Doors of Welcome--December Installment

It's time for the December edition of Doors of Welcome, sponsored by Karen at Some Days are Diamonds.

For myself, I'm going home in three more days and I can hardly wait! I'll only have a week to settle in and get ready for the holiday, but it will be great to be back home among my own things and decorations, if only for a short time!

Meanwhile, I set myself a challenge to see what I could do to add a little Christmas cheer for the tidy sum of $20. So come on in and see what I found!



Because my door here is dark green to start with, I had hoped to find a thrifty wreath in either snowy white or berry red, but alas, it wasn't to be. It may not be a stand out against the dark door, but I was happy with the way everything turned out.

The wreath came from Dollar General for $3.50, and the bells, bird, and berries all came from Dollar Tree, Total cost, $8.50

This is the top of the armoire that holds the television--the little suitcase thingie is part of the regular apartment decorations and is the same one I used as part of my fall decorating.

These little houses are actually cardboard boxes, $1 each from Dollar Tree. The "roof" lifts off, and I plan to use these later as gift boxes for small items or "goodies" from the kitchen.

The "presents" are empty boxes, wrapped in newspaper, and inexpensive ribbon. The "greenery" on one gift was originally attached to one of the bells I used on the wreath.

I know a lot of people decry the use of gift bags, but I think that as long as you pick pretty ones they can add a spot of color to an empty corner and be useful at the same time. $1 from Dollar Tree.

I already blogged about the different versions of this centerpiece. This version was $2 for the charger, $1 for the berries, and maybe $.50 for the candy, on sale at CVS.

And last but not least--a couple of dollars worth of candy canes in a canister, and this cute little mini-lunchbox I got at Dollar Tree for $1--this is another piece that will probably end up doing double duty as a gift box for "goodies".

It's not a lot, but I smile every time I see each and every little touch of holiday cheer.

Be sure to visit Some Days are Diamonds--Karen is showcasing her beautiful home and lovely Christmas decorations, indoors and out. Then on the left hand sidebar of her blog is a list of all the other participants of Doors of Welcome. The are well worth visiting to see a variety of decorations, from simple to extravagant.

Thanks for visiting!

This post is also linked to:

Thrifty Thursday to Tales from Bloggeritaville

Penny Pinching Party at the Thrifty Home

Holiday Linky Friday at the Inspired Room

Frugal Friday at Life as Mom

Until next time...

Doors of Welcome--November Installment

Welcome to this month's installment of Doors of Welcome, sponsored by Karen at Some Days are Diamonds!

Welcome to my home-away-from-home! As you may recall if you visited for last month's Doors of Welcome, home for me is a small town in Louisiana; home-away-from-home is a corporate apartment in Georgia. We bring our clothes and a few personal possessions and that's about it for the most part. My seasonal decorations are a combination of a very few things I brought from home, and items I find around the apartment or at thrift shops and dollar stores.

To be honest with you, this month's Doors of Welcome kind of crept up on me--I knew it was coming, but for some reason I didn't realize until too late that it was coming so fast! And because my October decorations were more "fall" than Halloween, not much has changed.

This is what I had last month--simple, but full of bright and beautiful fall color. But because of the tremendous amount of rain we've had, the only thing left outdoors is...

....the wreath--isn't it pretty? I still love the simplicity of it, and the combination of berries, leaves, and pinecones. Don't stop there, though, this time I want to invite you inside, so come on in!

I didn't want the rest of it to be ruined by the damp, so I moved the rug from here...

to here--where we see the bright and cheery colors in the oh-so-bland kitchen every morning.

And I moved the suitcase/trunk box of leave and garlands from here...

to here, on top on the armoire that holds the television, dvd player, and internet stuff.

I do have the beginning of a centerpiece of sorts--some silk leaves in a jar, fall colored candles and some fake grain--I've been looking for a plate or charger or something to group it on, but I haven't had much luck with my thrifting lately, so this is as far as I've gotten.

I did buy a pumpkin, but instead of decorating with it...

...I cut it half, cleaned it out, and baked it...

...which helped me turn it into this, which ultimately became...

a pumpkin pie!

And now that you're here, pull up a chair and enjoy a piece of pie!

Next month I plan a fabulous (!) transformation, and no more orange and rust!

Thanks again to everyone who is visiting--please visit Karen by clicking on the link at the top of this post, or the "Doors of Welcome" picture on the left sidebar. She has all of the lovely participants on her sidebar, and I assure you they have some fabulous decor, well worth visiting!

Until next time...

Doors of Welcome Mini Series-October Installment

Welcome to the first installment of the Doors of Welcome mini-series, hosted by Karen at Some Days are Diamonds!

(click on any of the picutres to see them closer; then click on the 'back' button on your browser to return)

October finds me 625 miles from my rural home, living in a furnished apartment in a small city while my husband completes a work project here. Some of the decorations are mine that I brought from home, one item is 'borrowed' from the apartment, and one item is new.

This is the wreath that I brought from home--I just love the simple lines. I've had it for several years, and because I know I bought it in our small hometown, it had to have come from either Dollar General, Family Dollar, or Wal-mart.



This pretty little trunk-looking box is "borrowed" from the apartment decor--it usually sits, closed, on top of the entertainment armoire. I opened it up and filled it with assorted garlands and fall picks, most of which I already had; one of these was leftover from the wreath I made at home last month, all of them are from Dollar Tree and Dollar General.


And last but not least, the one new item I bought, the rug came from Dollar General and was $5.00.


As you can see, I don't have much space. We have one neighbor literally right next door, a quiet elderly gentleman...

...and we are inset quite a bit from the breezeway opening. There are two other apartments directly across from these, but we are on an upper level, so luckily we don't get a lot of "thru traffic"!


I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of my "door of welcome"; for links to more beautiful decorations, click on the "Doors of Welcome" picture above and see the list of links on her left sidebar!


Until next time...