Fall Favorites

Spicy, scented candles.
Mums.
And bushels of sunflowers.
Pumpkins, gourds...acorns and leaves.

One of my absolute favorite things about
Auntumn
is the decorating!

The warm scents and the golden, earthy tones come together
and bring smiles to my face at every turn!
I've got fall flowers and little pumpkins filling my house.
And there's soup on the stove.

This past weekend I {finally} made these two fall wreathes! It's been over two years since I "pinned" this idea - original link isn't any good these days. But if you want a "how to" just search "indian corn wreath" on Pinterest and you'll get plenty of links. I made a big one for the front door and a smaller one for the side door - and I'm so pleased with the way they turned out!

Happy Fall Decorating!

Joining Kim for

Little Things Thursday

and Kat for her
Writer's Workshop

Look what I made {5}

Cheeeeziness...for Valentine's week.

It was thirty years ago, this Friday, that my sweet husband proposed to me.

Thirty years.

30.

Three-oh!

So, I might be cheeeeeezy all week over here.

I'm hanging heart wreaths on the doors.

I'm re-decorating my re-cycled spice jars with hearts....and lots of red and white.

{Remember my Thanksgiving Spice Jars and my Christma/Winter Spice Jars}

There's also going to be a birthday celebration this week.

And a visit from my brother and his new wife...
all the way from Hawaii!

So I've got everything looking very cheery, indeed.
{Might be watching Downton while I type}

AND....Here's a heart that found me!
Still busy with my easy-macro iPhone lens,
I was taking photos of ice crystals on the leaves of a small bush,
when I spotted this little heart!
It was only about half the size of the nail on my pinkie finger...
but it sweetened my day and got me in the Valentine's mood!

Joining friends for
The Good. The Random. The Fun.
and
Macro Monday

Light

i'm keeping the decorations simple

making them myself

the sweet lights are on the tree

and the Peace

of the season is calming my heart

{and linking with Communal Global}

Bits and Pieces

It's been a week.

A mini-family-crisis-cough-and-cold-filled week.
And, while the crisis is pretty much handled, the cough and cold persist. Tenaciously.
I am grumpy.

So...finding the energy desire to decorated has been next to impossible. I've tried playing the music and watching the movies and still...it's just "meh" ... "whatever" ... very uncharacteristic of Christmas loving me.

Aware that the grinch in me had to go, I got myself busy yesterday. I started putting together the bits and pieces of craft projects I'd found on Pinterest and sent the husband and son out to get a tree. Good news is...it's beginning to feel a little bit like Christmas.

Both of my doors were adorned with Jingle Bells and a bow...Very easy little project. And festive, don't you think? {Pinspiration here}

I got out from under my blanket, got on the floor and put together a garland for the tree. A little twine, a little glue and these cute hearts and stars that I found at Pick Your Plum.

It might have gone more quickly with a glue gun. But my son "borrowed" my glue gun a while back. And, well...we couldn't find it. But I digress...

These candy canes were fun to make.

(I could even sit under my blanket and wrap the twine...easy-peasy)

{Pinspiration here}

I'll give you the full Christmas tour when I'm finished. 

For now, I have lights. And jingle bells. 

And bits and pieces.

Linking up with the gang for Project 52

No Question About It

Here's to Tabitha! Here's to Instagram

and #projectdecor! It's been so inspiring

to join forces, share decorating ideas,

show off our projects and learn

from other folks who love a

successful DIY project! I have decluttered,

rearranged and updated almost every nook 

and cranny of my sweet home.

Digital files actually made their way

into frames, pinterest pins became reality

and I've been inspired to create.

I may not live in a 

mountain valley, at the water's edge

or under the Eiffel Tower, but 

these walls make up my home.

Bringing order, color and a bit

more of "me" to this space

feels good - no question about it!

Every Friday we all share our

thoughts ~ six words at a time!

Please link up and join in!

Home

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough,

and more.

It turns denial into acceptance,

chaos to order, confusion to clarity.

It can turn a meal into a feast,

a house into a home,

a stranger into a friend."

Melody Beattie

My week has been full of crafting. 

Wreath making, framing, card making....

I'm loving it!

These "leftovers" are lying on my dining room table...waiting to find their place.

{shot with a little bokeh in the background}

I cracked open my scrapbooks and found a few pages that are frame worthy.

I've been gathering prints, decorating mattes and frames to get something ready for my bedroom.

Don't you love the burlap behind the prints?! 

Thanks to #PROJECTdecor

(check it out on Instagram or HERE)

I was inspired to try this by @becky_stevens.

Thanks!!

One thing I've done as I'm fussing with my decor,

is to group objects of like color.

It's been great to take what I already have and, just by rearranging it, make our space more beautiful.

I love neutrals. So I feel bad saying this....

but here is an ordinary color grouping.

We are renters, not owners.

This stove was purchased in 1989. No joke. We got a copy of the owner's manual with our lease.

Three of the four burners work. And I have been known to complain about it.

However....in true makeover spirit...

