Dollar Store and Thrifty Decorating for Fall

• Who can find a virtuous woman?  her price is far above rubies
• She looketh well to the ways of her household
• She worketh willingly with her hands

It's finally starting to feel a little like fall around my house.  Yesterday we were able to turn off the air conditioning and open windows for the first time this season.  I'm sitting in front of an open window now, wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt, and when the breeze picks up I feel almost chilly.  If you knew me in real life, you'd know how unusual that is for me!

As I've already shared, I'm not much of a decorator, and I'm limited somewhat by budget, the style and small scale of our house, but I do like to have a few simple, seasonal decorations around.

This year when I pulled out my Thrifty Fall Wreath that I made a few years ago, I was afraid it was too beat up to use.  The tissue & wire fake fall leaves are definitely a bit worse for the wear...

...especially compared to when I first made this from Dollar Tree goodies and an old, repurposed grapevine wreath. ($2 for the garland and leaves, less than $3 originally for the wreath)

I decided it looked just fine from a distance, more like real leaves, anyway.  Which I could/would use, except we don't have fall colors here yet, and most of our leaves around here just turn brown and then fall off anyway!



You may remember this from a couple of years ago, too.  The charger was originally $1.99, and has been used over and over again, as has the glass vase and dried frou-frou, both from Dollar Tree for $1 each.

This year I used the same charger and vase, some slightly different Dollar Tree dried frou-frou, and a big splurge--a $5 candle from Walmart, which was the only place I could find one tall enough that was still in budget (meaning cheap inexpensive).  edited to add: Besides a just-for-looks candle like this one, I buy a few from the dollar store in fall scents for burning--maple, hazelnut, and pumpkin spice--especially when we're having guests.

I still have a vintage Mason jar filled with nuts, and one from Ball that I fill with a fall pick with leaves and berries and some loose silk leaves at this time of the year--all dollar store purchases from years past....


....as well as one filled with vintage and antique buttons of all different shapes, sizes, and colors.

What do you do to decorate for fall?  Do you go "all out", or keep it simple?

Until next time...


This post is linked to:

Make Your Home Sing at Mom's the Word
Make it Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House
In & Out of the Kitchen at Feeding Big
Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Through Life

Thrift and Dollar Store Decorating for Fall

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She is like the merchant's ships, she bringeth her food (and other things!) from afar
• She looketh well to the ways of her household
• ...all of her household are clothed with scarlet

I'll admit it, when I first started seeing posts around the blogosphere about fall decorating back at the first of September, I was aghast. We were still experiencing temperatures in the high 90's, with the heat index in the triple digits! Who could even think fall under those circumstances? Last week I finally made a dollar store purchase or two and pulled out some things I already had, and did some tentative seasonal decorating--just in time for a cold front! We had one whole day where the temps didn't climb into the 90's, and where I actually thought about pulling out a long sleeved shirt to wear. Not to worry, it was back to normal today, but it sure did feel good for a day or two, and it did get me at least thinking about up coming holidays and events!
So far on the porch all I've done is change out my wreath for this thrifty fall wreath I made last year from dollar store decorations and a repurposed grapevine wreath.
For indoors, I started this centerpiece--made from a charger I already had--which I'm sure came from the dollar store--and two new Dollar Tree purchases--the glass vase and bag of dried thingies, $1 each--total cost so far, $2.



It's not quite done--I had originally planned to fill the vase with the dried goodies, mixed with a few pine cones from the woods or the side of the road, but when I spread these out on the charger while I decided which to put in the vase first, I liked the look of it, so I decided to leave them around the outside.

I want to add a candle inside the glass, but so far I haven't found one tall enough that I like, so for now, I'm enjoying it this way.


The other thing I did in the "dining room"--which is the end of our eat-in kitchen--is fill one of my vintage jars with nuts, and the other one with a fall pick and some silk leaves--all dollar store purchases from years past.

And this one is filled with old buttons, all different shapes, sizes, and colors. These were leftovers from my grandmother's sewing table, and range from really vintage buttons from the 50's and 60's to more modern ones that were cut off of shirts when they were discarded.


So far that's all of the fall decorating I've done--our "cold front" has just about passed, and we're back in the heat, but I have some mums I need to repot, and I forsee a pumpkin to sit beside them on the porch later in the month. Eventually fall will arrive in the south!


Until next time...



This post is linked to:

Vintage Thingie Thursday at Coloradolady
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home
Fall Get Together Party and Decorating Your Home at It's a Blog Party
31 Days of Autumn Bliss at the Inspired Room

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...

Two Thrifty Fall Wreaths

• She worketh willingly with her hands...

I was so pleased at the way my thrifty wreath (click for step-by-step directions) came out...

