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Monday, September 21, 2009

Autumn Arrives at That Old House -- Mosaics and A Metmorphosis

It is the last day of Summer.

I'd like to hang onto it, but. . . the grapes are ripe, the leaves are beginning to yellow, the tomatoes are staying green, and last night I was appalled when it was dark by 7:30.

Even I can't fight it. I'm tossing in the beach towel and welcoming Fall.


Some weeks back, I posted about not having done any decorating in the parlor; the mantel was usually bare, sometimes sporting a simple vase of garden or supermarket flowers. Or, all too often, the empty vase of flower water and a few fallen blossoms:

Pretty pathetic, huh? Yeah, you can say it.

So with the onset of the new season, I fished around in my
"Fall Decor"storage boxes to see what I could find.

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It's Metamorphosis Monday; thank you, Susan, for your hosting (hostessing?) of this terrific blog party at the equally terrific Between Naps On The Porch blog.


Click on any highlighted words or the icon to visit Susan's blog and see other entries.


I hope you stick around -- I would like your opinion on something!


For Mary at the lovely and elegant Little Red House, who hosts Mosaic Monday, I've put the parlor mantel into two collages. Mary's own mosaic today is particularly nice; I want to walk into it.

One of my mosaics is supposed to look very casual, as if you've just recklessly tossed the photos
and voila! they landed in perfect artless grace. Yeah, that's what I did. . . .


The other is more regimented.
The pictures stop clowning around and behave themselves.


Well, it ain't perfect, but it is an improvement over smelly flower water and dead petals.

Oh dear . . . another of my reality moments; the dust cloths are casually draped over the
arm of the wing chair, exhausted after their unaccustomed labor. Oops.

Closer looks:
My old hurricanes, with chunky candles perched on pewter candlesticks.
A pottery pumpkin -- can't remember where I got it.
The glass pumpkin at the other end -- a gift from my brother Lindy and his wife Carol.
A runner of old lace, from my Mom.


A swag of faux magnolia leaves (I think) and fruits and berries, to which I added some random glass-glittered fruit.
I've had this swag since 2002 and it's the first time I used it.


And now. . . this:


It's cute, but, well, kitschy -- a long string of tiny fake pumpkins and squashes; not any attempt to make it seem real. I draped it around the decorations, but ... I can't make up my mind.

Here's both ways --

With the phake pumpkin garland


Without the phake pumpkin garland


And there you have it.



I will leave you with a visit from a tiny friend,
who is inspecting our conservatory roof. . . and mooning us!
I'm not sure what he's finding up there, but he and his buddies are visiting every day.


Have a lovely last day of Summer. Sigh. Till June, then -- Cass

41 comments:

  1. Hi Cass -

    I think your mantle looks gorgeous with the fall decor! And I like the garland also. For me it just is a finishing touch :) And your mosaic for today...I like the more casual, tossed group the best :) Have a great day!
    Toni

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  2. Hi Cass..
    at least you have a mantle to decorate..
    * no to the garland of fake pumpkins..
    detracts from the other stuff.
    and straighten the lace*..
    all said graciously with please!
    I too prefer the more casually tossed mosaic.
    If I had a fireplace, this would be day for a fire,
    a cup of hot cinnamon-apple tea..
    and stew bubbling in the crockpot..
    the last two are happening as we speak!
    It's such a dreary,wet, and cold day here in Denver!
    snow flakes fell earlier!
    ♥hugz.. Loui

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  3. Your mantel is beautiful Cass!! Your room is too. Until you mentioned the dust cloth, I hadn't seen it. I had to look for it.

    I love the tossed look of the photos!

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  4. Lovely....I like it with the pumpkin garland ...very nice.
    Pam

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  5. I like the tossed look. Not sure about the pumpkin garland. Love the candles and the mirror!
    Carol

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  6. I vote without. Use it onyour table.
    You FOUND all that in your house?!
    Your mantle looks great!

