Becolorful

Hello Spring {again}

 

 

   Hello Spring!

 Even though the heated mats are still out on the front walk, I am ready to bust out the tulips.

Changing out the door candy on our front door with the seasons is something I always look forward to but I think this Spring flair is my favorite. I have done this same treatment for two years now which is a bit unusual for me  but I haven't found anything yet that I like any better than my colorful umbrella full of tulips.

Athough "change" could be my middle name, I guess that sometimes it is hard to beat a winner.

I call it April Showers Bring May Flowers and it just works so well with our front door color of Benjamin Moore's Raincoat Yellow.

 

Usually, this Springtime flair doesn't make it's appearance until the 21st of March but it has been in the 70's and 80's here in the Midwest this week so I figured it was appropriate.

Now, cross you fingers that we don't have one of those freaky late season snows. Oh well, at least the heated mats are still out so we won't have to shovel.

xoxo,

p

 

 

 

 

Motivated Monday September 12th

Welcome to Motivated Monday September 12th.

Last week I thought it would be fun to showcase some fall door decor and you didn't let me down.

I think the front door is a perfect place to welcome a new season, to hail a party, or acknowledge an event. 

Apparently I am not alone in that thought.

These were some of the great ideas that you came up with last week.

This first one is from Flower Child Designs.

Great colors, great texture and I love the burlap bow.

Then there was this more traditional wreath from

Easy Peasy Grandma

Who doesn't love hydrangeas? Again the colors are gorgeous and this one comes with a touch of Halloween... an unintended spider and web. 

:0

Finally I think it is so fun to see team spirit on a front door and

The Crafty Scientist

pulled this off in such a fun way and with a tutorial so you can make your own version for the team you are rooting for.

No doubt who this family is pulling for and I think it just goes to show you that fall door decor can be done successfully in nontraditional fall colors.

So what's up for this week?

Well, anything goes this week. Decor and painting projects are my faves but recipes, photography, and writing are also right up the BeColorful alley too.

 Be thinking about your fall decorations. The first Monday in October I will be hosting a Fall Decor Home Tour Party so be readying you Fall Home Tour posts.  For today bring on whatever creativity has been consuming you or an image that is spurring you on to redo, makeover, paint, or design.

We Will Never Forget

9-11 Ten Years Later

We will never forget.

 

God Bless America

Front Doors Take On Their Fall Decor

 

Front doors.

What does yours say?

Do you like to decorate it for the different times of the year?

Some of us look forward to these seasonal opportunities to express our creativity  and others are just plain old daunted by the effort or lack of ideas.

Front door flair, though, is like make up.

It is the dressing that creates a first impression to our guests and this flair can actually be a relatively easy and inexpensive change up that doesn't have to require a lot of effort.

Did I consider Fall door candy when I painted our front door yellow?

I don't think so, but it sure worked out well for me.

We live in the land of the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Around here we bleed black and gold so my yellow front door is a natural for a 

Fall football theme.

 This summer my front door looked like this -

I like that black and white cone because it goes with anything and if I am lacking the resources or creative energy, I can change it up easily by just introducing new flowers or greenery.

Last year I also went with a Hawkeye door design but I tried something new this time.

This year I still used that cone but I covered it with a Haweye pendant.

The pendant extended beyond the cone so I just used some black duck tape at the tip to hold it taunt.

Next I added the fall leaves and a Hawkeye football that I cut in half so it would fit easily between the door and the storm door.

Then I embellished it some more with the beads, pom poms, and a Hawkeye liscense plate.

 

 

 

 

I felt like it still looked just a bit under dressed so I added the black and white feathered globe elements too.

 
There is no doubt that this is the home of Hawk fans.

 

Last week when I was putting this door candy together the temperature was climbing well into the 90's.

I felt like I was rushing the season.

Then again, maybe not. Yesterday the Hawks played and won their season opener  and today I'm sitting out on the porch in a zipped up hoodie.

Ah, Iowa.

That Fall feeling is in the air.

Summer, you were spectacular and I will miss you and our nights on the back deck with Rosie and a vodka tonic.

Never the less, I look forward to the football games, lower light bills, and cool nights around the firepit with a glass of wine or a B and B.

When I was shopping for some new elements for our black and gold themed door I found this little treasure at TJ Maxx for $12.99.

 With a bit of tweaking and some black sparkling leaves, I'm thinking October's door design.

