"ANW Seasonal Market" dates: April 11, 12, 18, 25, 26, & May 2 & 3
Decorating with Love, In all Seasons
New Year: New Love
Begin the New Year with a decoration or decorations that help celebrate and get you excited to welcome a new year. For this decoration, I took unused holiday crackers, "Sparkle", "Cheers" & "Celebrate", along with used gold and silver streamers, and filled them up a glass flower vase that I had. I, also, used this decoration for my sons’ high school and college graduation party. This decoration is displayed on my entry way table in my home. So, whenever you want to create a themed decoration or any decoration, might you first look at what party leftovers and/or containers that you may have before you go out and buy anything new.
Wintertime: Warm & Cozy Love
Have some fun in the cold winter months, especially when it snows. Built in my backyard is a Connors State Baseball Snowman wearing worn out work gloves, son's old batting gloves, pine tree arm twigs, fallen from pine trees in my backyard, baseball eyes and buttons, free from a promo in a liquor store, a cowboy hat, sons' old costume cowboy hat, a black nose, a helmet cushion from my son's old batting helmet, and a black cotton baclava, from my winter accessories.
Behind the Cowboy are apple bird feeders hanging on the pine trees made from old apples. I sliced up the apples, smothered them with peanut butter and birdseed, and hung them with remnant twine; and the birds loved them.
Valentine's Day: Sweet Love
Decorate and display your love for those you care about. Here, I have made pillows using my sons' old jeans, corduroy pants, and work window treatments/file cabinet runners, and a burlap coffee bag, given to me by Nordaggio's Coffee, a Tulsa coffee shop, and old washcloths and towels and socks as pillow filler. These pillows are adorned in the corner of my work office. So, might you first look at any clothing or material that you may have and do not use anymore and create some meaningful accents to display in your home or office.
St. Patty’s Day: Lucky In Love
Adding a little green to any room is a fun way to spruce up a room. Before you buy anything new, look at what you already have in your house, and repurpose it to another room. Here, I used an area rug, from my home office, and turned it in to a square pouf. The corners are tied with twine and stuffed with old material. This pouf sits in my home office with magazines displayed on top of it. So, if you happen to want a change in decor or a different look to a room, might you first look at what you have and see what you can rearrange, recreate or swap.
Easter: God's Love
Springtime: Spring In To Love & Mom's Love
Pillows are a fun and easy way to spruce up any room in the house. Here, on my living room couch, are a variety of pillows I used to decorate for the season and couch itself. Before you go and buy any new pillows, look at what other pillows, old blankets or tablecloths that you may have and reupholster or turn them in to new pillows. The striped pillows are made from an old linen table cloth and accent my existing suede, burlap and velvet pillows. With each season, I mix and match all of them with other pillows, too, and create a totally different look.
Springtime: Spring In To Love & Mom's Love
Springtime: Spring In To Love & Mom's Love
So much can be used to decorate a kitchen; and before you go and buy anything, first, look and see what you have in your kitchen drawers and cabinets. Here, I took some crocheted potholders, made by my Aunt Toni, and a pastel pink coffee, creamer and sugar stoneware set, given to me by my mom, and turned them in to flower pots that sit on top of a handmade butcher block, with two pink glass flowered candles, adorned on each side, and displayed on my kitchen island, for springtime.
SummerTime: Summer Love & Dad's Love
When decorating your home, you can also commemorate and incorporate your vacations. Here, I used both our beach vacation, Destin, Florida, and home decor to create this summer centerpiece for my kitchen island. The beer cans, pens and sunglasses are from the beach, and the butcher block, candle and vintage jello mold are from my kitchen. So, the next time you go on a vacation, a day trip, or short getaway, might you bring back something special and incorporate it in to your decorating.
Fourth of July: Sparks of Love
Much can be used to create and decorate for any holiday. Here, on the corner of my kitchen island, I have used a vintage glass coke bottle to hold skewered homemade flags tied with twine, along with red, white and blue toothpicks; a flag stoneware plate set with recipes surrounded by saltwater taffy; and an old frame adorning a red, white and blue flowered design with remnant material and vintage buttons. So, might you, first, look through what you already have and go from there.
Fall in to Love
Bring the outside in, this fall. Here, in my entry way, I have created my own pumpkin patch by using my sons' old sweaters, vests, jeans and robes for the pumpkins and their socks for stems and pumpkin guts. So, if you would like to use up any old or unused clothing, here is your chance to give it new life and display it anywhere in your home.
Halloween: Fun & Scary Love
Inside or out, add to the home decor, and/or a fall party, by carving pumpkins. Here, I used my son's baseballs, sunflower seeds, Double Bubble gum and their wrappers to create these baseball pumpkins. So, if you enjoy carving pumpkins and want to create unique ones, first, look at what you have around the house and go from there.
Thanksgiving: Blessings of Love
Adding natural accents creates warmth and simplicity to any setting or holiday. Here, these natural wood pumpkins, nesting in my dining room, were made with varied remnant building materials, and the only thing that I added was an unused green ribbon that I had. So, if you decide to decorate or redecorate something, might you keep in mind that less can be more.
Christmas: Gifts of Love
Adding coziness to any area of the home or holiday season is comforting and special. Here, hanging in front of a cutting board on my kitchen wall is a candy cane, made from my old red sweater, tied with twine, and accented with a denim heart. So, if you want to add any decorations to any area of your home, might you consider the season and see what treasures that you may have and give them a new life.