My BEST Christmas Tree Lighting Tip!

When it comes to lighting the Christmas tree at home, I'm a purist...

I like white lights: Mini, C7, C9, bubble, whatever kind I use, they are white.
Maybe you like multicolor - or ONE color! Whatever your preference is, 

I have a tip for you when it comes to lighting the tree
(and how many of you are tackling THAT job this weekend?!)

that is guaranteed to up the sparkle factor!

continue reading to see what my ONE STEP TRICK is!

which wine???

Years ago, I had the pleasure of working in the wine industry in the Pacific Northwest, 

where I learned more than I ever thought possible about the fruit of the vine....

Still, when I am stymied on a food and wine pairing,
I call on one of my friends to help me out with advice I can trust:

Scott Carlson is an experienced, knowledgeable wine & beer specialist for BevMo Stores, 

and he's been sharing some great information about wine pairings for years.

  I've rounded up some of Scott's best points on the subject
of pairing wines with Thanksgiving Dinner,
and added in a few of my own comments and recommendations
to help you select several wines for your upcoming holiday meal... enjoy!

<< click on 'continue reading' for Scott's recommendations!

100 Thanksgiving Table Decor Ideas

My Vintage White Thanksgiving tablescape is included in this seasonal collection of 

'100 Inspiring Thanksgiving Table Decor Ideas' on TinyPrints.com, 

and I'm honored to have been included!

View my original post with tons of pretty & easy tabletop ideas

View the entire Tiny Prints blog post 

________________________________

PS: a requested correction to the caption on my image on the Tiny Prints post has not been made,
so I'll include more information about it here for those visiting for the first time:

My tablescape shown in their post includes a pumpkin as a centerpiece,
but it is not 'wrapped in lace', as TP identified it.
It is one of my own Original creations, a soft-sculpture pumpkin known as
Sweet Sweater Pumpkins, made from sweaters.
The one in the photo has been embellished with a fascinator hat  with a lace veil.

If you'd like to make your own versions of my design,
you can find my Sweet Sweater Pumpkin tutorial here.

4 NEW Thanksgiving Tablescapes

My friends, the Holiday season is HERE!

Let's get inspired to try new things, shall we?!

A year ago, I purchased a beautiful vintage tea set with a fall floral motif,

and had planned to create a new tablescape post with it. Well, that didn't happen!

THIS year, I hauled it out and got to work creating that long-overdue table setting,

and along the way, I came up with three MORE ideas to share with you.
Every last one of these ideas is SIMPLIFIED, because we're ALL busy enough right now!

I just used stuff I already had here at the house - 

I seriously didn't even buy flowers or real pumpkins or anything -

and let it play out in true 'homewardFOUNDdecor' style
'cause that's how I roll...

Click through for four inspiring new themes...

A Faux Awning Window Valance

In the process of 'making do' with many items we already had on hand to decorate the new house,

Mom and I decided that the orange & white chevron-stripe cotton fabric

would look pretty happy over our kitchen window.

In the old house, there were two floor-length curtain panels of this fabric at the wine bar...

aaaaaaaaand I JUST realized that I never took a photo of that. 

Trust me, it looked great! 

Although we knew what fabric would be on this window,

we really weren't sure what the valance would look like.
Until we went to Hawaii last June...

we walked into a DARLING little shop in Kapaa, Kauai, called Serendipity
(sorry, they have no social media or web presence to link to)

and spied a set of sweet, rustic, rusty BUT lightweight metal brackets on a table.

I held them up, flipped them over, 

and thought "we could use them to hold the curtain rod over the sink!'

...so that's exactly what we did:

This photo shows the brackets holding the lower of two curtain rods -
simply a cheap white metal tension rod, extended to fit the width we needed.
It rests on the top scrolled 'arm' of the metal bracket.

Up above, the higher of two curtain rods is set just below ceiling height.
With high ceilings, there was ample room to raise the fabric panel above the cabinet tops, 

which keeps the eye travelling upward instead of  stopping even with the cabinets.

The rod at the top is a standard cheap white metal rod with curved ends that mount to the wall.
We had both rods, but they only run about $5 each new.

The fabric panel was shortened by half, and we used the existing top casing 

to hang the panel from the top rod.
While I could have sewn a new casing into the new bottom edge, I didn't.
I used masking tape to tape the bottom edge of the fabric to the tension rod
(all the way across)

and then I rolled the fabric up twice to completely cover the rod and the tape.

 The bracket holds the lower tension rod out about 10" from the wall,

and the top rod is only 2" from the wall - 

so the effect is of a fabric awning over the window and the wood blinds.

It's a lot more interesting than just a plan fabric valance panel hanging straight down!

The fabric can be very easily removed for washing, or to change it up.
We even have a piece of muslin painter's cloth sized and ready for use here

in case we decide to go with a more neutral palette one day!

.

I hope this inspires you to think of things differently - like your window treatments.  

