Christmas, Christmas, Christmas!!! It is just absolutely my most favorite time of the year. Seriously?! Words just can’t describe how much I love it.

I literally am just like a kid. I just can’t help myself. There is something about the magic in the air. Because I love it so much, I find such joy in decorating my house for Christmas too.

I can’t wait to share a small part of my decorations today from my front porch with a complete Christmas home tour soon to come.

Rustic and Cozy Christmas Front Porch

I have really enjoyed embracing the rustic and traditional decorations with a touch of plaid. Because who doesn’t love plaid this year? It is everywhere, and I am so happy that it is.

P.S. Yes that is purple paint around my front door. It really needs a paint job desperately. I have a Victorian style home that has so much character, and I seriously love it. The purple tends to suit it just fine but not for my taste. I will also try to share pictures of the entire house outdoor and our decorations very soon. 

Probably though my most favorite part of the entire front porch is the wreath and garland that I have hanging at the front door that came from Tree Classics.

They both light up and have their own battery box attached so I don’t have to worry about having cords stretched out everywhere and showing (which is one reason why I have never had my wreath light up or even hang garland).

They both have branches that resemble a real Frasier Fir and touches of red berries and pine cones for extra color. With just a little time fluffing both, they were hung and just as beautiful as they could be.

Be sure to head over to Tree Classics website to enter a giveaway as well for a 7.5’ Classic Noble Fir Snap Tree™. Be sure to stick around for more bloggers and their Christmas home tours below.

Directly beside the front door is a black chair that I use for Thanksgiving as well with several different items that I had laying around the house and decided they would work perfect for Christmas.

The white bird cage is one I found on clearance last year. The burlap bucket and vintage skis came from the dollar spot of course. The red Christmas blanket keeps everything looking so cozy which I found at Kohl’s during Black Friday shopping.

The miniature Christmas tree is just adorable without any extra ornaments or anything. Another great clearance find. I just couldn’t help myself that I had to buy several more. The red and white crate also came after July 4^th that my Mom found on clearance. I just love that nothing I buy hardly is full price.

On the other side of the front door, is a wooden chest we bought at a yard sale for $5 that works great on our porch to store gardening items while also serving the purpose of décor. Sitting on it is my $1 poinsettia I get every year on Black Friday with another of the clearance mini trees and a gold lantern.

At the top of my porch steps on both sides are miniature lit trees in pots and a red lantern for more pop of color. Can you tell I love red especially this year for some reason?

I couldn’t be happier with how my front porch turned out. It seems so welcoming and cozy at the same time.

 

Now be sure to check out the following blogs for more Christmas décor inspiration throughout this month to get your home ready for Christmas this year.

December 1: Jenna from Rain on a Tin Roof

Bethany from Southern Couture

Justin & Cassity from Remodelaholic

December 2: Sheila from Plum Doodles

Heidi from Parties for Pennies

Kellie from Nest of Posies

December 3: Erin from DIY on the Cheap

Sarah from Homeology Modern Vintage

Heather from Southern State of Mind

December 4: Laura from Duke Manor Farm

Vicki & Jennifer from 2 Bees in a Pod

Julie from Julie Montgomery Interiors

I also hope to share the rest of my home with everyone very soon and can’t wait to see what y’all have done for your decorations this year. Please share with me in the comments below as well.

Merry Christmas and Happy December 1^st! The start of a very magical month…

Also if you have not already, please join me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. I would love to hear from you with any comments, suggestions, or ideas you may have.

P.S. Please share this post with others if you enjoyed it and found it helpful. We love when you pass on goodness to others.

This post was sponsored by Tree Classics. All opinions are mine alone. I pinky promise. 

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. I pinky promise. #CleanForTheHolidays #CollectiveBias

Getting ready for Christmas and the holidays can become a pretty daunting task when you start thinking about it. I start to become overwhelmed sometimes just thinking about everything that has to get done.

But today I have some good news for you! I have found a few fun things that have helped me already and I can’t wait to share them with y’all too to hopefully make your lives a little easier during this busy time of year.

Get started now!

Waiting until the last minute to start planning, crafting, shopping, wrapping, cleaning, etc. will only make things worse. If you can start planning now to do a little bit every day or when you get a chance then you will thank yourself later.

