Fall around the house.

I think it's time I show you the rest of my fall decor around here, because, well...I'll be honest...Christmas stuff is finding it's way out.

Keeeeeel me. I love it. I don't apologize. Christmas decor is just dreamy, seeing it makes me giddy. Like, when it was out at Lowe's two months ago, GIDDY.

So sue me. The fall stuff is going to be boxed up soon. :)

I decorate on the cheap whenever possible, as you know. Here are some more examples of how I do this for fall!

When I made this candlescape for the powder room last year, the rocks came with the little acorns. Most of the year, those are put away, but for now, they are arranged on top, giving the pot-tay just a touch of fall:
These tin containers came inside a couple of my Southern Living sconces, I guess for if you use real flowers in them. Pushaw, like that's gonna happen. So I use the inserts on their own, one in our living room, one for fall stuff in the kitchen window:
Some foam inside, stick the beady stuff in, fill in with faux apples. Easy peasy. And colorful!

Last year I got dollar store frames, some pretty paper and stenciled letters on to make this:

Now, I'm on the lookout for small, ornate frames to use instead. I think that would be lovely!

I wrap beady stuff around candles whenever I can:

Loverly!

More beady. More candles:
I just took the SLAH iron piece above and used wire cutters to take the stuff off of fall pics to fill it. Can you get any easier than that? Noooooooo, you cannot.

Speaking of candles, I fell in LOVE with these blingy votive holders when I saw them at Michael's and Hobby Lobby:OH, I just love these things. I wish they made them ten times this size. I added a fall-toned tassel that came from my old dining room to the lamp and it's done:

Ummmm, can you tell I used to sell Southern Living at Home? I think their stuff is just classic -- it's been six years and I still love every piece:

Again, stuffing flowers in, fluffing, done.

A little iron pumpkin with random fillers thrown in, stacked on books:

Texture peeps! Stacking items! You can't go wrong! Stop yelling Sarah!

Spray paint strikes again. ;) I sprayed some pine cones for some color:

Cause you know I need color.

I replaced a tray that was in this spot with a beautiful platter from HomeGoods:

I want to eat hot dogs off it, I love it that much. Gorg.

I took my Goodwill plates that just happen to be full of fall color and just plopped them right on top of the Dollar Store plates that were already here:

I found that whole set at Goodwill -- like new!

And of course, I had to add some color under glass! More fall pics cut off the stick, piled high under my huge Goodwill cloche:

And a Pier 1 clearanced plate from last year with cheapy faux apples for the table:

And course, beady stuff. ;) I doubt you are surprised.

Use what you got my Squeezies! Fill something with fall colors, add some texture and you are set. Lovely, and cheaptastic!!

OK. Now onto Christmas. Sorry. It's my blog and whateva whateva I do what I want! (Name that character!)

(Almost) free Halloween decor

I'm so stinking excited you all love my redo as much as I do!! It's GORG, eh? It just feels like "home" to me, like it always should have looked this way. ;)

It hit me this week that, uhhhhh, Halloween is like, in two days and I hadn't shown you more of my decor. Maybe you can file some ideas away for next year, yes?

Most of my Halloween decor -- well ALL of my Halloween decor -- was made by moi or purchased on the cheap. I showed you my free spooky mantel here, my ghouly candleholders here and my Halloween crafting here. All were super cheap or faaaareeee!

Here's more of the other el cheapo decorations I promise every one of you can do!

A glittery word from Hob Lob, cut off the ribbon and attach it to scrapbook paper in an old frame:
The gumball machine was $4 at Goodwill and I couldn't. resist. it. I tried, I did. It's perfect for peanut M&M's. Makes it a bit harder to get to them, which is a good thing. ;)


These labels are free online (if you search Halloween labels you should find some) -- I did these last year with Goodwill bottles so I can't remember where I found them:
This year I got a few more little jars for $.25 each at GW, and printed off itty bitty labels I found here. (You have to see all of the ideas Lorie finds -- amazing!! I couldn't find the actual post for these -- do you know where it is Lorie?)

Years ago I found images online, printed them out and cut out the shapes in stiff felt. They've lasted for a long time and I love how they look on our windows:

When you take three cardboard letters that spell out BOO and half off scrapbook paper, this is what you get:
Four bucks total, I believe? I think the paper cost more than the pumpkin for this one:

Outside, I used spidey web lights I found at the drug store last year on clearance (drug stores have some fun stuff for CHEAP after the holidays.) I think these cost me two bucks:

And of course my dollar store tombstones are all over the front yard! I touched them up with white paint and they look awesome:

This one was probably the most expensive project -- I found these vinyl stickers at HomeGoods a few weeks ago and got Spooky and Scary for $6:
I took some scrap wood, spray painted it, distressed it and drilled holes for the ribbon to hang it:

Adorable. Cheap. Thankyouverymuch. ("Scary" is vertical and leans against a wall in our foyer.)

