Oh happy day, so glad it’s Friday!  I took a brisk walk this morning to clear the cobwebs after dropping my kids off at school.  This fall day could not be any more lovely, with bright blue skies, a gentle breeze, and turning leaves rustling in the trees.  I plan to spend most of this weekend outdoors enjoying this autumn weather.  The semi annual Antique Fair is also this weekend, so I’ll be browsing that just for fun.

This is the perfect time of year for crafting with fall leaves.   If you’re looking for a fun and inexpensive project, take a peek at these creations from last year.

1. autumn leaves windcatcher; 2. fall leaves on canvas, 3. thankful banner.

Here’s a few more weekend craft ideas to bring the feel of fall into your home with leaves:

Use double sided tape to adorn basic hurricanes

Fashion a wreath with fresh clippings

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Greetings friends, I’m back from a whirlwind three day trip!  It was great to be back in one of my favorite places on earth, I love the energy of NYC, and the weather was absolute perfection!

The first two days were spent mostly at media events, but I confess, the highlighted stops for me were our last day spent touring the unbelievably gorgeous ABC Home, and then lunching at Eataly a few blocks away, both in the Flatiron district.  I’ve seen all the big tourist attractions, so these were a new adventure, and I absolutely loved them!

ABC Home is six levels of unbelievable inspiration, ranging from traditional to urban style furniture, plus bedding, rugs, lighting, and accessories ~ it’s a home decorator’s dream!   I want to thank Lana for giving me the scoop on this place, because I left truly inspired. 

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This is a repost from last year, but updated with all the newest paint colors we’ve added to our home, just in case you’ve ever wondered about the colors on our walls . . .

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I’ve received several emails lately inquiring about paint colors in my home.  Shelley recently wrote,

“Dear Kate,

I’m curious if you would mind sharing the paint colors on your walls in your dining room, stairs and entrance hall?  I so want to take my dated golden oak stair rail and replicate what you did with yours with the gel stain and glaze!  Thanks for the inspiration…now only if I can get a dose of courage as well.  I love your home!  Simply beautiful !  ~ Shelley”

Sure Shelley!  Some of the colors in my home are straight out of the paint can.  Others I’ve tweaked by blending my own color.   

In our living room is Benjamin Moore’s Affinity ’Tranquilty’ but I had the guys at the BM store tweak it by pulling two drops of blue out of the formula to make it a hint grayer, so we dubbed it ‘Tranquility Tweaked’. 

Here’s the formula for the Ben brand (which I highly recommend, it covers in one coat!)

S1  0x  3.0000; Y2  1x  1.5000; B1  0x  20.0000; O1  0x  19.0000

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Greetings friends, I’m on my way back from NYC today, but I’m pleased to have another special guest.  I’ve been following Cassity at Remodelaholic for awhile now.  She always has the best features and together with her husband does incredible DIY.  I love a gal who loves power tools.  Please welcome Cassity!

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“I am really excited to be here visiting at Centsational Girl.  Don’t you think that the best part of blogging is the new friendships you make?   It has been fun talking to Kate and I am just honored that she and I could do a little swap.  

First, let introduce myself, I am Cassity from Remodelaholic.  I have a degree in Interior Design (but get to stay home and be a mommy, which I love!).  My husband, Justin is a landscape architect- so we both LOVE design. We have been remodeling since we first got married, it started in our first apartment and moved on to our first house a year later.  It was 100 years old and in terrible shape aesthetically, scary to say the least.  Our Realtor actually tried to talk us out of buying it- it was that bad!   But I fell in love with the charm of the house, and the floor plan was awesome- so we learned as we went and remodeling on a strict budget became one of our favorite hobbies.  

We are now working on our third house, but things are a little different – we have a 14 month old daughter and another baby on the way (in February) and we are learning SLOWLY how to juggle it all. So, on Remodelaholic we share our projects as often as we can, and when we don’t have anything personally to show off, we try to feature the best of blog-land.  And there are so many wonderful projects out there – we are constantly inspired! (so send in your projects!!)

My Top Five Projects:

Headboard Made From Cabinet Doors:

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Greetings friends, I have a lovely friend guesting for me today:  Beckie from Infarrantly Creative!    She’s just oozing with creativity and sees things not for what they are, but for what they can be.   Friends, please kindly welcome Beckie! 

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“Hello CG fans.  My name is Beckie Farrant, author of Infarrantly Creative.   I pride myself in finding curbside castaways and revamping them into usable and beautiful decor.

Take this old hutch for example…

I flipped it upside down, added some dowel rods and a little molding and created a Pottery Barn inspired book rack for my baby girl’s room.

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