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Cinderella, Pumpkins and Cloches… An Ethereal Fall Mantel

Cinderella visits us this fair early fall day and tells a tale worthy of Shakespeare, a tale written and played out by one most beloved…

Cinderella’s Dancing Night
by Peter E. Chapman, 2013, Univ. of SD
~ an excerpt ~


Twelve O’clock, twelve o’clock,
This is the price she paid.
The night was special, 
Her first masquerade.
A dance, a waltz, in three of four,
Till twelve, till twelve, all she can afford.

💝


My son wrote this poem while in his freshman year of college, if I remember correctly. As a belated Mother’s Day gift that year, when he came home that summer from his university, he and his sister made me a hand-sewn book with a collection of poems he had written and artwork drawn by my daughter.


Love this book and my kids! 💞

From: Valentine’s Tablesetting ~ Ethereal in Pink

Fairytale Stories

This fall I am excited to keep our Fairy Tale stories going, continuing a theme begun a few years ago… Earlier this week I shared making a French-styled Cinderella slipper out of a cardboard shoe insert. 


For late summer-early fall, I decorated the mantel a few weeks ago with soft velvet pumpkins, little gilded acorns and Baby Boos and our little lady statue. The large clock face brought back from California has been up on the mantel since we arrived home in early summer, so the idea of Cinderella began there with “Cindy” running out of time…

Etherealness

An ethereal look is what I was going for in this year’s early fall look. I love the idea of attending a ball so I asked Mr. Ethereal if he would bring down our fall boxes when he was up there. Inside those boxes, the soft pumpkins and white sparkle pumpkins are what spoke to me.


As per Wikipedia, the French version of Cinderella was written by Charles Perrault ~ Cendrillon, ou la Petite Pantoufle de Verre, with the thought that the original version is Rhodopis,” an Egyptian tale “recorded by Strabo, a Greek historian, in the first century.” 

Of course, many of us remember Julie Andrews first-ever movie role as Cinderella in Rogers and Hammerstein’s musical adaptation created for television, and first shown in 1957 (also linked to the French version, above).


Cind 1957.jpg


Of course, I love Disney’s animated version of Cinderella! Who doesn’t?!! In the classic fairytale, Cinderella’s coach is magically created from a pumpkin. I submit a few homemade pumpkins for your approval… 

Make Your Own Velvet Pumpkins
I forgot to create a new scene under the new glass cloche but it is a perfect vehicle for future Cinderella scenes under its glass dome!

Pheasant Under Glass ~ A Fall Cloche Styling

I did remember to create a few glass slipper photos near the glass cloche… 



A little of Amy’s artwork and Peter’s poem covered over 
(to prevent theft)…


The whole ethereal fall mantel for you… How are you decorating your mantel and home this fall? Loving Cinderella’s mantel…


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An Enchanted Evening,
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How to Make Cinderella’s Glass Slipper

Continuing with our Fairy Tale theme as we head into fall,Cinderella’s Glass Slipper and How to Make It is up next on the list after our Magical Summer Evening outside. Let’s make this lovely French-style slipper together, shall we?…

How to Begin

This How-To is fairly straight forward beginning with a simple shoe insert from a pair of sandals I picked up this summer. There was only one in the box, and as I was going to throw it away…  when… Inspiration struck!

Supplies you will need

  • shoe insert that looks like an antique shoe last, that a cobbler would use to create his shoes on.
  • fabrics for stretching over the shoe insert
  • glue gun and hot glue
  • something to make a heel for your shoe. This could be a lamp finial, a saved thread spool, anything that catches your eye!
  • trims for decoration

I had this pretty antique gold finial from a lamp leftover from taking donations to Salvation Army earlier this summer. My brain somehow put 2 + 2 together when I thought of the shoe insert… and I immediately saw that this finial could become a “heel.” (This is how my brain works — probably why I fit in well with Special Ed, lol!). 😆

Instructions

Cut off some pretty fabric and gently stretch it over the front of the shoe insert. Glue in place underneath. *This insert is completely open underneath so this was easy to do.

Glue on the finial or other object being used for a “heel.” Add extra glue in layers, drying in between, to create a nice rounded heel. *I had to do this with this shoe insert, seen above.


Play around with your fabrics to see “what works” and what doesn’t. I realized I wanted a slipper/mule-look and not a boot-look. This photograph illustrates playing around with the boot idea.


The Crowning Glory

Watch a good movie on the tele while you are make your glass slipper! I happened to begin a second round of The Crown on Netflix. (Not sponsored but I sure wouldn’t mind!!! 👑)


Here is the shoe almost finished, warts and all. There are a few wrinkles but Cinderella’s clothes were often tattered and wrinkled as well. I don’t think she would mind… 

I added the gold trim around the shoe top separately in several spots (since this isn’t a real shoe to be worn) cut off from parts of this wide French ribbon’s edging.

