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10.11.2014

I Admit It, I'm Plain Ol' Vanilla....

While I love the occasional seasonal addition of a bright, happy hue to my decor,
I am basically a vanilla girl. 
Warm, soft neutral colors are my preferred palette, 
and my go-to design choices year-round are always pale and soft,
like a melted bowl of vanilla bean ice cream with caramel sauce.

Great. Now I'm hungry!

So anyway, each Autumn, while everyone else is decking their haunted halls 
with orange and rust and yellow, (or maybe black and purple)
I am creating serene, luscious, warm & cozy vignettes from shades of vanilla and brown sugar.

In Autumn, my Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkins in neutral tones are ALWAYS on the menu,
(see some of the ways I have used them in the past here)
 and this year is very, very vanilla....
In one area of my office/studio, I have small wall shelves over a daybed.
These provide a canvas for an ever-changing seasonal display for my collected treasures.
Here on these shelves, my pumpkins nestle into containers of many kinds:
Creamy sweater pumpkins perch on top of 
a rolled-up canvas military belt and an old roll of medical tape, 
as well as in a little galvanized bucket.
 My miniature clay pumpkins sit on the shelf and on the back of a vintage toy truck
(that reminds me of my Grandpa Ward's truck each time I look at it)
Coffee mugs with my initials serve as pedestals for a sweater pumpkin 
and a tiny 'found objects nest' that I made.
More sweater pumpkins simply sit on the shelves, paired with small ironstone pieces.

BTW, the 'bottom shelf' you see in the photo below?
Not a shelf, actually.
It's a wood window box turned sideways, sitting on top of a bookcase headboard.
Using it this way gave me added display space AND storage for the piece.
I simply MUST include a nod to my favorite year 'round decorative element: Mister Big Bear.
My mom gave him to me over 22 years ago, 
and he's been the go-to cuddle spot for sick kids and sick Deb, 
has absorbed a LOT of tears on sad occasions, 
and has charmed grumpy grandchildren into cheerfulness countless times.
He's family <3 ... and he doesn't mind being dressed up!

Follow my original tutorials to make your own:
Sweet Sweater Pumpkins
Mini Clay Pumpkins

Find more sweet vanilla decor in THIS POST!

Linked Up:


Yesterday on Tuesday | Project Inspire{d}

Practically Functional | Creativity Unleashed

4 comments:

  1. Oh, Deb. Your Warm Vanilla & Caramel setting is just perfect. I STILL have your pumpkin tutorial and this year I have been planning on making some. I had some minor surgery on Thursday and can't sew for about 2 weeks...but then...I hope to make some pumpkins! You are a very talented lady, you know! xo Diana

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    1. Thank you Miss Diana! I hope you can rest and recuperate, and then get back to your wonderfully creative self! <3

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  2. it all looks Divine~!
    I want to say that I don't feel you get the credit you so richly deserve for your creations. You are copied unabashedly with zero credit . I keep reading about honesty and giving credit where credit is due, but I rarely if ever see it.
    Had this been done to me I'm fairly certain I would have thrown a fit folks would have heard round the globe.

    I want to also admit here and now that 2 autumns ago I made sweater pumpkins but wasnt aware the tutorial I read//sorry cant remember where// was fashioned after your original SPs..

    This is a belated Thank You and Apology ,from ME and from all those who should have rightfully given you credit.

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    1. Sonny, I thank you for your gallant stand on my behalf, defending my honor! ;) And honestly, you don't need to apologize about making pumpkins from sweaters and not crediting me - there are many instances of my photos being shared on social media, resulting in people being inspired to create pumpkins using sweaters. That's as it should be, honestly - it's what blogs and Pinterest and facebook and Instagram are all about. Even the online DIY community that I joined and shared my pumpkins in exists to inspire others.

      There are about seven sweater pumpkin tutorials out there right now, and thousands of blog posts and images of the pumpkins others have made. Many people have linked back to me or mentioned me as the source of their inspiration for sweater pumpkins since 2008 - and I am grateful for their generosity. For the one blogger who purchased and then replicated my tutorial with her own photos and passed it off as her own, well, there's always Karma ;)

      I believe that what we put 'out there' comes back to us. In my case, integrity and originality are the driving forces in my life, and I expect to reap the benefits of that. I know I am not copying anyone, stealing ideas, or passing them off as my own - and I can live with myself without fear of being 'found out'. I give credit to those who inspire me, and I don't often create 'knock off' products (and when I do, it's a knock-off of a mass-manufactured item, not something another independent designer makes and sells). And though I don't have the big numbers of likes and followers that those other bloggers do, I love the response I get from my HOMEees who read my blog and follow me on social media for the simple reason that I offer them original, creative, 'do-able', inspiring ideas and content. That's something I'd much rather focus on than the people who just don't get the big picture.

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