Saturday, October 31, 2015

Styling The Seasons - October

Bazzil cardstock, Bo Bunny Licorice Chevron paper, Micron pen by Sakura, Zig marker, Prima flowers, Prima velvet trinkets, Tombow adhesive, American Tag brads, Queen and Company Deco Dots, The Paper Company jewels, Glue Dots International, Hirschberg Schutz and Company Inc gold elastic cord, Trader Joe's potted marigold, E.O. Brody Company footed fruit bowl, vintage fruit bowl, green glass vintage fruit bowl, Danish cast iron candle holder, Danish cast iron candlestick holder, Swan brand match box, Swan matches, Swan matchsticks

Serendipity, or the accidental discovery of something which you were not in quest of, perfectly describes my October Styling The Seasons display. It all started last weekend when, inspired by the seasonal change that has finally taken hold in my town, I went to the grocers to get some stems of mini pumpkins, and use them as a springboard to style a surface in my home. But much to my surprise, I saw potted marigolds displayed on some hay bales, and was immediately drawn to them. I looked at the tag and it said "Hay mas tiempe que vida", or "There is more time than life."
Bazzil cardstock, Bo Bunny Licorice Chevron paper, Micron pen Sakura, Zig marker, Prima flowers, Prima velvet trinkets, Towbow adhesive, American Tag Company brads, Queen and Company Deco Dots, The Paper Company jewels, Glue Dots International, Hirschberg Schutz and Company Inc gold elastic cord, Trader Joe's potted marigold

You may have heard of Dia de los Muertos, or the 'Day Of The Dead'; beginning on October 31st and ending on November 1st, this holiday honors those that have passed on. It originated in Mexico, but is celebrated throughout Latin America, and there are similar celebrations in Europe, Asia, and Africa, all of which take place during autumn. In my own family, we have joined the late summertime festivities of the Buddhist Obon festival, which also honors past ancestors, for almost twenty years now.
Bazzil cardstock, Bo Bunny Licorice Chevron paper, Micron pen Sakura, Zig marker, Prima flowers, Prima velvet trinkets, Tombow adhesive, American Tag Company brads, Queen and Company Deco Dots, The Paper Company jewels, Glue Dots International, Hirschberg Schutz and Company Inc gold elastic cord, Trader Joe's potted marigolds

Marigolds, or Tagetes erecta, are native to Mexico and Central America and are referred to as the Flower With 400 Lives, or Flower Of The Dead (Flor de Muerto). They are used during The Day Of The Dead as decorations for ofrendas (graves or alters). The adornments also include foods such as candied pumpkin, pan de muerto (a kind of bread), sugar skulls, candles, photographs, and personal mementos of the person being remembered. As well as being decorative, marigolds are thought to attract the souls of the dead to these offerings.
Trader Joe's potted marigold, Swan Vestas The Smokers Match, Swan Vestas matchsticks

Here in the United States, as in many other countries, All Hallows' Eve, or Halloween, is celebrated on October 31st. Our family has always celebrated this holiday - my kids love to dress up and I enjoy putting up some lights and a few decorations. This year is no different - the lights and decorations have once again found their traditional places in and around our home, but this year, I've also added my own version of an ofrenda. I used Pinterest to create a board of ideas to help me decide how I would like to design my own ofrenda. Building on the idea of honoring the dead, and in addition to my beautiful potted marigolds, I added a vintage footed pedestal bowl that I filled with fruit:
E.O. Brody Company M6000 Cleveland Ohio USA, E.O. Brody Company green glass footed bowl, vintage E.O. Brody Company footed bowl, vintage fruit bowl

And placed a candle in a vintage 1950s black cast iron Danish candle holder:
Danish candle holder, Danish cast iron candle holder, Danish cast iron black candlestick holder, vintage Danish candle holder, Bazzil cardstock, Bo Bunny Licorice Chevron paper, Micron pen Sakura, Zig marker, Prima flowers, Prima velvet trinkets, Tombow adhesive, American Tag Company brads, Queen and Company Deco Dots, The Paper Company jewels, Glue Dots International, Hirschberg Schutz and Company Inc gold elastic cord, Swan Vestas matchbox, Swan Vestas The Smokers Match, vintage Swan Vestas matchbox

