Pumpkin and Magnolia Leaves Tablescape

orange and turquoise thanksgiving tablescape titleGood morning! Well, it’s November! That means in blog land, it’s time to get out the Christmas decorations! I haven’t quite got there yet, so I thought I would share my Thanksgiving table from last year. Enjoy!

 

fall tablescape 2017 acorns and magnolia leaves

I bought this great big fat pumpkin when I went to the pumpkin patch with my class and it has been waiting to be the star of the table! I love it!

fall tablescape 2017 burlap pumpkin

I was able to cut a few small branches of magnolia leaves from my neighbors tree (shhh) to use on the table too. I added in a few pussy-willow branches and some golden acorns.

fall tablescape 2017 gold acorns cattails

The candlelight glowing on the white hydrangeas and leaves look so pretty.

fall tablescape 2017 hydrangeas and candlesfall tablescape 2017 hydrangeas and gold acornsfall tablescape 2017 hydrangeasfall tablescape 2017 neutrals and orange

Adding in lots of textures gives the table a cozy and homey feel. Rattan place-mats and burlap pumpkins combined with the leaves and flowers add just the right touch.

fall tablescape 2017 orange and turquoise with burlap pumpkins

I added just a little bit of orange and turquoise too.

fall tablescape 2017 place settingfall tablescape 2017 pmpkin centerpiece with candlesfall tablescape 2017 pumpkin, candles, hydrangeas, magnolia leavesfall tablescape 2017 pumpkins, candles, acornsfall tablescape 2017 white pumpkin centerpiecefall tablescape 2017 white, orange and turquoiseFall tablescape 2017

I hope you all get to gather around the table with special people in your lives this Thanksgiving. All the decor and food mean nothing if we can’t share it with the people we love!

I’m so glad you stopped in today. Thank you so much for following along! The next time I am here, it will be with Christmas ideas! I can’t wait to share it with you all!

sunshine-and-blessings-picmonkey

Decoupage Pumpkin with Maps

 

travel map pumpkin title

Good morning! I made it back this week! Thanks for joining me! I have a really simple craft for you all today. Lauren has been decorating with maps and travel items lately, so I made this for her. I first picked up a foam pumpkin from the Dollar Tree. I had Mod Podge and maps on hand. Obviously, you could use any type of paper to have it match your decor. Scrapbook paper, pretty napkins, or old book pages would look nice too.

travel map pumpkin dollar tree pumpkin

I gave my pumpkin a coat of primer, just so the bright orange wouldn’t show through. Then I tore up a map page into little pieces.

map travel pumpkin

I had to have a bit of California in my pieces. 🙂

travel pumpkin map pieces

Once I had my pieces, I brushed Mod Podge on a small section of pumpkin and placed my pieces on it, overlapping them. Then I brushed more Mod Podge over the top. I continued over the whole pumpkin. Once I had all my pieces on, I brushed more Mod Podge over the whole thing making sure I brushed under any loose pieces.

travel pumpkin decoupage

While letting the pumpkin dry, Lauren picked out a small stick to use as the stem (I actually found some faux stems on Amazon!)

travel map pumpkin stem

I wanted the stem to look a little rougher, so I added some hot glue around the edges.

travel map pumpkin stem with hot glue

I mixed up some grey and tan paint, not mixing it too thoroughly. I wanted it to show the different colors.

travel map pumpkin grey and brown paint

Once the paint was dry, I hot glued it to the top of the pumpkin. This is how it turned out! It looks much better than just a small branch.

travel map pumpkin on book

I really like how you can spend so little to make something that fits your own style and decor.

travel map pumpkin book driftwood

I think I may have to pick up a few more pumpkins!

travel map pumpkin book pumpkins leaves

travel map pumpkin with small white pumpkins

There you go! Not only affordable, but quick and easy too! Have you every decoupaged your own pumpkin? I would love to hear about it!

sunshine-and-blessings-picmonkey

amazon affiliate

                                                               

Welcome Fall!

Good morning! It’s September! Fall time, right?! Well, not really. But in the blogging world, we have to get our ideas out to inspire everyone. I didn’t want to pull out all the red, golds and oranges, so when I visited Michaels, I noticed all the pretty soft neutrals, like sage green, cream and blush. I decided I would focus mostly on those colors with a few spots of orange thrown in.

Come on in!

