Decorating.....First Day of Fall

First day of fall this year was September 21. In preparation for the big day, I actually put out my fall decorations the weekend before. I think everyone appreciates the beautiful colors of fall. I sure miss seeing the fall foliage where the leaves turn from green to yellow to orange. Growing up in W.VA it signified that winter would soon be upon us. The mountain forest was just gorgeous most years and were much talked about as the leaves began to turn. Speculation, mostly about how certain fall indicators would predict the harshness of winter. If you believed in those sort of things....speculation along with what the Old Farmer's Almanac had predicted was what most people went by.

There have been some pretty falls here in Wilmington, mostly because of those who have maple and oak trees planted. Maples can be pretty showy in the fall and depending on the type, can really add that wow factor to a landscape. There's a house over on Hawthorne Ave., off Oleander that has a beautiful large Japanese Maple tree that is to die for. As slow as those trees grow, I would fathom a guess that it was probably planted shortly after that house was built in the 70's maybe? It turns a beautiful yellow orange and it just lights up the their yard. I have a red maple whose leaves do turn the reddish yellow in the fall, but it is still small and just doesn't show off yet. But it will someday!

So, now it's your turn to get out your fall decorations and get in the spirit! It will do wonders for your soul and maybe take you down memory lane as you reminisce about your favorite fall memories!

Happy Fall!!

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Matchy Matchy with Martha

Cute little "wedding" gift thank you notes I made for one the girls at work.

The Kraft brown note cards I purchased from Michael's last week were only $2.50. However, there were only 8 blank cards and envelopes and I needed at least 16. So, off I went to Michael's again. Of course, they didn't have any more of the Kraft brown ones. So, while browsing the Martha Stewart section, lo and behold, a bunch of her note card sets had been reduced! The eyelet white cards were marked down to @2.99. They were originally $10.00, of which I would have never paid full price for, but on sale is a different thing. They are darling! Only wish they had had more! Made from top quality paper, they are very nice indeed. I ended up using the "Martha" colors on them and wow..I think they turned out so pretty. I also used small pearls to use as the center of each flower and placed the colored strip behind the flowers to accent them. The paper I used on the brown Kraft came from my stash. This paper has given me a a lot of trouble idea wise. It had large flowers which I couldn't figure out how to cut, so I could utilize most of the paper. In the end I just measured, cut and glued them on cards. Then I analyzed where to best place the scalloped embellishment. I love how they turned out as well. The brown ribbon I used on them was on sale for a $1. It just tied up so nice. I will definitely be buying more of it in different colors. The two sets compliment each other with similar colors. S0, this little matchy, matchy set will be going to it's owner on Monday. I think she'll be really pleased!

On another note, I sure have gotten my money's worth out of the punches I have used on all the note card sets. While all the cards are very similar, the recipients don't know each other, so they'll never know a "like" set exists out there. I am using up my stash of paper that was accumulating in my storage cabinet. Pairing down has been my goal and I am whittling away slowly but surely....and that is a good thing!

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Playing with stamps

I recently got a set of clear rubber stamps and the opportunity to use them came up last weekend. Two of the younger nurses I work with will be having their babies at the end of this month and first of Oct. So, of course I had to make them a set of "Baby Thank-you cards".

I simplified the production this time. I decided to keep the cards very similar which allowed me to mass produce them in a more timely fashion. However, it still took me a couple of hours to complete. But, they turned out sooo cute!!

I loved the orange and yellow ones the best, but all the color combos are sweet. One set for a girl and one for a little boy.

I lucked up and found 2 sets of envelopes marked down at Michael's for $2.50 so I scarfed them both up. That saved me quite a bit of time by not having to make them. They were just the right color and I even found I had matching solid paper already here at the house. Paired with scraps from other projects(and you'll recognize the prints)they were perfect matches.

So, here they are!

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Forgotten Daylily

I completely forgot to post this little beauty when she bloomed. For the last 5 yrs this plant has lived in a landscaping pot. Almost killing it was a monthly occurrence, because most weeks I forgot to water it.

I finally planted it in the ground in the spring. It produced a lot of blooms this year, all perfect and a beautiful shade of orange. Besides lantana, I can't think of a hardier species.

I divided the main plant into 3 smaller plants, so next year, I hope to have three times as many blooms!

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Beans for Emma

I neglected to check on my beans this last week thinking they had just about stopped producing, but as you can see I had underestimated the power of the bean plant. This is the most I've picked at any one time. However, some had grown so large and tough a human would not enjoy them(I personally hate stringy beans!) Emma on the other hand, along with Nina love them stringy or not. To say I'm surprised that dogs like green beans is an understatement. Seems beans are considered a hypoallergenic food source. So, for Emma it becomes a treat of sorts along with her carrots she's allowed to have. Nina, who no allergies that we know of, loves them too.

Girls, your beans await you!

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La and the Chair

This chair was a handy me down from a girl I used to work with at the Med Mall. I've had it for at least 5 yrs with the intention one day of re-upholstering it. When Laurie moved into her apt 2 yrs ago she took it to Raleigh and used it as a desk chair. She has since moved into her very own apt and decided it was time to move away from the pink(as we lovingly called it the "pink chair").




So,last weekend when she was down for a visit we went fabric shopping and she found a very nice embossed white fabric to use. I was quite proud of her as she made a pattern, cut the fabric and sewed a slip cover for the back. The only problem was it was way to tight at the bottom and we just couldn't pull it tight enough to staple at the bottom. So we made a second pattern which she sewed and it fit much better. 2nd time was the charm. Live and learn, we had never worked with a curved back so it was a learning experience for us both.

She did a wonderful job on it! I was quite impressed that she didn't give up. Heck, I was ready before she even started to take it somewhere for someone else to do all because of that curved back.

So, the finished chair will now go in her bedroom as a place to sit and get dressed. Amazing how fabric can transform a piece of furniture and breathe new life in it!

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