Autumn's Golden Light

 

I was searching for a certain image the other day,
and in the process I came across some old photos that just say 'AUTUMN' to me.

The golden glowing light captured in them is my FAVORITE thing about fall...

the way the light turns more amber and deep, especially in late afternoon.
It's my favorite time of day!

Since my last two posts have been about fall decorating 

as inspired by displays at vintage shows,

I thought I'd wrap that up with a post showing images of one of MY old booths at a show.
Enjoy!

 From the glowing woods to glistening golds,
luxe velvet and satin fabric details to simple paper and leather,
I think this embodies that certain color of autumn light that I so love.
There's not a typical tree leaf in sight here, but the decor speaks to the pleasures of fall.

Yes, decor can be inspired by something as simple as the color of light 
that pours through your windows during a certain season or time of day!
Let the color of a summer blue sky or a winter snow be the touchpoint for your decor,
and you'll have created an ambience that speaks to your soul.

PS: It's not about spending money.
All of the items shown in the above photos were made or 'fixed up' 

using reclaimed and repurposed materials that were found or thrifted.

Though the look is 'luxe', the cost was miniscule.

 

Someone else took photos of my booth at that show, too...

and they ended up in Where Women Create magazine a few years later.

Where Women Create's Summer 2012 issue 

featured a story on Judy Watkins and her Remnants of the Past Antique Show,  

with beautiful photos of the show by Jenny Malott.
I am so very grateful to Jenny, Judy, and Jo Packham of WWC 

that they chose several images of my booth displays to include in the story:

Right Page: my Retreat booth & products

(looks familiar, huh?
yes, Jenny took EXACTLY the same shot that I did!)

Right Page, lower left corner: detail of Retreat booth display

Right Page: Baby Grand Piano Bar,
created with my late husband Bob Kennedy for our business, 'Retreat', in 2009
This piece truly was one of his greatest designs...

details of the piano bar:

 * exterior and interior covered with vintage player piano & sheet music
* interior re-purposed as a wine storage unit, liquor bottle & glass storage, 

and keyboard replaced with a pull-out mirrored tray for serving.

shared online:
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Practically Functional | Creativity Unleashed

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There's a lot more to that story....

The Grass Is Greener When It's Not Plastic!

I have a deep-seated dislike of plastic Easter grass.
With four children, the mess was just more than I could handle!

(and I can't even begin to tell you how many vacuum cleaners that stuff destroyed!!)

So years ago, I started finding alternatives....

the easiest one is just cutting up paper into small strips and crumbling it a bit.
Vintage sheet music, construction paper, wrapping paper - anything works better than plastic!

Another is shown above: fuzzy green 'eyelash' yarn, piled luxuriously in a basket or bowl.

My favorite solution for an abundant bed of 'grass' for a large Easter basket?

It's a BLANKET!
Made from soft, fuzzy green yarn, it's always reminded me of grass...

 I used it to cover a footstool in my home one Spring years ago:

A fuzzy green (or pink, or yellow!) SWEATER would work as a basket liner, too!

One final option is HAY. Yes, REAL hay!  

OK, maybe I mean STRAW.
Grab a mini-bale at the craft store, break the strings that hold it together, 

and fluff it up by shaking it around in a paper grocery bag.

Then fill baskets, galvanized pails, etc. with it to nest your eggs in!

Gorgeous image from Aunt Ruthie's Sugar Pie Farmhouse

Tutorial: Recycled Paper Daffodils

I love turning scraps into decor items... paper, for example.
Whether it's leftover gift wrap, an old magazine, or a book of vintage sheet music,

I love looking at it and asking myself 

"OK, what can I do with THIS? (besides pitch it into the recycle bin)."

I did that today, and here's what resulted:
Happy Spring Daffodils, 
made from recycled paper!

How about a tutorial, you say? OK!

Materials:
scissors. masking tape . glue stick . bamboo skewers . paper

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 Step by Step:

1. fold sheet of paper (music, construction, magazine page) in thirds as shown.

2. fold in half where the two sides meet in the center.

3. draw half a flower shape with four, five, or six pointed leaves at the double -folded edge of the paper.

4. cut the flower shape out - this will create TWO flowers because of the double fold.

 5. cut a strip of another kind / color of paper - @ 1" wide and 4" long.

6. fold 1/3 of the strip toward the center, lengthwise.

7. unfold the folded third of the strip, and cut slits into it (creating a thick 'fringe').

8. roll the strip over on itself @ the size of your finger, and glue the rolled portion to the flat portion.

9. continue rolling and glue the end of the strip to the roll to secure it.

 10. fold the fringed ends together and glue into place.

11. then add glue to the outside of that end, and 

12. place the rolled section in the center of the cut-out flower shape, with the glue down. 

press to secure.

Now you have a daffodil!
You can glue this to a magnet or card, or shadowbox frame.

To add a stem and leaves, continue....

13. and 14. from the leftover scraps after cutting out the flower shape,

cut a circle about the size of a quarter.

15. secure the back of the daffodil to a bamboo skewer, using a small piece of masking tape.

16. glue the circle you cut out OVER the masking tape, using the glue stick.

 17. cut a leaf-shaped strip from the leftover paper scraps.

18. push the bamboo skewer 'stem' through the paper leaf.

19. put glue on the leaf and wrap it around the bamboo skewer once.

20. wrap the other end of the leaf around a pen or pencil to give it a curling shape, 

like a real daffodil leaf.

 display and enjoy your paper daffodils!
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Here's another method for making them that should remind you of elementary school:

 when you get to step 5, 

use a cupcake or bonbon paper liner instead of rolled paper for the flower's center!

[ I cut and glued a second circle shape INSIDE the paper cup on this one ]

 using colorful cupcake papers & pages cut from magazines 

results in bright, happy flowers!

Valentine's Day Post Roundup

Looking for sweet and love-ly ideas for February decor?
Check out my

Valentines Day post ROUND-UP!

View ALL of my Valentine's Day posts

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shared online:

2016: yesterday on tuesday | project inspire{d}