An old box of matches is at the ready - I think I'll light my candle tonight:
Swan Vestas The Smokers Match, Swan matchbox, Swan Vestas matchbox, vintage Swan Vestas matchbox

And because skulls are a large part of both Halloween and Day Of The Dead, I decided to make the banner hanging on the wall behind this display. I simply hand drew a skull shape on white cardstock and cut it out, then used it to trace four more skulls. I had fun pulling out my scrapbooking supplies, hand drawing the faces of the skulls, and decorating each one with flower headdresses:
Bazzil cardstock, Bo Bunny Licorice Chevron paper, Micron pen Sakura, Zig marker, Prima flowers, Prima velvet trinkets, Tombow adhesive, American Tag Company brads, Queen and Company Deco Dots, The Paper Company jewels, Glue Dots International, Hirschberg Schutz and Company Inc gold elastic cord,
Here's a close up view of each paper skull:
Bazzil cardstock, Bo Bunny Licorice Chevron paper, Micron pen Sakura, Zig marker, Prima flowers, Prima velvet trinkets, Tombow adhesive, American Tag Company brads, Queen and Company Deco Dots, The Paper Company jewels, Glue Dots International, Hirschberg Schutz and Company Inc gold elastic cord,
Bazzil cardstock, Bo Bunny Licorice Chevron paper, Micron pen Sakura, Zig marker, Prima flowers, Prima velvet trinkets, Tombow adhesive, American Tag Company brads, Queen and Company Deco Dots, The Paper Company jewels, Glue Dots International, Hirschberg Schutz and Company Inc gold elastic cord,
Bazzil cardstock, Bo Bunny Licorice Chevron paper, Micron pen Sakura, Zig marker, Prima flowers, Prima velvet trinkets, Tombow adhesive, American Tag Company brads, Queen and Company Deco Dots, The Paper Company jewels, Glue Dots International, Hirschberg Schutz and Company Inc gold elastic cord,
Bazzil cardstock, Bo Bunny Licorice Chevron paper, Micron pen Sakura, Zig marker, Prima flowers, Prima velvet trinkets, Tombow adhesive, American Tag Company brads, Queen and Company Deco Dots, The Paper Company jewels, Glue Dots International, Hirschberg Schutz and Company Inc gold elastic cord,
Bazzil cardstock, Bo Bunny Licorice Chevron paper, Micron pen Sakura, Zig marker, Prima flowers, Prima velvet trinkets, Tombow adhesive, American Tag Company brads, Queen and Company Deco Dots, The Paper Company jewels, Glue Dots International, Hirschberg Schutz and Company Inc gold elastic cord,

October has unexpectedly opened up a new experience for me, of being inspired by fall flowers, and developing that inspiration into something special that my family and I can enjoy in our home.
Bazzil cardstock, Bo Bunny Licorice Chevron paper, Micron pen Sakura, Zig marker, Prima flowers, Prima velvet trinkets, Tombow adhesive, American Tag Company brads, Queen and Company Deco Dots, The Paper Company jewels, Glue Dots International, Hirschberg Schutz and Company Inc gold elastic cord, E.O. Brody Company M6000 Cleveland Ohio bowl, Trader Joe's potted marigolds, Danish cast iron candle holder,

What has the month of October meant for you?  

Styling The Seasons is a monthly opportunity to style a surface in your home and share it on your blog and/or on Instagram.  If you would like to know about Styling The Seasons, visit Katy Orme's blog Apartment Apothecary or Charlotte's blog Lotts & lots.  You can also search for the hashtag #stylingtheseasons on Instagram.

Oh, and if you'd like to see the Dia de Los Muertos Pinterest board I created for this post, click here.  

Thanks for reading!

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2 comments

  1. Such an interesting post; I loved reading it and finding out more about the different festivals and those Marigolds certainly were meant to be. As always, I love all the colour and joy in your styled surface xx

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    Replies
    1. As always Katy, I appreciate your taking the time to have a look. I enjoy participating in Styling The Seasons and love to see how the other bloggers style their surfaces. So many lovely ideas people have!

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