Decorating the Front Porch for Fall with Stuff you Already Have

 Hello Readers. That's right, it's fall, and you want to make the front porch look festive... Like you are in the spirit... Like you cared and tried just a little. But you don't want to spend your whole paycheck at Home Depot to buy more "stuff"? I completely understand. I spruced up my front porch with a bunch of stuff I already had. Read on and I will show you.

 

Fall decor ready!

 

My front porch was tired and dried out from summer and needed a lift.

Summer heat can be rough. The kids destroy stuff. Life happens. Let's get in the fall spirit. What can we use to decorate? Let's start with old clothes.

Go get the sweater vest Grandma Joyce gave you. You never wear it. It's just what we need. If you don't have a festive holiday sweater, try any shirt or sweater in a fall color.

You are not going to wear the sweater. You are going to put the sweater on a big basket. A large flower pot or even a cardboard box will work. Wrap the sweater around the basket and button it up the front. 

Tuck the excess sweater down into your container. You have an instant fall planter. 

 

You can put a new plant in or use something that survived the summer heat. It doesn't really matter, the decorated planter will make a fun fall decor piece.

Next we need some pumpkins. You can buy some or you can make some. That's right, you can make some. If you have kids, his is a fun project for them. You need a shirt. I had this orange shirt so I went with that.

The toilet paper is going to get wrapped with the shirt. You can stuff the excess down in the center and you get a pumpkin shape. 

If you need to, use a pencil or a stick to push the fabric down in the center.

You can make a stem for your pumpkin from brown paper. Let the kids help if you want.

Now really, which is cuter? The real pumpkin or the one we made?

This blue plaid rug was on my back porch but I realized it went better here. The doormat is from summer but it has some orange on it that matched the pumpkin we made. Can it work for fall? I think so. I did buy the giant mum because I saw a lady selling them from the back of a truck. And I like to support the local economy.

 

The final look.

Putting it all together. Happy Fall Y'all.

*Year End Note From Chickie- Total honesty, I forgot to water those mums and they died. Like, quickly too. It was sad.

The Easter Basket Sweater

Hello Readers. It is almost Easter. I found this Easter themed sweater at a clothes swap a few months ago and thought it was perfect for the holiday. The only problem was I didn't like anything about this sweater.

This sweater with the little bunny is way too cute. Like overly cute. Like too sweet cute. It was also VERY heavy. It was heavy as in thick and warm. And it was literally heavy. The material and the appliques and all the beading made this feel like 15 pounds of cute.

It's OK, I had a plan.

I started with this wire basket from my bike. I just unhooked it and put it on the front porch. It is sturdy but that's it. It isn't very attractive.

I put the sweater over the basket and tucked the top of the sweater and the sleeves inside. I didn't cut or alter it, I just tucked it in. It's the easiest project ever!

I put some purple tulips inside. They are in little containers. They matched the purple tulips on the sweater. When they really wilt, I can plant them in my yard.

The sweater basket helped brighten up m porch. I love flowers. I like to put them on the front porch so I can see them when I come in and out. I don't think you can ever have too many. Until I get some more flowers this sweater is a cute addition to my porch.

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 And a very happy Passover and Easter, if you celebrate those holidays.

 *Year end update-I saved the sweater to display next Easter. I hope I never have to wear it again.

Cheap Porch Decor

Hello Readers. How is your Autumn going? It is cooler and finally feels like "sweater-weather" where I live. I like to decorate my front porch to reflect whatever the current season is. I was excited to get ready for Fall. I did something different this time, I used a pallet and a cable spool on the porch this year. They were free. You can't get cheaper than that.

 

I also use some really old paint that has been sitting in my basement for who knows how long. But that made it free. (Does everyone else have a lot of old stuff down in the basement?) I choose white because I like it and it will go with anything. Yes, I spilled some in the garage.

I remember dragging this pallet home from my neighbors driveway. It was heavy and I had to carry it uphill. They put it out for trash and you know what that means. It is up for grabs, so I took it.

 I painted the pallet white all over with my old white paint. It was going to be on the porch, so I didn't worry about being too perfect. I just tried to cover all the surface.

    

Here is my cable spool. I dragged this home from a different neighbors driveway. They were moving and were giving a lot of stuff away.

The spool also got a couple of coats of that old white paint.

Here is my porch. The horizontal slats made the pallet a great plant stand and the spool is a great little table. I am planning a white winter/snow/snowman porch coming in Winter and these will look good then too.

 All of these white flowers came from a third neighbor who had too many and gave some away. Yep, that's right. For free.

*****     BONUS TRACK     *****

One more idea for cheap outdoor/porch decor. Cinder blocks are great for outdoor projects. Cheap and durable. This plant stand was made by my friend Patti. I love how she painted the blocks and the wooden shelves different colors. It is so fun and eye-catching.

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year end update- The pallet and the spool are still on my porch. White was a great choice.

Fixing Up the Front Porch

 Hello Readers. My sewing machine was in the shop for a few days last week so I had to find something to do that didn't involve sewing.

 

 It all started with this white trunk. It was given to me (Thanks Carmen!) and I used it for a toy box but it was too tall for the little guy to reach the toys. I thought it would be good for outdoor storage and seating. It just needs a little dressing up for spring.

 I started with some fabric samples I had in my closet. My mother-in-law used to work at a fabric store and I have lots of old fabric samples waiting to be used. They are nice because the edges are all finished. They are small but they worked to cover the top and a little of the front and sides.

 I also had these 2 seat cushions. They seemed to fit the trunk well so I tried to make it look like a bench, with cushions on top.

 The seat cushions had ties in the back and I tied them to the hinges inside. I didn't want them to fly away in a storm. This was really helpful because we have had a couple windy days. If I have to go outside and bring e-v-e-r-y-t-h-I-n-g inside every time it starts to rain,,, no thanks.

 I added some other pieces and I was done for now. I haven't done any other gardening or flower planting because it is hot one day and freezing cold the next. Mother Nature seems a little confused this year, I am hoping for warmer weather soon.

That is all for now. I hope you are having a nice Spring. Thanks for being a reader!

*Year end update- These colors transitioned into the fall very well. I later killed the flowers accidentally.