Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Mission: Cabin Decor Using Natural Elements

Warning- post with pictures 'o plenty!

Take five women.


(Mom, Leigh, Beth & Elaine)


(Sister Sledge in her first women's craft appearance)

Put them in a quaint cabin in the middle of the woods in Mentone, Alabama.



And let the creative juices flow! Or that was the plan, anyhow. To decorate the cabin for Christmas (and the expected arrival of my cousin and his family from Denmark!!-shout out!-)

But first we would need supplies! I cannot think of any better inspiration than in nature. And what better way to decorate a cabin in rustic charm, of that which is found in the elements outside the cabin doors.

So off we would go!


Up the road....

Down the road....


Through the woods


By the Brook



In search of those natural items. And for deer-who my daughter Sledge was determined to see.
We began collecting twigs, vines, pine cones, and berries-whatever struck our fancy!
And we cut

and gathered:


And stockpiled.


And took notice.....that we weren't alone!



But still, we didn't see any deer.
So we gathered our goods and piled them into the car.



We took our treasures back to the cabin to take stock in what we had found:

Reeds


Piles of Baby's Breath and Rabbit Tobacco
(It is my understanding that the rabbits do not actually smoke this)


Pyracantha


Poison Sumac (the risk one takes for beauty)


And wild holly, pinecones, and multiple sorts of pine:


It's not rocket science! Just whatever we came across that we liked.
And then we got down to the nitty gritty and began to work:



Sledge, in her very first girls crafting weekend-welcome to the club- grabbed up a pile of straw and crafted away.


All by herself...




Then she and my mom worked on a wreath.







Look out Martha Stewart. Not only is my mom holding a glue gun, she fires really well! Get a look at that wreath!

While she and Sledge worked on the wreath, and Elaine and Beth worked on the indoor boughs. I began to separate into two piles assorted pieces for outdoor pieces for the gate.


And I whipped this up in no time.



From there mom and I worked on the outdoor boughs for the window sashes so we could keep up with the gorgeous boughs that Elaine and Beth had worked up inside. Elaine fashioned the bows.




Sister Sledge made a pine cross for my cousin Molly's Memory Gate.

And I noticed an empty basket on the wall beside the door....it needed to be filled with greenery:



We left nothing without a "touch of spirit".
Even "Rudolph".


And look! Sister Sledge! His friends approve!
Sledge was so excited! We finally saw some deer-about 8 to be exact crossing a field at dusk.


The only thing missing was the snow.
And nature even provided that too!



Three to Five inches of snow.


I am certainly in the Christmas spirit now!
Come back tomorrow for a tour of the cabin. It's adorable!

18 comments:

catinanapron said...

color. me. jealous!!
wow. that IS CHRISTMAS. i need to stop flying through everything at breakneck speed and enjoy things!

Keetha Broyles said...

You girls are AMAZING!!! That place looks like something out of a magazine!!!

Mari said...

I love the cabin! And you've got it decorated so cute! It's amazing what you can do with things from nature.

"J" said...

Wow! Snow? God felt the need to help yall decorate!!!! What a GREAT time!!!! I love it!!!!!

Do yall rent that cabin or is it yalls family cabin?

Yall did such a GREAT job!!!!!

That is cool yall finally seen deer!!!!

I just love the snow!!!!!

I think Martha needs to watch out for all of you!!!!!! =)

Jerri junque said...

Calgon take me away, to the mountains for Christmas.....
This is my kind of decorating...love it!

Leigh of Tales from Bloggeritaville said...

Hey Cat! It was such fun!

Thanks Keetha! You so sweet!

Mari- It really is. The only $$ we spent was in ribbon we bought for a dollar and two dollars a role at the Dollar store. And jute/twine at walmart. The rest-mother nature. A real bargain!

Thank you J! The deer came out as we were leaving. Glad we saw them! It is my cousin Elaine's cabin. They spend alot of time there, they dont rent out to public. It is such a wonderful place of refuge-especially in the winter time.

Jerri Junque- I hear ya!

Polly & Steve said...

Oh Leigh, I love it, Mentone is a wonderful place, we lived in Valley Head for 3 years and we went to the Nippersink Lodge for lunch one day and got one of their Receipe Books, with what they fix for the people staying at the camp in the summer. I truly love natural....means so much.
Great Job!

Leigh of Tales from Bloggeritaville said...

Polly & Steve- Valley Head! Wow! My mom is from Collinsville. I will have to check into one of those books. Thanks!

Polly & Steve said...

This was in the 70's but if you can't find one I will be glad to make you a copy of mine. Collinsville...yeah! Years ago my Uncle Jack Mosteller built and owned the station at the collinsville exit. They lived in Collinsville for a while. Originally they lived in Crossville, and Aunt Laura Son still lives in Crossville, JT Keys. Small world huh! Maybe we should do lunch sometime....
Hugs

Lindsey said...

Ah, the creativeness is killing me! Come to my house NOW:) HA!

Glad y'all had a fabulous Thanksgiving:)

Valarie Lea said...

Oh my gosh that looks awesome!!!

Kristin - The Goat said...

What a great place! You all did a wonderful job decorating it all up. It looks beautiful. It was so nice that your daughter could be a part of it, too.

Frannie said...

what an amazing job!!! y'all rock!!!!!!!!

karen said...

Your decorations spun from nature are gorgeous! Perfect for a cabin - a fantastic CABIN! Looked like so much fun in the photos. Amazing women ... thanks for sharing.

j said...

Woo Hoo! Look at Sledge with the loppers! How cool that she helped you guys.

karen said...

I was so inspired by your family project that I went on a nature walk in the country on Sunday, gathered all types of goodies, and made a Christmas wreath! What do you think? http://karenmaehr.blogspot.com/2008/12/inspired.html
Thanks for the inspiration, Leigh!

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

Oh how I wish I had a cabin! I would love to have a place like that to decorate with "outdoor" decor! Love the wreaths and all the outdoor items used inside!

~ ~ Ahrisha ~ ~ said...

Wow, What fun! It looks great.