As the name of my blog indicates, I spend a lot of time thinking about home. Of course, my Heavenly Home is the one that is eternal, so that’s where I need to lay up my treasures, and that’s the one I’m striving for. But in the meantime, I have been given this tiny piece of the here-and-now—this home on the edge of town, this family, this neighborhood—in which to serve Him. And, though this is in the earthly realm, I want the things that happen here to be investments in the Heavenly realm.




Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Note Card Party: Faux, Faux, Faux!


I am a big fan of faux...in home decor, that is.  Faux lasts longer.  Faux does not demand special care. Faux substitutes when the real cannot be had.  So I unashamedly take advantage of faux elements when decorating for Christmas, sometimes combining them with the authentic.  

Can you identify the faux in these four photos, my choices for Vee's December note card party?


Dining Room Mantel ~ Della Robbia Garland

Did you guess?  The pineapple is faux, as are the pomegranates, pine cones, and the garland of greenery.  The oranges and the brown pods are real.  




Pomanders

Are you getting tired of seeing these pomanders?  ;)  I told you how to make them ~here~, and then they appeared ~here~, and again ~here~, so you may already know that these are made with faux fruit.  




Rosemary Wreath

The wreath, too, is faux.  I once made a wreath of fresh herbs, and I loved it!  I even loved it after it dried, and I hung it in this same window over my kitchen sink.  But the kitchen sink is a busy place and over the weeks (months?) that it hung there, it was bumped and it crumbled a little at a time.  When I saw this faux rosemary wreath in Target, I grabbed it too quick to talk about, and here it hangs years later.  However, the little sprigs of rosemary peeking up from a windowsill vase in the bottom corner of the photo?  They're real, snipped from my own herb garden.  




Mantel Top Display

Today, Kati taught me a new word: fantel.  Have you ever heard this word?  I had not.  

Apparently, fantel means "faux mantel."  And that is the "faux" part of my final photo.  It is not a mantel at all, but is a surface that I have treated as a mantel.  

I was inspired by a photo in an old Country Home magazine. Stylist Matthew Mead had lined up candles across a cabinet top "as a welcoming alternative to a roaring fire," and I thought "why not?" I added the pops of red berries as Matthew did, and went so far as to hang our stockings on the cabinet's knobs.  We have been calling it our "faux mantel"...until today.  From now on, it will be known as my "fantel," at least at Christmastime.  





Why don't you consider joining
this month's note card party
over at Vee's Haven?

(Click the button for details.)

A Haven for Vee

19 comments:

  1. I love the fantel! Even before it had a new name. :) And of course, the real mantel is great, too.

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  2. You definately picked some quality faux - can't even tell!!

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  3. I love your faux-tos! They make lovely note cards. I like your fantel, I'd never heard that term before.

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  4. Hi Cheryl,

    I just love your notecards! I had never heard the term fantel before, but now I know as I have one too. Have a wonderful holiday.

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  5. Everything looks so warm and festive. I love your wreath and the idea of keeping a few sprigs of your own herbs in the windowsill. Wishing you a very merry Christmas. Mildred

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  6. Great word, "fantel." Your cards/decor are/is beautiful! I can tell your home is warm and welcoming. And I wouldn't have guesse "faux" if you hadn't told!

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  7. Faux these days is very real, right? ☺ I think so. I would never have guessed any of this is faux and might have guessed, not saying that I did, that the oranges were faux. I think faux is frugal and that makes me a fan. That rosemary wreath totally fakes me out...love it! Fantel...I have a fake one. Ha. This is fun. It's fake because it's not the right height...it's the top of my china cabinet. Your home shines brightly all the time and especially so at Christmas.

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  8. I love all your faux -- especially the "rosemary" wreath and the fantel! Your home is beautiful and all ready to celebrate this special season.

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  9. i really enjoy them all ... if i had to pick a favorite i would do the candles. i love the glow. so perfect. Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year in 2013 to you & yours. big hugs. ( :

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  10. I love it all!

    I use my piano top for a fantel, as I do not have a mantel either! I'll show you tomorrow where I have our stockings hung!

    Deanna

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  11. Faux is good and I love the idea of a fantel. Great note cards!

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  12. Beautiful faux things in these pictures. I think they would be lovely note cards. I love your fantel. :) Merry Christmas. Pamela

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  13. Fantel! That's terrific. What about a mantel that is really a mantel, but is mounted on the wall with no fireplace? (faux fireplace, real mantel)
    The fantel is great, all the arrangements are. Your pomanders catch my eye every time I see them, and I always forget they are faux.

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  14. Fantel is a great new word. Yours is beautiful with all the candle glow.

    Merry Christmas, Cheryl.

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  15. I love the word "fantel" as much as I love the way your fantel looks. Things like that are just fun to me.
    As for the rest of the stuff you are so right. I couldn't tell the real from the faux!

    And I love a pomander. Yours are lovely.

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  16. Those are all great decorating ideas! I use faux stuff a lot too, LOL.

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  17. Very nice, Cheryl! Hey, keep the faux stuff - I couldn't tell any difference - maybe just the pineapple, but I had to REALLY look close, cuz I wasn't sure! And I DO love your Fantel!

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  18. Fantel? i love it!!! Nice to "meet" you. Merry Christmas!

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  19. Hello there,
    So great to meet you. I love your sense of 'home'.

    I think my favourite is the Rosemary Wreath.

    thanks for sharing

    Fi

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