Fun stuff eh??

Please don't let all of this fool you. I have a secret...

I am sooooo cheating...

I couldn't resist, really. Could you? (Don't tell me if you could.)

Another Before and After Party is coming up this Monday!! (I'll have the post up Sunday night!) You just need a before picture and the after to join us. Wooeee, I love a party!!

I'll also share my first Christmas project next week -- I've mentioned it before but you'll need some time to prepare for this one. ;)

Metallic pumpkins!

This time of year, pumpkins have puked all over our house. In a really nice way. I have wood pumpkins:
Hee. Aren't they precious?

I have glittered pumpkins:

(Take some glue, brush it on, and put on the glitter.)

I have real pumpkins all over the place outside:

I have metal pumpkins:

And last year I used black paint and made some cauuute tags to make a set of "Welcome" pumpkins:

But this year my favorite pumpkins are my metallic ones:

For these, I took cheapy plastic pumpkins and sprayed them with my beloved oil rubbed bronze spray paint, then took just a bit of my loverly glaze and brushed a bit on over the top:

It gives them just a little bit of shimmer. Sigh. I love my glaze!! (By the way, my pumpkins were all about a buck, from Hobby Lobby on sale and WalMart.)

I also did some with a copper spray paint, with a bit of the ORB spray over it:

Some I did the bronze first, and then just a bit of the copper, but it's a lot more subtle:

At our dining table settings, I used the copper by itself on some:

And added a bit of ORB spray on others:

Here's the good stuff -- my faux glaze I use on just about everything (from Lowe's), the Rustoleum ORB spray paint it's getting harder and harder to find, (boo hiss) and my "burnished copper" spray paint from the craft store:

Check out the metallic pumpkins at Whispering Creek House and at 320 Sycamore. And the gilded gold leaf (what a good idea!) pumpkins at The Magic Brush!

Remember you can enter the ABCD Images giveaway till Monday the 26th at noon Eastern time!

And YES, the dining room is coming tomorrow. I'm finishing up the bench and it's proving a bit more difficult then I expected. (Why would I expect any seating in this room to be EASY ??)

P.S. I believe I said "pumpkins" 78 times in this post.

A mantel, spookified!

So Friday night, I got a wild hair to make our mantel look a little more Halloweeny, which I've never done. I always leave fall decor up there till November 1 Thanksgiving. I struggle with Halloween and fall decorating -- do I do all fall, then take it all down for Halloween, do I do both? Do Halloween, then fall?

Oh, it's so hard being me. The stress of these decisions keeps me up at night. (Totally kidding! Kind of.) I have to have fall up in late August, so for me it's fall, then some Halloween thrown in, then fall, then Christmas. I try not to overdo it though -- it's easy for the house to get overwhelmed with extra decor during the month of October!

When I started the mantel, I just tried adding some spider webs and spiders but it just looked totally goofy with my gorg candles and beady stuff. It was then I decided to go all. the. way. And I LOVE IT!!!

Awhile back, I got this frame for $1.99 at Goodwill: Last week I spray painted it and completely, unabashedly copied Chris at Just a Girl and did this:I just printed out a 31 to the size I needed, cut it out, then cut out those numbers on scrapbook paper.

I put it up on the mantle and it just wasn't enough by itself. So the wheels started turning in my head and it came to me....

Another Goodwill frame in the basement, some spray paint, and some letters printed out on scrapbook paper:

Another empty frame, with another computer print out:

Next year I hope to use another ornate frame for Eek...for now, I'm not picky. :)

I saw a store display that used black tulle in their Halloween display and I fell in love. It is so cheap! I bought some a few weeks ago and didn't do anything with it till now. I nestled all my ghouly votives in it:

Don't worry, I only use LED votives anymore. No fire hazards!

I have had these candleholders for years and years, and a week or so ago I spray painted them black. They were an odd brown color and now I LOVE them:

I took an extra apothecary jar and put some skeleton bones inside:

The bones were bought on clearance last year. Do you see that nasty spider inside? Uhhh, he totally grosses me OUT. I dropped a few of them in there and was getting the heebies looking at them, they look so real. Ugh. I got them all out but this one cause I couldn't reach it. NASTY.

To create a little it one step further, I took a short strand of lights and put them under the black tulle:
I love having just those lit and the rest of the lights off. Spoooooky! But in a lovely way. ;)

Some spidey webs completed the look:

I love it. Like, I love it like I shouldn't love a spooky Halloween mantel. LURVE.

Best part? I didn't buy ONE thing for this mantel. I used the computer and pulled everything together from what I had.

A FREE spookified mantel, you can't beat it!

You can enter the Joey and Chase giveaway till tomorrow (Monday) at noon Eastern time! Rachel has graciously offered a ten percent discount for whatever you order from her site between now and this Friday, the 23rd! To get the discount, enter "TDC10" at the checkout. Lovely!!