Lonely Home

 

This could very well be a home in Eastern KY where I was born.

I love those mountains!

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

                                    Latin Flavours

                                                      with Yvette Marques Sharpnack

                                             Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

     Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican Holiday.  The celebration takes place on November 1 and is in connection with the Catholic holidays of All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day.  The  holiday focuses on gathering family and friends to pray and honor the memory of the departed.

     It is believed that on these days the gates of heaven open up and children that have passed come to visit on November 1, called Dia de los Angelitos (Day of the Little Angels).
                                                                    

 

On November 2, the gates open up again and adults come down to visit, this day is Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

 

 

Traditions include going to the graves of the deceased or building a home alter or small shrine.

 

 

Alters include photographs of the deceased, candles, flowers such as marigolds, fruits, papel picado (paper banners), food and drinks, toys and sweets for the returning souls of children, an for the adults, even tequila.  It is not expcted that the departed will actually consume the offerings, but rather "adsorbe" them.  The belief is that visiting souls may be hungry from their long journey and the food and drink is nourishment for their long journey back.  Afterward, the living enjoy the food and drink that is left on the alters as they tell stories of those being honored.

Dia de los Muertos is neither scary nor somber; it is jouous.

 

We will be celebrating the life of our deceased son, Jamie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

WhiteFaux Taxidermy

Just look at this beautiful deer.  We don't hunt but I always have wanted a deer head for my wall.  I could settle for this one!

 

 

Betty

 

 

Great Chandelier Decor

 

Love this idea.  May change mine tis year!

Remembering

Remembering...

    Highlighting Halloween in all it's glory, to the hauntingly magical side of this beloved holiday.  Delving into fond childhood memories, ideas and traditions we have com to know, love and share with family and friends.

     What is your favorite Halloween memory?

                                                                                       

 

Betty

Living & Loving

 

Dear friends,

 

As you know, I follow the seasons and currently, I'm posting spooky things.

At my magical holiday home, there's a little witch in every woman.

Pages are being turned and new chapters are beginning...

documenting change is something I have always enjoyed.

I hope that you will follow my blog,

as I love all your comments.

 

Please leave your Halloween comments!

 

xo Betty

 

 

GET YOUR BROOMS AND FLY ON OVER

 

Hello dear witches!

 

There's a little witch in every woman.

Dust off your spellbooks, grab your broom and fly on over.

Why don't we get on our brooms and head into the night sky.

It's a beautiful autumn night, lavender and rosemary

fills the air and somewhere in the distance

I smell a batch of fresh baked brownies.

 

Don't forget to visit me at my blog...seasonsinthecottage.blogspot.com

 

thank you to all of you for making this another magical day.

I'm looking forward to another one and

perhaps years after that.

 

Have a quiet night!

xoxo  Betty

NEW! Haunted Humpday Giveaway # 1

                                                            Haunted Humpday 
                                                                        October 
                                                                       

Hello & welcome to Haunted Humpday 

                                                                                     

VooDoo Doll

"Above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you,

because the greatest secrets are

always hidden in the most unlikely places.

Those who don't believe

in magic will never find it."

by~ Ronald Dahl

Have a wonderful magical week!!!

xoxo  Betty

belleayers@gmail.com

You can join in too if you like.

You can post

recipes

stories!

What ever you want in comments,

We want to enjoy your awesome spookiness!

XOXO  Betty

You are Invited to Fairy Day!

Fairy Day is a day for fairies, magic, and whishes come true.

For one day, put aside the cycnicism of the modern

world and embrace the possibilities of the unknown,

and believe in fairies. 

Enjoy the more genteel pace of the fairy.

Our imaginations are alive with peridoc night rides

through the countryside,

witnessed by the lucky few

staring out of misty windows

on a night seemingly burdened with insomnia.

Have a wonderful magical day!

INTRODUCING:  A Fall/Winter Fairy Shoe Challenge

When inspiration doesn't always

 come to you

maybe the best thing to do is give yourself a little nudge.

I  decided to do a fun challenge

this holiday season

and I would like to invite you to join me.

This Christmas Holiday shoe is just gorgeous...

To celebrate the fall/winter holiday season

and Fairy Day which

come in the summer,

I created a Fall/Winter Altered Fairy shoe CHALLENGE!

I love the fairy shoe idea seen at Frosted Petunias,

and liked her idea of using a real shoe,

crafted from worn recycled shoes.

You could even make a pair with colored sequins or something of your choice

to match your Christmas Ball gown.  So gorgeous!

Or, what about shoe Christmas tree ornaments!

