Browsing Tag

fall

Holidays, Home Decor

Free Downloadable Art Prints for Fall

Hi! Glad you’re here! It’s September first, which naturally means it’s unofficially fall. Pumpkin spice, hats, scarves, boots, baking, hay rides, bring it on! Just kidding. It is still in the upper nineties where we live in Texas, so none of those things are in our immediate future, but we can still pretend, right?

I don’t really decorate much any more for fall (I save my energy for Christmas), but I did get curious today about looking through some free public domain art to download. It’s easy to print for at home use, stick it in a frame, and call it fall decor. It’s fall decorating for the non decorators.

I found six prints that I would put in my home, and figured I’d share them with you guys. God bless museums that offer free public domain art online, amirite? It takes some digging to find good ones, so I did that work for ya. Click through some of the following links to download your own art for free. You’re welcome.

Autumn, Bruce Crane

Autumn Landscape, Du Bois Fenelon Hasbrouk

Autumn at Arkville, Alexander H. Wyant

Candlestick Representing Autumn, Giuseppe Barberi

Woods in Autumn, Frederic Edwin Church

A Maple Tree, Autumn, Frederic Edwin Church

These are a few of my favorites I found while browsing. You can easily print them at home, or send them in to your local drugstore that does photo printing. Easiest decor ever! That’s all for today, have a fabulous day!

Home Decor

Sugar Mold Thanksgiving Styling

Can you believe it’s November already? This year is flying by, and I definitely have Christmas on my mind. (Christmas in first grade is a lot of fun, I have to admit). But before we get to Christmas, I have to at least give a little nod to Thanksgiving! I wanted to show you guys a cool piece I found recently and how I am styling it for Thanksgiving.

About a month ago, Ethan and I were shopping at Canton, our favorite place to go. I’ve shared about it before, but it’s a giant flea market in Canton, Texas. It’s one of the country’s oldest remaining flea markets, and it has a range of all sorts of things. Anyway, we were there and I totally had blinders on because I was looking for one specific thing. I don’t know about you, but I can talk myself out of almost any purchase. So I had my money that day, and because I was walking around looking for one particular thing, I didn’t buy anything for several hours. After maybe four hours or so, I realized I wasn’t going to find what I was looking for, and so I went into SHOPZILLA mode. That’s not a thing. I just made that up. What I mean is that after I gave up on that one thing, it was like my eyes were opened to so many more possibilities around me.

One of the things that I picked up that day was this sugar mold. sugar mold 1

I paid fifteen dollars for it, although I had no idea how I was going to use it. I usually don’t buy things unless I have a plan for them, but this one time I broke my own rule. At the time that I purchased it, I didn’t really know what it was either. I know I had seen pictures of similar things on Instagram, but I didn’t know what the official name was or the history behind the pieces.

When I got it home, I didn’t know what to do with it, so I put it in the guest bathroom (arguably the least used room in our house) so i didn’t have to look at it. I was a little overwhelmed with how to use it, so I ignored it. Anyone else do that? No, you probably don’t, because that’s not normal. Anyway, while it was collecting dust in the guest bathroom, I did a little research on it.

Sugar molds started in medieval times and were used throughout the 19th century. Granulated sugar wasn’t really a thing until the 19th century so sugar was poured into these cone shaped molds to be sold. I never knew that, so when I was reading this, I found it super interesting! I’m a history nerd anyway, so random historical facts are totally my jam. The actual wooden mold has deep cone shaped grooves in the center (mine has six), which made it slightly difficult to style for me. While the origins of my piece are unknown to me, it’s becoming one of my favorite things. I’m sure it’s not an authentic antique, but I love it anyway.

When I finally pulled it out and decided to make it pretty, I was kicking myself for not doing it sooner! The little imperfections in the wood have so much character, and the piece is one of the more unique things in our home right now.

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I used a bit of straw to fill in some of the depth of the molds, and then some fall vase filler. I got the filler items from Hobby Lobby (40% off of course). This little fall look was a quick and easy look to achieve, even though I was dreading it for almost a month! Just in time for Thanksgiving, and then I’ll be transitioning this piece into Christmas with some more festive holiday decor!

Do you have a sugar mold? I would love to hear about how you styled it…because it ha me stumped for a while! That’s it for today friends, I hope y’all have a fabulous day.

