Just Getting Started- A little FALL Decor

Hi friends,

I was at the Dollar tree 

getting something else when

I saw these Maple leaf stems.

I know I could spend more and get better quality

floral at Hobby Lobby or just about anywhere else.

I had an idea and I wanted to see if it would work.  

I love the brown and beige tones.

I bought 2 stems for $1.25 each, so not a big investment .

Found some old book pages in my paper stash.

I used one of the leaves to make a pattern.

Then cut some Maple leaves from the book pages.

You could even stain your pages 

with coffee, tea or watercolor paints.

I folded the leaves down the center.

Then glued the leaves to a center piece that 

did not have a leaf...

but looked like it needed one.

It made the stems nice and full !

I put one stem in an old cider jug...

It works for me-

nothing fancy!

Here's a close up of the leaves.

I put the other stem in a white pitcher.

This year

I plan to decorate with my brown transferware, 

lots of browns and neutrals.

It turned out like I was thinking....I like it-

Okay... tell me what you think. 

Are you thinking about Fall?

Or are you 'enjoying' 105 degree weather like I am ???

Have a great week!

xo Lisa S

Simple 'Back to School' Vignette

 Hello!

Well it's been a while since I posted,

 in fact I've missed

all of July... and now summer is almost over.

To get back on track at our house I decided

to make a quick Back to School vignette.

I picked the desk near our front door.

I started with a clean slate.

It give me a chance to clean the area

and 'feed' the wood furniture.

I grabbed a few ideas to display.

Had to add a globe-

Brought over some books-

This little Koala named Blinky is adorable.

A few flashcards will stand up 

in a couple of vintage 'flower frogs'

This glass 'frog' will hold some pencils.

That was easy!

More books and some crayons.

One of my favorite finds was this Crayola chalk tin.

It was in great shape.

 I liked the color-and yes,

 I do keep my chalk in it.

I took a lunch pail thermos

from my kitchen.

We are all about the ABC's around here

right now!

These books came from my eBay shop-

I have quite a few vintage ones at the moment.

In the past I have shared 

my collection of  Early childhood readers.

I moved things around a couple of times!

That was fun to put together.

Thank you for visiting!

xo Lisa S

Storybook Suitcase

Hi my Friend,

I've had this old suitcase a while...I used it for display

at the holiday boutique.

It worked ok for Christmas...but not my favorite color.

I wanted to make something special for my granddaughter.

The suitcase is small about 12'' x 16''

Perfect for a little overnight trip.

I decided to paint the suitcase grey, using chalk paint I had on hand.

The will be a good base for decoupage!

The inside was in great condition and it even had the mirror!

I had a copy of this book,

' The Country Bunny and the little gold shoes'.

It was tattered and I thought it would be a good start !

I cut out some of the pictures-

along with a mismatch collection of other book scraps-

Nursery rhymes, poems and flowers.

 I used Matte Mod Podge to adhere the pictures.

I worked in random way-

I started on the sides at first- I tied to match acrylic

paint to fill in open space in the background.

Painted the sky then

I added that bird to the cottage roof

Continued the path with paint.

The top of the case was painted also and then filled in the clouds.

I went all along the top-

Then came down the other side with a castle!

The sides are my favorite part.

At this point I just kept going and had fun layering

with no rhyme or reason-

Filling in here and there with paint.

I even added some small scraps on the bottom.

Here it it is completed-

I tied some ribbon on the handle

 and a couple cotton spun mushrooms.

Both sides are completely different and I like that-

it tells a little story.

I tried to show all sides.

I worked on the case off and on-

until I thought it was finished.

I think my granddaughter will enjoy the suitcase.

For now it's filled with stuffed animals.

Thanks for visiting today!!!!!

xo Lisa S

Paperback Book Turned into Christmas Decor

  Hi there !

My library has paperback books for 10 cents.

I thought it would be fun to  make a folded ornament shape.

Remove the books cover.

I didn't do any counting of pages. I folded 3 top to bottom, then 3

bottom to top.

          

You may like the shape at this point.

I went back and did a second fold every 3 top to bottom.

I had a wood scrap and an eye screw...put together it made a ornament

hanger.

This picture shows my mistake- an extra fold was necessary

but I don't think it will be noticeable.

To cover the base, I added some some beads to a button

then glued it in place.

You know I'm not crazy about glitter but I went ahead

and added it to some of the edges with white glue.

This one is glitter mess.

Thank you for stopping by !

It is always great to hear from you.

xo Lisa S