Creating an Autumn Cloche

Happy First Day of Fall!

My last post I shared the Dining Room with a mini Home Tour; if you haven't seen that post you can catch it HERE. I focused on the Dining Room table with a large urn with fall natural elements, but I also shared the buffet with several cloches dressed up for Fall. So today I thought I'd focus on the grouping of cloches that celebrate fall and a few others that in the past I've put together for the Autumn Season. 

The Entry is for the Birds

May is Bird Month around here, literally! We have a full nest box on the front porch and wherever I go I can here chirping and cheeping. It's been hard to water the fern and containers on the porch because you may get bird bombed by mom and dad.

Easter Cloche and the Spring Entry

Back when I first started blogging, (it will be 15 years in June) cloches became popular. Terrariums were the rage years ago, and I think the cloche vignette sprang from that. I've always loved bringing a few items together to form a small grouping, then highlighting the pieces by placing them under glass.

Valentines Under Glass

Hello Friends, 

I've always felt Valentine's Day lends itself to a cloche vignette. Gathering small items into one grouping works especially well for a vintage Valentine setting. Mixing ephemera, antique cards, jewelry with dried flowers, and other bits and baubles can become one beautiful cohesive look when it's under glass.

Cottage ReView: Botanical Calendar Art on the Fall Buffet

Hello my friends, today on the Cottage Review I'm sharing a post from our previous home's dining room, styling my buffet for fall. At our current house our buffet is under a lovely English Country paned window, and although it's a pretty setting it's not practical for photo taking. Our last house had the "Frenchy mantel mirror" above it, and it was the perfect spot for decorating.

Woodsy Cloche for Spring and Easter

A few weeks ago I put together a post with Spring and Easter cloche inspiration. My personal favorites always include not only a focal point, but surrounded with some kind of botanical element like florals, grapevine, bird nests, or moss. Figural elements such as rabbits, lambs, dishes, and graphics are always a beautiful way to create a small vignette and elevate it to visual importance.

Early Summer Entry with Bovine Beauties

Despite the gray, rainy weather (and poor light) I wanted to share my late Spring/early Summer entry. Late May is the perfect time to decorate using lovely lush pastel Hydrangeas with a hint of summer that's on the way. 

Winter Botanical Tabletop Garden

Hello Friends and Welcome to a very fun 

and a bit different Blog Hop

that my friend Amber from Follow the Yellow Brick Home

has put together in this very cold and dreary month of January.

Yes, you read it right, it's a Hop where we're sharing 

our "Winter" Botanical and Garden ideas.

Thanks so much Amber, for putting this all together

to share some fun ideas and inspiration for winter into spring.

Valentine's Day Makes an Entrance

I'm going to admit right up front that this is one of those "photo shoots" that continued over the course of a day or two. I've been know to start taking pictures, then add or subtract items from the vignette. Instead of completely starting over, I just incorporate all the photos and we can do one of those "Highlights" photo puzzles along the lines of, "what's different in these photos?"

I was busy taking pictures of the Entry when I thought it would be fun to do a small Valentine's Day Cloche with one of my antique Valentines and some of the little pink mini carnations that I used earlier in the week. That's the nice thing about carnations, they stay pretty for days.

Sunflower Botanical Cloche

I have several cloches that I keep on the Buffet in the Dining Room, and even though they usually have the same basic elements of nests, birds, and woodsy things, I like to give them a mini update with florals and seasonal elements.

                      

Christmas Cloches au Natural

Hi Friends...

I thought I'd do a quick post 

and share my two Christmas Cloches

from the Dining Room.

Coffee Table ReStyle

Hi Friends, a few weeks ago I needed to finally put away all my "Spring" rabbits, bunnies, and whatever... I'd been putting it off cause I hadn't felt so great, but when everyone started talking "Summer" it was obvious that my sweet little Bunny Man Basket needed to be tucked away for next year.

Thanksgiving Table-top Vignette

Through my inevitable "process" of tweaking and changing up,

I finally decided on the tabletop vignette in the Dining Room.

Enough of you have confided to me that you're as OCD as I am, 

and cannot... will not, leave something alone.

Not until it's been done to death 

and we reach the place where it "works".

Fall Birdies

Does that title sound like I've lost my marbles?

Like a crazy cat lady that spends all her time bird watching with her felines?

don't answer that...

Hope you all are having a great Labor Day Weekend. We stuck close to home except for a fun trip on Saturday to a new winery in the area. I'll show you a few pics and share a link with you soon. They also have a sheep farm, so that was the real draw for me. We've had a heat wave this last week, and it's supposed to break in the next few days. We had such a wonderful taste of cooler weather earlier. Hopefully, that will bring us back to the 70's. gosh, I'm more than ready. 

Fall's First Glimpse

I've been thinking about Fall...

no surprise, huh?

