Thankful...

I am so disappointed I never finished out my 31 Days series. Life got busy and I never got a chance to get back to it. I have been busy finishing stuff around the house, cleaning out stuff we don't need anymore, and trying to make things look pretty around here.

At this time of year I always have so many things I could share here, but never seem to get the time to do so. So this year I am going to try.

I'll start with a quick recap from Halloween:

Batgirl and Ariel.

Mummy tealight holder. 

 

Jack-o'-lantern.

Here in Texas we have enjoyed the most beautiful Fall this year. We have been here for 12 years, and I think this is the most perfect Fall I have ever seen. The weather has been so perfect - mild for a long time. Usually we go from 100+ degrees, to maybe one week of 70's (if we are lucky), then straight to the 40's, and ice! But we have been so blessed this year with perfect weather and enough time to soak it all in.

And the trees this year have been so spectacular! We always hear how beautiful the autumn colors are up north - ours usually go from green, to orange/yellow for a couple of days, then straight to drab brown. But this year we got to experience the full beauty of Autumn colors - reds, yellows, orange - all so vibrant under the bright blue skies of Texas.

Early Fall - beautiful blue skies and perfect weather.

Spectacular Autumn foliage - this tree just shinned so bright - breathtaking!

So I took the time to prepare my house for this beautiful season.

Antlers seem to be the big thing this Fall season.

So in love with these beautiful Fall flowers.

Side table with Fall colors and the bible from my Mum.

Mantle - antlers are always big around here!

 

 

Sideboard decorated with pumpkins and pinecones.

Look at these beautiful Sunflowers!! GGGGorgeous!!!

Pumpkin wooden bowl - inspired by Jeanne Oliver's Home For The Holidays e-course (SO awesome).

Added a blackboard to the kitchen - I get the top half, the girls get the lower half :)

I have so much more to clean out of this house (it is ridiculous!!). I really want to get it all done so I can relax and fully enjoy this holiday season. Next weekend I want to get all my Christmas stuff down from the attic, so we can start on our Advent calendar/tree. The girls loved doing this last year, so we are really looking forward to it again.

Trying hard to install the true meaning of Christmas without the emphasis being on us, and what we get for Christmas. So far we have put together three shoeboxes for the Operation Christmas Child campaign. We completed one shoebox online, and the other two shoeboxes we did together. We stuffed those shoeboxes so full of love and goodness and our love of Christ - I hope the boxes manage to hold up for their long journey. Trying to explain the process (why we are doing this) to the girls without crying was difficult. They love the idea that they get to make another child so happy this Christmas...and that is what it is all about, right?

Operation Christmas Child - hope our boxes make it intact. They were packed TIGHT!

Well, I have so much more to do...and more to share, but that is all for today otherwise I could go on for hours. Tomorrow I will share our fun family Thanksgiving get-together (we do this the weekend before Thanksgiving, each year) - it is so much fun (although this year it was also FREEZING cold!!).


Until tomorrow...

Thankful for my family, and sweet friends.

Thankful for my warm house, and nutritious meals.

Thankful for the opportunity to live this life to the fullest,

...and to share His love.

Autumn Table Display

So last weekend I got a little busy with my fall decorating and made a few things. I am so excited about Fall this year, maybe because we had such a brutal hot summer, or maybe just because it is my favorite time of year. But, then again, I do love summer too...and, I am really looking forward to winter (to get rid of all these deadly mosquitoes!). No, I think autumn is my favorite...the decorating, revitalization of the spirit, the colors, the temperatures (ahhh.....), the coziness (without the chilled-to-the-bone feeling).

It conjures up pumpkins, and hay rides, soft blankets, sitting by the fire-pit, toasting marshmallows, soft drowsy light, and golden sunsets, the crisp air, and apple orchards. I love those beautiful days when the air is so crisp, the light dances off the amber leaves, and the world just seems a little more radiant, more beautiful than the day before. Those days when His touch is more softer, and sweeter, and your heart fills with love and grace and happiness. Beautiful Autumn!

