Front Porch Color

     I am just getting started turning my front porch into spring. I can't do much yet because we are waiting to get some concrete work done and I'll just have to move everything. Our front step started sinking about a year ago and it has finally become not only ugly, but dangerous. So, we are getting a new step...did you know that one new concrete step is $500? Thankfully, I'm not getting a new driveway!

     I usually do the outside of my house in pinks, purples and whites for spring and summer. Some years I have used all red and white. Maybe it was all the sunshine and the early warm weather, but this year I feel like using bright yellows, peach, white and green. So, I started with the above wreath. I so rarely use anything orange that I didn't have anything else to tie it all together and I didn't want to spend much money doing so.

I found this leafy wreath in the sale room

 of a local gift shop. It was about $20.

If you look closely, you can see that it is

a twig wreath with large leaves attached.

     I also bought one bush of bright yellow, orange and greens for $8.99. I like to buy silk flowers in bushes when I'm going to make a project. You get so much more for your money and you simply cut it apart and use the leaves, flowers, buds and all.

     I simply used my glue gun to attach the flowers randomly onto the wreath. I wasn't going for a designer wreath look to hang on a door, I just wanted to add a bit of color to coordinate with my large wreath that I could put on the other side of the porch. I will add more color with pots in various shades filled with flowers in bright yellows, whites and peaches but it is still too early for live plants here.

I'm not sure what else will be sitting in my chair...

but for now, this is as far as I've gotten.

     We are getting ready to start a fairly big project around here. We have been gathering new things for the master bathroom, which isn't really very big but we will be taking up the tile floor and putting in new tile (what is in there is too slick for a bathroom), painting, replacing the vanity and mirror, new lighting, granite and faucets...so, I've had to remove everything from the room. Ugh. This is gonna get messy!

Flowers For Free-Decorating on a Budget

There is something about having fresh flowers in your home that brightens up the day. It doesn’t matter if you live in a house, an apartment or a dorm room, bringing in a simple arrangement of something living will make you feel better. It will also make a house feel like a home. The great thing about bringing something live in from outdoors, is that you don’t have to spend a fortune at a florist in order to make a statement. You don’t need a cut glass vase, or long-stemmed roses to create something wonderful. There are times when I just go out in the yard and pick what I can find. It is easier to find things in the spring and summer, but possible to do any time of year. In the fall you can find twigs with bright leaves, in winter you can pick a few sprigs from an evergreen tree or holly bush and make the house smell like the holidays.

This time of year, I love to add fresh herbs to my arrangements. It is so easy to grow basil or rosemary from seeds. You can grow them outdoors, or in a pot indoors near a window. Sometimes I add a few flowers if I have something in bloom, other times I just use the herbs and twigs or leaves. You don’t need any special supplies. The arrangement above is in a drinking glass with a few rocks on the bottom. I added some water, and took a walk through my yard. You will see rosemary stems, some basil leaves that are past their prime (I grow basil all year long), some green stems off of one of our shrubs and a few random flowers that were still blooming. It works the best if you put all of the “greens” in first, making sure you have some differences in heights. Go back and add the flowers if you have them. You simply can’t imagine how wonderful the herbs make the house smell. This doesn’t have to look perfect, it is supposed to look a bit wild.

If you don’t have a yard or park where you can snip a few sprigs of something, you can go to your local grocery store and get a bouquet of flowers for around $4. I have found that I can make them last about a week if I buy mums or daisy blooms. I try to keep something fresh on my kitchen counter all the time. You will be surprised how you catch yourself smiling when you look at them.