Fall Bookcases and Craft Room Update

I've been doing a little fall fluffing.  After 4 days of being sick, followed by 4 days of nonstop on the go, my house was begging for a good cleaning, and that was the perfect time to change out my summer decor for fall.

I'm usually late to the fall party because I wring every last minute from summer that I can.  I love fall, but I hate winter (northern Michigan winters are coooold)!  We've had at least 3 frosts now and two bonfires, so I guess I can't put it off any longer.  The trees are in full autumn color right now too.

It was time to embrace fall.   I focused on the bookcases in my kitchen first.  This is "the wall," that I've never showed until now.  It isn't finished, so I was stalling.  But it is what it is, for now.

Want a closer look?

Even closer?

I love mercury glass...and white pumpkins...and birdcages...and chalkboards.  Put them all together and I'm in heaven.  Hark...is that the hallelujah chorus I'm hearing?  

The mercury glass were finds at TJ Maxx.  The pumpkin was an orange plastic one that I painted white, and the birdcage was a thrift store find that I spray painted silver.  It's hard to see, but there is an aqua candle inside it.  The chalkboard is the back of a painted chalkboard picture I found at another thrift shop.  It has a sheep on it that I love, but I'll use that side another time.

The use of aqua was inspired by my canning jars.  I found the metal basket at Hobby Lobby for half off.  It was just what I'd been looking for to display some of my jars!  Hallelujah...there goes that chorus again. 

The black pumpkin was another dollar store one that I painted black; the ceramic pumpkin was a gift.  Plates are from  the dollar store and the fleur de lis tray in the back was a flea market find that I painted.

My favorite bowl in the house is this aqua Jessica McClintock serving bowl.  I found it at Big Lots and fell in love.  I really wanted some of the other pieces, but couldn't afford them at the time.  I'm keeping my eyes open though.   More dollar store plates fill this shelf.  The silver creamer and sugar bowl are nicely tarnished.  The little dollar store pumpkins are more that I painted white and silver.  I glued them together and added some spanish moss between them.

The shelf on the right close-up:

Once more, I got all these things at ridiculously low prices.  The three tiered galvanized carrier, I think I got at Hobby Lobby, the plate at TJ Maxx and the black pot I had.  I painted it with homemade chalk paint and dry brushed some white paint on the raised design.  Dollar store florals were plunked into my old rusty sifter that I've used for years and finally retired from food use.  The little pumpkin was a gift.  It has a verse: Give thanks to the Lord for He is good.  His love endures forever.

A couple more aqua canning jars, which were given to me by my good neighbor, grace this shelf.  In front of it is a tiny galvanized tub from a thrift store.  Inside are three little wooden eggs that I painted and tucked into a bit of dollar store moss.The pumpkin was a gift.  It's sitting on glass plates from another thrift store.  Behind it is a galvanized thingy I got for 49 cents at...can you guess?...yet another thrift store.  I'm not sure what it is.  Someone suggested the top of a chicken feeder?  The birdcage is another I spray painted.  I added some spagnum moss and set my little silver bird salt and pepper shakers inside.

 This is the boring shelf.  I think I lost my mojo when I got to this one.  It features my covered cookbooks, thrift store rolling pin, the recipe box my mom got for me a long time ago, another painted pumpkin and a stack of thrift store plates I love to mix and match with my other plates.  I have a few sets of these available in my Etsy store. Update: Sold

 The middle is the unfinished part.  I plan to make a rustic table with at least one shelf underneath and a skirt to the floor.  I need to find doors for the cabinet on the left to match the cabinet on the right.  Plus I plan to add two shelves on the wall above the table with pine that I've aged myself.

This little butcher block cart is temporary, but functional.  It is my coffee/tea center.  It also houses my  coffee crate tote I painted to hold flavored syrups.  It's also a good place for napkins.

I found these sugar and tea canisters, along with the glass canister at TJ Maxx, for a steal!  I really, really like them.  The glass canister holds my Splenda.

In other news, my craft room is finally underway again.  One beadboard wall is up...

and primed!!!

 Stay tuned for more updates coming soon to a computer near you!

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