With Thanksgiving coming up most of us are in full Christmas mode. Family get togethers, shopping, parties, baking… you know, all the things. With with so much going on it’s easy to feel like you are overwhelmed. I know I do. So I need a good bit of organization to keep me from going to crazy town! One of the biggest things that keeps me sane is having a Christmas Wrapping Station.

This rolling cart from Michaels turned out to be the perfect solution.

I can’t tell you how much I love this work horse.

Simple roll it out of a closet or an out of the way spot when you are ready to use it.

Done? Roll it back!

During the holidays it becomes all things Christmas, but during the rest of the year it’s an everyday wrapping station.

You can get one here .

On the very top of the cart I have small bins that hold all of the small things.

One holds curly ribbon, string and a stapler.

Another houses all of my tags and special accessories that I like to add to make my gifts look a little extra.

I also place bags of raffia and confetti here.

Attached to the side of the top and middle shelves are removable ribbon rods.

They hold a ton of small to average sized spools of ribbon.

I love the easy access.

Tip:

To keep the ribbon from unrolling, I simply put a sewing pin in the ribbon spool.

The middle shelf holds all of my medium and small gift bags.

On the very bottom shelf I like to keep rolls of ribbon that are too large for the ribbon holders.

Also, behind the ribbon, I store packing paper and any extra miscellaneous larger items.

If you spin the cart around to the back side, you will find a spot for wrapping paper.

It’s perfect for all sizes and the vertical storage is perfect for both large and small rolls.

Attached to the side of the roll holder are two hooks that make it super easy to store larger bags.

These hooks make bag organization a breeze!

Tip:

Over the years I’ve tried several things to keep my wrapping paper closed.

Special binders, wraps, tape, but I always come back to what is easiest and economical.

A rubber band!

One side of the cart has 4 sets of hooks and one bin.

I keep my scissors, tape, hole punch, paper cutter and all larger embellishments here.

If I had one complaint about the cart it would be that it isn’t wide enough to lay my tissue paper out flat in one of the shelves.

However, I fixed that!

I added a suction cup hook and a binder clip to the other side of the cart.

My tissue paper hangs and doesn’t get wrinkled!

It’s not often that I find something that works so well for me, but this cart certainly does.

I love that my Christmas Wrapping Station helps me keep the mess and the stress at bay!

Now let’s get the Holidays started!

Until next time….

                                         Remember! If you love it, be sure to PIN it!

Hello! Today I’ve got a little something different to share with you. It’s a two-for! Not only are you getting a blog post about How To Decorate a Christmas Hutch, but I’m also sharing a video on how to do it also! You can see the video here.

In fact, you might even say that it’s a two-for x2 as my good friend Terrie at Decorate And More With Tip is doing the same thing!

So once you get done visiting my blog post and video, you can go to her site and check out her Christmas Hutch too!

Decorating my hutch is one of the first things to do whenever I decorate for any holiday.

It’s also my favorite thing to do!

So many options.

The first thing that I always do is clear the hutch of all previous decor and give it a good cleaning.

I like to think of my hutch in zones.

Zone 1 is the top of the hutch and everything above it.

Next, zone 2 is the first shelf.

Zone 3 is the middle section.

And zone 4 is the top of the cabinet.

By breaking it up in zones, it’s easier for me to decorate.

Zone 1

I like to start at the top and work my way to the bottom.

I love hanging artwork above the hutch.

This year I painted a  Merry Christmas sign to fill in the empty space above the hutch.

Once that was done, I added a large white house to the center of the hutch and surrounded it with two smaller white houses and silver bottle brush trees.

A few red ornaments and a felted garland and the top of my hutch is finished.

TIP: Always work in odd numbers.

Decorating with odd numbers is more effective in capturing the eye. It forces your eyes to move around, thus it creates more visual interest.

Zone 2

Zone 2 has built in grooves for a plate display, so I always have dishes here.

I purchased these dishes several years ago from Better Homes and Gardens.

They don’t have the exact dishes anymore, however I found a set that’s really close.

You can see those here.

I placed another medium white house in front of the middle set of dishes.

Adding in more silver bottle brush trees, as well as a few felted greenery picks that match the garland.

Tip:  Repeat items.

Again, decorating with repetition creates visual interest and detail without overloading your sense.

Remember the red Christmas ornaments on the top?

I’m adding some large, sparkly red ornaments to the bowls for a little texture and color.

And it doesn’t hurt that it adds a little bling either!

This girl loves a little EXTRA!

On each zone I like to add the same items, but colors also.

We are finished with Zone 2!

Zone 3

Zone 3 is a little cut up with the center display section flanked by two small enclosed areas with doors.

Again, the center section has built in grooves for displaying dishes just like in Zone 2.

Except the space is much smaller.

I used the salad plates from my Christmas dishes to cover the back wall.

In front of each plate I placed a beautiful red glass.

With this space being short and not all that large, I like to keep it pretty simple.

In each of the end cubbies, I placed a stack of my Christmas bowls.

I could put an ornament in each of these, but chose to leave it as is.

We actually use these dishes on the hutch daily during the holiday season.

Super easy to grab them, set the table and then when I’m done cleaning them, it’s just as easy to  put them back.

Hence, I chose to leave these empty.

Now, Zone 3 is complete!

Zone 4

Zone 4 may be my favorite spot to decorate.

It’s usually where I put my biggest focal point and it’s the workhorse of all of the zones.

I put the most used dishes here, as well as fun decor.

I started in the center with a slab of wood.

Layered more felted greenery picks on top of the wood, followed by an antique truck.

I found the truck at our local Antique Mall years ago and it’s still one of my favorites.

I keep cloth napkins folded up in the bed of the truck for daily use.

Functional, yet pretty!

To the left of the truck I place the dishes that we use daily.

On top of the dishes I placed the sweetest little red bird salt and pepper shakers that came with the dishes.

TIP: Place often used items where they are easily accessible.

To the right of my truck I’ve places more stemware.

I hand painted these glasses many years ago when I had a hand painted glassware business.

They are still some of my favorites and have held up really well.

In front of the glasses I placed a stack another stack of napkins.

The tiny Santa that sits on the napkins was one of the decorations we bought!

Every year I find a fun place for him to hang out!

Zone 4 is complete.

I hope that you enjoyed how to decorate a Christmas hutch!

If you would like to see the video, please go here.

Also, don’t for get to head on over to Terrie’s and see what she’s done to her hutch.

Trust me, she never disappoints!

Want to see the video?

You can see mine here.

And be sure to check out Terrie’s Video here.

Until next time….

                                       Don’t forget! If you liked it please PIN it!

How many of you have started decorating for Christmas? This year it seems like a lot more people than just bloggers are decorating earlier than ever before. I get it. In a year where nothing is normal, you might as well do what makes you happy! With that in mind I started a little earlier than usual myself. Today I’m sharing my glitzy reindeer banner with you.

You know, just in case you need a little inspiration.

This year I started in my living room. Put the tree up. Decorated the shelves. Everything was rocking right along, until I started on my fireplace mantle.

I ran into a big brick wall and it took forever for me to figure out why!

