The day after Thanksgiving I like to start slowly pulling out my Christmas décor. Although I have been gradually introducing more natural elements into my décor there are some old favorites that I wouldn’t dream of leaving out each year.
These vintage bottle brush wreaths are a perfect example. Each of the wreaths on this stack was gathered from a different place over the past 20+ years and each has a story.
Three of them were picked up at yard sales, the one on the bottom was found in my mother’s attic among some forgotten Christmas items and my favorite, the one in the middle is one I picked up for 10 cents at a church rummage sale.
The back of the wreath is a darker pink than the front which has faded to a soft peachy pink. The faded colors and crumpled bow just make me love it more.
Yep, I’m a sucker for vintage Christmas. I think it brings out the kid in me. How about you? Do you have any treasured old decorations or ornaments?
Now that the temps are dropping, I have a good cold weather tip for you.
It has been over two weeks since I last posted but I do have good reasons for my absence. I can’t share all of the reasons just yet but I promise to soon. Following my last post I was busy preparing for a local holiday shopping event where I was a vendor. Whew! It was an amazing show and I was extremely happy with my sales. The venue was an art gallery and they do it up right so I always enjoy selling and/or shopping at the annual event. The down side is that it takes several days to recuperate from exhaustion! But it was a happy exhaustion.
Many of you will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner at your home and you may or may not have your holiday table planned. Today I want to share a last minute idea for your Thanksgiving table. My love for baby boo pumpkins carries on through Thanksgiving and they will make a special appearance at the family gathering.
Your Thanksgiving guests may be expecting sweet potatoes, but they won’t be expecting them to be served in cute little baby boo bowls.
I mashed these sweet potatoes with a fork and topped them with a dollop of marshmallow Fluff that I toasted under the broiler till golden brown.
I’ll show you the simple steps to preparing your “bowls” but first I have another dish that serves up nicely in them.
Filled with and set on a bed of wild rice.
Finish off the look by topping with the “lid.”
To prepare your baby boo pumpkins, simply score the top with a knife in a circle.
Next, cut through the scored place to remove the top.
Scoop out the seeds and guts, scraping the inside with a small pointed spoon, fork or knife. Rinse, pat dry and fill.
With Halloween just a few days away and the holidays approaching there will be many opportunities for goodies and gift giving. Today I have a tutorial that will show you a creative way to present a gift. It’s a twist on using a gift bag and tissue.
I chose plain brown paper bags but you could use any solid color. My love for baby boo pumpkins inspired me to use tissue in an aged beige color. The pumpkin would be very cute in orange too.
For the star I used a smaller bag. My plan was to use a matte gold tissue paper but the store I went to didn’t have it. They did have this beige and gold glitter paper so I decided to give it a try.
Now for the very simple instructions and supply list.
1) Gift Bag
2) Tissue Paper
3) Scissors
4) Glue
5) Pencil
Right click to save the above template to your computer and print it in the desired size
Trace around the star onto the bag
Cut tissue paper into 1 1/2 inch squares. You will need 35-50 depending on the size of your bag, etc. Crumple each square up into a ball and then open back up enough to pinch from the middle and create a sort of pointed blossom.
Begin gluing blossoms in the center of the star, dotting the pointed end with glue and pressing onto bag. It won’t have defined edges during this part of the process but keep the bottom (glued portion) of each blossom within and against the pencil border.
Once the glue has dried, define the star shape by pinching, pressing and scrunching the outer edges.
Any simple shape will work and the design could be adapted to fit any occasion.
Here’s the template I used to create the pumpkin bag.
Feel free to use, pin and share!
Happy creating!
This week’s tip for A Little Bird Told Me is on a subject I loathe ~ cleaning.
This is how I clean my oven door and it works beautifully!
I’m a big believer in using and repurposing what I have to create a whole new look with each new season. Storage can become an issue if one buys new things every season, not to mention the fact that it’s not a budget friendly way to decorate. But that’s only part of it.
I find that the challenge to make do with things on hand causes me to be much more creative. For my dining room table I got out an old half door that I sometimes use as a vertical backdrop.
Inspired by Stone Gable’s centerpiece found at her lovely fall home tour,
I decided to use it horizontally on the table as the base for my fall vignette.
One of the keys to making one-of-a-kind vignettes is to have plenty of unique containers that can be swapped out from room to room. I like to have a mix of new and vintage. The metal basket that now holds baby boos was previously filled with candles in the bathroom. I borrowed the granite ware bucket from my kitchen window.
This big old funnel has held baby boos in past years, so this year I filled it with
cotton stems for an entirely different look.
A little unexpected sparkle among all the rustic elements.
A nest makes an appearance in every season at my house. If you missed my two other baby-boo-inspired looks, you can see the fall neutrals here and the vibrant fall color display here.
Thank you for coming by!
In case you were thinking that I’m ready to start talking about Christmas, I’m so not! I do however want to let you know about an event that I’ll be selling at. Sugarplum Festival is St. Joseph, Missouri’s annual kick off to the holiday season held at the Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art.
Great shopping, a “Deck the Halls” auction, wine tasting and a lunch café will get shoppers going on their lists for gifts and décor. I will be selling my jewelry and a few other goodies including these wood slice ornaments.
I may be back later with a tutorial on these ornaments.
And now it’s time for A Little Bird Told Me where I share a weekly tip from my own bag of tricks.
I put together another baby boo display and kept it neutral with browns, grays, creams and a hint of navy blue.
I already had the fluted metal pan and ironstone grouping in my bathroom with candles in it. I added a bouquet of dried hydrangeas from a friend’s wedding and changed out the candles for pumpkins and acorns.
I still have some baby boos on the vine waiting to be picked so I will be playing with pumpkins throughout the month. As much as I love fall neutrals I envision the next display with pops of fall color!
Back in January I shared 8 Things I Want My Blog To Be in 2015. Number 2 on the list was to give my readers practical ways to make life a little easier. To that end, I have designed a little series I’m calling “A Little Bird Told Me.” The feature will be at the end of various posts and will contain random, helpful information. Some will be a little kooky, some may seem obvious, but all will be tried and true tips that I have learned and put to use in my day to day life. I don’t claim to be an authority on the subjects I will cover. From crafting to cleaning, from hygiene to mental health I’ll share a mix of life hacks that have worked for me. Here’s the first of many…
Yep! Simple but true!
As always, I’m so happy that you took the time to read my blog. I hope that you have a beautifully creative week!
