more autumn decor

Despite the fact that it's hovering close to 85 today, I am welcoming the first day of autumn with a little house-sprucing. I'm not going to show you the coffee table that's never cleaned off, or the piles of laundry that haven't learned how to wash or put away themselves. Nooo. None of that. I'm going to show you my little bits of fun. Showing off your home decor is all about creative staging, girls. Nobody has to know about the clutter. We all have beautiful, Southern Accents worthy show homes if we know how to use the macro setting on our cameras.

Enough with the chatter that my husband will never read.

I'm kind of tickled about this. I took a heavy crystal cake plate (read: useless but pretty wedding gift) and turned it upside down. On the base I set this happy little pumpkin, which I think was originally purchased at Hobby Lobby for my classroom a few years ago. It needed a little something else, so I pulled out some pretty picks I got last year and arranged them around the upturned plate. Voila!

Is a pineapple a summer thing? Don't tell me. I don't care if it is. My mom gave her to me when we bought our house, and she usually sits on the mantle. The hurricane is filled with little pinecones I picked up on the playground of the church where I work. I'd be some kind of fool to pay $5.00 for a bag of pinecones when I can spend a few minutes picking them up, dumping them in a Walmart bag, and washing them off at home for free. I am cheap, y'all.

Yes. I like pineapples. This is usually on my mantle, too. The pitcher is Gail Pittman (any self-respecting Southern girl knows who Gail Pittman is) from my days as a Southern Living at HOME rep. My mom got the little bird for her yard but never used it, so she gave it to me. It has a friend around here somewhere.

I know they're awfully trendy, but I love me some white pumpkins. This one came from Hobby Lobby. Of course. I hear the Dollar Tree has some cute ones, so I might get a few and spray-paint them white. I need more pumpkins!

What, you've never seen a little bird in a compote bowl before? Well, here you go. I got him on clearance at the end of spring this year at Pier 1, and the bowl is also from Southern Living At HOME. It would appear I have a thing for birds, too. Hmm.

You don't have to spend a lot of money to have cute things, nor do you have to decorate the same way every year. My autumn decor was completely different last year, using mostly the same stuff. I haven't spent a penny out of pocket this year, but everything feels fresh and new to me. I love making our home comfortable and pretty on tiny or non-existent budgets. That's much more satisfying to me than spending big dollars on high-ticket items. Where's the fun in that?

Anyone reading who's decorated, leave your links here! I love looking at other people's homes and need to do a better job of showing mine off here!

Happy fall!!

WELCOME, AUTUMN!

I loooove autumn. It is by far my favorite season. I know it seems weird to say this, as a bona fide Mississippi girl who loves her state fiercely, but I hate summer. I hate it! Every year I say I'm going to be positive and happy about it, but when it hits 102 in July and we know we've got two more months of misery to go, it is just not easy to be happy about that, girls.

I didn't have a nice wreath for my front door, so I decided to make one for myself. I had a grapevine wreath left over from an Easter project I never did. Last week, Hobby Lobby (every crafter's best friend) had their fall foliage 1/2 off, so I got a few things with a birthday gift card. I spent a total of $13 and change on that gift card and got to make what I wanted. I don't need to pay $50 for a wreath somebody else makes!

I'd never made a wreath before, but I didn't let that deter me. All it takes is a little poking here and shoving there, and you're good. I only used my trusty glue gun in a couple spots, too. I can add to or change anything I want next year! Easy! On to the pictures...

All the materials gathered together. Don't you love my sassy summer tablecloth and Wilton bowl full of baby toys? We do it fancy around here, y'all.

Dacey the cat. At this point, I still wasn't sure whether she'd really fit with the overall color scheme I was shooting for, but I was willing to give it a chance. She nestled herself in there so sweetly, after all.

Tearing apart the picks was awfully satisfying. And of course, I had to give in to my compulsive need to organize things and arrange it all by type. Stop looking at me with such a judgmental glare. I can stop organizing whenever I want.

More bits. Notice the real feather. One of my sweet baby girls at the church where I work Mothers' Morning Out gave that to me. I told her I'd put it in my fall wreath, and I keep my promises! The yellow "feathers" were just 50 cents each when half off and added a fun pop of color.

I hate that phrase, "pop of color". But there's no better way to put it. It's color. That pops. Got something better? Let me know so I can start using it and eventually grow to hate it, too.

And here's the finished product! Please pretend my front door is black. It will be someday, because of the confused dog incident. Things will pop (argh) so much better on a black door. I think the wreath is pretty good, for my first attempt. Let's just pretend the wreath doesn't have a slight egg shape. Who knows, you might see it again in the spring covered in plastic Easter eggs! There's no telling what I might get up to.

Next up, little bits of autumn fun in my house!