Halloween

How to Make a SCARY Fairy Garden!

Date: October 18, 2018
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: 10 min. project, goodwill, Halloween, inspiration

We have been traveling for a week or so…..
It seemed too soon to decorate for Halloween before we left, but now it is only 2 weeks away.
I don’t do a lot of crazy Halloween decor any more.  We never were the people who filled the yard with gravestones and ghosts.
I do like to do a few things that pay homage to the season.

This is one of my favorites!
I love fairy gardens…..and this one can be enjoyed in the warm comfort of indoors!

AND….almost every component is a thrift store find.

You can create your own “Scary Fairy Garden” or “Ghostly Gnome Home”.
These are the components:

  • A large box or basket- this is a wine box/tray that I found at Goodwill.  The aisle with baskets and wood always have great things for good prices.
  • Ceramic houses that are usually in the Christmas decor section at the thrift store.  I painted them with craft paint to look spooky.
  • Small pumpkins are always available at the dollar store.
  • Little ceramic ghosts can be sourced at the thrift store.  You probably have some in your holiday stash.
  • The stone “courtyard” is a piece of tile on mesh that we found at the tile store. A little moss tucked in is a nice addition.
  • The “tree” is some curly willow that is tied together.  A branch from the yard would work well.
  • I added some battery powered twinkle lights wound around the branches.

Easy….
Simple….
Inexpensive….
Just my Sweetwater Style!

Happy Haunting!

Quick and Easy Halloween Decor Ideas!

Date: October 8, 2017
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: fabric, flower arrangement, Halloween, holiday, idea exchange, inspiration, pillows, Stuff to buy at Good Will

What is your Halloween decor style?
Do you go all out Haunted House….?
Or
Do you settle for a simple Jack-O-Lantern or two?

I like to find a middle ground….that pretty much eliminates the “haunted” stuff.

Here is a round up of some simple decor ideas that have a Halloween feel with a bit of elegance and/or whimsy.

Display old and new photos of Halloween’s of the past!

I have so many fun photos of the Sweetwater kids in costume.  It is simple to have prints made and then find a fun way to display them.  I have framed them and clustered them around the house.  This year the display is a simple “gallery” of the photos matted and mounted to the big chalkboard in the stairwell. There are some spaces left for some new photos I need to get printed….but I wanted to get the post done!


Get Your Pumpkins ON!

Simply placing these interesting pumpkins in odd spots through the house makes a Halloween statement with out SHOUTING!  The thrift store is a wonderful source for interesting Halloween themed decor.


Keep those Real Pumpkins Looking Good!
 
This trick will keep your real pumpkins and gourds from getting rotten.  If you follow this “recipe”, you may still have usable gourds at Thanksgiving!  

Inject some Humor!
These little plaques are easy to make….but would also be simple to print and frame.
Check out the tutorial here or take a few minutes to browse for some funny quotes to use on a chalkboard.

A trip to the craft store is the start of this craft project.  These little books tucked on a shelf or set on a table are a subtle seasonal touch.  TUTORIAL HERE
Don’t Forget Accent Pillows!
A few whimsical pillows can add a touch of seasonal decor too.  If you have never tried printing images on canvas using your inkjet printer…you really should check out these directions.  The possibilities are really endless.

So there you have it….a few little ideas that might inspire you to get your Halloween on in a tasteful way!


Have a Wonderful Day!  It is gorgeous outside today….maybe a trip to a pumpkin patch is in order…oh wait…I seem to have ENOUGH pumpkins!

Using Twinkle Lights for Fall Decor

Date: September 23, 2017
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: 10 min. project, collections, decorating, Halloween, use what you have
Yesterday, the thermometer in the car said 100 degrees…..but the calendar says it is Autumn!  
Go figure!
I have been gradually switching the decor around Sweetwater to reflect the season….NOT…the temperature!
The family room was first….and honestly it took about 30 minutes to go from Summer to Fall!
The chair covers on the rattan chairs are now back to a muted color scheme. (I do love slipcovers for a quick change!)

  • These two purple pillows make sense when you look at the chair fabric.
  • A wine crate filled with interesting orbs and cotton bolls is fall like without going all “pumpkin” flavored! I often find these decorative balls at Good Will for a fraction of the cost they are at a decor store.  The same goes for the wine crate…keep an eye out for interesting containers.
  • The mantel got the “pumpkin” treatment complete with mood lighting!  I used my copper collection and a great pumpkin swag that has been around forever. 

I am totally obsessed with twinkle lights!
I love the battery powered strings that are on tiny copper wire.  The wire bends around to twist through the stuff and almost disappears.
A search on Amazon finds a really wide variety of these fun strings for a very low cost.  I have also seen them at Tuesday Morning and Dollar General.  You really want to have these in your decorating stash!!!

 I used a string to light up the Spooky Fairy Garden last season…..I will definitely do that again when October rolls around.

Look at some of the fun ways that other people have used twinkle lights:

Source

HMMMM….I could probably weave a string into my wine crate!

Source
Source

Hope this inspires you to do a bit of fall decorating and add some twinkle lighting to your projects…

 I love the quote from the movie “You’ve Got Mail” when Kathleen announces that all will be fine, but “in the meantime, I’m putting up more twinkle lights.”

