around the back too, you don't want it to be lop-sided and only pretty from the front.


Add in the pinecones and continue filling in

Once you feel like you've added just the right amount, add some candles. I have real ones in here, but I want to start using the flameless kind. The heat might loosen up all the work I just did!

Take advantage of the height of the lantern, allow the folliage and berries to cascade down the side of the lantern. The trick is to cut short and glue around the top and leave long around the bottom. It is all glued around the bow.

I hope you've gathered some tips and inspiration to create your own lantern centerpiece! If you have any questions leave them in the comments.

On a side note, have you seen the seasonal plates at Wal-mart? I picked this design out of a couple of different styles, I think they look very Pottery Barn-ish with the Wal-mart price. Have you seen these yet?

Need a design boost? For advice and guidance on style, contact me!

Painted Pumpkins

I had to write this post pretty quick because somehow, I clicked 'publish' and all I had done was uploaded the pictures. I was trying to knock out a post and have a quick snack but I think the Oreo cookie package hit ctrl and I pressed 'P' to type painted pumpkins and it published. I should probably not dip Oreos in milk and try to type/write at the same time. That's my tip for the day from me to you. :) Anyway, what I really want to show you are my upcycled painted pumpkins. You know me, I like to use what I have on hand and really get a fresh look by using what you've got. Not that I am against buying new, but refurbishing/upcycling is like a challenge to me.

I have had these 'funkins' for oh, about ten years now, they even made the move from NC, and they are looking a little worse for wear. They are the kind that are carvable, but still artificial. Since I'm on some kind of pumpkin kick this week, and I've never actually carved into them, I figured I could do a little painting.

I spray painted this one flat black and a smaller one flat black, and the other big one in pumpkin orange, all of which I had on hand. Looks better already!

After I let them dry, I used chalk to draw out a design that I liked. This is great to do because you can get an idea of what you want without committing to the paint right away. Don't like the design? Damp towel takes it away.

I pretty much let the pumpkin be my guide.

This one turned out to be my least favorite. It would have turned out much better if the pumpkin orange was a flat paint, but all I had was glossy, so be it. I knew I wanted to do a chevron pattern on one of the big pumpkins, so I used chalk to draw out a fairly simple design. It's not perfect by any means.

I ended up really liking the black and white designs the best, they look really cute with the chalkboard front door (Take a look at the door HERE). I put a crow on the top of this one.

and a spider on this one.

I took pictures of them inside, even though they are for outside, but it's been raining this morning. So a few indoor photos instead.


I did manage one, although you don't really get the full effect with the close up. I'll have to get a wide shot later.



I hope you are inspired to give painted pumpkins a try!

Need a design boost? For advice and guidance on style, contact me!

Pumpkins on a Stick

I suppose that I could come up with a title a little more creative than 'pumpkin on a stick' like pumpkin wands, or pumpkin scepters, but somehow saying pumpkin on a stick just seems more like me. At any rate, this is an upgrade to the candy sticks that I made last year, you can check it out HERE. I was/am enamored with the black and white candy sticks, but decided to make some that would last forever by wrapping painted dowels with grogain ribbon and securing with glue

And because I can't leave well enough alone, this year I decided to add pumpkins especially after seeing something similar on Country Home. I made it my own by glittering the pumpkins and went with a more whimsical look vs. a primitive look. There is something magical about glitter that takes even the ugliest pumpkin like these, and turns them into pretty glittered darlings.

I love Martha's glitter, it will cover anything and everything.
I slathered the pumpkin in Mod Podge....

Used Martha's Fire Opal fine glitter and let them dry. Because they are styrofoam, the candy stick goes in the bottom pretty easy. I secured with just a touch of hot glue.

Once they are all dry, tie two bows with black craft ribbon (or any color of your choice).

I glittered some in black too and used ribbon with white stiching. Really, you could do any combination you wanted. I wish I had had green ribbon, I think that would be cute, but I just used what I had on hand.

I displayed them in an urn I got earlier this year at Hobby Lobby. I wasn't even thinking about it for Halloween, but it sure works!

I think I am ready to cast some Halloween spells, what do you think? :)




;

Need a design boost? For advice and guidance on style, contact me!