Halloween Front Porch Decorations

It’s only a few days until the Halloween.  Are you carving your pumpkins and getting your candy ready? Here are some pictures of our front porch this year:

This Party City spider is a favorite!

For $5.00, our Martha Stewart mice have been a hit with everyone who sees them.  We laminated them at school, so we could use them for years.

Even UGA got a little makeover with some gauze and leftover cheesecloth fabric.


The 1st year we moved into our neighborhood, we got so excited about trick-or-treaters that we ran out and stocked up on candy. We got a whopping ZERO kiddos that year. Last year, we were gone until pretty late at night and bought no candy. Right as we pulled into the driveway, two of our neighbor girls came over to trick-or-treat. Nervously, I dug through our cabinets for something. I saw two Reese's cups, but I passed over them knowing my sweet tooth would kick in soon and grabbed something else instead. Secretly, I dropped two 90 calorie chocolate chip Fiber One bars into their bags. I am hoping it got all mixed in with their other loot and no one was the wiser! True story.

Happy Halloween!

Framed Halloween Art and Chalkboard Messages

Some of the easiest decorating I did this Halloween was to shop my home for black and white accessories to pull together this mantelscape and tablescape and transform the art in my frames.  Between buying a few packages of Dollar Store Halloween die cuts and printing off a few free printables from The Graphics Fairy, I came up with another cheap look!

“I love you so much it’s scary” It doesn’t scream “obsessed” that I put this on Rusty’s nightstand, does it?

I scattered a few die cut owls on ledges….

and mirrors…..

and in frames….I also added in a few black and white family pictures to keep with the theme. (I love you, E.I. and Papa)

I changed out the art in parts of my gallery wall…

Don’t forget to add some spooky messages to your chalkboards, too!

For my guests in the guest bedroom…

The message in the dining room…


If you stick to making simple, inexpensive changes to your home, you won’t be overwhelmed to change out your décor for seasons that only last about 31 days!

Halloween Spider Curtains

I absolutely love what I have to share today!  When I started decorating the house, I tried to find something quick and easy to do to our breakfast nook.  Here is what I came up with:

To replicate this look, pick up a $1.00 pack of paper spiders at the Dollar Store and some double sided tape.  I just placed them on the curtains and tried to randomly organize them to look like they are all creeping out of one corner.  This idea gives you a huge bang for your buck without breaking your wallet!

Halloween Tablescape

A few weeks ago, I set our table for Halloween. 

I decided to shop our house for black and white accessories to keep the theme matching my mantelscape.

Runner – Dollar Store Halloween Fabric
Black Birds – Pottery Barn Outlet
Sugar Skull Plates – Homegoods
Skull Candleholders – Homegoods
Candlesticks – Thrift Store
Placemats – Z Gallery

A little white spray paint and a black Sharpie works wonders….

Halloween Mantelscape

For the first time ever, I pulled together some decorations for Halloween.  I use a lot of blues and greens in my house, and I felt that orange would clash too much.  I decided to shop for black and white items from all over the house and bought a few items from some different stores to pull together this look for Halloween.
I bought the creepy black fabric from The Dollar Tree.  The clock was $4.99 from Hobby Lobby.  The chain came from Party City on sale for $5.99.  The skull is a $3.99 Wal-Mart purchase. 

I loved making these little ghosts out of cheesecloth, water and corn starch.  Check out the easy tutorial here at Love and Laundry.

Coming up this week, I have more Halloween posts including framed Halloween Art, a Halloween Tablescape, some easy front porch decorations and a unique set of Haloween Curtains. 

Patriotic Chalkboard Wreath

In just a few days, Rusty and I will be celebrating our 10 year date-a-versary.  10 years ago, we were feeling that rush of excitement as we made our commute to work where we would get to see each other for an 8-10 hour shift.  After a few months of practically being inseparable, we sat down and backdated a date we felt like we became a couple.  That date fell on the 4th of July where we went to a pool party and stayed up until 4 a.m. sitting in my Escort parked in his driveway just talking and falling in love (kisses came MANY months - ok, let’s get real – weeks - maybe I’m just being modest – days later and have never stopped…seriously, I force him to make out with me every day for an uninterrupted amount of time.)

Skip ahead – isn’t this a home décor blog?!

The 4th of July is my FAVORITE holiday!!!  I bleed red, white and blue, so, of course, a wreath was a must for my front porch.  Here are a few picture of something I threw together today to make our front porch extra special for the 4th.    

The supplies I used were:

• Grapevine Wreath (on hand)
• A 2-pack of American Flags removed from the posts
• Red ribbon (on hand)
• Assorted Wooden Stars
• Chalkboard Paint (on hand)

I am trying to think of other sayings to put in the stars.  2012.  Free.  What else?

Here you can see where I just used some hemp string to tie the flags on.  I have the option of reusing this grapevine wreath, but this one is so cute I think it will be permanent! 

What are your plans for the 4th?!

Mod Podge Rocks! {and} A Giveaway!

This giveaway is now closed.

Random.org chose: 

KimJune 2, 2012 9:34 AM

“This Rocks!” Thanks for the chance to win!

Kim - you are a noreply commentor.  You have 48 hours to email me at twentysomethingtransue@gmail.com to claim your prize before we redraw!

Imagine my surprise when I pulled into the driveway after a day of work, checked my mail, and found not one but TWO copies of Amy Anderson’s new book Mod Podge Rocks!: Decoupage Your World! 

This book is large and in charge with it’s bright yellow cover.  Amy features over 40 projects that vary from Wearables to Home Décor to Holiday projects.

I love that in Amy’s intro she calls Mod Podge the “Holy Grail” of crafting that most people can pick up and use with little training!

Here are my favorite projects in each of the sections:

Wearables

Wouldn’t it be so cool to make little charms for necklaces and bracelets?!  I didn’t even know that Mod Podge made this kind of product!

Home Décor
I bought some lamps over a year ago because I loved the base; however, the shades are red and don’t match anything in my home.  Little did I know that you could Mod Podge fabric!

Holiday
I love playing around with pumpkins as décor.  This fall, I will try some of the Mod Podge crafts to jazz up my pumpkins.  I am thinking lace and rhinestones.  I love the glitter effect of the stems, too!



Giveaway!

• PRIZE: A free copy of Amy’s new book Mod Podge Rocks!
• TO ENTER: Follow my blog and comment on this post with the words “This Rocks!”
• GIVEAWAY CLOSES: Thursday, June 7th at 9pm EST
• NUMBER OF WINNERS: One
• WHO'S ELIGIBLE: Anyone anywhere.
• FINE PRINT: One entry per e-mail address is permitted. The winner will be selected using random.org and announced on Thursday as an update to this post. I will also e-mail the winner if your profile is linked to an e-mail address.  If the winner doesn't claim the prize within 48 hours, we draw again!  Good luck…

Here is the book information:
Mod Podge Rocks! Decoupage Your World
Paperback, 128 Pages, $14.95
ISBN 978-1454702412
Publication Date: June 2012 Check out Amy’s Blog at modpodgerocksblog.com.