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not your average jack-o-lantern

Tired of that same ol’ jack-o-lantern staring back at you with those silly triangle eyes? Why don’t you and your pumpkin spice things up this year?

But don’t scare him….

He may want to stay incognito this year…

Or even try full costume for a change…

Here’s an idea if you have an artist in the family - otherwise it might be a bit of a …. reach…..

My carving skills wouldn’t hold a candle to these lanterns….

This one would take some talent too - I call it: Carve a pumpkin - Save a tree ….

For those who are ‘carving adverse’ perhaps the colour is all you need along with a peppering of black accents…

Or maybe all ‘ol’ triangle eyes’ needs is a new hair-do …

But if ‘pumpkin mumkins’ aren’t your style - don’t despair, here are two cheater-cheater-pumpkin-creatures that will do the trick this year:

Or just go all tasteful on us and do up a taste of orange on the table…

Whatever you decide to do this year - don’t be a zombie and get to work!

Oh - I almost forgot to mention - but take a break to watch the Steven & Chris Halloween special on CBC, this Friday October 29th at 2:00pm.
I’ll be there painting the town orange with more pumpkin ideas!

fire and ice

Isn’t this a great image?

And this is beautiful too…

What do they have in common other than pumpkins?

Colour. The unlikely combination of firey orange and cool blue is something unexpected to the eye…

And quite beautiful.

Orange and turquoise are directly opposite each other on the color wheel, making them perfect compliments.

It got me thinking that orange and turquoise make a fun combination in decorating.

The blue cools the intensity of the orange and the orange lends warmth to the blue.

When I searched for examples, I was shocked to see how easy it was to find the combination at work in many beautiful rooms…

Have a scroll through and see how this unlikely pair can shape a room into something quite extraordinary…

Of course nature has known about this wonderful pairing for quite a while…

But the combination of orange and turquoise is really best when interpreted by humans.

think thankful thoughts

Here are 10 cute ideas for quick and easy fall decorating - even after Thanksgiving has passed.

1. Use seasonal treats to create colourful eye candy.

2. Who needs a florist when you have beauty literally falling on your doorstep?

3. If you aren’t an orange and gold girl, don’t let that stop you from decorating for fall.

4. Apples aren’t just for chomping, put them to work while they wait.

5. Roses come in fall colours too!

6. Think of pumpkins as instant sculpture.

6. Gourds are gorgeous when showcased selectively.

7. Take moment to be crafty today - your guests will be very impressed!

8. Do “the squirrel” and go hunting and gathering in the garden for your table.

9. Rather than just look pretty, put pumpkins to use at your front door.

10. Don’t wait for Halloween - start carving out your own ideas any time this month.

And here’s a bonus idea: Take a quiet moment before your guests arrive to count your blessings. If you’re like me, you don’t do it enough.

motifs with a motive

Today I appeared on the Steven & Chris show talking about ‘Motifs in Decorating’. A motif is “a repeated idea, pattern or image - a distinctive and recurring form, shape or figure” and it’s a fun thing to play with if you’re into decorating.

Sometimes we confuse a theme or collection with a motif, but an easy way to know the difference is to imagine what you would use if you could design your own personal stationary and have only one little image (motif) imprinted on the front - what would it be? An acorn? bee? dragon fly? rose? eggs?…the options are endless.
Brands often use a motif so that they can be instantly recognized without the use of words - imagine the Ralph Lauren polo player on the horse or Alfred Sung’s laurel wreath.

As I showed on my segment, my favourite motif is birds, I seem to have them perched all around our home. Steven told us he loves shells. Sometimes motifs come into style - like numbers right now appearing on everything - I call that the ‘motif of the moment’. Be careful not to invest too heavily in a trendy motif, it should have a personal connection to you and a lasting quality will come with that.

Finding your own motif just happens naturally and interestingly, most motifs come from nature (though not all). Often we’re drawn to something subconsciously - you may even have a personal motif and not realize it. Or it may be something quite conscious - my producer on the show told me her name, Melissa, means ‘honeybee’ in Greek. And so as it turns out, she loves honeybees and would consider them to be her personal motif.

Here are some more examples of motifs that occur in decorating (specifically fabric designs here) but there are countless others….

Birds.. Owls… Scottie dogs… A particular fruit… Eyeglass frames… Cupcakes if you’re sweet… Stamps…

All of these motifs are from fabric designs on an interesting website called Spoonflower. You should definitely check it out! On spoonflower you can shop for other people’s fabric designs a shown above, or if you’re really creative, you can create your own unique fabric. They will turn your graphic designs into fabric by printing it for you - no minimum required. Pretty cool!