Shabby Love: September 2014

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Fall Mantle

I've been such a slacker lately with blogging! I fully expected to be posting much more regularly when we got internet hooked up at home a few months ago, but life has been crazy, and busy and stressful. From switching our son to a different daycare, doctor appointments, car trouble, and traveling, I think things are finally getting back to normal and I hope to be able to give my blog a little more attention.

This weekend I decided it was time to change up my mantle that I was totally in love with:

To something geared a little more towards fall and Halloween:

With the wood boxes, I was kind of going for the look of a collection of fall/Halloween curiosities. But, since I don't have any of the usual things you find in curiosity collections like animals skulls, bug specimens, etc., I thought I would use things still nature inspired, but a little less creepy.

My son, Anderson, and I collected leaves from outside to use as part of the display. He collected some for himself too. :)

This was the only skull I could find and I'm totally ok with the fact that it's fake...and plastic....and did I mention not creepy?

I still haven't bought any fun washi tape, so had to use scotch tape again to hang my leaves on the mirror. :/

Even my deer bust was adorned with a pretty leaf!

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Boogieboard Cottage

Knick of Time Tuesday

Liz Marie Blog

Common Ground

Thoughts from Alice

Fabulously Creative Friday at JenniferRizzo.com

Redoux Interiors

From My Front Porch to Yours

Persia Lou

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Fun Lighting and a Giveaway!

The Easy Canvas Prints giveaway has ended! Check the Rafflecopter widget at the end of the post for the winner! Thanks to all who entered! :)

Ok, so, I have this thing for lights. I don't really know why, but I just do. I love cool industrial lamps and hanging lights and turning random objects into awesome lamps. It's fun, creative and unique. The possibilities are endless for light sources.

My husband rewired two lamps for me last weekend and it got me thinking about the lights we have transformed or found over the years.

First up is this chemistry beaker stand. I found the stand at one of my parents' rental houses, and the work lamp shade was a thrift store find. My husband buys super cheap, but fully functioning lamps from thrift shops to use for parts. Often times his way is much cheaper than buying lamp kits.

Nate also transformed tractor funnels into lights for our living room and I made the drop cloth cord covers.

This green metal work light was a thrift store find with a matching green cord.

I love it!!

This was an old spotlight rescued from the church where I work that Nate rewired.

I really, really love this industrial light I found at a thrift store last year that Nate also rewired.

And the best for last! I got this accordion brass lamp from a vendor friend. It will need a new cord, and I plan to use it in my studio!

Don't forget to enter for your chance of winning an 11x14 canvas from Easy Canvas Prints with any photo of your choice. The quality is beautiful!

Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Boogieboard Cottage

Knick of Time Tuesday

Liz Marie Blog

Common Ground

Thoughts from Alice

Fabulously Creative Friday at JenniferRizzo.com

Redoux Interiors

From My Front Porch to Yours

Persia Lou

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Throwback to Fall Decor

I've been thinking lately how much my style has changed over the years. It's been subtle but steady. A slow progression that continues to change. It seems I find something new I love everyday. This realization of slow change made me think how fun it might be to do a throwback to fall. A look back through the years on how I have decorated for my favorite season. So, sit back and let's take a look.

Fall 2011, my first year of blogging. I was really getting creative for the first time. Before then I never painted or crafted much. For the first time I started decorating with things other than store bought decor. I made the bunting from triangles of burlap and fake leaves and mums leftover from my 2007 wedding. I covered one of my son's sand buckets with burlap and filled it sticks and hot glued more fake leaves to them. I still love the look of that bucket of sticks. If I could find neutral colored leaves, I would do something like that again!!

I made my own stencil for the first time and created the Fresh Apple Cider sign from a wood box lid.

Notice those white pumpkins? I love them so much they make an appearance every year! :)

I technically made this wood slice wreath for Christmas, but it could be used for fall as well. It's just an example of how, in only a matter of months, my style moved toward a more rustic and natural look.

Fall 2012 and I was full on rustic mode. The more neutral and natural the better! Even now, that is still the core of my style. Nothing really beats nature in my opinion. There's not much that compares to the color and the texture of things like sticks, pinecones, feathers, and acorns is there?

This was the year I really fell in love with ironstone and started building a collection. I used my pitchers and butter pats as the main attraction here.

Fall 2013 still rustic and neutral, but just plain and simple was my motto. My love for cotton bloomed last year. Looking back, this fall mantel needed a little more, don't you think? Some layering and more detail. And look! Those white pumpkins are back again!

This year, I have no clue what direction I want to go in!

I'm still very much in love with my eclectic mantle I just put together and I'm not quite ready to change it up just yet. I may swap out the shells for pinecones or pumpkins. Add more antlers? Time will tell as I think about it some more.

My son is almost five now, and I thought it might be fun to involve him a bit more this year in the decorating. We'll see what we can come up with together!

Has your style changed much over the years? What are your favorite ways to decorate for fall?

I'm linking to the parties listed HERE and to:

Boogieboard Cottage