Seasonal & Holiday Decorating

Colorful Cactus & Candles

Published on November 22, 2013November 22, 2013 by Our Humble Abode2 Comments

Last year, our Thanksgiving table was neutral; white, gray, copper, wood, and a dash of gold. This year I went completely opposite. Bright colors, including red, orange, yellow, pink, and gold.

I found orange and white stripe napkins at Pier 1 for 98 cents each and that set the color scheme and tone. Fun, festive fall colors, with a twist.

In place of flowers, I bought three 3 buck cactus from Home Depot and potted them in cheap glasses. Bonus, I get to enjoy them for more than a week.

To get a little more color, I painted the inside of each glass a different color. Plain acrylic paint so I can wash these out.

But it’s such a fun, happy, cheap way to add a pop. Same story for these confetti candle holders I whipped up. I had the glasses from last year (from Dollar Tree) and used the same acrylic paint to make dots.

Again, these are not permanent. Hot water and soap will clean these off.

A few mini pumpkins add more color and a fall touch.

The centerpieces are simple, because we need plenty of space to eat our feast.

I covered the table with kraft paper, then set out a DIY runner. More details on that next week.

Have you settled on a Thanksgiving color scheme?

Oh, and the winner of the Spruce book giveaway is Jackie! Congrats!!

Pillow Party

Published on October 11, 2013October 11, 2013 by Our Humble Abode9 Comments

By now I’m guessing you’ve noticed my pillow obsession. But it’s a crazy easy way to quickly change the feel of a room. For this fall, I made (and still have a few in the works) new covers in jewel tones. This diagonal cover was as easy as cutting an eggplant 19 inch square. Then I used a yard stick to make a line across to cut along.

And pinned a 3 inch strip of gray along.

The corner is a darker gray piece. To finish it off, the back is an eggplant envelope back. Another pillow started with the same light gray cotton and I marked a grid on the back with a yard stick. Using embroidery floss, I made small plus signs along the grid. By keeping a 1 to 2 inch tail, then stitching the plus, I could easily tie the loose ends together.

It made a cute, simple design.

For a reversible cover, I used scraps of light gray, eggplant, and dark gray to make a striped envelope closure.

Oh, and the mirror pillow from Sears is awesome.

Thin gold threads hold the mirrors in place, making a great texture and shimmer.

Also, I’ve added custom Sit and Stay pillow covers to the shop.

Now I’m going to finish my living room pillow covers. What pillows are you loving this fall? Target has a really, really fun selection that I’m trying my best to not take home with me.

Fall Mantel Tutorials & Free Design

Published on September 30, 2013September 30, 2013 by Our Humble Abode8 Comments

Hey there, you! How was your weekend? We got something fun done and we can’t wait to share. Here’s a teaser until Wednesday.

Aside from warm caramel apple cider and pulling out my sweater collection, nothing gets me more in the mood for fall than decorating for the cooler season. Last week, our family room and mantel changed from summery greens to fall-ish jewel tones. And all for only a few bucks. In fact, I spent about five bucks on the mantel arrangement. Two dollars for the white acorn (Goodwill) on the left and three bucks for a bottle of Liquid Leaf.

The deer silhouette is a cut out mounted to a contrasting card stock.

If you like Buck, you can make your own using my deer silhouette print. Choose the opposite direction you want him to face, print on your colored paper, cut out, and tape to another piece of paper.

But my favorite is the gold Liquid Leaf feather painting. I already had a large piece of gray paper, but a sheet is about $2.

Before stinking up the house with Liquid Leaf, I sketched my feather design in pencil. Once happy with my design, I used a fine artist brush to cover over with metallic gold.

Wrapping anything – candles included – with embroidery floss is a cheap and easily changeable way to add color.

Start by tying a knot around your object, leaving a long loose tail and the bundle of floss attached.

Wrap the floss around, covering the tail as you go up. Don’t worry about getting each strand right next to the rest. Gently push down after several wraps.

