I haven’t talked about vignettes in a while—but that doesn’t mean I’ve given up using them! I talked about how to make a vignette in my post, Vignettes: Tell Me A Story, and that’s great for getting you started, but are you overlooking great places to use a vignette? Are there certain things cluttering up your area that could look cute and be functional by making them into a vignette? I bet there is! Here are a few ideas for how to create `a vignette in any room of your home to help elevate your everyday!
A few reminders:
When making a vignette, keep these few simple rules of thumb in mind:
· Use an odd number of items;
· Vary height;
· Vary texture;
· Use something with hard lines, something with soft lines, something with organic lines; and
· Add one item that is a little bigger and more of a wow piece to anchor your vignette.
Kitchen
There are things just about all of us have in our kitchens—I am going to take a gamble that you have these things too: a paper towel holder, hand soap (and probably lotion too), dish soap, salt and pepper, and a trivet. You may have more items, perhaps you have a few less. Regardless, how do you have them displayed? Instead of having your soaps just sitting on the counter, you could arrange them on a pretty tray near the sink; your most used spices and kitchen gadgets can be gathered on a tray; you can hide unsightly necessities like twist ties, rubber bands and matches in a cute pitcher.
Here are a few more ideas of things to include in a kitchen vignette:
· An herb plant;
· A bowl of fruit or veggies;
· A wooden cutting board;
· Spices or tea in a unique jar or tin; and
· Pour-over-coffee or French press coffee maker.
Bathrooms
I always say everyone is blessed with at least one really good idea in their life. Here is mine: add a cloth napkin to where you keep your hand soap and lotion so that you can tidy up any water spots around the sink. This looks cute and keep your bathroom sink tidy too!
For a bathroom vignette try adding:
· A candle;
· A small plant; and
· A diffuser, if you have room.
Bedroom
We all have nightstands. How you style that nightstand can be a vignette as well! You can use a tray to coral everything, or if you are always overflowing with books that you will read next, you can use the books themselves as a vignette.
I used to have a large picture on my nightstand, but then my stack of soon-to-be-read books got so high I couldn’t see the picture anymore! I decided to flip things and use my stack of books as I would use a picture to give my nightstand some height and interest, and let’s be honest—that stack of books is ever rotating and will never completely disappear!
Some other ideas for nightstand vignettes:
· A lamp;
· A small box or dish to keep little necessities in;
· An alarm clock;
· A picture; and
· Flowers or a small plant.
Living Rooms
Anything and everything works great for a vignette in living rooms! If you have a coffee table, books are great—and typically the bigger the better for coffee table styling! There are many options for where to create a vignette in this room; you may have a TV on or above a console table; the console table is a great place for short, linear vignette styling—think of a small tray on a short stack of books and maybe just one tall vase off to the side with a few feathers, decorative twigs or greenery—dried or fresh! (Click here to see my post on How to use dried flowers in decor)
For these, keep the follow items in mind when creating a vignette:
· A lamp;
· Books;
· A large candle or lantern;
· Something natural or quirky such as driftwood, or deer sheds (antlers);
· A random but interesting antique item;
· A family photo to add a personal touch;
· A vase with flowers—real, dried or faux; and
· A box to keep odds and ends in or to hide the TV remote. (You might leave a sticky note so your husband can find the remote, unless that his punishment for skipping chores last weekend—up to you!
Dining Room
The centerpiece is usually the vignette we think of when it comes to the dining room. I don’t know about you but I tend to find that making a centerpiece is one of the tougher vignettes that I create. My table is narrow so there isn’t a whole lot of room for a big centerpiece. My standby centerpiece is seven candlesticks displayed in a shallow wood box that acts as a platform. Then I switch out these items seasonally.
What are some of my favorite elements to incorporate into my centerpiece?
· Candles/candlesticks;
· Dried flowers;
· Twine balls;
· Pinecones; and
· Moss Balls
Seasonally I love to add:
· Faux eggs at spring;
· Dried flowers in summer;
· Pumpkins in fall; and
· Ornaments and evergreens for Christmas.
I hope this helps inspire you to get vignette-ing! Vignettes are one of the easiest ways to add style and up-level your décor. Happy decorating!
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Do you read more ‘by author’ or ‘by genre?’ I have bounced all around in my reading life; sometimes I have an author that I simply can’t get enough of, other times I get stuck in a certain genre and can’t get enough of it and I pay no attention to the author. However, I have had a long standing favorite author since I became more of an avid reader around the age of 12. That author is Ann Rinaldi.
