Sunday, November 10, 2013

SOME THANKSGIVINGNESS

Although my Halloween decor can get a little crazy and over-the-top, Thanksgiving in my home is more subdued. 
 I love my pilgrims.  They have such sweet faces and they are not all funked out in crazy hats with buckles.  They were a gift from my sainted Mother-in-Law and I look forward to putting them out every year because they remind me of some of the fun and crazy shopping days we've had.  She knows the best places to "poke around".  The old crock was given to me by my awesome Father-in-Law, who remembered to ask me if I wanted it before he threw it out.  Most of the time the answer to that is "yes!".  It's from Whitehall Stoneware in Illinois.  I love it!  Thank you Charles and Virginia!
I don't have a fireplace, so sometimes I pretend like I have a dual mantel with these shelves.  I love that little garden gate and it stays around until late spring because it looks fabulous at Christmas and Valentines.  This year it got a leaf garland, metal star and some mini pumpkins.  
Ever see something that was just stupid expensive and you knew it was over-priced, but you just had to have it?  This little painted and glazed clay pumpkin tray was it for me.   A leftover from the days when I really wanted a federal-style house.  I've moved on from that plan, but I still love the tray.
I'm all about candles, so this little pumpkin one caught my eye several years ago.  I'm kind of picky about my turkeys.  I just want them to look like the turkeys I see in my fields.  I don't love them all bright and silly looking, although I do have one that looks a little crazy.....
...see him standing there on top of a pumpkin on the shelf in my entryway?  
This is pretty much what you see when you walk in my front door.  That odd piece of bulbousness hanging on the wall is actually a  gourd that I grew, dried out and cleaned up only slightly.  
It sits on an antique plant holder that I picked up at a fabulous store in San Diego while shopping with my Mother-in-Law.  I love it when the sun catches that little prism I hung from the bottom of it.
Since we are on the subject of gourds, here is a gourd project I made a long, long time ago, before I ever had a blog.  I did it with my friend Ciree, who does not love to craft, but will indulge me occasionally.  It's a beautiful reminder of a perfect fall day spent with her. 
My lanterns from Halloween stuck around for an encore, along with a picture of a pair of chickadees, some of my favorite winter birds.  
I'll say it for the hundredth time, I do not love glitter.  However, a girls gotta have a little sparkle here and there, so I threw these fall colored scatter-stones underneath my nightlight.  Why not?
My friend Linda from It All Started With Paint does some awesome things with mason jars.  She does so many mason jar projects, she started a second blog called........wait for it............................... ...........Mason Jar Crafts Love.   When I saw this post, Thanksgiving in a Jar, it made me decide to pot up those plants that were rooting in the mason jars because I'm going to need them for this.....
Thanksgiving in a Jar
The perfect way to send leftovers home with your guests on Thanksgiving Day!  
Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not, I hope you have a marvelous November, with plenty to be thankful for. 

 

25 comments:

  1. Hey! I have that same plant hanger! I bought it at the sale of the estate of the lady who designed Brandywine--I wanted a few touches of her aesthetic back in this house (before it was stripped of character by the previous owners). I love that gourd--I wanted to buy some at the flea market but they were enormously expensive.

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  2. I loved the double "mantel", the gourds, the leftovers in a jar you shared, and your pilgrims. All very nice. And thanks for reminding us to be be "thankful" all this month!

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  3. Howl lovely, Danni! You know I love the gourds and the mason jars! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

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  4. Pretty stuff! I love the glitter!!!

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  5. Every year this time Chucks would be outside sanding 100 gourds for me to paint. I got rid of the last of the unpainted ones this week and kept only a few. Love the Thanksgiving couple and the natural turkeys. I have a sweet thanksgiving girl someone special sent me. :>) (He was throwing out the CROCK!?!)

