Halloween Welcome Sign for a Front Porch 2012 Ideas from HGTV

This project is easy and inexpensive and certainly one in which the kids can help. We took a thrift-store frame, wrapped the inside with yarn and cotton to make it look like a spider web. Then spiders and a "Welcome" message were hung within the webbing.

Tools and Materials

scissors
hammer
black paint and a paintbrush
large wood frame
small wire nails
4 to 8 felt furniture pads
small toy spiders
white cotton spider webbing
yellow or orange yarn
black letters
picture hanging kit if not already attached to frame

Paint the Frame

Paint the frame black and let it dry.

Nail and Pad the Back

On the back of the frame, along the edge, hammer in the small wire nails. Insert the nails so only about a 1/4" is sticking out of the frame.

Place the felt pads on the back of the frame along the corners so the nails will not scratch the house or door.

String the Yarn

Wrap the yarn on the wires going back and forth across the frame in a random pattern. Tie off the yarn periodically.

Add Webbing

Behind the yarn, stretch out some of the white cotton material along the same nails.

Place Your Message

Place the letters in a random pattern onto the yarn, close enough together so you can read the word "Welcome". We used self-adhesive, store-bought letters, but you can print out your own message on sticky paper.

Add Spiders

Place the spiders along the front and tuck into the yarn and webbing.

Front Porch Makeovers For Summer 2013 From BHG

 By bringing inside style outside, they prepared a pretty porch perfect for warm weather get togethers.

Fresh paint, bold fabrics, soft rugs, and furniture that's easy to arrange and rearrange make this L-shape porch a great space for parties and family gatherings. For flexibility, select lightweight furnishings that would work just as well inside the house.

A fabric that contained a touch of the house's brick hue along with citrus green, gray, pink, and terra-cotta inspired the porch's color palette. Gray served as the dominant color for the floor and curtains, with citrus-green accents. The fresh palette splashes dashes of fun onto throw pillows.

Create a look-at-me door with oversize zinc house numbers bold enough to be seen from the street. Window film featuring bold circles adds privacy to the door and obscures a direct view into the living and dining rooms. A coat of spunky citrus-green paint freshens the entry.

A narrow desk on casters rests against one wall and is used as a sideboard on most days. Painted citrus green, this desk adds personality and functionality to the porch. Roll it in front of the bench and it offers fine dining for two. Pull up the chairs and stools spread around the porch, and it's party time.

Sections of tree trunk serve as handy side tables or stools and add a rustic touch to the outside room. Four swivel casters on the bottom of each log make them easy to move. Add cushions for seating comfort.

Add a swinging bench to the side area of the porch for a more private gathering space. For durability, use exterior primers and paints on furniture -- porch-and-floor enamel is a dependable option. Make curtains and pillows from indoor/outdoor fabrics to prevent wear and weathering.

Chic Porch Room Summer 2013 Decorating Ideas

See how a design savvy couple repurposed an old shed on their upstate New York vacation property into a relaxing porch space perfect for escaping the city and for entertaining friends.

With some DIY and design smarts, a crumbling early 1900s shed was converted into an airy living space to entertain guests. The roof of the shed was raised to give the 22x13-foot structure a bit of breathing room and was then re-covered with leftover shingles. Sustainable solutions were used, such as reusing furniture already in their collection and repainting vintage shutters.

These adorable outside shutters added a personal touch that also perked up the facade.

The bright colors and patterns in the design create a room full of whimsy while still being in-line with the traditional New England summer cottage look of the main building.

Revamped yard sale finds create a citrus sorbet color palette of seating. To create a perfectly smooth powder coating on used metal furniture, take it to a local auto body shop.

Curtains add privacy to a screened-in area so those inside don't feel like they're on display. A playful multicolor print using hand block stamps from India and fabric paint is simple and inexpensive on these white drapery panels.

Space for napping was a must-have for the homeowners, so a daybed coated in outdoor paint was added to the space. A cute pair of chairs and a table make an ideal spot for morning coffee rituals.

The throw pillow collection was approached like a garden plot. There are no rules against planting alliums alongside zinnias, so why shy away from mixing patterns in a summer porch? Tons of color brightened up the space.

The decision not to insulate the structure left the summertime retreat with exposed studwork that's put to good use displaying books and collectibles. Sturdy studs become built-in shelving and a pretty collection transforms an otherwise rustic finish into a focal point.

Decor is more dramatic repeated by the dozen. Bargain lanterns were used to create special mood lighting and to add color. The lighting gives off a magical glow at night.

