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    Fabulous Fall Decorating, Home Tours

    Simple and Elegant Fall Decorating

    Simple and Elegant Fall Decorating Ideas Vintage Cottage Style Grandmillenial cottage core fall

    Fall decorating doesn’t have to be stressful! See how to ease into fall with these simple and elegant fall decorating ideas for using just a few seasonal elements and items you may already have around your home.

     

    Welcome friends, and welcome fall! Today I am excited to be joining my friend Marty of A Stroll Through Life and 30 talented bloggers for the annual Fall Home Tours! If you are coming over from Savvy Snowbirds or if you just happened to stop by, I am very pleased to have you  here! *This post contains affiliate links. Read more

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    Create and Craft, Vintage Style

    French Vintage Garden Urn Makeover

    Create A French Vintage Inspired Garden Urn Patina on any urn or pot using this easy DIY paint technique!

     

    Hello friends! I am really excited about my latest diy! I can finally check off  ” rusty, chippy, French Vintage garden urn” from my junkin’ and thrifting wish list! Well, sort of. I didn’t find a genuine antique urn, but I did create the look of one using a store bought urn and an easy paint technique. *This post contains affiliate links. See my full affiliate disclosure policy for details.

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    Christian Living, Summer, Vintage Style

    Festive Patriotic Porch Decorating Ideas

    It’s Pinterest Challenge day, where 15 Bloggers  are sharing beautiful and festive patriotic porch ideas!

    Happy SUMMER my friends, and welcome to another fun monthly Pinterest Challenge! After being overwhelmed for the past year by a massive home move and renovation to our new (old) red  brick home, I  am THRILLED to once again be able to join some of my dear blogging friends for this month’s  Pinterest challenge, which has helped inpsire my some of my patriotic porch decor for the Fourth of July. Read more

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    Garden Thyme, Spring

    Beautiful Container Garden Ideas for Any Space

    Now that spring is here and Easter is just around the corner, all of us garden and flower lovers are ready to get outside and get busy! Planting up some spring containers is the perfect way to get your garden on even if the winter temperatures linger.

     

     No large yard? No problem! Today I am sharing how you can take any small space and transform it into a lush garden area using containers, and just about anything can be used as a container with a little creativity! 

     

     

     

     

     

    I am excited to once again be joining several blogging friends for another fun Pinterest challenge!  This month’s theme is container gardens which is something I love!  If you are coming over from South House Designs or if you are just dropping by today, then welcome!!!! 

     

    yard of flowers and antiques

    Our gorgeous inspiration photo  for this month’s challenge comes from  Organized Clutter. A special thanks goes out to Cindy of County Road 407 for hosting this challenge. You will find links to all of the beautiful container garden ideas posts at the end of this post.

     

     

    Transform Any Space Into A Beautiful Garden Area Using Containers and Garden Accessories

    If you don’t have a large yard or if you have health issues or lack of time that prevent you from large scale gardening, you can still create a garden area that is easy to maintain and looks lush and full using a variety of traditional pots and planters as well as unique containers for interest.

     

    Let’s start by taking a look at this blank wall by the side door entry at the yellow brick home.  Here it looked rather boring and sad, but by adding some beautiful urns, containers, and planters filled with a mix of evergreen and seasonal plants, the eyesore of an entry easily transformed into something special.

     

    For several years I kept a vintage plant etagere by the back door and kept it styled with pretty pots, containers and garden elements. 

     

    I like using a mix of traditional garden pots as well as fun, unexpected thrifted items as containers, such a a vintage, tarnished silverplate creamer as a succulent planter.

     

     

     

     

    spring flowers and herbs dollar tree metal fleurs and jardin makeover

    The plant stand was always evolving through the various seasons.

     

     

     

    I later moved the plant stand to my backyard cottage garden area and just used an old garden trellis and beautiful containers for interest in this area.  

     

     

    One year for Mother’s Day my husband surprised me with hundreds of tulip bulbs. He then planted them all for me in November as part of the gift. That was THE YEAR of the most beautiful spring container garden!

     

     

     

     

     

    Pansies and violas in an urn spring container ideas spring urns

     

     

     

    spring container garden with tulips in popts

    Another blank wall along the sidewalk to the side entry became a lush garden with a raised cedar bed filled with all kinds of herbs, flowers and vegetables and surrounded on the bottom and sides by container plantings.

     

    I really became entrhalled with the idea of concentrating on container gardens after discovering Claus Dalby on instagram. His beautiful book, Containers in The Garden (affiliate link) really inspired the design of my own container gardens.

     

    Containers in the Garden

    Container gardens are perfect for those of us with chronic health issues, back pain or lack of time and space. Really they are perfect for anyone!

     

     

     

     

    The last couple of years at the yellow brick home I wanted something in this spot that would look great year found, so I used a large urn with an evergreen arborvite as the focal point. Notice the bird bath in the foreground is also a “container” for succulents.