Have A Wonderful Day!
Link Parties

Burlap Ribbon Wreath

Date: October 12, 2016
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: decorating, glue gun, Halloween, inspiration, tips

This project is so simple.
All I did was take a grapevine wreath and loop some wired burlap ribbon all around it.  I did secure it in a few places with some hot glue.  Then I tucked (stuck) some artificial leaves and berries .

I would admit that this is hardly worth blogging about…..unless I had a tip to share!
AND….

Do I have a tip for you!
That tip is about where to buy your wired ribbon on the cheap!

Oh, you could order a 10 yard spool from Ballard Designs and pay $20 plus shipping!

But that seems pretty silly when you can buy a 50 Yard spool at COSTCO for $6.99!

The wired ribbon at CostCo is a seasonal thing.
It is something that is worth stocking up on…..

And this year they have burlap….needless to say I bought a couple of spools.

I restrained myself from buying the Christmas styles as I already have quite a stash from years past….

Although…the shiny red satin did call to me!!

 Using all that ribbon to make bows is one of my favorite ways to dress things up.

 This bow is a lovely accent to a fall arrangement made by one of the guests at the latest Sweetwater Floral Consultants Sip and Snip.

If you are interested in learning more about creating beautiful bows…check out this tutorial!
TAKING ANOTHER BOW! TUTORIAL

Then head over to CostCo and get your own ribbon stash started!

Have A Wonderful Day!

Link Parties
Handyman Crafty Woman

How To Preserve Fall Leaves Repost

Date: October 9, 2016
Author: Sweetwater Style
Categories: 10 min. project, crafts, Halloween, tricks

The Sweetwater Grandboy has been helping Grandpa S with some raking.
The colors are changing and the leaves are oh so beautiful.
I picked up some really colorful leaves on our walk a few days ago.
I knew I wanted to preserve them.
AND I got to work doing just that.
How? Well let me tell you by reposting the instructions from last year.
 

How to Preserve Autumn Leaves!
A Repost For Your Reading Pleasure!
From Autumn 2015

The weather here this fall has been amazing.  Bright sunny warm days.  For some reason, the leaves on the trees around Sweetwater have not been as colorful as usual.  I suppose there is a scientific reason for that but I don’t know what it is.

Fall leaves that are brightly colored just call to be brought in to the house to use for decorations.

I have memories of classroom art projects that involved trying to save fall leaves.

  • We ironed them between wax paper.  
  • We made leaf prints with paint.  
  • We used color crayons to make leaf etchings. 
  • We pressed leaves in heavy books.

What I really wanted was leaves that look like they are still outside on the tree.
AND……AHA!
This is the technique I tried this year and it comes pretty darn close to actually preserving the leaves.

The leaves in the silver vase have been in water for 2 days…..and you can see how dry and curled they are.

The leaves with the white pumpkins came into the house at the same time.  They got the “magic solution” and you can see they are still nice and soft.

How did this “magic” happen?

The “magic” ingredient is Glycerine.

You can buy glycerine at the drugstore or in craft stores.
I buy mine by the quart from Amazon.

What You Do:
  1. Mix the glycerin and water so that it is one part glycerin and two parts water. …
  2. Pour the solution into a flat pan, place the leaves in the solution, and then put the weight on the leaves to keep them submerged. …
  3. Keep the leaves submerged in the solution for a couple of days.
  4. Dry the leaves gently with a paper towel.

These giant red oak leaves were perfect to show you the process.

  I just put the leaves in the solution and didn’t bother to weight them down.  Every so often I would go and push the solution around with my fingers to make sure the leaves all got covered.

Look how lovely and shiny and soft the leaves are after just 2 days.

They really hold the colors too.

I am not sure what I am going to do with these.  But I am sure to think of something.

 Almost as good as the ones in nature!

Are you wondering how long these will stay looking nice?
I don’t actually know…..but the ones I did two weeks ago still look great.  I don’t know if it matters…..they really only have to last until Fall decor turns to Winter….!

Now…..Are you ready for your chemistry lesson?

Glycerin is a neutral, sweet-tasting, colorless, thick liquid which freezes to a gummy paste and has a high boiling point.
Glycerin can be dissolved into water or alcohol, but not oils.
Many things are able to dissolve into glycerin easier than they do into water or alcohol. This makes it is a good solvent.
Glycerin is a humectant.  That means that it draws moisture from the air.
Glycerin has the ability to make “water wetter” meaning that it breaks the surface tension of water.

Glycerin has lots of uses besides preserving leaves.
If it can make those leaves so nice and soft…..imagine how products containing glycerin will help soften skin and hair.

 This is a nice article with lots of information about glycerine.
Creative Uses For Glycerine 
It is worth checking it out….in fact….I discovered that glycerin mixed with water and heated over a candle flame makes a cool Halloween Fog Machine.  I can’t wait for the UPS guy to deliver my new glycerin supply so I can try this!
Glycerin is also a great additive for Home Made Bubble Solution.
Recipe for Magic Bubbles
1 oz. glycerin
2 oz dish soap (I like Dawn)
8 oz water

Hope you are having a wonderful day!