Decorating for Fall and Halloween - Orange, Black and White with Gold Accents

Fall is finally here - Let the Decorating Begin!

Normally at this time I'm all excited for Halloween, but I'm feeling a bit low key about it.  I've only really decorated my mantle with Halloween decorations and kept the rest of the rooms simply Fall.  This corner table is an example:

I love this mercury glass lamp I found at TJ Maxx last year.  I decided to pair it with some gold accents - the picture frame (of my parents and I dressed up for the SCA) as well as a little pumpkin I found at Michaels a few months ago.  So cute!  I added some Antique books in gold and blue hues, tying the picture and pumpkin together - as well as some of our eclectic collection of pine cones/seeds from rare trees we've collected over the years.  And a few fake leaves, because...well, just because.  I'll put real leaves down when I find some good ones.

And then there is the Halloween mantle.  Last year I went all black and white, but this year I wanted a touch of color so I used shades of orange, too.  The skull is mercury glass (fake) from Target this year.  Cool find!

 Also, a crystal ball, mask, and some ravens.  Can't have Halloween without ravens!!

This mask is another cool find at Target this year - so Antique cool looking, but great bargain!  On top of black books, of course...

My 'Boo' and palm reading knick knacks...

And finally, another crow/raven on top of some more Antique black books.

Just a few tidbits from around my house.  I love Fall decorating, but Christmas is coming soon - can't wait for the real decorating to begin!!

Have a Great Weekend!!

Back to School, Teacher's Pet - Great Gifts for Teachers! Etsy Update

Need a gift for a Teacher in your life? 

My recent Etsy Update has a few great items, I think....

Math was never my favorite subject, but I do have a deep abiding love for fractions...

These keys are very rare and so cool!  1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and '/'!  Too bad my computer doesn't have the fraction keys, too.  Sometimes things don't necessarily improve with technology...

And while there may be a Back Space key on my laptop, there is no Margin Release!

Two very cute keys - rare for being the same small size as the letter keys.

All of these keys are on a scalloped base.  Simple, but elegant.

And also new number key earrings (I already have 7's and 9's up, but 5's are my favorite!) - Lucky Fives!

Teachers are our greatest resource! 

Show one how much you appreciate her today!

Mad for Plaid - Getting in the mood for FALL!

I'm in the mood for some plaid...

Labor Day weekend is nearly upon us and I just can't get the idea of a cute little plaid dress out of my head!  But, sadly I can't find anything in the stores right now that I like.  I did find a few google hopping, though.  OH, and since I mention that I gotta say - if you look for plaid skirts through google, be prepared to find thousands and thousands of 'naughty school girl' skirts.  Ick!  The alternative was usually schoolmarm, though, skirts down to the ankles!  What?!  So I changed it to dresses and found these...

 A sophisticated take on the dress and very pretty, but a little prim for my taste.  Would be great if I worked in an office, but since I don't...

 This is kind of a compromise - I think it could be dressed up nicer?  Well, it won't help me, anyway - last year's offering, apparently.  And same goes for all the others I found...

 This is supposedly the same dress worn two different ways by celebrities.  And while Emma looks quite cute and preppy her way, I like the color of the one on the right, which I can't believe is the same dress.  The lighting difference makes them look totally different!  This is a McQ dress - $$.  I love that bright Stuart plaid color, but I can only find it in clothes for the rich or in a slutty Halloween costume skirt.  *sigh*  If anyone finds something that is reasonably priced and currently available, could you share a link??? 

And I thought these tights were awfully cute...

Have a Great Labor Day Weekend!  It's gonna rain, rain, rain here, but Monday is supposed to be nice.  I'd love to go to the Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden, but money is tight and my mom has Lupus and it is difficult to near impossible to enjoy outdoor festivals anymore.  (Can't walk far/at all sometimes and can't be in sunlight).  My church will be having their annual Greek Festival with the best Greek food in town.  I don't know if we'll splurge on that or I can make my own shishkabob again.  I finally got the trick down to make them taste as good as the church's!  That plus some nice pilaf and a Greek salad sounds heavenly right now. 

Feeling Sad...

A week ago we had to say goodbye to our dog, Fox.  He was the sweetest dog that ever lived.  I'm a cat person, but this sweet little pup won my heart with his gentle eyes, big floppy ears and curled little tail...

We bought him outside a Walmart one day when a lady said she had to move and couldn't take him with her.  She claimed he was a Sheltie and would be a smallish dog so maybe we could handle a small dog since we already had a couple of cats.

Clearly she was wrong as he kept growing and growing, and while his fur did get soft and fluffy in places similar to a Sheltie as well as the floppy ears and a fluffy tail, he must've had a larger dog in the mix, possibly a German Shepherd?  Anyway, he kept thinking he was a lap dog at around 70 lbs.  :)  Everyone that met Fox loved him, no matter how much they might not like dogs or animals in general, because he was just so sweet and loving and eager for you to love him back. 

I had a dream last night that he was in our backyard, but I knew he wasn't alive in the dream.  Just came back to visit me.  I woke up so sad.  I've lost two cats and a dog over the last two years to old age and am now down to just one kitty.  The house seems empty at times.  I don't think I could ever want another dog, Fox was just a one of a kind and it seems wrong to try and replace him at all. 

I'll always miss you, Fox...

Steampunk Typewriter Necklaces with Pearls - an Etsy Update

I've added a few new items to the shop and I thought I'd share the photos here.  I love the typewriter necklaces I've been making, but I thought I'd add just a little bit more feminine touch to them...

(My personal favorite)

SOLD

So I added a few pearls!  I have them in three shades: Pink, Antique White, and a pretty Lavender. 

SOLD

SOLD

The Art Deco necklace is particularly pretty with the romantic addition - it makes it longer and even more elegant.  I love the romance of the pendant.   

Also new to the shop: Antique Brass pendants!  I made my first one with a beautiful glass top typewriter key, A.  I'm not sure if antique brass is the right way to describe it, a dark copper, bronze?  Any way you describe it, it is very pretty and very different from the silver ones...

 The white pearl really shines and catches the eye when paired with the dark chain and pendant.  I love it!

 I simply MUST make one for myself.  :)

The same setting is still available in silver.  I added a pink pearl to this one - pink and silver go so well together. 

 The pearl accents just make the necklaces that much prettier.  I love them.  I haven't even made one for myself, but I definitely am making some now.  I simply MUST have them. 

Want one for yourself or for a gift?  Swing by my shop and take a look and if you need a custom one just convo me for details!

Happy Monday! 

Mad Tea Party 2012 Giveaway Winners!!

And the Winners are...

1 - Faerie Moon Creations and 2 - DogsMom! 

Please send me your addresses so I can ship the Alice in Wonderland images to you!  And thanks to all who visited my blog - I still haven't gone to all the parties - there are so many and so little time!!  I do hope you guys enjoyed it - it was hard to do with the heat and having a day long battle with my asthma at the time, but I'm glad I did it.  :)  I really enjoyed learning to make cucumber sandwiches - by the way, the spread is really delicious and you could make it to spread on a bagel or crackers and I think it'd taste even better!  I plan to make some more soon.  I think sweet cherry tomatoes go really well with it.  YUM!

Have a Great Weekend!!
58Cherries

Etsy Update - New Item: Antique Sheet Music Earrings!!

Music Lovers Beware:

You may fall in love with these Antique Sheet Music Earrings. I know I have!

 They are made with genuine Antique sheet music from early 1900's - they are sealed beneath beautiful glass magnifying domes set in antique brass colored scalloped bases and strung on gold colored French hooks.  Beautiful!!

 
Earrings can be found in my shop HERE.  More to come soon, but each on is One of a Kind since they are made with real antique sheet music.  Grab them while you can!  I also make music pendants - you can find one in my shop HERE. 

                      

These are the Bass and Treble Clef symbols.  Very pretty and perfect to wear any day.

And the other new item added to my shop today was a replica of my favorite necklace in my jewelry box...

I wear this necklace nearly every day I love it so much.  It's in my shop right now.

And in other news... I've been enjoying the Olympics on TV this week.  London is such a beautiful setting for the games.  My only frustration is the way they pick and choose which games we want to watch and leave out so many interesting sports - where is the fencing, the equestrian sports, etc.??  Sometimes it seems like they only show swimming and gymnastics. 

But London, ahhh, London - I love it when the cameras give us a glimpse of their great city - wish I could visit there some day!!  Have a great week and stay cool if you are in the heat zone like I am right now!  Whew!! 

Saturday was the Mad Tea Party (post below this one, FYI) and it was super hot.  I had to race to take pictures before the sherbet and ice in the lemonade melted.  When it was all done and photographed I was as melty as those items were plus I had a major asthma attack and was useless the rest of the day.  Eating the sherbet and cucumber sandwiches was rewarding and refreshing, though.  Laters!!

Mad Tea Party 2012

It was a hot day today.  I took a quick walk outside to look

at my sad, neglected garden.

The flowers are blooming, but the weeds are

creeping in and the grass is over long, still the flowers were blooming and beautiful.

It was then I noticed the surprise lilies had sprung up!  So beautiful and fragrant...I stopped to admire them when suddenly...

Two Scottie dogs appeared with a note..

I blinked to find myself at a table full of tea, sweets and refreshments!  Just what I needed after the hot summer sun outside...

There were so many delicious treats, I didn't know where to start... 

There were Cherries, and Root Beer, Cola and vintage bottles of 7-UP,

Lemonade and Raspberry tea...

 Cucumber sandwhiches, cherry tomatoes and cookies, galore!

The buttery cookies had raspberry and apricot jams,

chocolate and powdered sugar.

 The lemonade was chilled and served in beautiful glasses with N's on them!  As if they were made just for me!

 There were also Gum Drops and Nonpareils and even Orange Sherbert

in tiny vintage glass ice cream cups - all my favorites!

I thought I was alone until I spied a miniature Alice drinking tea and eating

an enormous (to her) cookie, too!  She bid me hello and told me to

sit down and enjoy!!  Thank you for visiting my blog today, be sure to drink

and eat all you want!  The cucumber sandwhiches were especially delicious. 

And as soon as I was full I found myself getting sleepy and woke up again amongst the flowers of my garden.  I dusted myself off and came to share the tale with you!

It's the first time I made Cucumber sandwhiches - I'll share the recipe

at the end of the post if you'd like to try them yourselves!

And now - 2 Giveaways for my party guests.  I have NEW Alice in Wonderland Images available for the first time ever.  These will be in my shop later this week, but for now I'm offering them to you lovely readers for free!  If you'd like a chance to win be sure to comment to this post.  I will pick a winner for each of the giveaways - let me know which one you prefer or if you like them both.  I'll announce the winners next week!!

#1 has an Alice drinking from the bottle that says 'Drink Me', another image has the bottle with the note on it.  The other two images are of the Mad Hatter.

#2 has images of Alice and the Cheshire cat, one Mad Hatter, a set of wobbly tea cups and a tea pot.

Both of these are very cute, you can use them in scrapbooking, decoupage, or you can frame the images and group them together.  They'd look lovely anywhere, but especially in a studio or bedroom. 

And now - the Cucumber Sandwiches...

I looked at various recipes, but experimented a bit in the end, I used:

1/2 pkg. Cream Cheese

1 huge spoonful Mayo

1 huge spoonful Sour Cream

1 1/2 tablespoon Ranch Dressing Mix

Dash of Garlic Powder

Dash of Beau Monde

Plenty of Dill

Mix these ingredients and season to taste.  Refrigerate overnight.

Day of:  Cut crusts off of white, wheat and/or rye and pumpernickel breads, slice cucumbers thin and make sandwiches, I served mine with super sweet heirloom cherry tomatoes from my garden - delicious!

Thank you so much for visiting and do take a look at my other Mad Tea Parties from previous years if you haven't already - links along the ride side of my blog. 

Have a Great Weekend!  Don't forget to comment and leave your email address for a chance to win the giveaways!!

58Cherries