So to celebrate the season I made a sweet little centerpiece for the table:

I started with lovely supplies from Hobby Lobby - lots of items 40% - 50% off (who shops for anything else if it's not 50% off??). So we have a cute rustic little wooden box, some flowers, a pumpkin, acorns, pine cones, floral foam square, a candle and ribbon.

I cut the floral foam to fit in the box, with the candle.

Then I stuck in some flowers, leaves and berries. I filled in the space around the flowers with dried spanish moss - I bought a big bag for about $2.50 at HL, and it may have even been 50% off!! LOL!

Finished it off with some feathers, a pumpkin (in the center), some little wood acorns, pine cones, and a pretty bow. I could not get the bow to glue onto the box, so I made a hook to hook it onto the side of the box. Very simple, but so pretty! Really, you can do this - just stick them in there, play with them a little to get the balance right, and viola! Little things like the feathers and bow are the perfect accents and really make it something special, so don't forget the little things :)

I think the only thing I might change is the candle - change it to a non-flame one, because I just feel a little uneasy with live flame, plastic foliage, spanish moss, and kids!

Oh, and sorry about the pics - my camera ran out of battery so the iPhone had to suffice!

Next up - the wreath :)

Pretty Pumpkins

Last night I looked at my pumpkins and decided tonight was the night to decorate them. I didn't even care how tired I was, or that it was 11:00pm already. Tonight was it!

However, this "tutorial" isn't much of a tutorial. I really just went ahead and fudged-it. I was going to do a lovely tutorial showing how to use a stencil, etc, etc. Then I looked at the pumpkin, thought about how long this tutorial was going to take me to do, and just decided to free-hand it instead. Sorry! But here is how I did that:

I printed out a fancy "Welcome" from my computer, so I had something to reference. I taped paper on top and on bottom of where I wanted to write, so I had a line reference, so my "word" had some chance of turning out straight. (Apologies for the weird angles, and my legs in the shots, but it was hard to hold the pumpkin any other way and get a good photo).

First, I drew on a basic outline (just with a black permanent marker).

Next, I fleshed out the letters, to give it weight and more flourish.

Then I added a little extra flourish to either side. I literally googled "flourish" to find an example! LOVE Google!!!

For the next pumpkin I copied a little stamp I had just purchased.

And here is the front area with the pumpkins and the mums! Looks like Fall :)

Glad I got motivated and got it done!

Fall Inspiration

After this ridiculously long hot scorching summer I am SO ready for cooler temperatures. So, it is now October 12th - where are they!!???? Well, I should be fair and say the temps have cooled slightly. Today's high will actually only be 88º (F)! Better than 108º - yes! But I am starting to get a little jealous - everywhere on blogland you see beautiful fall displays, pumpkins, and recipes that all entice the "cuddle up and stay indoors" kind-of-feeling, and yet I'm not quite getting that feeling here yet.

So I guess today I've just had enough and will now decorate for Fall, even if the weather is not feeling very Fall-ish.

So onto Pinterest to my "Fall" folder for decisions, decisions, on what to do...

Oh, my, gosh. So sorry about that - kinda of forgot all about you over here! Got on the Pinterest and, well, got a little distracted ;) So Sorry! OK, so here is what I pulled out:

Pumpkins
I am so loving the white pumpkins this year. Don't know why or how, but they look so awesome, don't they? Especially love them contrasting with the fall colors - so pretty.

Source: bhg.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: None via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: radiobutlers.blogspot.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: amyallinaday.blogspot.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: bhg.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: bios.weddingbee.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: midwestliving.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: midwestliving.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

Source: wedding-ideas-guide.com via Kathryn on Pinterest

So many choices that I think I will just decide on front porch area first. I LOVE the BHG front door image (6th image down) so went to Home Depot and purchased some Mums. I also purchased small white pumpkins from Tom Thumb.
I think, since time is kind of running out, I will go for the big orange pumpkin with "Welcome" on it, plus another big one with decorative design, in black, on it. I will also add in smaller pumpkins - white and variegated. Should look pretty :)

I will post pictures in my next post. I had better get busy!