And That's a Wrap!

 I honestly can not believe that my house has been decorated for weeks and I am just now getting around to finishing up our tour. I hope that means that I have been busy and having fun with all of the "things" that I love about this season! Let's go ahead and catch the last of it before I head out of town.

The guest bath is pretty much as it was last year.

Here is where the second of these spider lamps landed. I always used to use these as a pair but broke them up a few years back. We'll see where they land next year.

I made this guy many, many years ago as gifts for family. I truly don't remember how I did it so I'm glad he has held up so well because I probably couldn't do it again. Lol

And the obligatory nod in the primary bath.

So that, my friends, is a wrap on Halloween for this year...as far as decor in my house goes. I will have lots to share of my week to come when I return.

We had a pretty successful weekend around here. Daughter #2 came down for a visit and brought lots of my favorites from "The Fresh Market". I think I've told you that we don't have one here in my town and it is my absolute favorite place to shop for food! I would be broke of we did have one.

The one in Gainesville was a favorite haunt of mine whenever I was up there-which for many years was very often. I would actually find my way there even when I didn't need anything just to wander through the ambiance! And, they DO cater to seasonal things so, of course, I ALWAYS ended up finding something I "needed" that I didn't even realize! Lol

And, grandson #1 had his football game in Vermont this weekend against Norwich-and, luckily, they won quite handedly! The rivalry is often called "the little Army-Navy game" and the winner gets possession of the "mug" trophy for the next year.

Har's defense this week was wonderful-as was the whole line...and, I guess there are no germs in football because those boys drank out of that crusty, old mug! Lol

I'm off to start packing for the next week. Daughter#1 has lots of fun Halloween things planned so I need to gather up some fun outfits. We've been on walking ghost tours through downtown St. Pete before but this year we're going on a trolley so that should be fun. We're going to hit up some of the restaurants down there that do it up big, drop into a few parties hosted by friends, possibly host a small party at her house-time permitting-and, of course, enjoy the CROWDS of people who come to the historic district to trick-or-treat! I will have lots to share when I get home and then it will be time for these cuties to make their appearance. Have a happy Halloween and stay safe and stay tuned.

 

Nearing the Finish Line

 I'm back. I had another fun change of plans come in this morning so my tomorrow just filled up and, since I will be out of town very soon, today seems the perfect time to take you into the family room before time is gone! I made a number of changes in this room this year but I wasn't entirely happy with them and my plan had been to go back and tweak....but, as seems to happen so often this time of year time got away from me and it really is silly to take everything apart and rebuild now. My plan currently stands at trying to remember what I didn't like and figure it out next year. Lol

This cross stitch witch used to be in the living room but I brought her here this year and also brought in the witch candle holder-which is hard to see in this picture. In my younger years I was obsessed with cross stitch . Back then we had a number of nice stores that catered to needlework and holiday designs were abundant! I was SO busy back then that I'm really not sure where I found the time but I do remember it being very calming to me and I think if I was sitting still, I probably had a hoop and needle in my hands.

I bought this "pumpkin man" centerpiece many years ago at a favorite shop down in Indian Rocks Beach. Daughter #1 and I made a trip there every time I was visiting her. It was chock full of home decor and holiday/seasonal delights. The owner was a flower arranger so many of the things included florals and were one of a kind. I was so sorry to see the shop close when the owner decided it was time to retire and no one else took it over. This guy used to be in the living room but since this room seemed to take on more of the vintage vibe while the living room went to solely witches and Poe, he moved in here to join the other pumpkin men

.

So this area was my biggest mistake this year. I haven't liked the garlands on the Halloween mantel for several years so I think I told you when I saw this droopy black garland from "My Texas House", I snatched it right up. And I was excited to get it hung. Hanging things on this mantel is a challenge-especially when these VERY fragile Mercury lights are involved. I swear they break if you just look at them. Lol

In any case, after a good bit of time-and probably a few not so nice words-I got everything up there and situated where nothing was going to fall when I stepped back and realized that I just didn't like it. The mantel itself is too dark for this garland. If it was white or anything lighter, I think I would love it...but just not now.

And it was with that in mind that I grabbed yet another of these garlands. My brilliant idea is to use these two across the outside of the front window. That window is larger and there won't be quite as much hanging down-not to mention that the garland that is currently there has just seen better days and sheds more needles during every breeze than it still has on its branches.

That would leave me one garland for here that could go along the top of the mantel and my plan was to add black creepy cloth hanging over the lights.

