I've been a mom for over 30 years, but with 10 kids and six grandchildren, I'm still learning as I go! I've got hundreds of articles on common sense motherhood, spiritual inspiration, practical homemaking, and more. All the answers? No way! Something to think about? I hope so! Join me!
Small white artificial pumpkins at Walmart - 98 cents each. One orange permanent marker, maybe some other colors. Five minutes. No mess. Boom. Or if you want to get fancy, get some squeeze tubes of puffy paint and let your kids have a go at it.
Once a month my daughter Julia and her husband Alex organize an outreach dinner for folks who are homeless (camping in the woods) or living in transitional housing at a local motel. She just had her second baby last month, so she stayed home tonight, but I loved seeing my sweet son-in-law.
I often bring simple table decorations, and I usually don't come back home with them. Tonight, some of the kids there liked them so much, it was a joy to pass them along.
I was sort of in a hurry this afternoon since my priority was making a chicken casserole to bring, so I didn't get time to decorate them the way I wanted with some puffy paint. I literally grabbed my markers as I was running out the door and was relieved to find the bag of pumpkins still in the van. When we got to the motel where we do the dinner, I sat for about 10 minutes and wrote encouraging phrases that I thought would bless our friends at the outreach.
Fear is a big deal when you don't have proper housing.
We want our comfort to go beyond words, though. Dinner. Live music. Bags of toiletries. Shoes. Rain ponchos. Dollar store gift cards. Those speak love in tangible ways.
Kids love to serve ~~
my youngest daughter and her friend
And so does a little pumpkin sitting on your motel night stand.
A month ago I shared My Blue Haven, the decorating I have done in my bedroom. (Be sure to click that link and take a peek!) I have a few more blue things to add, but first a digression on where I found one of them.
A friend had posted on Facebook that her friend Christine Brown was opening a new art/craft studio and community art space called Barbed Wire Browns. (Facebook page here.) Wedged in between my Saturday errands, I made sure I squeezed in a visit to the Grand Opening. In addition to the beautiful pieces for sale, there will also be classes and make-and-take sessions. I'm so glad I went! Besides all the pretty things, I enjoyed chatting with Christine and realizing how much we have in common.
Christine Brown
Barbed Wire Browns
in Longwood, Florida
Christine and the other artists craft a lot of their creations from reclaimed materials, such as old window frames. These necklaces feature clippings from old hymnals.
My eyes were quickly drawn to the words on this tall glass panel with a distressed light blue frame. (Yes, it is reclaimed vintage wood.) I love words. I love inspiration. I love this shade of blue. I had some birthday money. It was mine.
I hung it over my bedside table.
BE KIND
SPEAK TRUTH
LOVE OTHERS
SHOW GRACE
WORK WELL
BE GRATEFUL
LOVE GOD
Just what I need to read first thing in the morning!
I found the blue globe lamp on clearance for $5 at IKEA. It gives off just the right amount of glow as I am getting ready for bed at night. Soothing!
At Walmart that night, I spotted a blue laundry basket, blue towels, and blue hangers for my favorite blue shirts. Laundry baskets and bath towels always disappear at our house. I wanted a way to distinguish which ones are MINE and not for general use! It is not selfish to preserve my own sanity.
I also found a light blue sheet set, which I badly needed. Microfiber is so soft! I have such a hard time sleeping at night that every little extra bit of comfort makes a big difference. I stacked pairs of dense foam pillows into two of the pillow cases because I am supposed to sleep on my side (back problems and sleep apnea) and these sturdy "pillow bricks" in front and back of me help keep me in position.
On my IKEA trip last month, I also picked out these inexpensive blue picture frames. I reframed three photos I already had on my shelf. The color is actually more of a turquoise/teal shade than it appears in the photo. I plan to hit IKEA's clearance aisle again when I drive down that way for my next spinal neurologist appointment later this month. It's a 30 minute drive in good traffic, so I try to make the best of wherever I am. I'm on the go so much that I try to keep my tote bag and purse in the same place, ready to grab on moment's notice.
This box and trash can aren't new, but I borrowed them from the living room, which is now decorated for autumn. I always need a handy box to stash things that migrate into my room and need to be put away elsewhere.
My youngest daughter brought me breakfast in bed...
A few last little thoughts:
I found this Australian decorating book, How to Decorate: An Inspiring and Practical Handbook by Shannon Fricke, at Brightlight, my favorite used bookstore. I haven't read all the way through yet, but I'm already nodding my head at this quote from the chapter "Telling Your Own Decorating Story":
"Whoever I'm decorating for, I always begin by constructing the story of the space and the people living in it. I find this the best way to humanise a space and give it a personality. Unearthing your story isn't easy, I admit. We're complex creatures with many facets, elements and stories. But once you begin to take note of your life, the places you love and the things that make you smile, you'll see a thread or a pattern emerging that will form the basis of your decorating story... Once you have your story in place, you can begin to piece together the decorating puzzle, matching that story with colour, texture, and spacial configurations. The aim is to elicit some ideas and watch as they begin to flower."
