Here Comes FALL!

Fall truly begins at the end of this week and we have had a tease of less humid days here in the South. I love Summer so I let go of that season slowly. I have never decorated for fall before October 1 because Mollie's birthday is September 29th and I always wanted our decor to be all about her birthday party theme and not fall. She is now an adult and has informed me that I'm sticking to an "out dated" rule! So I might start pulling a few touches out next week. What about you? Do you wait for October or go by the equinox at the end of September? Or maybe you started being "fallish" weeks ago? 

Here are a few of my favorite early fall touches (pictures from last year.)

I always ask for a big mum for my late September birthday and the first thing I buy myself is always the little white pumpkins. I can't stop myself. They are my favorite decoration. I prefer my mums in purplish tones, coral, peach or white. What about you? 

Some years my greeter guy gets orange jack-be-littles if the white ones are hard to find. Putting the little pumpkins in my greeter guy by the front door is a favorite touch. Sometimes I call it my squirrel feeder because they run off with the little pumpkins. 

Last fall I couldn't stop marbleizing my faux pumpkins! It was a fun addition to our fall look and I think they'll be back this fall. What's your favorite fall decor item? 

I'll be sharing this years fall decorating on my Instagram account. 

Happy Fall!

Chinoiserie Tree for Fall

You may not remember my decoupage Christmas ornaments but they inspired the chinoiserie Easter tree which in turn has motivated me to create this fall version!

I'm not a big Halloween decorator - I'm more of a seasonal decorator using a lot of natural elements (I'm crazy for heirloom and mini pumpkins) more than themed items. That being said, I do have a collection of terra cotta pumpkins that I love to use all month long in October. (You'll be seeing those soon.)

But back to the chinoiserie fall tree. This is the easiest of projects and a lot of fun because you can get really creative with the papers and ribbons you choose. I wanted ornaments that mixed well with my "look" so chinoiserie it is! Making decoupage ornaments is so easy and fun that I decided to grab some fall shapes and see what I could come up. Be sure to watch this reel on Instagram to see more details. 

I used a couple of real branches for my Easter tree but I found this great faux branch tree at Goodwill a few months ago and I thought it would be perfect for my decoupage ornaments. For the fall tree I decided to paint it brown.

This is the same way that I made my chinoiserie and Audubon ornaments at Christmas time and the Easter Tree shapes as well.

Gather your supplies:

Flat wooden shapes from craft stores, Wal Mart or dollar stores. I found wooden shapes in pumpkins, leaves and acorns that are perfect for this project. Mine came for Dollar Tree and Amazon. 

Mod Podge (here's a funny about Mod Podge!)

A foam brush to apply Mod Podge. 

Gold spray paint (this is my favorite)

Sharp paper scissors (I use these  to be able to cute very crisp, detailed shapes. I've had my pair for years. Still sharp!)

Papers to decoupage onto your shapes. I used marbleized papers for the some of the shapes and chinoiserie papers for others. I like the mix. Marbleized papers can be found online and in the scrapbooking section of craft stores. The chinoiserie images were printed on copy paper. You can find copyright free images on museum websites. Just google it - "copyright free museum images" and the museum sites will pop up. Then just search the imagery you want- chinoiserie, florals, birds. It's easily available but it just takes a little bit of time. Print the images out and cut out your shapes. I cut my shapes slightly smaller than my wooden shape so that there is a border of gold around the edge.

Then follow the Mod Podge instructions to adhere your papers to your wooden shapes. After they are dry you can add ribbon to hang them on your tree. I put decorative papers on both sides because they can be seen from both sides on my tree. These also make great package toppers/name tags for gifts. If you are mailing packages they are pretty enough that you don't need a bow (which would be flattened anyway!)

The chinoiserie fall tree is a fun addition to our entryway. I used a lot of ornaments - I like it to be full. I plan to change the faux white pumpkins out with some colorful gourds and mini pumpkins in October but it's too warm/early where I live to get them. This chinoiserie fall tree can take us all the way through Thanksgiving decor wise. 

