My Fall Decorating: Natural, Formal, or Spooky?

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I was digging in my photo archives, as I just started blogging this summer and wish I had a stash of pics for everything under the sun, but I don't. I'm still struggling with Fall decor. 

So many ideas out there, but I want to stay within my own comfort zone and my home's limitations.

 If I had a huge house, this would be my choice over a fireplace or credenza. This was from The Chicago Botanic Gardens wreath contest a few years back, I can't read the exhibitors name, but I
thought it was amazing. Anyone who wishes to claim it, I will be glad to post your name.

My upclose shot was far more in focus...I love natural Fall colors and the simplicity of nature. 

Here and there in my home, will always be naturals, which go so well with my fabrics and rugs.

My last year's assortment of gourds and fresh pumpkins.

 I don't have as many to choose from this year. 

This simple arrangement sat on our coffee table as we had a two-year old everyday for seven weeks during the Fall 2014 season. So breakables were placed out of reach.

This year,  I've chosen(and the decorator squirrel) naturals for on our Front Porch.

 

 Last year I used fresh pumpkins and the huge selection of gourds from the garden. 

The sparkly pumpkin was a thrift store find, enhanced with bits and pieces, berries and a tiny bit 

of glitz from Angel hair. (It doesn't shed like glitter.)

 

Last week, the kitchen table for hosting a coffee. 

The OLD flower pot saucer holds tomatoes, squash, and dried gourds from our GREEN garden and faux leaves and pears. My granny's bluebird (Copley or McCoy)

 looks on, from the side of one the OLD GoodWill sugared faux pumpkins. 

The napkins are NEW from IKEA.

 I love IKEA paper goods, they are thick and substantial for a reasonable price.

The arrangement is the dried version from Monday's Wash Day  .

 Next post will be the entire table setting and Pumpkin Spice Apple muffins.

 

From Natural, I would love to go into FORMAL decorating; this could be my style.

Last weekend in Naperville, Illinois at an art show on the River Walk, we ventured up the hill into town and stumbled across this little shop of wonders, called Little Luxuries. 

Basically a floral and Interior design shop with wonderful accessories. 

 

If only I had a formal house with a huge front walkway, these topiary planters were gorgeous and just dripping with sunflowers, pumpkins, amaranthus, hops, vines and berries.

 

These topiaries and the window made you-HAVE TO-walk in.

 The store was packed with (too many) people and gorgeous product, 

ideas everywhere. and barely elbow room enough to take pictures. 

So, do visit their FB page. 

 

Little Luxuries went big into door swags and velvet pumpkins, lots of texture and color.

 Feathers were everywhere, and lots whimsy. 

Their **AWESOME **was their SPOOKY!

 

This Halloween Cabinet was at least 10 feet high... 

Skulls and skeleton hands reached out of everything: pots, wreaths, 

arrangements, swags, and furniture. 

Lighting and spiderwebs cast and eerie glow,

and SPOOKY decor with lots of purple, orange and green and bright fall leaves. 

Glitz was there, but not overwhelming, more shiny than glitter.

 

The cabinet was flanked on both sides by skeleton swags...in Mardi Gras colors and feathers, 

lots of feathers and grass. Sorry it was out of focus, I was dodging customers.

Looking up---stark lighting, pheasant feathers and glittered skeletons...it was awesome.

BUT, How SPOOKY can you get with a 3-year old grandgirl I wonder?

 

Last year I had spiders everywhere with the pumpkins and gourds and that was about it, because of the two-year old around through the whole season.

How far can I go, this year???

Spiders were bad enough, but they were sparkly and googlie-eyed, so that made it okay.

  

The black netting came from vegetable bags...and was great to surround the hurricane, candles and a glass pitcher filled with ears of corn. The tablecloth was a great print, I will probably use it again.

I found these sparkly spiders to spice SPOOKY up..., Grandgirl should love them to go with the copper and black ones, I already have.

Last three magentas sparkle spiders at Party City for $1.49 each.

 I need to maybe add some more interesting things this year.

 

I've already promised this Guinea Hen feather thingy to E, I'm sure she will come up with something spectacular- $2 at GoodWill. 

 I've roamed the stores for ideas. This was our local JoAnn's Fabrics, the same day they set up the two pumpkin aisles. I have a couple of pumpkins to decorate...but which way to go, lol.

Sometimes, I think going white, must be easier---because there are less choices, but my home is all about color and textures...so which way should I choose?

My favorite though were these glitter polka dot ones, and judging from the holes on the shelves, they were other's favorites also.

