Tiptoeing into Fall

Artie and Marty are having a party

Vignettes for Artie

Cloches with Marty

Sounds like an old jump rope rhyme, doesn’t it? But no, two of my favorite bloggers are having parties that complement one another. Marty at A Stroll Thru Life is having one of her now-legendary cloche parties and Artie at Color Outside the Lines has recently launched Vignette Fridays. Cloches don’t seem to be my strong suit, but here’s what’s going on the breakfast room. We’re tiptoeing into fall.

This is the top of a small antique chest I use in my breakfast room. The marble top is handy for serving desserts and coffee. The drawers hold placemats and stationery. I like to change the accessories to suit the season or holiday. Hence, my vignette with a fall cloche :).

My birthday was last week and a friend brought me a bouquet of bittersweet. She knows my love for flowers and arrangements so I have chosen to overlook the possible hidden implications :). I know she bought this at the local florist and I believe it is oriental bittersweet. The berries are perfect shades for autumn.

I added a few curly branches, some dried eucalyptus, and a couple of dried lotus pods. I love the woodsy effect of the pods and the different textures.

S0000, in keeping with the woodsy theme we have going on, I just filled this big ole cloche with dry stuff….huge pine cones I found in our yard at Seaside this summer, faux dried berries, a couple of dried hydrangeas, and a few pods and nuts from the yard. It makes an interesting sprinkling of all things fall.

This is my nod to the men in my family… a family of hunters. This is a Vintage Game plate made by Churchhill China. The banner underneath says cervus elephus—the red deer or elk. I have only a few of these. I like the idea of shopping the china cabinets for display items. I bet you have something “easel worthy” too, if you just look. And finally, the small frame you see in the first picture is is a little camera shy. A permanent resident no matter the season, it says this:

The Lord bless you and keep you

The Lord make His face shine on you

And be gracious to you

The Lord lift His countenance on you

And give you peace

That is my daily prayer for all those who gather around my table….and for you.

Thanks Artie and Marty! You can join the cloche party here. Hop over to Artie’s Vignette Fridays by clicking here!

Thanks for stopping by to see my little addition to the parties. I hope you’ll take a minute to say hello—I love knowing you’ve been here and would love to visit you!~~Susan

Christmas Under Glass…A Holiday Cloche Party

Marty at A Stroll Thru Life is our hostess . I think she is singlehandedly responsible for making the cloche this year’s “must-have” decorating accessory. Who knew you could do so much with a simple bell jar??!! Some of you might remember that I gave one of the guest bedrooms a makeover last spring. You can see it here. I thought I might bring a little Christmas in here—“little” being the key word.

This is the room where my three year old niece sleeps when she comes to visit. Although it is blue, white, and yellow; it’s definitely a feminine room—just right for Miss Priss. I thought she might enjoy a doll house Christmas vignette.

I retrieved a few things from Sunshine’s childhood dollhouse—the one I adored and she tolerated :). I decorated it for Christmas even back then.

A tree by the fireplace is perfect. Don’t you love the tiny blue and white tiles and dental molding?—perfect for this bedroom! The tree is decorated with angels, bow, and snowmen and has lots of presents waiting underneath for a good little girl! Just a little something to bring Christmas into the guest room…to make my guests feel the warmth of Christmas all through the house. I’ve changed the sheets to some I think she’ll like too.

More snuggly snowmen! Don’t forget to click here to see more cloche fun! I hope you will visit me on Tuesday for Deck the Halls. Come show off your decorations! Mr. Linky and I have kissed and made up :)

Cloche Party...It's a Boy!

When Marty at A Stroll Thru Life had her first cloche party, we had just had "The Wedding" the weekend before. My cloche, if I had owned one, would have had one limp daisy under it to represent me--happy, but exhausted. But no more! The bride is back from the honeymoon, the mother of the bride is rested, and I own a cloche! Now on to the next project...a baby shower at my house in ten days!

My daughter and I are hosting a shower for the mother of a soon-to-be-born baby boy. This is the cloche that will greet guests in my foyer. This, of course, is a "test cloche". I think I will try to use yellow rose buds rather than fully open roses for the shower.

Yellow and blue invitations are in the mail! Since we have the luxury of knowing the baby is a boy, we have chosen a yellow and blue theme--one of my favorite color combinations. I used this wired ribbon here on the cloche and on a baby-themed door wreath I'll show you later.

I wanted the cloche to include timeless treasured baby objects...a silver porringer, a monogrammed teething ring.

A smaller silver baby cup holds baby's breath and a small silver spoon. Although the rest of these treasures belonged to my children, the baby spoon is a recent find. It was in the chest of seldom-used silver plate flatware that had belonged to my mother. It is an old and very popular pattern called "First Love"...how fitting. Maybe she once fed me with this spoon.

I like the way the Celtic cross shows through the cloche. This would be a great way to display a baby's keepsakes in the nursery....placed away from tiny probing hands :)

I am so happy that I got to come to the party. I can't wait to see what Marty and the rest of you have "under glass"! Hurry over to Marty's party.Your invitation is below!