FALL YARD DISPLAY 2013

I love pumpkins, I can't help myself!  Every year I try to do some kind of fall yard display.  I live in the country, so I don't really get a lot of traffic, but I enjoy seeing it every time I pull in my driveway.

Check out my little dog Finn laying under the tree in the background, which is exactly where he was the whole time I was working on this.  
We have some friends who grow pumpkins commercially.  We took a ride up to visit them a couple of weeks ago and came home with a car load of pumpkins.

 

We gave some away to friends and dumped the rest in the front yard, along with a few items I wanted to include in my yard display this year.  And there it all sat.....waiting for inspirations to strike me.

Sometimes, I know exactly what I want to do.  Last year, this was my fall yard display....

It was interesting to see this picture again because last year we had a terrible drought and this picture was taken about the same time in exactly the same place.  The leaves were already gone, there was no shade and very little green.  It was also in the upper 90's that day and I have to admit, I was hot, tired and not very enthusiastic.  Things look a little happier this year.  

Now, I'm trying to decide how much Halloween I can incorporate into this without making it way too creepy for prospective home buyers.  Hmmmmm......... 

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Five Minute Fall Decorating

I challenged myself this year to do 5 minute fall decorating projects using pretty much what I have around me.  

I love fall, but I needed to keep things simple because as most of you know, my house and farm are up for sale.  This is the first house I've lived in in 20 years that didn't have a mantel.  *sigh*  Hopefully, my next one will have a toasty fireplace with a pretty mantel for me to decorate again.  In the meantime, I'll make do with shelves.

I have 3 lanterns, so I filled them with natural stuff....Bittersweet berries, small white pumpkins and buckeyes from my friend Mary at Sweet Little Bluebird.

I love Bittersweet vine and berries and if I were going full out fall, I'd use a lot more of them.  You can read about Bittersweet that grows wild in Missouri by clicking HERE.  Cutting these vines is one of my favorite fall activities and memories of hunting Bittersweet with my Mother-in-Law are some of my favorites.  Thank you Virginia for teaching me so much about Missouri wildflowers, trees and berries!  

I've had this little glass pumpkin votive candle holder since, I think, 1979.  It was something I bought from a Home Interiors party back when I bought my first house and had very little money.  It was a splurge and I agonized over buying it.  I keep it in the box it came in and still treat it like gold every year when I bring it out and put a pumpkin spice candle in it.  Makes me smile every time.  (So do those little buckeyes in that small glass.)

I found this little cornucopia in the thrift store for a quarter.  It's perfect for a sprig of that wonderful bittersweet.  The tiny dried gourd is from my trip to the Gourd Festival in Arizona with my good friend Judy several years ago.

Oh...and that harvest moon that you see in to the right of my shelf in the first picture is really just a box lid that I loved, so, I hung it up on the wall.  Isn't he fabulous?  (I did not paint it, but I was smart enough to use it as a wall hanging instead of a box lid.)

Most of this fall decor will stick around through Thanksgiving, but some of it will be transformed a little for Halloween.  It's killing me not to go crazy for Halloween, but, I'm pretty sure it's not a good idea for your house to look like a haunted house for potential buyers.  I've been advised to be tasteful and use moderation in my Halloween decor.  Do you think I can do it??

Even though it's about to be full-blown fall here, it's spring-time in New Zealand and my good friend Natalie from NorthShore Days is over at the Inspiration Cafe today sharing a fabulous wrap recipe to kick off our new series "Soups and Sandwiches".  Perfect for fall here.  You can check it out by clicking on the pick below.

We'll be having a link party for sandwiches and/or soups at the end of this series, so if you have a favorite recipe for either or both, you have about a month to make it and post about it.

Linkin up to:
 

FALL ALCOHOL 2013...I'll take you there!

Last year when I posted "Fall Alcohol...I'm Goin There", two things happened...1) I lost a few followers ...2) The post was very well received and got tons of views...LOL!  I'll just say this now...if alcohol is not for you...don't read this post...BUT...you'll be missing out on some of the most fabulous fall packaging artwork out there.  Seriously, I love the people who do artwork like this....

