Happy Fall Y'all!

I felt it this morning. That first official nip in the air that says "Fall is coming". I can't wait! To continue with my Fall decorating I decided to share some inspiration for your front door. Your window boxes or anywhere you may want to spruce up with some fall color. Do you have your warm morning (or night) drink in hand? Ready to curl up and view some Fall door decor? Lets get started then. I love the entrance above. So inviting!

Do you have a picket gate you can hang a wreathe on? If you do I am so jealous!


Lovely reds and burgundies for a wreathe.

Fall leaves and a fun little "pumpkin tassel" in a square shape make this wreathe fun.

Au natural!

Sunflowers brighten up these fall brown leaves.

Another square wreathe, this time with oranges.

Fun Indian corn on a pitch fork. Something different, but great!

Fall squash, grape vines and leaves.

Berries. Simple and pretty.

I always love pomegranates this time of year.

I love the idea of the burlap ribbon they used on this one.

Traditional Autumn fair, corn and mums.

Here is something to do with all those wine corks you have. Just sayin.......

Walnuts and Filberts make a perfect Autumn wreathe. Can I just comment on the door color here? I love it!

I love this fun pumpkin idea for a fall window box!

Wheat!

Here is a fun project for the kiddos.

Nuts and leaves, traditional and simple.

Why not get you pine now, add some fall then add some Christmas come December!

A wreathe to feed the cold fall birdies!

I love the simplicity of this one.

Pumpkins on Black.

Black Satin and pumpkins.

Fruit! Very Williamsburg-esque!

The cool colors of green and white gourds. Lovely and serene.

I love the "wildness "of this. The natural shape.

Autumn Roses.

Love the pheasant feather and the long satin ribbon. Especially against the yellow door.

More sunflowers. This time with wheat and purple ribbon.

Unique shape makes these standard fall leaves a shining STAR!

Bunches of wheat tied on a post. What a fun idea!

Traditional fall leaves are always a classic. I hope you have enjoyed your warm drink and the Fall inspiration. Come back and join me Thursday for some Fall table inspiration. Happy Fall!

Gearing Up For Fall

With only 15 days until October 1st (can you believe that?) I thought I would start gearing up for fall decor. I love decorating in the fall. I think I love fall decor even more than Christmas because most of it can be disposed of once the season is over instead of packed away. I don't know about you but packing up Christmas decor is one of my least favorite things to do. I found some inspiration pictures all involving pumpkins. These are just some of my favorite and all were found on Better Homes And Gardens web site. Starting with my favorite the monogram which I have mentioned I have an obsession with! I plan on trying this one out this year.


Look at this beautiful "pumpkin abra" done with stenciled pumpkins.

A fun rustic bench of painted pumpkins in different patterns.

Another favorite of mine....harlequins and look they are painted on the center pumpkin here!

I love this one too. Your house number carved in a stack of pumpkins. It could easily be done on a single pumpkin too!

House numbers again on a single pumpkin this time with patterned pumpkins.

Polka dots? These look painted but they are actually done with a corer and punched out of different veggies then replaces back into other pumpkins. Fun!

A Folk Art Pumpkin Quilt.

A fun place setting that would be easy to incorporate.

Another fun idea to do with a corer. Loved the spelled out word!

More painted pumpkins.

A fun fall setting done with pumpkins and rustic yard tools. I love all these fun ideas and am ready to try a few. I think I will work with the artificial pumpkins you can buy at the craft stores as they will last longer. Are you ready to start on your fall decorating? Hope you were inspired.

My Non Garage Sale Garage Sale

Spring cleaning that has lasted since May! Slowly I have been going through the house pulling things that just have no place in this home. So many of the items are very hard to part with mainly because they are lovely, newer and one always has the hope that you may be able to use it "somewhere". Everything from the clothes the kids have outgrown to the more substantial furniture pieces. Little Miss Whimsy is begging for a big big change in her room which will mean selling a lot of very nice pieces. I am still on the fence about this BUT do think a new plan is in order now that she is getting older. Over the past months many items have been piling up in the attic which means it is time for the garage sale. However; I am thinking a non garage sale garage sale is on order and so that may mean Craig's List. In any event I thought it would be fun to invite y'all in to my "garage sale". Have fun browsing! Swivel rocker.

Crystal lamps. Tre Chic!
Full size French Provincial bed.

Pottery Barn Kids window panels.

An entire collection of Web Kinz, some with tags still on!

Girls Costume My daughter loved Felicity from American Girls!

Girls clothing.......

and clothing........

Oil Painting

oil rubbed bronze clock 42" this baby is the size of a table!

Art prints

there a set!

Antique federal style full sized bed. Painted navy but it is solid mahogany.

Did you have fun shopping?

