Fall Hydrangeas

I could hear the hedge trimmers before I even saw the landscapers last Friday.  When I left that morning to head off to my part-time job they were on the other side of the  condo community. 

Shortly after noon, when I arrived home, they had made their way over to my area.  As I heard them coming, I ran out, grabbed my little clippers and clipped the few hydrangea blooms I had this year.

Out of my three bushes, only one had blooms this year.  Another one that looked sickly (and that I posted wondering what was going on with it) is looking better now. 

Since I wasn’t sure if they were cutting back perennials as well, I wanted to make sure I got my hydrangea blooms in the house to enjoy.  I cut them off while the landscapers were just a few bushes away. 

These are about all I had this year.  I think I may have cut two blooms off in July, but otherwise I left them alone.

Such beautiful Fall colors to what are pink hydrangeas when they first bloom.  I shall enjoy these and hope they will dry naturally so I might be able to keep them.

And, while I will be grateful that I had these blooms to enjoy, I will still hope that my bushes will have more abundant blooms next year. 

The Artist Behind The Etsy ~ The Ugly Duckling 1962

Being a part of the Etsy community, not only as a seller but as a customer, I have come across many talented individuals.  With this series, I hope to introduce you to some of these creative people, finding out where they find their inspiration, and a little bit more about them.

Hello, hello, hello!  Hope everyone has had a nice weekend so far.  This week’s Etsy shop feature is Jennifer from The Ugly Duckling 1962. 

         Hi my name is Jennifer, I  have been married to my best friend for 34 years. I am the mother of 3 beautiful grown children .  I have been creating forever it seems , even making Barbie day beds and closets etc. out of Velveeta boxes. I was more interested in making a home for Barbie than actually "playing" Barbie.  I`ve always been into home décor, sketching, painting, floral arranging, sewing, embroidery, crochet etc. it`s just part of me I guess.

 

         I sold on a different website for many years. Then other sellers and customers kept telling me about Etsy. So in 2008 I opened a store and in 2009 I started selling and Never looked back. I LOVE it here!

        I find inspiration in the weirdest things including  pop caps, empty shipping tape cores or a piece of bark or flower. Christmas is a biggie for me, I do a lot of research on vintage and antique ornaments, decorations and  cards. I also love fantasy creatures like gnomes, fairies and mermaids.

 

      I love the freedom it gives me to challenge myself in all different directions

 

      All of us artist/crafters have been given a gift and we create because we "have to" but ...the "REAL GIFT" we receive is when a customer tells us that what we created brought a smile to their face and their heart.

Thanks for sharing your Etsy story, Jen!  To see even more of Jen’s creations, you can visit her shop here.

Drapery Switch For Fall

At our old house, I changed out drapes in many of the downstairs (or public) rooms with the seasons.  I haven’t really done that since we moved into our new place, but this year I decided to change the drapes up in our living room.

The picture above is how it has looked since we moved in three years ago.  I ordered these drapes from Ballard Designs. 

From the living room at our old house, I have these what? plaid? black, white and tan/beige drapes (also from Ballard’s) that have been stored in the guest room closet until now.  I thought the pattern would give the room a warmer feel for the colder months.

I took some pictures Tuesday night when I switched them out, just for a change from the glaring sunlight that usually hits this room when I take pictures. 

Yesterday I took some daylight shots.

What do you think?  As with most of the changes I make, after having lived with something for a long period of time, this will take me a little while to get used to.  So the jury is still out.  I do think, right off the bat, that I might prefer a buffalo check over this particular pattern.  

But, I guess if I am going to wind up getting new curtains, I might just look for a black and white toile, which would be my number one choice at this point. We shall see! 

Which would you choose if given the choice of the three?  Plaid, buffalo check or toile?  Or, should I just put the other ones back up?

I’ll give them two weeks and, after that, if I don’t care for it, I will put the others back up until I decide if I want to get new.  I think that’s giving it a fair try!