Definitely NOT going to happen this year. Lol

This was my next faux pas. I love the droopy wreath and thought it would look cute over the round mirror with the vintage cat sign I made last year nestled in...and it is OK but, just OK. I'm not sure if maybe a string of battery powered fairy lights would help? Oh well, at this point I now have a whole year to think about that. LOL

I love this pumpkin. I bought him at Williams inside Lunch on Limoges down in Dade City many, many years ago. It was literally the FIRST faux pumpkin I had ever seen-and, quite honestly one of the most realistic still. This was way before any other stores were selling these things. It was not inexpensive but it is so realistic and I have used it in my decor for three months a year ever since!!

I put the clock that I found at Grandin Road here in the corner this year instead of on the mantel and I actually haven't even put any batteries in it yet. Without any little ones around any more the "scary noises" aren't quite as desired...in fact, they can get get annoying when I'm the only one here getting scared. LOL 

This cutie found its way out here this year.

I still love this guy too. He was a knock off that I made after seeing one just like it in the Grandin Road Halloween catalog and knowing I could reproduce it for much less than the well over $200 they were asking! 

My grandchildren always came to our house for a weekend before almost every holiday during the year. It gave their parents a chance to have a weekend "off" and gave the cousins a chance to truly bond and be more like siblings-not to mention the quality time that Nana and Papa adored!!

We filled the weekends with crafting, cooking, baking, games, movies, etc. all geared to that month's theme. And one of the things we always tried to do was make something that could be given as gifts to the family and if it was something that held a photo, all the better. I think we made one of these stacked block holders for more than one holiday.

 I love how this picture of granddaughter #5 so closely resembles the little girl on the holder. 

And this is an all-time favorite. We shaped the witch hat out of black air-dry clay and once it was dry, we embellished it. It was so simple yet all of the recipients loved it!

That is pretty much the family room. I especially love being in this room at night once all of the candles click on.

That's it for today. Daughter #2 is coming to spend the day tomorrow so I want to get a few things done before then. I think we might just have a few more stops on our tour for this year so I will be back before I head out of town. Stay safe and stay tuned.

Horns of a Dilemma

I was truly on the horns of a dilemma this morning-caught between two things that I love to do! I love to garden (in the correct weather) and I love to craft. Our weather is absolutely beautiful and the perfect day to spend in the garden BUT, I had started the turkey pillow yesterday and I really wanted to see it through! In the end, the pillow won but I do have all of my windows open again and we have a beautiful breeze blowing so I am kind of getting the best of both worlds!

Since I was OK with how yesterday ended with the turkey, today was mostly about assembly. I did decide to draw a black outline around the pieces to remind me where to sew but also to cover my stitches just in case they weren't perfect-more about that in a minute.

I did forget that I needed to make the "year" patch for the corner of the pillow so out came my stamps and ink. After stamping and cutting it out, it too got a marker outline. 

Next I wanted to add the two stripes and I went ahead with my original idea of using a Sharpie marker. If that didn't work I could have pulled out a brush and painted over it but because these lines were thin, a brush on this nubby fabric would be hard to control. A lot of the decisions I made were mainly because of the drop cloth texture. If this was a different fabric, I might have done things differently but I like the rustic feel of this and I am good with its quirks! Lol

I was happy to have the lines there for guidance. When sewing a straight line, this was "easy peasy" but once the turns came into play-and because of the ease of raveling-much of the sewing was slow and a bit stop-&-go so not perfectly in line. And that is where the marker lines helped because when I was totally done with the sewing, if there was any deviance between my stitches and the marker line, I could just easily give it a little fill-in with a bit more marker. I guess I could have sewn everything first and then just gone over it with the marker but, quite honestly, that thought just came to me. Lol

I had originally planned to do a French knot for his eye and embroider on the feet with black embroidery thread but since I drew the stripes, I decided to just draw in these details as well...and I am good with them. Now it is a simple matter of just cutting the two back pieces and sewing the envelope style pillow cover together and stuffing it with one of my many, many pillow inserts.

And, voila! He is done. The only pillow insert I have not already in use right now was one from PB and it may be a tad too large as he is bursting at the seams so as soon as I empty some Halloween pillows I think I can find one a little more fitting.

In any case, I think I like him even though he gave me a bit of a run for my money!

I think I'm off on a few errands tomorrow and not sure what the weekend holds but I definitely need to get back to finish our tour before I head off next week. I HONESTLY DON'T know where my favorite season is going! Stay safe and stay tuned.

But wait, there's more! Lol As I was looking at the last picture I decided that I really didn't like the date tag being the same color as the background of the pillow so I gave it a very light dusting of "vintage photo" distressing ink and I'm hoping it doesn't rub off. Fingers crossed but I like that it stands out a bit more now and kind of balances the large blob of color that is the turkey. LOL.