A Simple Fall-Infused Entry

Hello, Friends!  How is your Fall so far?  I hope well.  

Every year as we inch closer to Thanksgiving (likely a favorite holiday, second only to Christmas), I begin vigorously preparing for visiting guests.  I usually start the whole exhausting process about two weeks beforehand.  Call me daffy, but I actually really enjoy having everyone gather at my house for the festivities.  It is stressful, but so worth it!!  We have so much fun!  Sharing food, laughter, thankfulness, reverence, and of course, ending the night with lots and lots of karaoke as a family is pretty much the norm every holiday.   What are your traditions during the holidays?

In honor of the forthcoming holiday, today's post will feature how to create simple welcoming porch décor fit for Thanksgiving. I do hope you enjoy the post!  

I love to have my home look as best as possible when guests visit; this is especially true for the holidays, so I add fresh mulch if the old is faded.  This is part of my 'wintering' the garden which I spoke of earlier this week. 

I began with my little rustic cart.  I usually place this little fellow in the planter, but because I am incorporating fresh fruit along with both fresh and faux flowers, I feel this location will better protect the arrangement from the sun (we are still in the upper eighties and low nineties here in CA, yikes!!).  We don't typically use the left side of my double doors, unless furniture or a Christmas tree is coming inside, and it remains locked most of the time, so I thought it looked like a good spot.  

Inside the cart, I created two platforms by using floral decorating foam and an old pot placed upside down.

 

I just love these cuties in their adorable bushel baskets!!

 

The larger plant went onto the floral foam in the upper right-hand corner, and the smaller went into the lower right.

I picked up a few various cucurbita (latin for gourds),

one being fairly larger than the others, which I set on the upside-down pot.

Behind the larger pumpkin, I stacked a few smaller ones to create a platform, and lastly, for a bit of contrasting color, a dark green squash.

 

A couple of faux Fall foliage sprays

were placed inside,

followed by some darker ones, also faux.  

Shown here....adding a bit of drama.

The leftover pumpkins were set in a small stack at the foot of the cart.

Lastly, I added a festive bow.  I threaded wired burlap ribbon,

along with a rusty red grosgrain through the front of the cart, and tied it. 

All set for entertaining this Thanksgiving!!  So easy!  If only the clean-up after the meal were this simple!!!!  :))

A few more shots.....

Closeup.....

And a few with soft light (pretend fog?)....Well, I can pretend we have real Fall weather until it actually arrives!!  :)

Where to buy:

Cart, local florist 

Faux sprays 50% off at Big Lots

All gourds, darker faux flowers, and real flowers, local grocer

Burlap ribbon, Wal-mart

Rust-red ribbon, The Dollar Tree

Have a beautiful weekend!! 

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

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Thank you for stopping by! ❤

 

Preparing A Wood Door For Cooler Weather

Hello, friends!!  Thank you so much for stopping by!

As cooler temperatures arrive, I try (try being the operative word, ha!) to perform tasks specific to the season.  This includes what I like to call 'winter cleaning.'  Winter cleaning means downsizing by getting rid of things we don't need ( or donating to them charity), wintering the garden, and other (sometimes mundane) tasks.

I usually treat my front door with orange oil to keep up its sheen and health...however, we've lived here a few years now, and the door is definitely beginning to show its age!!  I decided I should give her a quick spruce up just in time for the holidays. 

I used Cabot Premium Wood Finish I picked up from the local Lowe's.  The color is called Aged Leather.  What I adore about it is that it includes a sealer, which made the task soooo simple.

After freeing the door of any debris, and a super-quick hand sanding, I simply painted a coat of stain using a light stroke.

Here is a peek of one side which is almost complete and the side which is untreated.  Quite a difference, no?

 

Here is the final result.  It reminds me of why I fell in love with this door in the first place!!  The stain I chose also had a satin finish, so there is a slight sheen, which I adore.  This also reminds me of how the door looks right after I treat it with orange oil.   This stain is indicated for typical use indoors and on bare wood, and not over lacquer or shellac.  I am not sure what kind of finish was on the door before, so we will see how well this holds up....fingers are crossed!  If there are adverse effects, I will let you know.... please stay tuned!

Thank you for stopping in, have a wonderful week!!

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤

 

Set Your Table With Flair--Mourning Tea for One

Hello, friends!  Welcome, and thank you so much for visiting today!

It is witching hour, the time is near;

All spooks, ghosts, and goblins will soon be here.

Halloween is close, my very dear friends.....

The night during which nightmares ne'er end.

In light of the season, this post will be shared;

 

my mourning tea for one, so please don't be scared.

Here's to wishing you a spooktacular season, have loads of good fun; there need be no reason!  

From my collection:

Vintage Teapot, Oneida Wm. Rogers & Son Collection
Teacup, Royal Albert Masquerade Black Footed
Charger, generic; Bed, Bath, and Beyond
Tablecloth, generic, Target
Faux black Dahlia, Michael's Crafts
Grey doily, yours truly, tutorial here

poem, yours truly

Have a wonderful Holiday!

