Monthly Archives: September 2021

Transitioning to Fall – Update

Since my last two “Transitioning to Fall” posts I have made a few changes. First is the front porch…I ordered a mesh sunflower wreath from a vendor on Etsy. It arrived this week and I placed it over the wicker settee to add some additional sunflower decor. I had thought to make one myself…I watched several YouTube videos but decided it was easier to try to find one already made. This one from Etsy was priced reasonably and included shipping. I am totally happy with the wreath…its color, quality and design!

Second, I brought up my three-tiered tray from storage in the basement, placed it on the oak dresser in the living room and decorated it to compliment the early fall decor. I love playing with this tiered tray, changing its decorations for the holidays and seasons! I also added a second tall lamp with Edison light bulb purchased from Hobby Lobby. Both lamps were purchased during one of their recent 1/2-off lamp sales. The three miniature needlepoint samplers that were on this dresser I moved to another display location.

Next, our new kitchen cabinets arrived at 10;25am this past Thursday! They are sitting in the living room until installation which will be probably later this month. Just really happy they are here!

I needed to move the oak rocking chair and small side table to make room for the kitchen cabinet boxes in the living room. I placed chair and table in the TV room then decorated the side oak dresser to compliment the early fall decor theme. The orange agate lamp comes out of storage each year for the fall season. The felted sunflower is something I made in a workshop at a needlework shop in Howell MI many years ago. The materials were provided included the “bed spring” which is used as a “stem” for the sunflower.

A final note…about the “focus” of my pictures…I use a Nikon Coolpix point-&-shoot camera which does not produce a crisp focus picture most of the time, especially in lower light levels. David and I are both needing new I-Phones…and I have made the request that my new phone comes with a good camera! Any recommendations?!

Transitioning to Fall – Front Porch

Continuing with my transition to fall decor and focusing on a sunflower theme…the front porch got a make-over too. Hopefully the heat and mosquitoes will simmer down so I can sit outside and enjoy this lovely space…something I haven’t been able to do all summer! The black buffalo check is something new for me to use…I like it…and it will be good through Halloween. I put together the front door autumn leaf wreath…love the soft fall color palette!

At the end of this post I include a couple pictures from Monday’s Ikebana zoom class. This arrangement represents “Sogetsu Variation #6 – Horizontal Style – Nageire (tall vase)”. This lesson involved learning the hidden mechanics to allow the branches and flowers to spread horizontally from a tall vase. This design is meant to be seen equally from all sides making it suitable for a table arrangement. I originally made my design in a shorter tall vase but my teacher, Ilse Beunen, recommended a higher vase because of the draping nature of the tropical pink Mandevilla vine flowers…so I remade it using my tallest vase. Ilse said my design needed a higher vase so the flowers could be viewed better from underneath when sitting at a table. Both the pink Mandevilla vine flowers and the pink Hydrangea blossoms are from my back yard garden.