Inspired by... 12 Days of Textures {Day 5}

 

Sharing my pretty cardinal crackle votive (love) and Kim's Zuzu texture with you today.

 

 

Blessings,

 

Inspired by... Noel

 

I'm not one to rush the holidays. I love Christmas as much as anyone, possibly more, (the fact that we have 30+ boxes of decorations currently stored in the attic might give you a hint) however, Christmas carols are not allowed to be played, hummed or whistled in my house until the day after Thanksgiving!

Now before you start throwing rotten candy canes...

It's just that I want to savor EVERY season... as it comes. Not constantly be saying, "Okay, what's next?"

Having said all that...

Do you realize there are only 10 weeks, 10 weeks, 10 weeks, 10 weeks, 10 weeks! until Christmas? I cannot possibly get all the crafts I want to make done in time if I don't start NOW!

I have been so inspired by all the crafty goodness out there in blog land that I've been compiling a very long list for the holidays! So now that I've mostly finished my Fall decorating, it's time to get started.

And I want to share what inspires me... with you!

 

 

So over the next 10 weeks, in amongst my regular posts, I'll be sharing my progress and hope to inspire you in process!

To get us started, here's a look at some fun projects from years past.

 

This is a craft called Scherenschnitte or German Paper Cutting. The word Scherenschnitte (shear-n-SNIT- a)means "scissor cuts" in German. I made three of these one year for my Aunts. It is three sided. Here it is with a candle in the middle.

 

 

One year I purchased shaped cardboard boxes from the craft store, decorated them and filled them with homemade goodies for a few close friends.

 

These were so much fun to make! I used mostly scrapbooking paper and embellishments to decorate them. The snowman was the hardest with all his angles, but I just love how he turned out!

I hope these pictures got your creative Christmas juices flowing! And I hope you'll keep coming back over the next ten weeks for more joyous Christmas creativity and inspiration!

 

So... how many boxes of Christmas decorations are stored in your attic?

 

Blessings,

 

 

Sharing inspiration here:

 

Inspired by... yarn

 

I have some sweet little autumn yarn votives for you today.

 

These were inspired by Elisabeth and Carolyn. Both of whom shared beautiful yarn bowls on their blogs recently.

 

These were an experiment, but I'm very pleased with how they turned out. I wanted to try different patterns with the yarn.  I will definitely be making more!

 

They look nice on the table by our front door with their flickering (battery powered) votive candles.

 

Speaking of candles... I updated a couple candle displays to match the season.

 

Potpourri goes beautifully with candles. I use mine year after year. As long as it continues to look good, I don't care if it looses it's smell.

 

I had some stamping, tissue paper, modge podge fun with a repurposed pickle jar for this display.

 

You can't see it well in the picture but the potpourri pieces are green, orange and... PURPLE! I'm lovin' me some orange and purple this fall!

What about you, do you have a favorite fall/autumn color?

And displays in your home that you just update to match the season?

I'd love to know!

 

Blessings,

Sharing inspiration here:

Inspired by... autumn

 

Never mind that Fall doesn't officially begin until the 23rd, it's been such a hot summer that the suddenly cooler nights (and in some regions, days) have us all eager to begin focusing on pumpkins, colored leaves and mums. I'm a summer girl, but I do love autumn. The only problem I have with autumn is that it's followed by winter [smile].

I have a couple of Fall projects that I'll be sharing with you soon. In the meantime, I thought I'd share some inspiration...

 

I fell in love with these swan-neck gourds last year. These would look so pretty hanging over the railing on my front porch!

Another touch of whimsy! My mom collects hedgehogs and I just couldn't resist these! (If these people do this for Fall imagine what their yard looks like at Christmas!)

 

Hoo-t can resist this cuteness!

 

I'm always looking for ideas for filler in candle holders and hurricanes. This picture gets too blurry if I make it any bigger, but the stuff on the bottom is kernels of corn! What a great idea! And if you used Indian corn it would add even more color... maybe paired with some mulberry colored candles, hmm...

 

Love this idea using felt leaves to dress up the buffet table!

 

Corn husks! Love those mulberry tones!

 

Stunning centerpiece! I love using natural grasses in Fall displays.

 

 

A little large for a centerpiece, but I think this would look great on the hearth. I would need to add some more of the colorful gourds to my display though.  All this white would get lost against my limestone fireplace.

 

Since we're on the subject of white pumpkins... I love these!  I see a DIY knockoff in my future!

 

More pumpkins! These are paper. Love the curly Q's!

 

Even more paper pumpkins! 

 

There is so much inspiration out there!  These were just a few of my favorites.  You can find all the links to the original sources on my Pinterest boards.  (A couple of these, like the paper pumpkins have tutorials.) That is one of the things I love about Pinterest, I can track back to where I found the idea originally – which is really helpful when tutorials are given!

If you are a visual person, I think you will find Pinterest much easier than trying to locate a website in your list of bookmarks or favorites!  Need an invite? Leave me a comment with our email address and I'll send you one!

Oh, and speaking of cooler weather, we've been leaving our windows open and I just have to share this last photo with you...

Don't those ears just crack you up?

(His head is pressed against the screen)

You can see more of my baby kitty, Aslan, here.

 

So, what's inspiring you this Fall?

I'd love to hear!

 

Blessings,

 

Inspired by... lemon and rice

 

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

 

Today I have a money-saving tip for you and a recipe – yum!

First, the tip!

 

I like to decorate with candles and I have these pretty blue swirl design holders that my mom gave me one year.  I usually fill them with water and use a floating candle, but it's been so hot this year, I just knew I'd have to be re-filling them every other day.

Not going to happen.

So I decided to get some pink glass gems to fill them with and nestle a candle down inside.

Pretty!

Only problem is, one {little} bag of those gems runs $2.99-$3.99 and I would need 5+ to do the job. $15+ in gems?

Not going to happen!

 

Rice to the rescue!

I bought ONE bag of pretty pink gems... filled the containers with white rice to about an inch from the top and used the gems on top around the candle.

When the candles are lit, the pink and lavender gems sparkle!

You can see the rice on the sides where the swirls are cut out, but I still think it looks pretty.

What do you think?

Other inexpensive ideas include: cracked peas or red hots for St. Valentine's Day!

I have to thank Darby, over at Life with the Hawley's for inspiring me to share this tip with you.

Here's her pretty tablescape.

I just love the pattern on that wine glass and her use of raffia on the mason jar!

Thanks, Darby!

 

Okay!

Now for the recipe!

Love lemon?

I do!

A sweet friend lent me her Kitchen Aid mixer (love) and I've been looking for excuses to bake!

Then Cheryl, over at Tidy Mom posted this:

... and really got my taste buds salivating!

Here's my contribution to the summer lemon craze:

Lemon {Sour Cream} Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

3 T lemon juice, freshly squeezed

1 tsp lemon peel, grated

2 cups flour

1/2 package (3oz) lemon pudding mix, instant

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup sour cream

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Stir in vanilla, lemon juice and lemon peel. Combine the flour, pudding mix, baking soda and baking powder; add to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream. Beat just until combined. Pour (or scoop, batter may be a bit thick- mine was) into greased Bundt pan and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand 15 minutes before removing from pan. Transfer to wire rack and cool completely.

Slice and enjoy!

I didn't add icing to mine. I don't have much of sweet tooth and this was sweet enough!  There are some great icing recipes on line if you want to add icing to yours.

I think I might add 1 tsp of lemon extract next time.

What's your favorite lemon, cake or summer recipe?

 

Blessings,

 

Sharing inspiration here: