HAPPY HALLOWEEN

My Texas Cottage is ready to greet

the season

and Halloween tonight!

A cozy spot to take a break

or sit a "spell".

 

The Rosemary Scent is heavenly

when you come to the door.

The pumpkins are glowing.

Ready for a Trick or Treat night!

 

Have Safe fun

&

Enjoy!

 

Hugs,

 

Celestina Marie

 

 

 

 

Changeable Serving Tray

This wood tray has been in my stash of items to repaint for some time.

Years ago I painted a floral spray

of spring flowers on it.

Pretty for many years, but styles and tastes change

so it didn't bother me to paint it again.

 

 

Like most artist, we repaint treasures several times right over past works.

 

 

When I painted over this tray I kept it simply

with Chalk Paint in Old White

and Black with distressing for the raised sides and bottom.

 

 I also added an acrylic cut sheet of Plexiglas to protect the surface making it changeable for the seasons

by adding old graphics, cards, pictures and more under the sheet.

 

For the Plexiglas, I took the tray with measurements

to Home Depot and they cut the sheet right there for me.

Easy and inexpensive.

You could use glass, but that would make the tray very heavy to carry

for serving.

 

So getting to the changeable part, this season I used

a graphic for the Witch's Ball

copied on card stock and placed under the sheet

with a few silk leaves.

 

For another look, I enlarged and over sized

postcard graphics.

As you can see by the coffee table underneath,

this tray is large with plenty of room

for many looks.

I love how I can use this

tray in many ways.

 

*******

And before I go today,

Here's one more thing.

 

My son's neighbor is a wood worker

and he designed this gorgeous bowl

from a tree and gave it to me as a gift.

 

I just love it and the natural

with real look of the tree

showing through.

 

Bottom is raised like a pedestal.

The surface is smooth and perfectly glazed.

 

Handy to hold a few coasters I created

from left over tiles

when we redesigned our kitchen.

Now I just have to share another

one more thing I noticed while writing this post.

 

While looking back at the tray pic below.

I noticed in the upper left hand corner,

it looked like the shadow of a spider!

 

What is this? 

 

Well, it is the shadow of my chandy over head.

 

Created from wood, iron and glass crystals,

it reflects like a long leg spider.

 

Perfect for the Witch's Ball Tray, right?

 

********

 

 

Thank you for visiting today and thank you for the

comments and emails on my last post

sharing a bit of the fabric and gift wrap.

Still learning!

 

Joining

 Etsy Cottage Style

for

Fall Entertaining.

 

Graphics used for tray

courtesy of

The Graphics Fairy.

 

Have the perfect Fall Day!

 

Celestina Marie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



What Have You Been Up To??

This was the question a friend asked me recently.

 

She knew I needed the summer months to work on some projects.

 

Learn some new techniques,

 

take some time to travel,

 

be in my garden,

 

finish some home projects

 

and so much more.

 

******

 

Anyway, that question brings me here

to share the last few months in pics.

 

 

Of course creating is always on the agenda,

like a few transfer projects.

 

 

 

And a few signs,

 hand painted or stenciled like these.

 

Hotel deParis hung here.

 

Finally, I redesigned the piano bench in vintage sheet music.

Courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.

 

Another project was this cake keeper.

You know I love black and white.

 

Our big home project

was to install wood floors

in our family room/library and living room.

The wood is Anderson 5" hand scraped planks.

Love it.

 

Caught up on lots of reading.

 

 

Finished a crocheted throw in a soft pretty light brown.

 

Spent lots of time here!

 

Did a lot of gardening here at my potting bench.

You might remember a few years ago,

my son built this for me at Christmas.

 

This year I trained ivy to trail around the bench.

It's been a few years since I hung my hand painted window

and it is still looking fresh, even through our hot Texas weather.

 

Worked with my Carolina white rose.

Weaving it around and inside

this arch leading to an area

I call, " Stony Beach"

It's hard to see in this pic, but

to the rocks, I scatter lots of shells that stay year round.

 

Traveled here.

 

Spent a ton of time learning this program for fabric designs.

 

 

Making way for these first fabrics, but not

exactly right yet, but I am still working on it.

A huge challenge learning illustrator CC.

 

The first gift wrapping papers with my hand painted roses.

It's getting better.

I'm sticking with it!

 

So there you have it.

I think I answered my friend's

question.

 

It's back to the studio now.

The holiday rush is on.

 

Wishing you a wonderful Fall week.

 

From our trip to the Hotel Del Coronado.

 

*********** 

 

Thank you for stopping by and your comments.

Your visits are so welcome and I love to see you.

 

Hugs,

 

Celestina Marie

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



It's a Toile Fall

Toile is a design of fabric I never get tired of.

 

It works in my home and I love black.

 

So, when I thought about changing the décor for Fall,

all I really had to do was change up the way I use the fabric adding other style types to

compliment the fabric I love.

 

Using treasures from the same color family with a few contrasting colors,  just works.

Floral with toile, stripes and checks all go together without being too much.

 

In our master, I took the off white quilt away and added

this Autumn inspired quilt, one I already had, in complimenting colors.

The striped quilt at the end of the bed reverses to a beach toile design for summer months. I place it over the whole bed or at the foot.

Big changes without spending a fortune.

Gotta love that!!

The Euro shams are the only new items I added.

Found on a treasure hunting trip recently and they were only 4 dollars each.

They were a match for the window treatments perfectly.

*****

About the window,

this was a challenge from day one after moving into our home 18 years ago.

This is the only wall for the bed

and the window is high on the wall with large

window ledges for each.

Not a great design at all.

 

Short drapes or curtains doesn't work.

Treatments directly over the area, still not right.

 

So, I extended the window past the bed and close to the wall sconces.

Raised the rod to run across both windows and even with the sconces giving it a one window look.

 

By the way, there is a short column between these windows too.

Wow, who designed this plan. (not me)

Anyway, you work with what you have, right?

 

So with 6 panels across and long to the floor behind the bed, it finally works.

Not something I change often, but easier then working with 2 short windows that look out of place.

 

I don't need to open the drapes because the room has 4 more windows and a door giving plenty of light.

 

****

Here is the sitting area with a door to the right.

I plan to cover the foot stool which opens for storage.

 

The bed is an antiqued off white with iron and oak tops on the dresser and night stands.

It all goes together as a set which is something I seldom like to do, but this design just worked for the room and the one time I like the coordinating look.

I am really not a matchy ~ matchy decorator.

 

 

A touch of Fall with a sweet little figure of my beloved Miss B.

I'll have to come back and share this sometime. The figure opens up to reveal a beautiful necklace with a charm of Miss Beazy.

 

****

Dresser vignette.

 

 The Hat is a vintage style from the 40's found on a treasure hunt and placed

on an old wire hat stand.

 

 

So there you have it,

a little toile Fall!

 

Time for a cup of tea.

 

But before I go, one more thing!

 

"Greta" the good witch would like to say hello.

 

 

 

See you next time.

Have a great Fall Day!

 

Hugs,

Celestina Marie