Autumn Art

A few years ago my mom became enamored with handmade cards by Paula Skene.  She originally stumbled upon the cards in a small stationery store in downtown DC (but we’ve since learned that Paula Skene is a California based designer who predominately sells her cards at tradeshows and in her store in the San Francisco Bay area).

The cards are hand embossed and stamped with foil – each one is really a little work of art.  Paula makes them for every season and occasion, but my mom and I agree that the autumn and Halloween cards are some of the best.

So, for the past few years my mom has been casually collecting Paula Skene cards, and all the while she’s been talking about how they’d make a great seasonal display.

Unfortunately my mom is not very crafty, so I took her idea and made her a piece of autumn art, like so:

I took this framed picture that my mom got from a yard sale for cheap - the picture wasn’t anything special, but the frame and double mat were quite handsome.

I replaced the picture with brown paper.

Then I arranged and rearranged, eight of my mom’s favorite fall themed Paula Skene cards, along with a piece of my brother’s childhood artwork that depicted leaves.

After a little bit of trimming and gluing, I was done.

And, the best part is that my mom loves it.

We shifted some artwork around in the family room at my parent’s house to create a space for the new piece.  And, in doing that we established that this wall, below her framed yellow drawing, is where my mom will hang a rotating display of fun seasonal things like this - which is something she’s always wanted.

What do you think?  Do you like seasonal decorating?  Or do you think it’s too much trouble?  Ever considered dedicating just one small space in your home for a rotating seasonal display?  It’s sure making my mom happy.  I promise to share pictures of her seasonal display as it changes.