Fall Continues Around the House: Living Room

Continuing the Fall Tour from the entry (yesterday), we head to the living room which is really part of the entry, so once again, color is kept to a minimum.

Candles in a milk bottle holder with acorns and white mini pumpkin

gives just a hint of color.

On the table under the window, hydrangeas from the garden

sit in a pale blue bowl with more acorns.

 The mantle holds most of the decorations

starting with a "thankful" banner

 Ironstone pitcher filled with wheat

 Wooden rooster and church birdhouses

Finials, acorns,

and a paper garland of large leafs cut from sheet music.

Books about the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving

and thankful pillows add to the overall look.

Fall Decorating From September to November

When I am decorating for Fall in September, I don't like to overdo it. The weather is still warm here and it seems a long time 'till Thanksgiving, so I just do a little, a base, if you will, for what will come later.

(See Early Fall Mantel)

The mantel was pretty well set, I just added a banner.

"Bountiful"

That is how I think about God's provision for us: more than we need or can even imagine!

I also added a blue bowl full of small pumpkins, dried artichokes and pomegranates.

( Really, it's full of newspaper, topped with moss and then filled with the "pretties"!)

Behind is a grain scoop and dried corn.

Here you can see the room in full, with candles and berries added to the coffee table.

Moving into the dining room, I punched up the centerpiece.

I left the burlap table runner, but added the tall pear candlesticks.

I used an old toolbox I picked up this summer, and filled it with the usual suspects: small pumpkins, dried artichokes, dried pomegranates, acorns and berries.

It looks beautiful!

And don't forget the little details:

Rustic touches: candle holder made from wooden sap holder, berries and

 linen embroidered with "Count your blessings".

Stories about our Pilgrim founders.

 Speaking of Pilgrims: these little silver ones came from Plymouth Plantation.

This angel's sign says to "Give Thanks".

And, of course, lots of pillows

 that remind us to give thanks in all things

 with a grateful heart!

Happy Thanksgiving!

And always, lots of pillows!

The Thanksgiving Tree

Okay, one more Fall Decorating post (you had to know it was coming)!

This is something that shows up on Pinterest from time to time and I always think, "That's a good idea, I should make one of those".

Well, today I was feeling a little sorry for myself, missing my grandbabies and thinking about my daughter moving soon, so I started to "count my blessings" to remind myself how many things I have to be thankful for.

And then I remembered the Thanksgiving Tree idea.

It's a really easy project and only took about an hour.

First, I gathered the materials: 

a container, branches from the backyard, burlap and scrapbook paper, floral foam,

scissors and glue, Spanish Moss

Next, I prettied up the container Husband found at a garage sale by pulling off the beautiful red and gold trim and adding a burlap sash and a sign that says "Give Thanks". I just glued everything with plain old white glue.

Then I stuffed the floral thingy into the bottom of the container and pushed the branches into it so they would stay in place. I covered it all with Spanish Moss.

 Be sure to use a lot of branches.

                 At first it seemed like I had enough, but when I saw it in a picture, it looked pretty sparse.

I made a simple leaf pattern and began cutting it out of different papers. 

One tip: use cardstock so it will be pretty on both sides and thick enough not to let light fade out your thankful words and phrases.

I poked a hole in each leaf, threaded some string through, and began writing down things I am thankful for.

Then I hung them on the tree.

I also made up a bunch more leaves and left them next to the tree with a pen to make it easy for me to add something every day and for others as well.

By Thanksgiving, the branches will be full of leaves!

This is a really good project to do with kids. Even the little ones can tell you something they are thankful for and you can write it down for them.

And don't forget to date the leaves so years from now, you can recall all of the wonderful memories!

Slipcover a Dining Table??

There is a joke in my family that if it isn't moving, I might just slipcover it! And last fall, I proved them right when I slipcovered my dining table.

I was never really in love with this table, but the price and size were right (isn't that usually the way it goes?). Well, last fall I was seriously considering selling it or painting it when I had a brainstorm. I had just bought some burlap and it was sitting on the table, waiting to be cut for a project.

I quickly cleared off the table and spread out the burlap. The width was perfect. I cut the length to be the same drop as the width. Then I pinned the corners and sewed them up. Couldn't be easier!

I finished it off by adding white seam binding to the edges.

So far, the burlap "slipcover" has been decorated for Thanksgiving

Christmas

Winter

Easter

 Spring

Summer is just around the corner!