Welcoming Christmas

My formula for decorating outside for Christmas is simple. It's amazing how a few special touches make a large impact in decorating ...

This is the second year that I've used this lighted garland. I connected two lighted strands of garland together to go around the entire door frame. The garland is easily held by the corners of the vinyl siding trim work. The lighted dog figure was a gift from our in-laws. It reminds us of our Maltipoo, Piffy.

I picked the evergreen wreath form from a local thrift store for $3. I added the plastic Christmas ornaments, which we already had on hand. The jewel tones work well against the dark evergreen. It "pops" without needing any wreath lighting. I added the green light bulb so that Santa could easily spot our house :)

I added left-over ornaments to the hanging garland around the door. I love how the faceted ornaments reflect the white lights!

This is our bamboo settee that my mother-in-law bought my husband before I entered the picture. I've painted it twice in the past three years. It was a burnt orange color previously. I decided to paint it black to stand-out more against the vinyl siding. I think it looks more polished. Here, I temporarily added the poinsettias for staging. 

Creating a Welcoming Fall Entrance

This year, I started decorating from the outside in. I think it's important to feel welcomed from the moment you step foot through the front door ...

I found the pumpkin wreath at Old Time Pottery last February ... long after fall. Needless to say, it was drastically discounted! The fall corn shocks came from a family friend. I saved the corn tassels that broke off and tucked them into my potted mums. The galvanized pot of mums was found at Wal-mart on clearance for $7. I also placed a little witch's hat from Kroger onto the stem of my Jack O' Lantern. I curled some fall-themed ribbon I found at Dollar Tree on the wooden bench by the front door ...

and added some miniature pumpkins tied up with green raffia ribbon that I found at a local thrift a couple of years ago. I love the curly vine that is still attached to the small pumpkin on the left!

I also added a decorative gourd on the left of the bench.

I tied a cute burlap and black chevron ribbon to the corn shocks. I also tucked in some local cotton for some added fall decoration ...

This glitzy witch sits at the bamboo table, prepared to greet our trick-or-treaters for the 31st. She was found at Lowe's Home Improvement.

This trio of grapevine pumpkins sits atop the bamboo table. This trio was found at a local thrift last year.

I hope that you have a purrfect Halloween!