Autumn Splendor!

Here in the desert where I live, fall is a beautiful season - not because it is filled with autumn colors, (the leaves never do turn here), but because fall means that the long hot summer is finally over. The days have just a touch of cool and the nights are heavenly. Everything is green and the flowers bloom gloriously. Yes, fall in the desert is beautiful - it just isn't very fall-like, which means that if you want fall color you have to do it yourself. So that is just what I did - I brought a bit of autumn splendor right into my home, starting with a pile of pumpkins (real and otherwise) in and around an urn by my front door.

I got this idea from my brilliant friend Jenny. Although the stacked pumpkins and raven are leftovers from Halloween, they have lost all traces of spookiness towering in a large urn. The orange satin bow gives the bird some autumn sophistication as he greets visitors.

For my fall decor, I am going for glitz. A glittery banner and shimmering pumpkins sparkle among piles of raffia and dry fall leaves. Christ remains the centerpiece as Him from whom all blessings flow.

I framed an old greeting card featuring Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater and his wife's new living quarters.

In the living room a leaf made out of twigs and a pair of mini wreaths hang from the screen with the same luxurious satin ribbon.

More glitz in the dining room where the table is strewn with more fall foliage, satin ribbon, and the fruits of the season, a few of which I have sprayed a brilliant shiny gold for a festive punch. But the centerpieces of the arrangement are several turkeys that I have also sprayed gold - my pride a joy! (Thanks for that idea, Martha Stewart!)

Also, from my Christmas decor, 2 pairs of mercury glass candlesticks are made fit for fall by topping them with a pair of mini pumpkins.

A pair of beaded wreaths hang from the china cabinet by the same satin ribbon, and the rest of the ribbon is generously puddled around the base of several apothecary jars.

A couple of leafy garlands lie on top of the china cabinet and the clock in the room facing it for another punch of orange and red.

The jars serve as a modern cornucopia, each displaying a different fall bounty: glitzy beaded acorns, stacks of mini squash, ears of colorful Indian corn, and tufts of wheat, a few of which have been sprayed gold. A tiny mercury glass bird watched over it all.

Glitz and glimmer, a generous amount of pumpkin pie colored satin ribbon, and a couple of cans of shiny gold spray paint all combine to bring some fall splendor into our home.

May a spirit of gratitude and thanksgiving fill you heart this beautiful season!

Witch's Lair Dead Ahead!

Attic Gal Rachelle says:

I was feeling WITCHY, so I decided to pull out my Halloween decor and create my witches' lair. Now I am feeling much more comfortable.

Come inside... if you dare.

Near the front is our family graveyard with bones strewn among the headstones. Inside the gate is a stack of pumpkins and a recent addition, a smoldering cauldron that my kids can't get enough of.

Another new addition to the family, a wayward witch who landed head-first in an urn. My kids saw the idea in a magazine, and begged me to copy it. I already had the witch socks. The legs were just poles wrapped with bath towels. I found the shoes at a garage sale. The were black suede, but the soles were light, so I spray painted them with a shimmering metallic black paint. Perfect! I think they are hilarious.

A chair on the front porch invites guests to have a seat that is already occupied by a pumpkin, a crow, and a tangle of barbed wire. Very welcoming, don't you think?

A friendly spider meets you in the entryway.

The sentimental witch has a wall with photos of all of her long departed family members.

On the opposite wall is the witches' mudroom where she can hang up her cape and broom after a long night in flight. Above it are silhouettes of her and her sisters, Hilda and Hazel. Lovely.

I simply spray painted some old oval frames and freehanded some witch silhouettes on black paper and cut them out.

A banner announces "Spooky" as if you didn't know already.

After my ascension to the top of Notre Dame, I have a new-found love for gargoyles. Such cuddle creatures. They watch over my witches lair, but these ones keep the evil spirits in, not out. Nestled among them are black and white photos I took in an ancient cemetery in France. I put the in the silver frames that hold my family pictures the rest of the year.

Also to greet you in the entryway is my favorite headless hanging friend draped in strips of cloth. Out of the corner of my eye I keep thinking someone is standing there. When i found her at a garage sale, I knew she would be perfect for Halloween.

Also in the hallway are a pair of ravens. We painted an old birdcage black and made one of them his own little flag. Quoth the Raven: "NEVERMORE'." Caw, caw, caw.

On the dining room table, a witch has been concocting her powerful potions and secret serums

while a few of her feathered and furry friend look on from above. One of my kids put them there to be funny, but I think the black creatures look great against the stark red and white, so they are staying (at least for the rest of the month. They will be gone by Christmas, I promise.)

I am a big fan of the holey gauze drape cloths that you can hang on everything to make it all super creepy. Something is too cheery to fit into the spooky theme? Just drape it is this stuff. Done. Instant creeps!

And it also helps to have a whole bunch of little grey mice running around the dining room table...

and some big fat cockroaches, of course. And every witch needs a skull with ruby eyes (the rubies were an addition for my twins' Indiana Jones birthday party a few years back. Now I can't imagine him without them.)

The living room doubles as the witches' study. She is quite cultured and has the masterpiece The Moaning Lisa.

The witch's spell library and the candelabra she uses to read them by.

More gauze cloths on the curtains. And the witch's black cat sit atop a stack of old luggage anxious for a trip to Salem. Wonder how she gets that luggage on the broom anyway?

So that is the witch's lair. I think I say this every holiday, but decorating for Halloween is my favorite - at least it is the most fun (plus, you don't have to dust for a whole month!) It really gives me the chance to get creative and silly, and tap into my dark side. (insert cackling high-pitched evil laugh here.)