The last house of the year

I've spent this week at my last house-sitting appointment of 2011 (unless something comes up last minute - last year I did this until the day before Christmas). What I love about it is that most of the people's homes I'm caring for have nice yards with flowers I can enjoy...and you always get to see that. A day without photographing plants is...horrible.
This house has a really nice piece of property with a huge back deck and lots of leafy trees that are turning. And the sun even managed to come out and shine on me this week so I was able to go out and enjoy it.

I put a little soft focus on all the photos to give them an extra warm fall feeling.

 Not the back deck.

Strolling down the lane I noticed an orange speck at the base of this tree.

It was one of their kitties taking a nap. This cute little kitty napping in such a "woodland" setting totally tickled me.

They have several kitties and a dog...

Who more frequently was doing this.

 Pet meeeeeeeeee.

And these gals whom I called all either Henny Penny or Houdini depending on the situation.

And I've gathered plenty of these - about a dozen every day!

They've also got these fantastic ducks.

They are very shy and have a quiet, almost muted quack that I love.


It is just so very Autumn in an enjoyable sense.

And the light filters beautifully here.

And the leaves are putting on a show.

I had a little fun with this last one and added a "space texture" from picnik. Love them!

I've also been learning crochet thanks to Maybe Matilda and youtube. Now my brain is exploding with ideas for Christmas gifts and I'm not sure I can complete them all in time. Eep.

The love of leaves

After nearly being cheated out of a summer I wasn't very excited for fall to arrive. Until I went to the mountains and saw the gorgeous change of seasons happening there.

Reds and yellows were slowly replacing the greens and everything was so beautifully vibrant like they are giving their full effort to making the most of their last days.

These short yellow-leafed plants littered the forest floor and looked simply stunning against the backdrop of the gray windfallen timber.

That juxtaposition of gray and color was a favorite and I think I probably wore it out but couldn't stop myself from trying it on every leaf in every color.

And then there were the aspens.

Even the dying leaves are pretty.

And the intricate pattern of this leaf skeleton had me marveling.

Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower. - Albert Camus

Celebrate Autumn

It seems like I've been doing that a lot this week! But it was also this week's Living Lovely challenge so that could be part of it. :)

I finally got to decorate some white pumpkins (see below) and I finally got a video put together I meant to do a year ago. So thanks Heidi for the kick in the behind!

A celebration of Autumn: (if you'd like to watch it a bit bigger you can click here)




These are just the wee little pumpkins but they actually last quite a while and they are the kind my friend likes and since they are for her...well, it just makes sense. I decorated them with paint and glitter.

This last one I was going to try the "paper lace doily as a stencil" thing but the pumpkins were just so small that even the smallest paper doily wouldn't fit, so I freehanded the same kind of look by making dots with the handle end of my paintbrush. Not quite as pretty, but it works!

Getting twiggy with it

I know I should feel silly for referencing a Will Smith song but I just couldn't resist. ;)

Take your everyday candles and dress them up for fall! I believe it is those little details that really bring seasonal decor together. Plus, this one won't cost you anything and it cleans up the yard, how great is that?

Here's what we're making:



What you'll need: tacky glue, ribbon, candle of your choice and scissors (they were camera shy).

And twigs! Mine are birch and as you can see I have an abundance of them every time the wind blows.

I measured on my candle (which was a gift, so free) where I'd like the twigs to be in regards to height, then I used my scissors and cut a pile of them in somewhat varying heights and using somewhat varying widths.

Also using the candle as a measurement I unspooled enough ribbon to go around the candle (with the added bulk of twigs) and be able to tie a little knot.

I squeezed a line of glue along the center of my ribbon - make sure to leave ends for tying! - and lined up my twigs making sure the bottoms of them were aligned.

Then you have to play the waiting game. But the reason I chose tacky glue rather than hot glue was so that I'd have some 'play time' in getting the twigs where I wanted without my glue drying on me. It only took a few hours for my project to dry as it was.


When it is dry just tie around your candle and it is now dressed for fall! Also, when you feel the desire to burn it, you can untie the ribbon and remove the flammable hazard and use it on another candle. A small twigged ribbon like this would also look great tied around the middle of a tall pillar candle.

Looks good on my garage sale candle holder and alongside my "poetry and a paper bag" project and my bowl of acorns - my oak tree really went "nuts" this year. Bwahaha. ;)

I put together a second fall candle feature for my dining room table - and this one didn't cost me a thing either. A friend gave me the golden hued hurricane. I gathered a sackful of acorns from the yard, lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet and baked them at the lowest temperature setting. I would tell you how long but I can't remember! But the baking will ensure I don't end up with a bunch of worms in my centerpiece. Bleechhhh.

I used a length of jute string and tied three oak leaves (also from the yard) to the front.

This free and easy project was inspired by Kara's Ballard Designs knockoff. So it is a knockoff of a knockoff...mmm yep I am a thrifting queen.

Linking to:

Kara's fall projects linky party

Get Your Craft On @ Today's Creative Blog

Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage