AUTUMN MANTEL and FALLING for FALL

MANTLE DRESSED FOR FALL AUTUMN

It's another HOTTIE today in the beautiful state of Oklahoma! The high temps in middle America never cease to

WEAR ME OUT

and

OVERWHELM ME...

Today I'm back in my studio working on more offerings...still so excited to return to what a love doing most!

Working with old vintage linens, antique laces, shell buttons and tattered finds!

Hey...what is the difference between the words FALL and AUTUMN anyway?

I had to go look it up! I found the following on GRAMMARIST:

"Fall and autumn are both accepted and widely used terms for the season that comes between summer and winter. Some who consider British English the only true English regard fall as an American barbarism, but this attitude is not well founded. Fall is in fact an old term for the season, originating in English in the 16th century or earlier. It was originally short for fall of the year or fall of the leaf, but it commonly took the one-word form by the 17th century, long before the development of American English. So while the term is now widely used in the U.S., it is not exclusively American, nor is it American in origin."
I've read several online commentaries about both of these words and basically they almost all say that AUTUMN is just a more formal word for FALL!
Who knew??? Soooo...HAPPY ALMOST AUTUMN!

(I did a post at least a couple years ago on How To Paint Pumpkins, but I'm not finding it. When I do I'll link it in the label section!)

Love to you...

Rebecca

~A GATHERING WE WILL GO~

~GATHERING TOGETHER~

My Miss K has spent part of her Fall Break with me this week so I've been one busy Nana.  No time for blogging!  Too consumed with having fun and doing things like pumpkin hunting.  Seriously celebrating my incredible love of Autumn this week and anything and everything related to Pumpkin Days.  I love them.

~SWEET LITTLE LADY~

This weekend my favorite little girl and I are going to attend PUMPKINVILLE.  It's a fun hands-on-gathering in downtown OKCity that is presented by OG&E (OK Gas & Electric).  It's chock full of crafts, pumpkin decorating, treats, cider pressing, story telling, treats and they even have a hay bale maze.  Sure to be a blast for both of us...  I'll share our pics next week.

 ~I LOVE SOUP TUREENS~

(Great $5 Find!!!)

Today I'm showing you a few fun finds.  I'm not too much one for whimsy and so I rarely purchase things that are super-cutesy.  But...when the retail store I managed closed it's doors nearly ten years ago I couldn't resist bringing the little Native American/Pilgrim figurines (at the top) home with me.  This year I decided to actually set them out, but FIRST they needed a little makeover!  Gone are the orange, brown, red and gold paint colors and in their place is a sweet soft white with a hint of AS (Annie Sloan) dark wax.  Too cute not to love.

Next comes the vintage soup tureen!  Perfect condition and I love that it has the ladel.  SCORE!

~FLORAL PUMPKIN?~

Found this sweet pumpkin shaped candle holder last year.  Love how it looks with a wee bit of my 1978 wedding bouquet.  The patina is perfect for Fall... 

~CAN YOU GUESS?~

Does anyone know what the rose above was originally manufactured for?  I only found one although I'm sure they were sold in pairs...  Have a clue now?  If you guessed a drapery tie-back then you would be right.  I love it just sitting on my mantel!  It came as you see it...didn't have to do anything to it.  Couldn't believe it!  Cost:  $1.99 (eeeek!)

 ~AMAZING SIGN TO PAINT~

This canvas over wood picture/sign originally had a mannequin on the front.  Not sure what happened to it but it was all dulled out (maybe from the sun?) and looked hazy.  I snagged it for a few dollars and plan to paint GUEST COTTAGE on the front with pink roses... 

~CLOSE-UP DETAIL~

I'm lovin' it!  Can't wait to get started on it!

~BOIS MALTED CREAM CANDLE~

Because I love love love candles (white or cream ones, please!) I was excited to find several Bois Malted Cream jar candles at ROSS for $6.99 each.  They retail for $14 each in gift shoppes everywhere.  Great score!

~OBLONG WICK~

Not only do they smell fabulous but I love the wick!  Helps all the wax to burn evenly!