In my head it was going to be this really fun, glamorous, multi-colored fun fest.

But when the dust settled, I realized that I was fighting where the decor was telling me to go.

I hung several banners off the mantle.

A big, beautiful red pom pom banner and a white pom pom, tassel banner with wooden beads.

It just needed something extra.

I searched on-line and in stores for something that I loved to add to the mantle, but came up with zilch.

Then I remembered this pack of reindeer that I picked up a few months ago at the Dollar Tree.

Step 1:

Paint the reindeer gold.

Step 2:

Mod Podge.

Paint your reindeer with a healthy coat of Mod Podge.

Really any glue would work, I just had this on hand.

Step 3:

Glitter.

Give your glue coated reindeer a generous sprinkle of glitter.

Step 4:

String and hang your glitzy reindeer banner.

I figured I had enough bling on the reindeer so I strung my reindeer on twine.

Once I had it on the twine, I simply hung it above the existing banners on the fireplace.

Once my glitzy reindeer were hung the rest of the mantle fell into place!

I love it!

Another bonus was that it only cost me $1.00 and about an hour of time total.

I still have a few more things to add to finish up my Christmas Fireplace Mantle.

But it’s mostly just sprucing it up and fluffing it here and there.

I love the simplicity of it compared to years past.

I know I say this every year, but this may be my favorite Christmas mantle ever.

And all because of a $1.00 glitzy reindeer banner!

Until next time…..

My good friend Terrie from Decorate And More With Tip asked a few  friends if we would like to get together for a Surprise Box Challenge.

Of course, I said yes!

So here’s how it works.

Terrie drew names out of a hat for each of us. We were to spend no more than $10 on any craft item or items, then mail it to the person drawn for us.

Once we received our box we had to use something from each item that we received and make a fun craft.

We could add items as needed, but we had to use a least part of each item.

Shayna from Robinson Repurposing sent me a box full of items.

Ten to be exact.

A small house, styrofoam balls – large and small, glitter glue sticks, a picture frame, glitter, a seasons greeting sign, a pinecone pick, a Let It snow sign and a large plastic bowl.

I gotta admit that it took me a couple of days to figure exactly what I wanted to do.

My first thought was a two tiered tray, but just as I was about to start putting it together my sister  called and asked me to make her a Christmas wreath!

Step 1:

Spray paint almost everything white.

Once that was done, I had The Hubs cut off about 1/4  of the front of the house.

Step 2:

Add glitter to the house.

Nothing like a little glitter to make it look like snow.

Step 3:

Using the Season’s Greeting sign, I flipped it over, painted it white and added a red and white snowflake patterned paper to the back of the box.

Step 4:

Glue the house to the box using the glitter glue sticks from my surprise box.

I also added a few small bottle brush trees that I had in my craft closet.

Since the glue sticks had glitter in them I really piled it on to look like snow drifts.

Then added a little more glitter.

Step 5:

Start building the wreath.

I purchased a new wreath on sale at Michaels for $3.99.

Flip the wreath over to the back side and glue the white bowl into the opening.

Step 6:

Turn the wreath over to the right side and glue the red and white box to the bottom of the bowl.

Step 7:

Remove the metal “Let It Snow” words from the sign.

Let It Snow was all one piece, however I cut it apart to better fit on the wreath.

Once removed and cut apart, dry brush white paint over the lettering.

Step 8:

Taking the styrofoam balls, I placed them on a wooden stick, painted them with glue and then added glitter.

Tip: Why the sticks? They can be placed into a jar or glass while the glitter and glue dry.

Step 9:

After adding a bow, the pinecone pick and the “snow balls” to the front of the wreath, it was time to add a wreath hanger.

I used the top half of the picture frame and wired it to the wreath.

The hole in the frame made it a perfect way to hang the wreath.

This is my finished wreath!

I’ve done the Surprise Box Challenge two times now.

Surpisingly, I love them.

It’s like Forrest says ” they are like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are gonna get!”

Boy, isn’t that the truth!

If you’re wondering who I sent my surprise box to and what was in it?

Well, head on over to Emily’s at Le Cultivateur and check it out!

And when you are done there, check out all of the other participants.

                                                          If you loved it, be sure to PIN it!

Our November DIY Challenge is shopping your home, DIY Christmas.  In other words, at least in my case, it’s “Get busy finishing up all the projects you bought from last year.” Procrastination, in this case, is a good thing!  Seriously, we were challenged to make Christmas decor out of the things we already had, without buying anything. So what did I make? A Christmas Advent Calendar.

If you are coming here from Cindy’s, Cloches and Lavender, WELCOME, I’m so glad that you are here!

Also, I want to extend a great big thank you to Terrie from Decorate And More With Tip for a fabulous job of hosting.

I found this paper mâché advent calendar box last year and couldn’t wait to get started on it.

However, we all know that didn’t happen.

It got put in the back of my craft closet until I had more time.

Good news, if you want to make one, they are on sale for 50% off right now at Hobby Lobby.

I dug around in my 5000 pages of scrapbook paper and found 5 different complimentary patterns to cover my boxes with.

To help count down the days, these felt stars and trees with wooden numbers were a perfect size for the front of the small boxes.

I found these last year also, however, they have them at Hob Lob again this year.

Step 1

Spray paint your boxes.

Honestly, if I’d had red spray paint I would have used it instead of the black.

Still, the black looks good with my paper.

Step 2 and 3

Lay the front of the small boxes onto the paper and trace around the box.

Then cut them out.

Once you have your paper cut out, paste the paper to the front of the boxes.

I used Mod Podge, however regular glue would work also.

I also covered the outsides of my main box with paper.

Tip: I painted glue onto my boxes, positioned the paper, then painted a thin layer of  Mod Podge on top of the paper and box.

Step 4:

Once the boxes are completely dry, put the boxes back into the main box.

Then it’s time to put the numbers onto the fronts of the small boxes.

My numbers went from 1 to 24, however there were 25 boxes.

On the 25th box I placed a felt Santa face for the 25th.

These numbers had sticky dots to attach them to the boxes, however I added hot glue to the dots to ensure that they didn’t pop off.

Step 5

Add a festive bow to the top.

I thought that it would look cute to make my calendar look like a Christmas present.

It’s just not a present without a bow!

I dug out my Christmas ribbon and made a bow from scraps.

Step 6

Add a name tag.

Since my Christmas Advent Calendar is going to my sweet great niece, I added her name to a wooden tag and glued it to the top of the box.

Just like you would with a Christmas present.

Step 7

Add treats, candy, or money to the boxes.

What better way to make it fun than by adding tiny inexpensive treats to each box?

When my boys were little, they couldn’t wait to open each box daily on their Christmas Advent Calendars.

I’m going to try and fill the boxes with fun things my niece will love.

I’m so glad that our DIY Challenge was to make something out of what you had.

Otherwise I might have never finished this Advent calendar!

Next on our stop, is Michelle’s from Blessings By Me!

Then, I hope you will join me in visiting all of the other DIY Challenge participants.

I can’t wait to see what they have done!

