Tag: fall

Happy Fall, Y’all

Posted on September 19, 2017 by Mama

Okay, so it’s not quite officially fall, but I’m so ready to bust open my autumn and Halloween projects that I decided to get going here at Small Talk Mama. And what’s fall without a few mums around the house (honestly, I can’t seem to go to the store without coming home with a new fun color)?

Last week I purchased a small trio of pink mums for my back porch ($1 each) just to show off my latest repurposed project made from two sticks of old picket fencing leaning against a backyard tree. It was the last of some salvaged fence parts and was just enough to create this adorable little rustic wood tray. Considering I had some old drawer pulls that needed a home and nails enough to go around the world twice, this project barely cost a thing, except for the little feet underneath to give the tray some breathing room. I picked up those for a couple of bucks at the hardware store.

Since I only had two four-foot-sticks of fence, I had to make every inch count. I cut both pickets in half and used three lengths to form the base of my tray. Since one of the lengths still had the dog-eared top on it, I placed it in the middle of the other two. You can see the dog ears from one end, but not from either side. I also think it lends a bit of personality to the finished project.

I then measured the width of all three bottom pieces lying next to one another, and cut two pieces that width out of the remaining wood. I had just enough left to go the distance. Whew! I lined up everything and screwed it all together from the backside of the tray, and then added the pulls on the top of the tray at each end.

I planned to use the finished tray on the wooden box/table on my back deck, but I didn’t want the tray to trap moisture under it and rot both it and the box. So I purchase some super cheap feet that I simply hammered in from the backside and this gave everything some breathing room. I can’t wait to change out the flowers for the seasons and make good use of my decorative DIY tray!

Okay, folks. I’ve shown you my mums, now I want to see yours. Happy Fall, y’all!

The Season for a Sunflower Centerpiece

Posted on August 28, 2017August 28, 2017 by Mama

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!

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.

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.

Mother and Son Autumn Swag

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Mama

My son and I enjoyed yesterday’s wonderful fall afternoon walking in the woods, gathering leaves and creating a beautiful autumn swag with our bounty. This was just a little project I dreamed up that I knew my little guy would enjoy and it was a good excuse to tromp through the woods together on a beautiful day.

If you have a hole punch and a little patience, this is a perfect family craft project. We simply picked up lots of colorful, and some not so much, leaves throughout our walk and then used a hole punch to poke holes near the stem of each leaf (unless nature had already provided one), sorting them into small, medium and large leaf piles as we went. My six year old loved punching the holes!

After everything was punched and sorted, we started stringing. We simply loaded a long piece of baker’s twine with a variety of leaf colors and sizes and tied a bow at both ends. After I hung the sway, I evenly spread out the leaves until it was pleasing to the eye and you could see several different colors and leaf sizes. Of course the leaves will continue to dry out and lose lots of color over time, but that’s part of the charm. Also, this cute little swag is highly flammable, so maybe the fireplace isn’t the best place to hang such a thing.

I loved how this autumn swag turned out and had a great time making it with my son; unfortunately this is probably one of those one-event-only projects that will go in the trash before the forth coming Christmas décor explosion. Oh well, I guess we’ll just have to make another one next year.

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