My Everything Corner

I've got our home into full Christmas swing. I've really enjoyed making Christmas cards and they are on their way.  Next is to wrap the gifts and then into the kitchen for my favourite part, the baking!     I love this tree more every year.  It took me over 4 hours to put it together and I had help putting the lights into it this time.  There are so many memories in its branches, and we add more every year.   I can hardly wait until school is out for the year, and I can cuddle up with my family for Christmas movies and games. Even when we are all off in our separate corners doing our own things, I love the feeling a full house gives me.   This picture was taken just before sunrise.  Every morning, this time of year, I am so lucky to have a fantastic view.  

Yesterday, I noticed the leaves on the pumpkin vines wilting.  I really thought I was done watering this year, and if frost looked to be imminent, I would be.  But instead, it looks like we're in for a heat wave. This is very good news for the underdeveloped pumpkins.   Actually, I didn't think there was all that much on those vines.  But the wilted leaves revealed that there is plenty of treasure to be had.  So I was watering last night and early this morning and I'll be out there again this evening giving everyone a good dose. Those leaves perked up almost immediately!   During the hot parts of the day though, there is time for some crafting and decorating.  The fabric pumpkins below are especially dear to me.  They are made from a worn loved one's sweater.  The stems are dried from last year's pumpkin crop and I just love the acorn dangle. The other is just a bit of décor.  I have so much fun decorating this hutch for every s...

My friends, family and neighbors have all let me down.  Many a pumpkin was offered, and very few have left my yard.  Even my pumpkin thieving, (loving) sister didn't take very many this year.  All in all, I was only able to give away around 20.  When there are nearly 500, 20 does not make a dent.  So, I set to work painting and carving the ripe ones.  The kids and the husband carved a few each. The green ones have been used as props for the orange guys.  Even if more had turned orange in time for Halloween, I'm sure they still would have been used in the same way. On the deck and in front of the house, there are just over 300 pumpkins.  That is not counting ornamental gourds of which there were around 200, and they are scattered here and there.  I had a fantastic gourd patch this year.  There were so many different types, I never knew what I was going to find when I went out to pick a few. You know what I really love about m...

A little freshening up, a bunny here and there, my little birds placed front and center and besides the goodies, that pretty much sums up how I decorate for Easter.  Subtly.  I would like to add a bit here and there as I find the time to get crafty and make a few things.  But here it is for now -  I love the look of this carved bunny.  He fits in all year round, but has a place now where he'll get noticed. Those are all real eggs.  I'm sure that wee bird is wondering who produced that giant one.  Actually, it is a dwarf chicken egg.  The wee blue ones?  I'm not too sure, but I accidentally knocked down a little nest last year while mowing, and the mama never came back.  Temperamental little things.  This is a vintage creamer from the Bunnykins collection.  I look for more pieces to add, but I never find any.  This one was a gift to my children from their Great Aunt.  She asked me to put it out every...

The Christmas clean up didn't go as smoothly as it does every other year.  Frank put up a fight.  The look on his face when I said it was time to get packed up until next year, was one of pure confusion. I explained to him how seasonal decorations worked and he went on and on about how I could be so insensitive and prejudice over a bit of attire. "If I hadn't been wearing a red and white striped toque with a sweet, little, matching bow tie, I'll bet you would easily consider keeping me out year round.   You are far too hung up on the color thing. Look around, your home could use a little pop of color; all beiges, browns and grays.  Someone might think you're depressed. I know I'll be depressed if you shove me in box for the nicest part of the year.  If I agree to stay in here, I'll never get to see the leaves, the green grass, feel the warmth from the sun. But go ahead, I'm obviously powerless to stop you.  If you're comfortable being a bully, ...

Here are a few photos I had fun gathering a couple of days ago.  It all started with that mushroom, and since I already had the camera outside, I thought that I may as well take a stroll with it. This is a Shaggy Mane that has almost reached the end of it's life.  It comes out of the ground as a tight, white dome, and that is when it is good for eating.  Then it quickly unfurls and it will only look like this for another few hours before it's top flips up, blackening it completely.    A pretty little feathery foxtail made for a nice contrast against the grass. Our wild roses are the only thing that add a bit of red to our wild landscape. Looking outside, I can't believe how many leaves have fallen since I took this photo 2 days ago. A view from our yard into my neighbors hay field.  Bear and I walk there sometimes.  It is nice, because I don't have to leash him there and it adds 1/2 mile one way. A close-up of...

