Foto Friday--I Finally Pulled out a Few Fall Decorations

I've been busy, okay?

My first quarter of grad school was awesome.  I loved every reading, every book, every writing assignment, everything.  This quarter is gonna suck, I'm not going to lie.  I'm only a few days into it, and I can already tell that it's going to be hard and uninteresting and  . . . hard.

Good thing I had a few Fall Break days of my own that allowed me time for some neglected items on my to-do list:  1) reorganize my scarves and belts after Evie and her friend used them to play dress-up, 2) clean out all the crap that had piled high on my craft room  table from the big wedding, and 3) set out our fall decorations.  Usually I decorate for fall sometime in September, but I was too swamped this year.   Lucky for me, fall decorations can last for two-three months, with a little tweaking between Halloween and Thanksgiving.

When I put together a big dinner for Ben's Homecoming costume dance last year, I bought these awesome masks at Target and incorporated them into my centerpieces.

As I was pulling out my fall boxes, I was reminded how cool these masks are, so I decided to use them on my mantel for a little unconventional twist on Halloween.

 I love how all the textures and shapes work together.

 The pumpkins add some symmetry and repetition, along with a little color.

 The alphabet balls are unexpected but add a different layer of interest while anchoring the masks a little better.

I added the sticks to the masks after I bought them for easier display purposes, but I didn't want to remove the straps in case someone ever wanted to use them as an actual mask instead of purely for their decorating value.

Now I just need to figure out a quick and clever change for the month between Halloween and Thanksgiving.  Hmmmm . . . . already thinking . . . .

Have a great weekend.  If you need me, I'll be tethered to Research and Evaluation in Education and Psychology, Third Edition, learning all about the different approaches to educational research.

You're jealous, I know.  The book is available on Amazon.  Just in case you weren't curious.