Fall Mantle and Tablescape

My Fall Mantle China Cabinet in all its neutral glory! :) I'm not sure what prompted me to go all neutral up here this year, but it may have been due to these fab horse sculptures I picked up for a song this week at Front Porch of the South. You can see my post on it here.

I don't think I mention these horse heads specifically in that post, because I think I found them the second time I was in there last week, but I got two of them for... wait... $15.

No, I'm NOT kidding you. Ok, sorry, moving along.

I picked up our lovely little owl friend here for $2 not long ago at a little place called Polka Dotties. He was silver, and after I attacked freshened him up with a coat of white spray paint, he is one of my new favorite accessories. Polka Dotties, by the way is located in Ellerslie, GA in a big old house.

I know the lady's husband, and they are very kind, but to be pefrectly honest, the prices are high for a thrift shop. Only, for some reason she didn't know what she had with this little guy! :)

You probably recognize the pedestal from another shot that you can see here.

I tend to like to move stuff around when I'm decorating and use things in different places in my home. Plus, it makes me dust more, so that's always a pain good thing.

You may also recognize the wood disk and apple from a picture of the bookshelf in my living room here. The floral arrangement was a Michaels find from long ago.

The creator of this special little courdurouy punkin is little ole' me! :)

I will be doing three days of tutorials starting Friday on the

Fabric Pumpkin, Burlap Wreath with Felt Rosette Flowers, and Burlap Banner.

Stay tuned for more on this little guy!

My dining room is one of my favorite places to show off holiday decor. It is the first room that people see when they come to my home, and my kids are almost never in there. Seriously, I can set something up in there and it will go untouched. I can't say that for anywhere else in my house. Except maybe the attic! 

The burlap "runner" is just some yardage that I folded up and placed on the table. I didn't feel like cutting, hemming, or really doing anything with it and I like how it has some dimension.

The floral arrangements I picked up at a little place over in Alabama that I found the other day called Bee Bee's Junkin. I'll have to visit her again and take some great photos to share with you!

Another fabric pumpkin made by yours truly and the stand was another great find recently at Front Porch of the South. It's super heavy and was described as a floral arrangement holder. The best part is that you can turn it either way and it still looks good!

Another fabulous pumpkin... I found the felt for this in the remanent bin at JoAnn's for $3. I think I've made two pumpkins plus the rosettes for the wreath and I still have some left to do more fall crafting with. Definately a thrifty find!

I never did a post on this, but thought I would highlight it now. I know that in some ways, the cloche/pedestal trend has passed, however I still love to incorporate pedestals in my decor to add height to vignettes. This is a homemade Goodwill pedestal if there ever was one!

I found the wooden candlestick and the cheese plate in the same trip for a total of less than $4. I pulled the little feet off the cheese plate, popped the metal plate from the top and used some Liquid Nail to attach. They were a perfect stain match! Lucky me!

I just couldn't help but highlight this little Dollar Tree gem.

Hope you enjoy my fall decor!

Linking up to:
Wow Us Wednesdays
Whatever Goes Wednesday
Share the Wealth Wednesday
Show Me What Ya Got
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Remodelaholic
House of Hepworths
Flaunt It Friday
Transformation Thursday

Winter Mantle

I've been working on my mantle ever since I took my Christmas decorations down. I'm not big on changing things out every holiday/season, but I do have a lot of white decorative items, and I love the contrast they provide against the brick, as well as the fact that many of these white items are super versatile, they work in any room of my home.

The items that were here before Christmas are the black and white framed photo that I took while at SCAD, and the white ceramic candleholders with the pillar candles wrapped in craft paper. I know I had some books up there, probably just not that one, and at least one of the apples.

So, all the other goodies are new additions. The white pedestal, you'll remember from this post. The white disk thing-ys (what are those called? I have no idea!) Thanks to Beth from the linky party below, those disk-y thingys ARE called a money plant.  Ok, I kind of thought so, but then, I thought, "well, maybe not, it's not that easy", but apparently, yes, it is. So, there is a little more symbolism for you, it's a nod to all the money we will make in 2011! These are in a vase from my bedroom, and I wrapped it in some nuetral fabric to cover up the blue and brown stripes.

The square mirror is a mother-of-pearl mosiac that is usually in my office (where most of my white stuff is!). In all, a fairly successful white (winter) mantle!

(have I mentioned before that this is my temporary, rental house that I loathe... ok, sorry 'nuff said. If it were mine, the mantle would most likely be painted white... the pains joys of renting!)

Oh! and I almost forgot to mention, in a nod to Valentine's Day (which I'll be spending alone this year, thank-you-very-much-to-the-us-army, our Willow Tree figure that I got as a wedding (1st anniversary?) gift!

This will most likely change soonish, 1. because I change stuff up all the time, and 2. cause I need a little more color in this room. The rest of this room has a goldish yellow sofa, a chocolate brown chair, and the area rug is burnt oranges, chocolates, spa blues/greys and golds. I know it sounds a little much, but it all works, trust me... 

linking up to...

Orange and Blue Nursery & DIY Wall Decor

Ok, while there are approximately 1 million other/different things I would do to this room, this is where it is now - Connor is 19 months old, and this is his second nursery! The house we are in is a "temporary" house, so I haven't done much anything to paint, spruce up, or make permanent major efforts to rooms in this house. However, I wanted to share some DIY wall decor projects with you, and while this isn't the most high design nursery, it's comfy and cozy for us!

The bedding is from Pottery Barn Kids, and I happened to find the set on eBay after it was discontinued for a big discount. There are exactly ZERO images of this set anywhere online, and I can't remember the name of the set to save my life... I liked it because of the blue (which there are a few shades, I was most into the turquoise when I chose it) orange, and green. But, mostly the blue and orange.