My first choice for this window was actually a vintage metal outdoor awning!
If I ever find a white one that will fit, I'll do it!

Don't just hang a panel or a valance if you have a chance to do something fun instead:
I've used picket fences as awnings and valances, 

old screens as awnings,

I've hung baby clothes on a clothesline as a valance... 

 See? You can use ANYTHING! Come on and get creative!!!

Fall Into the Holidays...

Thanksgiving before Christmas, right?

well...... for some people, that only applies to the calendar!
There are some pretty strong opinions about whether or not to decorate for Christmas BEFORE Thanksgiving... 

almost as strong as opinions about the upcoming election!

As for me, I don't 'do' my house for Christmas until after Thanksgiving.
[ I also don't shop on Black Friday. I decorate! ]
I know, it's so subversive.... 

continue reading to see how I incorporate BOTH holidays in my decor!

Boo to You!

When I was unpacking fall decor for the new house last month, 

I discovered these in a box...

two of my 'Embellished Pumpkins' that I created and sold 

at the Glitterfest show three years ago.

(Why is it that I keep stumbling across stuff like this - 

stuff I don't even remember I HAVE - 

but I CAN'T find the stuff I NEED - like my printer cords??!!!!
Mysteries of moving, I guess!)

I took a fancy flocked shadowbox frame and an old wood clock case, 

and foofed them up with some fanciful materials:
faux leaves made of vintage sheet music and black resin with glitter,

real oak leaves that had been bleached, a bit of old lace,

two black crows - one with a vintage paper crown,

scrapbook paper with a haunted theme,

a watch case filled with a vintage photo (that I 'Bewitched' with a felt pen hat!),

some vintage rhinestone jewelry bits,

and of course no fall project from my studio would be complete without

my Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkins - 

this time in black and white!

Though fun to create, this isn't really my personal palette or decor style, 

but since they didn't sell at that show, I kept them.

And I'm glad I DID...

because they serve a perfect purpose: wishing you all a

although..... THIS ain't bad, either! ;)

Thank You, Friends...

Hello, my friends... 

I want to thank you for hanging in here with me lately. I know there haven't been any new blog posts, and there have been scant few posts on the fb page, as well.

Life has just been hard lately, with a LOT of stress and frustration. I don't know about you, but for me, I find it hard to be creative when I am stressed out! I TRY, but my mind wanders and my heart just isn't in it... that's where I've been lately. My Mom has had a huge burden on her shoulders and there hasn't been a single thing I've been able to do to help solve the problem, and it's been wearing us both down... we've just been 'surviving', not really living.

Thankfully, that big, ugly situation was resolved last Thursday: Mom & Dad's old house FINALLY closed escrow and sold! She's endured seven long months of situations you would not believe if I told you - including FIVE failed escrows! - and has had to deal with an agent and broker that have been far less than forthcoming and pro-active. It's taken a huge toll on her, but at last it is over.

She is free now to move forward with a new life after Dad's passing, with a clean slate and hope for a joyful future. I see a huge difference in her spirit just over the weekend, which brings peace to MY heart - I was really REALLY worried about her. Our family gathered this weekend to celebrate and 'christen' the new house, and it made her so happy to have everyone here together. Memories were shared and made, of course a few tears were shed, but the time together was good for all of us. Loss is hard, grief is hard, but love heals. We also celebrated the engagement of my nephew to his wonderful girlfriend, and that added to the joy of our day.

With the stress of the old house mess behind us, I hope to find my enthusiasm and energy return so that I can take on projects around the new house again. I am ready to get back to creating and sharing decor ideas that will inspire you as you decorate your own homes! I am ready for JOY - which is our theme for Christmas this year, btw ;) I'm ready to find joy in my creativity, in daily life, in our home, in seeing things in a fresh new way... and I hope you will join me!

<3 Hugs to you, my 'HOMEees', for your continued support and kindness - I appreciate you more than I could ever express <3

With Love and Gratitude, 
Deb

Garden House ReVisited

Remember my Garden House Makeover Project?

The photo above is what it looked like after my whirlwind two-day flurry of activity.

This is what it looked like BEFORE I got started:

See the entire transformation - that took place in one weekend - here.

It's always fun to see how spaces change over time...

Two days ago, my friend Todd shared this photo on social media:

He's decorating this tiny space for some fall picnics and enjoyment...

and yes, that's the same garden house!

You see, Todd built that garden house many years ago. 
He owns the house and the yard that it sits in.

I lived in that little bungalow for a few short months back in 2011,

after life collapsed and I had to leave my dream farmhouse & life on an island.

Todd allowed me to make over his little garden house, and I am forever grateful to him for that. 

Not only was a lot of fun and a creative gold mine -
giving me content for my blog here and many great photos - 

but it was a distraction from stressful situations at a time in my life when I really needed it. 

It gave me space and time to think. 

And now, he lives in that bungalow and enjoys that garden.

