Fall and Decorating

As you can see, I love to decorate and I consider that Crystals Creations. I am an artist, but I absolutely have a passion for beauty and incorporate texture, color, light, furniture, house accessories and pictures and art work to be my surroundings that comfort my soul. I am one of those ladies that perhaps puts too many things around, but because I love vignettes or little areas where there are things next to things upon things, I feel like I am doing a 3 Dimensional collage of house decorations. Freecycle, yard sale giveaways, thrift stores, sales in stores and cheap stores like the dollar store keep my inventing. Blogging is another way along with Pinterest for ideas that just keep coming, thanks to many others that are like minded. To be a decorator, you don't have to be like me though. Yesterday, while at the bookstore, I was parusing through many magazines. Boy what great ideas this fall. Endless do I want to say. I keep a notebook and jot down ideas and I draw quick little sketches of ideas, color combos, items that I know I can find free, recipes, crafts and on and on. Overwhelming, but I enjoy it. When my husband sits down on the free leather couch I got and looks around the living room at the trunk I got free at an antique shop that was closing and moving, and the pumpkins I made out of sparkles and sweaters and says, "I really like it in here. It looks really nice" there is just something about that that cheers me up and makes me want to please him more. My living room mantle consists of an antique sailor that I got free from that same antique shop that closed. His hand was off and I glued it. I went to a yard sale and an elderly couple were getting rid of their treasures and were narrowing things down to live in a mobile trailer; I was able to buy a large brown antique bottle from them. I am going to make one of those labels on the computer that is a french label and apply it to the surface. I have my grapevine balls filling little spaces around the old world ocean vignette. Those grapevine balls have been in a box to give away a few times, when I grab them out thinking "What am I thinking" I can use those over and over and even cover them with moss or decorative paper. I can hang them up in a window, fill a bowl with potpourri, fill a basket with the balls and pinecones. Why would I want to get rid of such an item to only buy something like them again. I collected chinese lanterns from my garden and have them in a basket with a lighthouse in the basket. Behind the antique free trunk, I have a white wicker mirror inside the fireplace. On freecycle, someone was giving away fireplace tools. I do not have a working fireplace yet, but I do have a pellet stove and two faux mantles so I received them and put them in front of the fireplace. Next to the mentle, I have a peddle from a singer sewing machine. I got a free square black frame with a print in it. The print is autumn colors. I placed that picture on top of the trendle peddle of the machine to make a table. Place a victorian style lamp and two awesome fall colored/metalic plates on it, I have another little vignette. The plates have seated on them two votive candles. I keep a list of what I am always looking for, whether it be burlap, ribbon, candles, a certain idea to make a pillow and I need the filler, I keep a look out. I collect grasses and dried flowers and pods to make little arrangements and just fillers into those areas that need texture or color. Yesterday, I listed all the various styles I like for decorating, and truly am having a very very hard time deciding. When I look at folk art, I want to paint everything black, gold, burgundy, cream. Then I see a room that is shabby chic or a Swedish country, and I want all my chairs covered in white, white walls, only white dishes and sparse. Now there is a bohemian country, that is very different. The decorative items are brightly colored, various colors, items from different countries, little things hanging here and there, different chairs made of metal and bright colored seats, stripes, polka dots. Then there is the beach look; shells, comfy big furniture usually covered with white and or striped fabric for pillows, ships and sailboats, navy and or red stripes. Oh then the mint green and red with polka dots and burlap and canvas...I want a room of each style. The vintage 50's looks is awesome too. Oh boy, what do you think? What do you like? How do you determine what you are going to do.