The first crisp mornings of early fall always create a stir of excitement in our home.  Excitement over the upcoming changing of the leaves, the many gatherings to celebrate various holidays, the evenings spent by the fire and the simmering pots of gumbo, stew, soup or chili.  For me, this begins the back-to-back season of decorating beginning with Halloween and ending with the scattered vignettes of my original handmade snowfolk.

I’ve noticed that as time goes by my tastes in how I decorate and what I decorate with changes and this year is no exception.  I find I am yearning for a more neutral palette, one not so busy (there’s that simplicity again), one more intentional.  Perhaps it is everything we have all dealt with for the last two years or maybe it’s just what happens as our tastes mature (notice the intentional exclusion of “as we age”) or maybe it just is what it is (a co-worker’s favorite saying).  Whatever the cause, here I am and I have a table full of Fall projects and experiments.

The first on the to do list is little concrete jack-o-lanterns, I am enamored with the very neutral color of the concrete, which adds a bit of a more modern touch and allows me to acknowledge the holiday without having to figure out how to somehow incorporate orange into our home.  I don’t dislike the color orange but the newer faux pumpkins seem to be more neon and that is just a bit too jarring for my tastes.  Since I’ve never made concrete jack-o-lanterns before, I decided to do a bit of a search and found there are LOTS of ways to make either concrete jack-o-lanterns or pumpkins.  My favorite tutorial can be found at this link:

This tutorial is easy to follow and includes lots of photos, which I really appreciate.  Just a bit of advice, don’t do this inside, wear a mask (we all have those available) and enjoy the process!  I have never made anything with concrete but I dove in and I am thrilled with how these turned out.  Honestly, for me the hardest part of the process was literally trying to get the bag of Quickcrete out of the vehicle.  If you aren’t quite ready to dive into creating with concrete but would like to have one for your home I will have a few of these available in the online shop and at my space at Miss Minnie’s Antiques in Shallotte, NC.  

Since we are discussing Fall decorating I’ll let you in on a little secret (one I would like to take credit for but one that I am sure a multitude of other people do).  I try to always choose pieces that are wonderful for Halloween / October but that also, once turned around, create the perfect Thanksgiving / November vignettes.  Some would call it “lazy” decorating but I like to call it “time management” decorating, I mean truly by the time we are moving towards Thanksgiving we need the simplicity of merely turning decorations to the wall to create an entirely different setting in our homes.

The second item is in response to the multitude of posts I have read about Dollar Tree foam pumpkins and the ways they can be updated.  I’m all about saving money and about creating exactly what I want without having to see if it is available in a store or online.  The trip to one of our local Dollar Tree stores found me walking out with several bags of pumpkins, I mean if one is good then 20 are better, right?  Actually, I quit counting after 20 but we won’t go there as I seem to have an issue with knowing when to stop.  So, what did I do with my bushel, or two, of pumpkins?  Well, I decided that I would only use things I had on hand which were my chalk paints, venetian plaster, fabric, twine, branch parts, raffia and bits of vintage items.  The little stems that come on the pumpkins are simply held in with a toothpick so they are easily removed allowing you to create your own unique stem (topper).  These pumpkins are a fun size to create with and perfect when you need just a little something on your mantle, a table or in a larger arrangement.  

While the temperatures outside are still wavering between warm Summer breezes and the cool crisp Fall mornings it is time to bring our home into what I find is the coziest time of the year.  The time of year that reminds us that change is both beautiful and inevitable.

Until next time…..