Be sure to let me know if you make one! Happy Fall.

Looking Forward...

Fall is flying by.

 I started a post last week (which I never found a moment to even get back to) about Fall things and the beginning of November and here we are in the 2nd week of the month. It's hard to keep up - for me anyway!

I love fall flowers and plants plus the gourds and pumpkins were so interesting this year. I just stuffed all my fall favorites in a galvanized tub and it looks great. 

I'm still using my little marbleized pumpkins and my real ones too - right up until Thanksgiving. Then we will pull out the stops and go crazy decorating for Christmas.

I have a couple of spray paint marbleizing projects I want to try for the holidays but we can't buy spray paint anywhere in our area!! This supply chain crisis has resulted in the most random shortages. 
I'm hoping I'll be able to share my ideas soon - I check the spray paint aisle for the right colors every time I'm out. 

So do you still have fall decorations around or have you moved on to Christmas?

To be honest, I'm not ready to put up MY holiday decorations quite yet but I like to look at everyone else's and think about my soon-to-come Christmas decor. We keep some things the same and switch other things up. What about you? 

Whether you are still enjoying pumpkins or happily decking the halls, hang on to your hats because November is flying by!!

Pumpkins + Blue and White = Perfect Fall Decor

I took this image, among others, of the Fall touches I was adding around my home to share with @auctionninja

I was so honored that they invited me to write an article about my love of blue and white and how I like to add touches of seasonal decor to my existing collections. 

The link to the article is here.

They also created a fun Instagram Reel that you can watch here.

They have a great blog full of informational posts about all types of vintage, how to source it and the how to be sure you are getting great vintage for your home. Be sure to follow along on their IG and website.

 

Once in Blue Moon

 Something fairly rare is going to occur on October 31, Halloween night, this year. 

There is going to be a "Blue Moon."

This is the name for a second full moon in one calendar month. 

But this year, 2020, the Blue Moon is even more unique. 

A Blue Moon only happens on Halloween about every 19-20 years and a Blue Moon that is visible in every time zone only happens every several decades!! The last time this occurred- blue moon on Halloween visible in every time zone- was in 1944 during WW2. 

So, honestly, what is going to occur is very rare and why we use the idiom "once in a blue moon" to describe something that rarely happens!

If you want the scientific details I've got a quick explanation below from Brittanica's website:

The period from one full moon to another is about 29 1/2  days, so when two occur in the same month, the first of these full moons is always on the first or second day of the month. February, which has only 28 days (29 days in leap years), can never have a blue moon. Months with 31 days—January, March, May, July, August, October, and December—have a much better chance of hosting a blue moon because of their length. On average, a blue moon occurs once every 33 months or full moons, 41 times per century, or about seven times every 19 years. An even rarer event is when two blue moons happen in the same calendar year, which happens about four times per century.

I hope you have clear skies wherever you are and can see this beautiful occurrence.

The Spookiest Week of the Year!

 I'm more of a Fall decoration gal than Halloween per se. 

We definitely did more Halloween decor when Mollie was young but it was never really spooky. Just cute and lots of pumpkins!

BUT... I love these terra cotta jack-o-lanterns so much. 

About as "spooky" as we get!

I had one that I bought many years ago at a Fall Festival when we moved into our first house.

It was broken during a move and then last year I found a small one at a thrift store. I started searching for them and collected quite a few. I check every time I go because I have found them on the "holiday" aisle at GW even in January. You never know!

Last year they hung out on a bamboo baker's rack on the screened porch.

 I bring them out each October and they are quite popular on my Instagram account.

(I found 3 at one time! Good thrifting day!)

I thrifted all of mine but a couple of them were originally from a place called Craven Pottery in Georgia. They have a ton of cool things that I would like to go check out in person soon.

And they have multiple sizes of the terra cotta jack-o-lanterns! I may need to get a really big one for next Halloween!!

I hope your week is full of treats, not tricks!