Fall Decorating on a Dime

Fall is my favorite season! I love the weather and warming up my house with crisp autumn colors. I love when Starbucks brings back their Caramel Apple Cider and the State Fair of Texas opens up. Fall in Texas is pretty short, so we have to cram as much in as we can while the weather’s nice!

Its been such pretty painting weather lately, I’ve totally forgotten to blog about my fall décor this year. So without further ado….here are some things I’ve done to bring fall (and Halloween) to our house this year.
I like to use what’s on hand that comes out of our attic bins without spending a lot from year to year.

The only thing that’s new this year is my weathered wooden witch art, that I made using one of my favorite paintings and a scrap piece of wood from the hardware store (.49 cents thank ya very much!)

Most of the pumpkins and garland are from two seasons ago when Hobby Lobby had a 90% off clearance sale after Thanksgiving. I practically got everything for free (or close to it!).

In my front room, I hung my favorite book page wreath.
The primitive black cat was a thrift store find years back. The Haunted Tree was at the Dollar Tree and I just draped some silver bracelets around it to give it a little bling. The cross in the frame was just something that sits in our guest room but it fit well with the theme. The styrofoam skulls were at the Dollar Store and I just stacked them in my apothecary jar.
 
The book page wreath is a little tattered but I like it better the more beat up it gets. I made a ton of these for Urban Farmhouse last Christmas and they sold out in a matter of days. It transitions so well from fall into spring.
 
I change out my sofa pillows from the Summer Coastal Slipcovers to my Urban Farmhouse Vintage Graphic Pillows when the seasons change.
 
I had two styro pumpkins that have gotten pretty beaten up over the years in storage, so instead of tossing them, I decided to use them for my large urn on the front porch.

I took a metal skewer and pierced a hole through the centers to hold them together (with the help of a hot glue gun for extra security).
 
I also had a ratty old grapevine wreath that I ripped all of the silk flowers off of and wrapped it in fall garland and white lights to prop the pumpkins on. Although I think the brown corded lights would blend in better against the grapevine (note to self for next year!)

Looks pretty cute all lit up at night and it was all using materials I repurposed….gotta love free!!!

Check out my Hanging Ghost Tutorial for $2.00!

Linking to...

Pottery Barn Halloween Hanging Ghost Tutorial

It’s two weeks until Halloween and I’m starting to put the finishing touches on our décor at the Garza house. I always grab inspiration from Pottery Barn Kids for some “not too spooky” ideas.
This year I’m lovin’ their Set of 3 Hanging Ghosts, but not lovin’ the $59 price tag.

So, after heading to the Dollar Store…here’s my version for a whopping $2.00 per ghost.

I took 3 different sized bouncy balls from the kids section at Dollar Tree and spray painted them white. You might luck out and find white ones, but mine had bright animals all over them. The objective is to not see them under the lightweight cheesecloth.

Then in the air hole in the bottom of the ball I pushed in a small white nail.

I also purchased the Cheesecloth Fabric at Dollar Tree in the Halloween section. Its called Bloody Fabric and has fake blood all over it. If you are doing three ghosts, get three packages of fabric. I threw it in the washing machine with a lot of bleach to get the red (blood) areas out. Then I draped it over the ball, making sure the nail head peeked out of the fabric at the top.

I used a black Sharpie to draw the eyes on my ghosts.

Use some clear fishing line (you can get it at Walmart in the camping area) to tie a knot around the nailhead.

Your ghosts are ready to hang!

I made 3 ghosts using a large, medium and small bouncy ball to represent our family…so you could add a ghost for each child to make it more personal.
Not bad for $2.00 a ghost!

Happy Haunting!!!

Fall is in the Air!

Okay, maybe not judging this week’s weather in Dallas, which is still reaching temps in the triple digits, but its definitely around the corner!
Thought I’d share some inspiration for easy decorating ideas!
This is a picture I posted last year from Pottery Barn, but I didn’t mention where you can snag all of the look-alike accessories below for a big bargain! The grapevine pumpkins and wooden pumpkins are at Hobby Lobby this year. The big urns can be found at Garden Ridge and spray painted brown for a rusty look. The garland, orange pumpkins and black crows are at the Dollar Tree. The lanterns are always at T.J. Maxx or Ross. Might be trying this look out myself this fall! Stay tuned for my version!



