If you enjoyed the handmade paper mache (or papier-mâché) mushrooms featured in my last post, Paper Mache Mushrooms, here are DIY step-by-step directions to make your own!
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Even after Halloween is long over, I cannot bear to throw away my beloved pumpkins. Here, I've repurposed them for the holidays. By marbleizing the pumpkins with silver metallic paint, I've transformed them into shimmering jewels fit for November and even December. Gold, bronze, and other similar tones would be beautiful as well. DIY using step-by-step directions below!
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This time of year, autumn leaves and branches are bountiful on sidewalks and in parks. And when nature provides such beautiful displays, it's hard to "leaf" them behind!"** In addition to the falling leaves hanging from my chandelier (please see my last post: Falling Leaves), these easy-to-make leaf bouquets are displayed on my entrance tables, dining tables, and mantles.
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When I saw autumnal leaves fluttering and falling to earth at a nearby park, I knew that some of them must be brought back with me for a home decor project. I decided to hang them from my chandelier and recapture their fluttering fall -- it's natural, glamourous, and so easy to do!
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Continue on my haunted house tour, and you'll see the brave souls who dared to enter...
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Welcome to my Spooky-Glam Halloween Party!
Join me for a tour of my haunted house before the guests arrive...
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Everyday household items can become gloriously spooky with a little Halloween imagination. A fireplace screen can turn into a haunted gate using swags of Spanish Moss.
Old books, glass vases, and a decanter can transform into a delightful potion project vignette. A black crock pot becomes a witch's cauldron! Hauntify your house, and you'll haunt your guests for sure!
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Halloween is drawing near, and what's Halloween without a few skeletons? You can find beautiful paper mache skeletons in arts and crafts markets, clay skeleton heads glowing from a candle within, or even create your own! Arrange them to sit on your mantle, glow on a foyer table, or wait on the front porch to greet trick-or-treaters -- they'll be happily spooked for sure.
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A jack-o-lantern galaxy is as magical and beautiful as Halloween can get. These gorgeous carved pumpkins were created by Linda Riddle, an amazingly talented artist who lives in Pacific Grove, CA. She covers her front yard with smiling suns and moons; stars near and far. The result is a glorious galaxy of light. I’m in awe of Linda’s work and inspired to *attempt* to make a jack-o-lantern galaxy of my own!
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Creating your own paper bats for Halloween isn't only a fun craft project; it's a personal touch to your home that can be used for many Halloweens to come. I love all sorts of bats...the bold, the beautiful, the crazy, and the silly. So adults and children alike, make some bats for your home and let your Halloween spirit fly!
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Fall doesn’t feel like fall until the pumpkins arrive! From a trip to the pumpkin patch to pumpkin decor, pumpkins bring fun and beauty to any home this time of year. I love velvet pumpkins, pumpkins with long, curly stems, and pumpkins with unusual colors. Find your favorites, create pumpkin vignettes for your home, and celebrate the autumn season!
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A floral arrangement can freshen any room and brighten anyone’s day, but the uniqueness of its vessel can turn an ordinary arrangement into an extraordinary one. A unique vase can do it all: display a lovely bouquet of roses, present a bleached manzanita branch in a dramatic fashion, or stand alone as a piece of artwork on a mantle or foyer table. When it comes to vases, choose the special vessel.
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Mirrors are magic for home decor: they brighten, enlarge, and beautify spaces in the home. Country Garden Antiques, in Dallas, Texas, is one of my favorite antique stores I’ve ever found. Gina and Alan Galichia, the owners, have the most beautiful mirrors for sale, from Venetian, to French Gilt, to etched and beveled antique. Here are some favorites from my last visit and some treasures I couldn’t leave behind.
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Summer may be waning, but enjoying the outdoors isn’t over yet. To make the most of these final summer afternoons, bring a pitcher of your favorite cool beverage outside and serve in pretty clear glasses. Pair with a refreshing watermelon salad sprinkled with feta cheese, mint, olive oil and vinegar. Stay until the sun sets. Come wintertime, you’ll be glad you did.
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Who doesn’t love a friendly frog in their garden? Tucked away in greenery, vintage frogs bring humor and magic into the garden in an unexpected way. Their muted greens, grays, blues, and browns are a perfect camouflage for their surroundings, keeping ornamentation in the garden subtle but enchanting. If you happen to spot one, your day will be lucky for sure.
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Nature photography is a lovely way to let the outdoors in to your home — without the dirt or bugs! Although I like to keep neutral color photographs in my home for most of the year, I know that different seasons and holidays will bring changes in whims and moods. That’s when I bring in the bold colored nature photography. By temporarily replacing the neutral, every day photos with vibrant yellows in the summer, soft pinks in the spring, bold blues in the winter, or glowy oranges in the fall, I can keep my nest feeling fresh, seasonal, and beautiful.
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Because of my passion for nature and bringing the outdoors indoors, I love to photograph a variety of natural items to display throughout the home. Photographing and enlarging images of small objects, such as leaves, shells, flowers, and nests, can give a modern, sophisticated edge to your decor. Using neutral colors, such as black & white, sepia, and earth tones, these photographs are perfect for every day, all year round.
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What’s not to love about succulents? They range in color from dusty blue to glossy black, have an unearthly aesthetic, and are impossibly easy to care for. Not only are they lovely outdoors, but bring them inside and you have a natural, structural element to admire in your home.
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Wisteria, ivy, and agave are what make this Italian garden in Lake Como so spectacular — oh, and let’s not forget the view. On a recent trip to Italy, we walked around this garden all day, and I couldn’t bring myself to leave until a torrential downpour forced me out. The wisteria were especially stunning — we had arrived within the two week window when they bloomed in this area, filling the air with their grape-juice aroma. I came back with dreams of covering my home in ivy, growing agaves that are larger and taller than any human, and seeing purple blossoms of wisteria cascade from every wall. Procure that view and I’m all set.
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