I scrubbbbbbbeeed it clean, bought shiny new burner pans...

and am pretending that I've fallen in love with it!

{and, no....my pots were not purchased in 1989...at least I don't think they were!}

My workshop space is also getting lots of attention.

All my displays are getting updated.

Don't you love the graveyard fence with the friendly ghost?

Would be great for a Halloween layout!

I truly love devoting time to my home. 

Stay tuned for more completed projects this week!

Sharing a quote and some #PROJECTdecor love

with Tabitha

And enjoying Scavenger Hunt fun 

with Ashley

Sanctuary

A holy place.
A place of refuge.

I spent a lot of time this summer sitting on this deck in Oregon. Reading, thinking, breathing in the juniper scented air. In this place I experience sanctuary...I'm in a safe, holy place of refuge. I am home.
One morning, as I was enjoying the "zen" that comes when I settle into this place, I suddenly knew that I needed to LIVE in a place that cared for me like this place. I knew that my house needed to become more of a home. More of a personal sanctuary.

That was the beginning of August. When I returned from vacation, life picked right back up and I quickly let the business drown out any thoughts of changing our space. I mean, we just live in a little rental. With a kitchen full of appliances that date back to the 1980's! We're on a busy street, with very limited resources... and the kinds of things I can imagine {insert mental image of those song inducing laundry rooms pictured on Pinterest} I would never invest the time or money to do to this temporary home.

Then came this: #PROJECTdecor
A blogging friend {Mrs.Tabitha Blue aka Fresh Mommy} proposed a month of Cleaning Clutter, DIY Love and Fab Giveaways! A bunch of us are connecting via Instagram with the hashtag PROJECTdecor and sharing our ideas and DIY creations!
And I knew that the hopes that were born on that deck in Oregon were going to become REAL!
I was going to pay attention to my home. I was going to get rid of the "stuff" I don't like...and create a space that pleases me. And I was going to do it by simplifying. By using what I already have...and by crafting my way to a more "zen" environment.

Over the weekend this happened:

Lists were made. And the cleaning began.
Yesterday my workshop space got my attention.
Tonight I rearranged all the furniture in the living room...and visualized it with new curtains.
Yes, money will be spent on new curtains.
And I'm going to start bringing some plants into this place....and learn how to take care of them!

Today's moment of Zen brought to you by:

"There is no sanctuary of virtue like home."

Edward Everett

Today we're linking up at Alita's Place

DIY Advent Calendar

I started with a pretty frame and some plain little $1 boxes from Michael's. I opened some new Creative Memories Christmas paper called Noel, started to cut and added some Mod Podge.

This is my favorite DIY project so far cause it's for my daughter! She's my Christmas buddy. She has loved every tradition, present, song, ribbon, ornament, stocking and strand of lights since before she could walk! (Just like her mama!)

One of her favorite traditions was the advent calendar. We always had two. One made of cloth that Brian and I bought in Manila, and another filled with Swiss chocolate. She and her brother shared the cloth calendar...taking turns...both hoping to be the one to hang Santa up on the top of the tree! They each had a chocolate filled calendar of their own.
Now that my girl's married, I thought she needed a pretty advent calendar of her own...So, after searching the web for ideas, this is what I made for her! I hope she likes it!

More DIY Christmas Fun!

This DIY phase I'm in started after I gave my daughter all her ornaments that we've collected for her over the years for her first Christmas tree as a married woman!! It was so fun to pass them along ~ like I'd always imagined. After I did that, I wrapped up her brother's ornaments....cause we couldn't just put his on the tree without hers. And I started to wonder....what's our tree going to look like now?? I felt like I was staring at a blank page (or canvas...you get the idea). I started to look around on line and in some stores but I felt very disconnected from the decorations that I saw. Just no sentimental attachment ~ and I'm all about my sentimental attachment to the traditions of our Christmases.

So, I slowly realized that I was going to have to invest in the creation of our new tree...our new "Christmas" look ~ or I wouldn't be happy with it. I went through all our decorations, kept what I loved, and got rid of the rest. Then I started looking around for pretty things to make!! These sparkly glass balls caught my eye ~ so I searched the blogosphere for some helpful instruction, and found it here. I followed all her directions (but didn't pay for the Martha Stewart glitter - just bought the extra fine glitter I found in the kids craft section at AC Moore). I have to tell you....I HAD SO MUCH FUN!! Not sure I'm going to stick with the gold ribbon - I'll keep you posted!

We're going to put up our tree this weekend ~ just me and my husband! So I have some more work to do between now and then. Let some new traditions begin!!

DIY Christmas fun!

This weekend I made a wreath for my front door!

First got the idea from my friend Claire - see hers here!

A simple ring of styrofoam, some pretty green yarn, some "berries", a piece of ribbon and a little bit of glue. I sat, took my time, and wound the yarn around and around the ring...adding a bit of glue from time to time. When it came time to add the berries, I just laid the stems on the styrofoam and wound the yarn around them. They held in place really well. I tied the gold ribbon on, and hung it on my front door ~ the first sign of Christmas at our house.