Tis The Season To Decorate!


Courtesy of House Beautiful.com
Fall in love with the glorious color that "fall" brings and decorate for the holidays. Tis the season to decorate the interior and exterior of your homes for the change of seasons that are fast approaching us. Fall is in the air and what better way to display this beautiful season with fall color from mother nature! Decorate your home for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday with pumpkins, gourds, and so many other great resources that mother nature provides us. Thanks to the help of a favorite on-line resource and their magazine that comes to my mailbox every month...Better Homes and Garden are great to share ideas for fall and seasonal holiday decorating. As Tonia Mosteller with Innovative Holiday Decorating and Interiors of Charlotte, NC would say, "No time like the present, to be thinking about your holiday decorating."  Remember, many elements from mother nature can be carried over from the fall and holidays of Halloween and Thanksgiving into Christmas holiday decorating! Tip...pine-cones, urns, etc! 
Check out these adorable ideas below from BHG.com! 
Piled-High Pumpkins
Set a festive tone with a table piled with pumpkins, gourds, and bittersweet. Raid the cupboard for display ideas such as bowls or cake plates. The rich fall colors of gourds and pumpkins make it easy to create an elegant centerpiece.

Pumpkins on White Dishes
Stack squatty gourds among your favorite white china. Dishes with ridges complement the natural elements in the display. Mixing and matching is in and is a great way to use your collectibles. 

Pumpkin Garland (LOVE THIS ONE!)
A festive fall feel is easy to create in any room by dressing windows with a pumpkin-laden garland. Simply knot clusters of fresh leaves and mini pumpkins onto a length of twine and swag along the top of a window.

Gourd Candleholders 
Craft a set of candleholders from gourds by simply cutting off the tops and hollowing out the centers. For an easy autumn display, arrange them in a metal tray filled with green hedge apples.

Prettiest Pumpkin Vases
White pumpkins double as vases and make for an artful, natural fall display. Tuck leaves, orange flowers, and cattails into a vase hidden inside the hollowed-out pumpkins.

Wheelbarrow Pumpkin Welcoming Display 
Put an old wheelbarrow to use by filling it with an assortment of pumpkins, gourds, and squash. Use black acrylic paint or a permanent marker to decorate one of the pumpkins with a welcoming message.

Etched Pumpkin (Love both of these, okay LOVE them all).
Dress up a simple pumpkin with a carved design, such as birds or leaves. Simply trace your design on the pumpkin and gouge out the pumpkin skin within the outline. Nestle the pumpkin inside a lush wreath of fall blooms.

Articles about photos courtesy of BHG.com. 
                        Carved Gourd
Take a gourd to the next level with a skin-deep cut in the shape of a leaf. Simply trace a sugar maple leaf (or other found-on-the-ground variety) with a permanent pen. Cut lightly around the outline with a knife, being sure not to cut all the way through the gourd. A simple scraping tool (such as an inexpensive clayworkers' ribbon tool) will help you trim out the shape.
Editor's Tip: When buying a gourd, pick one in a shape and color that you like. More often than not, the color of the flesh will be different enough from the color of the skin to create a nice contrast.




Now...grab your shoes and bag, and go searching in Charlotte, NC and surrounding areas for fall colors and decorate your homes this holiday season. 

Happy Decorating!