These wee cuties would be very pretty in green, red, silver or gold.

Decorate your worn shoes with orange glitter for Halloween, red roses for Christmas,

or colorful beads or incorporate the shoes into a

Christmas or Halloween vignette.

These are only suggestions, of course.

There are plenty of images available online if you do a search.

********

Here are the rules...

*  I invite you to alter an actual shoe, slipper or Christmas tree ornament.

It can be a pump, wedge, flats, canvas, ballet or tennis shoe or

any shoe you no longer use.  You can also pick up a pair at the Good Will for about $3.  One of your kid's old shoes would work very well and baby shoes would be perfect.

*  You can alter one shoe or a pair and it can be purely decorative or

something you  or someone might really wear.

*  Use any material or medium you like to embellish and alter your shoe(s).

Paint, metal, jewelry, lace, glitter...whatever inspires you

to unleash your inner fairy!

*  You can create a shoe for a fairy, a shrine or vignette.  You can tell a story to go along with your shoe(s), or simply share photos.

*  Get the word out to all your fairy kin.

*  Be ready to share your fairy shoe(s) 

   so you can then come write about them.  Come put your story or comment under each in the comments area

Have a wonderful magical fairy holiday season!

xoxo  Betty

  ,

I'm looking forward to getting back into crafting again and being inspired by all of you.  I hope You'll all play along.

If you have any questions please feel free to email me.  belleayers@gmail.com

Christmas altered shoes will make super gifts, too!

Guilded Harvest Placecard

This little beauty, guilded harvest place card, inspiration for your Halloween tablescape came from cupcakesandcashmere.blogspot.com.

                                                                    

 

What you will need for this lovely craft:

Spray adhesive (spray on adhesive will also work),

mini pumpkins, gold leafing, painters tape,

newspaper, and a sponge brush.

Pink Saturday

What do you like made with pumpkin?

What do you like made with pumpkin?

DIY Ring Bracelet

     This beautiful project was found on Pinterest by Rachel
     at rachelsnest.blogspot.com
 The perfect way to get some use of your extra rings.  Most of us have too large or too small rings in our jewelry chests.  Wish I had found this idea a few years ago when I searched for a good idea to make a bracelet for myself.  Now, I can make it.

 

Find all of these supplies at your local craft store, Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or Walmart's craft section.  I always bought mine at Walmart, when I was changing all my earrings to fishhook so they would be easier to put on.

 

 

Would try this with your own rings? 

We want to see yours when completed!

 

xo Betty

 

Lovely Fall Bench

This lovely fall greetings bench is from...  ourhomeawayfromhome.blogspot.com

For The Cure

For the cure arrangement by
pennysvintagehome.blogspot.com

A blog you must see!!!  Just beautiful!

Nesting

Dear Family & Friends,

     I've always loved the creative aspect of feathering my nest.  But more importantly, my goal is to create a comfortable and cozy atmosphere for my family and friends.  Like most people my feathering is done on a budget.

     I'm always re-decorating (over and over again), so what you see today is probably not what you'll see next week!  Many things are projects that my hubby and I work on together.

     So welcome to my home!  Come on in and relax a while.  We live in a three bedroom ranch which is very common in our neighborhood.

     Below is some of the pics I've taken of our sunporch.  I hope you enjoy them and I will be posting more pics of our home soon!

                                                              xo  xo  Betty

Favorite place, our sunporch and our shih tzu, Chad

Vintage Chandelier with faux apples on top has

the lighted round base, copper top and four

hanging lights with pink trim glass globes.

My thrifty find at a flea market for $60 and

all lights work.  Just beautiful.

We put one of our hutches on the sunporch for

seasonal decorating.  Two turkey plates on top

shelf from TJ MAXX couple years ago.

All pumpkins from Walmart and

three wheat design cannisters $3 each, thrifty find.

bought 11 of them. 

 

The cooler weather has me organizing the dining  room and kitchen and getting ready for cozy days ahead.  I gained some storage space with the recent changes in my kitchen, and so my cupboard s a little less loaded down, and is easier to change up for the holidays.  I like the idea of changing vignettes so this hutch will get reordered often.  It always seems to take a big sigh when it does!

  

Chad, our 7 mo. old shih Tzu,such a baby!

White pumpkin...these are really pretty in a fall

arrangement, eventhough I didn't think they would be

Rats came from Dollar Tree.  They're cute!

One corner of our sunporch. Beautiful view and

such a cozy place.  Love sitting out here listening

to the rain!

