"Blooming 'Brella" and Friends

I've been bringing out some "Spring" around here this last week. It will be "Spring" until the end of March and then I'll get together some Easter decor. I really prefer Easter being in April, otherwise it's just too chilly and I like being able to enjoy both early Spring and then Easter. I know there's a fine line, but rabbits and bunnies, chickens, eggs and nests can do double duty... do I sound like a crazy old woman who doesn't have anything else to do except chit chat about seasonal decor items? please don't answer that.

  

Paperwhites, Fresh or Faux?

I've had this little obsession with Paperwhites for about 10 years now. There is just something so pristine and snowy fresh about a grouping of them. In the past I would buy around a hundred bulbs each season close to Halloween and start the planting process. That was the fun part, I've planted bulbs in everything from Santa Mugs to Antique Ironstone Tureens to the re-purposed clear glass jars that candles come in from Bath and Body Works. I love them and never get tired of them.

Pumpkin Roundup in the Dining Room

Hi Everyone, I hope you're having a wonderful week. We've had a taste of Fall here in Southwest Missouri these last few days with the trees getting more vibrant, a day of gray skies and soaking rain, and some much cooler temps. (High of 63). We'll hit 80 again, but it was sure nice for a change.

Easy Fall Centerpiece with a Galvanized Watering Can

I love a centerpiece on the Kitchen Table, 

and I usually have a small wooden tote here, 

but recently I've had to admit, a tote may not be very practical

 when you have to move it several times each day.

 Filled with dishes, a candle, tea towels, or a small ivy, it can get unwieldy...

 and then it becomes an accident waiting to happen!

Early Fall Entry with a new Chalkboard Print

With each new season I try to create a vignette that's something a little different than I've done before. That's not always easy because there are tried and true elements that I'm happy with and just look "right". The lamp, the clock, and the shutters and mirror; those are all part of this spot. But I love to play with faux flowers, and then add a seasonal print, painting, or needlework... and what's a Fall Entry Vignette without at least one pumpkin?

Summer Buffet Scape with Ticking Tablerunner and Sunflowers

A few weeks ago I shared some inspiration of one of my favorite Late Summer decor combos; Indigo Ticking Stripes with anything "Sunflowers". Ticking brings to mind lazy breezy summer afternoons on the porch swing, and Sunflowers are those wonderful happy faces that let us know that Fall isn't too far away. 

I have a cupboard full of mismatched ironstone and transferware, and that includes a stack of old platters that I use for cookouts. A good steak or Bar-B-Que requires something substantial so I put a few things together for an impromptu Summer gathering.

Rolling Market Basket and Sunflowers...

Hi Everyone, Happy Weekend!

I've had Sunflowers on the brain for several weeks,

and have made a few faux arrangements for the house

 in vintage watering cans, baskets, 

and now this old rolling French Market Basket

that I keep in the Dining Room.

Spring Window Box with Garden Fencing and a Birthday Bouquet

I've mentioned before that vintage garden goods are my favorite vintage items. I love all things vintage, but there's nothing like some old rusty fencing, seed packets, and garden utensils to get my undivided attention. 

Orphan Sampler gets a Vintage Frame

This last Spring I found this wonderful cross-stitch Sampler 

and because I still hadn't unpacked my vintage loose frames 

it landed here on my little hallway table.

First Fall Tablescape

I'm not even going to try and name this "Early Fall Tablescape", because I'm sure I'll change this up in a few weeks for something a little more "Fallish" with some colorful leaves and berries. So let me be honest here and just call it, "First" Fall Tablescape. te he. I've already turned my calendar page over to September. I did mark a "31" on today's date, but I am ready to move into one of my favorite months and seasons. yep, more than ready. Last week I painted a French-y metal basket for the Dining Room table, and put together an arrangement that whispered the first nuances of Autumn. Here are some pics of the rest of the table.

Painting a French Metal Basket with Chalk Paint

Today, I wanted to share a little project of mine "in process";

transitioning from Summer into Fall.

And since this is a French-y iron basket I will say, "En cours".

See, you get your French "phrase" for the day, 

and a little view of what I'm up to.

Summer Mantel with Sunflowers

This time of year I'm captivated by Sunflowers.

They are the symbol for late Summer, relaxation, casual dinners al Fresco, 

and all things French Country...

and I love to have them taking the stage on the mantel.

Table top Conservatory

Little by little I'm making headway with some of my display pieces. This table top conservatory made of old windows and siding sat empty in the corner of the basement living area for months. I'm hoping, now that I have a few more decorative pieces unboxed, that I can keep it up to date with the seasons. So far I've only made one attempt, and that was in May, so it's still dressed for Spring... or late Spring... or early Summer. 

