Fall Thanksgiving Mantle

Sharing my Thankfulness.  I've decorated the mantle with things
I am thankful for.

A group shot. Thankful for my kids and grandkids.

This darling photo from last Halloween was what  started this 

collection.

This is the original Fall mantle.  

Looks nice.  

But I love the family photo's added.

No frame for this one.  Just precious even without a frame.

A blue photo album my daughter made.  And a little bird nest.

I received as a gift from a blogger friend.  Sadly she isn't blogging anymore.

My grandson.  He was 4.  The horse was my son's horse growing up.  

On the right one of my favorite photo's.  These two cousin met for the first time last fall.  

My son and his family live in Missouri.  We don't get to see them often enough.

My DIL is great at sending photos.

This is our son and grandson.

 Lots to be Thankful for. 

 Hoping you have a Fabulous Thanksgiving.

Linking with my favorite parties including The Fabulous Fall Thanksgiving Party over at my other blog.  Click here to link your Fall and Thanksgiving posts.

Silver Pennies, Mosaic Monday, Blue Monday, Amaze Me Monday, Create With Joy, The Art of Homemaking, Let's Add Sprinkles Monday Social,

Share You Cup, Make Your Saturday Sweet, Share It One More Time,

The Bloggers Pit Stop, Creatively Unleashed

My Thrifty Fall Mantle And A New Treasure

         

To my new sewing room.  Today I'm going to give you a little teeny tiny peek of what I've been doing . . . 

Some of you know we've just moved into a house from an apartment.    

Everyone thinks I am silly but I am just so happy to have dirt!

                    

I'll be doing this in the spring.  But right now I'm and tweekin' things and making everything cozy.  

Today I worked on the mantle that is now in the sewing room.

This is my pretend antique mantle I got for my birthday last year.   

I've always wanted one the Cowboy found it on craigslist in a town 45 minutes away.  It's not old but I love it.   It needs a paint job. 

And someday I'll buy some fancy paint and pretty her up. But for

now I just cover her with pretties like this . . . 

My thrifty $1.00 frames.  The welcome sign was .99 I think. 

The clear container my mother got free and gave to me.  

Probably the most expensive thing here are the macrame beads The Cowboy bought in about 1980 for me for Christmas.  

Do you know what macrame is?  HeHe.  

The gold sconce that is still awaiting for me to hang is one of a pair. They were donated for a garage sale.  No one bought them so I kept them. 

I added a couple of really big pine cones.  I didn't even realize our neighbor had a pine tree.  We were driving down the street and I saw one in the middle of the street!  I startled The Cowboy when I kind of yelled 'Stop' but he's used to it!

I love the collection of thrifty Fall.  Can you see the drawing of Fall leaves? 

My DIL did this for me last year.  I need to find a frame.  But I think they look good just resting on the frames. A little 

'unexpected'.

Every Fall I always bring out my pumpkin wagon.  It's Department 56 and was part of the Dickens Village collection.  I don't think it's actually Dickens they have so many different collections.

The wagon and those beads are probably the most expensive part of the mantle.  

The orange bird was  $5.00 on clearance at Big Lots.  

Part of this vignette is actually priceless . . . 

Adorable Turkeys made of hands and feet.  The big one is my 15 year old grandson.  The two smaller ones are my DIL and grand daughter.  My son was a scrooge! 

The little pumpkin on the box I got last year from a student.  it's really cute.  

The wooden box is old.  I got it in 1976 when I graduated from high school.  It is a mini Land cedar chest.  A furniture store in town gave them away.  

I love having my mantle in my sewing room.  Which is not together yet.  But I'm working on it.  

And today I got a treasure.  My daughter rolled her eyes but she carried it out of the store and set it securely in my grandsons car seat. He was at school. Thanks goodness! HeHe. 

Here's what I got.  Guess what I paid for it. . . 

I know.  It is so ugly it's cute.  At least to me.  It is cream but I think it blends well with the white look I am working on in my sewing room.  The fringe is really shabby and needs to be replaced but for $1.00 who could pass it up!  Not me!

It made my day to get to go thrifting with my daughter. 

And The Cowboy offered to go back to the same store tomorrow!

Linking with Blue Monday, Mosaic Monday,  The Art of Homemaking
  No Place Like Home, Share Your Cup, Party In Your P.J's,
  The Homemaking Party, Vintage Charm,  Home and Garden Thursday, 
Frou Frou Friday, Simple Fridays, Share It One More Time, Create With Joy,
Thoughts Of Home, Feathered Nest Friday, Best Of The Weekend

Welcome Fall-My Thrifty Mantle

The Cottage mantle is all ready for Fall  
The Welcome sign is out.  Come on in . . . 


The fun Welcome sign was a thrifted treasure. I paid a whole .99 at a local resale shop.  
It's hand made and I am sure someone put in a lot of effort.  It needed a a good home! It fit right in.


I wanted a shot to show the crochet.   Thrifty girl that I am I was looking for  some 
kind of fabric and spotted this crocheted vest.  Yep I wear this when it's not on my mantle!
I love the added texture and all smished and smushed up who would have known. 

Isn't the sign fun?  My sweet DIL made it.  She sent it along with 'dress up' photos.  I'll show them soon. 

Another shot with the almost spent flowers.  The leaf garland I paid too much for it at Big Lots a few years ago.  Before the days of Dollar Tree.  


One more shot showing my 'dumpster candle sticks' and yes BJ these were actually in the dumpster not beside it!  They were brown with some sad other colors of paint.  I left them that way for awhile and then assigned The Cowboy the job of painting them silver.  
The tall vase was a wedding present to my daughter from a dear friend.  She regifted it to me.  It was originally a very pretty blue.  But I love it silver.  She is clueless it was originally hers. 