Door from sunporch into the kitchen.  Hanging

basket of sunflowers from Walmart $10, this year.

I'm beginning to like these.

 

Hope you enjoyed your tour of fall & Halloween.

Stay tuned for an inside look at the house!

 

Hope you're having a cozy day!

 

xoxo  Betty

 

 

Isn't this just beautiful?

Isn't this just beautiful?

Potting shed...inspiration for fall!  Just lovely!

Cupboard on my sunporch

Cupboard on my sunporch...

 

The two turkey plates came from TJ MAX two years ago,

pumpkin wire basket  & white pumpkin from Walmart,

three wheat design cannisters from thrift store $3 each so

I bought all eleven of them.  Couldn't pass up that great price.

The cupboard, also thrifty find for $75.

 

xo  Betty

 

Spice Up Your Home!

With autumn leaves falling, I love to fill our home with warm and spicy scents of hazelnut, cinnamon & apple.  It reminds me of nights around the crackling fire, my favorite cozy sweaters and preparing for those holidays just around the corner.  Bring back all these memories with just the light of a match.  And make spicy citrus cider and your favorite cookies.
Enjoy!

Autumn

                                             It's Fall Ya'll...October 4th already!
                                             Time to bring out the fall & Halloween
                                             decorations in our Kentucky home!
                                             "Happy Fall" & October to all our visitors!

                                                                           xo  Betty

Vintage Salt & Pepper Shakers

 

These lovely vintage salt & pepper shakers

are shown at:  penny-pennysfavorites.blogspot.com

 

Could not miss bringing them over to show you!

I have not seen others like these.

 

If you collect vintage salt & pepper shakers,

please post them on here, seasonsinthecottage.blogspot.com

 

xo Betty

Something Wicked This Way Comes

 

I'm beginning to think my house (this one isn't mine)  may be haunted.

Strange things happen here.

Like with my computer.  My blog.  Things get erased.

Feeds that are merely being redirected get lost in cyberland.

 

More frightening  than that are the spirits that come during the night.

Makes you wonder if you really are awake.  The first, a little boy looking terribly in need of help.  Like maybe he had drown or been in a car wreck.  That was so real I was afraid to sleep in our bedroom.  The last, was night-before-last, a tall man and a shorter woman were standing by my side of the bed.  I turned to wake my husband and when I looked back around, they were gone. This has been going on since we've lived here for two months.  At first I wanted to move but that is just not possible.  AS this happens, I will probably tell you about it.  You are certainly welcome to tell your experience in comments below each post.

 

Have a safe nights sleep,

Betty

 

Strange happening this week...

One day this week our electric & phone suddenly went off on a sunny day.

We checked the electric meter...and even though it was RUNNING,

we wanted to know what had happened, so we drove down to the electric company to ask about it.  Everything was fine there.  When we got back home,

miracousley, (sp) the lights were back on!  We thought and thought about it and couldn't figure it out!  Then, a few days later we were talking to our neighbor, he had bought this house for his mother but she lives in Florida.  In conversation, he said, "Mom passed away recently."

My thoughts started churning and I said, "Duke, that was your mother who turned our lights off!"  Since the electric was still running although all lights and phone went out, what else can we think?

We bought a beautiful burlap floral wreath to hang on the sunporch in her memory, a neutral arrangement, so it can remain there.  His mom is the one that had the sunporch added to the house!  And it's our favorite part of the house, as it was hers too!  We plan to decorate it seasonally each month.  At this time, it's fall & Halloween.

 

Let us know what you think?

 

Betty

 

 

Friday Feather Your Nest ~ Crafty Granddaughter

Friday feather your nest...

     My crafty granddaughter, Elizabeth made this gorgeous floral door-hanger for her momma, Angie.  Just beautiful and so heart warming for fall!

                                                                            

 

Thank you for sharing, Elizabeth.

Looking forward to more of your crafty ideas!

 

xo  Grandmother Betty

Looking for ideas and inspiration for fall?

Hello,

     Looking for ideas and inspiration for fall?  Come share YOUR projects, recipes, DIY, decor', tea parties, tablescapes and more, here at...Seasons in the Cottage!

 

Love re-decorating my cupboard.  Would

love to see yours, too!

 

xo  Betty

Musings of a cottage witch...

Join me for a Witche's tea party

under a Halloween moon!

 

A Domestic Housewife's Magical Pathway...

 

Hello my magical friends,

I hope you will enjoy our tea party!

 

Create your really magical posts and share them here.

 

Join me this busy All Hallows month.  I hope the tea parties will lend an extra touch of magic to your celebrations.