:0

It's a sickness. What can I say.

How about you?

What is gracing your door these days?

Or what have you decorated around your home to welcome the season?

Nothing? Show me that blank door or mantle.

It will make us all feel a bit better about ourselves.

:0

Or show us all what you did last year.

Have you come up with something novel and unique?

I would REALLY love to see that.

Were you inspired by someone else's Fall door candy or decor post?

I'd love if you would share that too.

When linking up to Motivated Monday please link up your post's URL.

I would appreciate if you would copy my button into your post or in your side bar and please be kind and comment on some of the other links. Everyone likes to have visitors and comments.

I will be featuring some of the posts next week.

If you are featured or have been featured in the past please grab a

Becolorful Featured Button.

Linking up my fall flair post here:

Happy April

So far it has been an unusually cool spring in the midwest.

Part of me is grateful not to have to bare my arms or feel the need to bust out the bronzing gel but the part of me that likes to walk outside, the part of me that is forever spray painting, and the decorator part of me are all longing for sunnier warmer days.

So even though it has only been in the 40's around here this week I decided to start bringing out my Spring tweaks - starting with this door candy from last year. I'm packing away the twigs and berries, the heavy throws, and winter accent pillows. Maybe bringing a little Spring inside will entice my favorite season to make a grand entrance outside.

I think a Spring Bling Linky Party would be fun here at BeColorful.

I need to figure out a button issue but let's plan on April 17th.

Link up your Spring decor. We all work hard to make our homes reflect the seasons and our personalities so what could be more fun than to share our flair with others that can inspire us and appreciate our efforts.

Hope to see you on the 17th

xoxo,

P 

Praying Angel Door Candy

Many of you know that earlier this year I painted my front door yellow.

I thought about how it would look with different kinds of door candy throughout the year.

I was envisioning a stunner of a wreath for Christmas.

You know the type - glossy dark green magnolia leaves and colorful red berries.

It would be awesome with the yellow.

I found a wreath but it was $300.00.

Not happening.

I'll keep looking.

Then I saw this in a At West End catalog and I loved her.

I oohed and awed over that aqua door too.

Isn't it pretty?

The chippy part of it would probably drive me crazy in real life but it's fun to pretend I'm not uptight.

Sadly, when I got on the website to place my order, they had already sold out of her.

When I couldn't find her online I called the company.

They couldn't have been nicer and gave me the names of four retailers in Iowa that had ordered her.

Thank you At West End.

Check out their site when you have time.

I had never heard of them before but they have several things I would like to have.

She finally arrived earlier this week.

Even though I loved how she looked on that aqua, I'm not in the mood to repaint the door. I've been hoping she would look good on yellow too.

She was uber cool when she arrived but I can never leave well enough alone so in typical BeColorful fashion I pulled out my paint brush and hot glue gun and tweaked her just a bit.

Before:

 

There was something about her face that wasn't thrilling me.

I think she looks a bit more artsy without a face so I painted it out.

I also worried that she might be a bit anemic looking on a white house and yellow door so I popped her with just a touch of greenery.

Voila. 

 

I think she makes for a great welcoming look.

Do you think she could use some streamers coming off the back of her garland halo?

Just wondering.

Actually metal ones would be cool.

For a more updated look I could maybe use a funkier garland.

???

I might give it a whirl.

We have a big wreath on the chimney to the left of the front door but next year I think I'd like to see garland around the archway here.

I am NEVER satisfied. :)

Tomorrow night I will post the next Motivated Monday linky party and I hope you can join me.

I would love love love to see YOUR holiday decorations. 

I think I have been at this for a full week and I am really ready to know that I am not alone.

I started doing a bit of decorating before leaving for Thanksgiving and then after we came home I spent two days helping my mom with her Christmas flair.

Hers looks amazing.

I will share that too.

As for me, I add and then edit. Then add something else and edit yet again.

It's a tricky balance, wanting to create something new but also wanting to hold on to and use the things that have meaning and memories.

For now I'm leaving my angel as is and moving my attention back to the inside.

I hope to have a Christmas decor post every day next week.

I'm so grateful for you readers because

SOMEBODY needs to see my efforts. :)

For now, I think I have earned a break.

I'm planning to go inside, order carry out, fix a cocktail and watch some mindless Christmas movie.