Seeing Todd out there decorating and loving that sweet little space just makes my heart happy. 

My screen door is still there, some of those tiny pots on the wall are mine, and those white shelf units were mine, too - 

though I used them in the laundry area of the house, not where they are now. 
But I LOVE them in this location!

I love that Todd was a generous friend who saw my sorrow,

and helped to turn it into a measure of joy by letting me create in this special space.

It is a gift I will never forget.

Off the Wall?

Last spring, after moving into the new house,

Mom and I went shopping at the Down Home Spring Sale,

held at the home of Don & Peggy Arbenz.
Several years ago, I wrote about their GORGEOUS antique store in Orange, CA - 

they have since closed the store, but sell at shows and at their own events.

I really love their style,
(I've posted about some of their store's Fall and Halloween displays)

and just knew that we would find some things at their sale

that could be incorporated into our home... and we did!

One of the (many) treasures that came home with us was 

HALF of a tall, weathered wood porch post!
(It had been split lengthwise and has a totally flat back)

As soon as we saw it, we envisioned it as a coat rack in our entry hall:

Okay, well.... to be honest, we pictured it hung vertically... on another wall...

But the more we looked at it, the more we realized that 

this position limited the capacity for holding things -

including decorative things that change with the season.
( You see where I'm going with this, right?! )
So in the end, we moved the position from vertically beside the door 

to horizontally behind the door
(the door would be on the adjacent wall to the left of this photo)

Once hung in place, 

we gathered up a variety of interesting metal hooks from all over the place, 

and screwed them into the wood:

Top Row: 'faucet' hook - etsy . 'JOY' hooks - World Market

Bottom Row: vintage hook - ReStore, WA . silver metal hooks - Hobby Lobby

Find more coat hooks at World Market . HobbyLobby . 

It's a terrific drop zone right inside the door, along with being nice to look at!

The look and content will change with each season, 

making this as much an art gallery as it is a coat rack 

I'm working on a rustic 'Welcome' sign to hang above it, 

and you can see that one of my refreshed chalkboards ended up here, too!

lost and.... FOUND!

Remember these lil' babies?!

After selling my neutral-hued and orange Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkins for five years, 

I released a limited edition of them in PINK in 2013 - and you LOVED them!

(thank you from the bottom of my pumpkin' shaped heart <3 )

Recently Janet at Shabbyfufu shared one of her own photos of my pink pumpkins,
the one you see on the lower right corner of my image above,

and her readers were clamoring to get some of their own...

I couldn't oblige, as making them in quantity makes my carpal tunnel flare up
(and Deb is not happy when she is in pain!)

That's a big reason why I stopped making them to sell after 2013, and offered my tutorial.
The other reason was that my Dad was undergoing cancer treatments,
and time spent with him was way more important than making pumpkins.

Well.... I have a bit of good news for anyone hankering to get their hands on

a couple of my pumpkins: I FOUND SOME!

;)
Yes, you have a chance to get one of the last sets of 

my Original Sweet Sweater Pumpkins in PINK, 

right here on the homewardFOUND blog!

 Tuesday Morning September 27 at 8 AM Pacific Time,
I'll have SIX SETS ONLY for sale here on the blog!
The PayPal purchase button will be on the right sidebar for your convenience.

Sold only in sets of 3 - varied sizes, pink tones, and knit textures in each set.

important stuff:
Shipping included, to continental USA addresses only.
Limited quantity available. No holds - Purchase required at time of order.
All purchases final. No refunds, no cancellations. No custom requests/orders.
Sale will cease immediately when available quantities are sold.

I'll see you here Tuesday!

If Walls Could Talk...

There are a LOT of model homes here in Southern California!

Every builder creates a jaw-dropping, show-stopping block 

of every model they offer in every subdivision - to entice buyers.

Mom and I looked at a LOT of model homes when she was deciding to buy hers.

I've been touring model homes all of my life, since my teens, 

because I love seeing how they are decorated. I love the details. 

I love the designer touches that you can't get in a house -  they are 'for inspiration only'. 

And that's EXACTLY what I use them for!

Case in Point:
The WALL TREATMENTS at three new neighborhoods' models nearby,
built by Pardee Homes (who built our new house).
I saw the models earlier this month, and was impressed with

the interesting textures and patterns on the 'builder boring' walls:

Painted Wood

See that first photo up above, with the board & batten wood paneling?
I think that's what we're going to add to a niche in our entry hall.
We can't use shiplap, because the horizontal pattern will make the already long hall look longer...

so I think the vertical B&B pattern will be the best solution.

Stained Wood

I especially like the wood flooring applied to the back of an entryway cubby unit:

Stained Wood ON THE CEILING!

Paint

Photographic Mural

(it's a photo of a rusty train car)

'Wood Look' Ceramic Tiles

Brick

Stuck on what to do with YOUR walls?
Head over to some local model homes and get inspired!