This next one I snapped a picture of outside a local restaurant. Check out my easy and cheap tutorial on how to do this. It would also be super cute with a grapevine pumpkin as the bottom one.



Here’s a picture of my mantel from last fall. I always try and take pictures of how I decorate for the seasons so that I can build on the look from year to year.



Oh, and the battery powered candles below are from CVS….3 pack, can’t remember the price but it was really cheap compared to all the other stores around town.




The black cat resin treat bucket was a find a couple of years back at Ross.


I try to incorporate accessories that I already have in the house, just giving them a different purpose. This old wooden box is in my office, usually as a catch-all basket. It makes the perfect coffee table container when filled with varying pumpkins and scraps of burlap. The yellow flower stems were just plucked from the arrangement that usually sits on my coffee table, adding a little color.


Hope this has inspired you to look around and see what you can use to add some “fall” to your home! I’ll be sure to show you what I come up with this year in a later post!

The Versatile Lantern....to be used throughout the year

Lanterns have become really popular in the last few years. Just skim the pages of a Pottery Barn catalog and you'll see what I mean. They are also one of my "staples" when it comes to seasonal decorating. Just see what I mean!

1. Halloween through Thanksgiving
Use the lanterns to flank the sides of your entryway admist hay bales, gourds and fall garland.

This year I used a lantern in my Halloween Mantel decor with crumpled book pages and a flameless flickering candle inside.

2. Christmas through New Year's

Fill the lanterns with candles on the porch or even inside on the bottom steps of the staircase. Tie holiday ribbon and ornaments to the handle and nestle a candle among cranberries or faux snow inside.

3. Springtime

Use the lanterns in your spring decor by incorporating bird nests with speckled robin's eggs, bright green moss and garden stones as fillers.

4. A Coastal Summer

Starfish, white sand and seashells will freshen up your lanterns for summer. Try tying thick braided rope from the handles for a nautical feel.

Halloween Inspiration

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I guess the little kid in me comes out! Here are some inspiring images. Let your imagination go wild and use everyday pieces you already have in new ways to create spooky decor!

Pottery Barn takes old book pages and twisty tree limbs to create a vintage Halloween porch scene. My neighbors had just trimmed up their curly willow trees and left the branches out for trash pick up last month. I snagged the branches and used my front porch urn to plop them in.The dollar store has the black crowes right now with wire connected to the feet that you can secure them to the branches with. Then all you need is to tear up an old book and stain the pages with a little watered down brown paint.

I get my fall garland at Hobby Lobby usually after Thanksgiving when they mark it down to 90% off! You can get lanterns like these at Urban Farmhouse for a fraction of what PB wants for them and use them in almost every seasonal decor from Halloween to Christmas through the spring and summer by changing out what you put inside. I'll try to do a lantern tutorial soon to show you what I mean!

So simple yet super chic! Apothecary Jars are also another "decorating staple" that I use throughout the year by changing out what goes inside!

Hmmm, wouldn't this look cool against my gray wall in Urban Farmhouse's showroom? I have an old cherry picking ladder and the crows....where could I get a big vinyl peel and stick tree? My wheels are turning!!!

Love the idea of spray painting tree branches black (and glittery) and hanging little bats in different kinds of scrapbook paper from them as ornaments. If only I had more free time!!! Love the white pumpkins under the console table.

Where can I get a top hat? I must have this. It would also make a great snowman hat for a vintage Christmas design.

I love the idea of using everyday items and making them fit a seasonal design. If you have black and white dishes....try this out.

very cute cupcake toppers....I think I need to have a Halloween party now! Would you come???

This takes the cake for the ultimate fantastical Halloween design. Who else you ask? Why Martha Stewart of course. There is a step by step tutorial on her web site on how to do this in your own home if you have some free time and printer. How clever!

Happy Haunting!!!