Fall at the cottage

Besides my "new" mercury glass pumpkin centerpiece, I though I would share some of my other fall touches.

The framed graphics are from "Graphics Fairy".

My mom made this stuffed turkey for me many years ago!

My poor scarecrow is seldom in the chair. The cats like to attack him, so I frequently find him on the floor!

Have a Blessed Thanksgiving,
Lorilee

Faux Mercury Glass Pumpkin

I love my fall centerpiece! I won the glass pumpkin at Bunco last year. This year, I decided to use Looking Glass spray paint and give it a faux Mercury Glass treatment. I found the cake stand at Hobby Lobby for 60% off.

I found the big acorns while walking in the neighborhood with my husband. The seed pods are from my Golden Rain Tree.
Blessings,
Lorilee

Jack in a jar!

 I've been working on these cute jar Jack-o-lanterns. I have finished one more large one since I took the photo and have a jar to make one more small one. I used craft jars from Hobby Lobby that I purchased for 1/2 off. I loved the round shape. I was also having difficulty finding used jars. So much comes in plastic now! I deviated from Emily's tutorial just a bit. I used black tissue to make my faces. I decided to try modpodge my faces to the inside of my jars instead of the outside. It worked beautifully. In the photo, they are backlit by sunlight. At night, I use battery tealights in them.

These were my inspiration! They were made by Emily at  Not So Idle Hands .
Y'all come back,
Lorilee

Lovin Burlap and Spray Paint!

 Two infatuations come together-burlap banners and candy corn!

 YUMMY!

"BOO" for my front door. I guess I should have turned the purple lights on! I keep them on a timer.
Y'all come back!
Lorilee

Dressed for Halloween!

I always feel better when my house is appropriately dressed for the season! I am thinking I need to bring the bird cage in from the patio for the Raven!

The battery candle was already on the table, but I really like it in the black dish with the black stones.

Black and white garland and a black beaded spider grace the entryway.

A little ceramic ghost on the curio in the entryway.

Graphics printed out from The Graphics Fairy, also in the entryway!

My witch's broom!

A ghost from Wal-Mart, I believe.

Fall leaves and wheat in the kitchen. I also have fall leaves on the transom over the front door, but they are hard to photograph against the light. I bought purple LED lights to put on my front porch with the grapevine swag. I also put orange lights in a grapevine sphere and hung it on the porch.

Y'all Come Back,

Lorilee

Treasure found at the Rennfest!

As we walked past this shop, the artwork displayed within caught my eye! We ended up inside, visiting with the artist and debating the possiblities of displaying his work in our home! We had not seen this artist at the Rennfest in our 10 previous years of attendance. He was a feature artist this year. After much discussion, leaving the shop to think about it, and then returning, we made our purchases.

Our purchases were wrapped appropriately in these burlap bags!

We hung them shortly upon returning home. We decided they needed lighting, so that was added the next day!

The artist is Gary Williams from Plano, Texas. His business is named "Shatter'd Visages". The pieces are actually made of recycled paper! He shreds paper and mixes it with water along with bleach and salt to inhibit mold growth. Leaving out several more and complicated steps, the resulting slurry is packed into a mold. This "paper casting" is covered with metallic paints to create the aged patina.

He has a website www.shatterdvisages.com .
Ya'll come back!

Lorilee

Finally some Fall decorating!

I wish I had the real bittersweet that I have seen other ladies using to decorate their homes! If it grows around here, I have never seen it!

I love the crackled finish on this ghost. I think I found it at Wal-Mart.

Sometimes I use the fuzzy cobweb stuff on this mirror, but it sticks to my rough fingers! I haven't used any yet this year!

I love this old clock! It is out year round, is spookified with a couple of ghosts!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Gone Missing-Kitty Litter Cake Recipe!

I had several readers ask for the recipe for Kitty Litter Cake! My recipe is no where to be found! You can google "Kitty Litter Cake" or "Cat Litter Cake" and get several versions of the recipe. I found a version at www.all-about-halloween.com/cat-litter-cake.html . You can also find recipes at www.fabulousfoods.com and www.allrecipes.com .

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Waiting on a Woman!

