~~Walmart Sunflowers~~

Silk flowers can get very pricey~~but, you can make a gorgeous indoor or exterior bouquet under budget by doing this:

Check out the florals at Walmart~~example~~I spotted the big bouquet of sunflowers that looked "generic"~~but, taking each stem apart from the bundle will allow you to create a pretty bouquet.

Got me thinking about the big white ceramic container I could use to fill up the entryway table; I chose ~3~ different bouquets to work with;

For under $12.00~~I decided on the sunflowers, orange spikey flowers and a bag of Eucalyptus in fall colors~~

I started with the Euca. first~~this creates your height and width~~and oohhh the aroma is wonderful from the Euca.!~~Cut apart the sunflowers at the far base for separate stems~~filling in with the spikey orange flowers.  I used some leftover pinecones and spanish moss around the rim of my container at the very last.

   

Above~~my antique mansion print I recently purchased ($2.00) looks perfectly spooky here!

~~For under $12.00 made this huge bouquet that makes me happy!!~~but,wait~~

Then I decided a big white platter was needed~~it lightens up all the dark woods of the table and mirror.  I'm sending my bouquet over to these fun parties:

 http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

  

http://verymerryvintagestyle.blogspot.com/

Catalog Inspiration

~~Nothing better than that first cup of coffee for the morning and finding inspiration from bloggers and new room ideas from Free Catalogs~~I'm listing my favorite sources for "in the mail inspiration" too at the end of this post~~

Above; look at that wonderful owl lamp~~I've seen many of you post owls similar to this beauty~~I love this home office look from West Elm Catalog.

• Table Lamp
  Preview Colors
• • Each $99.00

 Wow~~what a price too!   I would not pay that~~but, I would duplicate it with a flea market find for much less the original cost of this one; look at the whole room setting too~~paint color on wall, the trim molding, the rug~~loads of good inspiration (the catalog is FREE).

 

~~~And look at these for ideas (West Elm Catalog)~~

~~Clearance sales look wonderful from this catalog and prices are much cheaper than PB~~

• Organic Seedling Duvet Cover + Shams Regular $19.00 – $29.00 sale $9.99
• Tuck-Stitch Quilt + Shams Regular $24.00 – $29.00 sale $19.99

Other fun stuff and pretty visual (inspiration for vignettes!)~~~

Love this bathtub!  and the color combination~~clean/minimal~~

So there ya go~~some great inspiration by the mail; some great copy~cat ideas~~I love getting free catalogs and sharing with you my list of favorites:

http://www.westelm.com/

http://potterybarn.com/

http://www.grandinroad.com/  

http://countrydoor.com/

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/

All the above catalogs are free upon request~~a mountain of ideas and inspiration for your blogs and homes (some great sales too)~~~

Have a great weekend!  Patty

$4.00 Autumn

Queen of Cheapo~~today is half price at the local resale shop; of course I can't miss out on potential bargains (I was not going to indulge this week, but after seeing all the wonderful things you've shown on your blogs~~well, it's your fault. HA!)~~love, love the inspiration I get from your homes and decorating tips!

Anyhow~~I'm only showing the $2.00 worth of my goodies~~

Brought home these pretty fall~silks with acorns, berries, pine~cones for my ugly shelf: I have not refinished this section of the house yet~~this huge built~in shelf is what you see when you first enter in the front door~~I have plans to use wider, trims/moldings eventually.

Pulled out the apothecary jars for added interest~~you've seen my one jar filled with dried roses probably a gazillion times~~I love it for vignettes for autumn.  And clipped some berry twigs off the crab~apple tree for another jar.  Natural colored nuts/hulls in yet another~~

I don't like much clutter on my shelves~~but, added the ceramic pumpkin for a little extra color~~

See that darling frame with all those gorgeous people?  Who are they??  ~~~I bought the frame recently from Hobby Lobby to add "updated" black and white photos of my own gorgeous family soon!

Will share my other $2.00 worth of goodies later this weekend~~got to go paint a door right now after having this nice break for the day.  Are you starting to drag out the fall deco's too? 

Sharing my thoughts here this week:

  http://thebrambleberrycottage.blogspot.com/

http://thethriftygroove.blogspot.com/

http://commonground-debrasvintagedesigns.blogspot.com/

http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

http://www.stuff-and-nonsense.net/

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/

http://chiconashoestringdecorating.blogspot.com/

http://laurieannas.blogspot.com/

~~Bits of Red Today~~

~~This is the second bag of "faux" apples I've found recently; I'll use them for table displays this fall.  This bag of apples looked pretty in this vintage wicker basket purchased on a thrift hunt.  The little red buckets were a dime a piece~~thinking of painting them black or white with "vintage" numbers on them.

These four ramekins were also a dime each bought from our local Habitat Shop~~

Hope everyone is having gorgeous pre-autumn weather~~I love this time of the year.

Joining Red Wednesday here:

http://suelovescherries.blogspot.com/

~~Hedge Apples for Decorating~~

~~Had to post this simple nature thing; a hedge apple!  Love the green color.  Early this morning walking the dogs at the park and found several on the ground; the trees that line the pond are loaded this year~~

Old glass cake stand holds a morning vignette; mixed beans in bale jar for a little candle~~makes a nice late summer look on the table this morning.

Crown molding not up yet around the dining room ceiling.  Decided to paint my "gold" chandelier (thank you to a sweet suggestion from a fellow~blogger)and plan to use a few paint mixtures for darking that gold color.  I thought of white; but, liking the thought of darker brown/bronze/black on the chandelier with white shades;  I have a lot of white in this room.  And~~making my white curtains from heavy, white sheets!  (yep--sheets)

 

I'm using the dark colored, thicker rods and loving the match~stick blinds.  I may border the inside panel of each curtain with a 3 to 4 inch tan/beige fabric.  These windows are floor to ceiling sized, narrow;   another reason why 100% white cotton sheets appealed!  My old farm~house at the edge of town~~a constant love of work and remodel.

I also want to take off the hardware to the cabinet doors; strip the paint off the hinges and use spray paint to darken them to almost black/brown.  I don't know when that will happen~~but, it's a plan.

Have a beautiful day~~