Our Fall Entry ...

Greetings, everyone!

Is it beginning to feel more like Fall where you are ?!  It's beautiful here in the mornings, but it has still been pretty h.o.t. here in the afternoons.  Not for much longer, I'm sure! 

This year, I opted for the "less is more" theme for our entry alcove!  As much as I LOVE including bales of hay, corn/sugarcane stalks, lanterns and scattered faux pumpkins in our alcove, I thought I'd give our blower, broom and my nerves a break this year from constantly having to: sweep up/blow the *bazillion* strands of hay that wind up ALL over the entry ... clean up melted candles from inside the lanterns ... and run (while screaming LOUDLY) from scary little HUGE lizards that like to hide in the corn stalks and jump out at me while I'm cleaning up said *bazillion* strands of hay and melted candles!  LOL.

Anyhoooo ... here it is ... simplicity (please exuse the tacky orange cord):

One thing I *did* do again were pumpkin topiaries ... except, this time, I placed a white pumpkins in the middle for a bit of contrast and fun.  Grapevine wreaths, Dollar Tree garland and strands of raffia sit at the base of them:

Making an encore appearance (from when I recently shared the custom wreaths I've been making for others), here's our Jax's "Mr. Boo" wreath that I made ... love how the glittery silver polka dots sparkle in the afternoon sun:

To add a splash of Fall to our fountain, I placed natural guords and pumpkins in it (can you say "paint me" please):

LOVE the different textures of the guords:

A Fall flag blows in the wind behind one of the beautiful Mums I picked up at Lowes:

Annnnnd, a few "faux" pumpkins rest on the mulch (which we desperately need to "top off"): 

Well, folks, that's our humble entry ... here's to an easy cleanup and NOOOO scary lizards! 

I'm linking up with:

Thrifty Decor Chick/Fall Outdoor Spaces
Kristen's Creations/Share Your Creations
At the Picket Fence/Inspiration Friday
French Country Cottage/Feathered Nest Friday
Coastal Charm/Nifty Thrifty Tuesday


Thanks for stopping by,

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Sailing Baby Room

I have had a recent request to show children's bedrooms, ones that I have decorated or come across cute rooms via friends.


This bedroom was not decorated by me. I did make two canvas art pieces and a child's chair. However, I thought you would enjoy seeing this cute room.

I suggested to the mother that she should hang the quilt on the wall instead of using it on the bed. As you can see, she

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Week 24 ~ Diamonds In The Rough!

Diamonds In The Rough! is my weekly feature, where I show you the treasures that I find from garage sales, thrift stores and antique stores.
This week, I was so fun and I have so many small stories to share. As I always find that fall garage sales are some of the best ever!!!

Now is my time to share with you these treasures and stories. This first item is an old typewriter. The old guy (about

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A Bunch of Before & Afters III

I decided to keep better track of my projects with combining each in a simple collage of Before and After. Here is a sample of past projects, Chapter 3. For past Chapters, look in my archives for Before and After.








It's all just paint!



Painted windows and hardware on this door too!







Painted the inside and mapped the top.



Another MacKenzie Childs Inspiration piece.


NOTE: You

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You Better Be*Wreath* Me ...

Happy Day! 

Well, it appears that I'm adding "adventures in custom wreaths" to my craziness!  What started as a few close friends asking me to make wreaths for them has now grown into something fun that I wasn't expecting!  I thought I'd share a few orders I recently completed:

My sweet friend ordered a "bridal room" wreath, which, even though I live in the South, I've never heard of one(!).  So, here's my version ... thought I'd incorporate the colors of the wedding. 

Had to brainstorm to create the centerpiece:

"Happy Fall" to a great family who is, hopefully, enjoying this wreath.

"Go Noles" ... ordered by my sweet friend, Melanie, at Southern Comforts in a Northern Life:

My son insisted I make a Halloween one for our door:

Mr. Spider slowly creeping his way around the wreath:

I created this for my friend's fabulous insurance company "Beach Benefits:"

"Go Packs" ... ordered by another sweet friend:

And, we can't forget USC Gamecocks, which another friend is proudly displaying.  Actually, she's not too happy about these as she is a Clemson fan ... her husband ordered these without her knowledge.  LOL!

This Fall wreath is on its way to Maryland:

And, "Go Steelers" ... this one is now on a friend's front door in VA:

Needless to say, I'm so excited that I've gotten several more orders for Fall and Christmas wreaths, and, as soon as I complete them, I hope to open an Etsy store ... got lots of wreath ideas swirling in my head and can't wait to bring them to fruition!  

Linking up to:

Kristens Creations/Share your Creations
2805/Potpourri Friday

French Country Cottage/Feathered Nest Friday
At the Picket Fence/Inspiration Friday
My Romantic Home/Show and Tell Friday


Thanks for stopping by,

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Inlaid Table ~ Deja-vu

I just experienced Deja-vu, but this was REAL not an illusion of feeling. I am talking about two tables that have come into my life with-in a month of each other but miles apart. Here is my first one...
I am sure my blog followers remember this one. See the before shot? Notice the top and how the inlay was so far gone that it couldn't be saved? You also see my solution for its rebirth.

Well,

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Our "I Give Up" Fall Mantel ...

Happy *official* Fall Y'all!  Deep rich colors are popping up alllll over blogland now, and I.love.it.  Too bad it's still hot out!

Okay, after our mantel from last year was selected to be featured on Better Homes and Gardens website (BHG.com) as part of this year's Fall inspirational slideshow, admittedly, I found myself thinking "no WAY" will my creative juices be flowing this year.  So, after tweaking ... and tweaking ... and tweaking, I gave up!  Alas, here is our "I give up" Fall mantel:

I have to give the initital *shout out* to the bee-you-tee-ful iron piece that stands center stage on the mantel ... what can I say(?), Home Goods rocks!

I added lit branches to this simple arrangement in a cream pitcher (which I also wrapped twine) ... LOVE how they glow at night.  And, I found this handsome birdie at Hobby Lobby ... I was instantly attracted to his beautiful warm colors:

This "Welcome Harvest" sign was also purchased at HL ... and, the garland below is much like last year's, except I removed the lights and added larger pumpkins:

This cloche, containing lots of smaller pumpkins/leaves, is perched on old books, which I turned so that the pages are facing out:

I hot glued an apothcary jar to this tall candlestick ... threw in some corn, a battery operated monogrammed candle and large bow (with Fall sprig) and call it *a day:*

Down below, our chair now has a coral pillow and simple cream pillow, which I added a burlap bow:

And, woohoo, I discovered this vintage tool box planter hiding at Tuesday Morning (my apologies to whomever hid it to come back and purchase later ... you see, I'm one of those sneaky "hide while I think about it" shoppers, too ... do NOT hide items like this ... I will find it.)  LOL !!

Annnnnd, lastly, a simple white pumpkin topiary sits atop a grapevine wreath, raffia and leaves:

Oh ... and, I did bring back the wooden bead garland that I made last year:

I can't wait to see everyone's mantels!  I'm linking up with:

Dittle Dattle/Amaze Me Monday
A Stroll Thru Life/Tabletop Tuesday
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia/Tuesday's Treasures
Coastal Charm/Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Savvy Southern Style/WUW
DIY by Design/Fall into Fall
2805/Potpourri Friday
French Country Cottage/Feathered Nest Friday
At the Picket Fence/Inspiration Friday
My Romantic Home/Show and Tell Friday
No Minimalist Here/Open House Party
Savvy Seasons/Autumn Arrives Party

Thanks for stopping by!

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