Shipyard Brewing Company

I wish my sugar, flour and other groceries came in packages with Kick-a$$ graphics like that!  (Wouldn't shopping be a blast???!!!)  It doesn't hurt that the contents are pretty awesome either.  So, if you just want to look at the artwork, fine...if you want to know more about the contents, I have provided links to the brewers website for you.

Without further adieu, I will give you the latest on the fall alcohol to be found at a liquor store near you.  Speaking of adieu, lets start with France and the French Fall Twins from Pinnacle...

Pinnacle Vodka Pumpkin Pie & Caramel Apple

Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat

 Ichabod Pumpkin Ale - New Holland Brewing

Mr. Pumpkin - Mother's Brewing Company

Pumpkick - New Belgium Brewing

Yukon Jacapple

(Oddly enough, there is no website available for this..seriously.)

Oktoberfest - Shiner (Spoetzl Brewery)

Pumpkin Beer (O'Fallon Brewery

(Ummm this O'Fallon Pumpkin Beer was my favorite last year)

Pumpkin Spice Kahlua

Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest

(I drink this Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest at my local bar on tap..yum!)

Schlafly Pumpkin Ale

And my favorite so far this year...........

Pumpkin Hard Cider - Woodchuck

I swear, I have no idea where the other 4 bottles in this 6-pack went!  But...if you can pick up some of this Private Reserve Pumpkin Hard Cider from Woodchuck, you will not be disappointed.  (And Jean...this one is Gluten Free!  Jean is a good friend of mine who blogs at The Backyard Bungalow..check her out!)
That's about all for Fall Alcohol this year.  There are several others out there, these are just a few of my faves.  I will remind you that you should always check the alcohol content on what you're drinking...some of these ales and beers are 8% or more and they can sneak right up on ya!  (Obviously the vodka's and liqueurs are stronger.)  
Drink responsibly, don't drink and drive, and NEVER drink when you are pregnant or nursing...don't even think about it. 
And just so you don't think that all I do is drink....I'll be posting a little fall decorating this weekend, before I take it down and go all Halloween on ya!

Happy Fall Y'all!!

Linking up to any or all of the fine parties listed below...

FALL...ish!

Fall is coming, I can feel it!  We've had a break in our weather and besides cleaning out some sheds and a little painting, I've been doing some fall decorating, which I promise to share this coming week.  I did revamp a couple of old projects (big surprise there!) into some new fall decor.  Because fall is not quite here yet...it's just....

This little chalk board started out as a whiteboard freebie from my local bank.

You can read about it's first transformation HERE.   But, of course I got tired of it so I cut it down in a cute shape I found as the backing in some sparkly gem packaging. (Because I couldn't throw that cute cardboard shape away....somebody help me!)  I just photo copied it and blew it up a little.

I traced it onto my old chalkboard and cut it out so it looked like this.

Pretty easy and a little smaller and cuter.  
The little leaf garland I made last year and you can read about it on THIS post.   And there you have it..easy as pie.  Some fall...ish decor.

I'd like to remind you all that our Kidding Around Link party starts today at the Inspiration Cafe.  Come link up something fun! AND....the fabulous Kirby Carespodi from Kirb Appeal will be at the Cafe tomorrow with a furniture makeover post!  Don't miss it!
Finally, because I couldn't resist...I'll be bringing you the 2013 version of Fall Alcohol next week.  Uh-huh...we're goin there again!  If you'd like to brush up first, you can read last years post HERE, some of it is back in the stores this year, but I'll be showing you all NEW stuff!

GHOST LEAVES - MY TURN AT THE INSPIRATION CAFE

We're doing kid-themed projects over at the Inspiration Cafe this round and today is my turn!  Come on over and see how I ambushed my awesome nephew into doing a craft with me!

We really had a lot of fun!  You can check it out by clicking on the image below!

Don't forget to come back and link up your own kid inspired project on Monday Sept., 16th.  when we have our Kidding Around Link Party!  Happy Labor Day everyone!