Birthday Party Favors For The Tween & Teen

I am a planner. Or at least I like to think of myself as one. When little Miss Whimsy decided she wanted a sleepover and pool party for her 11th birthday I immediately started planning. One challenge was the party favor. I found to my surprise, especially here in the south where decorum and tradition live long, that the party favor seems to be a lost art. Not in the Whimsy household. I am a stickler for tradition. My challenge; however , was what to put in this favor that wasn't junk that would be immediately tossed or candy that really was not needed by any of us!
When I asked Little Miss Whimsy what she wanted to do for party favors her reply was "Vera Bradley" my reply was "yeah right". Then I did some research and found that with enough planning I could find Vera Bradley at clearance prices. Would I rather spend a sum on this or buy a lot of small junk and spend the same? The answer was an easy one. So we got to work. I watched the Vera Bradley clearance section on line to see what I could get for $5 or less. I found a coin purse in older patterns. I had just about decided upon it when.........I ran into Hallmark for something and discovered these adorable wristlets marked down with an extra 40% off the mark down price. SCORE! Lucky for me they even had 10!

I saved a couple dollars on the Vera Bradley which left me some money to put towards something else. Another surprise find. Some great nail polish for $1 a bottle. The best part they came in great colors. Perfect for the tween. Orange, purple, aqua, green, neon's you name it.

My last find was a pack of Vera Bradley Pencils that I could break up to supply 1 pencil per favor. Works for me! In the end we had some great party favors for around $5 per girl.

They were a big hit. Imagine that! The best part was my daughter was old enough and excited to put them together herself. What a perfect project for her. It is amazing what you can come up with if you allow yourself time and planning. Knowing your target "audience" doesn't hurt either. Remember too, often times finding items online are your best bet. Web sites for popular brands, like Vera Bradley, often have clearance sections where you can find things for a fraction of the store cost. Also remember to search for "outlets" of your favorite brands. Have fun in your party planning endeavors! Happy planning!

The FInal Days of Summer

A big hello! It has been a long summer here at the Whimsy household. We were able to spend a lot of family time together.........even when we didn't want to! Two birthday parties ( I have a 13 year old and an 11 year old now) Trips to Asheville, Myrtle Beach, VA Beach, the Outer Banks, Williamsburg and day trips to the beach kept us more than busy. Throw a stringent competitive cheer practice schedule for little miss into the mix and it all sounds exhausting doesn't it? At times it was! Here we are in September can you believe it? August just flew by. I am happy to report that all three Whimsy kids started school and it seemed to go off without a glitch. I was a worried mom in regards to my baby starting middle school but she loves it! Moving into Fall continues to keep me busy. Cheer practice, 9 hours per week, school and sports keeps us hopping. I have joined two tennis teams which keeps the extra hours (are you kidding what extra hours?) occupied as well. Through it all I do hope to dedicate more time to my blog again. I have missed sharing my ideas and creations. I have missed reading every one's supportive and kind words and I have missed visiting all y'all's blogs as well. As always thanks for stopping by and reading.

The three Whimsy kids on their way out the door for the first day of school. Can you tell which one is happy school is starting and which two are not? If I was in that picture you would have seen me jumping up and down in glee! I am happy to be back in blog land. Hope to hear from you soon!

Purple Tween Bliss in 36 Hours

There are times when I question my sanity. This wasn't a case of procrastination, rather just not getting around to the project. Little Miss Whimsy had her 11th birthday party last night (Friday the 7th). It was a sleepover. On Wednesday I had some drywall repaired in my home. Before the repairman left I had scheduled him to come back in the morning and paint my bonus room and Little Miss Whimsy's bathroom. Something she has wanted for a very long time and something that she desperately wanted before her friends arrived for the party at 4PM Friday. 36 hours? I can get that done! Yikes! No time for custom shower panels I decided to hit Target and see what I could come up with. Lucky for me I hit pay dirt. With my Benjamin Moore fan Deck in hand and the paint color picked out (French Lilac) I went to work.

My First stop......picking up some white towels at Marshall's and taking them to a monogramming kiosk in the mall that I knew would monogram while I waited. Task 1 done! Monogrammed towels.

This is the bath before. Pretty bland in SW Ivoire paint.

This shower tile is still on my list to change out. Not really my style and certainly not great for a girls bath. The plan is to put white subway tile in. This project is still on the list!

French Lilac. I found the crystal looking lamp at Target on clearance no less. The only shade they had was this white one. I will be taking a trip to JoAnn's to buy some purple beads to glue along the bottom of the shade. I could only get some much done in what turned out to be 12 hours of time! Most of which was from 10PM until 7Am!

I found some purple iridescent window panels at Target I picked up two of them along with the sheer white polka dot panels. Of course my sewing machine decided to break Friday morning so I hand sewed the purple panels to the back of the sheer dot ones. The picture on the wall is right up Little Miss Whimsy's ally! I found it at AC Moore. Two dogs in spa robes with face masks and cucumbers on their eyes. I picked up the frame there as well. What 11 year old wouldn't love dogs having a spa day?

I switched out the knobs to these purple crystal ones I found at Target!

Of course what girls bath is complete without a purple Flokati rug? I still have some tweaking to do. The lamp shade. Some beaded tassel tie backs for the panels on the shower. I want to add some shelves over the toilet for her jams and gels. Overall it is 99% complete. Enough for her to show it off to her friends who loved it. She loves it too and that is all that matters to this mom! Have a great week and for more wonderful Metamorphosis projects visit Susan At Betweennapsontheporch