I think Cinderella would be proud to wear a pair of these shoes to the ball. 

Since there is only one shoe here, um… I mean slipper left… I guess now she is waiting for her Prince Charming to come sweep her off her feet! 


💖👸


If you enjoyed this little Fairy Tale story, here are others I have shared over the few years:









Sunday Sentiments ~ How “The Girls” Came to Be and a Cinderella Story


Coming later this week I’ll share our latest mantel dressed up for fall and Cinderella’s ball… 

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Bonsoir,mes amies!
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Sunday Sentiments ~ How "The Girls" Came to Be and a Cinderella Story

How “The Girls” came to be a
part of the gardens we have had 
over the years is actually 
nice little story…


I’ve always liked statuary since I was a little girl.
My friend Kathy had several 
angels and other lovely statuary 
in her front and backyards.
These were scattered about and you’d 
come upon them tucked into each planter bed 
while taking a tour around her 
gorgeously green gardens
checking out all the roses and 
flowering plants 
that would be in bloom.

It was a bonus when you’d sit outside 
at one of two sunny sitting areas where
you could admire a few of these
ethereal statues while
enjoying an alfresco luncheon
or while
talking over tea and dessert.

She had this same angel as mine on 
the little patio to the left of 
her front door entryway.
Every time I’d come over to tea
I’d see this beautiful cement angel
with a lit candle in her heart~shaped dish
surrounded by mini dried pink 
noisette roses.
Other times this angel held just larger
rose petal blooms in her bowl
which would waft their glorious scent
heavenward
perfuming the entire front entry!

I had admired this angel for about a year
or so when I finally asked Kathy
where she had found it and 
its twin in the backyard.
She had found both at various
HomeGoods.

From then on I was on a quest…

For about a year I haunted the Temecula
HomeGoods looking for an angel
I could call my own but 
never finding one.
When one day while we were out shopping
with friends from our
Victorian Tea Society tea group at 
HomeGoods in Poway ~ turning an aisle corner 
finally found one in 
the garden area!



I could hardly believe my good fortune!
I wasn’t letting “her” out of my sight…
Somehow I wrestled this big girl 
into my cart.
{you see, these angels aren’t light little things but rather very solid
being that they ARE made of cement and weighing in 
at about 50 to 70 pounds or so}
Everything else that day became superfluous.
I didn’t need another thing.
I was happy and ready to go home and 
decorate with this angel girl!
🙂

The group was planning on going to 
two more thrift stores
looking for elusive treasures.
Didn’t matter to me ~ I’d found what
I was hoping and dreaming for already.
I had my sweet angel!
🙂
Surprisingly, I found a second angel
a few months later…
for 
$29.00 on clearance!
Of course, she came home with me, too.
😉

The Vineyard Girl came about
while wandering about in
Old Town Temecula, California.
There is a little garden shop situated between
two western~style buildings right on
Main Street as you come through the middle
of this antique district
which sells those perfectly swirly rusty 
wire furniture and chandelier pieces.

When this store first opened for business
the owner carried more of 
what I call
ethereal pieces for your garden
and this 
lithesome lovely lady 
who forever grows and
gathers grapes from her garden
was there waiting…
It was meant to be!

She was the first big statue I brought home
to our then new house ~ our Big House.
The Angel Girls came later.

Now a funny story! My son and daughter and I
 always carved pumpkins with crosses and 
hearts and such for Halloween night 
to share our faith
in a quiet way
as children and teens 
would come calling to trick or treat.

That year after I’d found the front yard angel
{as I’d come to call her}
I thought I’d put a nice candle in among
the fall potpourri
scenting her little heart~shaped bowl
to welcome our little dressed-up friends
as they rang our doorbell.

She looked lovely that evening!
Her candle glowing brightly
when viewed from 
out on the sidewalk.
The pumpkins glowed pleasantly, too
and gave off a faint scent of pumpkin goodness
as you walked towards our front entryway.

All was good that night ~ no tricks to be had as
children came and rang out their merry
“Trick or treat!!!”
and 
we gave away 
many a nummy
chocolate goody that evening.

Next day though I noticed something
not so good
when we came home from school…
Our poor angel girl’s nose was 
permanently burnt!
🙁


No amount of cleaner would wash
the soot from her face
so…
from that day forward 
her new name was…
Cinderella.
😉

And now you know the rest of the story!
Drop me a line and tell me your 
favorite story of 
something you found and 
how this treasure 
came to grace your home.

Looking forward to reading your stories!
xoxo Barb 🙂


“For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”  Psalms 91:11


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