Simple Fall Inspiration
As Halloween winds down and Thanksgiving quickly approaches, I find myself wanting to add another 13 hours to each day so that I can keep up with my unrealistic decorating schedule. Each year I pull down the 13 boxes of Halloween decorations and spend hours creating just the right amount of spooky fun in my home and yard. Then, just as quickly as it ends, I exhaust myself taking all of them down and pulling out the Thanksgiving decorations so that I can have them up for a couple of weeks to make all the effort worthwhile. As soon as Thanksgiving is over, I rush to put it all away and then begin the really festive engagement of turning the house into a holiday showcase.
If you are like me, you decided long ago that holidays could not go on unless you over-decorated, under-slept and over achieved. I am not sure where the idea of decorating myself to death came from, but this year I am going to test a theory. I want to see if the turkey, presents, decorations and parties can be just as much fun if I think a little simpler, and get a little more rest.
Since I just packed away all of the Halloween goodies and am on to Thanksgiving, I will try to use only a few decorations around the house to make my decorating simple. Thank goodness that my student, Kris, painted a beautiful leaf bordered table runner in class (Patty Rawlingson’s design) so that I could borrow it for my table. To accompany the table runner, I selected a few thrift shop finds from my stash and kept the painting minimal.
I decided that since it usually takes me a couple of days to get all of the decorating done, I would allow myself just one day to see what I could come up with.
After looking at all of the latest trends and in magazines, I settled on the thrift shop find of a medium sized bowl and wooden candle holder. After a light sanding, I painted them black, glued them together and made a centerpiece that I could fill with fruit, leaves, or acorns (found on the walk with my dog, which I had time for that since I didn’t have to unpack the 11 boxes of decorations).
Now, I needed something for my entryway. My other great find was an old nut bowl made of resin. I washed it with mild dish soap, dried it, and then wiped it with vinegar to remove any residue. I basecoated it with a mix of Black Plum + Paint Adhesion Medium to put down a dark base color. Using my Loew-Cornell crescent brushes loaded in gradating colors (from dark to lighter), I began to use the embossed pattern as my guide to softly enhance the embossed design of the piece. It turned out so soft and beautiful that I am glad I had it in my stash!
To add a little spirit to my mantle, I sprayed a Smooth Ball Jar and votive glass with Rust-oleum’s Autumn Brown Multicolor textured spray on the outside and then lightly misted it with Krylon’s Brass Metallic Spray Paint. When it dried, I hot glued a couple leaves and a button to add some flair, lit the candle and admired my handiwork.