At first, I only had the orange paper lantern, and it was intended to function as a nightlight. This was nice in theory, not so in application. 1. The light was too bright and the orange made it look kinda creepy. 2. The cord made the lantern hang at a funny angle, and I was just too paranoid about cords hanging ANYWHERE near the crib.  After the Dr. Seuss First Birthday Party, I used a yellow and blue paper lantern to add to the orange to give it a little more oomph. And, I liked it!

The black and whites were taken by Tanja Pack of Kara's Mom Photography when Connor was only 11 days old. She did an amazing job! She was very professional, had totally reasonable rates, and came to our house - so perfect for a newborn, and a new mama who is nursing! To see our newborn session, click HERE. The frames were 75% off at Target, and just happened to match the crib and changing table perfectly.

This is a wire metal shelving unit with adjustable shelves that I've had forever. It was used for storage in my home office, pre babies, and I had the cover sewn before Nolan was born. I got the inspiration from Land of Nod. They used to have a circus tent cover for a wire shelving unit. They dont' carry it anymore, but I wanted something not circus-y and with a flat top so that I could put things on top of it.

Land of Nod Under The Big Top Organizer

So, wall decor is always an issue in baby/kids rooms I think. Drives me nuts, so I decided to paint my own personalized wall art.  I used the whale from the Pottery Barn Quilt as a guide and drew a freehand sketch on a canvas purchased at Hobby Lobby. I then used acrylic paints - a light blue for the background and navy for the whale. His name was done in orange, and I used orange for a few accents, following the whale on the bedding almost exactly. Since the sides of the canvas were unfinished, I found a ribbon in the dollar bin at Michaels, and hot glued it over the staples that were showing on the sides of the canvas. I had planned on painting his stats after he was born, and as you can see, still haven't gotten around to THAT project, but its on my list for 2011!

Ribbon detail with orange, blue, gray and tan circles

The changing table was a gift from a friend's dad who had gotten it from a house he was working on. It was perfect! In great shape, good, solid wood, and it just so happened to match the crib perfectly! The changing pad cover was a Target find, and coordinates with the green and white polka dot trim fabric on the accent pillow and quilt. The yellow ceramic lamp was a Goodwill find, and I added a new(ish) shade.

Finally, a newer addition to the decor, large cut out letters spelling Connor's name. I found this great striped scrapbook paper at either Michaels or Hobby Lobby (it's been a while, so I can't remember which) but it was originally intended to cover a small nightstand. I had planned on covering the two sides with two sheets each, and one sheet over each drawer. Before I had a chance to complete said project, we moved and the nightstand found a new home in another room.

So, I had some paper that was perfect colors, and now nothing to do with it... so here's what I came up with!

To make these, I used Photoshop for the stencils. I found a font I liked and printed out full, 8.5" x 11" sheets with one letter each. In Photoshop, make a new layer. Select the text tool and your font and type in your letter. My font size ended up being about 900. Once I had the font I wanted, I highlighted the layer, and right clicked and selected "Blending Options." When the dialog box comes up, choose the last one, "Stroke" and change size to 1 px and color black. This will save you ink when you print the letter. I cut out each letter, then traced onto a piece of carstock. I used spray adhesive to stick the cardstock to the back of the scrapbook paper - spraying the backs of both the cardstock and the scrapbook paper and letting them dry to a tacky finish before adhering them together. This will ensure that the two layers do not peel away from one another. I cut with scissors and an exacto knife and placed a piece of scotch tape on the back, face down at each spot I wanted to use tape to stick the letters to the wall. This is so that when you pull the letters back down, you don't rip the cardstock.

I know the photos aren't the best, but I had to send my DSLR back to Fuji to get some Auto Focus issue worked out, so for now it's cell phone pics for a while! Sorry! 

Design on a Dime - Fabric Pumpkins!

This fun little project was something I put together a few years ago and thought I'd share with you! The possibilities go on and on, so feel free to get creative with your fabric choices, and what you pair your new pumpkins with!

First, though, I show you the finished product!

Now, the How To:

Step One: Assemble your materials.

Materials:

1. Square of fabric approx. 20" x 20" (preferably something thin, no upholstery weight stuff)

2. Roll of toilet paper

3. Plastic grocery bags (maybe a dozen or so)

4. Brown paper bag or kraft paper

5. Scissors

Optional : Coordinating ribbon or raffia for an accent on the stem

Step Two:

Place fabric right side down on flat surface. Place roll of TP in the center and surround with plastic grocery bags. Stuff one bag down the center of the roll of TP. 



Step Three:
Pull one corner up and over the bags and stuff down into the center of the roll.

Step Four:
Working clockwise (or counter, whatever) stuff the edges of the fabric into the center of the roll of toilet paper making sure the bags are even all the way around and you get a pleated effect (like the sides of a pumpkin) Tuck all the fabric in until no rough edges are showing.

Step Five:
Finish with a piece of rolled up paper bag for the stem, or in this case, I cut my fabric square a little big to start with, so I had extra left over to pull out for the stem. Wrap raffia or ribbon around the stem for an accent and voila! Instant pumpkin! (Seriously, it took me longer to upload these photos and write out the instructions than it acutally took to make one. I probably could have made a dozen by now!) Happy Fall!

5 Favorite Style Tips

1. It’s okay to be odd — Arrangements in groups of three or five are pleasing to the eye.

2. Invite texture to your table — Add layering textiles that complement your tablescape.

3. Soar to new heights — Add interest by introducing various levels.

4. Add a hue and pattern too — Introduce color and design with fabrics and accent pieces.

5. Keep your cool — Gray is a great way to anchor any color palette.