One thing I love to do this time of year is craft. That doesn’t happen if I wait until the last second to do so. Something will always seem to creep up and takes its place if I’m not careful. So this year, I am starting early with my ocean view ornament.

My ocean view shadow box that I made last year is one of my favorites and really seems to be a favorite of yall’s too to keep your summer memories alive all year. So I thought why not make it into an ornament to hang on our Christmas tree.

Supplies:

• Clear plastic, round ornament- You will want one that can open in order to put your picture inside. I found mine at Michaels.
• Pictures from recent vacation
• Sand
• Mod podge
• Foam brush
• Glue stick
• Fishing line

*You could also change this idea up a bit to suit whatever trip you had. Be sure to collect sand and seashells from your next beach vacation to use for this idea.

1. Paint mod podge on the inside of the bottom third of the ornament if your ornament opens. If you can’t find one that opens, you can also paint the mod podge on the outside of the ornament.
2. Sprinkle the sand over the mod podge until completely covered on the bottom third. Shake off any excess (hopefully over a newspaper to reduce the spill).
3. Cut a circle out of 2 pictures. Cut a piece of fishing line and place it between the 2 photos being sure to glue the photos together with the fishing line between them.
4. Place the pictures in the center of the ornament before attaching together again and tie the fishing line to the top where you would normally place the ornament hook.
5. I used a small piece of blue and white bakers twine tied in a knot for the ornament hanger.

You can now hang your ornament on the Christmas tree and remember all your trips and memories from the past year.

Now you are probably thinking this project is going to be a bit messy using sand especially with the kids involved. I’ve got you covered…

Start cleaning now!

Don’t wait until the night before or the day of a party to start cleaning your house. You will definitely become overwhelmed.

I have found something that has made my life so much easier this year. That’s the BISSELL ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Carpet Cleaner.

I know that’s a mouth full, but it has been a lifesaver for me especially since I have 3 dogs. Two of which are labs, Bryant and Mac, which shed a good bit keeping us busy vacuuming after them all the time.

Dogs will be dogs and just because they are house trained doesn’t mean they will not ever have an accident or get sick in the house. It happens to the best of them.

I am always trying to make sure that the rug in our living room doesn’t look dingy or stained either. Now I don’t have to worry. My carpets will be beautiful and smell even better after using the BISSELL carpet cleaner. As you can see, this rug keeps plenty of hair no matter how hard I have tried in the past.

The stains are also very real that I didn’t even realize it. The super clean circle you see is where the rug was sitting partially under my couch. I didn’t even know it had turned that much. I can’t wait to see how it looks after it’s all cleaned.

It even has an Express Clean mode leaving the carpets clean and dry in just an hour making it even easier in case you do wait to the last minute to start your holiday cleaning.

BISSELL also has a 2X Pet Stain and Odor Remover and Professional Pet Urine Eliminator Formula that contains Scotchgard. You aren’t only cleaning, but preventing future messes and urine from saturating the carpet.

Their Pet Oxy Boost Carpet Cleaning Formula Enhancer is what really attracted my eyes to this cleaner as well because it contains Oxy. You would use it in addition to one of the base formulas I mentioned above to remove those really tough pet stains.

You can pick up your own BISSELL carpet cleaner at Target too with a wide range of cleaning products to use with it as well while you are doing some holiday shopping. Who doesn’t love Target, really?

This cleaner was perfect for me to use after crafting with sand and glitter and all the holiday parties too. And yes, I clean in my pajama pants. You gotta be comfortable, right?

It is lightweight and very easy to push and pull. Not only that, it can also be taken apart easily to keep it clean.

Plus you can even enter a giveaway! How gracious of them!

#CleanForTheHolidays – Bissell Sweepstakes

I would love to know if you have any holiday prep tips to share with everyone. Please leave them in the comments below. Also let me know if you try the BISSELL ProHeat 2X Revolution Pet Carpet Cleaner and how much you love it too.

Also if you have not already, please join me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. I would love to hear from you with any comments, suggestions, or ideas you may have.

P.S. Please share this post with others if you enjoyed it and found it helpful. We love when you pass on goodness to others.

