Autumn Decor

I love Fall!  I love the colors and the weather, especially!
Since we will only have our Autumn decor out for another week or so,
I thought I'd better hurry and share.

Here is our front door and porch decked out.



The wreath I made with a thrift store grapevine wreath, a leaf garland on clearance, and some picks from the dollar store. 

The scarecrow and the "Welcome Fall" sign were both given to me, I collected the pumpkins a few times on grocery store trips, the flowers are from D.I. ($3), and the bale of hay/straw I bought at the Mesa Feed Barn--just around the corner from us.  It was so much cheaper to buy the real straw than to buy the decorative bales at Wal Mart or Hobby Lobby (plus, Brett even took the center out of our bale--and it still is huge!). 

And here is the top of the piano,
almost the same as the Halloween stuff, but a different banner and a
"give thanks" plaque I made at Enrichment.

Autumn Time

This decor has been up for quite a while in my house--well before the first "official" day of Fall.
Here is just a glimpse at the decor.  I am still working on the front porch area, but this is the top of our piano all decked out. 

Best part: all of it was DIY and inexpensive!  Here's a brief overview:

All except one of the mini apothecary jars are candlesticks and small jars/vases from the dollar store.  Just spray paint the candlesticks black and use E6000 glue to attach them to the jars.  The other jar is a terracotta pot spray painted black and glued to the small bowl upside down.  The big jar is from D.I. for a whopping 75 cents.  This is a great little tutorial from Jamielyn at I {heart} Naptime.  The marshmallows and candy corn are from Wal Mart and the rest of the candy is from the candy store Sweeties in Chandler.  Seriously check it out!  I love that place!

Both banners I made myself.  The "boo" banner out of scrapbook paper and the "happy halloween" banner is a chalkboard banner.  For some instructions for the chalkboard banner look here at Momtastic.  I made mine 15 squares, so it fits most sayings!

The books I picked up a while ago at a local thrift store for $1 each.  The small "A" I received as a gift for my wedding, and the small bird I got at the dollar store also (and just spray painted it black).

Just tied some lace around the big jar and some books, made things different levels...and wa-la!  A little fun for Fall.  I know it isn't anything crazy or super creative, but it makes things feel a little festive around here!  Now, off to find some yummy soup recipes for when it truly cools down for good.

Grandpa Owen's Screen Door: A Real Family Antique

Well first off, I should introduce you to Aunt Kaye.  I grew up in the same family ward ever since I was 6.  And as far as I know, Aunt Kaye was always in that ward too.  But...she wasn't always my aunt.  She's Brett's aunt!  But how excited I was to have Aunt Kaye as my aunt when I married him.  She was the first person we called after we got engaged (after calling our parents), and she screamed on the phone with excitement.  And then we woke up to an "engagment" gift on our doorstep the next morning.  Oh boy do we love her, and she takes such good care of us! 

Well one day, Aunt Kaye called me and asked if I wanted a turn having Grandpa Owen's screen door.  Grandpa Owen's is Brett's grandpa.  He lived with Brett and his family during his elderly years (I never did get the chance to meet him), but his true home was Panguitch, Utah.  Sound familiar?  It's the really small town you pass through on your way to Provo.  That's also the hometown to my mother-in-law Susan and my Aunt Kaye.

So one evening Brett and I went to visit Aunt Kaye and to look at the screen door.  I was in love!  Brett, being the wonderful husband he is, helped load it in the car and he even sawed off the very bottom (because it was rotting).  That is all we did to it--nothing else!  Now it sits in a corner of our kitchen.  I collected and made a few things to add to it.  Ideally I'd love to have them on a small bench--a little higher, so you can see them better.  But for now, having the decor on the ground is alright, I still love it. 

I have a few ideas for the walls surrounding the door, but I need to collect a few more little odds and ends.  I'm thinking a few more gardening components, a small collection of mismatched teacups and plates, and incorporating a little red to tie it in with the rest of my kitchen.  And I need time to work up the courage to ask Brett to drill a hole in the walls (the home is so old that those walls are made of SOLID cement--requiring lots of patience and making it nearly impossible to hang things).

Just a quick summary of the decor I added to the screen door (in case anyone cares, haha):

- Split-pea wreath (homemade--around $5 to make).  Tutorial here

- Grapevine Bird Cage (D.I. $3--I just pulled out the ugly little birds that were glued in it)

- Flower centerpieces (D.I. 50 cents each--there are 2 of them and I pulled out a few ugly flowers and added a few of my own I had on hand from the Dollar Tree)

- Gardening gloves (Wal-Mart--I actually use those)

- Gardening can (D.I. 75 cents, I spray painted it and still might distress it a little bit)

- Old books (Local thrift store, $1 each)

I love this screen door and the fact that it has some sentimental meaning and family history to it.  It's a great conversation piece as well.  I already know that if Brett and I are lucky enough to still have it when we move into a bigger home, that it would be fun to use it in our bedroom as a jewelry holder (use the mesh screen to hang earrings).  But then I might miss it in my kitchen...so who knows!

Before and After: Secretary's Desk

For those who don't know me well, I love crafting.  And refurnishing furniture.  And reading craft blogs.  However, I am basically a big copy-cat, I look at what other people do and then recreate something similar.  Brett is very creative.  His first major was industrial design, so he can draw very well and is a great problem solver. 

After we got engaged, I was determined for us to have a somewhat furnished home once we were married, but on a very tight budget (which has been a success!  We do have furniture).  So I frequented the Goodwills around town on the 50% off Saturdays.  I scored some good things!  My most favorite was this secretary's desk.  I got it for $6!

I first saw it in the store, and loved it.  But I was with my mom, and I thought she might think I was crazy.  But then she noticed it and thought it had potential.  It was really scratched up and had gunk all over it, but it had such a cute shape and was the perfect size for a small home! So I bought it!  I immediately knew what I wanted to do with it.  I loved the shape, but I felt like the little door covered up some of it's beauty, and I couldn't have the door open all the time.  So, I took the door off of the hinges, wiped off, sanded down, painted, distressed, and glazed.  Brett helped me a lot on this, we had good times laughing on the back porch doing this project. 

One night we were working on it and I was frustrated at how it was looking.  Brett turned to me and said "Tia, it looks like it came right out of Pottery Barn".  Does he know how to make me happy or what?!  I think it looking from Pottery Barn was a stretch, but I am very pleased with how it turned out.  It is one of my favorite pieces in my house. 

Remember how I took the door off?  Well, I couldn't just let it go to waste.  And since chalk-boarding things is all the rage right now, I decided to add a little chalkboard paint and cork to hang on the wall above the desk.  Here are the results!

I use it as a desk/hutch in my kitchen.  It is great keeping pens and tape close and handy near the calendar.  As well as those big beautiful white serving dishes I received for my wedding but do not use very often.  I love that I can use it as storage and decor all at once!  Plus it gives me room for a small lamp and a place for my cookbooks and clean kitchen towels.

It was a great investment at $6, plus the supplies were minimal.  I bought a quart of off-white paint and a quart of glaze, and a sample of brown paint (to tint the glaze).  I have a ton of the paint and glaze left, so they will be used on many more projects. 

Just one of a few refurnishing projects from Goodwill.  Stay tuned for some shutters, a nightstand, and wreaths!