Cheers to that.

http://becolorful.typepad.com/becolorful/2010/12/praying-angel-door-candy-.html

xoxo,

P

Linking up my post with these great blog parties:

 

Freckled Laundry,

Fall, Front Doors and Football

I am so glad I decided to paint my front door YELLOW.

I have to admit when I was thinking about what color to paint the front door and when I considered the different ways I like to trick it out for the seasons,

a Hawkeye theme did come to mind...

and may have had more than a little influence on my final color choice.

I'm one of those people who like to change out the "door candy" on the front door with the seasons.

Some of you may be thinking fall when I say seasons and I will be getting to that one but first, and more importantly, it is FOOTBALL season.

There was so much I wanted to put in here but I had to edit most of it out.

The football had to be cut in half to make it fit.

Oh well, the cost of being fan fabulous. :)

The metal cone I've had for awhile.

It was a sad sight when I found it at TJ Maxx so I brought it home and gave it a bit of black and white paint love.

I like the black and white because it works with almost everything and every season.

I like the cone shape because it is easy to switch out without having to store a bunch of containers and wreaths.

Here is an arrangement for an Academy Awards party.

 

This is how it looked for Valentines

 

and again with a summer vibe.

 

I don't always use the cone. 

This past spring I used this green umbrella.

 

I definitely do have a bad case of yellow door love though,

especially now that I can rock it with Hawkeye Black and Gold.

 

 
 

Go Hawks!

Enjoy your weekend.

I hope your team wins ...

unless that team is playing the Iowa Hawkeyes.  

XOXO,

P
 

 Linking up at The Inspired Room 3rd Annual Fall Nesting Party and these fun parties too.
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Springing Into Summer - June Door Candy

I'm having a lot of fun with my newly painted yellow door.

I was hesitant for awhile to paint it this color because I wondered what my door candy would look like on yellow.

Yellow has been a lot easier to work with that I would have thought.

I can't wait until fall and I can do a whole Iowa Hawkeye number.

 
 

I started with this for spring.

but tulip time has passed so I changed it up for summer.

I might need another palm type leaf or whatever that is.

I never was good with plants ... real or pretend.

I am partying today with BNOTP's Met Monday party. She always gets some of my favorite contributors. She knows how to throw a great party. :)

One more view for good measure.

XOXO,

P  

 

Umbrella Door Candy

Earlier this week I wrote a check list post of my "hope to to do's" for a bridal shower I will be co-hosting at the end of this month.

This was one of the first things on my list.

Loved it.

I found the green umbrella at Target. 

I was on a roll.

I love the pink here but our colors for the shower are orange so I bought as many orange tulips as I could find and them popped them with pink.

I was hoping to find or make some bigger eggs like those in my inspiration picture but so far all I have found were some small brown ones at Michael's.

So I bought them and painted them blue.

 

I started assembling.

 

In the end, I didn't use the styrofoam. It was just too bulky. 

The flowers nestle well within the umbrella spokes.

I think they will be okay that way.

I found some other tulips in my collection. 

I like to use tulips and other single stem flowers as tie- ons  when I wrap girly gifts.

Somehow, though, these variegated numbers were too much.

All Wrong

So I pulled everything out and started over.

There is an art to flower arranging.

Note to self, maybe take a class or You Tube it next time.

I like it better now after a bit of editing.

I think I need one more bright orange tulip.

Better

These pics of my door candy were taken while the umbrella is hanging from the inside of the door. It will ultimately go on the outside of the front door ... after I get the door repainted. Which is the second thing on my to do list.

I also went and looked at paint chips today and as of this moment I am going with Yellow Rain Coat from Benjamin Moore. Don't you just love that name?

I confess, if I don't like the name, I won't go with that color.

Our house is a white two story with black shutters but I'd like to see the shutters painted a charcoal grey. Maybe we can get to that yet this summer.

So check make door candy off my list.

Next up, the door.

X0X0

P  
  

Linking up this post with Along for the Ride  Friday Fun Finds It's A Hodgepodge Life  Under the Table and Dreaming and Week End Wrap Up  Follow me there for some fab creativity.
 
 

Winter Door Candy

I live in one of those fly over states where autumn is a distant memory and spring is still weeks away. After Valentines I am always left wondering what to put on the front door. In some parts of the country I'm sure you are already thinking Easter but really, flowers seem a bit ridiculous when the view out my door looks like this.

