Thanksgiving Home Tour

Welcome to my home! 

When you turn the corner to come down my street, there

is a lot of  Fall color in the yard this year. All of the 

pumpkins in their "patches" really catch your eye...

...especially the ones that have bright green vines to contrast

with the orange of the pumpkins. 

These are real pumpkins but they grew somewhere else.

I try to make them look like my yard was their birthplace

by having sweet potato vines growing around them. 

The vines won't grow on the other end of the "island" so

these pumpkins only have scraggly azalea bushes to

site beside. 

By this time of year most of the real vines that covered 

the mailbox post have died. As the vines turn brown I 

replace them with artificial Fall leaves. It is kind of a 

gradual process just like in nature. More pumpkins here.

The smallest pumpkin patch is by the walkway to

the front door.

These iron obelisks get the same treatment as the mailbox

as far as gradually replacing dying vines with Fall color.

The wreath on the door is one I have used for several

years now. It always needs rehab at the end of the 

Fall season after baking in the sun every afternoon.

Just inside the front door is the dining room. 

I have had fun practicing flower arranging in these

cornucopia baskets. If you want to see how to make 

some yourself click on Fresh Flower Cornucopias.

Like the cornucopia, the wheat sheaf is a traditional 

symbol of thanksgiving. Here's how to make one.

On the buffet also in the dining room is a mostly white

display (lamps are converted garden urns).

To the left of the buffet is the entrance to the living room.

Some might say I went overboard on the pumpkins with

succulents on top  but I had fun making them and just 

couldn't stop. It is a color change for sure for this Fall's decor.

More cornucopia on the mantel...

We still have wild Queen Anne's lace blooming!

The background for the Queen Anne's lace is a Fall print that was made to look like a painting. 

Thanksgiving touches were added to the single bookcase.

If you are having trouble getting your small wheat 

sheaves to stand up here's a trick: put the base of the 

sheaf in a glass container and pour rice or beans around it.

Don't move it or you will have to start over...do in place.

The double bookcase just has a touch of Thanksgiving.

Directly across from the sofa is a console.

Above the console are frames with chicken wire.

Originally I made the framed chicken wire to display

Christmas cards but now I leave it up all year and change

out the decorations seasonally.

Right now plaster leaves and Thanksgiving thoughts are

attached to the wire with tiny clothespins.

If you want a closer look at the Thanksgiving thoughts and even how to

make them for yourself click on this link. 

On the way to the kitchen we'll pass by one of the sofa's 

end tables. This holds our small collection of magnifying

glasses and a Fall bird on a dish. 

The kitchen table holds a Fall fresh flower arrangement

 and some large ceramic acorns. 

Here's my new kitchen clock. I got it at Kirkland's recently.

I thought it was a good value at $40 and it has charm.

We'll end the tour with a chalkboard thought that

 is appropriate for this season and for the whole year too!

I am sharing this blog post at the blog party...
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
The Handmade Hangout @ From Gardners to Bergers
Flaunt It Friday @ Chic On A Shoestring

Fresh Flower Cornucopia

Usually you see a cornucopia basket filled with fruits and

vegetables but they are also pretty with flowers in them.

Here's how to make a fresh flower arrangement in a

cornucopia basket. 

A cornucopia basket is shaped like a horn lying on its

side. The word cornucopia is Latin for "horn of plenty".

The cornucopia is a universal symbol of bounty.

In America, it is closely tied to Thanksgiving. 

You can get a cornucopia basket at craft stores.

Another thing you need is fresh flower foam. It may also

say 'wet' foam on the package. Soak the foam according

to the package directions.

If you want to use artificial flowers and greenery for your cornucopia, you can follow these

same directions but you won't need the wet-type of foam.

To protect any surface that your arrangement will be

placed on, you need a container that will hold water

to put the wet fresh flower foam in. 

If it is a clear container, it will be easier to hide.

The container and the foam are known as the

"mechanics" of the arrangement and we want to

conceal those as much as possible. 

The foam needs to fit inside the container. It is very 

easy to cut, either before or after you have soaked it. 

If the arrangement is not going to be transported any

where else, you may not need to do this next step.

If you are going to give the arrangement as a gift or

take it to a Thanksgiving meal at another house, you

need to secure the container in the basket . 

If you have floral putty or clay already you can put

some on the places where the container touched the

 basket. The putty itself may not hold the container 

in place but it will help. 