Chippy Vintage Window Box Centerpiece

A few weeks ago, when we were in "unpack more boxes" mode, versus our current "let's get the camper ready" mode, I was able to find my old windowbox that I used for so long in my previous Dining Room.

Baskets for Spring Door Decor

I've slowly been putting "Winter" away, and bringing "Spring" into the house this last week. After Christmas I keep some of my winter faux greenery out as a backdrop and base for winter flower arrangements, and in baskets. Since snow covered trees and evergreens have been about the only landscape in sight, I've enjoyed my transition time from Christmas to Spring. But now that the sun is shining and the thermometer is going to be in the 50's and 60's we have a good chance that the worst of winter is behind us.

Side Table/ Conservatory Vignette

I'm still in the process of finding spots for some of my decor pieces. I don't have near as much space to display things as I did at the other house, so I'm thinking "rotation" might be the answer. My husband bought me this little table top "conservatory" several years ago, and it's always fun to change it out for the seasons. I had it on my hearth in the living room before, now it's taking it's turn on the little "entry hall" dresser that I use for a side table.

Blooming 'Brella

OK, we've all seen adorable vintage umbrellas adorned with faux flowers for Spring. (nothing new for the Pinterest crowd) I DO love me a fun umbrella. And I AM kinda sorta experiencing a faux flower withdrawal over here at the smaller house. This last weekend whilst packing (yes, the never ending job I'm involved in at this moment in time) I spied my Spring floral umbrella in a pile of "stuff" waiting to be put away in one of many large plastic tubs marked "Spring". 

It had to be rescued. If you guys could see the boxes of holiday decor and seasonal faux flowers, branches, twigs and the likes, you'd think seriously about having me committed. But it's one of my vices that I'm working on. You know the kind of personality that sees a container and wants to fill it with SOMETHING! There must be a "disorder" that could be slapped on me.

So, the umbrella came home with me. There are no nails in doors around here, and I'm not going to lose a security deposit over a door wreath or something else. It will do hanging from the kitchen transferware cupboard, brightening up my sitting room.

I wanted a nest in it to go with my old garden tools, but made do with a petite whitewashed clay flower pot instead. My birdie has taken up residence in there.

I'm trying to round up all my "garden decor" and vintage garden goods out on the sunporch, because it all needs to be packed together.  Believe me, I've moved enough that I know the hazards of packing things where they lay. I've found strange things in boxes a year after a move.

I'm having to be content with a few touches of Spring around here, and not create a full blown "explosion". I found one basket with faux hydrangeas that had been in the storage room, that had so much dust on it, it literally became a white cloud when I decided that it was time for it to be dismantled. I'm hoping to learn some life lessons through all this. Hey, I'll write a book entitled "One Woman's Lessons Learned from Downsizing".

I smell a bestseller in the "self help" section. Right now, I'm just trying to figure out how to get it all done without going bananas. And to not make my husband bananas, too. I've also been cleaning and downsizing my closet, but then that's another whole chapter...

partying with these gals:

Savvy Southern Style
From My Front Porch to Yours
Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
The Charm of Home
French Country Cottage
Shabby Art Boutique
Craftberry Bush
Funky Junk Interiors
Thoughts from Alice
Dwellings
Mod Vintage Life
Cedar Hill Farmhouse
A Stroll Thru Life
Cozy Little House

love you guys,

Autumn Entry

I thought I'd share what's happening here in the entry hall this Fall. Nothing too different, just some subtle changes with some leaves added to the white basket of hydrangeas, and the terrarium/lantern now has a candle and some Fall foliage instead of my two sheep. Some of these pics were shared at Marty's last Friday, but I hadn't posted them here yet. So, just in case you missed seeing them.

My moss covered initial "O" made by my sis for me for Christmas last year.

(thought I'd better explain, no, it's not a zero)

It's been hanging here all year, I just love it!

One of my real pumpkins landed in the cast iron urn along with a few bittersweet vines. This urn usually sits on the entry console with a faux flower arrangement, but I brought in another arrangement that I've had for awhile, just for a little change up.

Almost impossible to see,

but my little concrete squirrel is sitting on top of an old book stack 

with a few clay pots, happily munching on acorns.

An old print of  "The Angelus" by Millet, 

brings in the earthy tones of Autumn.

And it's just not Fall without a chipmunk or two...or three.

(This little guy is one of my vintage Lefton figurines)

We had rain and another cool front come through...

aahhhhh, it's really feeling like Fall!