 

Not to mention I still have a Christmas wreath hanging on the chimney on the front of the house. Please understand that this has been one of those crazy icy snowmageddon winters and we haven't been able to get the ladder out safely to take it down. Even so I do feel pretty WT.

So this is my winter arrangement. It is a bit of a yawn and I hope it doesn't look too left over Christmas. 

 

I painted the cone for one of my Traveling Door shows and then decided I couldn't part with it. What I like about it is it is so easy to change out because just about anything will go with black and white. 

Last year for the Academy Awards I added a little movie flair. 

 

In the summer it sported a whimsical floral affair.

 

In the fall I filled it with orange and gold leaves and during Christmas it was brimming with funky greenery but in the dead of winter I am a bit stumped to come up with something fresh and original. What do you put on your door this time of year? Please, inspire me.

xoxo

P

 
 

 

Pillow of the Week #4 Valentine Decor

Valentine decor doesn't have to be limited to just reds and pinks. These whimsical heart shaped pillows could make your heart skip a beat all year long. One, two or all three and you can find them here.

If you are dressing you home for love this week then you might also want to check out this clever idea for your front door that I saw on Garden Web.

 

They just took two melamine plates from Target and some ribbon and a hanger. What I like about a decoration like this is that it doesn't take up a lot of storage room when Valentines is over. Next year you could reuse it the same way or place the plates on window ledges or book shelves for a splash of holiday fun.

I didn't hang my altered art door candy on the front door. It found a home on an interior door but I did tweak the winter arrangement on my entrance door with a bit of Valentine flair. 

 

I just added some scrapbook paper to these metal hearts that I cut out from a project we did in my mom's kitchen that I will write about soon. I attached straightened wire hangers to the hearts and tied on various lengths of ribbon to the base of each heart. The LOVE heart is actually from a box of stationery that caught my eye because of the black and white graphics but you could replicate this with chipboard letters or stencils or some other decoration all together.

PS. My door is screaming for a new coat of paint and I am ready to change it out... another future post. I will probably be heading back to Amanda's Decorating Dilemmas but I would heart your suggestions for a door color to dazzle this big old white house.

One more thing - I am linking up with The Inspired Room a blog I have followed for several months now. She has a fun blog party of Inspirations of the week. I have never participated before but I thought that the door candy I saw on Garden Web prompted me to take action with my own front door. I guess that qualifies as an inspiration. Check out other inspirations of the week at The Inspired Room by clicking here.

 

 

Valentine Door Candy

Happy February! We all know what that means. Not only did we survive January but we can finally bust out our Valentine decor. What better way to greet guests to your home than a little Valentine door candy .... literally.

 

I made this front door greeting out of box of Valentine chocolates - after I had, of course, finished off the candy. Wonder why I'm not dropping any weight? Hmmmm? Next I covered the front of the box with scrapbook paper and then added various embellishment like chipboard numbers, metal tag letters, and an earring. The options are limitless. In case you were wondering, I found the word love at the dollar aisle at Michael's and it really was only a dollar.

I wrapped the box with ribbon and tied it and various other ribbons at the bottom.

 

We had purchased a new coffee pot this weekend so I took the corrugated cardboard out of the box it came in and cut out some wings, drew a few feathery touches, hit them with a bit of metallic white paint and Voila! A follow your heart Valentine heart to express your own unique take on a fun holiday.
 

P.S. This was my 101st post. Woo Hoo for me.

OSCAR NIGHT

    

It was Slumdog's night. I read that last summer this movie was almost sent straight to DVD but lucky for us it got the recognition it appears to deserve. 

All in all I think this was one of the better Oscar Ceremonies. The big dance numbers and the nod to musicals was really spectacular. I've always been a push over for big productions. Conversely though, the presentation of the best actor and best actress awards by previous winners was simple and much more meaningful that the two minute trailers and elaborate set ups we have seen in years past. The Tina Fey and Steve Martin duo was great fun. Their timing was perfect. They are really good together. Maybe they should be co-hosts next year?

It was a quiet night at home for us with just a couple of friends but I thought it would be fun to "set the stage" so with a little help from my printer I came up with a little something something for the front door and decorated some cylinder candles with this year's best picture nominees.

Then I always dress Puck, the statue that Mike gave me for Christmas several years back, for any party or event.  Hmmmm.... idea for future post - the many looks of Puck.

     

   

( sorry Lynnie, I got you mid-blink.)