 Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2020. Faux florals can be a creative way to add a bit of nature to your decor without worrying about maintaining or replacing real flowers. And the faux florals on the market today are nothing like the tacky plastic-looking things I remember when I was a kid! The one drawback to faux florals is that they must be dusted occasionally, just like anything else in your home. So here are five tips for caring for your faux floral decor.
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 Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2013. I was exposed to the works of many designers and architects while in college for interior design, and one of them was the great 20th-century architect and designer Frank Lloyd Wright. I encountered his name and images of his buildings from time to time in my studies and was intrigued. One day, I came across a picture of this home called Fallingwater—which just happened to be located in my home state of Pennsylvania. It was love at first site! Right then and there, I put this trip on my bucket list. Someday, somehow, I would get there to see it in person. And about seven years ago, I did. For our 15th wedding anniversary, my husband and I planned a trip out to western Pennsylvania to see Fallingwater and another of Frank Lloyd Wright’s creations, Kentuck Knob (more about that in a future post).
 “Obsessed by a fairy tale, we spend our lives searching for a magic door and a lost kingdom of peace.” Eugene O’Neill
Ever since I was a little girl, I have been fascinated with fairy tales and mystical worlds. I would spend my time in quiet reveries, letting my imagination go wild, thinking about secret little worlds that exist under our noses, and we don’t even notice! Little people, fairies, even animals, living in hidden nooks and crannies, under leaves, in tree stumps, under rocks, and in worlds in miniature where magic is the norm, and the inhabitants are surrounded in ethereal bliss—this to me was heaven! In this video, we will explore "breaks" in knotwork construction. This design starts like the last knotwork design, with a 4 x 4 grid and a diamond pattern with the circles. This modified design, however, will need to work around a break in the center of the grid. A break is a line that cannot be crossed by a thread, forcing the thread into a different direction than it would normally go. The break for this video is an X in the center of the grid, which will allow us to create a Celtic design called Four Linked Hearts. It's a beautiful design signifying love and is perfect for weddings or Valentine's Day. So, I hope you enjoy this video, and feel free to leave a comment, like, or share this video! (A special thanks to my son, Christian Lilly, for helping me with the video editing! Music from iMovie.) Related blog posts you may want to read: Basic Celtic Knot tutorial part 1 Celebrating Irish Celtic Art for St. Patrick's Day The Celtic Motherhood Knot, a symbol of love Celtic Tree of Life A foray into customizable artwork Getting out of my own way Today, I'm sharing short tutorials on creating--and modifying--a very basic weave or knot, which can be used as the foundation for any Celtic-inspired design. Part 1 walks you through creating a simple weave pattern using a 4 x 4 grid. Part 2 modifies the same knot pattern using a "break" to create a different design!
 Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2018. Oh, how this tiny little piece of furniture challenged and frustrated me!!!! I spent many more hours on this project than I had planned, and each stage of the process brought fresh vexations and doubts! Let’s just say this stool almost ended up in the trash more than a few times during the refinishing process! But I persevered…and I’m glad I did!  Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2018. If you’ve been following my latest blog posts, you already know the battle I went through during the stripping stage of this project! Needless to say, I was glad to have that chore behind me! I was looking forward to having a pleasant day trying out this tea-staining technique I found online. Anything all-natural is right down my alley!  Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2018. In the previous blog article in this series, I showed “before” photos of a tattered vintage footstool I purchased a few years back. Over the past few weeks, I managed to strip, clean, and sand this decrepit little stool in preparation for a fresh new stain and finish. Here’s how I did it… For the past few months, I’ve been feeling creatively stagnant. I’ve been racking my brain, trying to find a project to embrace that will help change my current dismal perspective. Don’t get me wrong, I love my wood-burned art and decorative candleholders, but I need something fresh, new, and different to help brush away the cobwebs. But I’ve been struggling to come up with anything inspiring…
Then, suddenly, I remembered this ratty little footstool hidden in my basement for three or four years and thought, why not?  Celtic Tree of Life Wood Burned Decorative Plate by Di's Studio Designs As March 17 approaches, the world becomes obsessed with all things green. The internet is flooded with imagery of shamrock pots of gold and leprechauns. Everyone gets caught up in the fun of St. Patrick’s Day, and anyone can be Irish for a day! Young people re-enact a time-honored tradition to hit the town and down pints of Guinness (or other alcoholic equivalent) until the world spins. You know there’s something special about being Irish when EVERYONE wants to be Irish! Such is the rush to get into holiday mode that many of us take down the Halloween decorations to replace them with Christmas decor, skipping over Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is not just about Pilgrims, food, and shopping…Thanksgiving is a time to be grateful for what you have and share that bounty and thankfulness with friends and family. There is enough time to embrace the Christmas season during December and part of January. So why rush into Christmas before the Thanksgiving turkey even goes into the oven?! I love sitting down to a delicious Thanksgiving meal, surrounded by the people I love and beautiful Autumn decorations!  Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2017.
I’ve been wondering if too much thinking is holding me back. You need to think things through and have a game plan, but you must know when to stop! Just that one thought too far, and you’ve fallen down the rabbit hole, where you find yourself in a place where you are trying too hard to control everything. The truth is, sometimes the best things happen when you plot a course and let it be!
 Lums Pond, Delaware. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2009. I have always been deeply affected by nature—trees, flowers, plants, animals, water, soil, and stone. It’s not just about hugging trees. (In fact, leave those trees alone! They don’t deserve the indignity!) This is a beautiful and sacred rock that we live on and on this rock spring forth all of the life-sustaining elements that we need as organic beings. The natural world provides the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. This is not optional—we NEED these things, so they need to be respected and preserved. Hide in your concrete jungle all you want, but you can’t survive without the natural world. Not even in the worst-case scenario post-apocalyptic vision of the future. (Does Wall-E ring a bell?) This week, I thought I’d share the inside scoop on a project I just completed. The project is called Forest--and I just put the finishing touches on it this morning! It has been a long and arduous road to get to the finish line! There were many roadblocks and logistical problems along the way, but I kept at it and stayed true to my original vision. The inspiration behind this design was to create a unique candleholder that would be a semi-abstract form of a group of forest trees. Images such as those below kept me focused and reminded me of what I was trying to achieve.
Browsing through my website, you will see certain items that combine the simple geometry of hand-cut painted (or stained) wood pieces with organic and decorative elements. One of these beautiful creations is a decorative candleholder centerpiece I named Waterfall. This week, I thought I’d share an inside look at the process of creating this piece. As with all my creations, this design has a story: a story of inspiration, design modification, and hard work. The project started as a vision of a candleholder centerpiece that tiers downward like a small rocky stream in some secluded forest. I drew some quick thumbnails and idea sketches before settling on a design like the rendering below.
Do you ever stop to think about what inspires you? What hits the most sensitive nerve and resonates in a way that is too deep for words? You don’t have to be an artist to be inspired, though artists are more inclined to listen, and create an interpretation. Inspiration is the spark that happens during that moment of private meditation. It’s that moment when the universe opens the door just a crack—just enough to get a peak at something bigger than yourself. We recognize the things we love and admire, but inspiration is something more mysterious. Inspiration is the moment we look at one thing but see something else. We dream, and then we try to create. Merriam-Webster defines inspiration as “a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation”.
Last week, I talked a bit about my creative journey and my views on the role of creativity in our lives. This week, I thought I’d expound on that topic by sharing an example of a specific project—my Autumn Bonfire candle piece—and the ups and downs I experienced making this unique Fall decor item.
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