I'm Lovin'... Patriotic Porches

I'm loving these gorgeous porches all decked out for the Fourth of July!


via bhg.com


via bhg.com


via SimplyThisAndThat


via Raised in Cotton


via Pinterest



via Pinterest

via Pinterest


via Pinterest



via Pinterest


Red, white, and blue perfection via coastalliving.com


And my own Fourth of July porch decor...

Get your Star Spangled Door Bucket HERE... on sale for only $16.96!

Happy Decorating!

Green Decorating {My Favorite Tip}

In honor of Earth Day, I thought I would touch on natural elements in decorating.  Of course, plants are a beautiful way to bring nature into your decor...

 I also love to pull things out of my pantry and use them to decorate.  In the winter time, coffee beans.  They smell delightful and cozy and they are eco-friendly.  Layer them with creamy Northern beans for even more interest.

In the spring, my go-to item is a bag of green split peas. 

Inexpensive!  Publix will sometimes have them 2 for $1.

I filled a small square glass vase with peas, tucked in a votive candle and then wrapped one of my favorite ribbons around the outside.

Here I filled my Willow House Hawthorne Hurricane with split peas, then wedged a juice glass down inside to hold the water and flowers.

And they secure a large pillar in my Coronado Stone Pedestal's glass cylinder.  Perfect pop of color here.

And I can't resist showing you my sweet bunnies with the amazing birch texture.

They join me every spring, bringing nature's look and textures into my decor.  Speaking of nature's textures, check out a few others on the Ballard's website.

What natural elements do you use in decorating?

Have a blessed Easter weekend with your families, everyone. :)

Easter Tablescape

Easter is actually a really easy holiday table opportunity... with the arrival of spring, you have all kinds of fresh flowers available and eggs galore in every store!  This year I rescued my beloved Drake Lantern from my pollen-covered front porch to join in the table scape for Sunday's Easter brunch.

By the way, how do you dine on Easter Sunday?  Brunch?  A late lunch?  An early supper?  We have always had a late lunch, but this year we've decided to do brunch before the later church service.  I'll let you know what I serve, but I'm leaning toward ham, a frittata, some Lemon-Blueberry Bread, and fresh fruit.  How simple is that?

Anyway, I digress!  I pulled out my old Southern Living at HOME Barley Twist Pedestal to anchor everything and then built my table scape from there.  My stand-by was this bag of Spanish moss (a bright green color) and an assortment of decorative eggs I've assembled over the years. 

And I had to use my mercury glass pillar holders from Pottery Barn because I love them.

The pillars got a fresh bed of new moss (you can see the aged old moss beside my scissors there-- yuk!)

Here's the Drake Lantern on a bed of moss, surrounded by a few eggs and with a miniature birds' nest tucked in.  I really wanted white lilies in the glass canister, but they were not to be found!  So I settled on these soft pink Gerber daisies instead.

The bed of moss is on top of one of my Villa Stoneware dinner plates-- just love the cream beaded edge peeking out!  And then I popped the whole ensemble on top of my Barley Twist Pedestal.  Do you see my little Drake Firefly Lanterns that have migrated from my family room mantle?  They just fit right in with their little nests, too.

Love the speckles on the different eggs.

So here's a view of the whole arrangement.  Sorry for the glare!  The lines of the lanterns are really beautiful.

View from the other side of the table.  See that dated foyer light fixture?  Gotta a can of spray paint waiting for that bad boy.

From the other end of the table.  Now, how about some details??

The different metals and variety of textures keeps this interesting and the combination of fresh and faux keeps it simple.  Don't forget you can head to my Willow House website and shop online for the Drake Lantern, the Drake Firefly Lanterns, the Villa Stoneware Dinner Plates, AND Lemon-Blueberry Quick Bread Mix.

So, again ~ how do you celebrate Easter Sunday around the table?

Linking up over at Between Naps on the Porch this week... pop over there for more wonderful table scapes!

Spring Mantle Makeover

I do love to decorate seasonally and in fact, I'm notorious for moving things around my home on a regular basis...redecorating on the cheap!  I've been tweaking this mantle for several weeks now and think I've finally hit on the look that will carry me through until it's time to redo for summer (or my daughter's graduation party!).

I decided to keep it really clean and simple with pops of blue and green.  The mirror was a Ballards Backroom score back in January.

This painting was done by my great-grandmother...I don't have alot of nautical-themed pieces, but this is one I love and decided to showcase.

Sweet little Willow House Firefly Lanterns and the nest and eggs is from Target (in their Smith and Hawkin section).

Too in love with my Cordova Sconces with the Terrace Accent Plates to change them.  And I'm sure you'll recognize the Santorini Urn!  I piled a variety of textured spheres and some faux artichokes into a silver dish for interest. 

Antique books (in Swedish) from Avolli, except for the Louisa May Alcott which was my grandmother's.  Little bird came from the fabulous Outrageous Interiors here in Marietta (great place for affordable accessories).  The stone pedestal is from Willow House, too.

It's the Coronado Stone Pedestal and it's grown on me!  I love that the glass cylinder gives you so much flexibility with fillers and the base adds substance and can be used separately.  Here I've filled it with my faithful split peas and a pillar candle. 

So here it is again-- super simple...and easy to dust.  It is pollen season here in Georgia, after all :)

Linking up today with Beth at The Stories of A to Z!

Happy Decorating!

Holiday Decorating Tip: All Wrapped Up

As promised, here are the instructions for making a fabulous moss-covered box.  Super easy, and the natural elements look equally at home on your covered front porch or in your foyer on a table.

Start with any size box, taped shut (I used a 12x16x5 box), a can of spray adhesive and a bag of moss.  The moss comes in a variety of colors, but I prefer your plain jane green moss because of its texture and all the various shades of green. Be sure to put plastic or newspaper under your workspace.

 

Spray the adhesive on the box, a small section at a time and press pieces of moss onto the sticky surface.  You will have to press firmly and spread out the moss a bit.

Cover one side at a time, filling in gaps as you go.

Go all the way to each edge, making sure enough moss hangs over the edge to cover the corners.  Work your way around all sides of the box.  You may need to fill a gap or two, or readhere a piece here and there as you work.

Choose a wide ribbon.  Smooth or metallic works best, but I couldn't resist this red and green woven ribbon.  If you choose a woven ribbon, be very careful as you put it around the box;  the moss will stick to it.

Wrap it just as you would a package!

Now to decide where to put it...

 Next to my reindeer...

Or next to my Junk Yard Dog...

I think I'll make a few more and group them together.  :)

And that's a wrap!