Falling for fall

So, it's HOT here today...and I'm making a huge mess around the house getting out FALL decorations. A braver blogger would have taken a picture of the huge "before" mess, but this post is about "decorating" and there's nothing pretty about my messy seasonal habit (and I forgot to take the pic before I enlisted my husband to return reject items to the scary basement).

WHY do I do this??? I know it's not entirely normal for a mom with grown kids to turn things upside down decorating for the holidays. But it happens...every few months or so...every year...I can't stop my seasonal urges.

I start out thinking "Hmmmm...I think I'll freshen things up a bit around the house, and get out a few seasonal things". Then an explosion occurs somewhere between the basement and the main floor and totes mysteriously appear, existing decor is stacked for storage, seasonal things come out of said totes, more decor is temporarily retired and relocated and (yes, sadly) even some new seasonal things magically appear. Gotta love Dollar Tree for emergency seasonal decor!

Here are the final results. Yes, some of these pics are very similar to last year. I actually photograph my seasonal decor and file my pics on computer so I can attempt to speed things up the following year...and sometimes it works. I changed a couple things from last year in my entry hall, but my favorite Santa/witchy man is still under glass...he never ages! It's hard to see but he has a sack full of pumpkins on his back and a nice black/gray coat ensemble.

Yes, I have a GIANT sized fireplace mantel. It's also rather high off the ground, so it needs BIG stuff, or in this case, a lot of stuff!  I am fortunate to have an outlet hidden up there, so I can plug in my old-fashioned un-candle (orange lit thing) and some of the black branches on the left have tiny lights. Sorry, couldn't wait for dark to take the pic.

I have a minor obsession with old tole-painted trays, and you can find them scattered pretty much all over the house. The black background ones are my favorite, so I put them "front and center" during the fall. I tried to keep things simple on this big shelving unit in the family room. Just refreshed big glass jars with fall stuff, added the feathery owl and a few other autumn accents. 

This owl is a funny guy! He weighs almost nothing - must be papier mache with feathers glued on. Friends and family think he's pretty creepy, so sometimes he shows up in unexpected places, for dramatic effect!

Here's a closeup of the little October 31 frame thing. I had an extra black frame from a needlework project. I made this little graphic on my computer, printed it on regular copier paper, and once it's in the frame under glass, it looks pretty cute.

Here's my favorite decor area in the kitchen. Yes, the kitchen walls really are chartreuse! It's a surprisingly fun color to decorate around. Looks great with spring and fall colors, and really glows with holiday reds. It's hard to see (limited photography skills abound!) but there's a wonderful cross stitch I did from Birds of  a Feather in a starring spot. It's really primitive and a little creepy and I love it in this black frame.

Also in the kitchen, over the stovetop is the little shelf above. I made the bunting with some scrapbook paper. Just cut triangle shapes from assorted paper. Tie them together with ribbon after you make holes with a regular hold punch. When you're done for the season, fold it up and put it away! The giant black thing is one of my favorite tole trays. It has beautiful painting on the other side. I took it outside on the grass and sprayed this side with blackboard paint, then got to work with chalk. It's fun to change the message seasonally, when I'm not displaying the pretty painted side. Fall leaves are courtesy of Dollar Tree!

Time to go dig up last year's mums from the garden and put them on the patio and make the annual pumpkin pilgrimage! Happy Fall, y'all!