This week dear husband and I had off. We've been using the days to catch up on many things inside and outside the house. Painting (interior doors, wood trim, etc.) and gardening have been big on the to-do list. After some rain off and on this week, today the sun returned and the flower beds finally received a good tidy up. The evenings have been cozy with good food, wine and treats. (It was a week of vacation after all, even though we were only at home mostly, we've had to live it up a little! LOL!) In the evenings during spare time I made this fun wall hanging to have on display for the month of October in our entry way. I made it from two small pieces of fall-themed fabrics (one for the front piece, and another for the backing, the whole thing is about 14 1/2 inches x 18 inches) and motifs cut from a Halloween printed fat quarter, also some felt and then finished it off with tab-style holders and black & orange star buttons. I'm pretty happy with how this hanging turned out. It's neat what you can make with just bits and pieces. The scarecrow face (to the left of the hanging) I also made with fabric scraps. I got the idea for the scarecrow face from a Gooseberry Patch cookbook (see below). But the wooden "BOO" ornament (right of the wall hanging) I did not make, this was a gift from my mom. :o)
We had an extra taste of summer this afternoon. It was so warm that we ate lunch out on the deck, soaking up the late summer sun. And afterwards, we extended the break with a little reading along with some coffee and bites of chocolate. My inspiration for fall come from three sources at the moment, two magazines and a book. One being a Gooseberry Patch cookbook, "Flavors of Fall." If you're not familiar with Gooseberry Patch, check out their site. They have a wonderful online store full of seasonal trinkets, practical and pretty interior wares, and not least lots of great cookbooks. The most recent issue of Country Living, the British edition, gave me lots of ideas for fall. As did Marie Claire Idees. I've known about Marie Claire Idees for some time, but wasn't able to get this magazine where I live until now. This is a French lifestyle magazine bursting with page after gorgeous page of craft ideas (and instructions), ideas, fashions and some recipes too. It's in French. (Is this even published in an English edition, I wonder?) I took French in high school (15 years ago now--YIKES!) and loved learning that beautiful language. I was pleasantly surprised while reading this Marie Claire Idees, that I actually understood the French I was reading (along with a bit of help from my old French dictionary), that all the French I'd learned hadn't entirely left my brain! Such fun! Oui! Now don't ask me to speak any French, though...Then I would likely butcher it all and have everyone remotely familiar with French cringing!
So just some fun things for this time. Next week life resumes as usual. But this weekend we'll cram in more odds & ends, try to accomplish more around this place, and squeeze in some time for relaxing and delights.
May a weekend of pleasures await you all--CHEERS!
Happy Days! :o)
In keeping with this weekend being the official start of autumn, here's a project I made this week with the change of season in mind. This small bag is for sale. It has lots of possibilities for use. The batik-like fabric echoes what is happening outside at the moment. The world is turning from green to yellow, red, orange and brown. All the leaves are having a colorful party before dropping away and becoming a memory, to be born again later. 
We gather gifts from the earth still. Our own kitchen garden is all but finished for the season, just some herbs and last bunches of lettuces. Next year we plan to enlarge this veggie patch, planting more vegetables and really stretching out the growing season. The other day after doing some yard work, dear husband brought in these lovely pears from our two pear trees. Not many pears this year. Dreams of pear butter, or pears poached in red wine for dessert will have to wait for a more fruitful year. These pears are delicious, though. And they make a simple, but fetching seasonal centerpiece.
The 
This week has been all about beads and jewelry making! There's a kind of childhood delight to be found in tinkering with a bunch of beads. Kind like opening a big box of crayons on Christmas morning--Oh, the possibilities with all those colors! From four large rectangular craft storage boxes, I've been thrilling to all the possibilites of glass and shell beads, faux pearls and lots of findings. I've been stringing up necklaces and bracelets and working on earrings too. 
These earrings will be up for sale next week. They match a wrap necklace, "Shades of Indigo," that will also be for sale. Please check back just after the weekend for these and other jewelry in the "For Sale" category in the sidebar, as well as a tutorial, with pictures, for wearing wrap necklaces. 
Here's another example of this week's work. I made this necklace for my mother-in-law for her birthday gift. It's a wrap-style necklace, meaning it has no clap, it's a long string of beads which can be wrapped around the neck in several fashions. The necklace is composed of glass beads and glass pearls on a waxed linen cord using a knot technique. The dusty purple and blue nuances work well together, I think. We celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday this weekend. She's an extra mom to me, and my friend too. I look forward to giving her this gift. 
The colors of these bags remineded me of vibrant cocktails and sipping them on lazy summer weekends. (My apologies to those who don't drink, but I couldn't resist the playfulness of the names.) We're drinking up the last drops of summer here. And with that in mind, these late summer beauties, these bags, were born this week. These festive bags are both for sale. You'll find details about them in the sidebar at the right. See 
These very stylishly arranged flowers actually belong to my husband. They were given to him by his workplace, celebrating his 25 years with the company. The flowers and a special lunch marked the occasion. I just had to share these stunning flowers. I like the simplicity, the spareness of the grouping. Its height lends it a dynamic quality. The floral wire helps support the autumnal-shaded call lilies and it plays with the space around the flowers, bringing it all together. I find myself fascinated by the bouquet, and stop whenever I pass to marvel at it. 
