I used some heavy duty old-fashioned "dripless" candles, red maple leaves, chestnuts, satin ribbon and a large, oval pewter tray.
I wrote things that I was thankful for on some of the leaves using a white paint pen.
Please check out my other Fall posts for more seasonal Inspiring Ideas!
These are pictures of just a couple of my new paintings. They are all designed to look like vintage signs but with an inspirational twist. My originals were done in acrylics on large wood panels. I aged each one to some degree to give it a retro look:
These new paintings are something I've had in my heart and been wanting to do for so long! I started sketching years ago, and have just now made the time to get them started. I have many more I hope to paint soon and add to the collection!
(This is by an outside door that's never used.) We decided to move our existing office in here, too, so the now studio/office is taking a bit longer to get organized... And I have to design hubby a guy corner for his desk. Our new space is getting tremendous use, and WE LOVE IT!!!, but I can't bear to show you the rest of the space just yet! 
... or for kneeling on the hard garage floor priming my wood panels for my paintings! :-)
The home was a quaint brick two-story and I always loved that old rusty door knocker that came with it. Anyhoo, this particular wreath is also one of the projects in my Inspirational Home book. I fastened a satin ribbon into a bow and gently intertwined it into the wreath. Then I marked the areas of the ribbon tails where I would position my words. I took the ribbon off and penciled in "give" and "thanks." Using burgundy acrylic craft paint, I carefully free-hand painted the letters in a script font. After they were completely dry, I put the ribbon back on the wreath.
And the best part is, it came with a ribbon that already has a lovely message on it! "Give Thanks to the Lord."
The dried grains make a beautiful arrangement and I love that natural look! It's a new product of DaySpring and can be purchased online here.
I found pine cones and branches for my hurricanes. It seems almost everyone has hurricanes in their homes these days - they're perfect for seasonal accents. Here I filled two with pine cones and a few leafy branches just turning in color.
My inspirational twist was a paper band inscribed with "with a heart of Thanksgiving." I layered stripes in my computer program and printed cream letters on them. Be sure you print it long enough to wrap around and overlap. You can also stamp letters on strips of scrapbook or construction paper.
Horse chestnuts! They are in such dark, rich brown tones and have a waxy sheen. We filled the stroller bottom and after returning home I just had to find places for all of them! Here was one little spot I tucked them into.
I also added the word "joy" to the front center one, using a paint pen. I've got lots more "natural" decor fall ideas coming soon! Photo of nuts from Wikipedia.
First, collect a few leaves that are still soft and pliable. Choose a variety of kinds or three of one, like the maple that I used here:
Paint the back of the leaves with assorted fall-colored fabric paints, even blending several colors per leaf to give them more depth. (Tip: try brushing a darker color over the main veins to distinguish them.) Blot each leaf on paper towel before applying to your tote, BUT test on scrap fabric first, to see how they will look. Position over tote and press gently, but thoroughly all over the leaf to transfer the detail to the tote. (Tip: insert another paper towel inside the tote to catch any bleed through.)
Isn't that fun?! She printed out all these neat phrases to describe Lori, attached them to toothpicks and poked them into the cake! I've never seen this idea before, but I fully intend to steal it at the next opportunity!
I made this with one chocolate cake recipe divided into three round cake pans. His body is two layers with a cherries and cream filling. The fins and tail are single layer shapes cut "freehand." Note: there was leftover cake ... so we could snitch before the party! :-) I made cream cheese frosting and saved a bit of white for piping before dyeing the rest blue. Eye is an M&M.
And good thing it was just immediate family ... my peanut butter frosting suddenly separated right before I was about done mixing it! Ahh! Luckily I had a can of chocolate frosting in the pantry for "emergencies." :-) With a change of plans I salvaged some of the p.b. frosting to make the giraffe's spots. [This cake was made using one 9x13 pan, then cut into geometric shapes and positioned on the platter to form the giraffe.] The main thing is it tasted yummy and my little explorer: 
...enjoyed it after a special outing to a wildlife museum that day where he saw a "real" giraffe!
A Hula Girl Cake! Obviously, the theme was a Hawaiian Luau, but no silly green grass skirts for us ... she wanted all "pink and purple!" I baked this chocolate cake in a bundt pan and after supporting the little Barbie doll in the center, filled and frosted it all. I "dressed" and embellished with a purple store-bought gel tube and some pink sugar.
...fall colors. Once again, I decided on the quick and simple route. I made a little "blessings to you" embellishment using metal tags, paper and wire; fastened it to a satin ribbon on this craft-show purchase and I'm on to my next task!
I painted large canvases with the extra seaside blue wall paint from my son's beach-themed bedroom next door. Then I made high-quality 8x10 glossy prints of some close-up shots of the kids. These prints were simply spray-glued to the canvas centers and the art was displayed in a row.
AND I've also been busy with my big Studio Project.
Does he look tired? Hmmm, install flooring or watch 4 toddlers ... install flooring ... watch 4 toddlers ... who had the more tiring day? :-)
...this awesome city dump find has found new life! It's almost into it's new home, so I'll show you how I transformed it shortly!!
I made these pop art images using the birth announcement photos I took of my daughter back in April '05. It was, for me, an inexpensive and quick way to decorate her room ... after her birth, since we didn't find out we were having a girl until she was born. Since then I've seen a couple companies in the back of mom's magazines that offer this type of service, but I'll give you the scoop so you can do it yourself!
Instructions: I use Adobe Photoshop, but I believe most photo-editing programs have the capabilities for this project. Convert your color photo first to Grayscale, then to a Duotone. In Photoshop this is under "Image " then "Mode." Choose two colors for your piece. I used fuschia for my dominant color and bright yellow for highlights. In order to prevent the colors from blending into a third color - like orange in my case - you must now play around with the curves. My fuschia curve is at zero for 0, 5, 10, then 40 at 40 on up to 100 at 100. My yellow curve is at 50 for 0, 5, 10, then zero from 20 to 100. The curve adjustments will dramatically effect your image, so play with these until you like how the photo appears.
... which was a modified guest room until we shuffled all the bedrooms around ...
... and then moved across the country. Now she's in this "big girl" bed and they grace her headboard. I'd love to see pictures from any of you who "do try this at home!"
and following the river, our surroundings became less green and more rocky, as we entered this incredible slot canyon of enormous scale ...
we saw fossils underfoot ...
natural arches and spectacular rock formations ...
experienced the feeling of "it's like walking on wet bowling balls" ...
dipped in gorgeous and chilly waterfalls:
criss-crossed gentle rapids ...
saw wildlife ...
wondered if the end was around this corner? ... :-)
and, finally ... 11 hours later ... saw the light at the end of the tunnel!
What a day! I encourage you to find someplace God-inspiring this summer!!
Now that summer is almost over, I decided it was about time to swap out my dark red mantel candles for a lighter seasonal look! :-) These pale blue ones will do the trick, but I decided to embellish them with a little tag for a custom look.
Supplies:
Measure your metal tag. Stamp "hope" onto scrapbooking paper or design your tag on the computer and cut it out a touch smaller than the tag. Glue it on. Punch the hole. Cut a coordinating paper band to wrap around the candle and glue overlapping ends in back to secure in place. Thread ribbon through holes and tie around candle. Trim ends.
Have you seen it? 
