Celebrating Autumn

Last week we had autumnal weather. This is unusual for Maryland. Usually we go straight from hot and humid 90-degree summer days right to brisk 40-degree wintry days with very few "true" autumn days. This year has been different.

Maybe this is the reward for having over six feet of snow this past winter. Or the very early summer heat-waves and subsequent droughts. Whatever the reason, it's been wonderful. (Even if yesterday, today and tomorrow are in the 90's, it's supposed to break by Saturday.) There have been tons of annoying, pesky stink bugs. I could live without them.

Anyway, last week on a cooler day I was springing forward into autumn. I hung leaf garland around my front door, but I didn't put the mice up yet. (It was still summer a few days ago.)

Then I had my first attempt at subway art. I bought myself a Cricut on Black Friday last year for half price. I just started to use it. I'm not in love with vinyl itself, so I've been using the vinyl letters more or less as stencils.

I had some blank canvases here from a past, not completed project. And I used clear contact paper for the lettering. After all the letters were down, I sprayed a few coats of black spray paint, peeled up the lettering and voila!

Now, this was not my original idea. I first saw something somewhere recently. I can't remember where. (If I come across it again, I will give full credit for it.)

I wanted to add a few more words like goblin and ghoulie, but I ran out of room.

And a few years ago these little Boo decorations were everywhere. I think I bought the thrifted frames last year and never made them. Last week I painted them black, and printed the letters on white cardstock.

And then last week I made two non-Halloween-but-still-autumnal decorations. (The owls were previously thrifted. The two smaller ones are salt and pepper shakers.)

I googled images of leaves and quilted them. Well, the way that Lera "quilts." I use that term lightly. I quilted them onto pieces of felt and attached them to a piece of scrap linen.

And then a little patchwork and quilted pumpkin and attached it to a piece of burlap. (I ran out of linen.)

All I can say now is bring on the fall weather!