DECORATE & MORE WITH TIP | cloches & Lavender | PATINA & PAINT

BLESSINGS BY ME | BLUESKY AT HOME | JUNK TO GEMS

PALLET & PANTRY | THE HOUSE HOUSE | B4 & AFTERS

                                                   Remember, if you liked it, be sure to PIN it!

Don’t you love a pretty, formal Thanksgiving table? I sure do. However, 2020 has given us so many unexpected surprises that I’m  mixing my Thanksgiving  table decor up a little. The unexpected- with a little traditional decor thrown in. I guess you could say that it’s a Turquoise and Orange Thanksgiving table. Oh! And I’ve got a giveaway for you too.

But first, the table.

Thanksgiving will be a little different this year.

#COVID

Instead of gearing up for a big family dinner, I’m setting my table for just the four of us.

So my holiday table will be a little more simple.

Simple, but filled with lots of color.

I started with a turquoise buffalo check table runner.

Followed by a wooden tray layered with eucalyptus leaves, bitter sweet and an orange pumpkin tureen to make a fun centerpiece.

Candles were added for a little traditional accent.

Normally, I’d set the table with formal china, crystal glassware and linen napkins.

Not this year.

A natural straw placemat hosts a plain white plate and pumpkin salad plates.

The salad plates come in two different colors.

Two are turquoise…

And the other two are orange.

These pretty wooden napkin rings are a Mudpie creation.

I love that they have a built in place card holder.

I looked around for a cute place card and came up empty.

So I made my own.

Turquoise and orange watercolor pumpkins.

Once I had them painted, I simply scanned them into the computer and added names to them.

Super easy and I love how they turned out.

I picked up this super cute cutting board, along with the stuffing spoon and the turkey fork  from Mudpie.

I love all of the fun, witty slogans they put on everything.

They fit right in with my sense of humor for sure!

Can you tell I’m a Mudpie fan?

The Giveaway

I love my new utensils so much that I’ve decided to share one with you!

I’m giving away this Turkey Time serving fork.

To win, all you have to do is comment here on why you’d like to win.

And head on over to my Facebook page and give it a like and a sprinkle. ( A sprinkle is a share)

The drawing will be held Tuesday, November 10, just in time for Thanksgiving!

Good luck!

                                                       Remember, if you love it, be sure to PIN it!

Pumpkin Pie, oh my! Yep, it’s that time. Fall is one of my favorite times of the year. I love everything about it. Pumpkins on the front porch, fall leaves, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, cooler temps and decorating all things fall.

I was recently looking for a fall bunting or banner that would last well though Thanksgiving.

Apparently, that’s a big ask.

After much searching and  thought, I settled on making my own pumpkin pie bunting!

Yes, you read that right, a pumpkin pie bunting.

Step 1:

Make a template for a slice of pumpkin pie.

One for the crust and one for the pie filling.

Step 2:

Next, draw the pie patterns onto felt.

Cut them out.

Step 3:

Glue the felt pie filling to the  felt crust.

I used hot glue, but really any craft glue would work also.

Step 4:

Using left over felt scraps,  mark and cut out strips of the tan felt.

Step 5:

Make a fancy pie crust.

Place a dot of glue on the end of the felt pie piece.

Glue the end of a felt strip to the left edge of the pie crust, then loop the felt strip in an upside U shape.

Once that is done, glue the end of the felt U to the crust.

Glue, loop, glue.

Repeat until the top of your felt  pie piece is covered.

Step 6:

Once the pie piece is finished,  add a white pom pom to the middle of your pie piece to look like a dollop of whipped cream.

Step 7:

Add a loop of felt to the back.

Because I will be hanging my pie pieces onto twine, I needed something to attach the pie piece.

I simply added a  loop to the back for the twine to be strung through.

Step 8:

For a little color, I also added these fall leaves to the pumpkin pie bunting.

I shared how to make these earlier.

If you missed it, you can see how here.

Step 9:

Once you have all the pieces to the bunting made, it’s time to add them to a string of twine.

Then hang!

This banner is super easy and fun to make!

It’s the perfect bunting for my kitchen area.

Pumpkin pie, oh my!

Until next time….

                                       Remember, if you liked it, be sure to PIN it!

This is the room I hate the most in my house. It’s not a terrible room, but it definitely was on the “things to change” list when we moved in.

Honestly, I guess hate is a strong word, but until this week there wasn’t much I loved about this room at all.

Before I show you the recent changes, let me give you a little history.

We decided a little over a year ago to down size our home.

So while I knew this kitchen was small, I had no idea how big the struggle would be to fit all my stuff in it.

The cabinets were originally stained and lime washed.

Which hasn’t fared well at all.

Overtime  they have aged, the finish is wearing off and  they have a weird peachy look.

Not a bad look, just not my style.

The granite counter tops – not my color or pattern either.

The back splash .

Let’s just say that not only isn’t it my style, it’s not my color or design.

And for some reason the previous owner loved fluorescent lighting.

It is EVERYWHERE!

It’s the under counter lighting and it’s also in the pantry, the closets, the game room and in the  laundry room…. everywhere.

( along with 4 or 5 pencil sharpeners that are attached to the walls. Yep, just like we had in grade school!)

Lots of  weird yellow lighting.

We’ve changed out a lot of those light fixtures, but not in the kitchen.

And the island..

She is  tiny and the wood has seen better days.

When we moved in, we immediately changed out the flooring ( which matched the back splash) and added all new appliances.

Then the holidays were here and we decided to wait on any projects until after the new year.

We all know what happened next – #covid.

All things came to a screeching halt while we worked outside on installing a pool, a kitchen and patio.

Fast forward and we’ve been in our new home for one year this month.

It’s fall, so we are back indoors more and the kitchen is getting on my last good nerve.

I found these runners and fell in love.

The blues match the colors in our breakfast room, which is really an extension of the kitchen.

And as an added bonus, they didn’t totally clash with the existing cabinets and backsplash.

These rugs led me to make a blue buffalo check valance for the window and paint the walls.

It was all great, but the kitchen was still a little blah.

My plan for the kitchen is to extend the cabinets to the ceiling and paint them white.

Add hardware.

Install a new black or white quartz countertop with a beautiful backsplash.

Add a wooden top on the island.

New undercounted lighting, as well as a small pendant light over the island.

Add a new sink and faucet.

However, all of that isn’t in our budget right now.

But, it occurred to me, I could do some small changes.

Like paint my island!

This is Sherwin Williams Salty Dog.

And I love it!

And so does my island!

Not only is the color pretty, it doesn’t clash with the floor color and makes that tiny island look fabulous.

I loved it so much that I did this….

I painted my pantry door blue!

I’ve always planned on replacing that door with another one that had a little more style.

Until then, this gives the room a much needed pop of color.

Of course, as always, it’s like the “Give A Mouse A Cookie” book.

Now that I painted the door, the white trim needs a good coat of paint.

And the island needs a little jewelry!

Some hardware is definitely in it’s future.

This is still the room I hate the most, but it’s slowly growing on me.

In a weird way, I can see the potential of the room again, just like I did when we bought the house.

So until I can jump in and give my kitchen a HUGE facelift, I’m going to do small projects that make the room just a little better.

I’m curious.

