HALLOWEEN BIRTHDAY CARDS 2017

Two dear friends have their birthdays around Halloween so I try to bounce off that theme to create a personal card for each of them.

I found the monogram on thecottagemarket.com blog.  She seems to whip up the most amazing seasonal and clever monograms.

I started with a background of a vintage book that held ragged and yellowed pages.  Using wasi tape from my sister Terri's collection,I added a punch of color.  I cut out the monogram and placed it on the book page.  Because I love everything glitter, I added black glitter to the bat--a subtle touch.

To create a bit more interest, I had a Halloween scrapbook sheet about all things spooky.  I cut a swath off and glued it on the outside and wrapped it around the inside.

The last added feature was a poem about autumn found on the Internet.  Adding different colors of font perk up the page.

As the spooky night draws near, I hope that they will enjoy their birthdays wishes.

TREADMILL BEDROOM UPDATED

We placed the treadmill in the guest bedroom on the first floor because we couldn't get it up the stairs to put it in the rec room. We use this room as a guest room.  The treadmill does fold up when company arrives.  I always felt that the bed was just too large for the room....until I was walking by one day.

I asked Mr. Thrifty if the posts could be unscrewed.  He said yes, so in a matter of 5 minutes, the bedroom was updated.

Here is the bed with one of the posts reduced.

Don't pay attention to my props under the bed.  It is a difficult room to photograph because of the sunshine coming in the window.

I suppose that I could shorten the other two posts at the head of the bed, but I'm happy with the two shortened for the time being.

Why didn't I think of this years ago???



ODE TO BRENDA-THE RAVEN

Many years ago, when I was a career girl, I worked with an amazing person, whom I now call friend.  Her forte was Literature, so Brenda would create elaborate lesson plans to engage our students.  When she would be reading the passage out loud, the children were on the edge of the seats.  The expression and intonation of her voice had them all spell bound.

One of her favorite units was on Edgar Allen Poe.  Today, I write this blog in her honor.  The first being that she gave me the vintage birdcage which I use in numerous postings on this blog.  I treasure this gift! The second reason that I am doing this blog in homage of her is because of The Raven.

Now  granted, black crows are much more accessible around Halloween, so put in your mind that these are all RAVENS.

I need to side step a minute here and tell you another story about the raven.  I went to Benedictine College in Atchison.  The school was named for St. Benedict and St. Scholastic, who were brother and sister.  The story goes that in the wilderness, Benedict fed a raven with a portion of his bread.  When a jealous and wicked priest tried to kill Benedict with poisoned bread, Benedict coached the raven to take the deadly bread to a place where it could not harm another.  The raven complied and saved Benedict's life.

So now onto the Halloween foyer décor.

 A few years ago, I took an old black window frame, glued vintage book pages to the back and added some black cobwebs and spiders to the frame.  This was the perfect backdrop for the birdcage full of ravens.

 A black cauldron was set at the foot of the foyer table.

 

Something was missing.  While at Walmart, I picked up some black and cream buffalo check fabric to use as a drape to complete my look.

And to Brenda--this one is for you!


p.s.   The cauldron is now full of Halloween treats.



WHEAT AND THE PICKLE JAR 2017

For my birthday this year, my two sisters bought this vintage pickle jar for me.  I love it!!!
Instead of pickles, I added some mini pumpkins to the jar.

Another faux pumpkin lays in the silver creamer.

Adding the wheat made for a perfect vignette setting behind the couch.

 

Thanks sisters!

FALL MANTLE-A SIMPLE ADDITION

It was pretty easy to add some Indian corn and, pumpkin blossoms and day lily stalks to transform the blue and white mantle to fall.  I can't get over how well the Oriental blue and white pieces go with the pops of orange color.

The morning light really makes the mantle pop.



FALL DECOR 2017

I wanted to share a few Fall vignettes around the house.

I filled my blue and white Oriental pumpkin vase with some faux bittersweet and pumpkin blooms.

Front entry.

Front door.

A glance inside the front door.

And I haven't even got the pumpkins out yet!