FALL FLORAL VASE

Even though it's in the upper 90's here this week, I'm pretending that if I proceed as if it's fall, the cool weather will follow.  Play along with me here.
I like a tall floral piece in my living room.  Not really big...just tall.  So, I made one.

It's really tall...

The best thing about this project is that I already had everything I needed to make it.  I picked up this terracotta vase from Hobby Lobby for $1.00 last year.  

 They had a whole rack of them out on the sidewalk.  They use them to hold their floral stems in their floral department.  Many of them were chipped or crack, but I was able to find two that were in perfect shape.  I brought them home and stuck them in my closet where they remained, completely forgotten until last week when I cleaned it out and there they were...still waiting for me to decide what to do with them.
Other than something fall floral, I had no plan.  So I did what I always do when I have no plan....I just started pulling a bunch of stuff out of my craft supplies that I thought might work.

Some did, some didn't.  I did want to use this little lighted floral branch that I got last year at Big Lots on clearance for half price.

It was kind of sad looking and sparce, as most lighted branches are, so I decided to just build my fall piece around it.  I cut some branches and spray painted them with Krylon's Brushed Metallic Champagne Nouveau Satin to make them a little more glamorous.

I added some faux flowers, daisies or lazy susans or some such mix.

I'm not usually a huge fan of faux flowers, but I like them for wreaths and vases because you can take them apart and change them around, which I always do.  In this case, I took all of the yellow flowers off and added some extra leaves here and there to fill in.
My terracotta vase was just the right size for it all, but lacked personality.  Let's give it some with some mesh ribbon, some colored ribbon, and some funky wiry floral stuff.

What?  You don't know what funky, wiry floral stuff is?  It's this...

I've had it forever and used it once.  I forgot I even had it until I saw my good friend Gail at Purple Hues and Me use it to make this Wired Candle Holder.  Isn't it lovely?  I'm so making this!

You won't believe how easy it is and you could make it with just about any kind of wire.  Go take a look, I'll wait right here.
I also used some acorns to add a little pizazz to the front of my vase, as well as some spanish moss at the base of my branches.

 All done!

 
 Getting a pic of it for you at night with the little twinkle lights on was easier said than done.  This was the best I could do....

Hard to tell from this, but it's just the right amount of twinkly.  Makes me happy every time I walk by and look at it on my painted buffet....which also makes me happy.

Go make something lovely that makes you happy!  Thank you Gail for the inspiration and for giving me yet another project to do with that funky wire!  You're awesome!

Linking up to any or all of these fine parties

Fall Recall for Y'all!

So fall is just about the most awesome season for me (unless we have the promise of a ton of snow for winter..then I'm all in).  I think I make more fall projects than any other season and before I start this years fall crafting, I'm going to recap a few of my favorite fall projects.

This fall wreath was one of my favorites, because I love cattails. 

FALL WREATH

My pallet shelf was long overdue and perfect for some fall decorations.

PALLET SHELF

 I jumped on the subway art bandwagon, in a small way.  (I thought it was some kind of right-of-passage for a craft blogger...kinda like chalkboard projects.)

FALL SUBWAY ART

This is still my favorite fall recipe.  I'll probably make it several times over the next month or two.   It's sweet, savory and you make it in the microwave.

HARVEST ACORN SQUASH

Sometimes a quick and simple centerpiece works best for my table, otherwise, it might not get one at all.

AUTUMN CENTERPIECE

 And last, but certainly not least....I shared some of my favorite fall alcohol...because it rhymes and because it's fun.

FALL ALCOHOL...I'M GOIN THERE!

 As a special note, I would like to say that any time I post about alcohol, I lose a few followers.  (I had a farewell drink for those special souls.)  If this offends you...well...then it offends you.  I respect everyone's right to their opinion.
So there's a little early inspiration to get you going, because if you make your fall decor, like I do every year, you want to have time to enjoy it.
Next post, I'm going to make a great fall floral arrangement that will take you all the way from fall, through Halloween and still look great for Thanksgiving with just a few minor adjustments.  

Linking up to any of the fine parties listed here or....