SEPTEMBER TIPS & IDEAS 

The longer days of summer are drawing to a close, vacations are over, and we are all  getting the kids  ready for school and preparing for cooler weather.  Now is the time to get inspired and start adding those special touches of fall.

We hope you will find some of our tips and ideas useful and refreshing.

Buy a medium to large size pumpkin and with a magic marker, letter "Welcome" across the front.  Now, use a carving tool or your husband's router to slightly carve a groove into the lettering. (carve away all of the orange).  Next, with a small brush and brown or black paint (acrylic) paint the grooved lettering.  Your pumpkins will look as though they have been carved out but this "fake" carving will allow the pumpkin to stay fresh and last all fall.  Try setting the pumpkin in front of corn stalks, hay bale, or nestled down in some artifical leaves.

Fill a clear glass flower vase 1/4 full with candy corn.  Add artifical orange, yellow, and white mums for an instant fall and Halloween table centerpiece. 

Buy a large ceramic bowl and fill it with apples, or if you don't have a family that likes apples to eat, buy artifical apples for your bowl.  Add a few green leaves and this makes a great kitchen counter decoration. As fall approaches, replace your apples with small pumpkin goards and a few fall leaves. 

Going one step further, try purhasing a tin bucket and filling it with apples or small pumpkins, tie raffia or homespun around the bucket handle and  place on your front porch.  Hint: Small tin buckets can be found at your local hardware store.  If you like, make a hang tag from colored paper or card stock that reads "Welcome" and tie it onto the bucket handle.  (there are endless possibilities for card stock in any scrapbooking section at various stores).

Purchase a large grapevine wreath and tie a homespun bow on the top or to the side and  glue on little wooden apples, pumpkins, or hearts.  You don't have to be artistic to accomplish this.  Go to your local craft store and buy some wooden emblishments and spray paint.  Lay out your pieces on newspaper and spray paint them, glue to your wreath and enjoy.  This can be done at a fraction of what you would pay retail.  A snap to do and a decorative idea that will add country flair to any wall, door, or porch/sunroom.

Save those old Ball or Kerr canning jars.  They make delightful country style flower vases.  Add some ribbon around the neck of the jar and add a mix of your favorite flowers.  A white and yellow daisy mix adds warmth and sunshine to any table and is very inexpensive.

Check out our Scented page for a great country style item that replaces the modern version of the reed diffusers.  We have colored glass canning jars complete with rusty tin lids made especially for reed difussers and a rusty tin cut out attached to the jars and the reeds come with the jar too!  A visit to your local Wal-Mart or other store will offer you lots of scented oil choices to pour into your jar, making your very on Country Style diffuser!

There are always old books lying around that most of us don't want any more, if not then there are plenty of yard sales and seconds stores that practically give them away.  We decided to use a stack of three hardback books in graduated sizes for our project.  We took each book and sprayed them gold, let them dry and then stacked them.  Next we purchased some wide ribbon that went well with our decor and tied it around the books and made a bow.  This looks wonderful on our livingroom coffee table as an accent piece and literally cost us nothing.  For an added country touch, stick a sprig of flowers in the bow, we used a magnolia blosom and the outcome was stunning!  

With fall fast approaching, nothing smells better than cinnamon.  Buy a bundle of long cinnamon sticks and place a rubber band around the center.  Next, tie ribbon or homespun fabric around the bundle.  A small bottle of Cinnamon Scent refresher oil  comes in handy to keep your cinnamon smelling yummy, just add a drop or two onto the sticks every month.  Perfect table centerpiece in the kitchen, den, or living room.  This idea can be year round and you may like to nestle some fall leaves or Christmas greenery under the cinnamon sticks for the comming fall and winter months.

We have several candle dishes, trays, plates, and electric candles too. Each of these items can be adapted for a particular season or holiday. As filler in the dishes, try adding some small eggs, or artificial flower buds to existing potpourri or rosehips.

Candles are another great way to decorate for the season. Flowers, putka pods (mini pumpkins), pip berries...you name it, are easily attached to a pillar candle or even a taper by using a thumb tack.  Glue a thumb tack to the back of your decoration, let dry and then push the thumb tack into the candle.  Or, simply tie homespun around a group of pillar candles for an instant country decoration. 

For more added country décor charm, try wrapping ribbon or homespun around a pillar candle and glue on a rusty tin heart, star, or other favorite shape to a thumb tack and push it into the candle. The tack holds the homespun in place and the rusty tin gives a nice country touch.

Pillows are another great accent for the home. Start with a basic and simple solid color, (cream, tan, or white,) and accent the pillows with homespun fabric. There is no sewing involved here ladies! A long strip of homespun can be made into a bow, much the same as wrapping a package; only you are wrapping a pillow. Use floral or plaid patterns to match your décor or color scheme. This idea is especially nice as an accent pillow on a bed.

If you are handy with a needle and thread, try stitching buttons on the four corners of a pillow and a matching button in the center. There isn't a lot of stitching required, just a couple of stitches on the top layer of the pillow fabric to hold the button in place.

Now that we have your creative juices flowing, keep going. Our imaginations are the only thing needed to add country charm to our homes.

Check back in September for more tips and decorating ideas.  If you have any ideas you would like to share, please contact us at rusticcountrycreations@yahoo.com  If we use your idea, your name will be published along with the idea on our Tips and Ideas Page.

 HAVEA SAFE AND HAPPY LABOR DAY WEEKEND AND WE'LL BE BACK WITH MORE TIPS AFTER THE HOLIDAY!

Your friends at Rustic Country Cottage.