On this almost last day of October the sun is warm and the air is cool. Many of the trees and fields in the western part of the valley have mellowed from outrageous red and yellow to rust and gold and brown.
As much as I love Autumn, this is the part that brings out the melancholy in my heart. The fading....the dying...the goodbye. How can it be so beautiful and so painful at the same time?
Farewell, October! You were hard and challenging and wonderful and beautiful and I'll never forget you.
Falling in love again...what am I to do? I can't help it....
Consider yourself fortunate you can't hear me singing it.
So, I have a little antique dresser
in my entryway that I recently painted. It was looking pretty cute,
except that (you know how this is) it started to become the
junk-dropping spot. Library books, mail, toys...a shoe? What the heck?
Today I decided to give it some much needed attention with a little Fall love.
My friend gave me these lovely chippy candlesticks for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. And the log piece came from someone's firewood pile {sshhh}
I wasn't kidding when I told you that nature is art in our home. Cover your firewood, people : )
Last Fall my oldest daughter got married and we collected and pressed these gorgeous oak leaves for decorating the ceremony and reception. Yesterday I made a little hanging leaf banner out of them simply by tying some twine around each stem. Simple, natural, my favorite kind of decorating for Autumn!
The chunk of firewood natural log pedestal serves as a display stand for some of our collected bird's nests.
My little leaf banner hung on a vintage window. Sweet memories!
There you have it. I love that you come in the front door to a little moment of Fall happiness before you walk around the corner and have to see the dishes! -haha- Grab on to every bit of Autumn deliciousness you can, my friends!
Jeanette
Sharing my little Autumn entryway over here: http://theinspiredroom.net/2012/10/22/holiday-nesting-and-party
And here:
www.theivycottageblog.blogspot.com/
Fox Hollow Cottage Pinterest Party
At our house, nature is art. Branches from the lake. Moss from a friend's forest wedding. Pieces of bark from a tree in my brother's yard in California that we used for my oldest daughter's Colorado wedding last fall.
A special stone paperweight one of my kids made for me last Mother's Day. To us, the beauty of our collection isn't just in the form and texture of the objects, but also the memory attached to each item collected.
Sticks and stones adding charm to our home.
I like that!
I can't imagine a life without creating. Something. ANYTHING! It is breath and it is joy! For me, creating isn't optional, creating is life. I've been working on a few little creative projects lately, and I'd love to share some of them with you.
A friend of mine gifted me with a TON of vintage sheet music! I love it so much, I might just spend the next several months covering everything under the sun with it! This little chest started out as a plain pine box I picked up years ago at a thrift store. I always knew I'd do something with it, and the sheet music was the inspiration I needed. I covered the box with it, decoupaged a vintage bird image on the lid, added some ball feet (.50cents at the thrift store) and some charming handles I've had around for several years also. Hmmm...I kind of wish I had made the bird image bigger. Oh well, maybe next time. I'm sharing this at Knick of Time Tuesday!
http://www.knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/
I used my favorite little bird stamp on a piece of cotton canvas, placed it on a piece of natural linen and framed it in a black distressed frame which (of course) I've had around forever.
Ok, so the recent theme is vintage sheet music AND stuff I've had around the house forever-ha! : )
Cute little step stool embellished with music and a photocopy of a vintage style journal cover.
Wait, the theme is really birds, vintage sheet music and stuff I've had around forever. I adore this sweet vintage bird graphic from The Graphics Fairy ( www.graphicsfairy.blogspot.com) and have used it many times. I had this vintage Spiegel's tape measure, which I inherited from my grandmother. It was falling apart, so I decided to embellish this little bottle/vase with some of the pieces. My grandma was a very "crafty" lady, and it makes me happy when I can incorporate something of hers into a project.
Music (duh), an ancient scrap book cover (picked up the entire scrapbook at a thrift store for pennies), decoupaged the music and an old cover from Victorian Trading Co onto the cover, added cotton fabric ribbon stamped with music notes for hanging~voila! Cute, shabby-vintage inspired romantic fall-ish wall hanging! Whew, that was a mouthful!
I found this sad looking little spice cabinet for a couple of dollars at-you guessed it-a thrift store. I painted it white and distressed it a bit, then added this sweet little iron bird drawer pull. Charming!
Several years back I found two of these crib end panels laying on the side of the road. Some of you are saying, "Eeeww! What is wrong with you, lady??" : )
Others, like me, are saying, "Jackpot! It's my lucky day!!" haha. I finally decided to turn one of them into a chalkboard. I like the way it turned out, but if I had it to do over, I think I would use the brush-on chalkboard paint instead of spray paint. I did several coats, but the surface still just doesn't seem as "hefty" as I would like, but it was a really fun project! What should I do with the other one??
I made this hanging candle holder awhile back, but I thought I'd throw it in here because the fall colors off my deck look so pretty! It was an old planter with a metal container inside the wire basket part. The wire was kind of rusty looking, and all I had was black chain so I painted the chain with some rusty-ish looking craft paint, and it matched perfectly. The chandelier crystals were left over from a light fixture at a previous home, and the vintage jar? Yep, had it around for years. I have white beans inside the jar to hold the candle (don't leave it out in the weather!) but it looks pretty without them also.
I was inspired to put together this quick little Fall mini-banner by Angie at Knick of Time Interiors here: http://knickoftimeinteriors.blogspot.com/2012/10/itty-bitty-banners_5.html
You should try one!
I hope it's been fun to take a look at a few of the things I've been working on, and that maybe you feel inspired to take a new look at some things in your home that could be re-designed, re-purposed or re-imagined for a new life. Creating is such a joy for me and I'd love to hear about the things you're working on too!
Wishing you a beautiful week~
Jeanette
Fall has my heart. Although each season has it's own beauty and charm,
I am head-over-heels in LOVE with Fall....sigh.
The glorious colors, the bright blue sky and cooler nights, flannel! Everything about it cries out beauty and coziness! I desperately want it to linger on.
Today I realized that that it's passing quicker than I want to admit.
Reminder to self: Be present. Pay attention. Make memories. Remember this day.
Cozy Autumn blessings to you, my friends!
I am so fortunate that I get to celebrate my birthday in Fall! Last weekend I had a lovely little celebration with my 4 kids at a beautiful park near my oldest daughter's home. She is so creative, and put together so many handmade details to make our celebration extra personal and special. Pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese icing on a wicker cake stand, hand decorated gift bags and a special quote about beauty, framed in a vintage-style frame set on an ironstone platter....SUPER charming and totally my style!
I just love the sweet little bird stamped on the gift bag!
She made little pearl-topped flag banners for the cupcakes spelling out "Oh Happy Day!"
We spent the afternoon in the gorgeous Fall outdoors at TWO different
parks, and took a drive into the hills, ending our outing at a local
fish hatchery (little kids loved that) in a beautiful setting.
My birthday at a fabulous park on the Colorado River + a gorgeous Autumn afternoon + a hot Caramel Macchiato = HAPPY ME! : D
Don't you love this little quote??
Normally
I would spend some time on my birthday contemplating the year past and
thinking about the year to come. Asking some hard questions and taking
stock, so to speak. It's been kind of a rough year, and I've really done
alot of that already, so I am content to close the day being more
grateful than I can possibly say for all my blessings, including a
beautiful and happy day to celebrate the life God has given me!
Keep your eyes and your heart open to see the beauty around you!
Blessings~
Jeanette