Holidays

Fall Touches on the Front Porch

Hey y’all! Hope you’re having a great Wednesday! I have definitely been feeling that midweek stress level rising, but I relieved some of that stress the only way I know how…puttering around the house! Today I focused my attention on the front porch. I don’t know what it is, but for some reason fall seems like the season where you just have to decorate your porch. (Now that I’m thinking about it, people definitely do other seasonal things with their outdoor decor, but in my mind it seems more natural for the fall. Whatever.)

I wanted to show y’all a few details of our front porch. Our rental home has a HUGE front porch, which is a blessing. On one side, I have a little sitting area set up, and on the other is where you can usually find me painting something. It has enough space for large and small projects, and for that I’m thankful. I’ll definitely miss this front porch when we leave this rental. (See? I’m always looking for the positives in our living situation.) Anyway, now that I’ve gotten a little off track, how about I just show you some pictures? IMG_2375

I have a large planter on either side of our front steps. I replaced the totally dead flowers (my gardening skills range somewhere in the “I tried” to the “it’s hopeless” range) with hay and some pumpkins. These are the only two things I bought with real money for this little set up. I bought my pumpkins at Home Depot, which is the cheapest place I’ve found them so far. Pumpkins can get a bit pricey especially when buying multiples, but Home Depot had some pretty good sizes for a reasonable price. I got the hay at Hobby Lobby (with a 40% off coupon of course). I’m pretty sure these planters will last a bit longer than my attempted flowers. Maybe I’ll just leave this here until next year…

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Here’s a peek of what the sitting area looks like…I added a blanket for a bit of coziness (never mind the fact that the weather is not cooperating at all), along with my Thankful pillow wrap. Can I just pause for a second and say that pillow wraps are the bomb? Like, how cool that you can seasonally change your pillows with minimal storage space, right?! Maybe I’m the only one who gets excited about these things. Maybe there are more of you like me out there. One can only hope so. This one was a gift from a sweet friend I met via Instagram. Everything else I shopped around my home or yard for.

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My little bushel basket is filled with dried leaves, compliments of the backyard. Pinecones are a great fall piece…also free. I’m a fan of free. I actually got these from a lady who practically forced me to take them from her garage sale, but you could just as easily find some at a local park. In my book, free=no brainer. I prefer my fall pieces to be more nature inspired anyway, but these types of simple decor are easy on the budget. I can’t think of a simpler way to add seasonal touches. I have these things scattered throughout my home as well.

A few sources you may be wondering about in this post… the rocking chair is from Cracker Barrel  (we have two of them and they are just as awesome at home as they are at the restaurant), and the rug is from Hobby Lobby. Everything else was found at garage sales or flea markets.

Do you decorate your outdoor area for fall? What are your go-to items? I’d love to hear about it! Fall decorating can be inexpensive and hassle free, so give it a try and get a little festive! That’s all for today friends, have a fabulous day!

Holidays, Home Decor

Transitional Fall Table Setting

Hey y’all! I don’t know if you’ve realized this…but it’s September now, so that means when it comes to fall decor, it’s on! Here in Texas though, we’re still averaging temps in the nineties each day. I’m ready for fall, but the weather says otherwise! My response to that is a sort of transitional summer/fall decor theme around my house. I’ve put out pumpkins and pinecones, but my hydrangeas are still out as well.

Today I wanted to share with you a quick summer/fall table setting. Y’all know I’m all about cheap decor around here, so this table setting is a hodge-podge of thrifted, gifted, and found items. summerfalltable3

My smaller plates were found at a flea market, and everything else has been bought on sale. I’m learning in decorating that there really aren’t many rules that can’t be broken. Seersucker and pumpkins? Sure, why not?!

(Is there a hand hidden in this picture? I’ll never tell.)

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I wanted this setting to say both “summer” and “fall” without being too clashy. This eclectic mix of pieces works for me because it’s casual, easy, and it feels both summery and autumnal.

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Just wanted to drop in and show y’all a little seasonal inspiration. I realize this is super quick, but it was easy! Set your table, I promise you, it’ll make you feel like you’re way on top of things. A pretty table inspires me to sit and eat dinner (and staying away from dinner on the couch…which NEVER happens at our house. *cough*).

 Are you bringing in fall decor? Are you in full blown pumpkin mode, or are you more like me doing things slowly? I’d love to hear about it! That’s all for today. Have a fabulous day, friends!