I have deeply enjoyed every book I have ever read from this noted historical fiction author, predominately for young adults, but I remembered Ms. Rinaldi’s books having a certain depth to them that adults would benefit from reading too. I wondered if I would love them now as an adult, or were they more juvenile than I had been aware of at the time. I was missing a few of the stories as well as desiring a refresher of the history that is portrayed in them, so I went back to reread a few. I still loved them! It is my opinion that these historical fiction books have a depth of concept to them that few young adult books contain today. In fact, I would only label these books young adult in that the main characters tend to be young women. The writing and themes are still very enjoyable for adults as well!
I have been in love with Ann Rinaldi’s books now for well over a decade and I decided it was time to share a few of my favorites with you.
Time Enough for Drums
So far this book still ranks as my very favorite. This is a story of 15 year old Jemmima, during the American Revolution. She is a staunch Whig, and she can’t believe that her father would employ John, a Tory, as her tutor . . . until she begins to put the pieces together that John may not be exactly what she thought and may, in fact, be a spy. . . . Ann Rinaldi weaves together all of my favorite classic elements in this book: revolutionary war history, spies, romance, and tough decisions which makes for a very intriguing read.
A Break With Charity
A Break With Charity is a story of the Salem Witch Trials with which I have always had a fascination. This is a mystery that remains unsolved to this day. What was behind the girls who were acting out in Salem Village all those years ago? Were they demon possessed? Had they eaten infected wheat that caused them to hallucinate? Or was something even more sinister going on among the townspeople? Susanna English knows something about this circle of girls—they aren’t what they say they are—but how could she possibly come forward to expose them when it could endanger herself and possibly her family too? Will she endanger the people she loves more by staying silent?
An Acquaintance with Darkness
One of my other favorite history topics is the history of medicine. I find it fascinating how far we have come in the past 150 years. This book takes place in the wake of Lincoln’s assassination. Emily has just lost her mother and her father is already gone and she has been sent to live with her uncle, a predominant physician in Washington D.C. Emily is unaware of the full extent of her uncle’s medical duties. The country is in tumult in the wake of Lincoln’s assignation. Not only is the country and city filled with strife over the end of the Civil War, but now the president has been shot. One night when she goes to visit her mother’s grave she happens upon two grave robbers—robbers that she scares off and who jumps out from behind a nearby grave? . . . Emily’s uncle! Emily is very confused, to say the least! What reason could her uncle have for being there?
Come Juneteenth
Many people are not even aware of what Juneteenth was—the date of June 19th when those held in slavery in Texas finally heard of the Emancipation Proclamation which had set them free over 6 months earlier. This books takes a very close look at slavery through the lens of how a young enslaved girl, Sis Goose as she is known, views herself and her self-worth, especially when compared with her friend, the plantation owner’s daughter. This book packs a bit of a punch and for that reason I am not sure I would recommend it for young readers. It is a rather heavy story and I remember it really sticking with me after I finished reading it. I still remember parts of the book in detail over a decade later—what does that say about it??
Wolf by the Ears
Wolf by the Ears is perhaps Rinaldi’s best known work. This is a story of Harriet Hemings, one of Thomas Jefferson’s slaves, long supposed to have been one of the children between Jefferson and his slave, Sally Hemings. Harriet wrestles with the desire to know whether she is really a daughter of this man, a man who is opposed to slavery in theory, but who feels that “Slavery in America is like taking a wolf by the ears, you can neither hold it, nor safely let it go.” One thing young Harriet knows though, is that her skin is light, very light—light enough that she could pass for white. If she was offered this chance of freedom would she take it? To take it would mean a life of freedom, but it would also mean turning her back on her heritage and her culture, not to mention never seeing her family again. Could she take this leap? Should she?
Ann Rinaldi is a prolific author and there are so many books that I could recommend but I hope this gives you a jumping off point to check out some of her books and see for yourself if you are a fan!
