Tag: inside and out

My Autumn Mailbox Adds Curbside Color

My Autumn Mailbox Adds Curbside Color

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Although today’s cloudy skies looks nothing like the day I took these photos of my autumn mailbox, I decided to share them in hopes of bringing a bit of sunshine and inspiration into your day.

Since all the flowers around my mailbox have finished blooming, I’m left with a bunch of dead heads and green leaves, so I wanted to bring some color to the curbside. I will soon clip the dead flower tops once the yellow finches have polished off all the seeds before winter.

This little box top arrangement was super easy to create with just a few necessities. I started with a floral saddle created for just such a thing (and headstones too, but our project is much more fun). Bend the sides of the saddle to firmly grip your mailbox and wrap the foam with dried Spanish moss. You can purchase bags of the moss for cheap at most craft stores. You don’t need to adhere the moss with anything, because your floral stems will hold it on.

autumn mailbox

Now it’s time to start poking in your pretty stuff. I used one bush of sunflowers and one bush of oak leaves (on sale at Michael’s), but I also added some smaller flowers I had around the house to fill in some bare spots. You will need some type of wire nippers to trim the flower stems to length, and this is probably the most difficult step in this project. Those thick stems can be tough to cut, but with the correct tool you shouldn’t have a problem.

For the finishing touch, I added a large bow made of wired burlap ribbon to each side of the arrangement. I made the bows and adhered them using wired floral picks (also available at craft stores). The bows add a nice touch and also help cover the sides of the saddle.

That’s all it took to create this fun mailbox topper that should last until Christmas décor time, but I hope it withstands the elements well. I’m sure the quality of my contents will play a part in this, but so far the rain and wind haven’t affected it a bit.

 

The Season for a Sunflower Centerpiece

The Season for a Sunflower Centerpiece

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We attended our niece’s lovely wedding Saturday night and I guess it inspired my husband to bring home sunflowers Sunday when he ran to the store for milk and bread (yes, we were out of milk AND bread but it was a super busy week). I quickly arranged the flowers in a black metal pitcher from IKEA and set them in the middle of our dining room table for a beautiful, bright way to start the day. Yay hubby!

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I was a bit concerned that the pitcher may sweat and ruin my table runner and table, so I started hunting around the house for a solution to my worry. With the wedding fresh on my mind,  I remembered I had one last large wood slice from Oriental Trading that would make a perfect addition to my centerpiece and serve as a super large coaster, if you will, which was very similar to the wedding tables from Saturday night.

This sunflower centerpiece makes me happy folks, and it was so super simple to create. I didn’t finish the wood in any way, but I might add a coat of wax or sealer to keep it looking good for years to come.

sunflower centerpiece

The above photo is from my niece’s wedding. I just love it when you get to “borrow” a bit of inspiration! I hope you do the same.

Oriental Trading gifted some of these products used in this project for review,
but all opinions are my own.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

April Showers Bring May Flowers

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We have had a rainy spring here in the Midwest, but luckily our area has avoided the flood waters thus far. I know other folks south and east of us haven’t been so lucky, and for that my prayers go out for a speedy and thorough recovery.

The rain we have been getting in the KC area has really been enjoyed by all things growing in my yard (including the weeds), so I wanted to share just a few photos of how my May flowers are blooming after all the April showers. If you follow Small Talk Mama on Instagram you’ve probably seen each of these photos already, but here they are gathered up in one small space. I hope you enjoy!

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The top photo is of one of my window boxes this week (just over a month after planting). It has filled out quite nicely with the tuberous begonias and white bacopa. I added some spikes in the center for some height and I’m really enjoying this combination so far. The multi-colored clematis are blooming around my mailbox, as is the lamb’s ear. I have one beautiful pale pink peony that is just about to burst all over, and a new metal bucket is full of color for my porch. I have to confess that the last photo of yellow roses didn’t actually grow in my garden, but they were a gift from my son for Mother’s Day so I just had to include them in the mix.

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Posted at Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop

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