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤

 

 

Set Your Table With Flair--A Bootastic Burton Halloween

Hello, friends!!  Thank you so much for popping into my little corner of blogland!  I do adore celebrating holidays, don't you?  In just over a week, it will be Halloween, whoo-hoo!  Today, I wanted to share one last tablescape indicative of the spooktacular season.

I'll begin by stating I am a child of the 80's, and that I was a fan of director Tim Burton before I knew who he was.  I knew his work then mostly because of my adoration at the time of the film PeeWee's Big Adventure.  Later, I grew to love Beetlejuice, The Nightmare Before Christmas, 9, Edward Scissorhands, Batman, and many, many others. 

Mr. Burton may have started as having only a cult following, but as a result of the Henry Selick's ingenious stop-motion animation interpretation of Burton's brilliant The Nightmare Before Christmas, at long last, he is recognized for the amazing creative he is.  It might also be attributed to when he decided to align himself with the company of another brilliant mind and innovator, Walt Disney.  In honor of Mr. Burton, that wacky and wonderful wizard of wicked whimsy, that master of magical macabre, I have set this table as a sort of homage.  I hope you enjoy the post.

I began the setting with a striped tablecloth.  If you are a Burton fan, you know that stripes are a recurring theme in several of his films.

For a spooky element, I added some black netting to the chandelier.

As a centerpiece, I placed my pre-made Mr. Pumpkinhead.

 

Mr. Pumpkinhead reminds me of the bevy of pumpkins AND Jack Skellington before his transformation, all of whom appear in the opening credits of A Nightmare Before Christmas.  Sitting in a coffin (creepy!) atop of throne of skulls indicative of those in Tim Burton's Corpse Bride.

Here is a glimpse of Mr. Burton's exhibit at MOMA NYC (Museum of Modern Art) which ended in April 2009.  Do you see the similiarities?  If you'd like to see more of the exhibit, you may visit the article in the Los Angeles Times here.

 

To view the tutorial about how I made this spooky centerpiece, you may do so by visiting the post on my blog The Crafting Table here. 

At either side of the table, large buttons were placed, reminiscent of the button eyes in Henry Selick's Coraline.  As mentioned, Henry Selick was a director and collaborator on both Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, so I enjoyed this film which had a similar style.   I have been a fan of his since I first saw his animated short Slow Bob In the Lower Dimensions which was featured on MTV's Liquid Television ages ago when I was still in my teens!!

The Other Mother

Closer look.  These were simple room décor hangers I spray painted black.

In two of the button holes of each button, I placed some spooky "trees," as seen in many Burton films.

These were small branches I also spray-painted black.

On either side of the centerpiece, I set skull candle holders with black tapers.

In front of those, I set a pair of my striped Mackenzie-Childs-inspired candles.

To view the tutorial to make these fun candles, visit the post on The Crafting Table here. 

Alternating web placemats

were followed by alternating silver chargers.

Where there were silver chargers, I placed web placemats....

and where there were web placemats, I placed black chargers.

On each silver charger, I set clear plates.

Closeup.

On each black charger, I set white plates.

Closeup.

The white plates were followed by dark saucers,

and the clear plates were followed by white saucers.

At each setting where there was a white saucer and silver charger, I set black napkins folded length-wise.

At each setting where there was a black saucer and black charger, I set white napkins folded length-wise.

At each setting, a small gift box in stripes (of course!) adorned with a bat nametag indicative of the Burton film Batman starring Michael Keaton.

 Aren't these quirky-cool?  To view the tutorial, you may visit the post on the crafting table here.

Finally, I set a simple flute and black tumbler at each setting.

All set! 

Here is a closeup of each setting.  Silver charger setting.

Black Charger setting.

A few more shots.....

Here's wishing you a safe, fun, and happy Halloween!!

From my collection:

Striped "tablecloth," blanket from Ikea

Silver chargers, generic

Black chargers, generic

White plates and saucers, Ralph Lauren Whipstitch Collection

Dark saucers, generic

Clear plates, generic

Spider web placemats, The Dollar Tree

Skull candle holders, The 99¢ Store

Linen napkins, both, generic, HomeGoods

Spooky cloth, The Dollar Tree

Large button wall art, Hobby Lobby

Stemware and tumblers, generic

Also, a sidebar; if you are interested in the bench featured here in this post, it is handmade, and you may visit the tutorial to build my DIY highback bench by looking in the archives or clicking here.  Thank you!

If you enjoy this post, please visit the archives!  You may also visit my full profile to view my other blogs. Connect with me on my Facebook Page, Parsimonious Décor Darling.   You might like to visit my other blog hubs,

The Marvelous Maison, a lifestyle blog hub and 

Frugal Fab Fashionista, my fashion blog hub. 

Follow me on Pinterest!!  Please be sure to kindly follow the board guidelines, as it takes time and effort to find fabulous pins across the Internet and Pinterest!  Thank you!  

Thank you for stopping by! ❤