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  7. What a lovely blog you have. Thanks for visiting mine so I could visit yours.
    Sad, sad, the last day of Summer. I have been waiting for the hay to arrive so I was weeding my new garden. Those weeds have no respect for seasons--grow, grow, GROW!

    I like bothe versions of autumnry. so you will have to make up your own mind. LOL MB

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  8. No to the garland. It looks like an afterthought. The rest looks super.

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  9. You know, Cass, I thought we were sticking this out together. Sort of like Thelma & Louise. The leaping into fall thing...but I see they broke you. You couldn't even wait one more day until it was officially fall! So I guess I am in this alone. Well...er, I did buy mums for the lakehouse, shhhhh!

    The mantel looks very nice!! I love everything. Your mother's lace is so pretty. Your mosaics are great too. I have a Type A personality so the mixed up mosaic makes me very nervous...

    xoxo
    Jane

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  10. Cass, it's lovely! I'm like you, I've been so disgusted at how early it's getting dark these days. Fall is a hard transition for me.

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  11. You can tell it is fall here we are under a Tornado warning. But is no surprise to us. There are more in the spring than fall but still nothing new.
    I love your mantel. It is very pretty. And the dust cloth on the arm chair adds a nice touch. At our house we can't find a dust cloth. Our excuse for not dusting. LOL!
    http://alzheimersandmomblog.blogspot.com/

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  12. What a gorgeous mantel! Love both you mosiacs too, can't decide which one I like more. I like the garland, very nice job indeed! Even you dust cloth is color cordinated...I had to hunt to find it! LOL
    Thanks for the visit also, much appreciated!
    *hugs*deb

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  13. I still haven't succumbed although I know it's time to put away the flip flops and flip over the fall!

    Your fall decorating is lovely!

    ~Susan

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  14. I just heart your mantle !! Love the fall decore and a string of pumpkins - how cute is that ?
    Kammy

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  15. You know... I actually like it both ways and I think you should leave them up until you tire of them and than take them down. I tend to want to rearrange things so this way you will have something built in to rearrange from the beginning....

    The garland is kind of whimsical and no they don't look real but its kind of appealing and less formal.

    Tracy

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  16. Your room is gorgeous and the mantel looks lovely. Everything is so pretty. I like both of your mosaics too. I still havn't tried to make one. I do need to do that. Hugs, Marty

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  17. Hi Cass! Thanks for visiting me, so now I can visit YOU! I must say you've a beautiful home..I hope you don't mind~I noseyed around your blog a little. My two cents: I like the mantle WITH the garland..but if you look around MY house, you'll see that I live by the motto "more is always better", so take it for what it's worth (like I said.."two cents"!) ;-)
    Anyhoo, so happy to meet you, hope you'll come back for a visit. Wish we lived closer so we could talk decorating and get our King Charles Caveliers together on play dates!
    Blessings!
    Myrna

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  18. I know it is time for fall, I get it, but now that I have seen your wonderful creative decorations, I can no longer ignore the season. Thank you for visiting my blog around the house, I am new and it means so much to me to have someone take the time to read and look at my pictures, thank you thank you.. Count me as a fan and a follower. phyllis

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  19. Cass--
    I think it all looks great BUT
    I think it would look "greater"
    without the garland. :)

    Melinda

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  20. Cass-

    Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment:) I love the mantle, and especially the hurricanes, looks fabulous!!!

    Blessings,
    Cara

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  21. Thank you Cass for your comments on my blog. You are a very wise and nice women. You helped me alot.