Febreze is a trademark of P&G; with rights granted

Scotchgard is a trademark of 3M; with right granted

I may just be a little behind the game here, but I still wanted to share a Fall home tour of my own in hopes that someone out there was a little late with the game this year in getting your house decorated too.

If you are, then I hope these ideas will inspire you as well to get going. Plus the great thing is that my Fall front porch literally took my less than 10 minutes to put together and only cost me the amount I paid for the pumpkins.

That’s it! Pretty simple, huh? The good news is that you can do the same thing and get the same look so let’s get started now.

First, Start by shopping around your house.

Whenever I get ready to decorate for a holiday, I always look around the house for what I already have and can use. Don’t ever just run to the store first and buy so much stuff you THINK you need but don’t actually.

Below is my fall front porch this year with the majority of the items being things I already had, but decided to reuse them in a new way here to make them work.

• The black chair was already on my back porch that I bought last year at Ikea.

• The wooden chest I found at a yard sale several summers ago for $5. It was sitting on my back porch under “a mess” of random stuff and not really being used to its beautiful potential. The nice thing is that it also stores gardening items and keeps them hidden, but can be used as a bench or piece of décor. I love the rustic feel of it too.

• The miniature white wooden table was also a great yard sale find. The paint is chipping, but I like that look for this. It just adds to the rustic Fall look.

• Sitting on top of the miniature table are a couple of dried and basically “dead” branches that came off one of our pencil trees in the front landscaping. I had saved them for this very purpose and love the extra height they give.

• The gold lantern is a Target dollar spot section find that I had to have several months ago. I am slightly obsessed with lanterns and gold. Check this post out HERE to see exactly what I’m talking about.

• Standing by the door is a black iron lantern that hangs on a stand. Another great yard sale find that fits in perfectly.

• The mason jar is one I saved before from an old spaghetti sauce jar and just wrapped a burlap ribbon around it and placed flowers inside. This flower arrangement was something I used last year on my Thanksgiving tablescape.

• Hanging on my door is a wreath that I bought several years ago and have taken good care of in order to be able to use it again and again each year. I love all the colors it brings out too. It feels so welcoming at the front door.

• On top of that beautiful rustic chest, I placed a pumpkin that I had already made for a Fall centerpiece on your dining room table. I love how multi-functional things can be when we just stop and look around.

Second, Don’t be afraid to go with a non-traditional style for Fall this year.

I am finding that this year, more and more people are going from the traditional bright orange and yellow for Fall to a more neutral and relaxed feel.

I did include several of the traditional bright orange pumpkins, but also found some that were different and unique during mine and Mark’s recent adventure to a local pumpkin patch and farmer’s market.

Especially that blue doll pumpkin (that’s what the man at the pumpkin patch called it) sitting on the chair. I saw it and fell in love with it right away. I knew I wanted to include a touch of aqua somehow and this was perfect.

Depending on the lighting, the pumpkin will appear aqua, mint green, or even a cream color.

The other flat light orange pumpkins (cheese pumpkins) and the flat white pumpkins (flat white boer pumpkins) give it a unique look as well that I couldn’t resist.

Several of these also came from the clearance rack at the farmers market for $0.99. What?! Really?! I didn’t even know there was such a thing at the farmer’s marker. Y’all know me and my clearance deals. I was beyond ecstatic.

To continue the rustic feeling as you walk in the front door, sitting on a leather bench in my entryway is a cozy blanket and a couple of burlap covered pumpkins.

My Mom actually found these for me on clearance one year after Thanksgiving, and they have been one of my favorites ever since.

If you love these pumpkins as much as I do and can’t find any when you’re shopping, I have a tutorial HERE for how to make your very own by using artificial “tacky” pumpkins that can even be bright green like mine were and make them rustic and chic.

Don’t be afraid to repurpose items.

Just as I was able to repurpose the wooden chest on my front porch, I also hung a grapevine wreath on an iron coat hanger that was previously doing its exact job of holding coats. It just as easily became a wreath stand.

I left the wreath plain with nothing added to continue with the minimal earthy feeling.