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Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Matthew 11:28-29
Four years ago we moved into our house. We had fallen in love with the beautiful views from this house, the nice outside fireplace area, and the fruit trees! Not just fruit trees, but blueberry bushes and 2 small rows of grapevines. Instantly the want-to-be-farm girl in me came out- we could grow our own food! Visions of canning fruit from our fruit trees, making blueberry jam from our bushes, and drying apple slices from our apple trees ran through my head. We thought of all that but, oh innocent little first time homeowners that we were, we did not know just how much work a property like this would entail…
Everything was already a little overgrown when we moved into our new home, so I put pruning- everything- on the to-do list. I had a friend some show me how to prune everything correctly and that spring we made a slight dent in the pruning, we picked a few blueberries and I canned a few pears but then….Life got very busy, our jobs became more demanding and pruning of the fruit trees and grapevines fell to the bottom of our priority list- and stayed there.
Next thing you know I looked out our back window one late winter day and realized that 2 of the wooden supports to hold the grapevines upright had fallen. I announced the happy news of one new project- fixing the grapevine supports- to my husband and as soon as the weather warmed up we were out there pounding stakes into the ground that we could drill to adjoin to the wooden grapevine posts to keep them upright. That worked great all through spring and into summer- until I looked out and saw that the other section of wooden posts (that had not been reinforced) had fallen down and also needed to be reinforced. We went out to fix up our grapevines and I took a good look at them. I realized what the problem was.
Our grapevines were massive at this point; the vines are not supposed to be the massive colossus that had become. The grapevines had grown much too large for the wire and wooden posts they were supported by. The posts were being asked to carry a load that they were never intended to carry.
I’m sure when the previous owners planted the grapevines they had planned, and from all appearances, mostly had kept up with the trimming back of the grapevine every year. But we hadn’t. New growth, upon new growth had added to the weight and size of the vines. Thus our grapevine supports found themselves collapsing under the weight of such a heavy load. Have you ever been in the same position?
Have you found yourself carrying more weight than you were ever meant to carry? One of my favorite hymns is “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” and a line from that song is:
“Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.”
How many times in our lives have we found ourselves buckling under the weight of everything we decided to carry; but were never meant to carry on our own. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” The King James Version says, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Come to me. You who are weary. Who are heavy laden. And I will give you rest. Jesus knew we would try to take on more than we should, and that we would need to stop and refocus on Him.
I think sometimes we take on more and more, pile our plate higher with things to do, and then when trouble strikes we buckle and ask God why has He given us all this to bear, instead of going to Him and asking, if He will help us to bear what He meant for us to bear, and to release the things that were never ours to carry. We sometimes forget to ask Him to show us rest.
I went at those grapevines that day and started hacking back the overgrown parts. There is still more that will need done, and it will take some time to get the grapevines back into the shape that they were meant to be in. The same may be true from us. It may take time to get some of the extra things off our todo list. It may take practice remembering to take our cares to God, and years of learning to find rest in Him. But just like it will be worth it when my grapevines finally start bearing good fruit because they only only have a few vines to put their energy into now, so your fruit will be that much sweeter when you are able bear that fruit from a place of joy and peace rather than bitterness from over laden load.
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After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return home to his family. And Johnathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Johnathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
1 Samuel 18:1-4
It had been an exhausting Saturday. We had entertained so Saturday had been filled beforehand with cleaning and cooking, and afterwards with dishes and tidying up once our guests left. I like to host so that normally wouldn’t stress me out, but I had so many loose ends with work that I had wanted to tie up before our company came over but, of course, I hadn’t, and it was weighing on me. This was in the middle of what had been a long and exhausting season.
It had been a season of constant setbacks; we’d feel like we were making progress, and then just as quickly we’d end up right back where we had started. It wasn’t that anything tragic had happened—it wasn’t a season marked with great loss, but it was one filled with endless frustration. It was one of those season where the car died, the heating system needed replaced (right as the cold weather arrives) and the day-in-and-day-out seemed so mundane that I just want to scream.
This particular Sunday afternoon I was supposed to go over to a friend’s house after church for an hour or two—not for long—and I found myself not wanting to go. How was I going to be any fun to be around when I felt like this? I should cancel, I thought, but no, I made a commitment. I went around and around about it. Finally I decided to go. I put on a smile and went. We started talking and before long, my smile faltered…
I couldn’t keep my emotions hidden. Everything was okay so why was I being so emotional? I apologized as I am not usually overly emotional. My friend did the best thing she could do—she gave me a chocolate chip pumpkin muffin! (What situation doesn’t look better after a muffin?) And she prayed with me. Then we just talked; about nothing and everything. A while later I left feeling more restored and ready to go than I had felt in a long time.
I probably wasn’t the most fun to be around that day. A true friend is there anyway. I think we often don’t value friendships enough. We place great importance on spending time with family. We spend a lot of time getting our to-do list done. We place our careers on pedestals. But friends? We’ll squeeze them in when we can. But God created friendship too.