     

     

    Additional Favorite Container Planting Ideas

    I purchased this French wooden box with forced spring daffodils at Home Depot a few years ago and it has always been one of my favorite spring containers to plant up ever since! Once the daffodils were spent, I planted them in the yard and they bloomed beautifully the following spring.

    *Home Depot once again has these in stock this year! Some are filled with hyacinths and tulips!

     

    The next year I created a mixed spring container planting using tulips, tete e tete daffodils and pansies. 

     

     

     

    Another plant etagere on the front porch at the yellow brick home was a favorite spot for small container plantings and seasonal accents.

     

     

    A simple hanging basket from the dollar store looks beautiful and elegant filled with simple pansies.

     

     

     

    I always keep my eyes open for rustic, european style pots and containers when I am thrifting. Just about any combination of plants looks beautiful in them, as long as the water and light requirements are similar.

     

     

    Of course fall is a wonderful time to create beautiful containers!

     

     

    Vintage fall pheasant vintage bucket with yellow pansies outdoor fall decorating ideas

     

     

     

    Thrifted vintage buckets or old coffee cans make fun and interesting containers in a junk-lover’s garden!

     

     

     

    Using Containers to Fill Negative Space in the Garden

     

    cottage garden in August birdbath with perennials

    Another tried and true trick for the impatient gardener (like me!) is to use pots and containers to fill negative space and gaps in the garden, either while waiting for plants to grow or to place on top of difficult to garden areas such as those with lots of roots or poor soil.

     

     

    My dad’s tricycle from the 1950’s made a fun garden accent “container” with a basket filled with succulents on the front and a big galvanized bucket of fountain grass in the back. As a bonus the tricyle filled a lot of blank space.

     

     

    Don’t be afraid to mix rustic country or vintage containers such as an old galvanized bucket with new pots or more elegant planters and urns. They can all work together to create interest in a container garden.

     

     

     

    I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of my container garden ideas and that it has inspired you! This summer I plan to transform our small backyard and deck using mostly containers, and I will be sharing lots of posts on this subject in the weeks and months ahead so please do plan to stop back by often. 

     Next up on today’s challenge is Barb at French Ethereal. She always has lovely gardening ideas! Don’t forget to check out all of the other beautiful and interesting container posts via the links below.

    Happy planting!

    Amber

     

     

     

     

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    Christmas, Home Tours

    A Christmas Welcome to Our New Home!

    Hello friends and welcome to our new home for the holidays!

    (STILL a work in progress!)

    In August we moved into our historic 1920’s red brick home that we purchased and began renovating over a year ago. The renovations took much longer than expected  (don’t they always?) so we didn’t end up getting all the rooms completely finished and decorated in time for this tour, but we are really loving how everything is looking for Christmas so far!

     

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    Fabulous Fall Decorating, Home Tours

    New Home “PRE-VEAl” with Touches of Fall Decor

     After almost a year it’s time for a “pre-veal” of our new home decorated for fall!

    Welcome, welcome WELCOME! After months and months of empty promises (we really tried, I promise!) I am finally ready to open our front door and let you take a peek into our new 1920’s American Foursquare home with Craftsman Bungalow elements! Oh boy are we loving it! Although it is bittersweet to leave the yellow brick home, we have no regrets! I had really hoped to have things “finished” in time for fall and had planned for this to be the great reveal post, but there is STILL so much to do. We only moved in about three weeks ago and as you can imagine there are still unpacked boxes and totes everywhere!  Nevertheless I decided to go ahead and give you a little “PREveal” of some of the foyer and living room with snippets from upcoming posts where I will show the spaces and decor in more detail. 

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    Fabulous Fall Decorating

    Using Dried Hydrangeas in Fall Decorating

    Happy fall my friends! Don’t y0u just love decorating for this beautiful and cozy season?  It is certainly my favorite time to decorate although my “methods and materials” for fall decorating has changed over  the years. Instead of using a lot of  cutesy store bought fall items, I have been using more natural items or things I can find around the house with fall themes. Dried hydrangeas are one of my must-haves in fall decorating, although I love using them year round too. Read more

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    Uncategorized

    How to Prepare Before You Sell Your Home

    It is a huge decision to sell your home, and it involves more than just listing your property and waiting for the offers to roll in. It is a major life decision, and it can impact your financial future, long-term goals, and lifestyle. Whether you are moving because you are downsizing upgrading to a bigger home or for a new job, you must take the time to look at all the aspects of the process before you put your house up for sale. Read more

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    Home Improvement and DIY

    How to Realize Your Home Improvement Goals

    Living through a Home renovation project can be one of the most gratifying & challenging experiences. Timely preparation, a winning strategy, and the adaptability to deal with unforeseen roadblocks are crucial in converting an idea to a reality. Product selection and people coordination require attention to detail at every step of the way. To give you a sense of what you can expect with home renovations, there is a lot to cover in this ultimate guide. So with these obstacles in mind, you can take complete charge of your home transformation. Read more

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