As usual, my guys are waiting on their woman! They are all packed and ready to go. I am almost ready! I have a good excuse. I had to iron a dress that required 7 yards of fabric to sew!The Trailblazer is packed and ready to roll. On Saturday,we will go back in time to Jolly Old England at the Texas Renaissance Festival. Of course, we made our customary turn around while still in the neighborhood to get something we forgot. This time it was my contact lens case! This is the first year in quite awhile that it is just the four of us going. It is also our 10th year to attend the Renfest!

I also just finished these little tags. I hung them with a small swag that I have had for awhile. I was inspired by www.joysofhome.blogspot.com . Her post titled Sign of the Season explained how she decorated manilla tags. Check it out!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

A bit of Autumn!

I thought I'd share a few more photos of my fall "stuff". My Mom made the stuffed turkey for me many years ago. I made the scarecrow. They are both from the cut and sew fabric panels. The white pumpkin has a Halloween design on the back side so I just turned it!

I decided to embroidery over the facial features on the scarecrow.

I really should work more on that sad bow,but I just haven't gotten around to it!

This is my metal cornucopia. I think I found it on sale after Thanksgiving several years ago. I finally found some fairly realistic gourds to go with it, last year.

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Candy Corn Table Bling! Will it last til Turkey Day?

I bought the candy corn before Halloween, but I never got around to getting it into the pumpkin candy dish! Will it last until Thanksgiving Day? My son says he doesn't like candy corn, but my husband does! We'll see!
Ya'll Come Back!
Lorilee

Fall in the kitchen!

I finally took down the Halloween decorations! I put leaves and wheat on the top of my kitchen cabinets. The tins and bottles are there year round as are the bubble lights! They lend a festive mood for any season!

The milk pitcher that holds the wheat and leaves belonged to my husband's grandmother. It was gold and I wasn't particularly fond of it. Then I decided to try paint remover! Now I love it! The old utensils on the wall belonged to my Granny!

Ya'll Come Back!

Lorilee

Coffee Filter Leaves!

My students love making these leaves. My teaching assistant pre-cuts the leaves from coffee filters. The students dab red, yellow, and green food coloring mixed with just a little water onto the leaves. (It must be very concentrated) We let them dry and then hang them on the tree. We have gotten many compliments on our door! They also look nice hanging from the ceiling and on windows!
Ya'll Come Back!
Lorilee

Henpecked Jack!

I carved 2 little pumpkins with my morning and afternoon Pre-k students. They were very rough and simple since I did not take my carving tools and Pre-k students aren't known for patience! I brought them home on Friday evening and put them out front for Halloween. I refrigerated them until I returned from Rocking HI Ranch on Sunday. It is warm here and they rot quickly! The girls love pumpkin!
He looks really scarey not that he's been seriously henpecked! heh! heh!

Ya'll Come Back Now!

Lorilee

Halloween Happenings!

I made a quick trip to our neighborhood burger joint to get a photo of some of their gang in costume. My son is on the left. They were super busy, so I only managed a couple of good photos! One of the owners was even dressed for the occasion!
In typical Jr. High spirit, my son and his friend,Cody,dressed up as overly endowed Cheerleaders. He seems to need some final adjustments. Do we have a split personality issue happening? Can't decide between quarterback or cheerleader?
Some of the Jr. High crowd ready to "party". Brian, the cheerleader, Garrett the Gorilla, and Trevor the clown. I'm not sure where the "Scream" mask came from. The kids were trading costume parts left and right! I still have a few around my house!
Here we have Jace the Crayon and Trevor the clown. They are borrowing some of my old costumes from Halloweens past!

The over-grown kids are on their way. Now it is time for me to gather my broom, cauldron of candy and goblet of potion to await the revellers!

Among the many candy-seekers, a few known visitors also came to my door.Will the Warlock dropped by to share a spell or two. Will is one of my older son's friends.

My nephew the gnome also came by for a visit. He is also known as Chase. He wasn't too keen about wearing his hat and beard! We had to bribe him for the photo! He finally decided he was ready to wear it and head out for treats.Apparently, the gnome and his beard were soon parted. Because one of ZZ TOP, a.k.a. my brother, returned sporting the beard.Good-bye Halloween, until next year!

Ya'll Come Back Now!

Lorilee