~SWEET WICKER PURSE~

A few weeks ago my Mr. AGPMan and I lunched at our local Cracker Barrel Restaurant.  They were having a HUGE MARKDOWN SALE on tons of stuff and I bought the sweet bag you see above for $4.  Original price was $24.99.  It came as you see it (minus the lace doily peeking out!)... 

 ~VINTAGE PRINT~

Today my Miss K helped me tend to my booth space and afterwards we stopped by Goodwill to have a look around.  Found a few amazing things...a faux leather jacket for her for $2.99 (will be perfect for 50's Day next spring) and a couple extra small Ann Taylor (Loft) tops for $1.99 each.  Because they both are so tiny they fit our girl perfectly.  Also found the lovely framed print you see above.  I plan on painting the frame out (you KNOW I will!) and replacing the paper backing!

~OOPS...REPAIR NEEDED~

Price was $5.99.  Keeping this one for my bedroom.  Love it!

The basket above was just reworked a bit for Fall.  The roses you see were some my hubby gave me several months ago.  I love the color they dried out to be.  I had a dozen, but one by one they fell apart. :(   I added the fallen petals to a jar of potpourri and tucked the last three stems inside the lined basket.  Love it.

 Last but not least is a book I snagged today for $2 at a garage sale.   I loaned my copy out sometime back and have yet to get it back...  So~home this one came...  I love Susan Branch!  Her beautiful artwork makes my heart sing!

Hope your Saturday is fabulous!  Mine is going to be jam-packed and full.  Looking forward to every second of it!

More soon.

Love to you...

~B IS FOR A BANNER OF BLESSINGS~

Are you getting your FALL on?  We are sooo enjoying the cooling down from the high summer temps here in Oklahoma.  The weekend weather was brisk and we even had the pleasure of some rain.  I'm loving it and so does the parched land here in the Red Earth State.

A few days ago I shared with you my plans of transforming some heavy-duty paper tags (found at TJMaxx) into a sweet message geared at celebrating God's Bounty.  Since I'm not really a paper-crafter I wanted to keep the design simple.  I opted to reproduce the back of an old cabinet photo and use it as the framework for a new Fall Banner.  A few capital letters (Georgia Font) were chosen for the center and spell out the word

B*L*E*S*S*I*N*G*S

 Using my computer (PhotoShop) I stretched out the original photo frame to better fit inside the tags pre-set size (previously painted and lightly distressed).  Then the individual letters were added before being printed out in a sepia ink on a soft white ground of heavy card stock paper.

After cutting and gluing the letters onto the front of the tags I tied them onto gimp cording (measured to fit) with rayon ribbon/tape.  They easily slide on the coring making placement simple and fast!  

I skipped using any glitter on this project!  I'm loving the fresh and uncomplicated look of the Banner across our fireplace screen!

 

Reworked my Coffee Table Basket this year using shreds from a vintage dictionary that was literally falling apart....  White pumpkins...white fruit...grapes...yummmmmmmmmmmm....

~~*~~

Here's a little thought that may speak to you today...  I'm always in need of this timely reminder~

"WHEN YOU ARE FULL OF YOURSELF, GOD CAN'T FILL YOU!"

Certainly something to think about as we enter into another Harvest Season.

Thanks for stopping by and for your sweet comments last week.  I'm doing better.

