Heather Bullard

Refurbished Wagon Cart

   Well as you can see I decided to repaint the wagon/cart wheels gray and I completely love it this color. For Thanksgiving day I used it as a small appetizer buffet and serving cart. Not too many appetizers because of course, turkey is the main attraction.

I used a gingerbread mix to make my little acorn cakes with my new pan. They were a big hit because of their cuteness factor.

  And I festooned one of my outdoor chandeliers with all the harvested greenery and berries. This was over the cart and looked so beautiful. Everyone was taking family photos around it.

  Oh, and here's a closeup of the wheels, I think they look like they have been this color for years. I'm seriously enjoying distressing things.

 Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday weekend. I'm off to do more lounging. We've only watched three movies today and there's a sofa calling my name. : )  

Happy Thanksgiving

   Sweet Girl and I spent some time this morning foraging along rural roads for branches and berries to decorate our patio tomorrow. It's amazing what you can find out there if you just go looking. We filled our harvest baskets to overflowing and ended up piling them into the back of my Land Rover until we could no longer see out the back window! We convinced each other that we were helping the city by pruning all their overgrown dead bushes and trees. Aren't we helpful?

   The rest of our day will be spent chopping, slicing, baking, simmering and cooking just like many of you will be doing. I'm thinking I might even put on some Christmas music. With the scattered showers we've been having it seems like the perfect day to slip on some jammies, putter around, put on an old movie and maybe just maybe light the fireplace.

Wishing each of you my friends a very Happy Thanksgiving. May your day be filled with the love and laughter of family and friends and the joy of celebrating gratitude.   

New Holiday Items

  There are new glittery goodies in the shop today just in time for your holiday gift giving and home decorating. These sterling colored glittered slipper ornaments are one my favorites. I love the muted tones of this collection and their timeless appeal.

 And the generous size of these stars make them shine all on their own. They would be nice to hang in front of a mirror or on a french door. 

   There are several different strands of beaded garlands and the most adorable glittered bell ornaments embellished with silk ribbons. You can visit The Holiday Home to see all the new festive treasures.

Tidbits of Preparation

  The Thanksgiving menu has been divided up among my sisters and mom. This year I'm in charge of the green beans, sweet potatos, appetizers and the turkey & gravy. We sort of switch up the duties every year so that each of us will eventually know how to make all the "secret" family recipes such as the cornbread dressing and homemade noodles. I think I have it pretty easy this year even though I'm in charge of hosting the dinner. I picked up this slate gray/blue tablecloth at Anthropologie and think it will be the inspiration for my color theme this year.

  Did any of you have to have one of these too? Tell me it's not the most adorable little thing. I will probably make pumpkin bread in it although the recipe Williams Sonoma provides for little acorn cakelets looks pretty yummy too. Wouldn't it be perfect for cornbread muffins?

And take a look at what I won! Seriously, I won it from one of my favorite antique stores Old Glory General Store.

  They have a monthly drawing and this cart was their October giveaway. It was loaded with harvest items such as wooden signs, baskets, bread mixes, pillows, dishes, a gift certificate and lots of other prizes. Such a generous prize.

It was spray painted bright red inside and I've started refinishing it with a first coat of primer. I'm going to paint the inside to match the creamy distressed white of the exterior wood. So that's what's on my list for today. I can't wait to show you how I use it for Thanksgiving! I've also been mulling over the idea of painting the wheels and handles a worn gray color because I'm not fond of the burnt red. What do you think? To paint or not to paint....that is the question.

Continuing with the Thanksgiving Table...

Here's a fun and inexpensive way to make your own harvest napkins for your Thanksgiving table.  The supply list is very short...

You will need wax paper, a hammer, gathered leaves (darker ones work best), and muslin fabric torn into 15" square pieces. The amount of pieces will depend on how many you will want to make. 

The first step is to remove all the stems from the leaves and set aside. Then you will lay the leaf on a piece of wax paper and lay the corner of your napkin over the top.

Take your hammer and tap all over the top of the fabric starting with the outside portions of the leaves and working inward. Use your free hand to keep the fabric from slipping. 

  Once you have hammered the entire leaf, lift the corner of fabric making sure not to disturb the leaf and lay one of your stems as show. Then repeat the hammer process to finish off your napkin. Wasn't that easy?

Kids love helping with this project. You can take them on a walk in your neighborhood to find all kinds of different leaves and could give each of your guests their own special piece of fall. Another idea is to use them as goodie bags and fill them with nuts or candies. It's such a simple way to decorate your holiday table and celebrate the season with your family.

Simple Place Card Ideas

   With Thanksgiving just a few short weeks away I thought I'd share some simple place card ideas for your holiday table. These were all made with things I had around the house. No need to go out shopping for supplies. The idea here is to be creative with what you have on hand. This rose place card was made with a juice glass that I wrapped with wide antique ribbon and secured with a dab or two of hot glue. The brown waxed twine was wrapped several times and a vintage brass tag was used to write the name.

  For a more rustic touch to the table I used a weathered terra cotta pot lined with a birds nest. The name is written on a wooden garden marker and the glittered egg was a gift from Wendy Addison. You could also substitute miniature pumpkins, gourds or  even pinecones.