...I hounded my mother into letting me help her make one for her door, too.
We bought the ribbon, garland, and leaves at Dollar Tree for $1 each.
The hardest thing was finding a wreath--since Walmart quit carrying fabric and notions and has such a small crafts department now, small town shoppers don't have many options. We ended up going to Nicholls Department Store in Leesville--I love that store--they have everything from hunting supplies to kitchen gadgets, and has some of the most beautiful home decor "doings and makings". We chose a slightly larger one since her door is larger and much farther back from the road than mine, it was $6.XX (I can't remember the cents).
Even paying "retail" for the wreath, we came out at less than $10! She wrapped the ribbon first, then we wired the garland to the front with little twist tie thingies. The leaves are the ones with wire stems, just like I used, so those we were able to just push into the wreath and bend the stems around a bit to hold them.
And we finished just in time, too, since the lows got all the way down into the 60's last night! It was at least 10 o'clock this morning before my air conditioner clicked on, and the high today is only in the 80's.. Perfect Southern fall weather!
What fall craftiness have you been up to so far? For more links and ideas, click over to It's Fall, Ya'll! hosted by Rhoda at Southern Hospitality, the Monthly Craft Challenge at Blue Eyed Blessings, and the Fall Virtual Tour of Homes at the Tip Junkie.
Until next time...

Three or More--Projects in Three Weeks

• She seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands...
• She reaches forth her hand to the needy...
• She maketh fine linen (and other things)...

I'm so excited about today's post I can hardly stand it! Today at The Gypsy's Corner's "Three or More Tuesday" , is the big reveal for the "Three Projects in Three Weeks" Challenge, sponsored by Barbara Jean from Treasures from the Heart. These are all do-it-yourself projects of one sort or another, this is also linked to DIY Day at a Soft Place to Land. And because they are all "thrifty" projects, I'm also participating in Thrifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggeritaville!
Once you finish here, be sure to click over and see the other 3-in-3 and DIY projects and thrifty finds and offer a little comment love!

Project 1

The first project on my list was to do something about this blank wall in my "dining room"...

...which is actually just one end of my eat-in kitchen, and is a strictly informal space. Luckily I had these...

...three wooden shelves I bought months ago at Harvest Thrift in Opelika, Alabama, for $4.50 for the three of them ("bric-a-brac" was half off that day--the large one was $2, the medium $1.50, and the small one $1. Whoo hoo!)


My biggest expense was spray paint. I started off with one super cheap can to use in lieu of primer, and one better brand. Big mistake--the cheap brand spit and sputtered and leaked and made a tremendous mess--plus it had poor coverage. I also underestimated the "suckage factor" of the semi-raw wood. A quick trip to the store for more paint between coats did the trick--next time I will stick with a name brand or at least a store brand...no more "Drylon" knock-off for me. Eventually, after about three coats plus some touch ups on the cut areas, I ended up with this...



One of the shelves was missing a hanger thingie on the back, which I found a spare of in my junk hardware drawer, so they quickly became...

Shelf #1

Shelf #2

Shelf #3


All three

Everything on them was "shopped" from my house, and has already been changed two or three times. I think that's part of charm--I can change things around seasonally, or "just because" without much effort. I may even cover the heart shaped holes with wooden medallions or cut-outs of some kind and repaint them (again), but for now, I'm happy with the results!

Project 2

This was actually the first project that I tackled--I have a fall wreath that I like, but I took it with me to Georgia last year, and it's hanging on the door of our apartment there. I wanted something for our front door here at home, so I decided to see what I could do, again on a budget.

I found a grapevine wreath in the back of my junk room/spare room/everything room closet, which I bought at least 6 or 7 years ago at a Garden Ridge Pottery, the price tag showed $2.38. I bought garland, ribbon, and some leaves at Dollar Tree for $1 each, and came up with this...

I wove a garland into the top side of the wreath, tucking in the ends.

After I got the garland on, I realized that I probably should have put on the ribbon first. I started fiddling with the ribbon to do a bow or something, but decided I wanted something a little more rustic and natural looking, so I turned to the package of leaves I'd bought.

When I pulled them out of the packaging, I realized that they had wire stems, and could be molded and ruffled to look a little more realistic...

...kind of like this

So I started "ruffling" and stuffing and sticking, and ended up with a bundled bunch that I thought had a sort of "nature's bow" effect. And since I'm a sort of "less is more" gal when it comes to most of my decorating, I left it alone, and the here are the results...

Ta-da!

I ended up using one garland and the package of leaves, and never even touched my hot glue gun that I thought I'd need--present cost, $2.00, total cost, $4.38, counting the wreath.

Project 3

And now my last project--when Barbara Jean first threw out the 3-in-3 challenge, she said it could be anything that we're into--whether it's arts and crafts, thrifting, or whatever. One of my favorite "hobbies", if you can call it that, is couponing and "deal" shopping, so I have quite a little stock-pile of toiletries, some of which I got for free or almost free. I can't resist a bargain if it's something useful and I can get it for nothing--and while I often say "I can always donate it", I seldom get around to actually doing it.

And so my last project was to turn "I'm gonna give.." to "I have given..."

After a quick phone call to be sure what was accepted, I culled these new toiletry items from my stash in a matter of minutes, then bagged it up and took it straight the local women's shelter. I would estimate the value of the these items to be about $60-$70 if I paid full retail for them, which I never do, but the actual cost to me for this was nothing but my time.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of my 3-in-3 projects, I can't wait to see what everyone else has done. Be sure to visit the links at the top of my post, and thanks once again to Tam and Barbara Jean for hosting!

Until next time...