Love to you...

~~~~DON'T TOSS OUT YOUR JUNK JUST YET~~~~ Paint It and Gel It

 

~CREAMY WHITES~

(the softer side of Fall)

Today I'm going to give you a super quick mini tutorial on how I transformed some aging decorative Autumn finds for my La Chaumière de Briarwood.  A couple of weeks ago I had my Mr. AGPMan climb into our bulging attic and pull down ALL my Fall decorations from many years past.  There was a bunch of old stuff up there...

 ~Papier-mâché PUMPKINS~

(once bright orange and green)

Some of it I hadn't actually laid my eyes on since 2004.  Not kidding.  Most of it had been packed away since I first began redecorating in shabby cottage chic style (i.e. PINKS) many years ago...

 ~OLD HARD PLASTIC PEARS~

(once a mottled green)

I just wasn't able to successfully mix oranges and browns with all the pastel pinks and fresh whites no matter how hard I tried...  And, decorating with hand painted pink rose pumpkins (even though I loved making them) just didn't do it for me! :(

 ~ANOTHER PEAR STYLE~

(this one was harvest gold) 

Since my early crazy-hazy, shabby-chic lovin' days my cottage decor style has continued to evolve.

 ~CERAMIC PUMPKINS~

(bright orange with kelly green stems)

Lately I've begun to realize how much I've missed embracing what I've always called "Pumpkin Days" on the inside of my home and so I set forth a little plan to welcome them back.

 ~NEW FOR 2011~

(a sweet tea-light candle holder)

The tea light pumpkin candle holder you see above is my only new Fall related purchase for the year.  Everything else you see I've had for at the very least a decade (or more!)...  The thought of tossing it all out to buy more stuff made me sick...

CACHING!

CACHING!

 ~CERAMIC HORN O' PLENTY~

(once dark brown with orange)

I purchased this traditional Horn O' Plenty back in 1992.  It was a dark chocolate brown painted over a bright orange.  Back then those colors were fab for my home...today, well...not-so-much!

 ~METAL LEAVES~

(once dark burgundy)

These charming little tea-light holders were from a shoppe I once managed.  They were originally burgundy and had black and gold flecks...

Believe it or not A LONG TIME AGO my entire house was black, gold, red and cream...very Tuscan(ie).

 ~ALL TOGETHER NOW~

 (apples, pumpkins, pears, grapes)

Want to know how everything was transformed for pennies?  (OK...a few dollars!)

~VALSPAR SPRAY PAINT~

(a new sprayer style is now out)

1.  Get everything out you want to makeover

2.  Clean it all (plastics, metals or brush-finished ceramics

3.Dry completely

4.  Purchase HOTEL CHURCHILL VANILLA spray paint

(see pic above/found at LOWE'S)

5.  Spray all your junk treasures

(if you value your health, wear gloves and a breathing apparatus)

6.  Let dry between coats and re-coat twice or more

7.  Once cured (a couple of days is best) apply gel stain (see below) with a soft cloth and rub around until it's evenly applied

8.  Allow to dry for two days

(if your stuff touches beforehand it can stick!)

9.  PLAY :)

~MINWAX GEL STAIN~

(aged oak color)

Want to know what I passed along to Goodwill?  All the bright, bright greenery that was popular in the 1990's (and beyond)!!!  Have you noticed that even though you can still buy it the higher priced foliage is more of a sagey green color?

I know I've shared this before but you can use this same technique on lamps, chandys, etc.!

So...before YOU TOSS OUT YOUR OLD STUFF and spend big bucks on BUYING MORE NEW STUFF think about what you already have inside your attics, closets and storage sheds!  I'm thinking you probably already have lots of things just waiting for their turn at a makeover!

I saved my Mr. AGPMan a lot of mullah!  I bought four cans of spray paint and only used two!  About $8 to transform everything!  Not too bad!

~GET IT DONE~

About 3 weeks ago I had my yearly Mammogram done.  I'm so happy to say no cancer was found!  October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month...don't forget to celebrate your one and only self by taking care of YOU!  My friend, Judy the Beauty, is FIVE YEARS cancer free (love you, girl!)...

Have fun...cooler temps are coming so you best get busy painting if you're planning on squeezing it in this year!  I'm enjoying my pumpkin days...hope you are, too!

Love to you...

 

~SO LONG LOVELY SUMMER~

~INDIAN SUMMER DAYS~

Just like all of you we are feeling the change of the seasons here in Oklahoma.  I woke up early this morning and could definitely feel a cool down of the temps and even noticed several of my most favorite garden shrubs are beginning to die back...