  To give your setting a more natural theme just wrap torn burlap around a drinking glass or jelly jar and secure with butchers twine. The vintage brooch adds a bit of unexpected sparkle. The name is just written on a tea stained price tag.

As you can see the possibilities are endless. It's a good time to start digging through your stash and cupboards to see what you can find. If you don't set a formal table you could easily use some of these ideas to set on your buffet or coffee table. The idea is to be resourceful and stretch your imagination on how you can add style to your holiday for little to no money.

PS. I also wrote a new post for HomeGoods on Tips To Ease Your Holiday Stress if you'd like to check it out. Those holidays sure sneak up on us and catch us by surprise every year.

Creating Beauty

   Isn't that what women do best? Create beauty? You see it all around us from the clothing we wear, the homes we keep, the art we make to the traditions we embrace. Blossoming friendships with other creative women gives us the opportunity to stretch our wings and find new ways to create beauty in our everyday lives. I recently had the chance to learn a few new techniques from Cindy Forrester at a class held by In The Artists Studio. The mother of pearl heart necklace was one I purchased from Cindy. I love how she combines rustic and elegant elements into her pieces.

    We learned how to make soldered bezels and let me just say, it takes some practicing! Here is my finished bezel.  I used an antique French religious token and wrapped the bezel around the coin to secure it.

  And here is the first hook closure I ever made. I think it turned out pretty good for a first timer. The antique hand painted Faberge egg beads are from Muguette-Renee. I always love to stop by her Etsy shop to see what's new. As you can see, my wire wrapping still needs some work.

  Some I did pretty well and others no so much. But it really doesn't matter because this piece is just for me. The first person ever to show me how to wire wrap a bead was my friend Rebecca at last years Silver Bella. She is a master wrapper!

  And I learned how to make my own chain, which is so much fun! I have to buy myself one of those tools that makes the coils (don't know the name) because I could make chain all day long. I plan on using a mix of vintage beaded chain, new brass chain and my handmade chain for my necklace. But you never know what you'll actually use for sure until you get to work on it.

  For now all my pieces are tucked into my antique silver box just waiting for me to finish my piece. I think I'll get busy and Create some Beauty. Won't you join me?

Soiree Highlights

         What a fantastic day we had celebrating the joys of creativity and holiday inspiration with our friends.  It was so incredible to see a room packed full of women who came together to spend the day meeting new friends, nibbling on delicious chocolate goodies, listening to inspiring speakers and making a few fun projects to take home.  Here are photo highlights of the day courtesy of The Man. Seems I forgot to take photos, thank goodness he took charge.

 

   Here everyone is busy making their Lavish Bon Bons and Bijoux Ribbon Ornaments. These creative women caught on quick and all the finished projects looked so festive.

The vendors at our Petite Christmas Boutique brought such lovely things and there was such a nice mix of holiday items to choose from. Here is the adorable Beth Quinn and her famous jewelry!  

  Mary Violasse brought her hand picked selections of vintage Christmas ephemera and ornaments along with gorgeous antiques, perfect for gift giving.  She has such an eye for beautiful things.

   Kay Ellen and her Mom set up a French inspired table to showcase creative ways to use their JoDee's line of no sew fabric tape.  I love working with their tape and in fact recently used it to make some drapes for my breakfast nook.

And the darling girls from Orange Blossom Tea House gave us a peek at what their signature Tea Grams are like when delivered to your loved ones door. They also generously provided a Tea Gram as a door prize and sent each guest home with a delicious scone. Thank you ladies!

   Jane Pollock from Art Takes a Village put her artistic touch on everything she made. Her creations are all amazing and have the perfect feminine French flair.

And look at the surprise we all got to see during our event!

This gorgeous bride walking down the steps of the rotunda. What a beautiful view from our seats and we gave her a round of applause!

The highlight of our day was having the chance to listen to Jenny Doh and Staci Dumoski. They shared their insights from the publishing world along with what inspires them and how they make the time to be creative. Guests had the opportunity to ask them questions about blogging, how to submit something for publication and how they choose their themes for their ongoing Open Call for artists. The door prizes they brought,  Where Women Create, Life Images, Artful Blogging and Somerset Life magazines were a big hit as well. A big thank you to you both and to Stampington & Company.  And sweet Monica it was a pleasure to have you join us. I encourage you to continue your creative journey into blogging.

  These were a few photos from my booth. I'm in love with these glittered slippers! I'll try to get some up on the website for you. Aren't they so Parisian?

I want to also thank all the generous friends who donated such gorgeous door prizes for our guests. It was such fun to give away so many beautiful items from women owned businesses! In addition to those I've already mentioned, I want to say thank you to: Sis Boom, The Vintage Empire, Raised in Cotton, Old Glory General Store,  Teresa Sheeley Designs, JoDees, Inc.,  and Marchen Studios.  The day wouldn't have been the same without your generous contributions!

And for those of you who attended, thank you for your warm friendship, laughter and the pure pleasure of your company. I hope that each of you had a wonderful day and will cherish the memory as I know I will. I was asked numerous times during the day if I plan to make this an annual event...I consider that to be such a wonderful compliment. Merci Beaucoup!