More Fall

I left off in my last post with the Fall decorating I did from our front door in through to the living room.  You can see that here.  The dining room is basically the same as I did last year, with my cake pedestal and cream colored cut-out ceramic pumpkin on top of a small wreath as the table’s centerpiece. 

Different this year are the three ceramic pumpkins I used on the buffet/chest in the dining area.  I put one on the decorative books I keep here to raise things up ~ along with a Pumpkin sign I made.

Another (the biggest size of the three) sits on a small pedestal I made using two wood elements I found at the thrift store last year.  I painted it Old White so I could use it anywhere in our home.

The smallest of the trio sits on a Fall candle ring on top of a charger from Pier 1 and is covered with a cloche.

On the counter separating the dining area from the kitchen, I filled an apothecary jar with some pinecones and a couple of mini pumpkins, topped off with a Gratitude tag.

In the kitchen, I added some pumpkins to the top of the refrigerator, along with a printable I found on Pinterest (source: Celebrations at Home). 

I had the French script decoupaged apples. 

This has become a nice little area to change up. 

A new towel I made for myself using a store bought ruffled towel.  I found the image on Pinterest (if I can find the source I’ll come back and edit, but I didn’t save it to my Halloween/Fall board so I have no clue who it was from).

Some white Boo pumpkins got added to my white’s cabinet and some side tables throughout the house.

Outside the front door I added three Heuchera (I don’t know if that is spelled correctly) around the Japanese Maple and at the base of that planter.  Their purple color seems to work well with the other purples going on here.

I got two purple and one yellow in the mums that are in the planter.  I tried to get those that were still buds, but just where I can see what color they are.  I’m hoping they will last a little longer for me.

And a pumpkin for my little bench in front of the Japanese Maple.  Hopefully, they will be around soon to trim up all these bushes.

I added a little pumpkin to the inside of my lantern and brought out my pumpkin placemat pillows (inspired by Yvonne at Stone Gable).   I think I need a new lantern.  This one was a Goodwill find that I spray painted with Heirloom White.  It doesn’t seem to have held up very well.

I made the pillows last year and there was minimal sewing involved.  You could probably do something like this with no sewing if you used hot glue or hem tape to close it up.

I have some faux leaves that I added to the urn by the front door last year (see last year’s post here) that I will put in once the plants have just about had it.  I also want something else on the table besides the lantern and I may just get another mum.  Unless I can find the wreath that I used in the pot that I did last year (see link above for last year’s post).

The Artist Behind The Etsy ~ Kathy Jacobson Designs

Being a part of the Etsy community, not only as a seller but as a customer, I have come across many talented individuals.  With this series, I hope to introduce you to some of these creative people, finding out where they find their inspiration, and a little bit more about them.

Good morning, friends!  I think you will enjoy seeing all the goodies created by my next Etsy artist guest ~ Kathy from Kathy Jacobson Designs!   Without further ado ~

I wanted to start off by thanking Kathy for featuring my Etsy shop on her blog today! I love what she is doing, featuring different sellers, and I’m honored to be among them.

I realized my love for art in high school and have dabbled in many different mediums over the years. It started with drawing, then watercolor, then oils.

Once the art world opened up to me, I found I wanted to try everything.

Any chance I would get, I would try something new – photography, jewelry making, pique-assiette, soldering, paper arts, mixed-media. I suppose I have a bit of gypsy heart with regard to art. But I still love, and incorporate all of them into my work.

I liked the idea of opening an Etsy shop because I knew it was something that could evolve along with me as an artist.

It’s pretty apparent if you visit my shop, that I love Halloween. Right now it’s full of Halloween home décor items with a little bit of Thanksgiving and Christmas creeping in.

I’m not sure what I’m going to take on next, but for now I’m loving what I’m doing!

Thank you so much, Kathy, for sharing your Etsy story! I am loving all of your creations and I am sure you will add many admirers over the coming days.  You can visit Kathy’s Etsy shop here.