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  22. Great fall mantle arrangement. Love the rich colored harvest fruit. And with the garland...how about a third chose. I wonder what it would look like draped the way you have it but also pulled up in the middle.
    Thanks for visiting the 'cleaning lady' this morning.
    Happy Clean Monday ;-)

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  23. Lovely Fall transformation and kewl mosaics ... very creative!
    Hugs and blessings,

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  24. I haven't done any fall decorating yet ~ I still have one more day, right?
    Oh, you just crack me up! Your 'reality moment' is too funny! That is just the kind of thing I would do. I love it that I am not alone! And, by the way, you are reflected in the mirror ~ did you notice? (I also had to laugh at the comment by *Loui in Denver* asking you to straighten the lace!)What?
    I think the mantel is pretty both ways, but perhaps a little less casual without the garland of pumpkins.
    And I really like the 'reclessly tossed photo mosaic'!
    Even your birds are comedians!
    This was a fun post!
    Blessings this last day of summer!

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  25. Hi Cass....first of all your mosaics are lovely...I like the one with the pics "tossed" anyways..I chuckled...I have a pumpkin garland...not as nice as yours, that I have kept AT LEAST 15 years. I took it out of the bucket and thought, oh, this is not anything like the look I want NOW! But, I couldn't throw it out either. I am still thinking about it. I like your little garland...and your display is very pretty...Happy MM!

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  26. Love fall decor -- I must admit that although I do faux I like real looking faux -- the garland is not and so I would eliminate it (of course, is a glass pumpkin real? -- but it looks good.

    My vote -- for whatever it is worth.

    Come by later and see the first stage of Linderhof's fall decor.

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  27. Awwww, I like your little "mooney" friends. :-) Girl, I would have never noticed that dust cloth if you hadn't mentioned it. :-) I vote for "with" the pumpkin garland....I like it! Beautiful transformation, Cass! Susan
    P.S. I'm with you on that getting dark early stuff. :-( Before we know it, it will be dark at 6PM.

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  28. Cass, both mantle arrangements look great! I think the tossed mosaic is really unique. I don't know how to make one of those. But I can see the photos better in the more organized mosaic, and I really like seeing photos of your room (dust rags and all-so glad to see them resting-you are so funny). laurie

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  29. Missed Dion in this post -- although the birdie was cute.

    Cass, when you replace that conservatory floor -- you should consider that brick!

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  30. I love the pumpkin garland. Great job! Thanks for your comment on my blog and I hope to hear from you in the future!

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  31. Your fall decorated mantle is perfect! I like it without the garland. The "tossed photos" collage is really nice. I never have luck trying that arrangement.

    Happy Autumn!

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  32. I love all that rich autumn colors on your mantel. I can't believe you never used that lace scarf before- silly girl! Your mosaic with the scattered pics is my favorite, and I like the mantel-scape without the "phakey" pumpkin garland. Oh, and never saw the dust cloth til I read about it- again, silly girl! LOL
    :-) Sue

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  33. I love your close up of your mantle adornment! And I like it withOUT the little string of gords.

    It has style and class with out it and the garland just looks like you put it there because you had it left over.

    perhaps take it apart and put all the wonderful colorful gords into a basket or bowl for another table display?

    I love your casual tossed mosaic! its different and fun! just like this lovely post you created.

    Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and commenting... so nice of you.

    TTFN~~Claudia ♥ ♥

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  34. Love the new look...but would like it without the pumpkin garland. Maybe if it was draped around ON the mantel and notacross it...make sense?

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  35. I really wish I had your decorating talent. That mantel looks positively lovely.

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  36. Your mantle looks great! Now I'm definitely getting out my autumn boxes!

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  37. Hi Cass,

    Your first mosaic is stunning. I love your house.

    I like the mantel decorated both ways. I think that the garland, even though it looks very fake, adds something to the rest of the decor. I also like that the dust cloth is not perfectly straight. I think it adds more of a cozy feeling. You don't want to be in a cold stuffy place. Too much perfection takes away the warmth.

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  38. I love your mantel it looks so cosy. I thnk I prefer it without the pumpkin swag as the display is so pretty on its own.

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  39. Your mantel looks like a celebration of the season, just beautiful. Sharon

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  40. I enjoyed seeing all your fall decor and reading the cute stories with them! You always do a great job!

    Katherine

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  41. hi Cass,

    Really beautiful job on the mantel. It is so inviting!

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