Pinch off pieces of the floral clay, roll them into balls, stick on the container where it touches 

the basket then press the container very firmly onto the basket.

For sure use floral wire, chenille stems (pipe cleaners)

or some other wire to secure the foam and container

combo in the basket. 

Some floral designers are getting away from using 

the foam because it can be hard to hide but for this

application, it is probably the best bet. To help hide

the foam I like to go on and use greenery first. You can

put the flowers in first and then see where you need to

hide the foam and container but you run the risk of 

breaking flower heads to get the greenery down low.

Also add enough greenery to make like a "privacy fence" so the upper inside of the basket is not visible. 

If the front of the container is still visible after adding

greenery, you could stuff a little moss on it.

Try to find greenery that is not too big but has leaves

tight together...I call it "bunchy stuff". If you don't have

a place you can forage for greenery, most places that

sell flowers also carry greenery called leather leaf fern.

Especially if your arrangement is going to be on a dining table be sure to clean any dirt off of the leaves. 

On the day I happened to go on a "cornucopia flower 

arrangement marathon", I didn't want to drive to town

to look for very cheap clear plastic containers. The best

I could find nearby was these foil pans.

I had some black and some green spray paint that I

used to give a camouflage treatment to the foil pans.

It did help but greenery was still needed to hide them.

The foil pans can be shaped somewhat

 to fit in the narrow end of the basket.

On ones that I was keeping to use in my own house,

I tried cutting down the front of the pans so the stems

of the flowers and greenery could go almost straight 

sideways into the wet foam. The cut down pan did

leak a little while I was carrying the arrangement to

its place but not after it was set up. 

After hiding your mechanics, you can start adding airier 

lighter greenery to the edges of the arrangement. 

Depending on how your cornucopia arrangement

is going to be used, you can keep more greenery-type

 elements close to the mouth of the basket or go wild.

If the arrangement is going to be on a table where

folks are eating, you will keep it where it won't get

in the way of conversation and beverage glasses.

If it is going to be on a mantel, entry hall table, etc.,

you can add larger pieces of greenery and branches.

Time to add flowers! Cornucopia baskets are usually 

not huge so it won't take a lot of flowers. You will 

need, ideally, three focal flowers. These are larger

flowers (like a lily or rose) or flowers with a big

 "face" (like a sunflower or large mum). 

Place your focal flowers in the foam near the visual

center of the basket opening but not at the center. 

Push them in the foam at slightly different angles

but as if they are radiating from the center. 

After placing the focal flowers you can start adding

smaller flowers to the foam. Since you don't need long

stems on your flowers for this type arrangement, you can

cut ones with several flowers on one stem to act

almost like two stems of flowers. 

If some of the flowers on a long stem are not going to

show after it is put in the foam, cut them off and use

them as individual stems.

When you are pushing stems into the foam be sure

that you don't push the end of the stem all the way

 through the foam. The end of the stem needs to be

in the foam to get water and stay fresh. Cut down the

stem length on long stemmed flowers.

The stems will be easier to push in the foam if the leaves are removed. 

The most current trend in placing flowers in an 

arrangement is to mostly keep flowers of a certain

 color together. You can do whatever looks pretty to you. 

Place focal flowers

Add other large flowers next. Smaller flowers can be near the edge of the arrangement.

The arrangement keeps the orange flowers together, the white roses flowing into each

 other and the purple-tone flowers along the edge.

Another trend in flowers now is to use interesting 

greenery, vines or even branches in arrangements.

If the vines are still alive and pliable they can be twisted into a shape like the letter "P" . Stick the bottom 

of the "P" into the wet foam and the leaves will stay alive (for a while at least).  You can do several vines

together to give it more strength. 

Have fun being your own floral designer!

 Want know how I ended up with so many cornucopia arrangements? One day I decided to I was going to give

  away the many cornucopia baskets that I had bought at

 90% off  but had only sat in my attic unused for years. 

Before I went to the Goodwill donation center, I 

stopped by the grocery store. They had most of their

 flowers marked down to half off! Since I already had floral

foam on hand I decided to get the markdown flowers, bring

the baskets back home and make arrangements for myself

and for my neighbors.

If you want to see more examples of cornucopia flower

arrangements scroll on down...

I am sharing this post over at these blog parties...
Home and Garden Thursday @ A Delightsome Life
Home Sweet Home @ The Charm of Home
BFF Open House Link Party @ The Answer is Chocolate
Flaunt It Friday @ Chic On A Shoestring