seasonal

Leaf it Alone

Published on October 9, 2012October 9, 2012 by Our Humble Abode14 Comments

Sometimes I wish I planned ahead more and decorated for various holiday and seasons. Nothing that would look like I bought an entire aisle at Hobby Lobby, but more than the few areas I do decorate. Because so much is unfinished (or even started) in this house, my focus has been more on necessary projects, not decorating. And we’ve only got a few logical places for decor at the moment. I’ve already fall-ified the couch. Without a mantle, I use our entertainment center as a substitute. So, here’s our little dose of fall decor.

Well, that was round one. Touches of yellow, white, gold, and copper. I swapped a blue vase for the gold one on the left and replaced the paper behind our Whole Family Tree cut out. Previously, it had a teal backing, which you can see on the top right shelf at our first house.

While I liked the general selection, I wanted a little more. I found pressed leaves in my craft stash so I used light fishing line to make a simple garland.

Simple. I taped a few more leaves on fishing line then hung them from the ceiling to get the effect of falling leaves.

Other than the leaves, the left side stayed the same.

To add more metallic goodness, I spray painted the little bird to match the vase. And a pine cone. Because one can never have too much bling.

Other than the pillows and faux billy buttons, I think I’m done for the season. I’ve done a little Halloween decorating that I’ll share soon.

What are your favorite ways to spruce your home for the changing seasons? Do you go all out on decorating? Or just a few touches here and there? Got a favorite project? Share it with us!

Pillow Palooza

Published on October 4, 2012October 8, 2012 by Our Humble Abode24 Comments

Up until yesterday, we still had very summery weather. I’m a little late, but I’ve started decorating for fall. Usually I don’t go all out on seasonal decorating, but I like to switch up a few things. I started with new fall colored pillows for the couch. Thus, pillow palooza was born.

Red doesn’t often make an appearance in our house. However, I can’t get enough coral lately. Spurred by a towel I bought for the bathroom, I figured dark coral and gray could replace red nicely.

I happened to have half a yard of light gray duck cloth in my stash, so I cut it to an 18 inch square piece. Wanting a simple design, I taped off two-inch wide random stripes. Then I mixed up a batch of dark coral using apple red, orange, and a dose of pale pink. Painting went quickly, covering in one coat.

Peeling off the tape is such a fun moment. A few areas of bleed through, but nothing terrible. Definitely fun color.

For something even more fall-ish, I had the idea to add a leaf design to a pillow. Preferably, I would have used fabric for the leaves, but I had my heart set on metallic. Sadly, our little fabric stores don’t carry much in the good-looking metallic department. Again, I turned to craft paint, this time in a metallic copper finish. Freehand leaves appear to fall and settle at the bottom.

Later, I went back and added a few metallic gold leaves, too. Yellow is a great fall color, so I kept the fun Target pillow.

For the other side of the couch, I started dip dyed a piece of natural colored canvas in a tangerine dye bath. Just a simple dip and wiggling to get an ombre-ish pillow.

To incorporate orange, yellow, and gray to temper the bright colors, I had my heart set on a triangle pattern pillow. I cut a 7 inch equilateral triangle template from card stock, then traced it to scrap fabric left over from other projects.

Pinning the pieces together to create a line of triangles.

After completing the strips, I sewed them to each other. Randomly placed colors made a fun mix.

Of course the yellow arrow pillow fit in, so it’s still around.

So that’s our fall-ified couch. Nothing ground breaking, but I’m happy with a change. Both the pillows and weather.

What have you been changing up? New pillows? A fall mantle? How do you incorporate fall colors in your home?

Baby You’re a Firework

Published on July 2, 2012October 9, 2012 by Our Humble Abode7 Comments

Readers in the US know the Fourth of July is coming up soon. In honor, I have a free 8 inch by 10 inch sparkler print design in six Americana colors to get you geared up. Fourth of July is such a nostalgic holiday. Along with our local parade, we enjoyed barbeques, fireworks, snaps, and sparklers.

Print away! While you’re printing, care to share your plans for the Fourth of July? Barbeque at your house? Fireworks? A vacation?

4th Invite

Published on June 26, 2012October 9, 2012 by Our Humble Abode1 Comment

Are you as excited as I am for the Fourth of July? Seriously, fireworks and we should be able to see them from our house. Awesome! I started thinking about invitations, so I put together this printable version.

If you have Photoshop, you can download the .psd file, add your information and add a second to a page.

Or get this version to write your info in.

And, you can use standard envelopes from any office supply store, no searching for a specific size.

Handmade Holidays: Glass Ball Ornaments

Published on November 28, 2011October 9, 2012 by Our Humble Abode19 Comments

Christmas is only 27 days away, so we thought it would be fun to share our handmade ornaments. I decided on a ‘Winter Wonderland’ theme this year. So snow, snowflakes, trees, pine cones, feathers, reindeer, birds, owls, and polar bears were the main focus. Some are super simple, others are a little more complex, but all are cheap. I thought we should start with the easiest ones.

To start, find clear glass (or plastic) ball ornaments. HoLo (Hobby Lobby) sells a twelve pack for $7.99, but Christmas stuff was 50% off making the balls four bucks. While at HoLo, I bought a package of brown and teal feathers, also half off, costing $1.00.

I bought the feathers for the teal colored ones, so I pulled those out.

Then, it’s as simple as removing the cap, tossing a few feathers inside, replacing the cover and hanging on the tree. Ben said these are his favorite. I kind of agree, but I still have a few more ideas so we’ll see.

I bought the iridescent balls, but I think I’d buy plain glass ones for the feathers if I could do it again. The coating makes it difficult to see the feathers clearly.

After making six feather ornaments, I made six snow filled balls. Instead of spending money on fake snow, I poured a little Epsom salt inside.

For the snow ornaments, I think the iridescent finish is fabulous.

Once you’ve filled the ornaments, hang those suckers on the tree, too and admire the sparkle. Yes, I am a raccoon. I like shiny things, so Christmas is the best time to appreciate all things sparkly.

If you’re looking to keep your Christmas decorations cheap, these are perfect for you. I spent $4 on the glass balls and another dollar on the feathers for a total of five bucks for twelve ornaments. Each ball cost $.41 cents. Score.

The boys and I put up the Christmas tree this weekend while Ben installed our upper cabinets. We still have ornaments to make, so here’s a fun bokeh picture of the tree.