Over the years, I've always admired any fall display with cotton in it.  I've seen it worked into wreaths, put into vases, and used as a bowl filler.  But alas, I do not have access to cotton plants.  What I do have though, are thistles and plenty of them.    I'm not sure why it took me this long to figure out that they have a similar looking texture to cotton, but yesterday it struck me.  Unfortunately, the little seed heads are too delicate to work into a wreath, but they stay put in a vase.    I used a few dead branches from an old caragana shrub, (I like the texture) to give the arrangement a focal point.  Then, I just went around snipping the seed heads into the vase, and Voila!, I've brought some of the Autumn beauty into my home.   I noticed a few other interesting seed heads forming out there.  I will have to start carrying my snippers around with me on all my strolls.   They look so pretty in the morn...

I'm having a wonderful day.  The kids woke up happy and trotted off to school; the husband left for the field to get back into the harvest after the rain on the weekend and it froze again last night, thus truly putting an end to the majority of my gardens and answering the question of what I should I clean up next. Yes, frost is a good thing, as I will get all my yard work done easily now before the snow flies.  Also, I noticed on my last 2 strolls around the country side that the mosquito population has significantly dropped, so now building a campfire is a much more welcomed thought. The fall décor is out, the pumpkins are off the vine and the kids are talking about their Halloween costumes; I so love this time of year.  Oh, and I didn't mention that I had fresh bread for breakfast and a quiet cup of tea, (London Fog, my favorite).  Not a bad way to start the day at all. Now maybe I should throw in a few photos, just for something pretty to l...

Do you have anything in your home that you just truly enjoy walking by everyday?  I have several of these things, and I'd like to share a few with you now. The first one is a garage sale find.  It looks like a high-end boutique item, but it is much better.  An original oil painting bought off the streets in Paris from the artist by a couple on their honeymoon over 30 years ago.  It was rolled up in their closet for so long, they decided it was time to get rid of it.  That's where I came in, handed them $5 and walked away feeling elated and a bit like a thief.  The framing was done by a friend who needed her greenhouse taken care of while she was away.  So in exchange for my services, she framed my wonderful painting.  I love it's texture, colors, content, everything.  I could decorate an entire room around this painting.   The next piece is an antique replica, very French country.  It's near the dining room table and holds ...

Of course, you never know what you're going to come across at the thrift shop.  Someone must have decided to downsize their napkin ring collection, and I was the lucky one.  The first set is wooden and so of course will casually go with just about anything.  I couldn't find a napkin or tablecloth that these clashed with.  There are 8 of them. The next set is brass, and they have that nice, vintage burnished look.  Maybe not quite as flexible as the wooden set, definitely more formal, but they go with a lot of the linens I own.  There are 6 of these. The last set is unique, wooden and a dark burgundy in color.  I originally pictured them as a Christmas table adornment, but as I was going through my stash of linens, I was surprised to find how nice they looked in an Autumn montage.  This is a set of 8 as well. I just love napkin rings, they add that touch of class to any table, and they have a way of saying, "I put some thought into this...

I spend so much of my time searching the internet, especially blogs, for creative, decorative ideas that I forget to share some of the things I've done in my home.  I always feature the holiday decorations, but rarely the everyday things.  I know it's a dark photo, but that is the only time I have this little feature lit, when the room is dim, usually during a movie. The large bowl/plate, about a foot and a half across, was a steal of a deal at $2 from our local thrift store.  It is wooden and the color is a gorgeous red.  I've collected some very interesting dried botanicals, and the lights were a Boxing week deal that set me back an entire $3.  They are battery operated LEDs inside various sizes of rattan globes and their regular price was $14.  The nicest thing about this strand is the wire, it is very thin, and translucent, virtually unnoticeable amongst the botanicals.  It even looks great during the day w...

I've really enjoyed decorating for Halloween this year.  Plenty of pumpkins again, no snow, and a fantastic new marker to work with.  What more could you ask for?  Now for picture overload.  Enjoy, and have an awesome Halloween! An adorable cluster of Halloweenery. Did this last year.  Loved it.  Did it again.  A witch needs her apothecary. Thank-you to my baby sister for growing 2 of the most adorable little gourds.  And then giving them to me!  Cuz she loves me. Pumpkin carving in the shop = much easier clean-up.  Yeah! A dry run of my Daughter's wolf costume.  Not bad for my first time. That marker went a long way... Favorite pumpkin face.  Ever. 3 dimensional cookies?  Why not? New this year is the bat weathervane.  Love it. Nothing says Halloween like dead flowers? Night... Ha Ha wind!  In your face.  No candles to blow out this year! And here we are al...