We have lots and lots of big (and old!) Oak Trees on our property and when Autumn just begins to knock upon our door their leaves start to turn color and slowly blanket the ground.  Seems we were racking up and bagging leaves (from our yard and everyone else's, too) for more weeks than it seemed they lived on the tree's branches.  My two children would run and play in big pyramid shaped piles for hours and to this day watching them chase each other around the yard remains one of my dearest memories.  Now that they are both grown and gone clearing the grass isn't nearly as much fun as it use to be.

 ~OUR NEW BLACK SHUTTERS~

Mr. AGPMan now does most of the work with a high-powered gas blower and it seems like in the blink of an eye it's all done (until the next day).  :)  I never sometimes help him...  :)

As a family we've always celebrated "Pumpkin Days" in style and this year will be the same.  Our front porch is decorated in traditional Fall colors and I'm loving how our newly installed black shutters look against all  the muted oranges and yellows...

~DRESSED FOR FALL~

Still...I'm feeling a little bit melancholy as I bid farewell to Summer 2010 even though I am looking forward to to what has easily become my very, very favorite time of the year...

 ~

Now...as long as I remember that it's during the last three and one half months of the year that I gain those TEN extra 'pumpkin pie pounds' (and then avoid doing so) I'll be sure to enjoy every single moment of it...

 ~MAYBE THIS WILL HELP?~

Love to you~

~FALL DECOR in the SHABBY COTTAGE CHIC HOME~

~GREAT ROSS FIND~

Just like many of you I love the Autumn time of the year.  I'm a native Cali-Girl and I suppose I will NEVAH get use to the humidity and sweltering heat we often experience in middle America!  Because I live in Oklahoma where the Summer Sun can get blistering hot (104 degrees in my town last Sunday) it is always a welcomed relief when the August temps decide to linger for a bit in the low 80's.  By the time the leaves on the trees change from their vivid greens to a soft golden yellow I find I am more than ready for Fall to begin.

~SWEET HARVEST PILLOW~

(You can visit me...but I'm SOLD)

I love to decorate the outside of my home during Pumpkin Days!  With the addition of our new black shutters (they are all up and look fabulous..more about this soon) I'm finding I'm more anxious than ever to get started!  The sweet metal Pumpkin you see at the top was snagged a couple of days ago at Ross for $9.99!  What a deal!  Once my Fall decor is in place I leave it up until it's time to change things around for Christmas.

 ~CREAMY WHITE LINEN~

Because the inside of my home includes a palate of mostly muted whites, creams and soft florals I do seem to struggle a bit to successfully incorporate touches of fall color into the mix.  I love changing things up and making the different Seasons of the year feel special...but orange, rust, black and deep sage greens just don't seem to work for me.

~GREAT FABRIC FIND~

So...as I worked on pretties for both my home and my A Gathering Place Website I decided to scale back some of the coloring on my more traditional Fall and Harvest Pillows. I've concentrated this week on designing a few I think will blend beautifully into my own personal decor and I'm hoping you will like them, too!  Both pillows you see above will be on my website later today!

~SUPER SALE - $4.50 Per Yard~

(Originally $29.90yd)

When my Mr. AGPMan and I began to change things around on the inside our home about a year ago I moved what was once my formal living room furniture into my den.  Truthfully I hated how it looked because the sofa, though a gorgeous Henrydon auction win, was way too dark (burgundy & soft brown)for the space.

 ~Original Sofa Fabric~

Earlier this month I snagged nearly a full bolt of fabric for my sofa makeover at a drastically reduced price at my friendly neighborhood Hancock's (gotta love their mill-ends!)...  As soon as I get my two accent chairs back from the upholsterer the sofa will be dropped off for her re-do!  I'm so excited!

 ~MESSY!  MESSY!~

Now...just in case you all might mistakenly THINK I am totally disciplined and work in an immaculate studio I've decided to share with you a few TINY snapshots of what can quickly turn into a completely disorganized, junked up, out of control workroom if I'm not careful! :)

~SO MUCH WORSE THAN THIS~

~STUFF IS EVERYWHERE~

After I finish up the Fall pillows I'm currently working on I just MUST take some time out to clean up my space.  Otherwise I fear I will surely lose my sanity.  I don't do well with chaos and absolutely cannot create a thing when I can't see the floor (you think I'm kidding and I'm NOT!).

Hope you are having a wonderful week!

Blessings and love to you~