I'm joining in on these weekly parties:

Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Inspiration Exchange at Ella Claire

DIY by Design

From My Front Porch to Yours

House Party at No Minimalist Here

Daily Cup of Mrs.Olson

TTT at Stone Gable

The Charm of Home

French Country Cottage

Timewashed

Shabby Art Boutique

Tonight is your LAST CHANCE

xoxo,

Today's Sponsor

Shabby Cottage Chic

Salesman Sample Bag for Fall

I've had this big brown leather bag for I don't know how long. It's always sat at the bottom of the stairway, and often it's just been something to trip over. It's pretty worn in some places, so it's been better at gathering dust and being in the way than being a focal piece.

But I  was determined to do something different downstairs for the coffee table in my little sitting area, so I decided I would try to make this work. These are often confused with doctor's bags, but these salesmen's sample bags are bigger. Doctor's bags are most always black, and have a lower profile even though they are similar.

I wedged an old book between the metal frame of the hinges and stashed in some Faux Fall flowers and bushes. That's one thing I love about Fall, you can take bits and pieces of Fall leftovers and group them together, those wonderful colors and textures are so forgiving!

That's my ceramic pumpkin from the early 80's. 

It's seen better days, but I drag it out each Fall to enjoy one more season.

My red floral sofa is now sans slipcover,

as I was tired of it looking messy. 

Better red than sloppy.

Hope you're off to a great weekend,

rainy and cool today,

The Holiday Cupboard tomorrow!

xoxo,

Today's Sponsor

French Bleu Vintage

Easy as 1-2-3 Custom Look Wreath

It's September, and you know what I'm doing...

This last week I started decorating for Fall, and one thing I wanted to do was put together a new wreath for the Dining Room mirror. I love a lush twiggy grapevine wreath with lot's of naturals and florals, but I don't want to pay a "custom" price for it. So, no matter what the season, I have an easy method to get a custom look.

Here it is out on the Sunporch. I'll be showing you the Dining Room a little later, but for now it's on one of my old "Fall" quilts on a wicker chair.

As you can see it's pretty wild, and pretty big;

Fall berries, leaves and Hydrangeas.

I've been making my own wreaths for years, and I almost always use this quick method.  One of the best things about it, besides that it's quick, is that this method is easy to take apart, redo, refresh, or reuse at another time.

 Start with your basic grapevine twig wreath. 

The more crazy twigs the better...

I like a wild, natural, just picked look.

Since I'm a bad DIY blogger, I didn't even think to get pics until I had that wreath hanging up on the mirror, and at that point I wasn't going to take it apart again to show the steps.

sooo...

I just used a few other elements to show how easy it is..

please don't get confused because there are two different wreaths.

I know...I know....

bad blogger.

End of Season sales are a great time to pick up those basic garlands and candle rings. I think this one was a large candle ring that came from Michaels a few years ago. The basic garland ring is of just little Lady Apples. I added the sunflowers a while back so I could use it on my front door, which requires a "skinny" wreath.

Then start layering. I left the Sunflowers and Black-Eyed Susans on the basic apple wreath then added in some Hydrangeas. You can add any blossom mix you like for your season. A Spring wreath might have Tulips and Lilacs on a Forsythia garland. This one I used faux Hydrangea stems, but on my Dining Room wreath I used real dried Hydrangeas. With faux Hydrangeas I sometimes trim the large blooms down.

Now you can see we're adding layers and depth and a lot of interest

 with the Apples, Sunflowers and Hydrangeas.

This grapvine twig wreath is actually a little small for this garland, but I wanted to show you how it all goes together. Just use some gardener's twine or floral wire to secure the garland wreath to the twig wreath. 

Here's the finished product. I just randomly put this together because

I'll be taking it apart again, but you get the idea.

1. A grapevine wreath for the base.
2. A garland or large candle ring on top, just tied on with gardener's twine.
3. Florals to tuck in for added interst and depth. Sometimes I hot glue them on, other times I just tuck them inside and through the vines.

This one is a little wonky since I didn't secure all the layers... just wanted to show you how easy it is to put a wreath together. I didn't need any special tools, and it doesn't make a big mess.
So here's my original again. It's a little more "Fall", whereas the "step by step" version is a little more "Summer".

You can put together a wreath like this in about 15 minutes.

Super quick and versatile.

If you want to change up your basic wreath each season it's easily done.

Just 1-2-3!

Now, have some fun making your own!

I'll be joining in on these great weekly parties:

Whipperberry
A Stroll Thru Life
Tuesday Treasures at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
The Scoop at Cedar Hill Ranch
Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm

WOW Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

Inspiration Exchange at Ella Claire
DIY by Design
Homework at The Everyday Home
Stone Gable Blog
From My Front Porch to Yours
Share Your Cup Thursday
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Shabby Art Boutique
Jennifer Rizzo
French Country Cottage
The Charm of Home
Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings

xoxo,