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  6. Hey Danni! I try to buy fall decor that spreads all the way thru Thanksgiving, I guess that why I love pumpkins so much, they do For Fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving. I think we have the same star! mine is black. I like your little "mantel" ;-)

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  7. some very nice ideas and decor. The mason jars leftover idea is fantastic

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  8. All kinds of great vignettes! I somehow get the sense you are grateful for your in laws - that is so cool, I love when that relationship is as good as yours sounds. "I am picky about my turkeys"cracked me up. You go on and be as picky as you like, my darling.

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  9. I love little chickadees, too. They are so cute. I'm with you on liking my turkeys natural looking and the same with pilgrims...plain pilgrims,please. I'm also a fan of sitting a natural bulbous object on top of a fancy sparkly plant holder. I nearly fell out of my chair when I laid eyes on the Thanksgiving in a Jar...I want that for dinner! Chili is going to have to do. :)

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  10. So many great displays Danni. I love that garden gate... and your pilgrims are fabulous. Leftovers in mason jars? What a great idea. That quote is absolutely perfect.

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  11. You have some awesome pieces, Danni ! Love the little garden gate and the antique plant holder :-) Never entered my mind to put leftovers in a jar for visitors - great idea anyways !

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  12. I love that you dried out a gourd - I didn't even know you could do that! I love your pilgrims and your turkeys - I've always wanted a ceramic turkey or a rooster in my kitchen.

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  13. You did a great job with your "vignettes" Danni! I want a dried gourd ... that is so cool. And your inlaws sound awesome! Hope you have a great week friend :-)

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  14. Love all the stories behind your items. !! Thanks for the tour!

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  15. Don't know what happened to my earlier comment but it up and disappeared. Lost in cyber space I guess.
    Wanted to say that your Fall /Thanksgiving decorations are lovely and very inviting.
    Love your crock you have. I put Christmas trees in the ones I have; they're perfect for that.
    I had always thought about planting some swan gourds but it's just one of those things that I never got around to doing. Do you your own gourds?
    Have a wonderful day and enjoy your week
    ColleenB.
    Texas

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  16. Very pretty, Danni, and I love your turkey! Thanks so much for sharing and hope your November is wonderful, too! Have a happy Monday!

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  17. I like your Thanksgiving subtleness! I'm the same way...I think I have one set of pilgrims and that's it! My home is already decked out for Christmas so Thanksgiving in my home reflects the christmas season! LOL!! ~~Angela

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  18. So....were buckles too WILD AND CRAZY for the pilgrims. Kinda like nowadays if a boy's roaming around town in with a rat's tail, a muscle shirt on and his "mother" tattoo on his bicep. And a girl cruising main wearing a leather mini skirt and belly shirt with ratted hair...I may be a couple decades behind on this scenario. :) Love, double love you tray.

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  19. What a festive and beautifully decorated home you have. I should send Grace over...she is desperate for us to put up more Thanksgiving decorations. I shamefully don't do much for Thanksgiving. I love all your gourds and your pilgrims.

    Your thankful meme is especially meaningful to me today. Thanks for the wonderful reminder.

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  20. I didn't do much for Halloween but I am really getting into the Thanksgiving and Christmas spirit this year. We got our first snow tonight and actually got some ground cover so I feel like I've been thrust into winter without any warning and have to make up for it. For some reason I have the strong urge to store food lol. I guess it goes back to the pilgrim days :) I love all of you decor, especially that pumpkin plate! You've inspired me to decorate more!

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  21. Beautiful Danni, I don't know how ou guys o it with the constant decorating but it does look beautiful

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  22. I really like your Thanksgiving decor. It says all the right things and just, plain makes me smile. Are you sure that is a Victorian plant holder? I think it is a holder for an oil lantern. Give it a try and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

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  23. I love that crock. And I live in Illinois. May I have it please? Thank you. Oh, and don't worry, I'm not taking that for granted. =D

    -andi

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  24. I do love seeing your decorated house Danni - my fav is that gourd with the wee bird. Lovely all of it xxx

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