It's Fall Ya'll.....

"I cannot endure to waste anything as precious as Autumn sunshine by staying in the house. So I spend almost all the daylight hours in the open air."

~Nathaniel Hawthorne~

It really IS fall ya'll! I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for fall to show up here at the Quill. The heat and humidity blew away on a North wind and ushered in some cooler weather. Best of all dame Autumn has opened up her box of brilliant crayons and has begun to color the landscape with bits of red and yellow. She was very kind to lend me a few leaves for a decorating project. I very much enjoyed her company all day on Saturday.
After spending some time tidying up the yard I decided to spend the day out of doors decorating my front steps. After sorting through my outdoor decor I really didn't want to do the same~old same~old but I also did not want to go out and buy anything new. What's a girl to do? Listen to the advice of her grandmother who always said, "Use what the Good Lord has given you." So I looked around God's Garden to see what kind of crafting supplies He had on hand.I have always wanted to try one of those swags over my front door and found some vine with green leaves that would fit the bill to use as a base. I had two sets of matching silk leaves that would do nicely for filler. I gathered bunches of berries, red and yellow leaves, acorns, and seed pods from darling daughters Mimosa tree to make myself some natural "floral picks".After securing the vine across the door frame and adding the silk leaves I wired on the bunches of berries using copper wire. I used upholstery thread and a needle to stitch together the leaves and seed pods, leaving long tails to tie them to the vine, hot gluing three acorns over the stitching on each one. I tied them to the vine.Using copper wire and leftover vine I wove a birds nest. I had to marvel over the fact that I had to use two hands, two knees, and sometimes a chin to hold everything into place and a bird can do this with one beak! (TIP: Don't use vine with thorns.) I think it came out pretty good. I filled the inside with some litter from the forest floor, bits of moss, lichen, and a tiny feather.I wired it to the corner of the swag and added a few springs of yellow silk flowers I had on hand. It is almost complete. I did not fill it out really full because I wanted it to look loose and natural. I may have to add some bits as the green leaves wither, we'll see. I want to add a bird but need a larger one so I guess I will be making at least one purchase after all. Somewhere I have some rusty metal letters that I want to wire in a "Welcome" message. I'll gussy up the steps a bit and then it will be a done deal. Next I'll be moving on to the flower bed next to our front gate. More fall decor to come!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy

From Serving Piece to Centerpiece.....

"Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower."

~Albert Camus~

In my last post I gave you a sneak peek at a fall decoration I was working on. I bought this partridge in a pear tree serving piece/candle holder at a flea market recently.I really liked the height and scale of this piece. I thought I could also use it as a base for a centerpiece for fall and then change it out for Christmas. I wanted to show you how you can easily marry simple objects to create height and scale and make an impact on a budget.TIP: When using a deep pot for a floral arrangement use something in the bottom for filler. I used a quart size paint can and stuffed some plastic grocery bags around it, making a nice base for just one layer of floral foam. This saves on the cost of your project.After inserting the foam, I covered it with moss. This type of moss grows wild where I live and is plentiful. If I keep it watered it will stay green, cool huh?To marry the iron piece to the ceramic urn I used candle wax fitters. These are wax strips that are soft and can be molded around the bottom of taper candles to keep them from wobbling in a holder. It is sometimes also called: museum wax, tacky wax, earthquake wax, or museum putty. This stuff is great and a must have on hand for me. I use it everywhere I have delicate pieces that I want secured and they have withstood the gregarious grandson test! I purchase packages of these at Hobby Lobby in the ready made candle section. Depending on which type you buy this product usually runs from $2.99 up to $5.00.

I peeled away a strip for each "foot" of the iron piece, warmed it in my hand and then rolled it into a ball pushing it gently onto each "foot". I centered the piece over the urn and pressed into place, molding the wax around each "foot". Next I cut green floral wire and bent it into "U" shaped picks and secured the center by putting one side of each pick over the wire rings and pressing it into the moss covered foam.I twirled a bit of honeysuckle vine around the center securing with bits of copper wire.Since there were going to be flammables on this piece, I chose not to use candles but three little faux pumpkins instead.
The color of these was a bit garish so I used a bit of clear glaze mixed with some acrylic copper and bronze metallic paints to tone them down a bit. I brushed the mixture on each and let them dry. Once dry, I pressed them down onto the candle holders.For the foliage portion, I inserted two fall floral picks and used three very large pine cones at the back for filler.TIP: Knowing this was going to be a one sided arrangement, I saved on filler by using three large pine cones, while barely visible they take up space using less leaves and berries.I then did what I call the jammer crammer method of floral arranging. Jamming and cramming leaves from one silk leaf bush, one silk ivy bush, two pepper berry bushes, and some twigs I filled out the bottom, stepping back and viewing, adding until it looked full and lush.

TIP: Buy a bush of leaves or berries rather than stems. Cut them apart into stems, saving on the cost of the arrangement.

I wired a few pepper berries and bits of ivy up the honeysuckle vine. Lastly, I used one floral pick, a strand of silk ivy, a pheasant feather pick, a silk leaf clipping, and a pepper berry clipping plus a few twigs to make bouquet, securing them together with floral tape. I wired this at an angle draping down the front of the centerpiece. I tucked another feather pick at an angle parallel to the other one, adding one cream colored rose and its leaves, a birds nest with speckled egg, and a glass bird ornament. This arrangement stands 38 inches tall and looks perfect in my hallway.
Unbelievably this project only cost $22.00, a fraction of what it would have cost had I bought a ready made arrangement. An arrangement of this scale could cost up $200.00 or more. By using materials I had on hand, (museum wax, floral wire and tape, silk ivy bush, nest, egg, bird ornament, clear glaze, acrylic paints, and urn), utilizing what was free, (twigs, moss, pine cones, and honeysuckle vine), and bargain shopping, ($8.00 for serving/candle holder from a flea market, $7.00 for 3 pumpkins, 2 pepper berry bushes, 1 fall leaf bush, and 1 block floral foam from Dollar Tree. $7.00 for 3 fall floral picks, 2 pheasant feather picks, and one silk rose all bought at half price from Hobby Lobby), I was able to create impact on a budget. I love how it turned out.Originally I was planning on using this arrangement on my hearth but with the mantle decor it was too much, any ideas for hearth decor?

I am off to the pumpkin patch for a little inspiration! Enjoy your day!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy