Fall / Halloween Decor

I have been absent for so long I almost forgot how to get this post going.  I have had some changes in my day time life that have prohibited me from posting as often as I intended to.  My day job has taken me through so many changes in the past several months and the travel that has gone along with these changes has made it difficult to take time out for myself.  So for the last couple of weeks I have taken some time to decorate my Florida home for Fall.

Nope, Florida really doesn't have any seasons. Only season we ever see and feel is hot, humid Summer but I had felt the need to attempt to decorate my home in the rich colors and "feeling" of Fall.  I added Halloween to the mix - what is Fall without a little Halloween?

Thanks to all my Friends/Followers for sticking with me through my journey.

WELCOME

These are my Dollar Store wreaths, 1- rattan wreath, 2- fall garlands, 1- Fall flower bunch (cut it up and stuck the flowers where I needed to fill in) .  Not bad for $4 each.

Sideboard with some rafia pumpkins, turkeys that my daughter and I painted and put together, acorns and my bottles of poison.

What's your poison ?

A simple centerpiece (simple is in this year). A pumpkin soup tureen, the ladle is one of the leaves; sitting on a fall leaves placemat.

My Haunted House (terrible picture I know - don't know what happened to my crappy camera). I wanted you to see the details on the tree as well as the miniature skulls, spiders and pumpkins.

 Goblins and more goblins. 

A smiling glass pumpkin.  I light up the candle every night and the glow is amazing.



Love this bubble candle ! You can't see it in this picture, but when it's lit, the inside bubbles up and the ghosts and goblins move around.

Boo !! Aren't these the cutest ?

And last but not least, my absolute FAVORITE piece, a skeleton that my Daughter made in pre-school over 20 years ago.  It is made from paper plates and yarn.

Happy Fall everyone and many blessings this season.

Wannabe Darcy

I have coveted the famous Darcy Chair since she first made her debut but at $425 a pop, no way was I going to splurge on them.

What called me to her was her feminine flair.  She is so graceful and I had to have her.  I wanted six but wasn't willing to put down a small fortune for them.

Image - Rachel Ashwell

So I have been on a mission ever since to try and find a wannabe Darcy chair and I think I found her.

What do you think? Close enough?

I love her feminine curves (just like Darcy's) and they are a dream to sit on.  I paid $65 a piece and got my 6 chairs.

Now on to my new dilema...

Do I paint them out white or light grey or keep them as is?  I do plan on making them a skirt (when I get brave enough to do it).  I would love your opinions.

Linking up to:
Sunday Showcase Party
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Table Makeover

I have been away for so long I think I have forgotten how to take pictures.  The pictures that follow are so blurry and the light is so bad that it is almost embarassing.  I decided to use them regardless since I haven't posted in such a long  time I bet some of you thought I up and moved.

This is a table I had in my living, hand painted by someone (don't know who) .  I loved the curves of the table and the carvings and moldings but I felt they got lost in the creamy paint . 

SO out came the trusted supplies I already had on hand AND my helper:

And on to the finished product:

See the beauty of the carvings?

This picture shows the true grey color it is.

Linking up to:

Frugalicious Friday
Show and Tell Friday
Frugal Fridays
Saturday Night Special
Weekend Wrap Up
Favorite Things Friday
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Friday Furniture Feature
DIY Showoff
Just Something I Whipped Up
Motivate me Monday

Napkins to Valance

Needed a valance for a curtain that covers a french door in my bedroom but didn't want to commit or pay for a permanent valance.  Decided to purchase napkins in the colors of my bedroom and hung them randomly over the tension rod that holds the curtain.

Liked it so much I decided to continue on to the other window.

This hangs over the window above my bed.  The white curtain below is a Rachel Ashwell pique curtain.  I needed a valance agan, so I bought four Rachel  Ashwell napkins at Target, and a pack of 5 door knobs.

I took the napkins and sewed them together 1/4 of the way down each side. I left the other 3/4 open so they would drape nicely once hung.

I took the door knobs I bought and glude a thumb tack to the back and pressed it into the dry wall.

Took some ribbon I had laying around and sewed it to the napkins where they each met and hung them to the door knob/thumb tack contraption.

And there she hangs.

One more ... this is hanging in the adjoining bathroom and covers a closet.  I took the bi-fold shutter style door down and covered the closet  with a fabric shower curtain hung on a tension rod again. Same napkins as I used in the window over the bed.

 

Shower curtain wasn't long enough for the opening, so used a table runner across the bottom.

Love the informality and shabbiness of these looks and oh so inexpensive.

 Linking up to Happy to Design Sunday Favorites and Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality, Metamorphisis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch,Motivate me Monday at Keeping it Simple, The DIY Show Off, Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative, DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land, Tip Me Tuesdays at Tip Junky., Get yYour Craft On at Today's Creative Blog., A Few of My Favorite Things, Show and Tell Fridays at My Romantic Home, Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest., Saturday Night Special at Funky Junk Interiors, Weekend Wrap Up at Tatertots and Jello. sunday Scoop at I heart Naptime

Lookie what I WON

Kathy from Creative Home Expressions had a giveaway a while back where she was giving away the famous Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.  Well I won, and it arrived today along with a lovely Fleur di Lis Orb she painted with this.

Stayed tuned for my painting projects to come and go over and visit Kathy at her blog, she is so sweet and very creative.  Thanks again Kathy.

Who knew ...

One word "macro". 

Amy at The Red Chair Blog visited one of my previous posts and saw that I had written that I might need a new camera because the pictures were comming out all blurry.  Amy told me to go to my camera booklet and see if my camera had a macro function.  What?  I just point and click.   I got lucky that I learned to download (or is it upload?)  the pictures.  Nevermind that it takes me forever to actually FIND the pictures I downloaded/uploaded (that's another story).

So Amy says, her camera has a "little flower" icon on it and that is the macro function she uses for closeups and this eliminates the blur.  MY camera had a lille flower icon too - whooo hooo !!!! (I couldn't find the owners manual) so I tested it with these pictures.

Nest with fresh garden greens.

Fresh roses from a climbing rose bush - can you say SPRING ?

So what do you think ? Aren't the pictures crisper?  Still don't have the hang of a camera but willing to try anything out just once.  Thanks Amy.

Hello March ....

March (pronunciation) (help·info) is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, and one of the seven months which are 31 days long.

March in the Southern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of September in the Northern Hemisphere.

The name of March comes from ancient Rome, when March was the first month of the year and named Martius after Mars, the Roman god of war. In Rome, where the climate is Mediterranean, March is the first month of spring, a logical point for the beginning of the year as well as the start of the military campaign season. January became the first month of the calendar year either under King Numa Pompilius (circa 713 BCE) or under the Decemvirs about 450 BCE (Roman writers differ).The numbered year began on March 1 in Russia until the end of the fifteenth century. Great Britain and her colonies continued to use March 25 until 1752, which was when they ultimately adopted the Gregorian calendar. Many other cultures and religions still celebrate the beginning of the New Year in March.

In Finnish, the month is called maaliskuu, which originates from maallinen kuu, meaning earthy month, because during maaliskuu, earth finally became visible under the snow. In Ukrainian, the month is called березень, meaning birch tree. Historical names for March include the Saxon Lentmonat, named after the equinox and gradual lengthening of days, and the eventual namesake of Lent. Saxons also called March Rhed-monat or Hreth-monath (deriving from their goddess Rhedam/Hreth), and Angles called it Hyld-monath.

March starts on the same day of the week as November every year and February in common years only.