Do you have that one room in your house that you hate?

If so, which room is it?

Until next time….

                                                         Remember, if you love it, be sure to PIN it!

If my front porch had a them it would be The Witch Is In! I honestly didn’t plan it that way, but once I got started I ran with it.

How do you make a front porch with a witch theme?

Well, it’s easy!

Add a cute witchy door mat

I’m not sure why, but this year I’ve found more cute door mats.

With 3 doors to enter our house, this may be my newest addiction.

This is our side porch.

It’s the perfect place to curl up with a throw, a warm drink and just watch the world go by!

Add witchy decor

This is the front door.

Of course, a witch’s house would be surrounded by spooky black trees that light up at night and flank the front door.

The trees are surrounded by fall plants, mums and pumpkins.

Normally, I would have a ton more pumpkins but it’s still hitting 90 here occasionally.

So I’ve been holding back until I know they will survive longer than a week!

I shared my ghost front door wreath with you here.

It’s still my favorite new Halloween decor piece for the year.

My Home sign got a new bat charm.

Isn’t he the cutest?

I love that he has the tiniest bit of glitter on him.

Broom Parking

What witch wouldn’t have a place to park her broom?

I made the broom sign a few years ago, however I picked these brooms up from Home Depot this year.

A Place to Hang My Witch Hat

To add a little witchy lighting, we hung witch hats filled with remote control candles from the front porch ceiling.

In our last house, we hung witch hats from the trees on our patio.

The hats have become one of my favorite things to decorate with!

You never know where you will find them here at the castle.

Witch’s Black Cats

And last, but by no means the least, no self respecting witch would live without a black cat!

These vintage cat pails are perfect for my witchy theme.

I took $1.00  orange pumpkin pails and painted on vintage cat faces.

This style of art reminds me of Halloween decorations from my childhood.

Love it!

I painted 10 different pails in all and they make the perfect luminaries!

Just add a tea light and you are all set!

I’ll leave you with a few pictures of our Halloween front porch at night…

Too much fun!

Until next time…

                                               Don’t forget, If you like it – PIN it!

Since Christmas is just 71 days away, I’ve decided to share my Friday Favorites part 3. Not every Friday, that would be a lot of things. However, I promise that quite a few Fridays will be filled with wonderful things that I love. I’m hoping that a few of you love them too!

Christmas Ribbon

Around this time of year, if I see ribbon I love, I am buying it!

Not only do I wrap presents with it, I also use it on my tree.

I’ve learned the hard way that if it’s cute, it doesn’t stay in the store long.

These beautiful ribbons came from WalMart!

They had me at chenille.

And plaid.

And while I wold love to tell you that the beautiful red and white ribbons were the only ones I bought, I’d be lying if I told you that.

Is it considered a problem when you can’t pass up pretty ribbon?

These cute rolls of ribbon came from Sam’s Club.

At $6.99 a HUGE roll it’s a serious bargain.

And they are so cute!

Apple Watch Band

I’ve had this watch band quite awhile and whenever I wear it I always get compliments on it.

I love that it’s leather as I’m not a big fan of the plastic bands that come with the watch.

A watch case comes with it, but I’ve honestly never used it.

This band is under $15.00  and you can find it here.

These keyboard stickers make me so happy every time I open my computer!

They were out of the ones that I have on my computer, however I did find these that are very similar.

I cannot tell you how much I love them!

Leopard Chuck Taylor Sneakers

Anybody who knows me knows my love of Chucks!

These sweet little leopard Chuck Taylors are just what any little girl needs.

I bought them for Beep and I can’t wait to give them to her.

I’m resisting the urge to add a little bling to them…

Gel Food Coloring

About a year ago I went to a cookie decorating class.

And fell in love with it.

However, there is one thing that I’ve always hated.

Using the gel food coloring when making the icing.

Most gels com in pots and you are suppose to use toothpicks to get the gel out.

WHAT. A. MESS.

This AmeriColor gel food color is in a squeeze bottle and is quite frankly amazing!

I used the black, which usually takes a ton of gel color to make, and only used a few drops for the blackest of black color.

Love. it!

Sleep Pants

These are by far my favorite of favorites!

Can you say soft?

And comfortable?

Yes, please!

Made from Bamboo for the softest light weight sleep pants you will ever wear.

Even if you don’t sleep in long pants, these make great lounge pants.

For under $20.00, you can’t go wrong.

Tip – size down.

I normally wear a medium and bought a small with plenty of room to spare!

Suitcase Organizer Bag Sets

Some of you may be the Queen of packing and organization, but I am not.

I’m fairly neat, but as my vacation goes along my suitcase tends to get messier.

These organizer bags are the bomb and help keep things separated, sorted and easy to find.

With the holidays coming up and travel imminent for some of you, these would be the perfect solution for the suitcase challenged.

They come in many different colors and patterns and are well under $20.00.

That’s it for Friday Favorites part 3.

Hopefully you found something for you or maybe even the perfect gift for someone else!

Until next time….

                                                                    Remember, if you love it, be sure to PIN it!

Did you know that a group of crows is called a murder? Truth. And boy do I have a murder of crows in my dining room. I couldn’t be happier. I’m loving my Murder of Crows Halloween Table!

It all started when I was setting my table  for Halloween.

I put down a black polk a dot table runner, added a mercury glass  pumpkin.

Next, the spooky place setting.

The orange placemat reflects the orange dots in the table runner.

Purple glitter chargers were added for a little bling.

You all know I love me some white plates!

To top off my plate stack I added 4 different lacy black and white Halloween plates.

The finishing touch was the napkin and spider napkin ring!

At this point, I knew something was missing.

It needed just a little more fun added!

Adding vintage looking crows for place cards seemed to be just what my table needed.

Using white cupcake stands for my  base, I added cut up cupcake liners to the flat top.

Then it was time to dress up my crow.

For his neck ruffle, again I used cupcake liners as well as coffee filters.

I simply cut them down to the width I wanted, and using a needle and thread, sewed a  running stitch close to one edge.

After gathering the stitched ruffle, simply put it around the crows neck and sew the ends together.

Now, my crow needed a few embellishments.

I added hats, rhinestones, stickers, wooden tags, and crowns.

Anything that looked like it belonged on my crows.

Then, at the base of the cupcake stand I added preprinted cut out names.

The perfect place card  holders for my Halloween table!

Not only were the crows fun to make, but I think that my Halloween table turned out pretty cute too.

I also added a few blingy spiders and glittery decorations to the chandelier.

As well as a few scary things to  my buffet as well.

My murder of crows Halloween table couldn’t be more fun.

Let the Halloween celebration begin!

Until next time….

                                                        Remember, if you love it, be sure to PIN it!

Yes, it’s $10 on The 10th. This month’s theme is Harvest. So basically anything that is Fall. When Fall rolls around and it finally cools off here in Texas I love a warm mug of what we call Fall Spiced Tea. Y’all can have your pumpkin chai lattes, for me it is spiced tea from October until March!

I always try and keep a few gifties available for friends who need a pick me up, to welcome a new neighbor or an “I was just thinking of you today” gift.

