GoldCountryCottage

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

TAKING THE PLUNGE...

Well,

I've gone and done it!

I've taken the plunge!

I've gotten a head start on

fall decorating.

Last week, I misspoke,

when I said I was

taking the liberty of

bringing a little bit of fall

to the Cottage.

I am now taking the liberty

of taking more than a little bit

but not as much as there will be

in the future.

I always have such good intentions...

to savor each season and

don't get ahead of myself

in the decorating department.

But, then

the summer is too hot and too short,

the winter is too cold and too long...

...spring and autumn

just seem to show up

at the right times and

it is very hard

to ignore them.

So,

I have let myself

go with the flow and

here we are!

Outside of Christmas,

I think autumn is my

most favorite time of the year.

I have always

enjoyed the fall colors and

tend to decorate with

the old tried and true.

Orange

is not a word I enjoy.
However,

I tend to think of it as

an elegant rustiness,

a color that fits in beautifully

with all the

rich jewel tones
of autumn.

The sitting room

is as far as I have gotten this week.
Last week
I did a little in the entry (here).

I have tried to make it

comfortable and homey

without covering

every available surface.

Some times

that is a hard effort for me but,

I do think

I am getting better!

The quest

for the perfect Santa Claus

continues and

here is #3 in the collection...

...a little

tattered and torn...

...very cartoonish

but sweet.

Happy September

and

YEAH TO WALMART !!!

and

We do send our thoughts and prayers
to all who have been impacted
by Hurricane Dorian and
the victims and families
of that horrible boat fire in
southern California.

...Judy...

Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

and

Keep In Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

SUMMER STILL...

Summer is definitely still here

but, at times,

there is a feeling of fall

in the air.

Leaves are steadily covering

the floor of

the Secret Garden...

...and the zinnia blooms

are showing signs of slowing down,

along with the old-school phlox

going to seed...

...and one last picking,

among the store bought blooms,

keep us satisfied until

next summer.

I really don't approve

of shutting one season down

before it is time.

But,

some coming attractions

just can't wait

so I have taken the liberty of

bringing a little bit of fall

to the Cottage.

These little owls

were a purchase from Antique Farmhouse.

I just couldn't

resist their cuteness.

The Chinese Lanterns

are now a mass of brightness

peeking through a jumble of

greenery, phlox and spirea in the garden.

A sure sign

that fall is almost here and

they make a very autumnal statement

in the scheme of things.

I "borrowed" the lamp

from the Captain's library.

I like the feel of it

for fall

along with the wreath

I made a few years ago

out of coffee filters.

This is the Limelight hydrangea bush

when we first planted it two years ago.

It had a few blooms

which I picked and dried...

...here are those

same blooms

today.

Last year

it didn't grow much bigger and

there were only a few blooms and

they dried like this.

All summer long,

sitting on the front porch,

we kept smelling this

soft, wonderful scent and

didn't know where it was coming from.

One of the Limelights stem

was bent so when I picked it,

I found out what that scent was.

This is the third year

the bush has been in place and

I never noticed it smelled so beautifully.

I think there will be

another bumper crop of dried Limelights

again this year.

Did you notice

the reflection of one of the paintings

I attempted last week?

Well, I tried another similar one and

it did not turn out well.

I also tried another,

with different subjects and

it was no good either.

I have decided

that painting Santa's

is my niche

as I did this one and

am pretty pleased, again,

of how it

turned out.

He is a little different in style.

A round, quirky little fella

who seems to take his job

of carrying Old Glory

quite seriously.

I want to thank you all

for your kind compliments.

They mean a lot to me and

I am now on the lookout

for more Santas.

Be prepared

to be

overwhelmed!

...Judy..

Sharing today with:

Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda

and

Keep In Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

WHAT'S NEW...

These little silhouettes

were taken from my childhood bedroom

once upon a time...

...even though
I wasn't fishing for compliments,
I certainly received many from you all,
my dear friends,
on my crafting experiments
in the "good old days",
and I appreciate them and
thank you so much.

As I said,
I ordered some
"new" old pattern books
and got to work...

...and this is my first attempt.
OK, even I can see some problems here.

The jug looks like it is
leaning forward a bit too much.
I think the mouth
should be flatter on top and
the pumpkin is too flat on the bottom.

I don't know exactly
how to describe it,
but I can see it.
The problem is that
somewhere between my brain and my hand,
the perspective
gets lost.

The photo in the book
was too small
so I enlarged it by making a graph.
The colors of paint
used in the instructions
are not available to me at my craft store,
so I picked ones I thought would match.
So if you want to get technical,
I (almost) drew and painted
the picture by myself.
Ha Ha!
I think it is good enough
and will fill a tiny space
when fall decorating
begins.

This is my next attempt
and I was excited to try it
as you know how I love
all things Christmas related...

I have to admit,
I am quite proud of it.
I was able to
trace the pattern and
even though I had to
choose my own colors,
I am very pleased
how it turned out.