Autumn In The Air!

Well, I woke up to a glorious day of sunlight dancing across the tree tops. A light breeze has random leaves falling and a cool, brisk morning of fresh air upon the face says Fall Is Here!

I decided to take a few, outdoor pictures to commemorate my favorite season of the year. I'm sure these will be the first of many to come. I love seeing the drastic changes from day to day and week to week during this time of year.

Upon walking outdoors, the fresh, welcomed, pungent smell of Witch Hazel blooms caught my nose. I'm lucky enough to have one growing near my entryway and always anticipate its odd aroma during the cooler months of the year. Its unique pom-pom blooms in yellow-green jump out as sharply as its fragrance. It is perhaps one of my favorite shrubs (more like a tree for me as it towers about 14-16 feet high).  I can look forward to its odd blooms again in late Winter as well; bright yellow against the white snow, except at that time, there will be bare, brown branches making the blooms more pronounced..

The intense, welcoming fragrance of Witch Hazel as Autumn sets in.

Leaves, leaves, leaves.  Yes, there will be a plethora of them in no time.  For now, they sure look pretty gathering along the edges of the walkways bordering the property.

Simple Beauty In Nature.

Late season Impatiens provide bright color as fallen leaves become the "new neighbors".

I hope you too have some welcomed signs of the season that you enjoy.  Tell us what you enjoy most during this time of year.

Classy Pumpkin Ideas

Perhaps Jack-O-Lanterns are your style or perhaps simple, unaltered, festive pumpkins sitting down your front porch steps strikes your fancy.  Regardless of whether you go fun, fancy or somewhere in between, it's always interesting to see design ideas developed by others.  In this instance, engraving pumpkins.  Look at this incredible, yet simplistic design.  I love how the inner orange color contrasts so sharply against this pumpkin's unique, green skin!

Photo courtesy Jill Kirchner Simpson, CountryLiving.com

  

The idea is to match your pumpkin to your patterns and other design motifs found in your home;  in this case, the plate upon which the pumpkin sits.  I was impressed with many of the engraved/embossed pumpkins shown.  

A linoleum-cutting tool set, quoted at less than $10.00 at many art stores created this look.  Hmmmm, I'm suddenly feeling the urge to purchase a set to give my hand a try at this.  As always, use extreme caution when working with knives or any other sharp object as you design your pumpkins or carve those jack-o-lanterns!  I found this Linoleum Cutter Tool Set at Amazon for under $15.00.

Don't forget the "cutting the pumpkin open at the bottom" trick instead of creating a lid if you decide to fully clean and illuminate one of your designs.  I have never gone this route but see it as a smart option to eliminate the shrinking, "caving-in" lid that often develops.

Do you have some clever pumpkin decorating ideas of your own?  Share them!

Bottles, Bottles, Bottles

I have a thing for old bottles;  all types, shapes, sizes, colors.  Clear glass ones with the "haze of age" are very cool.  Deep amber-colored ones are a favorite as well.  Mixing them with old, rusty implements and weathered-wood items really produces a cohesive, yet casually-comfortable look.  One that you can not replicate with newly manufactured items.

While walking through a small pine forest, gathering pine cones for autumn decorating, I stepped on a small bottle half buried in the soft, loamy soil.  I pulled it out and was impressed by its rich, earthy color; highly appropriate for Autumn and especially my bathroom.  Upon further investigation I saw it was a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer bottle.  Now I don't know if Pabst still produces beer in these bottles (I'm hoping not as that makes it all the more special) but I figured despite the bottle's original purpose, the shape and color were worthy of becoming new decor.

So, what do you think?  This bathroom has lots of rust colors with terracotta-colored accented tiles.  I love the size and shape, especially paired with the once lone, vintage medicinal bottle of the same color.  Carefully fashion custom corks to fit from wine bottle corks for a more authentic, rustic look.  I think the "beer reference" would be lost to anyone viewing this bottle now.  Nothing like free finds that incorporate so well with your personal design aesthetic.  Here's hoping you stubble upon some neat bottles while you too are digging around for pine cones!

Simple Fall Crafts For The Home

Are you in a creative mood today?  Do you have items like empty soup cans, jute twine, pine cones and a glue gun around your home?  If so, you are in luck.  Many of the craft projects I've assembled cost little to nothing to make.  I'm sure you could develop your own "takes" on these Fall Craft Ideas to make them fit your personal aesthetic or decorating needs.  If you like what you see, join the blog to stay up to date with future ideas that I will be sharing!  Thanks for visiting!

Cans Become Can-dle Holders and Jars Become Decorative Lanterns

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Simple Ambiance For Your Festive Fall Table

For those who visit the Frugal Design website, you know I'm a fan of natural, organic decor. Grapevine is something I have always enjoyed using and finding new ways to creatively incorporate it around the home are always welcome.

My new love of flame-less candles and the ability to illuminate items that before could not be illuminated (safely) also has my creative mind working. There are so many neat things you can do with these things when it comes to holiday decorating.

With Autumn in mind, I decided to combine some flame-less votives with a few of my many grapevine spheres. The result, albeit simple, was a perfect union. Doing this has only had me thinking of even more ways to incorporate my lit grapevine. Visit my page on Fall Crafts to learn more about this project and to get some other Fall decorating ideas.

Do you have any ideas on how you would use these lit spheres?

Steam Punk Style

I was at an antique tractor show this weekend and was checking out some of the vendor areas.  I'm always drawn to old implements and vintage tools.  Weathered, worn and rusty patina items always grab my attention.  After reading an article about Steam-punk design, I have been on a mission to employ some of its character into my home.  In many ways I already do this but I especially wanted some type of cog or sprocket element, typical of the style.  An old fly-wheel for $10.00 was my purchase.  It is my pseudo-Restoration Hardware decor item.

 

Pre-Purple Leaves

My Zebrina Spiderwort (Tradescantia), more commonly known as "Wandering Jew" is thriving outdoors.  This was the first year I put some in an outside planter and am pleased with the results.  I realized today how much this plant and its leaf colors remind me of Fall.  The dark purple/burgundy of its year-round leaves look like the turning leaf colors of some of the trees.  I will be bringing this new, flourishing plant indoors soon and will bring it outside again next year since it did so well.  This plant is the result of one small shoot that broke free from my indoor specimen.  Amazing how easily they get established and how well they adapt.  A perfect house-plant for the beginner; and now a perfect outdoor plant for shady areas!