Spiced Tea is perfect for any of those gifts and more.

However, to take the gift up a notch I like to make sure the packaging is super cute.

No plain jar for this girl!

Supplies:

Jar – I bought mine from the Dollar Tree

Felt

Wooden Tags- I bought mine here.

Acrylic Paint

Paint Brush

Scissors

Hot Glue  Gun and Glue

Buttons

Scissors

Pen or pencil

Card stock

Step 1:

Since it’s Fall, what could be more perfect for a decoration on my jars than Fall leaves?

I found some free clip art of leaves, printed them off and cut them out of card stock.

Step 2:

Trace your leaf template onto felt.

Step 3:

Cut your felt leaves out.

Step 4:

After your leaves are cut out, lay them out like you want and hot glue them together.

Then, add a button for a little bling!

Step 5:

Add more bling.

I could have stopped with just the leaves and the button.

They are cute just the way they are, however I wanted to add a little more warmth and detail.

Using a metallic gold paint, paint on the leaves details.

Makes such a difference!

Step 6:

Make a tag.

I found these unfinished wooden tags awhile back and bought a package of them.

I use them all the time.

Paint your tag using watered down acrylic paint.

Quickly wipe the paint off with a paper towel.

Now, your tag is ready!

Step 7:

Make your Fall Spiced Tea.

At the end of the post I’ll share the recipe with you.

It’s super simple and oh, so yummy!

Fill your jar with spiced tea.

Step 8:

Decorate the jar.

Tie orange twine onto the jar.

Be sure to add your tag at this point.

Hot glue the leaves onto the twine.

Your Fall Spiced Tea is finished!

Cost:

Jar: $1.00

Spiced Tea: to fill this jar 2.78

Felt -.90

Wooden Tag – .14

Everything else I had on hand in my craft closet.

Total cost: $4.82.

Not bad for a  super cute and easy gift!

Recipe:

2 cups Tang

1 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup Instant Tea

1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves

1 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

Combine all ingredients and store in an air tight container.

SERVE: 2 heaping teaspoons per cup of hot water.

To really spice things up I add Red Hot candies.

Now please join me in visiting all of the other $10 on the Tenth participants to see their fabulous inspiration!

With the holiday season approaching I’m  going to start posting a few of my favorite things on Fridays. Friday Favorites.  Lately I’ve found a few things here and there that I love and thought that you might like them too!

Number 1:

Colorstreet Nail Strips

These nail strips are amazing.

The last time I bought nail strips they had to be heated to adhere to your nails.

Not great, at all!

These nail strips  are so easy to apply AND they stay on an average of 10 days.

Want to try a set?

Let me know and I’ll share my consultant.

P.S.: They have the CUTEST Halloween sets that just dropped!

Coming soon are their Thanksgiving and Christmas sets.

They also have a huge selection of plain, glitter and french nail sets.

LOVE them.

Number 2:

For those of you who travel this silicone heat resistant sleeve is amazing.

You can immediately put your iron into the sleeve and cannot feel the heat on the outside.

Which makes putting it into your suitcase when it’s hot a breeze!

I use mine on the bathroom counter to keep the heat away from the marble.

Works like a charm.

Number 3 and 4:

Bath and Body.

I LOVE their new Halloween and Fall scented hand soaps.

My favorite?

Candy Corn Treats.

Not sure that it smells like Candy Corn, but it does smell yummy!

Another favorite – This Wallflower plug in.

It doubles as a night light and is so pretty all lit up!

Number 5:

If you haven’t tried this balsamic glaze, you don’t know what you are missing.

My favorite use for it  is on a salad.

Lettuce, avocado, tomato, a shake or two of Everything But the Bagel, and a drizzle of Nonna Pia’s and you have yourself the best low cal, healthy lunch!

Number 6:

St. Augustine Distillery makes this hand sanitizer that is just the best!

I found mine at Total Wine and More.

I like it because it sprays on, has no scent and disappears immediately when you rub your hands together.

Make sure you get the spray, their gel has an unusual scent that is not my favorite.

That’s it for this week’s Friday Favorites.

Next week I’m sharing my favorite clothing.

HINT: I found the most comfortable lounging/ sleep pants for under $20.00!

Until next time…

Welcome to October’s DIY Challenge.  If you are coming here, from  Corine’s Junk to Gems, I’m so happy that you are here! This month Terrie of Decorate and More With Tip asked us to give all of you lots of pumpkin inspiration. So that’s just what we did! Today I’m sharing  how to make a Faux Sweater Pumpkin.

I’m sure all of you have seen those gorgeous  sweater covered pumpkins.

So pretty.

All you have to do is cut up an old sweater and cover the pumpkin.

But what if you don’t have an old sweater?

Well, you create a pumpkin out of yarn!

Here is how you turn a plain little Dollar tree pumpkin into a beautiful faux sweater pumpkin.

Step 1:

Remove the pumpkin stem.

Which is super easy as it is only attached with a toothpick.

Step 2:

Cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin.

Step 3:

Paint the Pumpkin.

I recommend painting the pumpkin a color close to the yarn you will be using.

Your yarn will leave “holes” where the pumpkins color can peek through.

Step 4:

Braid the yarn.

I started off by cutting 9 – 26′ pieces of yarn for each braid.

Gather the 9 strands at the top and tie them off.

Then divide the 9 strands into 3 groups.

Keeping the yarn flat braid the 3 groups together.

Tie off the bottom of the braid just like you did the top.

You will need approximately 10 – 12 braids per pumpkin, depending upon the yarn you use.

Step 5:

Apply the braids to the the pumpkin.

Put one end of the braid into the hole of the pumpkin, then wrap around the pumpkin and place the tail of the braid into the hole.

Keep doing this until the pumpkin is completely covered in braids.

Step 6:

Give the pumpkin a stem.

Add a wine cork or tree branch to the top of the pumpkin.

Just stick it into the hole, the braids will hold the stem in place.

Step 7:

Add leaves to the pumpkin.

I chose to add these felt leaves, but really any leaf would do.

To attach them I cut out the felt, gathered the end and hot glued it to a piece of wire.

Once dry, I stuck the wire into the pumpkin hole.

As with the stem, the braids will hold the leaves in place.

I made a couple of the faux sweater pumpkins.

One with a variegated yarn and another with a chenille yarn.

Both are cute, but the variegated is my favorite!

It really does look like a cable knit sweater.

I’m a big fan of the faux sweater pumpkin.

No more looking for sweaters to cut up and it’s fun and easy to make!

Now, I hope that you will join me and visit Carol at Bluesky at Home.

I can’t wait to see what pumpkin inspo she’s cooked up!

                                                    Remember, If you love it, be sure to Pin it!

It’s Reveal Day! Week 5. This has been one crazy month of painting, painting ,more painting, sewing and did I mention painting? I was painting until this past Monday, but I am so thankful to be done and sharing the $100 Room Challenge Reveal with you!

A quick thanks to Erin of Lemons, Lavender and Laundry for hosting this challenge.  It’s such a great way to get a room makeover done in one month, for $100 or less.

Goals for the Guestroom

This is the “before” room.

Not bad, just a lot of beige and it needed to be pulled together.