Decorate Your Porch With Rustic Fall Style 2013 Ideas

Natural materials and found items make inviting fall decorations for your favorite outdoor room

Fall is here, and with it a new season of activity as a prelude to the holidays. If you can find a free afternoon, spend just a few hours sprucing up your porch or patio with seasonal spirit before your trick-or-treaters arrive.

General Fall Porch Style 

Natural textures layered next to found items can create a cozy outdoor seat for watching the leaves change. Using a hay bale as a temporary coffee table is an inexpensive and functional way to cozy up your outdoor space. Try using a small tray or basket as a sturdy, flat surface to hold a beverage or book.

Here, a rustic chair doubles as a side table for a vintage cola crate holding pink mums.

Make over tin cans with paint and fill them with your favorite seasonal flowers. A generous neighbor let me pick these from her garden.

Use your arrangement to freshen up any space, from an entry to a tabletop.

A wood crate provides extra display space and storage. A stack of old paperbacks bolsters some mini pumpkins. Lavender sprigs in a vintage milk jug add both a pleasant aroma and height to a wooden-crate-turned-side-table.

Simple Burlap Pillow Cover 

Burlap or linen sacks make for an easy pillow cover during the holidays. This small burlap sack was one of those "I'll find something to with this one day" items that found a new (and temporary) purpose as our porch swing cushion. If you don't have one, you can just cut some burlap to length and sew one up.

Stuff your pillow into the sack and tuck leftover fabric into the open end, hiding the pillow inside.

Wrap a ribbon around the sack and tie it. Of course, if you are using an indoor pillow as the filler, bring your pillow inside if the weather gets too damp.

Rambling Again 8/21/2012

I want to tell you about a book I read recently called Three Against Hitler. It's a very good book loaned to me by a friend. It's thought provoking and will make you cry though. You can find it here on Amazon if interested.
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Hubby wanted salad the other night with tuna on top. I didn't want that much so told him to make a tuna sandwich for me instead. (Pain killers have dulled my appetite significantly, but heaven forbid I should lose any weight!) It was the most delicious tuna salad sandwich he's ever made me. I don't know why but it just tasted so dang good to me. Here's an example of a salad he made me a couple of weeks ago. It was delicious also. He does delicious salads. I crumbled up some toasted Asiago/garlic baguettes into it also. Yummmmm.

Ooooh, I also told him he's losing kitchen cooking privileges until he cleans up after himself. Seriously.
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For those of you lusting after yachts, I saw a photo of the biggest yacht just built for some mega-millionaire, probably in the middle east somewhere. It's like a cruise ship! Huge. Bigger than 2 football fields if I'm remembering correctly, which is somewhat in question as I had to get back on pain killers after 3 days without them. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that to fill their gas tanks would cost $100,000. Plus they can't dock at just any port. See, the rich do have their problems. No way would I want to spend that much on gasoline even if I was rich.
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I'm a bit frugal on some things but extravagant on other things. For instance, I won't buy any meat that isn't Angus to bring home to cook. I'm not a big meat eater and not particularly fond of meat but I do love steaks. I even like the Angus burgers at Jack-In-The-Box, which they do superior to any other chain fast food restaurant. Grilled onions just tops it off as the best. Once you taste it, you won't go back. It's the best!
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I saw a woman recently that had on a T-shirt that could have provided shelter for  a VietNam family of eight. I sincerely do take pity on her as she's as much loved by God as I am, maybe even more as I'm such a rebellious woman sometimes. Very sad for her, however. And I truly mean that.
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A quaint cottage with just some unusual features I thought you'd like to see.

Main Street, America, house.

A perfect sun room or enclosed porch to daydream.

My next lamp redo will look similar to this. Beautiful! (Update:Actually, I created this post and decided several days later to redo the lamp that looks almost like this one. You can see it here. It's in the very first photo. I redid my Page My Home recently to make it look better. I used a template to make sure all the photos were evenly spaced. I don't think Blogger has yet fixed it to where we can do it correctly without using a template.)

Here it is.

Pink eye candy.

More pinks to drool over.

Lace and roses. Can it get much better than this? ;-)

Lazy afternoon in the shade, a respite from the sun and heat.

Somewhere in the world. I wonder where. But life continues even if it is on the top of a tall, narrow building. Life will continue.

Love the curtains billowing in the breeze. Colorful pinks and serene blues and whites. Gorgeous.

Daydream living in this old French home.

Cute setting for an afternoon tête-à-tête.

Gorgeous floor lamp and table lamp.

I like what the homeowner did with this paper hanging lamp. Quite easily done and what a statement it makes.

I'd love to have a chalkboard with this rose decal on it. She has some of the most gorgeous roses paintings I've seen. Just stunning.

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