Friends are for helping us get through life. They are for far more than just doing something fun on the weekends. Look at the deep friendship of David and Jonathan in the Bible. Jonathan was loyal and faithful and jeopardized everything for David. Jonathan knew David would ultimately take the throne that he was in line to inherit. Talk about a strong and true friendship! Do you have friends like that in your life? Are you a friend like that to anyone? Typically, we only have a handful of friends like this throughout a lifetime, if we are lucky. Honestly though, we often don’t take the risk of being vulnerable with our friends. It’s scary! Every time we pass on being vulnerable and honest with our close friends, we miss the chance to deepen our relationship.
Yes, we do need to use discernment with whom we open up to. I’m not saying to unload on your friends every chance you get, but if you have a true friend, someone who is very close to you—are you being authentic with them? Are you providing the safety and security they need to open up to you? Remember, friendship isn’t just fluff. It is something God created for our benefit, so never underestimate what the comfort of a friend can do—for David it changed not only his life but also an empire.
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I love decorating for fall and one of my favorite things is to create a fall centerpiece for my table. In fact, I think the centerpiece was what made me really fall in love with fall decorating. There are so many options when it comes to creating a fall centerpiece! There is something to be said about not reinventing the wheel but rather to simply tweak existing decor by adding seasonal touches (post on that coming soon). It is also true that many times we get, well . . . a little lazy. Now I’m not judging—I’ve done it too! We take one look at our fall decor and think either: (a) I have nothing good, or (b) I have nothing and I need to go shopping! (My closet has that same problem.) Just as we are told to cure our closet woes by getting creative and trying to see how many outfits we can come up with just a handful of clothing items, so too can we apply this principle to our decor! (See my post about how to create a decor capsule here)
This is my fall centerpiece from last year. If you have been reading this blog for any length of time, you will no doubt have seen pictures of my centerpiece before and may recognize that the bones of my centerpiece are the same. That’s great! However, there are many other centerpiece options that I could utilize to keep things fresh and exciting with decor I already own.
Play With What You Already Own
I have a bunch of amber bottles (flea market anyone?) and I have several plain white candles. This is where the power of a collection comes in. Group your collection together for maximum impact. Or, if you are like me and your collection is small, group two collections together to create repetition which in turn creates cohesiveness and impact.
Try Going Simple
Here’s a centerpiece idea if I want to go super simple with my decor. Frequently we over complicate things: in life, at work, and in our decorating. But it doesn’t have to be! Combine a few of your favorite elements, in this case, the green pumpkins and the greenery sticking out from beneath are a few of my favorite elements. You create a little vignette out of them, and then walk away. Come back 15 minutes later and pay attention to your first reaction—you just might love it!
Vary Heights
In this centerpiece, I created a base using a charger; then I added the little bird on the candle stand as the tallest element; next, the lantern as a medium level, and the pumpkin as the lowest level. Lastly, I added some filler (in this case the pinecones) to round out the centerpiece and that brings the decor together!
Incorporate a Trend
I’m not a huge trend follower for the primarily reason that I want my decor to be pretty timeless. I don’t want to spend a lot of money and time buying things that will be outdated in a few years. However, incorporating trends in small ways can be inexpensive and still fun! This year we are seeing a lot of blue and green pumpkins (see my post 2021 fall decorating inspiration here for more of this year’s trends), so if you like those color and already have them in your home, play with this trend. Purchasing a few small pumpkins and adding them to your centerpiece is a great way to dip your toes in the waters of what is trending and if you end up getting sick of them at the end of this year—there is always spray paint!
Go Big
I tend to keep my decor pretty minimal in spring and summer, which means by the time fall comes around, I am absolutely itching to pull out all the decorations! Instead of keeping your centerpiece confined to a tray or charger, try splaying it over a table runner so it has a cascading effect. In this photo, I decided to repeat the wheat element that is sticking out of the top of the bottles and around the bottom edges. Repeating an element like this brings cohesiveness to your design and is a way to create a perimeter in a free flowing centerpiece like this one.
So, here you go! Here are six different fall centerpiece ideas where I was able to use elements that I already own. While you may not have as many decor elements (my dad would refer to these decor elements as “junk”), I am willing to bet that you have more options than you think! So pull it all out, forget how you’ve used the items in the past, and just play! Happy decorating!
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