My goal was to add color and make it feel more like a room a guest would be happy to spend some time in.

Week 2

Week two was when all the painting started.

We started with the ceiling and  finished up with the walls.

Week 3

Week 3 we added a new/old chandelier that had been gifted to me.

New curtains were hung and  I started painting the artwork.

Lamps, curtain rods and accessories were all painted.

Week 4

Week 4 we added a focal wall!

I am so glad that we did.

It’s subtle, but oh what a change it made!

We started painting the nightstands.

Finish:

And this is where I finished!

Remember I said that I painted, a lot?

I painted just about everything in this room except the bed and the chair.

Nightstand, dresser, mirror, lamps, curtain rod, accessories, the walls, the ceiling and the art work.

It makes me tired just thinking about it.

I have to say that this room took me WAY out of my comfort zone with the color.

I wanted to leave everything white.

Truly!

However, the room begged me for color.

And boy, did it get it!

Want to know a secret?

I’m not even a big fan of green!

How weird is that?

But, when it came time to paint this was just the color that was right.

For years we called this bedroom the pink flamingo room, so there was a ton of pink with the navy.

Hot pink and navy are my two favorite colors!

The pink was great, there just needed to be a little less of it.

While this isn’t a very big room, now it sure lives big.

A friend told me that it was no longer one big beige room, now it was a happy room.

Who wouldn’t want guests to stay in a room that makes them happy?

So how did I do on budget?

I’m so relieved to say that I did great.

I spent a grand total of $89.58.

Paint:  $40.34

Bender Board:    $24.75

Curtains:   $14.50

Accessories:  9.99

Which left me with $10.42.

One last look at the new guest room.

It makes me happy, so I’m calling this $100 Room Challenge Reveal a success!

Now, please join me in visiting all the other participants.

I can’t wait to see their reveals!

                                          Remember, if you love it, be sure to PIN it!

Can you believe that October is only days away? Some days this year seems to be flying by and on others it seems to crawl. Luckily I’ve been able to keep busy with lots of crafts, reading and decorating the past few months. One of the crafts I worked on was this Spooky Halloween sign. It is so easy, fun and versatile that I just had to share it with you!

I found this super cute sign at Hobby Lobby.

Did I know what I was going to do with it?

No, but it was so cute I couldn’t resist!

The ribbon is from Hob Lob also, but the cute metal Spooky cutout and the sweet little wooden cutouts came from the Dollar Tree.

Step 1:

Take the sign apart.

That’s right, I removed the sweet little wooden beads so that I could paint them.

The wooden signs tray would need a little paint too.

Step 2:

Painting the beads.

To paint the beads I put them on a wooden skewer like I did  when I made these mini signs.

If you missed it, you can see how I made them here.

Putting the beads on a skewer is a game changer.

Step 3:

Before I painted the sign, I cut the ribbon to fit the tray.

Then painted the sign black and added purple glitter to the frame.

Step 5:

Once both the sign and the beads were dry, I reattached the beads to the sign using new twine.

Step 6:

Next, I glued the ribbon that I pre-cut earlier onto the the sign.

Step 7:

Now, paint the witch hat and ghost cutouts.

If you aren’t comfortable painting the cutouts, I think that they  would be super cute covered in Halloween themed scrapbook paper.

Step 8:

Glue the painted wooden and metal cutouts onto the sign.

Add a cute, simple bow made from Halloween ribbon and your Spooky Halloween sign is finished!

I added my sign to my coffee bar for some much needed Halloween decor.

So cute!

I love how easy, inexpensive and fun this project was.

It was a quick afternoon project that cost me under $8.00!

My kind of craft!

Until next time…

Every year about this time I start sharing great Christmas finds with you and where to get them.  I’m here to tell you that the Christmas decor at Big Lots is the bomb this year!

So grab you pumpkin spice latte – or whatever you drink – and curl up in a cozy chair and enjoy all of the wonderful items I’ve got to share with you today!

Random Decor

Let’s start with this Believe sign.

For $8.00  this would be great on a table, on the wall, or even on a wreath!

And this pillow?

Can you even???

If you love this truck as much as I do, you better run down to your local store and grab it.

I promise you it won’t be there long.

I have FOMO about this sign.

Loved it, but didn’t buy it.

I have a blank wooden sign that I’ve been hunting for something to put on it.

This would be perfect!

So cute…

Lanterns.

They had two that really wanted to go home with me.

This reindeer scene lantern, complete with greenery, is just beautiful!

The second lantern, and my favorite of the two, was this red one.

It comes complete with greenery, bow, candle and trees.

lIt’s the complete package.

I have a large red lantern that I put on my front porch at Christmas that would look awsome with this smaller lantern next to it!

Snowmen

Apparently snowmen are one of my favorites this year because I fell in love with a couple of them.

I can think of several places that this snowman would look awesome in my house.

And that Christmas present?

Totally adorable.

So in love with this sweet little snowman.

He’s cute from the bottom of his furry little body to his red and black buffalo check hat.

The co-ordinating tree is just perfect, too.

Tabletop

This insulated cup had me at “merry”.

It’s a nice size and I’m thinking it would be great for not only hot beverages but cold ones too!

We all know that black Labs are my favorite, so are cookies.

Add those together and you get the best cookie jar ever!

Isn’t this Jingle table runner just the happiest?

And the bells have the sweetest sound.

Ornaments

These wooden bead ornaments are very on trend right now.

Not only would they be pretty  on a tree, but I’m thinking that these would make great napkin rings..

Maybe even added to the top of a present?

This cut little red truck is super cute.

I’m thinking of taking the “Merry Christmas” sign off the bottom and using the truck as a decoration piece on a sign.

This is my favorite thing in the entire Christmas isle!

It’s made of metal and has the cutest tree magnet that you move to countdown the days til Santa visits.

I can just see one of the Littles moving it in anticipation every day.

That’s all of the wonderful Christmas decor at Big Lots, but I’m not finished yet…

Our local Wal Mart has just started putting out thier Christmas decor.

Both of these are just the prettiest little decorations.

And did you see the prices?

If the rest of the decor lives up to these pieces, then Christmas Decor at Wal Mart is going to be awesome.

Last share, I promise…

Gliz & Glamour Boutique is an on-line shop based out of Texas that has the cutest little girl boutique clothes at great prices.

These pajamas are just the cutest!!!

They come in green and red.

For an additional fee, they will even put your child’s name on them.

That’s it for today.

Stay tuned for more fabulous finds as we get closer to Christmas.

Until next time…

                                                                    Remember, if you love it, be sure to Pin it!

Welcome to week 4 of the $100 Room Challenge.  I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since we started the challenge! If I had to name last week it would be Guest Bedroom Focal Wall. Why? Well, we will get to that in a minute.

If you missed any of the previous $100 Room challenge weeks, you can see them here:

                                                                Week 1/ Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Reveal

The past few days have been rainy.

Which has made it hard to take photos and paint!

My plan for the week was to paint the dresser and nightstands  and finish up the artwork and accessories.

But, every time I walked into the guest room I kept thinking that the room still needed something more.

And then it hit me, I needed a focal wall.

