A holiday teaser

All the signs are here...the increased frequency of images on Pinterest that are red and green...the sparkle and lights of the displays at work...the planning is underway...and though I am loathe to jump on the bandwagon, I do understand that preparation is necessary...

Christmas is coming...I spent the weekend writing a holiday article for an upcoming magazine issue and ordering art cards from my printer...I'll give you a little teaser here of what the holidays will bring at four corners design...this year's theme will use leather and lace and a touch of red sealing wax...

But that's it for now...let's not get too far ahead...
remember to enjoy the present moment...the here and now...go out and make the most of today...

Shades of gold

No sooner had I mentioned that a nip of fall was in the air...and the weather certainly became a bit more...brisk!  With a change in seasons, I did a little rearranging to capture the fall spirit...my love of galvanized metal is on display in the dining room...see the details here...but the living room needed to get in the mood too...

You always hear that its so easy to change the look and feel of a room with simple accessories...I'm here to say that it is, in fact, true!  With swapping out pillows, a side table and a couple of throws, I was able to turn sunny summer into warm fall with ease...

The butter yellow slipcovers make an easy transition...the blue and yellow paisley pillows of summer are exchanged for creamy nubby pillows with rustic wood buttons.  The white matelassé ottoman cover is replaced with a heavyweight natural cotton cover...you might remember that last winter I covered my ottoman with a vintage wool plaid blanket secured with old leather belts (details here).  I wasn't ready for the wool yet...but a broken-in painter's drop cloth, folded in half, was the perfect complement to the nubby pillows.  A orchard crate, tipped on its side, with a set of metal casters attached to the bottom, provides a place for the obligatory glass of wine at the end of the day...

The consistency of an earthy tone...from wood crate side table...to leather belts around the ottoman...to wood tray on top of ottoman...to rustic wood buttons on the pillows...rounds out the autumn mood...

The front entry received a little attention too...I love the combination of orange and teal for fall...a burlap lamp shade and my collection of wood sock darners continue that earthy, wood vibe...and a branch of dried clematis that I cleared from the garden is displayed in a large amber bottle...the dried leaves look like leather...

 

It all looks so cozy...makes me want to settle in for a good read and a nap...

 

Shades of gray

Yes...change is in the air...two weeks ago it was still summer...warm, sunny days, clear nights...but in the blink of an eye...the temperature is cooler...there is fog and dew in the morning...and the rain is returning...tomorrow is the first day of autumn...

Suddenly the summer décor of the house was out of place...time to change it up...

Seems like most creative types decorate their mantel according to the season...I have no mantel but rather a trio of bookcases/shelves in my dining room that I change out the display according to whim...my current whim is shades of gray...and not just any gray...but the aged patina of galvanized metal gray...

I love galvanized metal...the patina is so textured... hardworking and sturdy.  With the change of seasons, I always think of the fading blooms of a summer garden...and the striking colors of leaves as they turn... preparations for the winter ahead...all of these thoughts spurred my creative spin...

Though the galvanized gray takes center stage, hues of rust and ochre play a role...dried poppy stems from my garden and pressed tree leaves add a touch of color...balls of twine and a roll of vintage woven wallpaper liner add texture...and old metal type communicates the overall vibe...

Weathered texture, vintage tones, well-loved metal...my favorite shades of gray...

Linking up to Funky Junk Interiors Saturday Nite Party...always a favorite...

and to Knick of Time Tuesday Party...another favorite...

Come play with me!

Some of you might have noticed the link on my sidebar to the creative workshop I'm teaching...

Handmade Recycled Journals on Tuesday, October 15th...

I'm here to tell you that time is running out...
I don't want you to miss it...
an evening of paper, glue, inspiration, collage, laughter and plenty of old books! 

I'll lead you step by step through the process of taking an old discarded book and transforming it into your own personal art journal...to record your thoughts, words, musing and contemplations...all for the mere cost of $25!

The workshop is one of five in a series being offered by the Shoreline/Lake Forest Park Arts Council and will be held at the Shoreline Senior Center.  Get all the details here...or click the icon for the workshop on the right sidebar...

I'd love to see you there...and we'll have a ton of fun playing with old books...one of my favorite activities...next to playing with rusty metal...which there will probably be some of that at the workshop as well...you never know...

Postcard to summer

In less than a week...warm sunny days are now cool and overcast...changes are coming...

edited with 2 layers of kk texture "mixed"
with 2 French Kiss overlays

Linking up to Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday...and inspired by the image over at a spirit of simplicity...

Marking a milestone

With this post, I hit a momentous milestone...500 blog posts

500?  Have I really written/photographed/edited 500 ideas/thoughts/inspirations about my view of art/home/community?  Seems hard to imagine but that's what the counter on my blogger home page tells me...

The most surprising aspect of this event is the fact that I have never been at a loss for what to write about...I've always took the view that this blog would be my online journal...I always wanted to have a journal, but never seemed to get around to actually writing in it...for some reason, transferring the exercise to a digital/online process struck a chord and has provided me with another outlet for my creativity...I've been quite surprised what a pleasant experience it has been.

And the bonus part...those of you who read what I write, leave me comments, send me encouragement and lift my spirits...hailing from the town I live in...to across the States...and around the world...I share this milestone with you...and thank you from the bottom of my heart...

A milestone is but a marker along the road...indicating progress on a path...lets travel together for 500 more...

Remnants of a happy day

Its been a whirlwind these past seven days...
jetting off to Atlanta for the wedding of the Southern Man's oldest daughter...
where I was the "task-master"...making sure that all the arrangements and preparations went smoothly...
which resulted in a beautiful event...

Since I was busy, I did not have my camera available to capture all the excitement with photos...hoping that several others who were taking pictures will share in the near future...but in the meantime, these pics caught on the fly with my phone will give you a sense of the occasion...

Upon returning home, I was immediately rendered lifeless with a wrenching cold...but did manage to wrangle up a friend to help me get my car out of tow...yes, after two weeks, my stolen car showed up...located in one of the party neighborhoods in Seattle...car seems fine and is running normal...but I will definitely be getting it detailed...because who knows what happened in it...

As I was cleaning up and putting away my suitcase, this simple still life summed up the weekend wedding for me...remnants of a happy day...

A Southern wedding

The Southern Man and I will be traveling to Atlanta this weekend for the marriage of his oldest daughter.  The romance started years ago...but the kernel of the idea for this wedding started with these two images...appropriate for two young adults...finding their way in life...while living in Georgia...and now building a future together...







and those same images inspired the invitation I designed...

I've been helping with other details of the wedding...which is taking place in a grand 1920's reception hall...connected to an historic inn where the out of town guests (that be me and the Southern Man along with many others) will be staying...

The vintage Georgia map used on the invitation was the jumping off point for the map idea used throughout the event...the table cards are named after archaeology sites where the bride and groom have worked...yes, they are both archaeologists and met while working on the same dig...

My trove of old National Geographic maps was culled for locations from South Florida to the South Pacific...the calligraphy and soft colors of the old maps seemed to lend a romantic air...

Here are three of the table cards...I used chipboard cutouts from a scrapbook kit for the base...the four points mimicking the four compass points...the dressmaker pins, snipped off to a shorter size, will act as map tacks to mark the designation of each identified dig site...and the tags are designed to stand inside the vase of flowers on each table...

 

The wedding favors are charming gold compasses...provided by Laura Hooper Calligraphy...I created the tags, keeping with the wedding colors of black, white and creamy yellow...which direct guests to their table...

And of course...the gift wrap for the present is a vintage map of the South...
with a silver star indicating their current location...

I'd better finish packing so I'm ready for my flight...
hoping to take a few pictures, give many hugs and shower a multitude of good blessings on the bride and groom...

Sharing my creations over at Knick of Time...though I didn't use Angie's free vintage map downloads (the resolution being too small for my needs), she did provide a helping of inspiration...

A junk trifecta

Over the weekend, the Southern Man replaced several rotting boards on our outside deck...I helped here and there...but it was mostly his sweat and labor.  As I was trimming one of the boards to fit, I noticed the pile of nails that he had pulled out of the rotting boards...they were twisted...and contorted...and rusted...a winning trifecta!

Now I know...and you know...that I have been working to whittle down my junk obsession...and even though my horoscope for the day had this to say...

I just can't give it all up cold turkey...so I picked out 10 nails to keep...

I'm thinking that they'll be the basis of another scientific themed collage...defining some sort of mathematical problem...

Or the beginning of a theme dealing with  hard work/handiwork...or they can just be a great collection...of junk...

edited with kk texture dollardgritdesat
one layer of soft light at 70%
one layer of multiply at 28%

Joining the others over at Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday...
great collection of interesting images to spark the imagination...