I think these were at Michael's.  Scaredy Cats would be safe and would go with polka-dot pumpkins.

Hard to tell what a three-year old may shy away from. 

She is terrified of her Uncle's (hissy) fat REAL cats.

But then she has a demonic streak too, she wants to be an "Avengers" or be Nick Fury...for her
Three-year old birthday party.

LOL...perhaps I need to make one of her photos look like these spooky ones, (from Michael's) with her wearing an eye patch and a long dark coat. Samuel Jackson would be proud, LOL.

Such is my dilema, Natural, Formal or Spooky?

I'll be partying at these great blogs:
Inspire Me Monday
A Stroll Through Life
Show and Share no 281 
Lets Talk Vintage 
Vintage Bliss
Tuesdays at our Home 131 
Halloween Spooktacular Party
Share Your Cup Thursday
Best of the Weekend 
Fall Halloween Decorating

Home Matters:Fall

Sandi

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions or posts. Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

Supporting Fine Arts and Crafts #1

Visiting Midwest Artist-Kellie Truppa

Good morning, grab a cup of coffee and sit down

and enjoy some NEW stunning artisan works by Kellie Truppa.

Every now and then, I'm going to showcase an artist who works with an OLD vintage feel, or GREEN recycled materials, or is just darn gorgeous. 

And, Kellie Truppa's work demonstrates all of these.

OldNewGreenRedo

Unbelievably, this was Kellie's first art show, and she has apparently been doing this intricate beadwork for quite awhile. We found her at a small art fair on the square in Palatine, Illinois earlier this month. Her inspiration for this piece was the ceramic medallion as the focal point.

OldNewGreenRedo

 I love the way she echoes the motifs and works them through the whole piece.

While we gushed and 'ooh-ed and ahh-ed', Kellie told us she is basically self taught. She chooses natural stones or materials and found pieces...and 

lets the key focal dictate her other choices of beads and stones. 

I can't emphasize how gorgeous these pieces are. The subtle mix of the natural stones and iridescent beads, besides the intricate designs, were breathtaking.

OldNewGreenRedo

She had quite a few larger pieces elegantly displayed on black velvet 

and a few accessories in her booth. 

One side was filled with bracelets, that my pictures didn't quite catch. 

So I'm just going to show these stunning necklaces.

OldNewGreenRedo

Here you can see the wide variety of beads and stones she uses, 

all had stitched onto a backing and then lined with microsuede. 

I should have taken a picture of the back of one of her unfinished pieces,

 as the web of threads is art work in itself.

OldNewGreenRedo

 I love the Egyptian feel of this piece. 

We recommended she contact the Natural History Museum gift shop here in Chicago, 

for that venue would be perfect for this gorgeous work.

OldNewGreenRedo

Here the natural Carnelian and Malachite stones and beads are accented 

with several different kinds of gold and metallic beads.

 Exquisite!

OldNewGreenRedo

 Here's Kellie generously sharing her process and her goody box of unfinished pieces, 

each one more beautiful then the last.

OldNewGreenRedo

The box of works in progress.

OldNewGreenRedo

 Here is how she begins a work...starting with the focal bits and then building out. 

All the beads are stitched onto a base of felt like fabric. 

She told us everything is double stitched so nothing will ever become detatched or lost. 

OldNewGreenRedo

I love the rustic look of this piece with the wood-like stones surrounded with the pearl beads. 

The backing is eventually trimmed away and the face-lined with microsuede. 

The edges are then enclosed by beading and stitching the collar shut. 

OldNewGreenRedo

Wow! This one is going to be a stunner, I can see it now...with just a touch of bling with those iridescent Czech glass cabochons encircled with stone-toned beads. 

STUNNING!

OldNewGreenRedo

Kellie says, she is never quite sure where the design is going to take her and takes the organic approach of 'going with it for the ride'.

Even the simpler designs are intricate, 

here the focal stone dictates the bead rings in the collar. 

Remember every stone and bead is double stitched 

to the backing with amazing craftsmanship.

OldNewGreenRedo

Kelli has yet to start a website...but can be reached by email, please send your comments or inquiries to her or here, because this work needs to be appreciated and seen. 

Kellie Truppa -- k.truppa@att.net

Hope you enjoyed visiting an artist's work.

 I will be linking here to the following sites:

Lets Talk Vintage 

Vintage Inspiration Party

What's IT Wednesday 

Share your Cup Thursday

Sandi

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway my opinions or posts. Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle

Fall Arrangement for Our Porch

Fall Arrangement for Our Porch

Hope you all had a beautiful weekend.

