Easy Fall Decorations

 Woah. I'm actually getting a post on here that I "hoped" I would post in a timely manner! That's progress kids! As promised in the last post, this one is about my fall decorations. They are out, they are complete and they make me smile!


Normally in years past, for the two big flower pots on my front porch, I would just put some mums in them, put some pumpkins around them and call it good. This year, I wanted something different. I found these pumpkins on sale at Hobby Lobby and I liked that they came in various sizes. My immediate thought was to stack them on top of each other to create a Fall time topiary to greet my visitors. Since they were made of styrofoam, I bought a dowel rod at Lowe's and used a hammer and chop stick to make pilot holes through the middle of the pumpkins. Then I just pushed the dowel rod through the pumpkins in the appropriate order, and viola! Stacked pumpkins.

I found the floral grassy stuff in the floral section and decided to just plant the pumpkin topiary in the middle of it.

And to finish it off, I bought some of the colorful beaded picks to stick into the pumpkins for some added pizzazz. Simple, fun and pretty! I hope that the sun doesn't fade the pumpkins too much so I can reuse them next year! But I'm thinking that if they do fade, I can just get creative with some spray paint to spruce them up!

I didn't leave out the mums this year, I just moved them lower into my flower beds and added some to some other pots from the backyard that I painted to match the ones on the front porch.

But seriously, now that my fall decorations are out, my mind has already turned to the Christmas decorations and call me crazy, but this year the front door will be painted to coordinate more appropriately with Christmas! Mandarin Orange is great for Spring, Summer and Fall, but it really just clashes with red!

And there you have it, nothing fancy, just simple yet festive. Fall!

And Daisy Lou is stopping by to make a visit with this special little outtake. My dog hates my camera. When I say hate, I mean when it gets close to her, she physically turns her back to me. I told her to stay and this was the look I got! I love my dog. Because just like me, she is a mess!

-------------------- Sneak Peek -----------------------

 I started a new project today! This is the hint and I will post when it is finished!

What To Do When The Stress Hits The Fan?? Sew!

Wow! Two posts in one day?!?! So this is what can happen when I feel better and I don't take a nap! Haha!


Look out folks! I have my first pair of pinking shears...and I know how to use them!

Summer time always puts me in the "project" frame of mind. Recently I dove in headfirst and brought my sewing machine with me.

Some friends of mine have been making pillowcase dresses and I wanted to try my hand at it...especially while little bugs is still small enough to wear one!

So this is my first pillowcase dress!!


I used the instructions found on this wonderfully creative blog I visit frequently. I couldn't get past the fact that every time I looked at it, I could see nothing more than a pillowcase. Soooo...I did a search for video tutorials on youtube on how to make bows and taught myself kind of quick to add these cute little green bows on her dress. Here's the before and after pictures.


I'm diggin' it a little more now with the bows. And here's a funny outtake of Bugs flexin' her muscles. I gotta give it to her...she's got some guns for as scrappy as she is!


Well, so that was my first sewing project, and now that I know I can actually produce something that is wearable...I'm on to new sewing projects!! No more dresses made from pillowcases, but I do plan on making a few more dresses for the other cutie pies in my life. Here are some of the fabrics I chose...
CANNOT wait to get this^^ dress made! I LOVE this fabric! The one below is for a halter top my mom wants me to make for little Bugs. Should be cute!

And I haven't figured out what I'm going to do with this fabric below but I fell in love with the pattern and the animals. I'm gonna thump the 'ole noggin and come up with something crafty and creative to do with this one!

So apparently when I get stressed out, the best thing for me is to put my hands to work on something fun and let my mind zone out for a while. And sewing does just that for me!

Amber....plugged in

Well, last night, after babysitting, spending three hours in Gatti-town, having way more fun than should be allowed for a gal my age and then visiting with my brother and his girlfriend who are in for the weekend, I finally ventured home. Only, I decided to make a pit-stop that would alter the course of my night - unbeknownst to me. I stopped at McDonald's for a large-good-'ole-filled-to-the-brim-styrofoam-insulated cup of sweet tea.

Now one major thing should have happened. Red flags should have raised, bells should have gone off, sirens should have blared and a red light, somewhere in time should have flashed warning me NOT to partake of such yummy thirst-quenching goodness at 12:15 in the morning. If I haven't revealed it on here yet, allow me to divulge that if an ounce of caffeine gets near me, much less in me, I'm wired. Not just wired, but if given the proper conditions and the right brain cells align, I could solve some of the worlds most challenging math equations or paint huge murals of the process of mitosis or plan the next flight path for the space shuttle upon re-entry. I am plugged in.

And that's exactly what happened in the wee hours of this Saturday morning. I got home, got settled and yet my mind was racing a million miles a minute. I took advantage of the extra umph of energy and cleaned a bit but then put my mind and computer to some design projects I've wanted to do for a while. I wanted a series of four prints to hang in my bedroom that featured a line from some of my favorite hymns. It seems my best creative moments are found in the darkness of the wee morning. Perhaps I should consume more sweet tea in the late hours to get more of the projects on my list accomplished!

Anyway, here are two of the four I have finished so far.




I have a few ideas for the remaining two, but I think some new photography is in order. I haven't been shooting as much since I've been back in school and I really miss it. I worked for the newspaper this morning and covered what I consider to be a fun assignment. It was the dress rehearsal for an elementary school performance of Annie Jr. (Jr. because it's a condensed version). The kids were so cute and so incredibly talented to stay in character and not just say their lines but act along with them. They were part of the drama club from an elem. school and they were so good! Anyway, I plan to post some of the pictures from that shoot because I haven't had many news pictures to post lately.

So when I finish the last two in my four-part series, I will be sure to post them. I pray you are having a fantastic day and thanks for reading my posts : )

Grace, Peace and Sweet Tea!