I'm sure you are all aware by now that I am on a mission of beautification. It is far too easy for me to let my home go. I tend to settle for "good enough" or "not that bad" when what I really crave is "gorgeous." For some things - clean walls, stainless carpet, everything in it's own place - I know I'll have to wait until my kids are older. But just because I have kids in my house doesn't mean I can't decorate or make my house beautiful. My major problem is simply apathy. I don't feel like I'm 'good at' decorating, so I don't really try. However, an undecorated house can feel a little depressing, especially around the holidays.
As you saw in my previous post, I'm making strides in my attempt to 'pretty up' my basement bedroom. My husband has agreed to go purchase the mud and tape this weekend, so we are well on our way to making a cozy little nook for ourselves to relax. I'm thrilled.
One area of my home, however, which has always been neglected, is my front stoop. I've never really given it much thought. We tend to enter and exit the house through the garage, so I rarely even think about my front door. But the other day I was shocked to realize the extent of my neglect when I noticed that my front porch still looked like this:
As you saw in my previous post, I'm making strides in my attempt to 'pretty up' my basement bedroom. My husband has agreed to go purchase the mud and tape this weekend, so we are well on our way to making a cozy little nook for ourselves to relax. I'm thrilled.
One area of my home, however, which has always been neglected, is my front stoop. I've never really given it much thought. We tend to enter and exit the house through the garage, so I rarely even think about my front door. But the other day I was shocked to realize the extent of my neglect when I noticed that my front porch still looked like this:
Note the cobwebs and the ancient, rotting pumpkins. Meanwhile, most of my neighborhood looks like this:
source - for privacy purposes, this is merely an example, not my actual neighborhood
There is no way I could ever convince my husband to go all out and splurge on lights and inflatable Santas. But I was thrilled to be accepted to the Daily Buzz Moms 9x9 challenge: Deck The Doors! This gave me a great excuse to add a little holiday cheer to my sad little front stoop. My goal - to make it kid-friendly and to do it on a budget! So, I swept up the cobwebs, put on my thinking cap, and now my front porch looks like this!
I absolutely adore coming home to this door. It's bright, it's cheerful, and it reminds me every day what this holiday is all about. Another plus - it's kid proof! The wreath hangs high enough that my toddlers can't reach it, and the vinyl angels don't come off easily enough for little ones to toss them out into the bushes. I love it! And it turned out to be really inexpensive to make? Here's how:
The angels were really easy to assemble. I used stencils that I found here to design them, then I cut them out of vinyl (that I ordered 60% off at Pick Your Plum) with an exacto knife. Cute but removable - a major must for my minimalist husband.
I made the wreath at a Pinterest party months ago and had it sitting around just waiting for inspiration to strike. I searched everywhere for the original tutorial, but simple couldn't find it. However, if you look on Google or Pinterest you'll find a plethora of tutorials for very similar wreaths. To spruce it up a little I added lace ornaments which I received as a wedding gift as well as some hand-sewn felt ornaments I had leftover from my etsy shop inventory. The garland above was on super sale at Michaels and I thought it was incredibly pretty (and won't take up a ton of storage space post-holiday - another hubby must).
I'm really pleased with how this project turned out, and now I don't feel like the Scrooge of the neighborhood anymore. I am so grateful to DailyBuzz Moms 9x9 for giving me an excuse to add a little more beauty to my home.
I'm really pleased with how this project turned out, and now I don't feel like the Scrooge of the neighborhood anymore. I am so grateful to DailyBuzz Moms 9x9 for giving me an excuse to add a little more beauty to my home.