The weather was gorgeous here in Chicagoland and I was busy in the garden, attending a fab art show, my writer's group and the grand baby here all day on Sunday. 

Temperatures have dropped, but the pumpkins are still GREEN in the garden. 

This morning, I had to REDO my porch one more time.

In My last post I had begun to make Happy Fall on our front porch. 

There were a few places still waiting for some Fall action though. 

OldNewGreenRedo

This hale bale just screamed---FALLIFY me. 

The lime dracena plant so much like too-green cornstalks. 

Behind a corner shelf is full of some house plants that will be back in the house soon. 

But, what to use, here?

Years ago before we had the patio furniture, I had a big round table 

staged in the corner every season, with a big arrangement or artifact display. 

So I went in search for my OLD antique gray graniteware coffeepot.

OldNewGreenRedo

Then I remembered my Junkin' in Grannys' Garage post and the marvelous bucket of flowers

 I found to REDO with.

I have to confess, my original antique/craft shop had a garden theme. 

And everything was filled with flowers, greenery, fruits, vegetables, or some sort of rocks, moss or candles. I have tons of product left, as I closed rapidly before I could sell it all. 

Thinking I would do shows, I kept way too much.

So now, all I have to do is go to the basement and dig---and it's all there. 

(I have donated tons---though and only kept what I actually love.)

OldNewGreenRedo

Here's the OLD Graniteware coffeepot filled with rustic wildflowers, grasses and thistles. 

I always use naturals mixed with silks to add a GREEN element.

Normally I would use five sunflowers as focal points, but that was just too much. 

So there are three dark purple Delphiniums, three Cattails, five of those burgundy thistle balls, 

five multi stems of brown-eyed Susans from a bush, the three Sunflowers, one triple stem of Queen Anne's Lace, half a gray bush of some sort of grain stem, 

and lots of naturals/grasses, twigs, zebra grass, curly ting-ting and more.

OldNewGreenRedo

Here is how the arrangement looks in its designated corner. 

TIP:When doing arrangements for outside---avoid using

 any hand-wrapped berries or high-end flowers. 

Less expensive stems will hold up longer. 

Nothing in this arrangement was over $5.00 a stem at today's prices… 

and most suppliers sell NEW florals on SALE discounted 50% off every other week.

 Estimated cost for this selection would be $30-35 at sale prices.

Custom done----way more! LOL.

OldNewGreenRedo

Heres a wide shot with a bitty pumpkin from our garden and 

the dracaena (cornstalks) next to it. The little cherub plaque looks on adoringly.

I think its just the right amount of color pop needed here.

OldNewGreenRedo

Closeup on the grasses and other elements in the design. 

Choosing naturals, helps to make the arrangement look not so 'designed'.

OldNewGreenRedo

Lots of grasses and structure elements in the back support the flowers. 

We have heavy wind here and I know from experience to arrange this way. 

Also weigh down your outdoor containers.

 Rocks are in the bottom of the coffeepot and three blocks of floral foam, 

so the stems are inserted deep into the container.

 I attached picks to stems or gobs of hot glue to really secure things. 

TIP: The test of a well done arrangement is to turn it upside down and shake it. 

Nothing but tiny bits of moss should fall out. 

OldNewGreenRedo

 This shows the backside fan structure in this 3/4 arrangement. 

I knew I would only be using this arrangement for this space, 

so I designed it front facing and sized for that particular spot. 

You can see how cheap the cattails are. 

It's hard to find quality cattails, for some reason, 

so I always use them in the rear of my fall arrangements.

OldNewGreenRedo

"Fall is Pumpkin Time!"

Behind is the OLD chalkboard I used in my brick and mortar shop, 

BarberryLane, to announce specials or just to say 'Welcome'. 

OldNewGreenRedo

Speaking of Pumpkins, my squirrel decorator continues 

to enhance my pots and displays with walnuts. 

This one was found right in the back corner of the frame, 

so I moved it up front. 

Squirrel said, "One always needs a bit more green."

Thanks for stopping by, if you have any questions, please ask.

Linking at these Fab blog parties this week:

Inspire Me Monday 

Amaze Me Monday

Something to Talk About 

Monday Funday link party

Inspire me Tuesday

Make it Pretty Monday

Tweak it Tuesday 

Vintage Inspiration Party

What's IT Wednesday 

Share-your-cup-Thursday

Grammys Grid 121 Fall Crafts Decor

Sandi

All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions or posts. Please do not use photos without linking back to this blog without my permission. Thank you for your cooperation, Sandi Magle