My tablescape is probably my next favorite spot in my house during this time of year. I shared my Thanksgiving tablescape last year and used many of the same ideas again this year because I just love how it turned out that much.

Instead of using fine china that is painted with pumpkins or fall leaves, I decided to use vintage books at each place setting. Seasonal themed plates can be so expensive to only use them for a short time of the year.

But I can’t take credit of the book idea all myself. I was actually at the Country Living Fair last year and saw this on a table. I instantly fell in love and knew I had to do it myself.

What makes these books even more special is that they are my great-grandmothers, and even one is her Bible. It makes setting the table a real treat to look down and see them.

On top of each book, you add a miniature grapevine wreath with some moss and a pumpkin.

It really is that simple and inexpensive but still just as gorgeous.

I hope some of these simple tips I have found that have worked beautifully for me will be a huge help to y’all too.

I know that sometimes we all get overwhelmed seeing all the gorgeous and extravagant home décor in magazines and on the internet, and we start thinking we could never do that so we don’t even know where to start and give up.

You no longer have to. Start with what you have, shop for a few things you still need, and repurpose what you already have too!

I can’t wait to see what wonderful ideas y’all come up with too. Please feel free to share with me in the comments below or on social media.

Also if you have not already, please join me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. I would love to hear from you with any comments, suggestions, or ideas you may have.

P.S. Please share this post with others if you enjoyed it and found it helpful. We love when you pass on goodness to others.

Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. 

There is one thing that I really love to do every holiday if possible and that’s decorating our dining room table accordingly. I love making new centerpieces and thinking of new and different things to use for each place setting.

For Easter, I had the perfect decorations in mind. You may recall seeing the miniature grapevine wreaths before when I shared my Thanksgiving tablescape. I knew the idea of using it as a nest would be perfect for Easter and couldn’t wait to share it with y’all.

Several of the pieces I am using here were also used for that same tablescape which is one of my favorite parts of it because I don’t have to buy more decorations for every holiday but can use just a few new and different pieces that are appropriate for that particular holiday.

On the center of the table, I started with a basic table runner that I made from gold shimmered burlap. I just bought it by the yard at Joann and then cut it to the width I wanted. This burlap runner has been on my table ever since Thanksgiving and I love it!

For the centerpiece, I made these Easter egg topiaries last year. I love them even more now and how they look sitting on my table. Check out the full tutorial here for all the details. They are simple to make and a great decoration also for your mantle. The varying heights also makes them pop.

Beside the topiaries, I placed several mason jars on each side that are wrapped in burlap garland from my Thanksgiving decorations. I picked up different colors of artificial flowers from the Dollar Tree and trimmed them down using wire cutters for the correct height. Pick colors of flowers that will coordinate with your other decorations. I love bright pink flowers so it was hard for me to resist, but they wouldn’t match.

Now for probably my most favorite part of the whole table are the place settings. I used these vintage, or old, whatever you want to call them books at Thanksgiving and just can’t help but use them again. First of all they are special to me because they were my great grandmother’s and have so much meaning.

Second you can use books instead of plates for each place setting if you don’t have special Easter china plates. It can be expensive to always buy matching dishes for certain holidays. This keeps you from having to do that and also reusing something old and making it new.

On top of each book, I placed a miniature grapevine wreath which you can find at most craft stores for $1. In each wreath, I placed some moss and floral grass which came from the dollar tree. All you need now are some eggs for those nests.

I love using speckled eggs for Easter decorations. They look vintage to me even though they really aren’t. I wanted to use speckled eggs for my topiaries last year but couldn’t find any that didn’t cost me an arm and leg.

I found the purple ones in the dollar spot at Target and got the other colors in a bundle together at Michaels.

The bright green placemats at each place setting really add that pop of color without having to use a different tablecloth. I found these on clearance at Target for $0.99 each.

And now you have yourself a beautiful and elegant Easter tablescape without breaking the bank.

I love being able to still decorate and make things look expensive even though they are not. I love all the fancy china for each holiday, but even if you don’t have a set do not count yourself out. Your table can still be gorgeous!

Enjoy your Easter traditions even the little things!

Also if you have not already, please join me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter. I would love to hear from you with any comments, suggestions, or ideas you may have.

Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers.