Decorating the Front Porch for Fall and Thanksgiving

Good morning!  Let me start by giving a shout-out (and a HUGE thank you) to Kelly at Eclectically Vintage for featuring my old North Carolina house in her Exceptionally Eclectic series today.  Looking at her gorgeous home, and the others she’s featured in the past, I am officially in tall cotton!!  Check the post out {here}.  Thank you, Kelly!

OK, moving on to the front porch!

I was a little tired of orange after Halloween this year; not sure exactly why.  I decided to change my front porch around for Thanksgiving, and so I headed down the big hill in my backyard and into the woods to see what natural elements I could find.  I found tons of great stuff (and the dog found a deer!) and am happy to report that my porch makeover was 100% free–that’s the best kind!

The grapevine wreath with the burlap feed sack bow has been on my front door most of the year (because I love it!), but I dressed it up with the brown berries that I cut off my crepe myrtle tree.

The vinyl house numbers are available in our Etsy shop {here}.

I cut some of these branches with tiny purple berries on them for my old, leaky watering can…we have several of these bushes growing in the woods behind their house.  I don’t know what they are–if y’all can tell me, I’d appreciate it!

I used these same berries last year on my Thanksgiving table and to decorate my screened porch.  The deep purple adds a slightly unexpected color to typical Fall decor.  I twined a few branches in the grapevine trellis around my mailbox; the Confederate jasmine isn’t blooming at this time of year, but the petunias still are!

By the way, you can read about how I made the grapevine trellis {here}.

The “Thankful” bunting over the door was a free printable from Over the Big Moon.  I actually made it last year and used it in my dining room, but this year it seemed perfect over the front door.  The pennant is just paper triangles glued onto jute twine, and while my porch is a covered one, we’ll have to see how it holds up to wind and rain  (Update:  while I would use cardstock instead of paper, the banner has lasted for three years!).

I took my orange cushions inside and replaced them with two large, square ones that I sewed out of canvas painter’s drop cloth.  I used the CitraSolv fabric transfer technique to put “Give Thanks” on them.

The only orange on my porch now is the candle stubs in my “candle-lier”.  We almost burned them completely down on Halloween!

The black and white polka dot pillows are from HomeGoods; they stay on my porch year round and coordinate with everything!

We have an osage orange (or hedgeapple) tree in the woods–they’re pretty common around here–and I gathered a few to put in a pedestal holder on the little wicker table.  I love how they smell!

Here’s the wide shot of the porch.  I know you’ll be classy and not mention that my holly bushes need a trim–thanks! 🙂

Have any of the rest of you scrounged around in the woods for your holiday decor?

Thanks for stopping by!