At the top, tie a knot, using the rest of the beginning tail to keep the wrap tight.

While I loved the bright colors in the bar nook, it screamed summer.

Left over black and gold spray paint covered the green frame.

And more gold Liquid Leaf over the Eat, Drink & Be Merry print for glitz is fall perfection.

I’m working on a few more fall pillows, too. What do you do for fall? What gets you in the mood for changing seasons?

The Jewel of Fall

Published on September 26, 2013September 27, 2013 by Our Humble Abode20 Comments

Generally speaking, I’m not a lover of traditional fall colors. Red rarely appears in our house, though orange is growing on me. So this year, I paired orange with some of my year round favorite colors. Teal, pink, purple, and gray. Deeper tones really set a warm, cozy feel that’s perfect for fall.

Our mantel art felt too summery, so I made a few new pieces with items I already had around the house and natural pieces.

Feathers and antlers found on my father-in-law’s ranch add a rustic element.

A cut out deer silhouette was simple. Look for more info on these art pieces next week.

For the main item, I painted a feather using Liquid Leaf and a large sheet of gray paper.

For a little height, I pulled out two glass candle sticks. Having only cream tapers on hand, I dug in my embroidery floss bin and found eggplant, magenta, and burnt orange to wrap around.

Of course the opposite side of the room has a few seasonal changes, too.

A color blocked pillow I sewed along with a burnt orange suede pillow from Sears on one end. I’m waiting on this silk and mirror pillow for the other end. I saved a couple of bucks using Coupons.com codes, too.

Accessorizing the coffee table was simple. A piece of driftwood, white faux pumpkin, the gold wishbone, and a simple pumpkin patch-inspired by Kirsten’s.

While making Ev more mini foods, I molded a few pumpkins, poked wire in the bases, baked and painted them up.

This post and the following giveaway are sponsored by Coupons.com. For more fall inspiration, stop by these participating blogs: Brave New Home, Embrace My Space, Fancy Free Me, Inside-Out Design, The Thinking Closet, Two Live Colorfully, Charming Zebra, What’s Ur Home Story, Dogs Don’t Eat Pizza, and Angie’s Roost

The Goods: One $200 Sears e-gift card provided by Coupons.com

To Enter: Follow this link to the Rafflecopter giveaway: a Rafflecopter giveaway

Contest Closes: 11:59 EST, Friday, October 4th, 2013.

Number of Winners: One winner will be selected from the pool of contestants across the eleven participating blogs.

Ships: US residents only.

Think Green!

Published on April 24, 2013April 24, 2013 by Our Humble Abode10 Comments

We’re teetering on the edge of spring here in Montana. Just a few weeks ago we had sunny filled skies and near 70 degree temperatures. So far this week (and most of last) we’re lucky to reach the 40’s while the snow falls. Welcome to Montana, I suppose. Minnesota and Wisconsin folks, I feel for you. In an effort to usher spring sooner than later, I’m adding fresh green to our house. The more, the merrier, starting with this mint, cream, and emerald-green color block pillow from Jillian Rene Decor.

Jillian was sweet enough to make me a custom pillow. So wonderful and perfect. Everything in her shop is so great, so check it out. Next to the sofa, I’m trying to green up my thumb with a grass-like succulent and a few clay critters.

More greenery on the mantel, this time a planter from Wal-Mart with two bunches of fake succulents.

And finally, my newest art obsession, right in my home; “Heavenly” by Annie Bailey of MT Photo Journal.

Annie lives in Montana and takes beautiful photos of our state. Most Montana photography is wildlife, not my style. Or taken in Glacier National Park or some other mountain area. Which is pretty, don’t get me wrong. To me, that’s not what Montana is really about. This is Big Sky Country after all.

(Ignore the unfinished ceiling, please) Annie captures the essence of Montana, with interesting compositions and vivid colors.

Immediately upon opening the package, I popped it in this cheap frame. Soon, hopefully, I’ll convince Ben to make me a beautiful wooden frame, but I can admire this lovely until then.