I moved things around a little to get a good shot of the bird feeder (I think). Love it.  Not a dumpster dive but almost a neighbor was moving out of state and she gave me a bunch of stuff she no longer needed and didn't want to ship.  Poor little thing has been sitting in my garage.  It's kind of tall.  I originally tried it on the kitchen sink but it was too tall.  It fits the mantle perfectly. 

And one more shot.  I've never shared about the mirror . . . 

Gifted (under duress) from my MIL she was in the antique biz for a few years.  She bought it at an auction.  I begged for it forever and she finally gave it to me.  I also begged for every mantle she had.  She never found the need to let me have one. 
The Cowboy ended up buying this one last year for my bday.   I took the day off from work to go and pick it up with him.  It was a steal at $35.00.  I don't really think its old but it doesn't matter to me. 

                                          In any season.  I love my mantle.  
           
I'll be linking this post to The Fabulous Fall Party  over at my other blog.    

                               
                 The party goes all the way to the end of October.  Come over and join the party!

And I'm linking with Karen at Oh My Heartsie Girl.  She kindly
invited me to Co-Host with her this month!  Yea!  
                                 
Go over to Karen's and visit Wonderful Wednesday at link your posts!

Linking with my regular favorites:
The Art of Homemaking, Create With Joy, Share Your Cup,
Thrifty and Vintage Finds

      

Tweekin' With A Little Red, White and Blue

                     Happy Memorial Day
               
                                                                         Source
Over the weekend I played around and added some Red, White and Blue to the cottage . . . 
                        
I set the table and decorated the mantle.  This is stage one I'm sure I'll tweek it a few more times before July.  I did move the wagon in from the patio.  You can barely see the handle and a few books. 
I'll share more on another post.  
I guess the room wasn't really photo ready because I didn't tidy the wingback chair.  My slinky throw and my sparkly throw which I love are kinda jumbled up.  On the edge is the quilt for outside I'm working on.  
Let's see the rest of the 'real' tweekin' . . . 

Here's a little close up of the mantle.  The little bunting I made last year from UFO quilt blocks.  Hung it on twine and added some ribbons to the ends.  
The scarf in the middle is really a chiffon (type) scarf from Dollar Tree.  I think I'll go back and get a couple more. It was perfect for this display.  

A close up of the table settings.  The new glass has stars on it!  So excited I was to find a set for $7.00.  You can't buy plastic for that!  A couple were broken.  But I didn't need a complete set anyway.
I'll tell you more about the rest of the table setting in another post.

I have more new things to share . . . 

I was inspired at Christmas to do a Hot Chocolate station. I've carried the theme over and now set up a beverage station. 
See my new glasses.  I added the flags from Big Lots.  The star in the middle was from Dollar Tree.  There are more on the mantle.
I chose some red drinks.  A Mexican Strawberry soda tested by our grandson and given a thumbs up.  I'll have to go buy more.  And I tested the faux Strawberry Daiquiri it s fizzy and yummy. 

A little closer shot with my festive paper lanterns.  They are 3 years old from Dollar Tree.  They live in my laundry room during the year and come out for Red, White and Blue themes.

A little close up of the mantle area.  The red vase is years and years old.  Bought waaaaay back in the day at Big Lots.  I have to strategically set it on display.  The back side which is really the front side has a pretty Christmas Tree on it.  For years I packed it away after Christmas.  And then a few years ago when I began the Valentine's Dinner Dates I had an inspiration.  It stays out year round now using for all my red themed decorating! 

And I have one more last sneak peek . . . 
 
My WIP Patriotic Quilt.  I really don't plan to reveal it till the 4th
but I wanted to give you a sneak peek.  I still have some hand work to do this week.  The angel needs some hair. He. He. And I need to lay it out baste and quilt it.  I'm planning on simple straight or wavy lines. Super fast!  

I did take a few other shots and a couple of the counter that divides the kitchen from living area . . .         

So that's a little peek.  But before you go check out the giveaway starting on the 1st to celebrate my new Book Blog.  Go over and follow and come back and enter!

The Giveaway is here.  The blog is here.

Linking with Blue Monday, Mosaic Monday,  The Art of Homemaking
Tweek It Tuesday, Yankee Doodle Party,  No Place Like Home Share Your Cup

Books Here, Books There . . .

. . . Everywhere I turn I see books!  
                                                And
                     I love it!  Are you a lover of books?  
                                    
Do you have stacks and stacks of books sitting around?
                                         
There are books in our little office/desk space . . . 

Little groups and collections on the glass shelves below our t.v.
 
I love gardening and rabbits so I displayed a few books with one of my favorite rabbits. 

Cowboys and Horses are favorites too . . . 


A few magazines are displayed . . . 

I just love Mary Engelbrett.  I have a few magazines I bought 'back in the day'.  I think they are almost vintage now. 

A few more gardening books sit under a lamp on a side table . . .        
Stacks are always sitting on the desk where my computer lives . . . 

Sometimes it's a really clean and neat area.  Sometimes  Most times not so much...
                                                    
Sometimes there is an invasion . . . 

Opps I that Lego fisherman had too much sun!

And then there's just a few of my collection of cookbooks . . . 
                                              
A few favorites sit on the counter between our kitchen and living area.  

And then sometimes a few might sit on the mantle . . . 

I'm always moving things around and tweekin' the little cottage.  

Looks like I do have just a few books.  Yep.  That's just a few. 

                           Someday I'll show you the rest!  

     So do you have a few books laying around?

Linking with Home Matters Linky Party