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Denise Breimeir
Christmas will be here before we know it! Now is the perfect time to check out one of the newest and best Christmas events in the Indianapolis area, the Carmel Christkindlmarkt, celebrating its second year. The outdoor German Christmas market is open Wednesdays through Sundays through Christmas Eve, with no admission charge and free parking available right next to the market in the Palladium Center for the Performing Arts’ parking garage. Check out my post from last year to learn more about the heritage of German Christmas Markets and read about my visit to the inaugural Carmel Christkindlmarkt…
Today’s fall craft tutorial is brought to you courtesy of my crafty Mom. She showed me the two pretty pumpkins pictured above she had made and I was wowed by how she had turned a simple foam pumpkin from the dollar store into a beautiful fall decoration, using mostly supplies she already had on hand. I told her she’d have to show me how to make one, so we set up a mother-daughter craft day last weekend to make her third pumpkin and my first. These are really fun to make (as long as you…
There’s a chill in the air and temperatures are falling faster than the leaves! It was inevitable our long stretch of summer-like weather would come to an end. It is November after all, but a mostly unseasonably warm fall prompted me to decorate another fairy garden last month. I realized my Fourth of July fairy garden was still on my front porch and that I should have transformed it for fall. It seemed like a good idea to give it a makeover to match my pumpkins, mums, and wreath on my porch. After all, it was still 80…
Halloween is nearly here! This time of year is filled with lots of sweet treats, and today I’m sharing one that makes a cute kitchen centerpiece: a Halloween themed gingerbread house. I love decorating gingerbread cookies and houses, but I’ve only made them at Christmas time until now. In recent years I’ve noticed that gingerbread kits are available for several holidays throughout the year. My local Meijer store had this gingerbread house kit made by Wilton, along with a whole section of Halloween themed candy decorations to add to baked goods and gingerbread houses. I’ve also…
Today I’m sharing some feline flair that’s got me in the Howl-oween spirit. The last several fall seasons I’ve decorated my mantel for autumn or Thanksgiving, but this fall I really wanted to have a Halloween themed mantel. I was going for a retro vibe, but I don’t have any truly vintage Halloween decorations. I was inspired by the vintage Halloween décor I saw in an article featuring this home last year. (Check out photos 3, 8, 11, 12 and 26 especially; I love how she decorated her shelves.) I noticed black cats are…
For years I’ve been searching for the perfect pumpkin patch. A scenic spot, not too crowded, with a large variety of pumpkins for sale at reasonable prices. The pumpkin patches in and around Indianapolis are geared more towards kids’ activities – like bounce houses, slingshots, and tire climbs – than pumpkin picking. They can be crowded on the weekends and many charge for admission, parking, and activities. Usually I end up getting my pumpkins in Indianapolis at a nice farmer’s market which has a large variety of every kind of pumpkin imaginable. But it’s a little pricy…
October is in full swing and it will be Halloween before we know it! I’m running behind on my Halloween decorating, and I’m determined to get it finished by next week before it’s too late. But today I’m sharing one Halloween décor project I finished early back in August. Last fall I made a Halloween indoor fairy garden which was inspired by a pumpkin shaped base my mom gave me. I enjoyed it so much that I’m displaying it again this year, and adding a Halloween indoor gnome garden to…
October 6 UPDATE! We have a winner! Rebekah Khoury won the set of three handmade birthday cards! Thank you to everyone who entered! *** The blogoversary celebration rolls on with a giveaway! It’s our first birthday and we’re handing out gifts! Win this set of three handmade birthday cards featuring a variety of cute critters. Each card in the set features animals, but they all have a different look. There’s a deer card made with fall colors and prints, a sloth card that has bright birthday colors, and a blush and gold fox card all included in the…
Hello fall friends! I hope that your autumn is off to a great start, full of pumpkin spice and everything nice. At my house, September means fall makeover time for my fairy gardens. I’ve enjoyed my summer containers since May, but by now they’re in need of some TLC to tame overgrowth and remove dead plants that didn’t survive our crazy summer weather, which alternated between hot dry spells and heavy rain. Many of my summer garden figures have faded from the sun or become buried in overgrowth over the past four months. And this year the…
Today marks Gnome Décor’s one year anniversary and we’re celebrating all week long! How has it been a year already?! I want to thank all of you for supporting and encouraging me over these past twelve months. I am so grateful for every blog post you’ve read, all of your comments here and on Instagram and Facebook, and every handmade item you’ve bought. Custom orders have been a lot of fun because they’ve challenged me to try new techniques, products and styles I may not have otherwise explored. Gnome Decor has become my favorite…
Colorful critters invaded Newfields museum and gardens this summer. Summer Wonderland: Spectacular Creatures featured giant animal sculptures created from recycled plastic by Cracking Art, an Italian art collective committed to addressing environmental issues like global warming, fossil fuels, and the importance of recycling. Each lightweight sculpture was fun and colorful, and could be touched by visitors – and even moved around by museum staff – but each also conveyed a serious message about the environment on its accompanying sign. The exhibit ran from June 1 through August 26, and although summer flew by faster than ever, mom and I managed to see…
One of my favorite summer events I look forward to every year is the Indiana State Fair. I like to go at least once a year with my mom. I take off work and we go on a weekday, when it’s easier to find parking and not as crowded. This year it turned out we went on a very busy day though! The second Tuesday of the fair set a new weekday attendance record. We chose the always popular $2 Tuesday ($2 admission, $2 food specials at every vendor, and $2 midway rides), plus lots of rain was forecast…
Papertrey Ink hosted a live crafting event in Cincinnati August 24-25 to go along with their annual online Stamp-a-Faire. I was really excited when I heard about the option to attend in person. The only other live event was held in 2011 for the first ever Stamp-a-Faire, before I knew about Papertrey Ink; I became a customer in 2015. I had so much fun participating in Stamp-a-Faire from home last year that I decided spur of the moment to attend the live event on May 20, the day it was announced and tickets…
August’s challenge hosted by the blog Where Creativity Meets C9 is Anything Goes. Since there wasn’t a set theme, I knew immediately that I wanted to make a unicorn card with the Concord & 9th Unicorn Awesomeness stamp set I hadn’t had a chance to craft with yet. My July challenge card was all about shiny things, and I’m still on a glitz kick. Lately, the more glitter the better! So I knew my unicorn would end up with some sparkle. By the way, black stars are still raining out of my die cut…
Summer is slipping by too quickly! I don’t like reminders of fall’s approach to creep into the summer months of July and August, yet the kids are heading back to school already, and fall decorations are out in craft stores. I like to extend summer – my favorite season – as long as possible, so today I’m sharing my fairy gardens I planted in May and have been enjoying ever since. There is still a lot of summer to look forward to – warm weather, late season garden blooms and the State Fair in…