Botanic Bleu Market

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Fall Vignette Variation

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Pansies and pumpkins... 
Staples for creating fall vignettes...





Do your vignettes emerge in a smooth, continuous 
burst of creative energy? 
Mine don't. 

Before I was finished with my latest 
French Fall Vignette below, 



I started with this 
Fall Vignette Variation. 

Now, I really like this combination of items, 
especially the egret tin container of French violas 
with their happy purple faces. 


The tin makes me think of fall with its bare branches and muted colors. 


The white egret complements the white pumpkins, 
and the soft green background complements the green leaves 
of the French violas.


Plus the green background of the tin goes very well 
with the preserved boxwood bouquet. 


Yes, I like this combination, 
but ... 

when I spotted my French-wire basket, I knew it 
(1) looked more like Fall with its rusty finish and 
(2) would enhance the French Country theme of my home. 



So, in creating vignettes, I find it best 
to try more than one version. 

Which do you like better? 
The egret tin version or the French-wire basket version? 
❦
~~~~~~~~~~
Please join me at these inspiring sites...
MONDAY
Amaze Me Mondays @ Dwellings, the Heart of Your Home

TUESDAY
Be Inspired Friday @ Common Ground
Anything Blue Friday @ The Dedicated House
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

French Fall Vignette

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Creating vignettes is a passion
for home and decor bloggers. 

What sparks a vignette?
How do we create a vignette?
What brings a vignette to life?

How do we create compositions that are different,
that do not look like everyone else's?

How did this  
French Fall Vignette 
come together? 
   

What were the seeds that sparked this vignette?

In my previous series about creating vignettes,
I identified color as one of the key elements of any vignette.

For the past year, rooms decorated in whites and neutrals have captured my attention.
I think it began with all the beautiful white Christmas decorations
in many of the blogger home tours last Christmas.
So, I have been adding more and more white to my house.
White pumpkins, not orange, fit right into what I like now.


The little white pumpkins are inexpensive and
readily available at my local grocery stores.
Who has time or money to search for the rare, exotic, or difficult to find?


Once a seed of inspiration emerges,
my thoughts turn to how to create the vision.
Look around the house...

A box of French violas were sitting on the countertop
awaiting planting in pots on the deck.



Pansies and violas (a kind of pansy) are fall and winter plants in North Texas.
Just as daffodils are spring harbingers, pansies are fall harbingers.
For me, pansies are my fall flower of choice, not mums.
They grow and bloom all winter, even surviving a blanket of snow.
Hmmm...



Won't they look pretty in the house for a few days?
But, not in a brown cardboard box from the garden center!
Hmmm... again....
Maybe a woven basket, as I walk around looking at all the
baskets in my house.  No, too short or too full or too small...

Oh, yes...my new French basket...
A French-wire basket is the perfect height for the
unusually tall bedding pots.



The bright cheery purple and white faces complement the kitchen's soft blues
and the little white pumpkins.


After the spark, after the initial creation, what
brings a vignette to life?

The unexpected and unusual
in vignettes are the reasons 
a vignette breathes life and is memorable.


A little grey bird unexpectedly wearing a crown peeks around the corners. 



The white-washed carved wooden pedestal is reminiscent of
French architecture and adds both texture and height, 
crucial elements to vignette design. 



French country designs bring an unusual look to an 
American fall vignette, but complement my home's other 
French country elements, such as 
the Chenonceau Chateau print hanging 
on the white limestone wall in my kitchen. 

The spark - white pumpkins 
The creation - add pansies, French basket 
The life - unexpected crowned bird, unusual carved pedestal 
The difference - French designs
❦
~~~~~~~~~~
The unexpected!  
Life is full of unexpected events.  
Some pleasant, some not. 
My mom fell and broke her hip recently, and  
she lives alone in another state.  
My sister and I have spent time with her 
during her recovery that is progressing very well. 
Since Mother does not have internet service, 
there have not been any posts.  
It is nice to be home, to begin catching up, and 
to know my mom is also catching up.  
 ❦
~~~~~~~~
Please join me at these inspiring sites...
MONDAY
Amaze Me Mondays @ Dwellings, the Heart of Your Home

TUESDAY
Be Inspired Friday @ Common Ground
Anything Blue Friday @ The Dedicated House
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Colorful Foliage & Pumpkins

Thursday, October 3, 2013

All my life I have seen photos of 
New England
f a l l    f o l i a g e.
But nothing prepared me for 
the brilliance of the breathtaking views 
around every bend, 
each more spectacular than the last.

As brilliant as the photos are, including this one taken in New Hampshire, 
they do not capture the clarity of the colors seen in real time.  


The camera does not capture the true color. 
The photos show red-ish trees. 
BUT...
Red trees are truly red! 
Not red-ish, not almost red, not brownish red...


But brilliant RED! 


On edges of lakes and 


in back yards. 


Then there are the legendary covered bridges...
Which seemed to be around every bend in New Hampshire,  
nestled in stunning fall foliage... 

Our fall foliage leaf-peeping tour was not planned to include 
covered bridges, but there they were, 
unexpectedly popping up regularly just a 
short drive from the main road. 


Each day of our trip was more amazing than the previous one. 
Each day brought more and more smiles and laughter at seeing 
the beauty of nature and the unexpected.
 Another covered bridge...just ten minutes from us...
should we take the quick side trip to see this one? 
Why not? We're here! Let's go! 

Most of the bridges are still used to cross mountain rushing streams 
flanked by the ever-present colorful foliage. 
And we drove across them just for the fun of it! 
Turned around on the other side and 
crossed again, headed back on our original path... 


Other side-trips? 
For sure... to see pumpkin fields and pumpkin displays...

The color of the landscape is larger than life...
 and the size of the pumpkins in the area farmer's markets 
is also larger than life. 

  
Fall decorations at a well-known historical hotel
included the largest pumpkins to be found. 

That fuschia-clothed arm leaning on the mammoth pumpkin 
belongs to my sister and gives a good reference about how huge the 
pumpkin is.   




Fall foliage and huge pumpkins...
sure to bring smiles... 
❦
~~~~~~~~~~
Please join me at these inspiring sites...
MONDAY
Amaze Me Mondays @ Dwellings, the Heart of Your Home

TUESDAY
Be Inspired Friday @ Common Ground
Anything Blue Friday @ The Dedicated House
~~~~~~~~~~~~~