Down the Rabbit Hole...

“What is REAL?" asked the Velveteen Rabbit one day... "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When [someone] loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. 

"Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand... once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always.” 
― Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit

Meet our two new cottage babies that we brought home in the spring:  Talulah Tippytoes - the snuggler, the follower, the funny bunny, the girly girl...

and her sister Little Bea Sugarwhiskers - the observer, the thinker, the curious mastermind of adventure, the "please-pet-me-but-do-not-hold-me-or-I-will-taste-you-with-my-teeth" girl... 

They are both pleased to make your acquaintance. Even Bea.  Really.

Goodbye Fall, Hello Winter

In just about three weeks, my favorite season of the year will officially give way to winter - whether I'm ready for it or not.

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.
-George Eliot

The coats, hats, and gloves have been out for a few weeks now, frosty windshields have already been scraped a time or two, and it's a rare tree around here that still has any straggling leaves.  {Near the end of fall, I always search for and begin observing a tree in my yard that has just a few leaves remaining, then fewer, then fewer still, then three...two...one singular leaf. I like to see how long the last one can hang on. A little leaf one winter hung on the entire season!}  Though I'm not overly fond of cold weather, I appreciate the fact that winter has it's own unique way of slowing us down and turning us inward, both literally and introspectively.  I welcome both after a busy summer and fall.

One fun project that I enjoyed near the end up of September was a little fall piece I did for the October/November issue of Sage Magazine.  The theme of the issue was 'cozy' so I decided to take advantage of the fair weather and do a couple of outdoor scenes in the spirit of romantic glamping, or, as I've learned in the last year or so, "glamorous camping".  I don't know much about glamour, but I certainly do believe in whimsy and magical places and pretty little things that just make a girl smile.

So we built a tent out of a simple frame and sheets, blankets, and even curtains....

Inside, we filled it with a cozy feather mattress, quilts, throws, and pillows.  Perfect for outdoor reading {or a nap!}

Call me old-fashioned, but I love crocheted shams and bedcovers.  There's just something romantic about them.  {I made the brown paisley pillows...can you believe I didn't sew my fingers together not even once?}

I also thought it would be sweet to make a pennant banner from various fabrics to string along the top of the tent ceiling. I'm so glad you can't see the, ahem...interesting...stitching lines I sewed across top of it!

I wanted this little tent to have a hanging lamp, so I took an old shade and stripped it down to it's metal frame.  Then I just knotted strips of linen and burlap all the way around, adding accents of tulle along the bottom. The light is a battery operated candle in a little mason jar.  

For the dinner tablescape, I went with a collection of items that I felt would work well for both fall and winter, indoors or out.  Of course, I had to throw on a crocheted tablecloth to set the stage...

along with a green garland and plenty of pops of red with apples, a rose and hydrangea arrangement {from Hobby Lobby.  I tucked in real sprigs of baby's breath to help fool the eye}, and some homemade tomato soup.

I can never seem to pass up those tiny little glasses that I'm always seeing at thrift stores.  I put them to use by wrapping them with various things such as cinnamon sticks and adding tea lights.   {hint: secure the cinnamon sticks with a rubber band first, then cover the rubber band with fabric a fabric strip.}

Here's another little glass that I covered in linen and converted into a candle holder.  Just sweet and simple.

                           

I really loved the shape of this lamp shade but not the original fabric.  So I stripped it down to the metal frame and recovered it in a piece of crochet work that I found years ago at Goodwill.  I'm pretty happy with how it turned out but it was a bit tricky getting the scallops to sit just right.  It kind of killed me to cut into the crochet because I wasn't sure if I was going about it correctly, and like I said, I've had this piece for years.  Ever had one of those "this could be fabulous or it could be a total failure" kind of projects?  This was definitely one of mine and I was a more than a little skeered, let me tell ya.  

But sometimes you just gotta take those risks because you never know. I ended up using any extra crochet work that was cut off as trim on the brown paisley pillows, so it all worked out.:)  I used another little mason jar with a battery operated candle to light it up and hung it from a tree branch  with cotton string above the table.

Are we all still singing the praises of wooden pallets?  I know I am.  I had taken a before shot of what this pallet looked like originally, but I took it with my cell phone and then recently dropped my phone in the toilet, ugh!  But just imagine an old beat up wooden pallet.  I stained it a nice rich brown and it became the perfect low lying picnic/dessert table set atop my adored chenille quilt that I affectionately call 'grandma blanket'.  Don't judge.  She was a very inexpensive find at Old Time Pottery many, many years ago and she seems to just get tougher  with age.  Isn't that exactly what a grandma should do anyway? Also, there is a grandpa blanket, but we'll feature him another time.

More little homemade candle holders using various items such as burlap, twigs, tulle, and lace doilies... {hint: Turn a small container upside down, drape a doily over it, and spray several coats of spray starch - letting each coat dry before applying the next.  Then carefully remove the doily from the glass and insert a battery operated wax candle.}  

A table runner was created by tearing {not cutting} a long strip of  linen that came from an old curtain panel.  More natural elements such as blooming branches, berries, pine cones, apples, acorns, and cinnamon sticks were layered on to cozy the table up.  

I usually use this large glass cloche for decorative purposes, but apparently flies love chocolate brownies as much as I do.  They were being quite the pests during this shoot, so I finally got to use my cloche for a practical purpose.  

More pillows, pillows, pillows and crisp white tableware to contrast nicely against the richer browns, greens, and reds...

  I keep recommending battery operated candles because a couple of weeks or so ago I caught the living room on fire with a regular candle.  It was a silly mistake in which I draped some fabric over the top of it, forgetting that it was even there.  We were able to put the fire out with a garden hose before the six or seven {*sigh*} firetrucks arrived.  The birds and bunnies just happened to be flying and hopping around the living room when the fire broke out, but none were harmed, thank goodness.  I have a couple of pieces of furniture pieces to refinish or replace, including one of my favorite reading chairs that I got at Goodwill a couple of years ago,  some drywall and beadboard to repair, and a few scorch marks on the floor to live with, but it could have been much worse, and for that I am extremely thankful.  I still use regular candles, but for candles anywhere near fabric, like the candle holders I made above, I highly recommend battery operated, just to be on the safe side.

We'll talk again soon, dear friends! Until then, cozy up and brace yourself {like the last little tree leaf} as we say goodbye to delicious autumn and welcome winter...I hope you all are doing well!