After a little research,  I thought that a focal wall featuring wooden strips would be perfect.

The design could be kept simple, as this is a small room, and it would keep the cost low.

I decided to go with 2 foot squares that were sectioned off with strips of bender board.

Bender board allowed us to put it right on the wall without having to remove the moldings.

The Hubs looked at the design, measured, cut the boards and had them up on the wall in less than 2 hours.

Once the bender board was upon on the wall, it was time to caulk and paint.

Honestly, I was  shocked at how easy that turned out to be.

This entire wall took a half a day to install and paint.

We used 9 – 8 foot x 3 3/4″ x 1/4″  boards at $2.75 each.

Next, I started painting the nightstands.

Honestly, I went WAY out of my comfort zone here.

Instead of leaving them white, I painted them a bright emerald green.

I know...

So far my sister and my BFF are loving it, but I’m reserving my elation until I see the dresser completed and everything is put together.

The wall sconces are installed, however still need to add my CordMates to hide the lamp wall cords.

Finally, my guest bedroom focal wall is perfect!

This next week is going to be a busy one for sure.

I may be working down to the finish line!

Budget:

So how much have I spent?

This week I spent $24.75.

Which leaves me with a grand total of $10.57 to finish up the rest of the room.

Wish me luck!

Now, I hope that you will join me in visiting all the other $100 Room Challenge participants!

                                                           Remember, if you love it, be sure to PIN it!

Painting Fall pumpkins is one of my favorite things to do.

Every year I find something new to paint on my pumpkins whether they are real, faux, wooden, plastic, canvas or styrofoam.

Really, with pumpkins, the possibilities are endless!

A few years ago I shared how to paint a pumpkin, if you missed it you can see how to here.

I recently found the perfect blank wooden pumpkin for a front door hanger at Hobby Lobby.

I couldn’t wait to get started painting!

Step 1 was to remove the twine loop at the top and give the pumpkin a light sanding.

I won’t bore you with the painting details, I’ll just give you the highlights.

If you want to see how to paint them in detail, hit up the link I shared earlier!

Starting on my left, I paint in the shape of a “C”.

I continue each “C” until I hit the middle section, where I paint an oval shape.

Then on my right side I work my way to the middle painting reversed “C”s.

This creates the indentations on the pumpkin.

 TIP:

When painting my pumpkins I rarely clean out the brush.  For this pumpkin I used a dark turquoise, turquoise and white.

By not cleaning my brush it creates many different colors of the turquoise which gives it depth.

Once my turquoise was painted, I added some white and orange highlights.

Then, it was time to paint my stem.

Again, I used a dark brown, medium brown and white.

There are several ways to add the word “welcome” to my door hanger.

I could have used vinyl, however I didn’t have any permanent vinyl on hand so I decided to paint it on.

So, I did what I did in grade school when I wanted to transfer a design.

I drew the word welcome, then flipped the paper over and ran a pencil over the back of the paper where the word was written.

Once that was done, I flipped the paper back over and placed it where I wanted the word to be on my pumpkin.

Then, using a stylus, I traced the word.

After that it was just a matter of painting between the lines!

Once my paint dried, I reattached the twine and added a few burlap leaves.

At this point, the only thing that my pumpkin needed to be finished was a colorful bow!

My door hanger was ready to be hung.

Of course, I couldn’t just paint one!

I painted these smaller pumpkins using the same technique, only this time I painted on leaves and on the smaller one a fun leopard design.

Painting Fall pumpkins couldn’t be easier or more fun!

Until next time….

                                                           Remember, If you love it, be sure to PIN it!

 I’m so excited! I made a Halloween Tear drop! What’s a Tear Drop you ask? Well, we will get to that momentarily, but first a little back story!

Remember a month or so ago when I shared my Halloween Dollar Tree haul with you? Ever since then I’ve been adding things here and there to my stash just waiting for the right time to use it all. And then one day I was on Miss Cayce’s Christmas  Wonderland site and fell in love with Tear Drops.

This is one of Miss Cayce’s Tear Drops.

Isn’t it the cutest?

The base is an upside Christmas tree shaped “swag” of pine branches.

If I lived closer to Miss Cayce’s I would definitely take a class or two on how to decorate a Tear Drop.

Unfortunately, I’ll have to do with their Youtube tutorials!

Normally I would wait to share my finished product with you until the end.

However, this may be how my Tear Drop looks now, but it certainly isn’t what it looked like to start with.

My Tear Drop arrive a few days after ordering it.

Nicely packed with a personalized note inside.

I quickly took it out of it’s package, fluffed it up and added these cute black and white floral picks to the top and bottom of the Tear Drop.

Next, I added these cute witch hat picks, again at the top and bottom.

Now this is the part I was so excited about, I added a black glitter cat!

I had made this, along with a ghost and pumpkin from my Dollar Tree haul.

I knew  it would be the perfect focal point for my tear drop.

Just like Miss C’s tutorials, I added balls and bows.

Shiny curly things, as well as glittery spiders with webs.

And when I was done, I took a few steps back to admire my lovely glittery black cat with the bows and all things shiny!

All I could think was:

This is not at all what I had in my head!

The cat doesn’t show up at all…

I sat down at my studio desk to roll around in my disappointment and my eye caught a shiny little ghost sitting on the  worktable.

And I knew.

While I loved my glittery black cat, my shiny white ghost was perfect for my Tear Drop.

His glittery shiny white self just pops off of the greenery!

My Tear Drop isn’t nearly as cute as the ones at Miss Cayce’s, but I think it’s pretty cute.

Even without my black cat.

Now, I can’t wait to hang it.

Bring on Halloween!

Until next time….

It’s week 3 of the $100 Room Challenge. I can’t believe how fast it’s flying by! I got a lot done this week, although it may not look like it. A lot of tiny, behind the scenes stuff that you have to do, but really doesn’t show up that much.

A month or so ago I was at a clients home and she asked if I wanted an old chandelier.

Why, yes I did!

I love old chandeliers.

Can you say Granny chic?

I took this one home and cleaned it up, not really sure what I was going to do with it.

Until a few weeks ago.

The Hubs graciously hung the chandelier in the guest bedroom for me this past week.

I LOVE it!

So much better than the old beige ceiling fan.

I found new curtains.

Not exactly what I wanted, but they are cute, I couldn’t beat the price and my oldest son who is the one usually staying in this room loves them.

Sold!

I found an old black curtain rod hanging out in the guest room closet and decided to use it.

I sprayed it Rust-0-leum metallic gold and the curtains were ready to be hung.

The package said that the curtains were 95 inches long.

I used that measurement to determine the height of the rod.

However, once I hung the curtains they were not the same length all the way across and they were too long.

So I left them hanging, turned them up and pinned them the correct length.

Then hand sewed them.

So glad that’s done!

I couldn’t find artwork for the bedroom that I loved, so decided to paint my own.

This is my inspiration piece.

It would have been perfect except it’s got a black background, which won’t work in my room.

And it says “Gather”.

Not really for a guest room.

Cute, but I’m changing it up a bit to go with my room.

I’m not even close to being finished, but I did get started on it.

