fall/thanksgiving

October 3, 2011 2 Comments

inspired to entertain in fall

We had the most beautiful Sunday afternoon yesterday. The air was crisp and fresh, the boys were happily playing in the yard and it just felt like fall. Plus we started decorating our front porch. We always start with fall items (straw bales, Indian corn, pumpkins) and then follow-up in a few weeks with Halloween items like jack-o-lanterns, trick or treat signs, spider webs and lanterns.

So this morning I started pinning away to my Pinterest board for fall inspiration and I just had to share a few of the lovely things that have me inspired to entertain this fall.

Fall tablesetting via Style Me Pretty
Carmel apples from Sweet Paul Magazine
Rustic fall cider bar from Harvest Furniture Blog
Raised donuts covered with apple cider glaze, made from scratch and full of cinnamon and buttery goodness from Cherry Tea Cakes

As always, I hope you’re inspired! Happy Monday everyone!

Join us on facebook, signup for our newlsetter with weekly offers, follow us on twitter and pinterest.

Country Living Mag 2011 Fair

Country Living magazine hosts a fair in Columbus Ohio and Atlanta Georgia each fall. The theme of the fair is to come and experience “country living” with hundreds of booths showcasing talented artisans, antiquers and fantastic fall flavors.

Well those of you that know me, know that I’m a southern girl (born in Alabama, college in Texas and Mississippi and then off to Tennessee before finally landing in Ohio) so country life is in my blood. Last year I was on my way to Disney World for their Not So Scary Halloween Party (it was fabulous by the way; I wish we were going again this year!) and didn’t get to attend. Well I wasn’t going to miss the Fair again this year!

And guess what! I had the opportunity to meet the editor, Sarah Gray Miller (that’s her on the right). She was lovely and down to earth, just how you would expect a good ole Mississippi girl to be. And I have to tell you, she was wearing these fabulous worn cowgirl boots and shared that she picked them up on eBay for $10. {I need a size 8.5 if anyone wants to get me a Christmas gift!}

So as you can imagine, I flitted around taking pictures of almost everything in my path. My creative brain was in overdrive with inspiration.

These are just a few of the things I thought were too lovely not to photograph. My absolute favorite are the angel wings made from an old picket fence. How clever and creative!

There was also tons of seasonal inspiration at every turn. How fun are those plush pumpkins?!

And the signage was just too fun not to share. I expected the sidewalk signage, but the outhouse was just funny and then my son really wanted to take the motorcycle signage home. “Mom, it’s just too cool!”

And I can’t leave without sharing a few fun pics of my boys enjoying the day. They love to “go” and that includes exploring with their mom. These are some of the fun times I captured. The “Great Pumpkin Patch” in the center of town, my youngest with this month’s Country Living magazine cover image in the background (love those pumpkin ideas!), my boys jumping off of the hay in front of the test kitchen… I’m sure we they weren’t supposed to be doing that… and my oldest with a swan neck gourd. Okay, I made that name up… but that’s what it looks like to me. {wink}

Although this year’s event in Columbus is over, there is another one in Atlanta next month if you’re nearby. And if you’re thinking about it, take a video tour of the Columbus Fair with Sarah to see what the 2011 Country Living Fair is all about. And if you get to go, I’d love to hear about it!

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Join us on facebook and follow us on twitter and pinterest.

DIY fall dessert stand

This morning I thought I would share a lovely and easy way to display fall treats. It was as simple as popping into my JoAnn Fabric and Craft Store and picking up two wood slices (in the wood crafting section) and two mini bales of hay (with seasonal) and stacking them.

And then to my bakery for some mini apple pie fritters and

some oh so yummy pumpkin donuts. If you’ve not had pumpkin donuts you are really really missing out! The dessert labels, banner and owl cookies are from our new Pumpkin Patch party collection that will be available in the shoppe this week.

Happy Monday everyone and as always, I hope you’re inspired!

Join us on facebook and follow us on twitter and pinterest. Photography by Angie Arthur Photography. Participating in Tip Junkie’s Tip Me Tuesday.

introducing pumpkin patch

I’m just in love with the argyle pattern that we’ve used throughout our new Pumpkin Patch collection. It was the very first element that we designed and then the entire collection came together from there. I hope you love it as much as I do!

We shot this party (photography by my talented friend Angie of Angie Arthur Photography) at a lovely, and real, working farm only minutes from my house in Ohio. Freeman’s Farm is actually where we take our kids each October for hay rides, pumpkin picking, kettle korn, hot dogs by the campfire, scarecrow crafts. It’s a fabulous time and I highly recommend it if you live in the area.

This season just makes me smile. The chilly air, the vibrant leaves russling in the wind, all the final fresh produce of the year littering the fields. And I wanted this collection to be all those things, full of fall colors and elements, but then with the unexpected pops of blue like last year’s Harvest collection that featured the scarecrow.

Pumpkin Patch features a fun little hoot owl with an argyle sweater and the phrase HAPPY HARVEST. We designed beverage wrappers, cupcake picks and argyle cupcake wrappers (my favorite!),

we couldn’t resist a chevron pattern with pumpkins and “Happy Harvest”,

argyle napkin rings, a large hoot owl that we used as a photo prop, but that could also be used as backdrop or other decor,

dessert labels and fun “THANK HOO!” favor tags,

pattern flags or straw slips,

mini banner pennants (that include the owl and the pumpkins, as well as chevron, argyle and dot patterns),

cello toppers, and

a HAPPY HARVEST mat, which we used on this sweet little wagon full of our paper pumpkins. We shot this collection in July and there wasn’t a pumpkin in sight. Soooo what do crafters do when they can’t find what they need? Yep. We make it. {wink} Tutorial coming soon for the pumpkins and the apples you see in the dessert table backdrop.

And then there were the fabulously yummy butter cookies from our partners at Sweet Tooth Cottage. I just love that they were able to create him wearing his little sweater! {Thank you Sue!}

And I can’t resist sharing a few pics of our sweet little models…

and their super silly faces. {LOVE this one!}

You can find the entire Pumpkin Patch collection in the shoppe early next week and as always, I hope you’re inspired! Happy Friday everyone!

Join us on facebook and follow us on twitter and pinterest. Photography by the super talented Angie of Angie Arthur Photography.

acorn chocolate cookie treats

I’ve had fall and Halloween on the brain for a few months now. We’ve been designing, crafting and styling two new collections for the shoppe, I’ve been baking for Kellogg’s Snackpicks.com and a few other projects. I just LOVE this season! It’s full of so much natural inspiration and that is where today’s idea came from: acorns the boys collected for a fun fall project.

These treats are so simple, yet adorable and I have to admit a bit yummy (minus the licorice, it’s a personal thing).

You’ll need: mini Keebler Stripe cookies, Hershey’s Kisses and a small piece of black licorice for your stem. I attached them with a small dot of icing and done. Gotta LOVE a simple treat!

By the way, the napkin ring in the background is the argyle pattern from my new harvest collection, that we’re lovingly calling pumpkin patch. Much more to come on that next week!

As always, I hope you’re inspired!

Join us on facebook and follow us on twitter. Participating in Tator Tots & Jello Weekend Roundup

inspired to entertain in fall

you may also like:

Country Living Mag 2011 Fair

you may also like:

DIY fall dessert stand

you may also like:

acorn chocolate cookie treats

you may also like:

more inspiration

blog archives