Since I tried to keep a more neutral color scheme, I added lots of texture. I added a woven basket, a burlap pumpkin, book page paper leaves, and a brass candlestick.

early fall entryway neutralsearly fall entryway neutral colors textureearly fall entryway leaves and pumpkins

I did pick up this Thankful and Grateful framed print from Hobby Lobby. I figured it was perfect for fall!

early fall entry grateful and thankfulearly fall entryway grateful and thankful print

Let’s head into the living room! I’m still loving having my faux fireplace in here and I love decorating it too!

early fall living room mantle cotton chalkboardearly fall living room mantle fireplaceearly fall living room mantle with cotton

I used lots of neutrals on the mantle, using books, chalkboard, cotton and even a spool of ribbon for texture.

early fall living room neutral bird and booksearly fall living room chalkboard a fallen leafearly fall living room pumpkin pillow

Here’s a peek into the dining area! On my coffee table I created a simple vignette. I did add one turquoise pumpkin here along with some gourds. I just received this little ‘Grateful’ wooden block from a friend and knew it would be perfect.

early fall living room coffee table vignetteearly fall living room lantern and pumpkin vinetteearly fall living room grateful vignette

I finished painting this little side table this summer and it was nice to be able to finally add it to my room and place some special pieces on top. I tied a few stems of flowers together, added a burlap pumpkin and a lantern.

early fall living room side table flowers pumpkinearly fall living room side table

I hope you enjoyed this little tour. I will be back next week with my early fall dining room. Thanks for stopping by today!

sunshine-and-blessings-picmonkey

amazon affiliate

                                             

Driftwood Starfish

Good morning! Well, this will probably be my last summer post this year. Crazy, right? It’s hard to think about fall when it’s still over 100 degrees outside!

I found this cute idea over at The Wicker House.  Thanks Emily! Great craft!

I thought I would give it a try with some of the driftwood I picked up when we went to the beach. I found some slim pieces that weren’t too long and some small chunks of wood to add to the back. I already had the twine.

driftwood starfish supplies

I started with the long pieces that I wanted to go together and a piece that would work for the middle.

driftwood starfish 5 pieces

I used hot glue to attach all the pieces together.

driftwood starfish hot glue and twine

I then glued the end of the twine to the back of the piece of wood to secure it and then started wrapping it around all the long pieces.

driftwood starfish with twine

I continued wrapping until everything seemed secure and then added a little more hot glue on the back to finish it off.

driftwood starfish wrapping with twine

Such a simple project, but looks so cute!

driftwood starfish with sailboat

These starfish give the perfect finishing touch to any coastal vignette.

driftwood starfish 5 pieces and twine

I wrapped this one with string instead of twine and it looks great too.

driftwood starfish single 5 pieces with stringdriftwood starfish small starfishdriftwood starfish with bucket

I love the little extra touch these starfish bring to my home.

driftwood starfish with twine boats

Are you ready for fall or are you still hanging on to summer?

sunshine-and-blessings-picmonkey

Summer To Fall Back Porch

Good morning! I posted this a couple of years ago, but we are at that time of year again! This was at our old house, but there are still some great ideas here. Enjoy!

Summer to fall Back Porch Title

Well, I guess it is time to face the fact that Fall is just around the corner :(. I really do love summer! But I like to decorate for Fall too! I decided to do a little decorating on my back porch, not too much fall, but just enough for a transition.

I used more yellows, golds, and oranges to go along with my turquoise and blues.

Transitional Back Patio Full view 2015

 

 

These chairs came from a friend of mine and I just spray painted them blue. I used a variety of pillows in the yellow and orange colors.

Transitional Back Patio View 2015

 

 

Over near the door I placed two tall windows and a piece of picket fence behind a basket with chrysanthemums and sunflowers.

Transitional Back Porch Flowers 2015

 

I also pinned sunflowers onto a string of twine across the window frame that hangs behind the chairs.

Transitional Back Patio Sunflower 2015

 

We received this half-barrel from a friend a few years ago. I kept thinking i would plant something in it, but with the drought this year, I finally decided to do something different. I had the round piece of wood sitting out in our shop, so I painted it black. My husband added some little boards inside the barrel so the round piece would have something to sit on and would stay balanced if we placed stuff on top. I added a handle on each side. I found an old hula-hoop and cut it open and then cut it to fit around the circle. Then I added rope all the way around until it fit nice and snug inside the barrel rim. I love the rustic look of it!

Transitional Back Patio Succulents 2015

 

I found the little succulents at the .99 Cent Store. Lauren thought her Starbucks cup added so much more to the ambiance! 🙂

Transitional Back Porch Decor 2015

 

I added just a few pumpkins to bring in a touch of fall.

Transitional Back Porch 2015Transitional Back Patio Pumpkins 2015

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the little tour! I am slowly getting the rest of the house ready for Fall too. How about you? Are you ready for Fall?

 

sunshine-and-blessings-picmonkey