That's how I've decorated the bedroom. I know the things that speak to me, that make me feel calm, creative, cheerful, and courageous. Blue. Soft. Vintage. Books. Wood. Quilts. Muslin and tatted lace. Tie dye. Baskets. Vibrant chalks. Family photographs. Encouraging words. Solitude. All the things I'll want in my dream cottagesomeday.
(I do already have a cottage, but it's just too tiny to live in. My mother bought it for me when I was in college, so it's a sweet memory of her, and part of my story.)
What is your story?
Watch this video, where Shannon Fricke talks about this concept of "your decorating story" and how to nurture your creativity every day.
My "blue haven"... My house is so busy and noisy that a mom like me needs a place to go to unwind and recharge: a haven at home. Mine is the master bedroom, and I've been working more to make it a calm and restful place. I love the color blue, which is supposed to be one of the most relaxing, so I've been adding new blue accents in the past few weeks. In this post, I'd like to share a few ways I'm attempting to create beauty on a budget: tie dye, chalk art, rearranging, thrifting, refurbishing furniture, and hanging pictures.
My daughter and I made tie dye t-shirts a few weeks ago (see Tie Dye Radiance), and I had extra dye left over. I decided to make a panel to mount on foam board and hang right behind my recliner. The back of the chair kept gouging the wall, so this covers the damage and protects the wall, as well as decorating the room!
This particular fabric was so resistant to the dye!
I had to work the color into the cloth with my hands, which stayed blue green for days.
Rinsed and washed, it faded to a mellow aqua.
Later, I decided to make a coordinating panel in a darker color. This time after I put on all of the rubber bands, I popped the fabric into a gallon size bag, added the dye, sealed it up, and worked the liquid in.
I found this blue recliner chair on sale for $70 at the Christian Sharing Center. It replaces a pink one bought at Salvation Army last year, but that my kids broke by sitting sideways. (I also found a nice china cabinet for $35. See here: Autumn Decorating 2015.)
The new-to-me furniture was a birthday present to myself. My little girl, knowing how much I like tie dye, picked out this balloon for me.
I used to have a tall bookcase between my recliner chair and my desk, but I kept bumping into it so I moved it across the room. This gave me room to move the bulletin board over to the right.
While I had the bulletin board off the wall, I took the time to refresh it. I removed everything, picked out new items, arranged them just so, and tacked them on the board. When my new granddaughter Lyla is born (probably this next week!) I'll take off that chalkboard from it and fill in that space with baby pics!
This is actually a vinyl pouch designed to go in a notebook. I've got it hanging on the wall for when someone wants to leave me mail or other papers and not get it lost on my desk, which is usually messy.
Blue lamp, blue stapler (stands vertically), blue mouse, blue accents...
The tall one is my coin jar. Shhh. Don't tell my kids.
This encouragement hangs next to my desk.
I visited the Pastiche Home Market decor store where they sell vintage and refinished furniture and accessories. I bought six blue knobs for my desk since the old knobs were falling off and ugly. I needed seven, but I temporarily made do with a white one for the top middle drawer. Later, I found a seventh almost matching knob at Adjectives Unhinged.
Lovely, yes?
A mini metal chalkboard for my desk reminds me to think of what I really want in life - so I can get busy working toward it! I FB messaged my sister this pic today, and she answered it for herself, "I want you to come help me do my bedroom!" I sure wish I could take a trip to Maryland to see her!
I love the vibrant colors of soft pastels for my chalk art. I have two sets! (All of these posts have chalk art in them!)
I created this board months ago, but it sat in my closet for a while after I first had it up. I had to touch up the letters and dust around them. What do I really want? In my challenging season of life, I want courage that is calm, creative, and cheerful.
Unfortunately, the board didn't have anything to hang it from on the back. I thought for a few minutes and decided to make a hanger from a piece of duck tape. I folded the middle to make a flap to hang on the nail. Voila! (Note: the tape came loose from the board the next day, after I posted this. I put it back up with LOTS more tape on it.)
Now it's by my bed where I can see it when I wake up or as I'm preparing to sleep.
I had a dark blue plaid comforter on my bed for several months, but I brought this one back out since it fits the lighter blue spectrum. It's so comfy. It was a hand-me-down that I had to repair, as you can read about here: Refresh and Renew: Quilt and Pansies.
The bedside table (recently brought home when clearing out a storage unit to save money) has a handy drawer for my morning and evening medicines, protein bars, and other little necessities.
At night, I lay my glasses and phone on a soft blue padded box on my headboard shelf.
My little girl gave me this mug for my birthday, and it goes perfectly with the perky pad that my friend Lisa crocheted for me many years ago.
My third daughter brought back this small translucent blue glass plate from Bath, England, and gave it to my for my birthday. Perfect color for my room!
Do I look happy with my blue haven? I am!
Do I look different than in the picture near the top of this post? I'm wearing makeup here. With blue eye shadow. :-)