I know some of you enjoy Fall, 

but you want to squeeze every ounce out of Summer.

When our kiddos are young and at home,

summer is a special time of adventure and relaxation.

But, I've always been the type of person that comes alive 

in the crisp air of Autumn.

The blue of the sky is different,

the angle of the light has changed.

The trees get ready to put on a show, 

that thrills my soul to experience.

Autumn rejuvenates me;

it gives me back the energy that the heat of Summer drains away

I'm ready...

Dining Room Buffet and a new Tablerunner

Earlier in the week, I talked about some ideas on styling the top of my China Cabinet here in the Dining Room. So I thought today I would just continue with more pics of my teensy Dining Room/Area. I'm grateful for a Dining Space, but it's on the smallish side, with only 3 walls, and I have largish furniture.

A French Country Inspired Spring Brunch Buffet

Hello Everyone, 

we're all so excited to start off this special week of our

 Share Your Style Spring Blog Hop!

This week all eight of us will be sharing some fresh new Spring Inspiration and we hope you'll share what you've been doing to transform your spaces for this brand new Season.

Christmas Entry

Hi Everyone! I know most of us are having a busy weekend, between last minute shopping, runs to the grocery, and baking up a storm...but I wanted to share a few pics from my Entry, inside and out.

Looks pretty familiar right?

I'm using a lot of the same elements here, as I did at the old house.

Oustside, we just kept it simple this year, as I haven't been able to decide how to decorate the narrow front porch. It's not big enough for much of a bench, but I have a few things in mind for this Spring. I'm just using my Christmas topiaries that are lit up at night and I kept my basket on the door; just added in some evergreens and used some of the plaid ribbon, that I've used inside.

A family vintage sled decorated, at least gives a little bit of Christmas.

With this ribbon, 

I'll be able to keep this basket arrangement for a little while.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

I'm still waiting for Santa to deliver a few presents,

and then I need to get busy wrapping.

Even the fur girls send out a 

Merry Christmas!

joining in on these Christmas parties:

A Stroll Thru Life
Stone Gable
Coastal Charm
Cozy Little House

xoxo,

Flirting with Fall

I've been flirting with Fall this week...

It's quiet whispers, and gentle caresses

make me giddy.

I can hardly wait till September.

So many of us have this same little love affair...

Even though the days are warm, the nights are cooler, and the daylight is shorter.

Each morning a new sprinkling of small maple leaves greet me on the front walk

with their subtle changes of reds, oranges and golds.

I wanted to bring a few inside and let my little lambs have a place to play.

They usually live on the Buffet here in the Dining Room,

but I've brought in something that has displaced them.

So I've corralled them on the table on an old metal tray,

that has just the right amount of Fall color.

Here's just a peek at what's been taking place this week.

It's developed into a full on romance...

but then, I "Fall" in love all over again each year.

And speaking of sheep...

have you entered my 4 Year Blogging Anniversary Give Away?

I'm giving away a beautiful pillow cover to two of my Followers.

Haven't entered? 

What are you waiting for...?

Just click here

Have a wonderful Labor Day Weekend,

I'll see you Monday morning for 

Joining in on these great weekly parties:

Amaze Me Monday at Dwellings

The Scoop at Cedar Hill Ranch

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House

Inspire Me at A Stroll Thru Life

Blissful Whites at Timewashed

xoxo,

Late Summer Sideboard...

Now that it's the middle of August it was time to change up my Hallway Sideboard. I'm bringing in the colors of Nature's late Summer palette, in exchange for my little wheelbarrow full of garden produce. Golds and muted colors of late Summer are evident in the dried hydrangeas, breadboards, basket, and the little English Cottage tray. 

I've been collecting these rattan lunch hampers for the last several years. I've stacked them on an old white bench to add some height and balance to this long stretch of wall.

We hung this old window a couple of years ago, and I've enjoyed having it as a backdrop for my other wall decor. I love the look of layering vintage pieces, especially mirrors and prints. I found this great Sunflower botanical print last year at Robin's Vintage Suitcase.

My white antique French Ironstone tureen has been pretty much a staple here, finding it's way into whatever season it might be.

The little paper mache tray fit right in to the back of the hamper filled with old china.

Some dried hydrangeas with just a hint of lavender and green are sitting inside this old pottery canister. Anyone know what language this is and what it says?

This pedestal is Staffordshire, entitled "The Meet".

This other little pedestal plate is Johnson Brothers.

The big breadboard is from Antique Farmhouse

 and the smaller ones are vintage.

I think this ought to hold me until September. 

That's when the pumpkins come out...

...and for those of you that think I put things together like a breeze...

this little display took me three days and several renditions before

I finally settled on this one.

what can I say, the pumpkins were wanting to come out.