Less Is More

So, yesterday was the day I had been waiting for for so long - autumn decorating day! After I got out all of the containers of autumn "stuff" and remembered all of the other places I had "stored" things, I took a good long look and decided this was the year that I would show some restraint. I would not use everything I owned. Of course, that only lasted a few hours as I began digging through my "old friends" and realizing that I couldn't really exclude anything without hurt feelings - mine, not theirs.


I always take pictures of my seasonal decorating to use as a starting point for the following year - and also to save countless minutes of me walking around trying to decide just the right place for this particular acorn. That being said, I am always adding new purchases or craft projects, so things do end up getting moved and tweaked a bit.


My best new friend this year is the squirrel download from Graphics Fairy. I bought several boxes of faux acorns at Kohls when Indian Summer items first appeared. I also picked up a metal acorn pot with candle inside. That kind of set the theme and when I saw this download, I knew right where I was going with it. And, to make matters even easier, the next day they showed a completed project using the download. Exactly what I would have done if I had thought of it myself!. So, no brain cells were lost in the completion of this project and I love it! I just copied the picture, distressed it a bit and tied it on some pages from an old book with twine. I then propped it (because I apparently packed away my flower "frog" with Valentine's stuff and don't have the energy to go find it) up and added some autumn leaves and acorns. I love the cloches and apothecary jars and have many but sometimes I am at a loss as to how to fill them - you will see what I mean when I show you the dining room. I'm hoping some inspiration comes before I have to show that to you!


It is very obvious who my favorites are - I use them in places of prominence every year - the sunflower arrangement in the LR (bought at Julies in Indian Rocks Beach. Have a trip planned there in a few weeks and can't wait to see what she has this year!), the papier mache' pumpkin that I made many years ago (I saw one in a VERY pricey catalog and knew I couldn't replicate it because of the beautiful, velvet grapes. Lo and behold, I was in a little shop somewhere, and there were the grapes. They weren't cheap themselves, but I just bought a paper pumpkin at Michaels, painted and antiqued it and embellished with ribbons and the grapes. It really looks almost exactly the same, but cost SOOOOO much less. I don't think it would have worked with just plain, plastic grapes, so I'm thankful), my large candleholders from "The Barn", my glitter pumpkins that my grandchildren and I made last year and the beady candleholder I found at Z Gallerie a few years ago.


I also noticed another theme, but it doesn't surprise me. I love Rust. The older, the better! And, I will pay lots of money for things that look old and beaten - go figure! My husband always asks "how much did they pay you to take that off their hands?" After all these years, he knows me. Sometimes in this very chaotic world, it is the little things that matter and if it is not being with family, I will take my peace from a lovely, rusty anything!


So that is the living room. I still may add or move a thing or two, but it is the most "visitor ready" room in the house. When I finish with this, I am heading back to the dining room to try and finish my Halloween crafts so I can photograph that room soon. The table is still piled high, but that didn't stop me ! No way !! I just decorated around the mess - quite a sight to behold!