I have also started on a updating a few other accessories for the room, but still have a way to go to finish them up.

So how much have I spent so far?

This week’s total:

I bought curtains for $7.25 each,  gold metallic spray paint, and a faux plant for $28.49.

Combined with last weeks expenditures I have spent a total of : $59.18.

Which I feel like isn’t too bad.

I still have to make up my mind about what color I’m going to paint the dresser and nightstands.

Finish up the accessories and pull it all together in the next 2 weeks.

Fingers crossed!

So that’s it for week 3 of the $100 Room Challenge, if you missed week 1 or week 2 you can see those here:

                                              WEEK 1 / WEEK 2 / WEEK 3 / WEEK 4 / Week 5 Reveal

Now, please join me in visiting the other $100 Room Challenge Participants!

I’m so excited to have cooler temps here in North Texas! The cooler weather has me dreaming of fall and Halloween. So I finally dusted off the pumpkins and started decorating the front porch. As I was decorating, I realized that you only need 5 things for a fall front porch that is beautiful.

5 things that aren’t all that expensive and are  easy to do.

That’s my kind of decorating!

Step 1:

Clean everything.

This is the time to sweep the porch, clean your windows and doors, and if need be mulch the flower beds.

It’s amazing how a quick cleaning can make everything look so much better!

Step 2:

Add a pretty wreath or door hanger to your front door.

I believe the front door is one of the first things you see as you look at a house.

Making sure that it is clean, shiny and wearing a little bling is key.

Step 3:

And while you are at the front door, add a fun door mat.

I love all of the funny, colorful and inviting mats that you find today.

They come in a huge range of colors and sizes.

Normally my front door has a layered rug and mat combo, however this mat was so large that a rug under it looked like overkill for the space.

No worries.

I love this mat so much that I don’t even miss the rug!

Step 4:

Add fall flowers and pumpkins.

Right now my Summer flowers look better than they have in quite awhile, so I’m leaving those out for little longer.

However, that hasn’t stopped me from adding Mums to my front porch!

I never pay more than $5.00 or so for them.

That way when they are finished blooming I don’t feel bad about replacing them.

Also, I leave them in the plastic black pots they come in.

To spruce them up, I add a colorful bow to the front.

Sprinkle a few pumpkins around them and you never notice the cheap plastic pots.

Once the weather gets cooler I will get rid of the Summer flowers and add in more flowers and pumpkins.

Speaking of disguising the cheap plastic pots, I just had to share these cute little pails!

Aren’t they just the cutest?

And they were only $7.84  each.

Just pop a mum or fall flower in and it just screams fall and Halloween.

Step 5:

Now that your yard and porch are clean, the door is welcoming and you have your fall flowers and pumpkins out, it’s time to add the bling.

Just like a little black dress, when you add bling, it completes the look.

At my house, a garden flag welcomes you as you come up the sidewalk and head to the door!

A few colorful metal cornstalks are added to my summer planters for some added color and height.

My home sign is sporting a new fall charm.

And I’ve added fall pillows to my rocking chairs and other seating areas.

My front fall front porch is complete!

See?

Adding 5 things for a fall front porch is a super easy way to make sure that your porch is beautiful!

If you liked it, be sure to PIN it!

Welcome to 10 on the 10th!  This month’s theme is all things Fall.  Which I love because it’s all things fall here at the Castle. This month I’m sharing a blue and white Dollar Tree pumpkin.

I don’t know about you , but I’m always on the hunt for smaller items to add to my seasonal two tiered tray. All those smaller knick knacks can get a little pricey.

So on a recent trip to the Dollar Tree I spied a few items, that with a little make over, would be perfect for my tray.

Of course, my blue and white pumpkin didn’t start out that way.

This is what it looked like when I bought it.

Well, without the white paint splotches.

(Note to self: Take the before picture before you start painting!)

Cute, but not my style.

So, I flipped it over and on the back side gave it  a couple of coats of white paint.

Originally, I was going to replace the stem with something a little more rustic.

However, I decided  to take a craft knife and mess this one up.

Effectively making this one very rustic.

Once the stem was done, I took some scrap material from my new kitchen valance and used Mod Podge to attach it to the pumpkin.

While that was drying, I painted a dollar tree leaf in a fall design.

After that,  I attached the leaf to the pumpkin using velcro.

A little raffia added to the stem and my blue and white Dollar Tree pumpkin is finished.

Cost for my pumpkin?

Pumpkin: $1.00

Leaf:  There were 5 leaves in a package for a $1.00, .20 per leaf.

Fabric : free

Raffia: free

Mod Podge: free

All free products were already in my studio!

Not only was my blue and white Dollar Tree pumpkin easy to make, but it looks so cute on my fall two tiered tray!

Now I hope that you will join me in visiting the rest of the 10 on the 10th participants to see what Fall things they’ve come up with.

Pandora’s Box

Decorate and More With Tip

The Applestreet Cottage

Cloches and Lavender

French Ethereal

It’s the $100 Room Challenge – Week 2. Boy, has this week flown by! Honestly, between the holiday weekend, a wedding, and #life I feel as if I didn’t get much done.

However, I did get a few things painted as well as a little shopping done.

So without further ado, here’s what I did get done!

I chose my paint color for the walls.

Honestly, I’m not a gray fan, but the color that I went with is a soft blue/gray color.

Sherwin Williams Misty.

It’s perfect because not only does it go with the bedding, it also compliments all of the other colors that I plan to put in this room.

Day 1:

Once the paint color was chosen, I couldn’t wait to get started!

I cleared the room of everything but the big furniture items.

I was just about to start taping the room off when I just happened to look up.

That’s when I realized that the ceiling was the same color as the walls.

How did I miss that?

The ceiling definitely needed to be painted before the walls.

Luckily, I had an almost full gallon of ceiling paint in the garage from painting the Library a few months ago.

So, the bedroom ceiling got painted first!

Day 2:

Bright and early the next day I got up and started painting the walls.

Boy, did they need it!

Unfortunately, the walls were previously painted in a flat finish.

So the walls sucked up the new satin paint.

I had a bout 5 square feet of wall left when I ran out of paint!

Instead of buying another gallon, I purchased a sample of the same color.

Did you know that Sherwin Williams samples are quart sized and they come in a satin finish?

Plus, they are only $8.69 each.

Since they are having a 30% off sale, my sample came to $5.65!

The room is completely painted!

Everything is put back together, except for one thing.

I forgot to put the vent over the bed back into the ceiling!

Oh, well. There’s always tomorrow.

I thought that I needed to paint the crown molding, trim, and doors, but once the room was painted they looked great.

 Budget:

So where am I on my budget?

Here’s what I’ve spent so far:

1 gallon satin paint: $25.02

Ceiling paint – free (as it was sitting in the garage from another project.)

1 quart of sample paint: $5.65

Which brings me to the grand total of $30.67!

That’s it for the $100 Room Challenge Week 2.

In case you missed week one, you can find it here.

Also, I’ll be linking each week up as we go.

                        Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 Reveal

Now I hope that you will join me in visiting all of the other wonderful participants in the $100 Room Challenge to see what they’ve been up to!